CATHARINE. 



99 



neglect and mortification his dissolute conduct was 

 calculated to inflict upon her. This endurance was 

 also rendered greater by her proving unfruitful ; but 

 she supported herself with great equanimity, and, 

 after the death of Charles, received much attention 

 and respect. In 1693, she returned to Portugal, 

 where, in 1704, she was made regent by her brother, 

 don Pedro, whose increasing infirmities rendered re- 

 tirement necessary. In mis situation, Catharine 

 showed considerable abilities, carrying on the war 

 against Spam with great firmness and success. She 

 died in 1705, aged 67. 



CATHARINE I., empress of Russia. The early 

 history of this remarkable woman is uncertain. Ac- 

 cording to some accounts, she was the daughter of a 

 Catholic peasant in Lithuania, by name Samuel, for 

 he had (as is frequently the case there) no family 

 name. It is said that she was born in 1686, named 

 Martha, and placed, by her poor parents, in the ser- 

 vice of a Lutheran clergyman, named Daut, at Roop, 

 in the circle of Riga, where she imbibed the princi- 

 ples of the Protestant religion. She then removed 

 to Marienburg, a small village in the circle of Wen- 

 den, and entered the service of a clergyman named 

 Gluck, who caused her to be instructed hi the Lu- 

 theran religion. Here she was married to a Swedish 

 dragoon. But, a few days after, he was obliged to 

 repair to the field, and the Russians, within a short 

 period, took Marienburg, in 1702. Martha fell into 

 the hands of general Scheremetjeff, who relinquished 

 her to prince Menzikoff. While hi his possession, 

 she was seen by Peter the Great, who made her his 

 mistress. She became a proselyte to the Greek 

 cl lurch, and assumed the name of Catharine Alexiew- 

 na. In 1708 and 1709, she bore the emperor the 

 princesses Anna and Elizabeth, the first of whom be- 

 came the duchess of Holstein by marriage, and mo- 

 ther of Peter III. The second became empress of 

 Russia. In 1713, the emperor publicly acknowledged 

 her his wife. She was subsequently proclaimed em- 

 press, and crowned hi Moscow. Besides the daugh- 

 ters above named, she bore the emperor five more 

 children, all of whom died early. The princesses 

 Anna and Elizabeth were declared legitimate. By 

 her kindness, by her perseverance, and, above all, 

 by her intelligence, she gained possession of the heart 

 of the emperor. When Peter, with his army, seemed 

 irreparably lost on the Pruth, hi 1711, Catharine, hi 

 connexion with Ostermann and Schaffiroff, endea- 

 voured to win over the grand vizier ; and, having 

 succeeded, by bribing his confidant with her jewels, 

 she disclosed her plan to the emperor, who gave it 

 his approbation, and was soon relieved. She after- 

 wards received many proofs of the gratitude of her 

 husband. (Her coronation, as empress, hi Moscow, 

 which some place in 1718, took place, according to 

 Weber and Bergjiolz, in 1724). Peter even deemed 

 her worthy of being his successor. But, in the latter 

 part of 1724, she fell under his displeasure. Her 

 chamberlain Mons, with whom Peter had found her 

 tete a tete, was beheaded, on pretence that he had 

 been bribed by the enemies of Russia ; and she was 

 obliged to view the head of Mons nailed to a gibbet. 

 This, however, is only an anecdote, and the affair of 

 Mons remains a mystery. Menzikoff, who had al- 

 ways manifested much attachment to her, had now 

 been in disgrace for some tune, and Peter had very 

 frequent attacks of bodily pain, which were inter- 

 rupted by dreadful explosions of rage. These cir- 

 cumstances made Catharine's situation critical, and 

 her anticipations of the future must have been the 

 more melancholy, as the emperor had uttered some 

 threats of a change in the succession to her disad- 

 vantage. To prevent such an event, she applied to 

 Menzikoff; and, by the prudence of Jagusohinski, 



who then enjoyed the favour of Feter, and whom she 

 gained over, a reconciliation was effected with the 

 emperor. The empress and the favourite were la- 

 bouring to confirm their improving prospects, when 

 Peter the Great died, Jan. 28, 1725. Catharine 

 Menzikoff, and Jaguschinski considered it necessary 

 to keep the death of the emperor a secret, until, by 

 Judicious arrangements, they had secured the succes- 

 sion of the throne to the empress. Theophanes, 

 archbishop of Plescow, swore before the people and 

 troops, that Peter, on his death-bed, had declared 

 Catharine alone worthy to succeed him in the go- 

 vernment. She was then proclaimed empress and 

 autocrat of all the Russias,and the oath of allegiance 

 to her was taken anew. At first, the cabinet pursued 

 the plans of Peter, and, under Menzikoff 's manage- 

 ment, the administration was conducted with con- 

 siderable ability. But the pernicious influence of 

 favourites was soon felt, and great errors crept into 

 the administration. Catharine died suddenly, on the 

 17th of May, 1727, hi the forty-second year of her 

 age. Her death was probably hastened by excess hi 

 the use of Tokay wine and ardent spirits. 



CATHARINE II., empress of Russia, a woman of 

 remarkable ability, was born at Stettin, April 25th, 

 1729, where her father, Christian Augustus, prince 

 of Anhalt-Zerbst, and Prussian field-marshal, was 

 governor. Her name was originally Sophia Augusta. 

 The empress Elizabeth, at the instigation of Frederic 

 II., chose her for the wife of Peter, her nephew, 

 whom she appointed her successor. The young 

 princess accompanied her mother to Russia, where 

 she joined the Greek church, and adopted the name 

 of Catharine Alexiewna, given to her by the empress. 

 The marriage was celebrated Sept. 1st, 1745. It 

 was not a happy one, but Catharine found recreation 

 in the improvement of her mind. She was endowed 

 with uncommon strength of character ; but the ar- 

 dour of her temperament, and the ill-treatment of 

 her husband, led her into errors which had the 

 most injurious influence on her whole political life. 

 Amongst the friends of her husband, count Soltikoff 

 was distinguished for talent and the graces of his 

 person. He attracted the attention of Catliarine, 

 and an ultimate connexion between them was the 

 consequence. When Soltikoff, who was employed 

 in foreign embassies, grew indifferent to Catharine, 

 a young Pole, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, 

 celebrated both for his good and ill fortune, gamed 

 the affections of the grand princess. Their intimacy 

 was known to the empress, but did not appear to 

 displease her; and it was at her recommendation 

 that Augustus III. appointed Poniatowski his am- 

 bassador at the court of St Petersburg. This con- 

 nexion created alarm at Paris. France, at that time 

 at war with Britain, had formed a secret treaty 

 with Austria, and drawn Russia into the same. 

 Poniatowski was known to be a warm adherent of 

 Britain, and it was feared that, through his influ- 

 ence on the princess, he might prejudice Elizabeth 

 against France ; and Louis XV. endeavoured to in- 

 duce the king of Poland to recall him. In the year 

 1761, Elizabeth died, and Peter III. ascended the 

 throne. The emperor now became still more alien- 

 ated from his wife. Peter lived in the greatest dis- 

 sipation, and on such intimate terms with a lady of 

 the court, named Elizabeth JVovonzoff, that it was 

 generally thought that he would repudiate Catharine, 

 and marry his mistress. The empress, therefore, 

 was obliged to take measures for her personal secu- 

 rity. At the same tune, Peter grew continually more 

 and more unpopular with his subjects, owing to his 

 blind predilection for the Prussian military discipline, 

 his politics, and the faults of his character. This 

 led to a conspiracy, at the head of which were the 

 u 2 



