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SUVOROV-RYMNIKSKI, COUNT. 



SUVOROV-RYMNIKSKI, COUNT. 



r lo 



style of ' Childe Harold,' and of political diatribe, chiefly directed 

 against the Bavarians. He seems in consequence to have found it ex- 

 pedient to quit the country, and his next volume appeared at Brussels, 

 in 1843. "I draw out of my poetical portfolio," he says at the be- 

 ginning of tbe preface, " two dramas, entitled ' The Prime Minister,' 

 and ' The Unshaken Poet.' I sketched some scenes of the former in 

 Greece ; I composed tbe whole of the latter at a distance from her, 

 seeking more inspiration in tbe land where Coray died, and on the 

 shores where Byron was born." He concludes by saying that he shall 

 return to Greece, where, he says, " full of the confidence given me by 

 a good conscience I shall place myself between the nation and the 

 government, between the law and violence." Soon after his return 

 the establishment of the constitution of Greece took place on the 

 15th of September 1843; and this event, which fulfilled the poet's 

 warmest wishes, led almost instantaneously to a fresh banishment. 

 The publication of a series of miscellaneous prose and poetry on the 

 subject ' The Revolution of the 3rd of September' (the Greeks retain 

 the old calendar) excited the displeasure of the ministry. The 

 house of Sutzos was assailed by a mob on the 30th of November, and 

 he received, it is said, an intimation from the ministry that he could 

 not in safety continue at Athens, which made him consider it expe- 

 dient to disappear. Hia friends, and among others Spiridion 

 Trikupis, the present Greek envoy to England, demanded explana- 

 tions in the assembly from the ministry, which was supposed to have 

 instigated the riot ; and in reply Metaxa, the minister, disclaimed all 

 knowledge of the transaction, and said that Sutzos had gone away to 

 suit his own pleasure, and might return when he pleased. Tlhe poet 

 however thought it advisable to continue for some time absent. In 

 1850 he published four cantos of an epic poem on the history of his 

 country, entitled 'H ToupxM c 'X os 'EAActs, but this is not considered 

 equal to his former efforts. He is said to be now engaged in a great 

 historical work, on the history of Greece from the 13th century to the 

 year 1828. 



His brother PANAGIOTES, born at Constantinople in 1806, was sent 

 to Paris for his education and afterwards studied at Padua and Bologna. 

 He was residing at Kronstadt in Transylvania when in 1828 he 

 composed his first poem 'O 'OSonr^pos, or ' The Traveller,' a drama, 

 but in its general character more lyrical than dramatic, and full of fine 

 passages. His brother's subsequent poem of ' The Wanderer ' bears 

 some resemblance to it, and his brother's novel of ' The Exile of 1831,' 

 was also preceded by a novel by Panagiotes iutitled ' Leander,' which 

 in many points suggests a comparison. ' The Traveller' was first pub- 

 lished in ] 831 at Nauplia as part of a volume of poems which includes 

 atnoug other things an elegy to the memory of the assassin of Capodistria, 

 whose deed is described as that of an ardent and deserving patriot, a 

 strong instance of the force of political prejudice. In 1839 Panagiotes 

 who avowed in the prrface that he had primarily been an unbeliever, 

 celebrated his conversion to Christianity by a sacred drama entitled 

 ' The Messiah.' He has also written some historical tragedies founded 

 on some of the most striking events iu modern Greek history, ' Euthy- 

 mius Vlacavas,' ' Georgios Karaiskos,' and ' The Unknown.' He has 

 been successively the editor of four political journals at Athens, ' The 

 Sun ' (in which he was assisted by his brother), ' Regenerated Greece,' 

 ' The Union,' and ' The Age.' Much attention was excited by an article 

 in 'The Age' at the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war in 1853, in which 

 he excited the Greeks to a denunciation against the Turks, and the 

 Greek government was remonstrated with on the subject by the French 

 and English ambassadors, but excused itself by alleging the liberty of 

 the press. Sutzos is one of the most active agents in the philological 

 revolution which is now going on. in Greece, to purify the common 

 language of its barbarisms and restore as much as possible the ancient 

 Greek language, a measure which has had an astonishing degree of 

 success, and which is one of the most interesting philological experi- 

 ments it is possible to conceive. The two brothers though exhibiting 

 some instability and much violence in their opinions and conduct, have 

 both a reputation for their patriotism, and are considered to have 

 deserved much of their country. Their poetical talents are unques- 

 tionable, and some of their productions are of a high order. 



SUVO'ROV - RYMNIKSKI, ALEXANDER VASSILIVICH, 

 COUNT, PRINCE ITALINSKI, field-marshal and generalissimo of 

 the Russian forces, one of the most celebrated generals of the 

 eighteenth century, was born in Finland on the 13th of November 

 1730. His family was of Swedish origin, and, before its settlement in 

 Russia, was called Suvor. The father of Suvdrov had distinguished 

 himself in the army, and had been promoted to the rank of gdndral- 

 en-chef in the reign of Catherine I. Upon his retiring from service 

 he was made senator, and lived at his country-seat iu tbe south of 

 Russia, upon a moderate income which his services had procured him. 

