MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF PRINCE POTEMKIN.

ARTICLE IV.-Memoirs of the Life of Prince Potemkin; Field-Marshal, and Commander in Chief of the Russian Army; Grand Admiral of the Fleets; Knight of the principal Orders of Prussia, Sweden, and Poland, and of all the Orders of Russia, &c. &c.; comprehending original Anecdotes of Catharine the Second, and of the Russian Court. Translated from the German. 8vo. pp. 256. 9s. Boards. Colburn. 1811.

cumstance which gave him patrons and the means of making his fortune. He soon obtained a Lieutenancy, which, in the horseguards, confers the rank of Major in the army; and intimately connected himself with the Orloffs. They were five brothers; Gregory, afterwards the favourite; Alexey, who, in the|| war against the Turks in 1768, commanded the Russian fleet in the Archipelago; Vladimir, who became a senator, and Feodor and Ivan, who were made chamberlains after the revo lution. They were indeed the principal agents in that famous conspiracy, which hurled Peter III. from the throne of Russia, to place the imperial crown on the brow of Catharine, his spouse, with whom Gregory, the eldest of the five brothers, commenced a love intrigue when she was only Grand Duchess.

attempt. Potemkin had frequently seen Catharine, and was an enthusiastic admirer of her beauty. This sentiment of admiration heightened perhaps by the secret suggestions of ambition, seduced him from the path of duty. His zea and his activity gained many friends to Catharine, and, in a comparatively low situation, Potemkin did much to insure the success of the enterprise.

The

"On the 28th of June 1762 (the 9th of July 1762, O. S.) at seven in the moring, Catharine went to the quarter of the Imaïloffsky Guards, where she was enthusiastically proclaimed sovereign by the soldiers. Chaplain of the regiment received the oath of the troops on a cucifix. In less than two hours Catharine saw herself surrounded by two thousand warriors and a great number of the inhabitants of St. Petersburgh, who mechanically followed her to the church of Kasan, where the Archbishop of Novogorod placed the imperial crown on her head.

"Count Panin, who, under the Empress Elizabeth, had been employed in several fo. reign embassies, and on his return had been

son of Peter and Catharine, though devoted to the latter, had lent himself to the plans of the conspirators, with the simple view of declaring Catharine sole guardian of the Grand Duke Paul and Regent of the Empire during his minority. But he found that it was too late to remonstr. te against what had been done, when a strong enthusiasm in favour of Catharine was bec›me general, and she had be-n solemnly aud almost unanimously proclaimed autocratrix or sele sovereign ruler of the empire.

Gregory Orloff possessed neither the advantages of birth nor those of education; but he had received from nature courage and beauty. He was an officer in the artillery, while two of his brothers, Alexey and Vladimir, were only common soldiers in the guards. || Count Peter Schuvaloff, Grand Master of the artillery, a vain aud pompous man, was de-appointed governor to Paul Petrovitch, the sirous of having the handsomest of his offices for his aid-de-camp, as he had for his mistress Princess Kourakin, the most beautiful lady of the court. He selected Orloff, and his mistress, pleased with his choice, soon gave the handsome aid-de-camp a hint that she preferred him to his general. Unfortunately, the latter surprised them together. He threatened to exert his interest to have Orloff banished to Siberia. This adventure reached the ears of Catharine. Curiosity led her to wish for an acquaintance with the young offcer whose disaster was the subject of public conversation. Orloff was secretly introduced to the Grand Duchess, and as soon as the latter thought herself assured of the boldness and discretion of her lover, she unveiled to him her ambitious desigus. On the death of General Schuvaloff she prevailed with Lieute-tharine had no plume in her hat, rode up to tenant-General Villebois, who obtained the command of the artillery, to give Orloff the place of Captain-paymaster of his corps.

"Orloff now lost no opportunity of gaining adherents to her whom he had resolved to make his sole sovereign. Peter III. had been but a very short time in possession of the throne, when, by means of his brothers, and a few other conspirators, Orloff won over some companies of the guards without imparting to them his. real design. Having discovered in Potemkin dispositions that might be favourabe to his views, he also endevoured to bring him over to his cause, and easily succeeded in the

"Towards noon, the Empres, dressed in the uniform of the guards, and decorated with the insignia of the order of St. Andrew, inspected the guards on horseback, and rode through the ranks with Princess Dashkoff, who was also in uniform. Potemkin, perceiving that Ca

offer her his own. The horse on which he was mounted being ecustomed to form into the quadron, was some time before it could be made to quit the side of that of the Empress; which afforded her the first pportunity of noticing the grace and aginty of the man who was to gain so great an ascendancy over her.

