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troops in Swedish uniforms, and having a sham fight with them on the road to Wesenberg. The Russians gradually retired as if they had been beaten, and the Swedes came out from the town to attack them in the rear, accompanied even by women and children in the hope of booty. They all fell into the ambush prepared for them: 300 men were killed and forty-six taken prisoners. When Field-Marshal Ogilvy, who, through the intervention of Galítsyn and Patkul, had just entered the Russian service for three years, arrived at the camp, he found fault with the siege works, and said that it would be impossible ever to capture Narva from that side. On his recommendation batteries were placed on the eastern side of the Naróva, and the bombardment began on Sunday, the 10th of August. In VOL. XXI.-41.

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the course of ten days over 4600 bombs were thrown into the town, breaches were made in the bastions, and Horn, the commandant, was urged to surrender, but repulsed all propositions. On the 20th of August the Russians carried the place by

storm.

After they were in full possession, Horn, then too late, tried to capitulate, and himself beat the drum with his fists for a parley, but the Russians refused to listen. The carnage was fearful, and neither women nor children were spared. Out of 4500 men in the Swedish garrison only 1800 remained alive. Two hours after the surrender, Peter, Field-Marshal Ogilvy, and some others rode about the town, and ordered trumpets to be sounded in all the streets to stop the pillage, and the Tsar himself struck down one soldier who refused to obey

his orders. Coming into the town hall, he threw his sword down on the table before the trembling councilors, and said: "Do not be afraid. This is not Swedish but Russian blood." Horn was captured, and after being confined for twelve days in the same prison where the Russian officers had languished, was sent to Russia, where he remained a prisoner for fifteen years. His wife was killed in the assault, and his children-one son and four daughters were taken charge of by General Chambers and educated at the Tsar's expense. Shortly before the peace of Nystadt, Horn, at his own request, was allowed to go to Sweden, on his promise to return in case no one was exchanged for him. He forfeited his word and never came back, and the Swedes even kept the galley on which he went.

The castle of Ivángorod held out for a week longer, but was obliged to surrender when all the provisions had been exhausted. Peter wrote to Ramodanofsky: "Where we had such grief four years ago we are now joyous victors; for this famous fortress, by the scaling-ladder and the sword, we have taken in three-quarters of

an hour."

The satisfaction of the Tsar and of the Russian people was great, and the moral effect of the victory was tremendous.

CHAPTER XVII.

MENSHIKÓF AND CATHERINE.

PETER'S early intimacy with Menshikóf had produced a friendship which gradually grew into an affection as the Tsar saw the great qualities and remarkable abilities of his companion develop. It was after the It was after the siege of Noteburg that Menshikóf was admitted to the full friendship of his master, became the confidant of his plans and feelings and his trusted adviser, and, in every way, occupied the place in Peter's friendship which had been vacant since the death of Lefort. For this there were also other reasons of a more private nature.

Much obscurity rests upon the parentage of Menshikóf. His father served in the guard, and was buried-together with his wife at Preobrazhensky. What his condition in life was we do not know. In the diploma creating Menshikóf a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, he is stated to be descended from an ancient and noble Lith

uanian family. Even at an earlier period than this, some of Menshikóf's enemies admitted his Lithuanian origin, and that many relatives of his were landed proprietors in the neighborhood of Minsk.

There seems to be no foundation for the story that Menshikóf, in his boyhood, sold pies in the streets of Moscow, whatever he may have done for amusement in the camp at Preobrazhensky. Born in November, 1673, he was a year and a half younger than Peter, and was, from his earliest boyhood, attached to his service. He was one of the Tsar's play-soldiers, and was among the first enrolled in the Preobrazhensky reg iment. Though he possessed no recognized court rank and bore no official. title, he was attached to the personal service of the Tsar as denstchik, orderly or adjutant, and in that capacity was with Peter day and night, taking his turn of sleeping in the adjoining room, or on the floor at the foot of his master's bed. A letter from Peter to him in 1700 would seem to show that at that time, at least, he had especial charge of the domestic economy of the palace and of the wardrobe of the Tsar. Handsome, witty, lively, good-humored, of quick intelligence, and ready at those sports and exercises which Peter preferred, Menshikóf soon became the favorite of the Tsar, and, for a time, popular in Preobrazhénsky, where he was known by the nickname of Alexáshka, or by his patronym Danilovitch. Both he and Gabriel Menshikóf—who was presumably his brother-made their appearance in the "great company of singers" who sang carols during the Christmas holidays at the house of General Gordon. He took part with Peter in the expeditions against Azof, and accompanied him to Holland as a volunteer, being first in the list of the company of which Peter was the head. He worked by the side of the Tsar at Amsterdam, and was almost his equal in ship-carpentry, being the only one of the volunteers who showed any aptitude for the busi

ness.

