The violence of his temper would break forth in a manner
moil: difrefpeCtful to the emprefs. Once in particular, while
the duke of Bevern had an audience, Biron burft into the apartment
without ceremony, threatening, with the moll horrid imprecations,
that he would no longer be vexed and tormented
by her fervants, but would retire into Courland. Having
uttered thefe words, he quitted the room, and Ihut the door
with great violence. The emprefs, in the higheft coniter-
nation, lifted up her hands to heaven, then clafped them
together, and being almoft ready to faint, Ihe opened the
window for frelh air. While lhe continued in this .agitation,
the dutchefs of Courland, accompanied with her children, entered
the room, kneeled down, and entreated the emprefs to forget
and forgive the paffionate behaviour of her huiband. Anne in
this, as in every other inftance, relented, and bore with his
infolence *.
His influence over his imperial miftrefs was fuch, that during
the fitting of the cabinet council, lhe ufed frequently to repair
to an adjoining room, in which her favourite remained, to receive
his advice, or rather his orders. She had no table of her
own, but ufed to dine with his family.
He knew only two languages, the German, and his native jargon
fpoken in Courland ■, fo that he governed the extenfive empire
of Ruflia without even underitanding its language. He even
* Bufching’s Wochentiliche Nachrichten, 1774, p. 316.
piqued
piqued himfelf on his ignorance of that tongue, having once c h a p .
faid in the prefence of the emprefs Anne, that he would not learn . . _ .
the Ruffian, becaufe he could not bear to read before her ma-
jefty all the reports and memorials which were daily tranimitted
to him.
Biron was undoubtedly a man of very great capacity; during
his whole adminiflration, the external fplendour of the Ruffian
empire, and its internal tranquillity, announced the wifdom of his
meafuresj and he ihe wed his judgment in employing fuch a
ftatefman as Oftermah, and fuch a general as Munich.
He was a fincere friend and an implacable enemy; and it was
juftly faid of Him, that he feldom forgot a benefit, and always
remembered an injury.
He amaffed an enormous fortune in money and jewels; and
on public occafions his magnificence * far exceeded the magnificence
of the emprefs.
He had fo long directed the affairs of a great empire, that he
* In his vifit o f ceremony to the M a r - 5 . S ix running footmen,
quis de la Chetardie, the .French embaf- 6. T w o blacks,
fador, he was preceded by the following 7. T h ir ty lacquies on foot,
peoceffion: 8. T w e lv e pages..
1 . A n officer o f his court on horfe- 9. N in e heydues.
' t a c k . 10. His mailer o f the horfe,. -
2 . T w o fervants on horfebaek. Laftly , T he- duke himfelf in a fplendid
3 . T h r e e carriages.drawn by fix horfes, carriage drawn by fix horfes; behind, two
containing fix cavaliers.' fervants in. T u rk ittt drefles.
4. Tw en ty - fo u r fervants on horfebaek..
could