iJooK.' banditti in plundering the houfes of the rich * '; calumnies
— »— t-which have been ably and unanfwerably refuted by'Muller.
But the higheft fplendour of'abilities, and even the molt
upright ufe of power, will not compenfate for the ill means
of acquiring i t ; and the time arrived, when Boris paid the
price for the affaffination o f Demetrius. The death and
character of Boris Godunof are thus delineated by an impartial
hifioriant.
"“ The party o f the pretended Demetrius increafed daily,
“ and the Ruffians flocked to him from all quarters. This
“ circumftance, joined to the inactivity of the Ruffian'army,
“ had iuch an effeCt upon Boris, that, driven to defpair, he
“ fwallowed poifon The accounts are falfe, which attribute
■ “ his death to a poifon given to him by one Peter Bofmanof;
“ or which relate that while he was giving audience to
“ fome foreign embafladors, he was fiezed with a violent
colic, and foon afterwards the blood gulhed from his
mouth, nofe, and -.ears. He felt the firit effeCts of the
poifon at dinner, and the fymptoms were fo violent, that
“ he had fcarcely time to enter into the monaftic order be-
“ fore he expired. According to the Ruffian cuftom, he
-“ changed his name from Boris to Bogolep. His deceafe
“ happened on the 13th of April, or the 23d, according to
“ the new ftyle, 1605, after a reign of eight years and
“ two months.
“ It muft be allowed that his death was a great lofs to
“ Ruffia; for if we except the unjuftifiable means by which
“ he raifed himfelf to the throne, and the cruelty with
* This report, Mr. Muller conjectures, f Muller, Ibid. p. 247,
arofe from his compelling the bifhops and J Captain Margaret fays, that he died of
nobles, who had a fuperfluity o f corn,, to an apoplexy. Etat de la Ruffie, p. 118.
difpofe o f it to the poor at an under price.
R . G .V .
“ which he perfecuted feveral illuftrious families, particu-
“ larly the houfe of Romanof, he muff be efteemed an ex-
“ cellent fovereign. Ambition and revenge were his prin-
“ cipal vices; on the contrary, his penetration and fagacity,
“ his affability and munificence, his political knowledge, his
“ diligence in the adminiftration of affairs, his affiduity in
“ introducing into Ruffia the improvements of foreign na-
“ tions, in a word, his unwearied attention to promote the
“ advantage of his country, and the welfare of his fubjecas,
“ were confpicuous parts of his character. We are apt to
“ overlook the vices of a fovereign in confideration of his
“ princely virtues, and in this refpecfi Boris is entitled to our
“ efteem. When we add to thefe confiderations the long
“ chain of calamities which fucceeded his death, his lofs
“ could not but be fenfibly felt.” His remains were at firfl:
depofited in the Imperial fepulchre at Mofcow; but were
afterwards removed to the convent of the Holy Trinity *.
* For the hiftoiy o f Boris Godunof, fee Muller. S. R . G . -vol. V . p. 27 to 249.
C H A P .