name of Alexafca, or Little Alexander, about the fame age;
;and as the latter was remarkably a£tive in his exercife, he
was obferved by Le Fort, and by him recommended to Peter.
Several perfons of this company were afterwards
promoted very high in the Ruffian fervice, and many cir-
cumftances concurred to forward the advancement of Men-
zikof. He rendered himfelf remarkably ufefui to the tzar
in his plans of reformation ; he paid a particular attention
to foreigners, whom Peter was continually drawing into his
fervice ; he ftudied his mailer's chara<£ler and temper, and
knew how to fubmit to the groffeft infults. “ The tzar,”
fays Gordon, who was himfelf an eye-witnefs, “ often
“ kicked him publickly, and beat him like a dog ; fo that
“ the by-iianders concluded him undone ; but always next
**-■ morning the peace was made up, which people believed
“ could not proceed but from fome preternatural caufe
One inftánce of his implicit obedience to the commands
o f the tzar, and his dexterity in performing them, is recorded
by Korb, fecretary to the Auftrian embaffy. It is a
well-known fadt, that Peter was accuftomed to affift at the
examination of the prifoners who were accufed of high-
treafon ; that he would be prefent at the tortures inflióted
upon them in order to force confeffion ; that he would frequently
attend at their execution ; that he would fometimes
himfelf perform the office of executioner t ; and would occafionally
* Gordon’ s Life o f Peter, vol. IT. p. 278. L ’Evefque makes the following judicious
Korb alfo fays, 51 Alexafcam verô favori-,- remarks upon this remarkable circumftance.
“ tam fuum, gladio accinéhim inter tripu- “ Peut être, ces fortes d?ex'ecutions, dont
“ dia deprehendens, depcnendi gladii mo- “ les grands étaient les miniftres, et aux
** reminfliéto colapho docuit j, cujus impe- “ quelles le prince loi-même prenait part,
“ turn fanguis ex naribus abundé defluus “ étaient-elles fondées fur quelque ufage
“ fatis teftatus eft.” p. 84. c “ ou fur quelque loi dont on a perdu le
+ “ Quinqué rebellium capita à nobilif- “ fouvénir. Elles ét'oient réfervées, fans
‘ {JimaMofcomia matiu fecuri elfe amputara.” “ doute, pour ces grandes rebellions qui
Korb Diarium, p. 170. “ menacafionally
confign that talk to his favourites and principal CI^ P-
nobles #. Korb relates, that, foon after the infurredlion o f>— j
the Strelitz in x 698, Peter fcornfully reproached many of the
nobles who trembled at being compelled to behead fome
rebels, adding, in a ft rain of fanguinary juftiee, f*. that there
“ was no vi£lim more acceptable to the deity than a wicked
“ man.” Menzikof, however, does not feem to have laboured
under iuch delicate feelings; for, as a prelude to the-
execution of 150 Strelitz, he drove about the ftreets of
Mofcow in a fledge brandiihing a naked fword J, and boafted
of his adroitnefs in cutting off twenty heads.
“ menaçaient l ’etat et le fouverain. L a
“ nobleffe, en frappant e lie-même les cou—
“ pables, prouvait qu’elle avoit horreur de
“ leur complot ; et le prince grièvement of-
“ fenfé, fe réfervait quelque part à la ven-
“ geance. Ce qui femble confirmer ce
** fentiment, c’eit que Pierrepunit les Stre-
“ lits de la même maniéré, que le tfar Ivan
“ s’etait vengé des nobles qui' lui étaient
“ fufpeéfc^ Ce rapport entre le crime et
“ la punition prouve qu’elle ne dépendait-
“ feulement du caprice du fouverain.
“ Pierre, dirait-on, devait abolir cet ufage.
“ Mais pouvait-il changer fi promptement
“ les coutumes, les loix, fa nation & lui.-
“ même.” V o l. IV . p. 147.
* Gordon mentions the fame circum-
Îlance, but he only fays “ that feveral o f
“ the great men, whom the t z a r fufpeéfed
“ to have been engaged in this confpiracy,
“ he eaufed to take the axe into their hands,
*-*• and obliged them, to cut off the beads o f
‘ ‘ .fome others o f the confpirators.” Vol.-I.,
p. 130. Korb mentions, arpong others, the
names o f Blumberg and L e Fort,.whom the.
tzar defired to become executioners, but
who excufed themfelves..^ ■ . ■;
“ Quotquot Bojarinorum & magnatum
“ concilio intererant, quo contra rebelles
“ Strelizios certamen decretum eft, hodier-
“ nus dies ad nov.um vôcavtt tribunal, fingulis
“ finguli rei propofiti ; quemvis opor.tebat
“ fenrentiam>quamdiélaverat,fecuricxeqni.
“ Erinceps Rom ad ono w Ik i ,. antequam tu.*
“ multuarentur, quatuor regimjnum dux
quataor Strelizios urgente majeftate eo—
“ dem ferro ad terram proftravit; crudelior-
“ Älexdfca de viginti decufßs capitibus gloria-
“ batur-, infelix Galli-zin, quò.d male feri-
“ endo dolores damnati multùm adauxerit,.
“ 330. Unà; firaùl eduéti ad feralem fecuris
“ iöum late patentem planitiem civili q-ui-r
“ dem, fed impio fanguine purpurarunt.-
“ Ad idem liftoris officium cum Barone de
“ Blumberg Generalis Lefort invitabatur ;
“ fed excufante«, id domi fuse moris ncn--
“ effe, audìti funt. Ipfemet tzarus in fellA.
“ fedecs totam tragoediam, tamque horren—
“ dam tot hominum lanienam liccis oculis,
“ infpe&abat, hoc unum indignatus, quòd1
“ Bojarinorum plurimi infueto huic numeri*
“ tremulas manus admoviffent ; cum tarnen.
“ nulla pinguiorviétima Deo ma&ari poffit,
w quàm homofeeleratus.” p. 88, 89.
And aga-in ; “ Quivis iacertum libraba f
“ iéhim, novo-et infolito numeri tre mufasl
“ manus admovens, iniélieiflìmé omnium
“ fcriebat Bojarinorum ille, qui aberrantem à-
“ collo gladium in tergus miferat, et Sure—
“ lizio ile in medium fermò diffeéto, dolores ;
“ ad deiperationem auxiffet, irifi Alex afe a -
“ 'fecuri melius iiifelìcis rei coìlum, tetigìjjct.'* ’
Ibid. p. 172.-
% Oftendit adirne co ve/pere fiepe- dì Bus •
Alexander, carpento per omnia urbis compitia-
vcBuSy creberrima nudi enps o/ìi u t a tione, quarrt '
fanguinolentam crafini dici tragerdiaw ex—
pC ¿laset,.
Baie