BO O K poffeffion of the empire. Upon the death of Peter II. with-
. ,.mit iffiie, the fceptre, according to Catharine’s wil', ought to
■have reverted to her grandfon, afterwards Peter III. fon of
-Anne of Holftein ; but as hereditary right was aboliihed by
Peter’s decree, and no fucceffor was appointed by Peter II.
a privy council of eight nobles, in whom the regal power
was veiled at the deceafe of the emperor, formed a plan for
limiting the enormous prerogative of the crown; leaving the
title and pomp o f royalty to the reigning monarch, but re-
ferving to themfelves the whole fupreme authority. Having,
according to this project, drawn up certain conditions to
•be ratified by the future fovereign, they chofe the princefs
Anne in preference to the family of Peter the Great, and to
her eldeft filler Catharine of Mecklenburgh, becaufe, having
no legal claim, ihe would more readily be induced to agree
to any terms which might fecure her the fucceflion. Anne
figned the articles without hefitation, only for the purpofe of
breaking them with greater facility ; and ihe had fcarcely
arrived at Mofcow before ihe was enabled, by the afiiftance
of the guards, to annul the aCt of renunciation, to diffolve
the privy council itfelf, and to re-aflume the imperial authq-
rity in as unlimited a form as it had ever been enjoyed by
any of her predecelTors.- This emprefs refigned herfelf implicitly
to the direction of Biren, a native of Courland, who,
from the lowefi; extraction,, had rifen to be abfolute favourite
of his miftrefs, and regulated all her councils with
the molt arbitrary fway.
Anne has generally been cenfured for her feverity,
and is faid to have ruled the Ruffians with the knoot
in her hand. But the cruelties which tarnilhed her
reign muft be attributed to the brutal temper of Biren.
The emprefs herfelf was naturally of an humane difpofi-
tfon ; ihe frequently oppofed the fanguinary meafures of
her
her favourite, and in vain endeavoured to foften his mercilefs chap.
’ r n ‘ r ' • r • V/ difpofition, by fubmitting frequently to intreaties, and inter- <
ceding even with tears, for the unfortunate objeCts of his
refentment*. But, in effeCt, the fovereign who permits cruelties
is, and ought to be, equally guilty in the eyes of the
world with the fovereign who commands them ; and pofte-
rity juflly imputes to the mifirefs the vices of the fervant
who is uncontrouled in his abufe of power. Anne died on
the 17th of October, 1740, after having nominated for her
fucceflor her nephew Ivan, then an infant, with a view of
prolonging the reign of Biren, whom fire appointed regent
during the minority of that emperor.
As I viewed the tomb of Elizabeth, I recalled to my re-
coileCtion the motley character of that indolent and voluptuous
emprefs, who, by the revolution of 1 7 4 1 , renewed in
her perfon the line of Peter the Great upon the throne of
Ruffia. Elizabeth was born in 1709, and, when arrived at
years of maturity, was extremely admired for her great per-
fonal attractions +.
Herr
* “ J’ai été prefént,” writes Count “ The princefs Elixabeth, who is ,‘ y o ir
Munich, “ lorfque l ’impératrice pleuroit à “ know, a daughter o f Peter I. is veryr
“ chaudes larmes fur ce que Biron fulmi- “ handforue. She is very fair, with light
“ noit & menaçôit de ne vouloir plus fervir “ brown hair, largefprightly blue eyes, fine-
“ fi l ’impératrice ne facrifioit Voliniki 8c “ tserh, and a pretty mouth. She is in*.
“ ainfi des autres.” Ebauche, &c. p 119. “ clinable to be fat, but is very genteel',
Mrs. Vigor fays o f her, “ I have often “ and dances better than any one I ever
“ feen her melt into tears at â melancholy “ faw. She fpeaks German-, French, and5
“ llory, and Ihe {hews fuch unaffe&ed hor- “ Italian; is extremely gay, and talks to*
“ ror at any mark o f cruelty, that her “ every body, in. a very proper manner, in*
“ mind to me kerns compofed o f the moil “ the circle, but hates the ceremony o f a.
“ amiable qualities that I have ever ob- “ •court.” ’
“ ferved in any one perfon ; which feems a And again, “ She has an affability and
“ particular mark o f the goodncfs. o f Pro- “ fweetnefs o f behaviour that înfënfibly in-
“ vidence, as ihe is pofleflcd o f fuch power.” “ fpires love and refpe.ch' In publick (lie
Letters from Ruffia, p. 89. “ has an nnafFeéted- gaiety, and a certain
t Mrs. Vigor thus deferibes the perfon “ air o f giddinefs, that feem entirely1 to»
®f Elizabeth in the 24th year o f her age. “ poffefs her whole mind.;, but in private, I
41 have