said to have been privately celebrated four years before, was now publicly avowed. As she insisted upon going with him, the functions of the Government, which he would have been content to leave in her hands, were delegated to others. A counter-declaration of war to that issued by Turkey was solemnly proclaimed in the principal church. Red standards bearing on one side the motto, "In the name of God and for the cause of Christianity," while on the other was displayed a cross with Constantine's well-known inscription underneath, "By this we conquer," were distributed among the troops. To increase their numbers, an edict ordaining a conscription was put forth, which obtained an enthusiastic response. Moreover, a deeper design, which Poniatowski had not erred in leading the Sultan to suspect, was plied with enhanced assiduity-that of exciting the Slavonic and Græco-Christian inhabitants of the Principalities against the Porte, especially those of Moldavia and Wallachia. So much will have to be said about them in the sequel, they have borne so important a part in the long-drawn quarrel betwixt Russia and Turkey, that it may be well here to present a brief sketch of their antecedent history.

The Danubian Principalities belonged of old time to the kingdom of Dacia, and it is believed they were peopled from Thrace. They had a name in history long before Russia was heard of, for they successfully combated the armies both of Darius and of Alexander. They were conquered by the Romans under Trajan; and upon his pillar at Rome the records of his campaign against them are sculptured. It has been often remarked that alike in their features, their slender forms, and their picturesque attire, the figures represented thereon strikingly resemble the modern Moldo-Wallachians. Of their connection with the empire many unmistakeable memorials are still scattered over the country. That connection subsisted till the reign of Aurelius, by whom they were abandoned, their restless disposition having given trouble to preceding emperors who bore the sceptre in the days of Rome's decline. About the close of the third century their fertile plains were first invaded by the Cossacks from the north, who gradually established themselves in the rich valley which lies between the Carpathian and Balkan mountains. Goths and Huns, and other warlike rovers, came next in quick succession, till finally the Tartars appeared, before whom the remnant of the original inhabitants retired, crossing the Carpathians, and settling on their northern slopes as tributaries to the Hungarian kings. They returned slowly after the recession of the Tartar wave in the eleventh century, and some two hundred years later the twin States of Moldavia and Wallachia were organised-the one named from the river Moldava, which traverses its entire extent, the other from the Slavonic word Wlach, which carries the double signification of Italian and Shepherd. Why they should have been divided into two States is not clear, for their populations, in which were fused Daces (Celts), Romans, and Slavonians, were then, as they still are, one in religion, language, and habits, and there was no natural dividing-line betwixt them. It has been related how they joined the Slavonic League against the Ottoman invasion of Western Europe, how they shared in the defeat inflicted at Kossova by the adherents of Islamism upon the defenders of Christendom, and how afterwards, in the reign of Bajazet I., having been deserted both by Poland and Hungary, and having suffered many things at his hands, they became vassals of the Porte-Wallachia on compulsion, and Moldavia voluntarily. It is important to note, however, that the surrender proceeded upon very favourable conditions. They retained the undisturbed exercise of their religion as members of the Greek

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Church; they stipulated that no mosques or other places for Mohammedan worship should be erected in their country; and they retained the power of electing their princes by the votes of their own Boyars and Bishops, as well as of making alliances with any foreign power that was not the declared enemy of Turkey. In return, they were put under obligation to pay an annual tribute, and to sell to the Turkish Government all the produce which they could not themselves consume. The exports thus forwarded to Constantinople were varied and extremely valuable, consisting of grain, wool, butter, honey, wax, tallow, timber, &c. That Peter coveted the possession of this rich though small country (it is in extent no greater than England), cannot be doubted. It is equally indisputable that among its inhabitants there prevailed a strong feeling in his favour. They were naturally drawn to sympathise with a sovereign who stood out as the chief protector of their creed, against one whose rule, however mildly it might be exercised, they disliked, and who was the head of an alien faith. Whether this disposition should be ascribed to the spontaneous effect of religion and patriotism conjoined-two of the most powerful influences that can animate a nation-or to the success of the propagandist efforts which Peter had employed, cannot well be determined; the fact is, that throughout the Principalities, when his quarrel with Turkey grew to a head, there was an ardent longing for his success, an eager desire to give him aid. This enthusiasm was fostered and sustained by a rumour, which has often been revived since, that in the tomb of Constantine there had been discovered a prophecy which said the Russians were destined to chase the Turks from the city he had founded. Even the Montenegrins-then, as now, a brave and independent people, though of no great account numerically-sent ambassadors to the Czar, offering to attack his foes, and so create a diversion in his favour. He thanked them warmly, in a letter written by his own hand, which was accompanied by divers gifts; but he confined his regard to the two States originally fixed upon. With their Waywodes (from the Slavonian Voivode, a general-in-chief), or Hospodars (likewise from a Slavonian word, Gospodin, a lord), he had established intimate relations. Constantine Brancovans, the Chief of Wallachia, had agreed to assist him with thirty thousand men and abundant supplies of provisions. The Porte came to know of this understanding, and forthwith deposed him, directing Prince Cantemir, the Hospodar of Moldavia, to attack and oust him from his Government. As it happened, Cantemir was also in league with the Czar, to whose favour he so recommended himself that the jealousy of Brancovans was excited, and he began to mislead Peter for the benefit of the Turks as much as he could. His double treachery brought a severe punishment. He was caught at Bucharest, dragged to Constantinople, and beheaded along with his four sons. Cantemir escaped the same fate by flying to Russia, where he was protected and honoured. When Peter left Moscow, it was to put himself at the head of an army consisting of eighty thousand men, among whom were many who had fought at Pultowa. With this force he marched southwards towards the Pruth, expecting to be joined by forty thousand more. They failed to appear, and he resolved to advance without them. He soon learned that the Turkish Vizier had assembled at Adrianople two hundred thousand admirably-equipped troops, independent of the hordes the Khan of the Crimea might be expected to bring. The hazardous nature of the encounter he had determined to brave was thus made clearly apparent to him. Again he prepared an order requiring the women who followed in the train of his army to return, and again at the fond solicitation of Catharine he agreed.

