DMITRI, VASSALI, AND THE MOGOL TAMERLANE.
From 1380 to 1462.
Recovery of Dmitri.--New Tartar invasion.--The Assault and Capture of
Moscow.--New Subjugation of the Russians.--Lithuania Embraces
Christianity.--Escape of Vassali From the Horde.--Death of
Dmitri.--Tamerlane--His Origin and Career.--His Invasion of
India.--Defeat of Bajazet.--Tamerlane Invades Russia.--Preparations
for Resistance.--Sudden Retreat of the Tartars.--Death of
Vassali.--Accession of Vassali Vassilievitch.--The Disputed
Succession.--Appeal to the Khan.--Rebellion of Youri.--Cruelty of
Vassali.--The Retribution.
"Where is my brother?" exclaimed Vladimir; "where is he to whom we are
indebted for all this glory?" No one could give any information
respecting Dmitri. In the tumult he had disappeared. Sadly the
chieftains dispersed over the plain to search for him among the dead.
After a long exploration, two soldiers found him in the midst of a
heap of the slain. Stunned by a blow, he had fallen from his horse,
and was apparently lifeless. As with filial love they hung over his
remains, bathing his bloody brow, he opened his eyes. Gradually he
recovered consciousness; and as he saw the indications of triumph in
the faces of his friends, heard the words of assurance that he had
gained the victory, and witnessed the Russian banners all over the
field, floating above the dead bodies of the Tartars, in a transport
of joy he folded his hands upon his breast, closed his eyes and
breathed forth a fervent, grateful prayer to God. The princes stood
silently and reverently by, as their sovereign thus returned thanks to
Heaven.
Joy operated so effectually as a stimulus, that the prince, who had
been stunned, but not seriously wounded, mounted his horse and rode
over the hard-fought field. Though thousands of the Russians were
silent in death, the prince could count more than four times as many
dead bodies of the enemy. According to the annals of the time, a
hundred thousand Tartars were slain on that day. Couriers were
immediately dispatched to all the principalities with the joyful
tidings. The anxiety had been so great, that, from the moment the army
passed the Don, the churches had been thronged by day and by night,
and incessant prayers had ascended to heaven for its success. _No_
language can describe the enthusiasm which the glad tidings inspired.
It was felt that henceforth the prosperity, the glory, the
independence of Russia was secured for ever; that the supremacy of the
horde was annihilated; that the blood of the Christians, shed upon the
plain of Koulikof, was the last sacrifice Russia was doomed to make.
But in these anticipations, Russia was destined to be sadly
disappointed. Mamai, the discomfited Tartar chieftain, overwhelmed
with shame and rage, reached, with the wreck of his army, one of the
great encampments of the Tartars on the banks of the Volga. A new
khan, the world-renowned Tamerlane, now swayed the scepter of Tartar
power. Two years were devoted to immense preparations for the new
invasion of Russia. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dmitri was informed
that the Tartars were approaching in strength unprecedented. Russia
was unprepared for the attack, and terror congealed all hearts. The
invaders, crossing the Volga and the Oka, pressed rapidly towards
Moscow.
Dmitri, deeming it in vain to attempt the defense of the capital,
fled, with his wife and children, two hundred miles north, to the
fortress of Kostroma. A young prince, Ostei, was left in command of
the city, with orders to hold it to the last extremity against the
Tartars, and with the assurance that the king would return, as
speedily as possible, with an army from Kostroma to his relief. The
panic in the city was fearful, and the gates were crowded, day and
night, by the women and children, the infirm and the timid seeking
safety in flight. Ostei made the most vigorous preparations for
defense, while the king, with untiring energy, was accumulating an
army of relief. The merchants and laborers from the neighboring
villages, and even the monks and priests crowded to Moscow, demanding
arms for the defense of the metropolis. From the battlements of the
city, the advance of the barbarians could be traced by the volumes of
smoke which arose, as from a furnace, through the day, and by the
flames which flashed along the horizon, from the burning cities and
villages, through the night.
On the evening of the 23d of August, 1382, the Tartars appeared before
the gates of the city. Some of the chiefs rode slowly around the
ramparts, examining the ditch, the walls, the height of the towers,
and selected the most favorable spot for commencing the assault. The
Tartars did not appear in such overwhelming numbers as report had
taught the Russians to expect, and they felt quite sanguine that they
should be able to defend the city. But the ensuing morning dispelled
all these hopes. It then appeared that these Tartars were but the
advance guard of the great army. With the earliest dawn, as far as the
eye could reach, the inundation of warriors came rolling on, and
terror vanquished all hearts. This army was under the command of a
Tartar chieftain called Toktamonish. The assault was instantly
commenced, and continued without cessation four days and nights.
