oof? CATHARINE. 
forfake her, Poniatowfky was indeed recalled, and left 
Ruflia, after fullering' fume deferved indignities from the 
grand duke, who about this time formed a connection 
with one of the daughters of the fenator Vorontzoff, bro¬ 
ther to the new chancellor. This lady, Elizabeth Roma¬ 
novna Vorontz-df, was elder fitter to the princefs DafhkofF, 
who adted’fo'confpicuous a part in the revolution which 
fet the crown on the head of Catharine. She was beauti¬ 
ful, but vain ; and pofTefted not either the wit or the un- 
derftanding of her filler. In the mean time, the health 
of the emprcfs vifiblv declining, Catharine was very_de- 
firous of being reconciled to her : but the irritated Sove¬ 
reign would hften to no accommodation, except on terms 
too humiliating for the haughty fpiritof the grand duchefs. 
Catharine, therefore, abfented herfelf from court, and 
afked permillion to retire into Germany.- This, as (he 
had foremen, was refufed. Elizabeth was too fond of the 
young Paul Petrovitch to permit the departure of his mo¬ 
ther, and thereby expofe him to the danger of being at 
Some future period declared illegitimate. She took the 
grand duchefs again into favour ; and it is thought, that, 
had (he lived a little longer than the did, Ihe would have 
excluded Peter from the throne, and declared Paul her 
immediate fuccefTor. 
Amidft the diffractions caufed by the profpedt of the 
death of the emprefs, and the known hatred of the grand 
duke and duchefs to each other, count Panin, preceptor 
to the young prince, devoted himfelf entirely to Catha¬ 
rine. He wifiied to fee her pofi'elfed of all the power of 
the empire; but he was afraid to proceed to tire extremity 
to which (he propofed to go, and to deprive Peter of the 
name of emperor, tie contrived, therefore, to procure an 
apparent reconciliation between the grand duke and his 
contort, as well as between him and his aunt Elizabeth ; 
arid he had a!mod perfuaded the prince not to affume the 
fovereign power on the death of the emprefs, till he (hould 
be foiemnly inverted with it by a decree of the fenate. 
Could he obtain this point, he knew that the power of 
Peter would be limited, and the authority fecured to his 
wife and his fori. He was, however, difappointed ; Ca¬ 
tharine herfelf difapproved of this plan, and concurred 
with the real friends of her hufband in advirtng him “to 
conform to the ertablifhed cuftom in art'uming the reins of 
empire.” He had -hardly received this advice, when word 
was brought'that the emprefs Elizabeth was dead; and 
the courtiers prefled in crowds about him. He accolted 
them with dignity, received the oaths of the officers of 
his guard, and feemed at once to have laid afide his weak- 
nefs. In an hour he got on horfeback, traverfed tIre rtreets 
of St. Peter (burgh, and diftributed money among the mul¬ 
titude and foldiers. He had been fo treated by his aunt, 
that he could not poflibly be grieved at her death ; but, in 
paying the laft duties to her remains, he betrayed no in¬ 
decent elation. The firft adtions of his reign were pru¬ 
dent and patriotic, and-fuch as would have done honour 
to a greater prince. He appeared to be reconciled to his 
wife, in v.hofe ■ ornpany he fpcnt- much of his time; he 
recalled from prifon and banifitment 17,000 perfons, fome 
of them of rank and of great talents, who had been the 
victims of Elizabeth’s jealous timidity; he permitted the 
nobility to bear arms or not at their own difcretion, free¬ 
ing them at the fame time from the extreme fervitude un¬ 
der which'they had been held by his immediatepredecef- 
fors ; and he abolifhed the Jccret committee., an infamous in- 
quifitorial tribunal, which, ever fince the reign of the 
father of Peter the Great, had been the chief engine of 
■Ruffian defpotiCm. 