to cancel it. From Sorokat he made his way to Jassy, the ancient Jassiorum Municipium, in Moldavia. He expected to find store of provisions at this rendezvous, and as his soldiers had suffered much on the road, both from disease and lack of victual, he was intensely chagrined to find that the supply provided was of the scantiest. Brancovans was now acting in the interest of the Turks, while Cantemir apologised for doing no better, by representing that his people had been scared through the reports that were afloat as to the Turkish strength, and the vengeance that would be inflicted upon all who favoured Russia. Thus Peter, by relying upon the Moldo-Wallachians, had been seduced into a position not unlike that into which Charles fell by relying upon Mazeppa. Digesting his spleen as best he might, he turned to consider what better could be done. Being informed that extensive magazines of provisions had been stored by his opponents near the lower part of the Sereth, which falls into the Danube above Galatz, he resolved on pushing for that place. Accordingly, having detached two bodies of men, under Generals Renne and Jonas, to scour the interior, he led the main body of his troops southwards, down the western bank of the Pruth. Their march was soon stopped by the alarming intelligence that the Turks were advancing in force up the eastern side. The Russian arrangements for collecting intelligence had failed as completely as those for providing a sufficient commissariat. Their movement had been made under the innocent idea that the Turks had not crossed the Danube, and so that it would be timely enough. On the contrary, Baltadji had begun his march from Adrianople simultaneously with Peter's start from Sorokat, got over the Danube between the Pruth and the Black Sea, while the Czar tarried at Jassy, and, having been joined by a large number of Tartar cavalry, at once proceeded for that place, though not till he had been informed of the Russian straits, and the projected plan of relief. When the advance-guards of the two armies came opposite each other, General Scherematoff, who commanded on the Russian side, while sending back information to the Czar, prepared himself to dispute the Turkish passage of the river. His efforts were vain. Ten thousand Crimean horsemen swam the stream with little molestation. During the night four bridges were thrown across it. In a short time thereafter, an overwhelming Turkish force was placed on the Moldavian side. Scherematoff had nothing for it but to retire, falling back upon the Russian main army then at Faltasch.

The situation of Peter was now well-nigh desperate. Since his fighting days began, he had never been reduced to such a pass. Death, disease, and absence had reduced his effective strength to about half its original amount. The alternative before him was to withstand more than two hundred thousand fresh troops with less than fifty thousand, dispirited by hunger, by fatigue, and by the consciousness of their own inferiority, or to surrender at discretion. The idea of a tame surrender he could not brook. It was as repugnant to his officers as to himself. It was therefore resolved to resist, and the determination was hailed with warmest approval by the common soldiers, who behaved throughout with exemplary fidelity. Retiring a little way up the river towards the village of Kousch, choice was made of a seemingly strong position, having the river on one side, while on the other the right flank of the army was protected by an extensive marsh. The idea was that thus the Russians would be forced to make their attack right in front. To prepare for it, strong entrenchments were dug across the ground that separated the two armies. It was labour lost, for the Turks, after all was done, did not stir a step by way of onset.