With Peter, he visited England and Vienna, and the passport for the Tsar's proposed journey to Venice was made out in Menshikóf's name. It was after his return, and especially about the time of the executions of the Streltsi, that he came prominently into public notice as one of those who had a certain amount of influence with Peter. After Lefort's death this influence visibly increased, but it was not for several years that he obtained over Peter the same kind of power as Lefort had, or was as much

GUARD-ROOM OF THE ANCIENT TEREM.

trusted by him. Up to 1703, Peter always addressed him in his letters as Mein Herz and Mein Herzenchen. In 1704, it was Min Libste Camerad, Min Libste Vrient, and Min Best Vrient, and after that always Min Bruder. At the end of the letters is the constantly repeated phrase: "All is well! Only God grant to see you in joy again! You yourself know."

The more opportunity Menshikóf had of exercising his powers, the greater ability he displayed, and his rewards were proportional. After the capture of Noteburg he was made governor of Schlüsselburg, and subsequently of Nyenshanz and St. Petersburg, and not long after governor-general of Ingria, Karelia, and Esthonia. For the capture of the Swedish vessels at the mouth of the Neva, he, together with Peter, was made a cavalier of St. Andrew. In the winter of 1703, Peter, on his journey to Voronezh, founded near Menshikóf's estate, and in his honor, the town of Oranienburg. In 1703, through the intervention of Galitsyn, the Russian envoy at Vienna, he was made a Count of Hungary, and, in 1705, on his own proposition, the Emperor Joseph created him a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. This title was confirmed in Russia, and, two years later, when the Tsar had begun to create new titles of nobility, he named Menshikóf Prince of Izhóra, with the title of

Highness, and gave over to him the districts of Yamburg and Kopórie. It is interesting to note that, only two weeks afterward, Menshikóf wrote to Korsakof, the Landrichter of Ingria, to ascertain the population, the number of parishes and estates, and the revenue to be derived from them, and ordered his name to be mentioned with that of the sovereign in the public prayers, both in the Russian and the Lutheran churches.

Unfortunately, Menshikóf misused his powers and position, as well as the confidence which the Tsar so freely gave him. He was ambitious and avaricious. At court he was disliked and feared, and among the people he was hated. In Poland, in Little Russia, in the Baltic provinces,-wherever he held command,-his greed and his extortions excited the discontent and the complaints of the inhabitants. The familiar and affectionate letters of Peter were interrupted by outbursts of anger and indignation, when some new misdeed had come to his ears. Menshikóf wrote abject apologies, and had a powerful protector in Catherine, and the Tsar always relented. Menshikóf's extraordinary talents, his initiative, and his energy rendered him indispensable to Peter in carrying out his ideas and reforms, and his personal devotion and sympathy made him necessary as a friend. The immense fortune which he had accumulated was scarcely affected by the heavy fines which the Tsar from time to time condemned him to pay, and after a short period of disgrace he always returned to favor and power. tion made Peter inconsistent, and preserved Menshikóf from the fate of Gagárin and Nésterof, who expiated their crimes on the scaffold. On one memorable occasion however, the Tsar said to Catherine, after again granting pardon: "Menshikóf was conceived in iniquity, born in sin, and will end his life as a rascal and a cheat, and if he do not reform he will lose his head." But his fall, exile, and death were to come only under Peter's grandson, after he had reached the zenith of power, and had been for two years the real ruler of Russia.