At length the city fell, vanquished, it is said, by stratagem rather
than by force. The Tartars clambering, by means of ten thousand
ladders, over the walls, and rushing through the gates, with no ear
for mercy, commenced the slaughter of the inhabitants. The city was
set on fire in all directions, and a scene of horror ensued
indescribable and unimaginable. The barbarians, laden with booty, and
satiated with blood and carnage, encamped on the plain outside of the
walls, exulting in the entireness of their vengeance. Moscow, the
gorgeous capital, was no more. The dwellings of the city became but
the funeral pyre for the bodies of the inhabitants. The Tartars,
intoxicated with blood, dispersed over the whole principality; and all
its populous cities, Vladimir, Zvenigorod, Yourief, Mojaisk and
Dmitrof, experienced the same fate with that of Moscow. The khan then
retired, crossing the Oka at Kolomna.
Dmitri arrived with his army at Moscow, only to behold the ruins. The
enemy had already disappeared. In profoundest affliction, he gave
orders for the interment of the charred and blackened bodies of the
dead. Eighty thousand, by count, were interred, which number did not
include the many who had been consumed entirely by the conflagration.
The walls of the city and the towers of the Kremlin still remained.
With great energy, the prince devoted himself to the rebuilding and
the repeopling of the capital; many years, however, passed away ere it
regained even the shadow of its former splendor.
Thus again Russia, brought under the sway of the Tartars, was
compelled to pay tribute, and Dmitri was forced to send his own son to
the horde, where he was long detained as a hostage. The grand duchy of
Lithuania, bordering on Poland, was spread over a region of sixty
thousand square miles. The grand duke, Jaghellon, a burly pagan, had
married Hedwige, Queen of Poland, promising, as one of the conditions
of this marriage which would unite Lithuania and Poland, to embrace
Christianity.[3] He was married and baptized at Cracow, receiving the
Christian name of Ladislaus. He then ordered the adoption of
Christianity throughout Lithuania, and the universal baptism of his
subjects. In order to facilitate the baptism of over a million at
once, the inhabitants were collected at several central points. They
were arranged in vast groups, and were sprinkled with water which had
been blessed by the priests. As the formula of baptism was pronounced,
to one entire group the name of Peter was given, to another the name
of Paul, to another that of John. These converts were received, not
into the Greek church, which was dominant-in Russia, but to the Romish
church, which prevailed in Poland. Jaghellon became immediately the
inveterate foe of the Russians, whom he called heretics, for new
proselytes are almost invariably inspired with fanatic zeal, and he
forbade the marriage of any of his Catholic subjects with members of
the Russian church. This event caused great grief to Dmitri, for he
had relied upon the coöperation of the warlike Lithuanians to aid him
to repel the Mogols.
[Footnote 3: For an account of the romantic circumstances attending
this marriage, see _Empire of Austria_, pp. 53 and 54.]
Affairs were in this condition when Vassali, the son of Dmitri,
escaped from the horde after a three years' captivity, and, traversing
Poland and Lithuania, arrived safely at Moscow. Dmitri was now forty
years of age. He was a man of colossal stature, and of vigorous
health. His hair and beard were black as the raven's wing, and his
ruddy cheek and piercing eye seemed to give promise of a long life.
But suddenly he was seized with a fatal disease, and it was soon
evident that death was near. The intellect of the dying prince was
unclouded, and, with much fortitude, in a long interview, he bade
adieu to his wife and his children. He designated his son Vassali,
then but seventeen years of age, as his successor, and then, after
offering a touching prayer, folded his hands across his breast, in the
form of a cross, and died without a struggle. The grief of the
Russians was profound and universal. For ages they had not known a
prince so illustrious or so devoted to the welfare of his country.
The young Vassali had been but a few years on the throne when
Tamerlane himself advanced with countless hordes from the far Orient,
crushing down all opposition, and sweeping over prostrate nations like
the pestilence which had preceded him, and whose track he followed.