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They knew how badly off the Russians were for food, and therefore adopted the policy of starving them into capitulation. Their immense advantage in point of numbers made this easy. The heights that overlooked the marsh on one side were occupied; a strong body of troops had been marched round to a position on the Russian rear; the eastern bank of the river was kept by patrols and batteries of artillery; and thus a strict blockade was established. The pangs of thirst were felt earlier, and with more severity, by those so cooped up than those of hunger, for drinkable water could not be got in anything like sufficient abundance save from the river, and the Turkish fire so swept the stream that an approach to it was almost certain death. In the circumstances, it became imperative to assume the offensive, and try whether the lines of the environing foe could not be broken. Two days of severe fighting made no impression on their serried ranks, though in the course of them the Turkish ammunition was almost shot away. No condition could well be more hopeless than that to which the hitherto victorious Czar was now reduced. The iron of humiliation had entered his very soul. He descried no hope of escape from a disaster even more overwhelming than that which had befallen his adventurous rival, King Charles. Giving orders that next morning the camp baggage should be destroyed, preparatory to a last attempt at breaking through the Turkish cordon, he retired to his tent, moody and discomposed, enjoining that no one should dare disturb him. No doubt his ruminations were serious and bitter. What of the vast conceptions, to realise which he had planned and toiled with such indomitable resolution and extraordinary success;— were the fabrics he had reared so high to crumble into dust, or to remain in their halffinished state as the monuments of an ambition that would be pointed to through all time as sheer madness? What of his own strange, eventful history;-was the splendour of his rise to be matched by the gloom of his declension, the wild and dazzling grandeur of his career to end in obscurity and oblivion? At such a moment, too, affection must have had play; that he loved Catharine with all the force of his nature is evident, and so apprehension as to the fate in store for her and her female companions, must have mingled with remorse over the weakness that had permitted her to accompany him. Yet her presence was to prove his salvation. When he could descry no ray of hope, and had surrendered himself to abject despondency, her woman's wit devised a method of escape, which she put successfully into practice. The story is rather obscure, and its circumstantial details have been the subject of many contradictory reports; but the best authenticated version assigns to her, to her resource, her courage, and her perseverance the highest credit.

Disregarding the order that Peter was to be left alone, she ventured into his tent. Her errand was to unfold a project for negotiating a peace that would save the army from being destroyed. To the view of the Czar, the alternative left open lay between annihilation or surrender. Conscious that in such circumstances he would never have entertained a middle term, he derided the idea that the Turk would do so either. Very probably, he reckoned that the manner in which any overture of the sort was certain to be spurned would only augment the humiliation that awaited him. Nevertheless, a reluctant consent to try what could be done was wrung from him. Catharine lost no time in going about her expedient. She took the General, Scherematoff, and the Chancellor, Schaffiroff into her confidence. To the one she dictated a letter suing for terms; to the other she

intrusted its delivery, giving him at the same time all the jewels and money she could collect in the camp, to be offered as a gift to the Kiaya [the steward] of the Grand Vizier. The sum was considerable, any unwillingness the women might have had to part with their trinkets having been abated by the receipt of a formal acknowledgment containing a promise of repayment at Moscow. It happened that the Kiaya was both greedy and influential. Thus the path of Catharine's envoy was smoothed. The man to whom he addressed himself met him with favour, and advised Baltadji on his behalf. The Vizier had behaved with great spirit since his accession to power; but he was essentially a timid man, and with a weakness almost incredible he allowed himself to be persuaded into the concession of such terms as no one on the other side could have ventured to hope for. In vain did the Khan of the Crimea protest; in vain did Count Poniatowski rave and storm; when once his mind was made up, Baltadji calmly put aside their opposition. In the morning, though not till after Peter in despair had drawn out his forces and prepared for the attack, a messenger arrived in the Russian camp with a proposal for suspending hostilities, pending a conference; of course it was gladly accepted, and in brief time the Russian deliverance was complete. The conditions, though jumped at with avidity, were hard enough to provoke resentment and retaliation in aftertimes. They comprised the restoration of Azoff, the artillery and stores laid up at the new fortresses being delivered to Turkey after the fortresses themselves had been demolished; a cessation of all interference in the affairs of Poland and of the Crimea, with the payment of a subsidy to the Tartars; a provision for freedom of commerce, accompanied by the withdrawal of the Russian ambassador from Constantinople; the liberation of all Turkish prisoners in Russia; and the grant of a free and safe passage to the King of Sweden, along with a promise to conclude a peace with him, if terms could be arranged. The language of the treaty was more haughty than its substance was hard. It began with a declaration that, by the grace of God, the victorious Mussulman army had closely hemmed in the Czar of Muscovy with all his troops, that the Czar had asked for peace, and that it was at his request the conditions were framed. It ended by a statement that though the Vizier had full powers to make peace, and would allow Peter to retire in accordance with the proposed terms, taking with him his army, arms, colours, and baggage, yet it was only "the royal and infinite goodness of his thrice powerful and gracious Padischah" that could overlook the previous evil conduct of the Czar. However much against the grain all this might be, Peter objected to only one stipulation. He demurred to the surrender of Prince Cantemir, averring that rather than violate his word he would give up a large extent of territory. His scruples were respected, and the article was waived. Scherematoff and Schoffiroff remained in the Turkish camp as hostages. Within an hour after the treaty was signed, the Russians were supplied with abundance of provisions. Next day, the 22d of July, they started on their return, sixteen thousand men fewer than when they came to Jassy.

The prudence which took instant advantage of the opportunity for escape was evident. Very soon the storm of censure, which it provoked on the Turkish side, grew loud and furious. A vehement exhibition of it occurred before the Russians got cleared out. Intelligence had been sent to Charles at Bender of the deplorable plight to which his adversary had been reduced. At once the impetuous Swede started off, eager to feast his eyes upon an abasement as profound and helpless as his own. He rode a hundred and fifty miles without