"At six in the evening Catharine a second time mounted her horse with a drawn sword in her hand, and a branch of oak about her temples. She placed herself at the head of the troops that were already on their march to Peteroff, an imperial palace on the banks

she caused her superiority to be forgotten by the gracefulness of her manners and the enchanting gaiety of her conversation The perfect freedom which prevailed in these assemblies allowed a decent jocularity. Wit, taleuts, and politeness were the only titles to pre-eminence, and distinction was commeusurate to amiability. Under the appearance of

of the Neva. Potemkin was one of the numerous courtiers who vied with each other in displaying the greatest ardour to share her dangers and her triumph. The next day he attended Gregory Orloff to Oranienbaum, another imperial palace, built by Menzikoff, eight verts farther, whether the unfortunate Peter had retired, and whence the perfidious Ismailoff persuaded him to repair to the Em-thinking only of pleasure in these parties,

press. Potemkin was charged to escort the betrayed Emperor's carriage to Peterhoff with a sufficient number of troops. It was at Peterhoff that Peter wrote and signed his resigna tion, which was dictated to him by Count

Panin.

"As soon as Catharine saw herself firmly seated on the throne, she bestowed magnificent rewards on the principal actors in the revolt against her husband. Count Panin was made Prime Minister; the Orloffs received the title of Counts; Gregory Orloff, the favourite, was appointed Lieutenant-General, and made a Knight of St. Alexander Newsky, the second order of the empire. Several officers of the guards were promoted. | Potemkin was made a Colonel and a Gentleman of the Bed-chamber, with an annual pension of two thousand roubles; and he was immediately dispatched to Stockholm privately to inform Count Ostermann, the Russian ambassador, of the revolution that had taken place at Petersburgh.

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most of the courtiers no doubt were not unmindful of the interests of their ambition. Potemkin, among others, who only appeared chearful, gallant, and agreeable, did not lose sight of his object, and thought himself doubly fortunate in advancing towards honour by the road of pleasure.

"Whether Catharine, struck at first sight with the noble and commanding figure of her new courtier, actually shewed him marked distinction, or whether the kindness with which she treated him was but the expression of her wonted affability, Potemkin fancied he perceived in the attention with which she honoured him something particular, which immediately led him to form the highest hopes. His excessive vanity would not allow him to reflect that Catharine was endowed with an irresistible gracefulness that shewed itself naturally, without any effort, and promptly gained her the affections even of those who approached her with a strong prepossession against her. He was delighted in thinking that she used this gift for him alone; he no longer beheld her as a sovereign, but simply as an accomplished female, whose favour it was not impossible to obtain. From this instant he formed the design of becoming one day her favourite, and never ceased for a single moment to direct his thoughts and actions to the accomplishment of this project. Whenever he appeared to relinquish it for a time, it was to take a circuitous road, which conducted him more safely back to his object. His prospect, however, at this time, must have been extremely distant. The emwas introduced as a most amiable man, parti-pire which gratitude, love, and habit, gave to cularly calculated to heighten the hilarity of Orloff over the heart of the Empress, seemed her social hours.

"On his return from Sweden, Potemkin neglected no opportunity of becoming inti mately acquainted with those who were more immediately about the Empress. He possessed an insinuating address, and, when he chose, he could be perfect master of the art of gaining the affections of those whose patronage he thought useful to his views. He contrived to render himself agreeable, and even necessary, to the courtiers that stood highest in the favour of Catharine, enlivened their pleasures, and succeded at last in being admitted to the private parties of the Empress, to whom he

"As nature had endowed him with a masculine and noble figure, an artful and insinuating disposition, and a brilliant imagination, Potemkin met with so flattering a reception from his sovereign that he thought himself authorized to pay her the most assiduous court.