Tamerlane was the son of a petty Mogol prince. He was born in a season
of anarchy, and when the whole Tartar horde was distracted with civil
dissensions. The impetuous young man had hardly begun to think, ere he
had formed the resolve to attain the supremacy over all the Mogol
tribes, to conquer the whole known world, and thus to render himself
immortal in the annals of glory. Behind a curtain of mountains, and
protected by vast deserts, his persuasive genius collected a large
band of followers, who with enthusiasm adopted his views and hailed
him their chief.
After inuring them to fatigue, and drilling them thoroughly in the
exercises of battle, he commenced his career. The most signal victory
followed his steps, and he soon acquired the title of hero. Ambitious,
war-loving, thousands crowded to his standards, and he had but just
attained the age of thirty-five when he was the undisputed monarch of
all the Mogol tribes, and the whole Asiatic world trembled at the
mention of his name. He took his seat proudly upon the throne of
Genghis Khan, a crown of gold was placed upon his brow, a royal girdle
encircled his waist, and in accordance with oriental usage his robes
glittered with jewels and gold. At his feet were his renowned
chieftains, kneeling around his throne in homage. Tamerlane then took
an oath, that by his future exploits he would justify the title he had
already acquired, and that all the kings of the earth should yet lie
prostrate before him.
And now commenced an incessant series of wars, and victory ever
crowned the banners of Tamerlane. He was soon in possession of all the
countries on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. He then entered
Persia, and conquered the whole realm between the Oxus and the Tigris.
Bagdad, until now the proud capital of the caliphs, submitted to his
sway. Soon the whole region of Asia, from the Sea of Aral to the
Persian Gulf, and from Teflis to the great Arabian desert, recognized
the empire of Tamerlane. The conqueror then assembled his companions
in arms, and thus addressed them:
"Friends and fellow-soldiers; fortune, who recognizes me as her child,
invites us to new conquests. The universe trembles at my name, and the
movement even of one of my fingers causes the earth to quake. The
realms of India are open to us. Woe to those who oppose my will. I
will annihilate them unless they acknowledge me as their lord."
With flying banners and pealing trumpets he crossed the Indus, and
marched upon Delhi, which for three centuries had been governed by the
Mohammedan sultans. _No_ opposition could retard the sweep of his
locust legions; and the renowned city at once passed into his hands.
Indulging in no delay, the order was still _onwards_, and the hosts
soon bathed their dusty limbs in the waves of the Ganges. Here he was
informed that Bajazet, the Grand Seignior of Turkey, was on a career
of conquest which rivaled his own; that he had overrun all of Asia
Minor; that, crossing the Hellespont, he had subjugated Serbia,
Macedonia, Thessaly, and that he was even besieging the imperial city
of Constantine. The jealousy of Tamerlane was thoroughly aroused. He
instantly turned upon his steps to seek this foe, worthy of his arms,
dispatching to him the following defiant message:
"Learn," wrote Tamerlane to Bajazet, "that the earth is covered with
my warriors from sea-to sea. Kings compose my body guard, and range
themselves as servants before my tent. Are you ignorant that the
destiny of the universe is in my hands? Who are you? A Turkoman ant.
And dare you raise your head against an elephant? If in the forests of
Natolia you have obtained some trivial successes; if the timid
Europeans have fled like cowards before you, return thanks to Mohammed
for your success, for it is not owing to your own valor. Listen to the
counsels of wisdom. Be content with the heritage of your fathers, and,
however small that heritage may be, beware how you attempt, in the
slightest degree, to extend its limits, lest death be the penalty of
your temerity."
To this insolent letter, Bajazet responded in terms equally defiant.
"For a long time," he wrote, "Bajazet has burned with the desire to
measure himself with Tamerlane, and he returns thanks to the
All-powerful that Tamerlane now comes himself, to present his head to
the cimeter of Bajazet."
The two conquerors gathered all their resources for the great and
decisive battle. Tamerlane speedily reached Aleppo, which city, after
a bloody conflict, he entered in triumph. The Tartar chieftain was an
impostor and a hypocrite, as well as a merciless butcher of his
fellow-men. He assembled the learned men of Aleppo, and assured them
in most eloquent terms that he was the devoted friend of God, and that
the enemies who resisted his will were responsible to God for all the
evils their obstinacy rendered it necessary for him to inflict. Before
every conflict he fell upon his knees in the presence of the army in
prayer. After every victory, he assembled his troops to return thanks
to God. There are some sad accounts to be settled at the judgment day.
In marching from Aleppo to Damascus, Tamerlane visited ostentatiously
the pretended tomb of Noah, that upon the shrine of that patriarch, so
profoundly venerated by the Mohammedans, he might display his
devotion.
