Of the Coronation of the Empress Catherine I. and the Death of Peter
the Great.
Peter, at his return from his Persian expedition, found himself in a
better condition than ever to be the arbiter of the North. He now openly
declared himself the protector of Charles XII. whose professed enemy he
had been for eighteen years. He sent for the duke of Holstein, nephew to
that monarch, to his court, promised him his eldest daughter in
marriage, and began to make preparations for supporting him in his
claims on the duchy of Holstein Sleswick, and even engaged himself so to
do by a treaty of alliance, (Feb. 1724.) which he concluded with the
crown of Sweden.
He continued the works he had begun all over his empire, to the further
extremity of Kamtshatka, and for the better direction of them,
established an academy of sciences at Petersburg. The arts began now to
flourish on every side: manufactures were encouraged, the navy was
augmented, the army well provided, and the laws properly enforced. He
now enjoyed his glory in full repose; but was desirous of sharing it in
a new manner with her who, according to his own declaration, by
remedying the disaster of the campaign of Pruth, had been in some
measure the instrument of his acquiring that glory.
Accordingly, the coronation of his consort Catherine was performed at
Moscow, in presence of the duchess of Courland, his eldest brother's
daughter, and the duke of Holstein, his intended son-in-law. (May 28,
1724.) The declaration which he published on this occasion merits
attention: he therein cites the examples of several Christian princes
who had placed the crown on the heads of their consorts, as likewise
those of the heathen emperors, Basilides, Justinian, Heraclius, and Leo,
the philosopher. He enumerates the services Catherine had done to the
state, and in particular in the war against the Turks,--'Where my army,'
says he, 'which had been reduced to 22,000 men, had to encounter an army
above 200,000 strong.' He does not say, in this declaration, that the
empress was to succeed to the crown after his death; but this ceremony,
which was altogether new and unusual in the Russian empire, was one of
those means by which he prepared the minds of his subjects for such an
event. Another circumstance that might perhaps furnish a stronger reason
to believe that he destined Catherine to succeed him on the throne, was,
that he himself marched on foot before her the day of her coronation, as
captain of a new company, which he had created under the name of the
_knights of the empress_.
When they arrived at the cathedral, Peter himself placed the crown on
her head; and when she would have fallen down and embraced his knees, he
prevented her; and, at their return from the church, caused the sceptre
and globe to be carried before her. The ceremony was altogether worthy
an emperor; for on every public occasion Peter shewed as much pomp and
magnificence as he did plainness and simplicity in his private manner of
living.
Having thus crowned his spouse, he at length determined to give his
eldest daughter, Anna Petrowna, in marriage to the duke of Holstein.
This princess greatly resembled her father in the face, was very
majestic, and of a singular beauty. She was betrothed to the duke of
Holstein on the 24th of November, 1724, but with very little ceremony.
Peter having for some time past found his health greatly impaired, and
this, together with some family uneasiness, that perhaps rather
increased his disorder, which in a short time proved fatal, permitted
him to have but very little relish for feasts or public diversions in
this latter part of his life. [116] The empress Catherine had at that
time a young man for the chamberlain of her household, whose name was
Moens de la Croix, a native of Russia, but of Flemish parents,
remarkably handsome and genteel. His sister, madame de Balc, was
bed-chamber-woman to the empress, and these two had entirely the
management of her household. Being both accused of having taken
presents, they were sent to prison, and afterwards brought to their
trial by express order of the czar; who, by an edict in the year 1714,
had forbidden any one holding a place about court to receive any present
or other gratuity, on pain of being declared infamous, and suffering
death; and this prohibition had been several times renewed.
The brother and sister were found guilty, and received sentence, and all
those who had either purchased their services or given them any gratuity
in return for the same, were included therein, except the duke of
Holstein and his minister count Bassewitz: as it is probable that the
presents made by that prince, to those who had a share in bringing about
his marriage with the czar's daughter, were not looked upon in a
criminal light.
Moens was condemned to be beheaded, and his sister (who was the
empress's favourite) to receive eleven strokes of the knout. The two
sons of this lady, one of whom was an officer in the household, and the
other a page, were degraded, and sent to serve as private soldiers in
the army in Persia.
