b o o k an alarming circumftance, fufficient to have cTifconcerted a
r—> perfon o f lefs fpirit; but the emprefs, haying difpatched a
meffenger to Rofomouiki, fummoned before her the officers
and foldiers. A few who had been apprized by Orlof were
ready ; while the greateft part, being roufed unexpectedly
from their ilumber, made their appearance fcarcely half
dreffed.
The emprefs inftantly laid before'them the bad conduCt
o f the emperor ; his avowed contempt o f the Ruffians ; his
averfion to their cuftoms ; and his attachment to foreigners.
She expofed the dangers which awaited her own perfon, her
fon, and the principal nobility ; fhe expatiated upon the
probable fubverlion o f their religion and government; and
exhorted all thofe to follow her, who were deiirous o f faying
their country, and o f refcuing her and the great-duke
from certain deftrudion. Her fpeech, occafionally interrupted
with iighs and tears, was ffiort and pathetick ; and,
further enforced by the graces of her perfon, made an in-
ftantaneous impreffion : the greateft part of the foldiers an-
fwered her with loud acclamations; a few officers, indeed,
at firft feemed to heiitate; but the arrival o f Rofomouiki
quieted their appreheniions, and the whole regiment offered to
facrifice their lives in her caufe. Catharine now proceeded to
the church of the Virgin Mary o f Cafan; being joined in her
way by various bodies o f guards, and by many of the principal
nobility. , Service was performed by the archbiffiop o f No-
vogorod, and the emprefs took the accuftomed oath to pre-
ferve inviolate the privileges and religion o f the Ruffians;
after which the nobles and people flocked in crouds to fwear
allegiance to the new fovereign. At the conclufion of this
ceremony fhe repaired to the fenate, the members o f which
body acknowledged her foie emprefs. A report, induftrioufly
circulated
circulated, that Peter was killed by a fall from his horfe, CHAP-
proved very favourable to the fuccefs o f the revolution.1— J—>
T h e fuite o f the emprefs continually augmented. Two regiments
o f guards, who had fcarcely quitted Peteriburgh in
order to join the army in Pomerania, were immediately recalled
; and as they were exafperated againft the emperor
for having forced them to leave the capital, they repaired
without delay to the ftandard o f the emprefs.
Even in thofe governments where the pretorian bands,
ftationed in the capital, depofe fovereigqs, or raife them to
the throne, fome plauiible pretence mult be urged to render
a revolution popular, and to engage the general voice to ratify
the deed o f the foldiery. When Elizabeth feized the reins
o f empire, the attachment o f the nation to the memory o f
her father induced the publick to applaud that tranfacftion :
and in this inltance Peter III. had by fome part o f his conduit
rendered himfelf fo odious, and, by others, fo
contemptible to his fubjeits, that the firft account o f his dethronement,
and o f Catharine’s acceffion, announced in the
following manifefto, was received with univerfal joy.
il Catharine II. by the grace o f God emprefs and autocratix
“ o f All the Ruffias, to all our faithful fubjeits, &c.
“ All the true fons o f Ruffia have clearly feen the danger
“ to which the whole Ruffian empire has been expofed.
“ Firft, the foundation o f our orthodox Greek religion has
# heenfhaken, and its tradition expofed to total ruin, fo that
“ ir was to be feared that the faith, which has been eftabliffied
“ in R uffiafrom the'earlieft times, would be entirely changed,
“ and a foreign religion introduced. In the fecond place,
“ the glory which Ruffia had acquired at the expence o f fo
“ much blood, and which was carried to the greateft height
by her victorious arms, has been trampled under foot by •
D a « the