The allowances which are made to her Counfell learned, are fo fmall, that in pollicie it were more fitt to be augmented then diminished, the smallness of their ftipend not yelding now competent mayntenance to them of that worthines who fhould there ferve her Majeftie, & for that fervice forege all practize of the lawe elfewhere, which want of reward is daingerqufe for difcurraging men of fufficiency, & for corruption of fuch who feele the fmarte of poverty. Therefore if by the exempting thefe marcher thires, neyther the number of Counsellors nor Officers wilbe thortned nor the allowance now made any whit leffened, how much will the fame occafion her Majefties benefitt fhall wee thinke that the giving of this defired liberty will caufe an increafe of loyalty in the fubjects of thofe parts will their difpofitions when they return unto that ftate that they were in before the erecting of that Counfell be other then it had been? Was there before good caufe to put thofe thires under the government of that Councell, and is there noe caufe to contynue it? But you will fay it is a burthen to thofe fhires, why then fhould Wales endure it, are they not fubjects to one Soveraigne, & therefore why should not all be partakers of the lee goodness? For if the government of the Councell be greeivous to the marches, it cannot be comodious to Wales. Therefore, in my opinion, wch I fubmit to better judgment, it is no policie that the Welthen thould fynde them felves more awed and bridled, or leffe tendered then other fubjects, for as they are a people apt to acknowledge any kyndnefs, foe are thev by nature impatyent to endure any thing wch they fhall conceave to be done for diftruing them, or for contempt of thein. And foe, to fpeak truly, if it be needful to contynue a Counfell in Wales, it is not fit to take it from the Marches, for in thefe dayes though the offences of the Marcher men are neither fewer in number, nor in qualitie more tolerable, then thofe done in Wales, and that in tymes past the Marcher men have fooner yelded to government, did not proceed that they were in difpofition better then the Welshmen; but because the plainnefie of their country yelded better and eafier means to fupprefs them. Yet if it fhalbe yelded that a Marcher man ought to better efteemed & more favoured, notwthstanding the caufe entended is moft perillous, and greater reafon to retayne them as they are that all differences of language, cuftomes, & difpocicions may be reconciled by the communion of laws and government as the only finewes by whch thefe diverse members may be united into the fame body. For this reafon (as I thinke) the Kings of this Realme named that Counfell the Counfell in the Marches, and appoynted houfes for their refidence only in the Marches. Now if thefe Shires fhall be exempted, where fhall the Councell contynue, Ludlow caftle is in Shropshire, Ticknell house in Worcestershire; noe houfe of her Majeftie in all Wales, to my knowledge, fitt for this purpose, foe that not only the dif contentment of the Wefhmen fhall be hazarded, which in this tyme is not convenient, the principality of Wales shortened in dominion, by taking from it all those Marcher Shires, and new houfes must be builded, or old houfes (to her Majestics great charge, for the Councells aboade) repayred, or else these Shires muft contynue as they now are. But, lett all these inconveniencies be forgotten. Let not the mychiefes be remembred which will enfue, the Welthmen's repayers into thefe Marcher Shires, to avoyd punishment. Let Marcher Shires be yelded free from being receptacles of popish & difloyal fubjects, who would to God were not there too much harbored. Let it be noe prejudice to her Majeftie to have thofe Shires exempted from that jurifdiction, which the wifdome of parliament have thought meeté to be eftablished in thofe parts more abfolute then elsewhere in this land. Let there be noe reafon to deny what is fought, if it may be for the cafe of those Shires only if this motion prove not alone prejudicial to the publique ftate but hurtfull to these private Shires, then let it be confidered what doth occafion this fuite. First, if it be not for the good of the countrey, then muft it of neceffitie bee because their fuites (for fuites they still will have) may be ended elsewhere with leffe charges, & in fhorter tyme. The court of the Counsell in the Marches ordinarily houldeth plea but of fuch caufes which are receaved into the Courts of Chancery, Star-chamber or Requefts, with fome other pleas & caufes limitted by the inftructions, how longe fuites depend in thefe courts before they