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Article THE LIFE. OF PRINCE POTEMKIN. ← Page 5 of 6 →
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The Life. Of Prince Potemkin.
with magisterial ' sway , lie dictated to her his will ; but at the same time appeared to exist only to serve her . He treated with insolence the veteran Generals and Grandees of the empire , whom he thought he could with impunity offend ; but kept on good terms with all those whom he knew possessed of spirit or intrepidity . Marshal R . omanzoff was the only General who would not humble himself before Potemkin , and the latter dreaded his inflexibility as
much as he envied the glory of the conqueror of the Turks . The aversion that he entertained for Marshal Romanzoff extended even to Countess Bruce , his sister , one of Catharine ' s most intimate confidants . By living upon familiar terms with Countess Bruce , and professing great friendship for her , Potemkin kept a vigilant attention upon her conversation ; he watched all her proceedings , and promised himself the destruction of her influence whenever an opportunity occurred . Chance suddenly threw one in his way .
Rorzakoff was at that time beloved by her . Majesty . The benefits , the honours , which she accumulated upon him demanded his gratitude , if they were insufficient to . secure his love ; but heedlessness and vanity were the characteristics of his mind . * Countess Bruce , who saw him daily with the Empress , felt an inclination towards him . But to tin ' s she could rrot immediatel y give the reins of indulgence . The constraint laid upon the favourites of Catharine seldom afforded them opportunities for being faithless . Potemkin assisted the
Countess in overcoming all obstacles . He . undertook himself to be her confident ; he furnished her with occasional secret interviews with KorzakorF ; and , though his regard for this favourite was very apparent , yet h-a resolved to sacrifice him , in hopes of involving at the Same time the sister of RomanzofF in his ruin . Potemkin ' s project succeeded . The Empress saw ere long that she was deceived at orrce by her favourite and by her friend . She
immediately ordered one to travel out of the empire ; and the other to repair to Moscow . From that moment she resolved to dispense with a friend in future ; but as she could not so easily live without a favourite , her choice was fixed that same day on Lanskoi , one of the Chevalier guards , whose figure was elegant and interesting . Of all Irer lovers , Lanskoi was the man for whom Catharine entertained the most affection , and the one who most deserved her . esteem .
Court intrigues did not occupy all Potcmkin's attention . That ambitious favourite , flattering himself with the honour of having Catharine crowned at Constantinople , and still more desirous of it than herself , resolved to . begin by taking possession of the Krimea . But , in order . to effect his purpose he must ait in concert with the Emperor of Germany . Pie communicated his design to Catharine , who approved of it without hesitation . When he afterwards proposed it in the council , Count Panin , who valued much the alliance with Prussia , observed , that by detaching the country from that
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life. Of Prince Potemkin.
with magisterial ' sway , lie dictated to her his will ; but at the same time appeared to exist only to serve her . He treated with insolence the veteran Generals and Grandees of the empire , whom he thought he could with impunity offend ; but kept on good terms with all those whom he knew possessed of spirit or intrepidity . Marshal R . omanzoff was the only General who would not humble himself before Potemkin , and the latter dreaded his inflexibility as
much as he envied the glory of the conqueror of the Turks . The aversion that he entertained for Marshal Romanzoff extended even to Countess Bruce , his sister , one of Catharine ' s most intimate confidants . By living upon familiar terms with Countess Bruce , and professing great friendship for her , Potemkin kept a vigilant attention upon her conversation ; he watched all her proceedings , and promised himself the destruction of her influence whenever an opportunity occurred . Chance suddenly threw one in his way .
Rorzakoff was at that time beloved by her . Majesty . The benefits , the honours , which she accumulated upon him demanded his gratitude , if they were insufficient to . secure his love ; but heedlessness and vanity were the characteristics of his mind . * Countess Bruce , who saw him daily with the Empress , felt an inclination towards him . But to tin ' s she could rrot immediatel y give the reins of indulgence . The constraint laid upon the favourites of Catharine seldom afforded them opportunities for being faithless . Potemkin assisted the
Countess in overcoming all obstacles . He . undertook himself to be her confident ; he furnished her with occasional secret interviews with KorzakorF ; and , though his regard for this favourite was very apparent , yet h-a resolved to sacrifice him , in hopes of involving at the Same time the sister of RomanzofF in his ruin . Potemkin ' s project succeeded . The Empress saw ere long that she was deceived at orrce by her favourite and by her friend . She
immediately ordered one to travel out of the empire ; and the other to repair to Moscow . From that moment she resolved to dispense with a friend in future ; but as she could not so easily live without a favourite , her choice was fixed that same day on Lanskoi , one of the Chevalier guards , whose figure was elegant and interesting . Of all Irer lovers , Lanskoi was the man for whom Catharine entertained the most affection , and the one who most deserved her . esteem .
Court intrigues did not occupy all Potcmkin's attention . That ambitious favourite , flattering himself with the honour of having Catharine crowned at Constantinople , and still more desirous of it than herself , resolved to . begin by taking possession of the Krimea . But , in order . to effect his purpose he must ait in concert with the Emperor of Germany . Pie communicated his design to Catharine , who approved of it without hesitation . When he afterwards proposed it in the council , Count Panin , who valued much the alliance with Prussia , observed , that by detaching the country from that