Damascus was pillaged of all its treasures, which had been
accumulating for ages, and was then laid in ashes. The two armies,
headed by their respective chieftains, met in Galacia, near Ancyra. It
was the 16th of June, 1402. The storm of war raged for a few hours,
and the army of Bajazet was cut to pieces by superior numbers, and he
himself was taken captive. Tamerlane treated his prisoner with the
most condescending kindness, seated him by his side upon the imperial
couch, and endeavored to solace him by philosophical disquisitions
upon the mutability of all human affairs. The annals of the day do
not sustain the rumor that Bajazet was confined in an iron cage.
The empire of Tamerlane now extended from the Caspian and the
Mediterranean to the Nile and the Ganges. He established his capital
at Samarcand, some six hundred miles east of the Caspian Sea. To this
central capital he returned after each of his expeditions, devoting
immense treasures to the erection of mosques, the construction of
gardens, the excavation of canals and the erection of cities. And now,
in the pride and plenitude of his power, he commenced his march upon
Russia.
His army, four hundred thousand strong, defiled from the gates of
Samarcand, and marching to the north, between the Aral and the Caspian
Seas, traversed vast plains, where thousands of wild cattle had long
enjoyed undisturbed pasturage. These cattle afforded them abundant
food. The chase, in which they engaged on a magnificent scale, offered
a very brilliant spectacle. Thousands of horsemen spread out in an
immense circle, making the tent of the emperor the central point. With
trumpet blasts, the clash of arms and clouds of javelins and arrows,
the cattle and wild beasts of every kind were driven in upon the
imperial tent, where Tamerlane and his lords amused themselves with
their destruction. The soldiers gathered around the food thus
abundantly supplied, innumerable fires were built, and feasting and
mirth closed the day. Vast herds of cattle were driven along for the
ordinary supply of the troops, affording all the nourishment which
those rude barbarians required. Pressing forward, in a long march,
which occupied several months, Tamerlane crossed the Volga, and
entered the south-eastern principalities of Russia. The tidings of the
invasion spread rapidly, and all Russia was paralyzed with terror. The
grand prince, Vassali, however, strove with all his energies to rouse
the Russians to resistance. An army was speedily collected, and
veteran leaders placed in command. The Russian troops were rapidly
concentrated near Kolomna, on the banks of the Oka, to dispute the
passage of the river. All the churches of Moscow and of Russia were
thronged with the terrified inhabitants imploring divine aid, the
clergy conducting the devotions by day and by night.
Tamerlane, crossing from the Volga to the Don, ascended the valley of
the latter stream, spreading the most cruel devastation everywhere
around him. It was his design to confound his enemies with terror. He
was pressing on resistlessly towards Moscow, and had arrived within a
few days' march of the Russian army on the banks of the Oka, when
suddenly he stopped, and remained fifteen days without moving from his
encampment. Then, for some cause, which history has never satisfactory
explained, he turned, retraced his steps, and his banners soon
disappeared beyond the frontiers of the empire. It was early in
September when he commenced this retrograde march. Some have surmised
that he feared the Russians, strongly posted on the banks of the Oka,
others that he dreaded the approaching Russian winter; others that
intelligence of some conspiracy in his distant realms arrested his
steps, and others that God, in answer to prayer, directly interposed,
and rescued Russia from ruin.
The joy of the Russians was almost delirious; and no one thought even
of pursuing a foe, who without arriving within sight of the banners of
the grand prince, or without hearing the sound of his war trumpets,
had fled as in a panic.
The whole of the remaining reign of Vassali was a scene of tumult and
strife. Civil war agitated the principalities. The Lithuanians, united
with Poland, were incessant in their endeavors to extend the triumph
of their arms over the Russian provinces; and the Tartar hordes again
swept Russia with the most horrible devastation. In the midst of
calamities and lamentations, Vassali approached his grave. He died on
the 29th of February, 1425, in the fifty-third year of his age, and
the thirty-sixth of his reign.
Vassali Vassalievitch, son of the deceased monarch, was but ten years
of age when the scepter of Russia passed into his hands. Youri, the
eldest brother of the late king, demanded the throne in accordance
with the ancient custom of descent, and denied the right of his
brother to bequeath the crown to his son. After much trouble, both of
the rival claimants consented to submit the question to the decision
of the Tartar khan, to whom it appears that Russia still paid tribute.