are end ed Vol. II.] Original Memoirs of the late Empress of Ruffia, &c. ed lett any man who hath fuites there be judge, I will not impeach any court in reputation, I yeld to them all due honour, but for the truth of this matter, I muft needs faye, that in one yeare, every matter if eyther the playntiff or defendant will, fhall receave end in the Marches, which in none of the other courts, in leffe then two yeares ordinaryly can be determined. If this longe contynuance doth proceed from the matter of fuites (for it fhould be a wronge to thinke it occafioned for any other end,) then when the caufes ariling in the marches fhall come allfoe there to be adjudged in what tyme (thinke you) will the fame be decided. Toucheing the difference of chardge fufteyned by fuites in the marches & in thefe courts, the difference of fees will manifeft the truth every fee allmott being doubled & many trebled, & fome more then fower tymes foe much in the Starchamber as they are att the Counfell. Soe that the difpatch of fuites in the fe Courts being not foe fpeedy nor the chardge foe eafy, it muft needs followe that it cannot be for the good of the countery to have all their fuites removed from the marches. What then hath occafioned this mocion feeing it playnely appeareth to be neither benefitiall to the Soueraigne nor Subiect, 971 truly not any other cause then the greedy covetoufenes of fome perfons in thofe Courts above, who defire to gett all And prefumptious ambition of fome Gent. in thofe Marcher Shires where they seeke to comaunde all, the Court of the Marches being hinderfom to the one forte of thefe in profitt and a bridle to the other forte for oppreffing their poore neighbours having remedy there against their tyrrany, both forts therefore feeke to fhorten the Courts jurifdiction. But I hope her Majeftie will give noe paffage to these bad purposes & foe overthrowe a Court very behoofefull to her owne fafety & needfull for the countryes quiett, it being greatly to be feared leaft the takeing away of that Court will enboulden thofe under that Goverment to returne to their former wildnes, and foe put her Majestie to the like trouble & chardge, which many Kings of this land have often fufteyned. If there be faults in that Court (as what Court is free) lett the fault be reformed and not the Court fuppreffed. It is cruell & dangerous furgery to ufe noe cure but even to cutt from the bodye the parte ill affected their practize is more to be comended who purge where is too much and cutt none off where is too little. MEMOIRS OF THE LATE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, WITH ORIGINAL ANECDOTES OF THE COURT OF PETERSBURGH. of RUSSIA, hardly known to the rest Europe till the clofe of the last century, has made fo confiderable figure in the annals of hiftory fince that period, that a fuccinct detail of its progreffive advancement to its prefent ftate of aggrandifement and profperity would doublefs be no lefs ufeful than agreeable to the reader; but the relation of fo many particulars as have concurred to that end, and the neceffary difplay of the caufes and confequences of each, wou'd, with every poffible endeavour at brevity, lead us to greater lengths than the limits of fuch a * Even till about the middle of the prefent century the proper name of the country feems to have been unknown.-It was called Mufcovy; as if a Tarfar, speaking of England, hould call it Londony. publication as the prefent can allow.— The travellers, however, who have of late years prefented the public with the obfervations they were able to make, and the information they obtained, on their journeys to that country, furnish fufficient accounts of the times immediately preceding the late reign, for excufing us from any farther preliminaries here. On the tragical event that terminated the life of Peter the third, in 1762, his widow, Catharine the Second, began her reign. She had been married to that unfortunate prince in 1745, while Grand Duke of Ruffia; being at that time in her feventeenth year. The only iffue of this union were Paul Petrovitch, the prefent Emperor, born in 1754, and Anne, of whom the Grand Duchefs was delivered in 1757, and who died in 1761. For fix teen teen years they lived together in the enjoyment of as much conjugal felicity as ufually falls to the lot of perfons of that elevated rank; at leaft no flagrant irregularities, nor any confpicuous difagreements, appeared before the public eye. Peter, an eafy good-natured prince, being excluded from all interference in public affairs, during the reign of his aunt Elizabeth Petrovna, had the palace of