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Affec

At the old court of the Tsaritsas, in addition to the ladies of the palace and the dames of the bed-chamber, there were always a number of young girls of similar age to the Tsaritsa, and to the princesses, who bore the title of Boyár Maidens. Their chief duty consisted in being companions to the princesses, in playing and talking with them, and sharing their amusements. After the

death of the Tsaritsa Natalia, the life of all the princesses became freer. The doors of the Terem, or women's apartments, were more easily accessible to outsiders, and the princesses themselves frequently made excursions into the town and country. Peter's sister Natalia took up her abode with him at Preobrazhensky, bringing with her a small court. Among other maids of honor were three sisters, Dária, Barbara, and Axínia Arsénief, the daughters of a governor somewhere in Siberia. Menshikóf, as a constant companion of Peter, was admitted to the court of Natalia, and there soon sprang up

some time in the year 1700, and when Menshikóf returned to Moscow, in 1703, two of the Arséniefs came to live in the house which his two sisters kept for him. Maria Danilovna Menshikóf in December married Count Alexis Golovín, the brother of Theodore Golovín, the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The family now consisted of Anna Menshikóf, Barbara and Dária Arsénief, and their aunt Anísia Tolstói. A few months later a new member was added to the householdCatherine Skavrónsky, better known to us as the Empress Catherine I.

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a strong attachment between him and Dária Arsénief, which on account of his absences brought about a regular correspondence. Presents were also frequently exchanged, sometimes rings and jewels, sometimes shirts, dressing-gowns, bed-linen, and neck-ties, and occasionally a little souvenir was put in for the Tsar. Although the letters were not long and were often written on scraps of brown paper, yet Menshikóf kept his friends well informed of his movements and his successes, although even then he was frequently upbraided for writing so seldom. The intimacy had begun

The early history of Catherine is as obscure as that of Menshikóf. She was in all probability the daughter of a Lithuanian peasant named Samuel Skavrónsky, settled in Livonia, and was born in the village of Ringen, not far from Dorpat. At an early age, the little Martha-for so she was then called-was left an orphan and destitute, and was taken into the family of Pastor Gluck, at Marienburg, where, without being exactly a servant, she looked after the children, took them to church, and made herself useful in the household. A Swedish dragoon fell in love with her.

She was

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betrothed to him, and was to marry him in a week or two, but in the midst of the festivities came an order which sent him to join his company at Riga. He was killed in an engagement in 1705. After the capture of Marienburg in 1702 by Sheremétief, Pastor Gluck and his family were sent to Moscow, but the orphan remained in the service of the field-marshal. She was then seventeen years old and very pretty. Although at this time she could neither read nor write, she had been well taught by Pastor Gluck, possessed quick intelligence, and a merry humor. Her hair gradually became dark, and her hands, which were coarse with work, grew whiter and more delicate with time. In the autumn of 1703 we find her in Moscow, bearing the name of Catherine, and an inmate of Menshikóf's house. Menshikóf was in Moscow from August to December, 1703, but unfortunately his correspondence with the Arséniefs, from the time he went back to St. Petersburg until the end of July, 1704, has not been preserved. Peter did not go to Moscow until the end of October, 1703, and remained there until December 5th, when he went to Voronezh. He was again in Moscow from the 28th of December to the 6th of March, 1704. In one of his visits to the Arsénief ladies, during his stay in the capital, Peter saw and became acquainted with Catherine. He was struck by her appearance, and the readiness of her replies, and formed a strong attachment for her. This was just at the time when he broke

with Anna Mons, and his relations with Catherine probably began in pique at the infidelity of his old mistress. The acquaintance ripened fast. In August of the same year the family went to visit Peter and Menshikóf at Narva, and remained with them for some months. In March, 1705, we find Peter writing to the two Arséniefs: "I am rarely merry here. O mothers! do not abandon my little Petrúshka. Have some clothes made for him soon, and go as you will, but order that he shall have enough to eat and drink, and give my regards, ladies, to Alexander Danilovitch. And you have shown me great unkindness in not being willing to write to me about your health." Menshikóf had just at this time written to them to go to him at Wilna, and on the back of the letter Peter had added: "Don't believe all, but I think it is not far from the truth. If you go to Alexáshka, remember me to him. Piter." Owing to the bad weather the ladies could not get to Menshikóf, who was then at Vitebsk, until after Easter. Propriety demanded that the family should keep together. The Arsénief ladies needed their aunt to matronize them, and Catherine, who was confided to their charge, could not be left alone in Moscow.

Menshikóf had not long enjoyed the society of the ladies when he received the disquieting news of the illness of the Tsar. Peter wrote on the 19th of May: "I would long ago have been with you, except that for my sins and my misfortune I have been kept here in this way. On the very day

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