Vassali was to remain upon the throne until the question was decided.
Six years passed away, and yet no answer to the appeal had been
obtained from the khan. At length both agreed to visit the horde in
person. It was a perilous movement, and Vassali, as yet but a boy
sixteen years of age, wept bitterly as he left the church, where he
had implored the prayers of the faithful, and set out upon his
journey. All the powers of bribery and intrigue were employed by each
party to obtain a favorable verdict.
A tribunal was appointed to adjudge the cause, over which Machmet, the
khan, presided. Vassali claimed the dominion, on the ground of the new
rule of descent adopted by the Russian princes. Youri pleaded the
ancient custom of the empire. The power which the Tartar horde still
exercised, may be inferred from the humiliating speech which Jean, a
noble of Moscow, made on this occasion, in advocacy of the cause of
the young Vassali. Approaching Machmet, and bowing profoundly before
him, he said,
"Sovereign king, your humble slave conjures you to permit him to speak
in behalf of his young prince. Youri founds his claim upon the ancient
institutions of Russia. Vassali appeals only to your generous
protection, for he knows that Russia is but one of the provinces of
your vast domains. You, as its sovereign, can dispose of the throne
according to your pleasure. Condescend to reflect that the uncle
_demands_, the nephew _supplicates_. What signify ancient or modern
customs when all depends upon your royal will? Is it not that august
will which has confirmed the testament of Vassali Dmitrievitch, by
which his son was nominated as heir of the principality of Moscow? For
six years, Vassali Vassilievitch has been upon the throne. Would you
have allowed him thus to remain there had you not recognized him as
the legitimate prince?"
This base flattery accomplished its object. Vassali was pronounced
grand prince, and, in accordance with Tartar custom, the uncle was
compelled to hold the bridle while his successful rival, at the door
of the tent, mounted his horse. On their return to Moscow, Vassali was
crowned, with great pomp, in the church of Notre Dame. Youri, while at
the horde, dared not manifest the slightest opposition to the
decision, but, having returned to his own country, he murmured loudly,
rallied his friends, excited disaffection, and soon kindled the flames
of civil war.
Youri soon marched, with an army, upon Moscow, took the city by storm,
and Vassali, who had displayed but little energy of character, was
made captive. Youri proclaimed himself grand prince, and Vassali in
vain endeavored to move the compassion of his captor by tears. The
uncle, however, so far had pity for his vanquished nephew as to
appoint him to the governorship of the city of Kolomna. This seemed
perfectly to satisfy the pusillanimous young man, and, after partaking
of a splendid feast with his uncle, he departed, rejoicing, from the
capital where he had been enthroned, to the provincial city assigned
to him.
A curious result ensued. Youri brought to Moscow his own friends, who
were placed in the posts of honor and authority. Such general
discontent was excited, that the citizens, in crowds, abandoned Moscow
and repaired to Kolomna, and rallied, with the utmost enthusiasm,
around their ejected sovereign. The dwellings and the streets of
Moscow became silent and deserted. Kolomna, on the contrary, was
thronged. To use the expression of a Russian annalist, the people
gathered around their prince as bees cluster around their queen. The
tidings of the life, activity and thriving business to be found at
Kolomna, lured ever-increasing numbers, and, in a few months, grass
was growing in the streets of Moscow, while Kolomna had become the
thronged metropolis of the principality. The nobles, with their
armies, gathered around Vassali, and Youri was so thoroughly
abandoned, that, convinced of the impossibility of maintaining his
position, he sent word to his nephew that he yielded to him the
capital, and immediately left for his native principality of Galitch.
The journey of Vassali, from Kolomna to Moscow, a distance of two
hundred miles, was a brilliant triumph. An immense crowd accompanied
the grand prince the whole distance, raising incessant shouts of joy.
But Youri was by no means prepared to relinquish his claim, and soon
the armies of the two rivals were struggling upon the field of battle.
While the conflict was raging, Youri suddenly died at the age of sixty
years. One of the sons of Youri made an attempt to regain the throne
which his father had lost, but he failed in the attempt, and was taken
captive. Vassali, as cruel as he was pusillanimous, in vengeance,
plucked out the eyes of his cousin. Vassali, now seated peacefully
upon his throne, exerted himself to keep on friendly relations with
the horde, by being prompt in the payment of the tribute which they
exacted.