 The predilection he had for a military life induced him to put his son 

 in the army at the age of thirteen years. Young Suv<5rov remained in 

 the regiment of Semenov until 1754, when in the twenty-fifth year of 

 his age, he obtained a lieutenancy in a regiment of the line, and dis- 

 tinguished himself so much, that three years after the date of his 

 commission he was raised to the rank of first lieutenant, and in 1758, 

 when the war with Prussia broke out, he was entrusted with the com- 

 mand of the garrison of Memel. But this situation was ill-suited to 

 the active spirit of young Suvdrov, whose energies demanded a far 

 wider field of action. He begged to be sent on active service. Hia 



petition was granted, and in 1759 he was present at the battle of Kun- 

 nersdorf. He continued in the rank of first lieutenant until the death 

 of the empress Elizabeth, when the Russian troops were recalled from, 

 Prussia. Suvdrov, who during the war had received the approbation 

 of his superior officers, was despatched iu 1763 to announce to the 

 court of St. Petersburg the return of the Russian army. A letter of 

 introduction brought him before Catherine II., who named him colonel 

 of the Astrakhan regiment of infantry. Five years afterwards he was 

 commanding officer of a part of the Russian troops which were engaged 

 in warfare with the confederation of Bary in Poland. Here he first 

 showed how worthy he was of the command entrusted to him : in a 

 time almost incredibly short he dispersed the armies of both Pulawskis, 

 took Cracow by storm, and obtained so many advantages over the 

 enemy, that the success of the campaign has chiefly been attributed to 

 him. On his return he was made major-general, and such was the 

 fame he had already acquired, that in 1773 he was sent against the 

 Turks : field-marshal llumyantsow was commander-in-chief. Three 

 victories by Suvdrov over the troops of Mustapha III., which were 

 commanded by the khan of the Crimea, prepared for the complete 

 defeat of the Turks, and having effected a junction with the army of 

 General Kamenskoy, a fourth victory put an end to the contest. This 

 battle, one of the most sanguinary in this war, was fought at Kasledgi, 

 about the end of June 1774. 



In the meantime Pugacheff, a Cossak of the Don, who pretended 

 that he was Peter III., had assembled a numerous army. A formidable 

 insurrection threatened to overthrow the throne of Catherine ; the 

 negociations with the Ottoman Porte had scarcely terminated when 

 Suvdrov was ordered to meet the insurgents. He settled the troubles 

 and soon restored perfect tranquillity to the empire. In 1783 he .sub- 

 jugated the Cuban Tartars and those of Budziac, and having forced 

 them to swear allegiance to the Russian crown, the empress raised 

 him to the chief command, which he held throughout the second 

 Turkish war, which broke out in 1787. He had now no superior to 

 bear off the credit of his actions, and could show that his skill as a 

 tactician was fully equal to his courage. Suvdrov was well aware of 

 the enormous responsibility which now lay upon him ; his measures 

 therefore were extreme, and although he is accused of having sacrificed 

 too many lives, he cannot be charged with not exposing his own. It 

 was in this war that he first made almost exclusive use of the bayonet, 

 which afterwards so much distinguished the Russian troops. Jn the 

 battle of Kinburn, in 1787, he ordered his regiments of infantry to 

 throw away their knapsacks and to attack the enemy with the bayonet. 

 Tbe Turks, who occupied a position much stronger than he suspected, 

 repelled tbe repeated attacks of the Russians; Suvdrov himself was 

 wounded, his cavalry fled, and the Cossaks retreated from the field of 

 battle. In this critical moment, Suvdrov, regardh ss of bis wound, 

 mounted his horse, overtook his flying horsemen, and, throwing himself 

 in the midst of them, exclaimed, " Run, cowards, and leave your general 

 to the mercy of the Turks." The effect was instantaneous and not- 

 withstanding the disadvantages he had to contend with, the battle was 

 won. Nevertheless his courage frequently led him into difficulties which 

 he could have avoided, as at the siege of Oczakow (December 17, 1788), 

 where he would have been irretrievably lost, if Prince Repnin had not 

 come to his assistance. The celebrated battle of Fokshany, which took 

 place on the 1st of August 1789, between the Seraskier Mehruet 

 Pasha and the Prince of Coburg, who commanded a part of the 

 Russian army, was chiefly won through Suvdrov's intrepidity. In 

 September of the same year the Prince of Coburg was surrounded by 

 the Turks; and the Russian army stationed on the river Rymuik waa 

 in imminent danger. Suvdrov reached the spot with a comparatively 

 small force ; the armies met on the 22nd of September, and the 

 Turks were completely defeated. It was for this victory that the 

 Emperor Joseph II. raised him to the rank of count of the empire, 

 and Catherine to the dignity of a Russian count with the name of 

 Rymnikski (i.e. he of the Rymnik). 



The fortress of Ismail had in the course of this war withstood 

 repeated attacks from the Russian armies. Prince Potemkin at last 

 gave orders to Suvdrov for its reduction. Suvdrov was determined to 

 take the fortress ; he promised his soldiers the plunder of the place, 

 and ordered them to give no quarter. The evening before the storm- 

 ing, he said to his soldiers : " To-morrow morning, an hour before 

 daylight, I shall rise, say my prayers, wash myself and dress, then 

 crow like a cock, and you will storm according to my orders." The 

 sigual was given, and the army began the attack. The Russians were 

 twice forced to give ground under the overwhelming fire of the enemy; 

 at last they succeeded in scaling the walls. Thirty-three thousand 

 Turks were killed or severely wounded, and ten thousand were made 

 prisoners after the slaughter bad ceased. Suvdrov's report to the 

 empress on this occasion is laconic. " Praise be to God, and praise 

 be to you : the fortress is taken, and I am in it." Eight days were 

 required to bury the dead. Suvdrov took a horse to supply the place 

 of the one he had lost in the action, and this was all the share he had 

 in the booty. 



In 1792, when peace was made between Russia and tho Porte at 

 Yassy in Moldavia (January 9), the Empress Catherine appointed 

 Suvdrov governor-general of the province of YekaterinosUv, the 

 Crimea, and the lately acquired provinces round the mouth of the 

 Dniester. Kherson was the chief town in these districts, and there 