"Catharine was fond of relieving herself from the cares of the empire in the midst of a private and select society, from which, setting aside the majesty of the throne, she banished every courtly formality, and in which

too firmly established for any one to struggle against him with the smallest hopes of success. Orloff at this period harboured designs and formed pretensions to which it would have been dangerous to run counter. He flattered bimself he should obtain the hand of his sovereign ; and although the Empress frequently expressed some impatience at the tone of authority which he assumed, yet she felt weither the inclination nor the power to hazard an open rupture with the man whose boldness had placed her on the throne,

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"Potemkin for the moment yielded to obstacles which time would infallibly weaken; but the natural violence of his temper would not allow him to keep within the bounds of a discretion imperiously commanded by circumstances. Some new marks of the kindness of his sovereign having inflamed his courage and his hopes, he assumed beforehand the manners of a preferred lover, raised his tone, and, in short, took liberties which offended the known favourite to such a degree that he resolved not to leave his insolent temerity unpunished.

"Potemkin one day called upon Gregory Orloff, and found him alone with his brother Alexey. The haughty manner and air of assurance with which he approached the two brothers, increased the growing ill-will of the eldest, who thought this a favourable opportunity to let the presumptuous youth feel the effect of his resentment. He intimated as much to Alexey by a secret nod, and they both purposely irritated Potemkin by galling observations, which made the latter forget the respect which he owed to the Orloffs as his superiors in rank. They resented the insult on the spot by falling both violently upon him. He was obliged to submit to a disgraceful treatment which he durst not revenge, and it was on this occasion that he is sup- || posed to have lost an eye, though it is more generally believed that it was struck by a ball || in a tennis-court, and that he put it out himself to free it from the bleamish which it derived from the accident.

pleased at the boldness of this presumption, conferred every day fresh marks of kindness upon her secret admirer. Potemkin was appointed a Chamberlain. This office, independent of its giving the rank of Major-General and the title of Excellency, enabled him to have free access to his sovereign. But this access increased his passion, and the invisible obstacles which his all-powerful rival was yet opposing to his success, reduced him to despair.

"Fortunately, the war against the Turks, which began in 1769, and ended in 1774 by the peace, of Kainardji, was just commencing. Potemkin obtained leave to repair to the army. The Empress particularly recommended him by a letter written with her own band to General Romanzoff, the commander in chief of the Russian troops, who afterwards obtained the surname of Zadoundaïskvi, for his brilliant passage of the Danube in 1770. Potemkin served under him as Adjutant-General.

"Romanzoff could not help receiving Potemkin well; but he never gave him his contidence; nor ever employed him on any impor ant service; yet, like a skilful courtier, who foresaw the high favour to which Potemkin might a rive at some future time, he availed himself of his good conduct on several occasions to give the Empress the most splendid account of his zeal and valour. Delighted with any pretence for exalting the object of her secret partiality, Catharine appointed Potemkin a Lieutenant-General. This rapid

ertions. He hoped to derive from intrigue the means of accomplishing what his courage had so happily commenced.

"His adventure with the Orloffs was, how-promotion stimulated him to still greater exever, favourable for him in its consequence. Catharine easily discovered the share which she had in the transaction. Regarding Potemkin as a victim of his admiration for her, she would willingly have given him consoling testimonies of her gratitude; but as she dared not offend to such a degree the Orloffs, whom she still feared, she determined to break off those private parties in which Potemkin could no longer appear.

"Being apparently reconciled with the Orloffs, who were yet all-powerful at court, and knowing them to be on bad terms with the Field-Marshal, Prince Galitzin, under whom he was serving at that time, Potemkin, in his private correspondence with Gregory Orloff, undervalued the services of that "The natural levity of the Orloffs made estima le General, and censured his operathem soon forget the affair; they gradually tions: but he did not succeed in having him resumed their former intimacy with Potemkin, removed from his command. Galitzin kept who, cautiously dissembling, procrastinated his situation. Potemkin behaved with carerevenge; but availing himself of the impru-lessnes during the remainder of the camdence of his enemics, he again approached his sovereign, and improved every opportunity of manifesting how ardently desirous he was of her favour. The manner in which he was received by the Empress strengthened his expectations; his confid nce in his success became such, that he was not afraid of owning his hopes. Catharine, far from being dis

paign, and no longer sougt fr opportunities to distinguish himself. It was natural for him suddenly to pass from extreme activity to extreme indolence, and it was not always the want of success which determined such a sudden change.

"In the mean time he was informed that the Empress, tired at last of a yoke which