In June, 1444, the Tartars, having taken some offense, again invaded
Russia. Vassali had no force of character to resist them. Under his
weak reign the grand principality had lost all its vigor. The Tartars
surprised the Russian army near Moscow, and overwhelming them with
numbers, two to one, trampled them beneath their horses. Vassali
fought fiercely, as sometimes even the most timid will fight when
hedged in by despair. An arrow pierced his hand; a saber stroke cut
off several of his fingers; a javelin pierced his shoulder; thirteen
wounds covered his head and breast, when by the blow of a battle-ax
he was struck to the ground and taken prisoner. The Tartars, elated
with their signal victory, and fearful that all Russia might rise for
the rescue of its prince, retreated rapidly, carrying with them their
captive and immense booty. As they retired they plundered and burned
every city and village on their way. After a captivity of three months
the prince was released, upon paying a moderate ransom, and returned
to Moscow.
Still new sorrows awaited the prince. He was doomed to experience
that, even in this world, Providence often rewards a man according to
his deeds. The brothers of the prince, whose eyes Vassali had caused
to be plucked out, formed a conspiracy against him; and they were
encouraged in this conspiracy by the detestation with which the grand
prince was now generally regarded.
During the night of the 12th of February, 1446, the conspirators
entered the Kremlin. Vassali, who attempted to compensate for his
neglect of true religion by punctilious and ostentatious observance of
ecclesiastical rites, was in the church of the Trinity attending a
midnight mass. Silently the conspirators surrounded the church with
their troops. Vassali was prostrate upon the tomb of a Russian saint,
apparently absorbed in devotion. Soon the alarm was given, and the
prince, in a paroxysm of terror, threw himself upon his knees, and for
once, at least, in his life, prayed with sincerity and fervor. His
pathetic cries to God for help caused many of the nobles around him to
weep. The prince was immediately seized, no opposition being offered,
and was confined in one of the palaces of Moscow. Four nights after
his capture, some agents of the conspirators entered his apartment and
tore out his eyes, as he had torn out the eyes of his cousin. He was
then sent, with his wife, to a castle in a distant city, and his
children were immured in a convent. Dmitri Chemyaka, the prime mover
of this conspiracy, now assumed the reins of government. Gradually the
grand principality had lost its power over the other principalities
of the empire, and Russia was again, virtually, a conglomeration of
independent states.
Public opinion now turned so sternly against Chemyaka, and such bitter
murmurs rose around his throne for the cruelty he had practiced upon
Vassali, that he felt constrained to liberate the prince, and to
assign him a residence of splendor upon the shores of lake Kouben.
Chemyaka, thus constrained to set the body of his captive free, wished
to enchain his soul by the most solemn oaths. With all his court he
visited Vassali. The blinded prince, with characteristic duplicity,
expressed heartfelt penitence in view of his past course, and took the
most solemn oaths never to attempt to disturb the reign of his
conqueror.
Vassali received the city of Vologda in appanage, to which he retired,
with his family, and with the nobles and bishops who still adhered to
him. But a few months had passed ere he, with his friends, had
enlisted the coöperation of many princes, and especially of the Tartar
horde, and was on the march with a strong army to drive Chemyaka from
Moscow. Chemyaka, utterly discomfited, fled, and Moscow fell easily
into the hands of Vassali the blind.
Anguish of body and of soul seems now to have changed the nature of
Vassali, and with energy, disinterestedness and wisdom undeveloped
before, he consecrated himself to the welfare of his country. He
associated with himself his young son Ivan, who subsequently attained
the title of the Great. "But Chemyaka," writes Karamsin, "still lived,
and his heart, ferocious, implacable, sought new means of vengeance.
His death seemed necessary for the safety of the state, and some one
gave him poison, of which he died the next day. The author, of an
action so contrary to religion, to the principles of morality and of
honor, remains unknown. A lawyer, named Beda, who conveyed the news of
his death to Moscow, was elevated to the rank of secretary by the
grand prince, who exhibited on that occasion an indiscreet joy." On
the 14th of March, 1462, Vassali terminated his eventful and
tumultuous life, at the age of forty-seven. His reign was during one
of the darkest periods in the Russian annals. Life to him, and to his
cotemporaries, was but a pitiless tempest, through which hardly one
ray of sunshine penetrated. It was under his reign that the horrible
punishment of the _knout_ was introduced into Moscow, a barbaric mode
of scourging unknown to the ancient Russians. Fire-arms were also
beginning to be introduced, which weapons have diminished rather than
increased the carnage of fields of battle.