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Updated: June 12, 2025
And therefore I must confess it seemed strange to me when I came home, and heard our people say such fine things of the power, riches, glory, magnificence, and trade of the Chinese, because I saw and knew that they were a contemptible herd or crowd of ignorant, sordid slaves, subjected to a government qualified only to rule such a people; and, in a word, for I am now launched quite beside my design, I say, in a word, were not its distance inconceivably great from Muscovy, and were not the Muscovite empire almost as rude, impotent, and ill-governed a crowd of slaves as they, the czar of Muscovy might, with much ease, drive them all out of their country, and conquer them in one campaign; and had the czar, who I since hear is a growing prince, and begins to appear formidable in the world, fallen this way, instead of attacking the warlike Swedes, in which attempt none of the powers of Europe would have envied or interrupted him; he might, by this time, have been emperor of China, instead of being beaten by the king of Sweden at Narva, when the latter was not one to six in number.
Origin of the war with Sweden Peace with the Turks Charles XII Siege of Narva The frontier Plan of the campaign Indignation of the King of Sweden Remonstrances of Holland and England The King of Sweden at Riga the Czar a subordinate General Croy His plans Operations of the king Surprise and defeat of the Russians Terrible slaughter Whimsical plan for disposing of the prisoners Effect upon the Czar New plans and arrangements
The town of Narva, in Ingermanland, was then invested by a great Russian army, sixty thousand some say eighty thousand strong, the Czar Peter being in supreme command, the Duc de Croy commanding under him.
His men were worn out, his horses had not been fed for two whole days. Still he went on; he reached Narva, formed his Swedes into several attacking columns, led one himself, and favored by a sudden hurricane which drove showers of blinding snow into his adversaries' faces, threw himself into their camp and mastered the place in half an hour.
In Poland, the diet being assembled by the cardinal-primate, Stanislaus Lezinski, palatine of Posnania, was elected and proclaimed king, and recognised by Charles of Sweden, who still maintained his army by contributions in that country, more intent upon the ruin of Augustus than upon the preservation of his own dominions; for he paid no regard to the progress of the Muscovites, who had ravaged Livonia, reduced Narva, and made incursions into Sweden.
He requested me to see them, and explain to them his object in depriving himself of the pleasure of expressing personally to them his thanks for their civilities and attention. We only remained at Riga a short time, to recover a little, and to dry our clothes, and then proceeded on our journey. March 26th. We arrived at Narva, where we remained over Sabbath. The weather was most dismal.
Greater examples are seen in his Battle of Narva, when he threw away an army to learn his opponent's game, in his building of St. Petersburg, where, in draining marshes, he sacrificed a hundred thousand men the first year. But the greatest proof of this great lack was shown in his dealings with the serf-system. Serfage was already recognized in Peter's time as an evil.
"Of course, your friend, the Honorable Marnark, enjoys priority of challenge; I'll take care of you as soon as I have, shall we say, satisfied, him." The earnest and rather consecrated-looking young man rose also, bowing to Verkan Vall. "Yirzol of Narva. I, too, have a quarrel with you, Lord Virzal; I cannot submit to the indignity of having my food snatched from in front of me, as you just did.
M. de Rivière, escorting me in his calash, was of no great assistance to me, especially after crossing the Russian frontier and entering the sandy district, for his postilions, from whom he did not know how to exact obedience, were continually taking side roads, while I followed the main road. My first stop I made at Narva, a well-fortified but ugly, ill-paved little town.
The spirit of conquest was now alive among them, and exerting itself both to the east and west; for in 1558 they conquered Narva, in Livonia, and by means of it formed a communication with the rest of Europe by the Baltic sea. To this city the Hanseatic merchants removed their mart from Revel.
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