70 



STOPPAGE OF DAGKXIIAM UHKACH 



feet from the summit level, and 110 feet to the Volga. 

 The works were immediately begun, and carried on. 

 though with occasional interruptions, caused l>v the war 

 in which Peter was for some time longer engaged with 

 his formidable enemy of Sweden, but whom he even- 

 tually routed at Pultawa, in 1709. 



Before the works were completed, however, Perry 

 fled from Russia like his predecessor, but not for the 

 same reason. During the whole of his stay in the king- 

 dom he had been unable to get paid for his work, valu- 

 able although his services had been. His applications 

 for his stipulated salary were put off with excuses from 

 year to year. Proceedings in the courts of law were 

 out of the question in such a country ; he could only 

 dun the Czar and his ministers ; and at length his arrears 

 had become so great, and his necessities so urgent, that 

 he could no longer endure his position, and threatened 

 to quit the Czar's service. It came to his ears that the 

 Czar had threatened on his part, that if he did, he 

 would have Perry's head ; and the engineer immediately 

 took refuge at the house of the British minister, who 

 shortly after contrived to get him safely conveyed out 

 of the country, but without being paid. He returned to 

 England in 1712, as poor as he had left it, though he had 

 so largely contributed to create the navy of Russia, and 

 to lay the foundations of its afterwards splendid system 

 of inland navigation. Shortly after his return to this 

 country he published his description of Russia, 1 which, 



1 The title of the book, now little 

 known, is ' The State of Russia under 

 the present Czar : In relation to the 

 great and remarkable things he has 

 done, as to his naval preparations, the 

 regulating his army, the reforming his 

 people, and improvement of his coun- 

 try; particularly those works on 

 which the author was employed, with 

 the reasons of his quitting the Czar's 

 service, after having been fourteen 

 years in that country. London : 



Printed for Benjamin Tookc, at tin- 

 Middle Temple Gate in Fleet Street, 

 1716.' The work was translated into 

 French, under the title ' Kttit pre- 

 sent de la Grande llussie on j\lo,scovir,' 

 &c. Paris and Brussels, 12mo. 1717 ; 

 The Hague, 1'Jmo. 1717 ; Amsterdam, 

 12mo. 1720. It was also published 

 in German, entitled ' Der .Jet/igc 

 Staat von liiissland odor Moskaii,' 

 &c. 2 vols. Leipzig, 1724. 