The emprefs, in the mean time, was contriving a plan 
for the deftrudtion of her liege lord and luifband. While 
yet grand duchefs, (he had formed a libidinous connection 
with Gregory Orluff, a man of mean birth, and of no edu¬ 
cation. bur poflefled at once of bodily ftrength, and the 
niort daring courage. He had an inferior commiflion in 
the artillery, while his two brothers were common fol¬ 
diers in the regiments of guards. The intrigue which (lie 
carried on with him was known only to one of her women 
named Catharine Ivanovna ; nor did Orloff himfelf for 
fome time fufpeCt the rank of the lady who fo laviflily 
conferred upon him her favours in fecret. At lalt, finding 
him intrepid and dirt reer, (he difeovered herfelf, unveiled 
to him all her anibitiops defigns, and e.ifily prevailed with 
him and his brothers to enter with zeal into her confpiracy 
again ft the emperor, Orloff likewife gained over Bibikoffi 
his friend, a lieutenant Paffick, with other officers ; and, 
by their means, eafily deduced fome regiments of the 
guards. The princefs Dafhkoff was Ytrongly attached to 
Catharine, vye believe, from worthy motives, and had 
frequent meetings with. Orloff on the bufinefs of the con¬ 
fpiracy, without KifpeCting that he was fo much as known 
to the emprefs: Count Panin, too, and the hetman of the 
Coflacks, were determined to tumble Peter front the 
throne ; but they were not inclined to go all the lengths 
propofed by Catharine and her two favourites. Hoping 
to enjoy the aftuul power of the empire thentfelves, they 
were for declaring Paul Petrovitch emperor in the room 
of his father, and conferring upon his mother the name 
and authority only of regent ; while ti e princefs and Or¬ 
loff, knowing the fentiments and willies* of the emprefs, 
were refolved to vert her with fovereign power, or to pe- 
rifh in the hazardous attempt. A revolt now took place, 
(for the particulars of which fee Russia;) and the weak 
and ill-fated Peter 111 . being feduced under the controul 
of a faction, was carried a prifoner to Ro'pfcha, a fmall 
imperial palace, at the d fiance of twenty verfis from Pe- 
terhoff, where he was murdered on the 17th of July, 1762. 
The firft care of Catharine was to reward thofe who had 
been the principal actors in the revolt. Panin was made 
prime minifter; the Orlofts received the title of count; 
and the favourite Gregory was appointed lieutenant-gene¬ 
ral of the Ruffian armies, and knight of the order of St. 
AlexanderNefskv, the fecond 01 der of the empire. Se¬ 
veral officers of the guards were promoted, of whom 
twenty-four received confiderable e(fates; and among the 
foldiers, whom flie treated with the greateft affability, 
brandy and beer were liberally "diftributed. The chancel¬ 
lor Beftucheff, who had been the moft: inveterate enemy 
of Peter, was reftored to his rank of field-marfhal, and had 
an annual penfion fettled upon him of 20,000 rubles. To 
the friends of the emperor (lie behaved with great mode¬ 
ration. Prince George, whom he had conftituted duke 
of Courland, was indeed obliged to renounce his title; but 
the adminiftration of Holrtein was committed to him, and 
he ever after ferved the emprefs with zeal and fidelity. 
The connection between Orloff and her now became vifi- 
ble, and gave juft offence to her other friends. The prin¬ 
cefs Dafhkoff firft perceived.it; and when (he prefumed to 
expoftulate with the emprefs on the meannefs and impru¬ 
dence of her paffion, fhe was banifhed from the court to 
Mofcow. Count Panin and hetman favv with indignation 
that they had dethroned the grandfon of Peter the Great, 
to aggrandife a rude and low-born upftart. Cabals and 
conlpiracies were entered into by high and low, both 
againft Catharine and againft her favourite ; and it re¬ 
quired all her abilities and firmnefs to preferve at once 
her throne and her lover. On one occafion fhe hoped to 
obtain from the princefs Dafhkoff fufficient proof that Pa¬ 
nin and the hetman of the Coftacks were concerned in a 
plot which had juft been difeovered ; and, with this view, 
fhe wrote a letter of four pages, filled with the moft ten¬ 
der epithets and' the nioit magnificent promifes, conjuring 
her, in the name of their long (landing friendfhip, to reveal 
what (he knew of the recent conlpiracies. With be¬ 
coming magnanimity, the princefs replied, “ Madam, I 
have heard no hing; but, if 1 had heard any thing, I fhould 
take good care bow I {poke of it. What is it you require 
.of me ? That 1 fhould expire upon a fcaffold ? I am ready 
to mount it.” Catharine, defpairing of conquering (rich 
a fpirit, attempted to attach to her diofe'whom fhe dared 
oot to puniili. Some of the inferior confpirators were ba¬ 
nifhed to Siberia, while Panin and the hetman, whom (lie 
moft; 