These severities, though they shock our manners, were perhaps necessary
in a country where the observance of the laws is to be enforced only by
the most terrifying rigour. The empress solicited her favourite's
pardon; but the czar, offended at her application, peremptorily refused
her, and, in the heat of his passion, seeing a fine looking-glass in the
apartment, he, with one blow of his fist, broke it into a thousand
pieces; and, turning to the empress, 'Thus,' said he, 'thou seest I can,
with one stroke of my hand, reduce this glass to its original dust.'
Catherine, in a melting accent, replied, 'It is true, you have destroyed
one of the greatest ornaments of your palace, but do you think that
palace is the more charming for its loss?' This answer appeased the
emperor's wrath; but all the favour that Catherine could obtain for her
bed-chamber-woman was, that she should receive only five strokes of the
knout instead of eleven.
I should not have related this anecdote, had it not been attested by a
public minister, who was eye-witness of the whole transaction, and who,
by having made presents to the unfortunate brother and sister, was
perhaps himself one of the principal causes of their disgrace and
sufferings. It was this affair that emboldened those who judge of every
thing in the worst light, to spread the report that Catherine hastened
the death of her husband, whose choleric disposition filled her with
apprehensions that overweighed the gratitude she owed him for the many
favours he had heaped upon her.
These cruel suspicions were confirmed by Catherine's recalling to court
her woman of the bed-chamber immediately upon the death of the czar, and
reinstating her in her former influence. It is the duty of an historian
to relate the public reports which have been circulated in all times in
states, on the decease of princes who have been snatched away by a
premature death, as if nature was not alone sufficient to put a period
to the existence of a crowned head as well as that of a beggar; but it
is likewise the duty of an historian to shew how far such reports were
rashly or unjustly formed.
There is an immense distance between the momentary discontent which may
arise from the morose or harsh behaviour of a husband, and the desperate
resolution of poisoning that husband, who is at the same time our
sovereign and benefactor in the highest degree. The danger attending
such a design would have been as great as it was criminal. Catherine had
at that time a powerful party against her, who epoused the cause of the
son of the deceased czarowitz. Nevertheless, neither that faction, nor
any one person about the court, once suspected the czarina; and the
vague rumours which were spread on this head were founded only on the
mistaken notions of foreigners, who were very imperfectly acquainted
with the affair, and who chose to indulge the wretched pleasure of
accusing of heinous crimes those whom they thought interested to commit
them. But it was even very doubtful whether this was at all the case
with Catherine. It was far from being certain that she was to succeed
her husband. She had been crowned indeed, but only in the character of
wife to the reigning sovereign, and not as one who was to enjoy the
sovereign authority after his death.
Peter, in his declaration, had only ordered this coronation as a matter
of ceremony, and not as conferring a right of governing. He therein only
cited the examples of emperors, who had caused their consorts to be
crowned, but not of those who had conferred on them the royal authority.
In fine, at the very time of Peter's illness, several persons believed
that the princess Anna Petrowna would succeed him jointly with her
husband the duke of Holstein, or that the czar would nominate his
grandson for his successor; therefore, so far from Catherine's being
interested in the death of the emperor, she rather seemed concerned in
the preservation of his life.
It is undeniable, that Peter had, for a considerable time, been troubled
with an abscess in the bladder, and a stoppage of urine. The mineral
waters of Olnitz, and some others, which he had been advised to use, had
proved of very little service to him, and he had found himself growing
sensibly weaker, ever since the beginning of the year 1724. His labours,
from which he would not allow himself any respite, increased his
disorder, and hastened his end: (Jan. 1723.) his malady became now more
and more desperate, he felt burning pains, which threw him into an
almost constant delirium,[117] whenever he had a moment's interval, he
endeavoured to write, but he could only scrawl a few lines that were
wholly unintelligible; and it was with the greatest difficulty that the
following words, in the Russian language, could be distinguished:--'_Let
every thing be given to ----_'
He then called for the princess Anna Petrowna, in order to dictate to
her, but by that time she could come to his bed-side, he had lost his
speech, and fell into a fit, which lasted sixteen hours. The empress
Catherine did not quit his bed-side for three nights together. At
length, he breathed his last in her arms, on the 28th of Jan. 1725.
about four o'clock in the morning.
