C A T H A 
cious, and deceitful ; profligate in her morals, and un¬ 
bounded in her ambition; without fentiment, without 
feeling, without religion, her prejudices and her paflions, 
like another Catharine, were equally abforbed by an inor¬ 
dinate 1 lift of dominion. 
Catharine of Medicis is alfo reprefented as a princefs of 
a molt majeftic prefence, and. with great powers ot pleat¬ 
ing in converfation, when (he chofe to exert them. Bran- 
tome rep re fen ts her as being fond of buffoons, and always 
ready to laugh at their jokes ; for, adds he, dejbn natureL 
tilt e'toit joviale, el aimant a dire le mol ; “ (lie was naturally 
gay, and loved jelling.” Many fatires were publifhedagainft 
her: her ufual method of treating their authors was to fay, 
“ If thefe blockheads did but know half as much of me as 
I could tell them!” When defired to punifh them, (lie re¬ 
plied, “ I have a foul, 1 hope, above revenge.” At the 
fiege of Havre, (he mounted on horleback at the head of 
her army, expofed herielf to the fire of the cannon like the 
mod veteran foldier, “and (hewed not the lead fymptoms 
of (ear,” fays Brantome, “when the bullets flew about 
her; bnther maids of honour were not (o, well plealed 
with this amnfement.” When defired by the duke of 
Guife and the conltable de Montmorenci not to expofe her 
perfon fo much ; “ Have I not,” replied Catharine, “ more 
to lofe than you, and do you think I have not as much 
courage ?” She fet them a high example of magnanimity 
and fortitude, and liberally rewarded merit and bravery 
in the meaned foldier. How mortifying to human nature, 
that perfidy, cruelty, and impiety, diould dain (rich a cha- 
rafler ! The deputies of the reformed religion in France, 
treated with this queen and her council, foon after the hor¬ 
rid malfacre of St. Bartholomew’s-day, above-mentioned. 
The parties had agreed upon the articles of the treaty; it 
only remained to give fecurity on the flde of the court for 
the performance. Many methods were propofed, and as 
often rejeifled by the deputies; at lad the queen angrily 
faid, “ Why Cure ! the word of a king is a fufticient lecu- 
rity, is it not !” One of the deputies anfwered, “ No, by 
Saint Bartholomew, Madam!” She died in 1589. 
CA'THARINE I. emprefs of Ruflia, was the natural 
daughter of a country girl; born at Ringen, a finall vil¬ 
lage near Dorpt, in Livonia. The year of her birth is un¬ 
certain ; but, according to her own account, die came in¬ 
to the world on the 5th of April, 1687. Her original name 
was Martha, which die changed for Catharine when die 
embraced the Greek religion. Count Rofen, a lieutenant- 
colonel in the Swedidi fervice, who owned the village of 
Ringen, fupported, according to the cudom of the coun¬ 
try, both the mother and the child ; and was, for that 
reafon, fuppofed by many perfons to have been her father. 
She lod her mother when die was but three years old ; 
and, as count Rofen died about the fame time, die was 
left in fo deditute dtuation, that the paridi-clerk of the 
village received her into his hoiife. Soon afterwards 
Gluck, Lutheran minider of Marienburg, happening, in 
a journey through tiiofe parts, to fee the foundling, took 
her under his protection, brought her up in his family, 
and employed her in attending his children. In 1701, and 
about the 14th year of her age, die efpoufed a dragoon of 
the Swedidi garrifon of Marienburgb. Many diderent 
accounts are given of this tranfaClion : one author of great 
credit affirms that the bride and bridegroom remained to¬ 
gether eight days after their marriage; another, of no lefs 
authority, aflerts, on the contrary, that, on the morning 
of the nuptials her hulband being Cent with a detachment 
for Riga, the marriage was never confummated. Thus 
much is certain, that the dragoon was abfent when Ma- 
rienburgh furrendered to the Ruffians; and Catharine, 
who was referved for a higher fortune, never faw him 
more. General Bauer, upon the taking of Marienburgh, 
faw Catharine among the prifoners; and, being (mitten 
with her youth and beauty, took her to his houle, where 
(he fuperintended his domeftic affairs, and was fuppoled 
to be his midrefs. Soon afterwards (he was removed into 
the family of prince Meiizikoif, who vvas.no lefs (truck with 
Vol. Ill. No. 170. 