Oranienbaum affigned him for his refidence, where, the culture of his mind having been totally neglected, he paffed his days in military exercifes at the head of his troops, and his evenings were ufually fpent in concerts, mafquerades, and convivial recreations, in which, foldier, like, he fometimes indulged to excefs. If we have only heard of him as entirely given up to intemperance, and the childish amufements of a weak understanding, we ought always to remember that, from one or other caufe, his character has only been delineated to us by his enemies and, affaffins. Nor fhould it be forgotten, that the regulations he made during his fhort reign, of only fix months, were, after being made matter of accufation against him, adopted fuccefsfully, under other aufpices, by the Emprefs his fucceffor. Nothing could evince more ability and prudence than the conduct of the Empress on her acceffion to the throne. Her magnanimity too was ftrikingly displayed in her behaviour towards the friends of the late monarch, who had remained true to his caufe. None fuffered either by executions, confifcations, or banishment. She reproached indeed Field-Marshal Munic, whom the emperor had recalled after twenty years exile in Siberia, with having taken part against her. "To my late "mafter, faid he, my beft fervices were "due. He was my fovereign, and there"fore commanded my duty. He was my "benefactor and deliverer, and I glory in "the teftimonies I was able to give him "of my gratitude and affection. You, "madam, are now my fovereign, and my "fidelity to you is as unalterable as my "attachment was to him." Catharine made no reply, but gave him her hand to kifs; and the first news he heard from her was an invitation to court, where he continued in her utmoft confidence to the day of his death, which happened on the 16th of October, 1767, in the 85th year of his age. As foon as the apprehenfion of new commotions was difpelled, Count Vorontzof was releafed from prifon, and afterwards put into office. The Countess Elizabeth Vorontzof was permitted to enjoy the affluence she had received from the liberality of Peter, and lived at Petersburgh among a small circle of friends and relations, by whom her death was lamented in 1791. Godovitch, who was high in the confidence of Peter, and thereby incurred the particular diflike of the Emprefs, was allowed to retire to his native country; and the Holstein guards, who had offered the Emperor to march against his confort, and even importuned him to lead them on, experienced no feverity at her hands: fuch as were willing to infift were incorporated in the feveral regiments; and the others withdrew unmolefted from Ruffia. Prince George of Holftein, uncle to Peter, though confined during the revolution, was afterwards promoted to the rank of fieldmarfhal, and appointed adminiftrator of Holftein during the minority of her fon. Catharine was in the 34th year of her age when the afcended the throne, on the 28th of June, O. S. 1762. On the first of September following the departed for Mofco, where the ceremony of her coronation was performed with great folemnity and magnificence, on the 16th of that month; from whence the fet out on her return the 14th of June, 1763, and arrived at St. Petersburgh the 28th. However unpopular the peace and alliance fo fuddenly concluded on the acceffion of Peter the IIId. with the king of Pruffia, and the little probability there was that the clofe and intimate connection which had fubfifted between thofe two monarchs could greatly recommend the interefts of the latter to the new fovereign; yet, fortunately for that wonderful man, the Emprefs, who had come to the Ruffian throne in the extraordinary manner that we have feen, could not look upon herfelf as fufficiently fecure to rekindle the flames of a war fo deftructive in its progrefs, declared to the king of Pruffia's minifters, that she was refolved to obferve inviolably, in all points, the perpetual peace concluded under the preceding reign. Catharine now turned her thoughts to the benefit and improvement of her empire. In the September of 1763 she laid the foundation of the great Foundling Hofpital at Mofco. The following year he made a journey into Livonia, to learn the state of that province; and, on her return, was prefent at the confecration of the Devitza Monaftery, inftituted for the education of young ladies of quality, endowing it with a falary of 16,000l. per annum, Vol. II. Original Memoirs of the Late Empress of Ruffia. annum. On the 17th of July, 1765, the Empress held the inauguration of the Academy of Arts at St. Petersburgh; and