His body was conveyed into the great hall of the palace, accompanied by
all the imperial family, the senate, all the principal personages of
state, and an innumerable concourse of people. It was there exposed on a
bed of state, and every one was permitted to approach and kiss his hand,
till the day of his interment, which was on the 10-21st of March,
1725.[118]
It has been thought, and it has been asserted in print, that he had
appointed his wife Catherine to succeed him in the empire, by his last
will, but the truth is, that he never made any will, or at least none
that ever appeared; a most astonishing negligence in so great a
legislator, and a proof that he did not think his disorder mortal.
No one knew, at the time of his death, who was to succeed him: he left
behind him his grandson Peter, son of the unfortunate Alexis, and his
eldest daughter Anna, married to the duke of Holstein. There was a
considerable faction in favour of young Peter; but prince Menzikoff, who
had never had any other interests than those of the empress Catherine,
took care to be beforehand with all parties, and their designs; and
accordingly, when the czar was upon the point of giving up the ghost, he
caused the empress to remove into another apartment of the palace, where
all their friends were assembled ready: he had the royal treasures
conveyed into the citadel, and secured the guards in his interest, as
likewise the archbishop of Novogorod; and then they held a private
council, in presence of the empress Catherine, and one Macarof, a
secretary, in whom they could confide, at which the duke of Holstein's
minister assisted.
At the breaking up of this council, the empress returned to the czar's
bed-side, who soon after yielded up the ghost in her arms. As soon as
his death was made known, the principal senators and general officers
repaired to the palace, where the empress made a speech to them, which
prince Menzikoff answered in the name of all present. The empress being
withdrawn, they proceeded to consider the proper forms to be observed on
the occasion, when Theophanes, archbishop of Pleskow, told the assembly,
that, on the eve of the coronation of the empress Catherine, the
deceased czar had declared to him, that his sole reason for placing the
crown on her head, was, that she might wear it after his death; upon
which the assembly unanimously signed the proclamation, and Catherine
succeeded her husband on the throne the very day of his death.
Peter the Great was regretted by all those whom he had formed, and the
descendants of those who had been sticklers for the ancient customs soon
began to look on him as their father: foreign nations, who have beheld
the duration of his establishments, have always expressed the highest
admiration for his memory, acknowledging that he was actuated by a more
than common prudence and wisdom, and not by a vain desire of doing
extraordinary things. All Europe knows that though he was fond of fame,
he coveted it only for noble principles; that though he had faults, they
never obscured his noble qualities, and that, though, as a man, he was
liable to errors, as a monarch he was always great: he every way forced
nature, in his subjects, in himself, by sea and land: but he forced her
only to render her more pleasing and noble. The arts, which he
transplanted with his own hands, into countries, till then in a manner
savage, have flourished, and produced fruits which are lasting
testimonies of his genius, and will render his memory immortal, since
they now appear as natives of those places to which he introduced them.
The civil, political, and military government, trade, manufactures, the
arts and the sciences, have all been carried on, according to his plan,
and by an event not to be paralleled in history: we have seen four women
successively ascend the throne after him, who have maintained, in full
vigour, all the great designs he accomplished, and have completed those
which he had begun.
The court has undergone some revolutions since his death, but the empire
has not suffered one. Its splendour was increased by Catherine I. It
triumphed over the Turks and the Swedes under Anna Petrowna; and under
Elizabeth it conquered Prussia, and a part of Pomerania; and lastly, it
has tasted the sweets of peace, and has seen the arts flourish in
fulness and security in the reign of Catherine the Second.[119]
Let the historians of that nation enter into the minutest circumstances
of the new creation, the wars and undertakings of Peter the Great: let
them rouse the emulation of their countrymen, by celebrating those
heroes who assisted this monarch in his labours, in the field, and in
the cabinet. It is sufficient for a stranger, a disinterested admirer of
merit, to have endeavoured to set to view that great man, who learned of
Charles XII. to conquer him, who twice quitted his dominions, in order
to govern them the better, who worked with his own hands, in almost all
the useful and necessary arts, to set an example of instruction to his
people, and who was the founder and the father of his empire.[120]
Princes, who reign over states long since civilized, may say to
themselves, 'If a man, assisted only by his own genius, has been capable
of doing such great things in the frozen climes of ancient Scythia, what
may not be expected from us, in kingdoms where the accumulated labours
of many ages have rendered the way so easy?'
ORIGINAL PIECES RELATIVE TO THIS HISTORY, AGREEABLE TO THE TRANSLATIONS
MADE AT THEIR FIRST PUBLICATION, BY ORDER OF CZAR PETER I.