b o o k empire': the firit is a Ruffian ducat, having the heads o f the
-—,— ‘ two tzars Ivan and Peter Alexievitch on one fide; and on the
other that o f their filler Sophia, with the crown, fceptrej
-and royal robes. The others are two coins o f Ivan and Peter,
which baffle the conjeitures of hiftorians : they bear no
date ; and as thefe princes Were both joint-fovereigns, no
antiquarian has been as yet able to account for their fepa-
rate reprefentatioq, when the money, during their reign,
was, excepting in this inftance, uniformly imprefled with
both their heads.
9. The laft clafs comprifes all the money ilfued by Peter
and his fucceflbrs: upon comparing thefe with the preceding
ones, it is evident to the commoneft obferver, how greatly the
■die was corrected by Peter the Great upon his return from
his travels, and that fince his time it has not been in the leaft
improved *.
T h e cabinet is rich in Eaftern coins; containing, among
Others, an ample collection o f thofe o f the caliphs o f Arabia,
Samarcand; thofe o f the khans o f Bulgaria, o f Crim Tar-
tary, o f A fo f ; and of the Mongol tribe, called by the Ruffians
the Golden Horde. Among the Indian pieces are
the twelve roupees, reprefenting the twelve fign so f the Zodiac,
o f Queen Nourmahall, whofe hiftory, related in the
Travels o f Tavernier +, has more the air o f an Eaftern tale
than o f a true narrative. Thefe roupees are fo extremely
rare, that the original pofleflbr o f this cabinet is faid to have
purchafed them for a thoufand crowns J.
In an adjoining apartment, I was ftruck with a waxen figure
of Peter the Great, as large as life, fitting in an armed
* See Efla i fu r la B ib . p . 245. V e r fu c h -f T a v e rn ie r ’ s T r a v e ls , P a r t I I . p. 10.
* tueber die alten Ruffifchfin M u en tz en . Journ. j B a c km e iik r E ffa i fu r la B ib l. p . 2 54.
" S t .P e t . 1.781.
chair.
chair. The features bear the molt exact refemblance to the c h a p .
original, becaufe they were taken from a mould applied to
his face when dead, and coloured in imitation o f his real complexion.
The eye-brows and hair are tlack, the eyesdark,
the complexion fwarthy, the afpeCt ferocious, and the head
inclined to one fide according to his ufual cuftom; he was very
tall, and, upon meafuring the figure, as well as the attitude
yrould permit, the height was above fix feet. It is clothed
in the only full drefs which that emperor ever wore, and is
the fame which he had on when, with his own hand, he
placed the crown upon the head of his beloved Catharine.
It ts a fuit o f blue filk richly embroidered with filver; the
ftockings are o f fleih-coloured filk, with filver clocks. I
muft own I ihouid have received more fatisfadtion in contemplating
this great monarch’s image, i f it had been drafted
in the plain blue uniform, and brafs-hilted fword, which are
preferved in the fame room, and were worn by him at the
battle o f Pultava: near them is preferved the hat ufed on
the fame occafion, which was pierced near the crown by a
muiket ball. This apartment contains alfo his trowfers
worfted ftockings, ihoes, and cap, which he wore at Sardaml
when he worked in the dock-yard in the character o f Mafter
Peter The Academy o f Sciences have paid the greateft
relpect to the memory o f their illuftrious founder, by pre-
lerving in their mufeum the horfe which he rode at the battle
ot Pultava, two favourite dogs, his turning-lathe and tools,
and ieveral fpecimens o f his workmanihip; an iron bar, on
w ich is the following infcription, “ 172 4 , Thurfday, Feb.
« S MaJefty Peter L being at Olonetz, forged this bar
with his own hand.’’ I muft not omit three goblets o f
8 ’P nted to the fame monarch upon the launching o f
ips of the line, which had been conitru&ed under
L ,n - u his