in the fame year invited literati from Germany, and other parts of Europe, to the Academy of Sciences, which had been inftituted by Peter the Great. These perfons were, on their arrival, provided with houfes and ample salaries, that they might profecute their ftudies with eafe and convenience. The year 1766, prefented at Petersburgh the grandeft fpectacle that perhaps ever was feen in Europe. At an entertainment, which the Emprefs chofe to name a carouzel, the principal nobility appeared in the moft fumptuous dreffes fparkling with diamonds, and mounted on horfes richly caparifoned, in a magnificent theatre erected for that purpofe. Here all that has been read of the ancient joufts and tournaments was realized and exceeded in the presence of thousands of fpectators, who seemed to vie with each other in the brilliancy of their appear ance. In 1768, the war broke out with the Ottoman Porte, the various events of which it would fcarcely be poffible to enumerate, much lefs to particularize in the fpace to which this article muft of neceffity be confined. One event, however, in which our countryman, the Contre-Admiral Greig, difplayed his fuperior conduct and bravery, cannot be paffed over. It was on the 24th of October, O. S. 1772, that he burned the Turkish fleet in the harbour of Tfchefme in the Archipelago, and deftroyed the enemy's magazines. A peace with the Turks was concluded the 10th of July, 1775. In the year 1773, the Grand Duke Paul Petrovitch married a Princess of the House of Heffe Darmstadt, who, on her baptifm into the Greek church, took the name of Natalia Alexievna; but, dying in child-birth the following year, the Grand Duke, in 1776, efpoufed a daughter of the Duke of Wurtemberg Stutgard, born the 14th of October, 1759, and, on her admiffion to the national communion, adopted the name of Maria Feodorovna. The Grand Duchefs. was brought to bed the 12th of December, 1777, of the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovitch; and on the 27th of April, 1779, was born the Grand Duke Conftantine Pavlovitch. Thefe happy events were followed by the birth of the Grand Duchefs Alexandra Pavlovna, the 29th SUP. to MONTHLY MAG. Vol. II. 973 of July, 1783; of Helena Pavlovna, December 13, 1784; of Maria Pavlovna, February 4, 1786; of Catharine Pavlovna, May 10, 1788; of Anna Pavlovna, January 7, 1795; and of Nicolai Pavlo vitch, born the 2d of July, 1796. The care beftowed by the Empress on the education and nurture of her grandchildren was unremitted. Conftantine, almoft immediately on his birth, was delivered to Greek nurfes from the Archipelago, that the language of the Conftantines might be familiar to him, whom the one day hoped to feat on their throne. In this grand fcheme, of reviving the Grecian empire, it is generally fuppofed we are to look for the origin of the wars carried on against the Turks, The tutors, appointed to both of the Princes, were felected with care, but the Emprefs would frequently inspect their leffons, and examine the pupils in the prefence of their mafters. In 1768 the composed inftructions for a new code of laws for her dominions; and the same year she submitted to the ha zard of inoculation, in order that her fube jects, to whom the practice was unknown, might benefit by her example; and the experiment, under Baron Dimfdale, having happily fucceeded, it was commemorated by an annual thankfgiving. This year a war broke out with the Ottoman Porte, In January, 1769, the Khan of the Krimea made an attack on the territory of Bachmut on the river Bog, where he was feveral times bravely repulfed, with his army of Tartars and Turks, by Major General Romanius and Prince Pro foroffkoi. At the fame time were fought the battles of Zekanofca and Soroca on the Dnieper, when the large magazines of the enemy were burned. In February the Polish Cofaks in the voyvodefhip of Braclau put themselves under the Ruffian fceptre. In the fame month the Nifovian Saparogian Kofaks gain a battle in the defarts of the Krim. In March the Polifh rebels are fubdued and their town taken by Major General Ismailof. April 2d, the Fort of Taganrock is taken on the Sea of Azoff. On the 15th. the Ruffian army, under the general in chief, Prince Ga litzin, croffes the Dniefter. On the 19th the victory by Prince Galitzin near Chotyim. On the 21ft the Turks are defeated not far from Chotyim by Lieut. Gen. Count Soltikof. The 29th, the action between the Ruffian Kalmucs, and the Kuban Tartars, to the disadvantage of the latter. June 8th, defeat of the Turks at the mouth 6 I of the Dnieper near Otchak of. 19. Action on the Dniefter, when the troops of Prince Proforoffkoi force the Turks to repass the river in great diforder. Chotyim taken Sept. 19. Yaffy, in Moldavia, taken Sept. 27. Bucharest, in Val lachia taken, and the hofpodar made prifoner, in November. 