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Article ANECDOTES OF PETER THE GREAT, ← Page 3 of 5 →
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Anecdotes Of Peter The Great,
Peter I . was cruel , and often barbarous ; but for this terrible defect he was indebted to his education , and the necessity , as he thought , of impressing the minds of his subjects with a belief of his unlimited power . One day , on his return from his travels , he was willing to give a specimen of his talents as a sailor , for which purpose he exercised himself in a small vessel upon the lake Ladoga ; which is sometimes
tempestuous , and at that time became more agitated than ever . Peter was afraid , and regained the bank ; but irritated that the waves paid Iiim no more respect , he sent for the public executioner , and put the untractable lake to the knout . *
When the Strehtz were banished to Astrakan , they were accused of a fresh conspiracy . The Czar went immediately to that city , and arrested more than twelve thousand of his soldiers . At the same time , upon stakes covered with planks , ereiled in the middle of a vast plain , the Strelitz were conducted . Billets of wood in great numbers were placed on the platform , and many executioners i nmediatdv employed in cutting off heads . : Peter himself ,
with a hatchet in his hand , set the example to the executioners . A child about tvelve years old came to lay his head upon the Czar ' s block . The Prince , instead of striking , pushed the infant back with his arm . The lad , without saying one word , went to put his head upon another billet . The Czar perceiving it , went up to him , raised and dismissed him again . A moment after , the boy repeated his
attempt to catch the fall of the hatchet . The Czar , in anger , asked him , why he persisted in losing his head ? ' You have , ' said the boy * ' cut off my father ' s and mother's , that of my brother , and those of al ! my relations , who were no-more guilty than I , why will you not cutoff mine ?' Peter was struck dumb . He drove the boy out of the inclosure , threw the hatchet down , and disappeared .
I cannot resist the inclination to recal to your mind two notable instances in the life of Peter I . because they alone are sufficient to prove , that to a haughty soul he sometimes added perfidy and inflexible harshness . The first is ihe tragical death of his own son , the unhappy Alexis . After having , by artful means , torn him from Naples , where the young Prince had retired ; the Czar , with pecuniary bribes , gained over the mistress who had accompanied him
in his flight , and deceived the Emperor of Germany and the King of Naples ; under whose protection the unfortunate prince had committed his safety , and whointerceded for him in vain . The other is the punishment of the young Moens . Although Ca ^ iharine , whom from a humble suttier the Czar had seated on the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anecdotes Of Peter The Great,
Peter I . was cruel , and often barbarous ; but for this terrible defect he was indebted to his education , and the necessity , as he thought , of impressing the minds of his subjects with a belief of his unlimited power . One day , on his return from his travels , he was willing to give a specimen of his talents as a sailor , for which purpose he exercised himself in a small vessel upon the lake Ladoga ; which is sometimes
tempestuous , and at that time became more agitated than ever . Peter was afraid , and regained the bank ; but irritated that the waves paid Iiim no more respect , he sent for the public executioner , and put the untractable lake to the knout . *
When the Strehtz were banished to Astrakan , they were accused of a fresh conspiracy . The Czar went immediately to that city , and arrested more than twelve thousand of his soldiers . At the same time , upon stakes covered with planks , ereiled in the middle of a vast plain , the Strelitz were conducted . Billets of wood in great numbers were placed on the platform , and many executioners i nmediatdv employed in cutting off heads . : Peter himself ,
with a hatchet in his hand , set the example to the executioners . A child about tvelve years old came to lay his head upon the Czar ' s block . The Prince , instead of striking , pushed the infant back with his arm . The lad , without saying one word , went to put his head upon another billet . The Czar perceiving it , went up to him , raised and dismissed him again . A moment after , the boy repeated his
attempt to catch the fall of the hatchet . The Czar , in anger , asked him , why he persisted in losing his head ? ' You have , ' said the boy * ' cut off my father ' s and mother's , that of my brother , and those of al ! my relations , who were no-more guilty than I , why will you not cutoff mine ?' Peter was struck dumb . He drove the boy out of the inclosure , threw the hatchet down , and disappeared .
I cannot resist the inclination to recal to your mind two notable instances in the life of Peter I . because they alone are sufficient to prove , that to a haughty soul he sometimes added perfidy and inflexible harshness . The first is ihe tragical death of his own son , the unhappy Alexis . After having , by artful means , torn him from Naples , where the young Prince had retired ; the Czar , with pecuniary bribes , gained over the mistress who had accompanied him
in his flight , and deceived the Emperor of Germany and the King of Naples ; under whose protection the unfortunate prince had committed his safety , and whointerceded for him in vain . The other is the punishment of the young Moens . Although Ca ^ iharine , whom from a humble suttier the Czar had seated on the