R I N E. 909 
the attractions of the fair captive. With him die lived 
until 1704; when, in tire 17th year of her age, die became 
the midrefs of Peter the Great, and won fo much upon his 
affediions, that lie Cfpouled her on the 29th of May 1 7 11. 
The ceremony " as fecretly performed at Jawerof in Po¬ 
land, in the p re fence of general Bruce ; and, on the 20th 
of February 1712, it was publicly folemn zed with great 
pomp at Peter'(burgh. Peter had been fond of women, 
and had a number of midrelfes : but thefe amours neither 
infpired liim with affection, nor foftened the hardinefs of 
his difpofition : for Catharine alone he felt love, and to 
her only was his conduCt .marked with tendernefs. When 
he was feized with tho(e lingular fits of terror and fury, 
to which his. conditution was liable, and in which he fan¬ 
cied that he was in immediate danger of being alfialfinated ; 
when, none of his com tiers dared to approach him, her 
voice feemed to aCt like a charm, and inftantly calmed his 
fpirits ; (lie would, on thefe occafions, make him fit down 
by her, recline his head on her lap, foothe him to deep 
like an infant; and, to avoid didurbing his (lumbers, 
would remain for two or three hours in a cramped pain¬ 
ful podure, without moving a limb. After this repofe, 
he awoke, perfectly compofed and eafy, and thus efcaped 
the violent pains in his head, by which thefe paroxyims 
were otherwife fucceeded. Her attention to him was well 
calculated to deal on his heart. As lie was once riding 
through Peter fburgh, he happened to fee at a diop a print¬ 
ed linen that (truck his fancy, and he indantly bought it 
as a prefent for Catharine, to whom he gave it on his re¬ 
turn to the palace: (he received it with the mod affec¬ 
tionate gratitude, and allured him (he had never before 
feen any thing fo beautiful. As foon as the czar was gone, 
(he cut out a robe of it, which (he ordered to be made lip 
againft the emperor’s birth-day. “You will not, furely, 
(laid one of the ladies in waiting,) appear on Inch a day in 
a printed linen?”—Why not ? (anfwered.Catharine ;) the 
czar gave it me, and, as it is a prefent from him, I value 
it more than the richeft filks. of Pcrfia.” Accordingly, 
die appeared in this drefs on his birth-day; on which Pe¬ 
ter was fo delighted, that he tenderly embraced her before 
the whole court, and allured her ot his unalterable affec¬ 
tion. Notwithdanding this, Peter hefitated long before 
he refolved to proclaim her as his wife and emprefs. Re¬ 
turning one day to the palace from a journey, lie found in 
one of the apartments an Arab who was in his fervice, em¬ 
ployed in allbrting foilie dowers, and adeed him vvliat be 
was doing. The man, without difeontinuing his work, 
anfwered, “Sire! to-morrow is my wife’s birth-day; die. 
loves me with all her heart, and is always endeavouring to 
oblige me. I, poor devil as 1 am, do not know how to 
(hew her my gratitude, and fo I am making ia paltry gar¬ 
land of flowers for her : but I beg you will not mention it, 
as I intend to furprile her with it.”. The flmplicity of this 
indance of adeCtion and gratitude, roofed the czar’s fenli- 
bility of Catharine’s attachment to him, and he immedi¬ 
ately wrote the order for her coronation. This ceremony 
was performed by his.own hand, at Mofcow, in 1724; and, 
although defigned by Peter only as a proof of his atfeftion, 
was the principal caufe of her fubfequent elevation. Her 
influence continued undiminiflied until a (hort time before 
the death of the emperor, when fome circumftances hap¬ 
pened, which occafioned Inch a coolnefs between them, as 
would probably have ended in a total rupture, if his death 
had not intervened. The original caufe of this nfifunder- 
ftanding arote from the following difeovery of a fecret 
connection between Catharine and her firfl chamberlain, 
whole name was'Mons. The emperor, who was fufpici- 
ous of this connexion, quitted Peterlburgh under pretence 
of removing to a villa for a few days, but privately re¬ 
turned to his winter palace in the capital. From thence 
he occafionally feiit one of his confidential pages with a 
complimentary melfage to emprefs, as if he had been in 
the country, and with fecret orders to obferve her motions. 
From the page’s information, the emperor, on the third 
night, lurpriled Catharine in an arbour of the garden with 
to X her 