1770. Victory gained by the Ruffians under Generals Podhorilfhany and Potemkin, near Fokfhany. The town of Shurha taken by Lieut. Gen. Von Stoffeln, Feb. 4. A Ruffian fleet appears in the Port of Maina in the Morea, Feb. 17. Miftra, the Lacedæ mon of the ancients, and feveral other towns of the Morea, taken, in February. Surrender of Arcadim in Greece, and a multitude of Turks made prifoners in the fame month. The Turks and Tartars are driven from their intrenchments near the Pruth, by Count Romantzof, Prince Repnin, and General Bauer, 11-16 June. Prince Proforoffkoi gains feveral advantages near Otchakof, June 18. The Ruffian fleet, under Count Alexey Orlof, gains a complete victory over the Turks near Tichefme, June 24. The confequent deftruction of the whole Turkish fleet, near Tfchefme, where it was burned by Admiral Greig, June 26. Battle on the Kagul, in which Count Romantzof defeats the Turkish army, confifting of 150,000 men, takes the camp and all the artillery, July 21. The fortrefs Bender taken July 22. The town of Ifmail taken by prince Repnin, July 26. Kilia taken by Prince Repnin, Aug. 21. Ackerman taken in October. Brailof taken Nov. 10. 1771. The fortrefs of Shurfha taken by General Olitz, Feb. 23. The town of Kaffa taken by Prince Dolgoruckof, June 29. The fort of Kertchi taken July 2. The fort of Yenicali taken July 3. With numberlefs other victories, by fea and land, till the peace was concluded the 13th of January 1775, by which the Krimea was declared independent of the Porte, all the vast tract of country between the Bog and Dnieper was ceded to Ruffia, befides the Cuban and the ifle of Taman, with free navigation in all the Turkish feas, including the paffage of the Dardanelles, privileges granted to the most favoured nations, and ftipulations in behalf of the inhabitants of Moldavia and Vallachia. In 1779, the Emprefs, intending to divide the empire into viceroyalties, made a beginning in January with the viceroyalty of Orlof, March 21, a new treaty was figned at Conftantinople between Ruffia and the Porte. May 13, the treaty of peace between the belligerent powers in Germany and the French King was figned under the mediation of her Majetty. In June fhe established an hofpital for invalids at Mofco, to be confined to officers. In July General Bauer received orders to caufe a canal to be cur to fupply Mofco with wholesome water. In October a fhip built at Taganrock, named the Prince Conftantine, failed to Smyrna with Ruffian commodities. December 3, the viceroyalty of Voronetsh was inftituted; and the 27th Count Romantzof Zadunaifki opened the viceroyalty of Kurfk with great folemnity. In 1780, Feb. 28, appeared the memorable declaration of her Imperial Majefty, relating to the fafety of navigation and commerce of the neutral powers. May 9, the Empi efs fet out on a journey to White Ruffia from Zarfcoi Selo, vifits Narva, Plefco, meets the Emperor of Germany under the title of Count Falkenftein, at Mohilef, purfue the journey together to Smolensk. June 6, Count Falkenftein arrives at Mofco. The 17th the Empreis returns to Zarfcoe Selo, and the Count Falkenftein to St. Petersburgh. July 8, the Emperor, Jofeph II. returns to Vienna. Sept. the prefent King of Pruffia in St. Petersburgh, and returns to Berlin the 4th of November. In 1781, March 1, the Emprefs mediates between England and Holland. April 5, inftitutes the firft public fchool in Peterburgh. August 27, the grand Dukes Alexander and Conftantine were inoculated by Baron Dimfdale. Aug. 31, the firft ftone of a cathedral was laid at Cherfon, dedicated to St. Catherine. Sept. 19, the grand Duke Paul Petrovitch and his confort Maria Feodorovna depart from Zarfkoe Selo, through Plefcof, Mohilef, and Kief, on a journey into foreign countries, under the title of the Count and Countefs of the North. In 1782, by command of her Majefty, dated Jan. 18, a Roman Catholic archbishopric was erected in the city of Mohilef, with authority over all the catholic churches and convents in the Ruffian empire. Aug. 7, the famous equeftrian ftatue of Peter the Great, being finished, was uncovered to the public in prefence of the Emprefs, on which occasion the published a proclamation containing pardons for feveral criminals, &c. Sept. 22, the order of St. Vladimir inftituted. The 27th, publifhes a new Tariff. Nov. 20, the grand Duke and his Duchefs, having com |