It will be enough to illustrate10 the kind of life which he and his companions led by a short account of one of their pastimes. I have said that the expedition to Holland and England, which had in part the object of seeking grave alliances for the Empire in the west, was preceded by the revels11 of the carnival12. These took the form of such pageantry and rioting as one found in most countries of Europe at the time, but there was an incident of the Moscow procession which introduces us to a startling feature of the life of Peter’s circle. One of the leading figures of the procession was a drunken old man who was dressed in ludicrous imitation of the Patriarch, the head of the Russian Church, riding on an ox, and accompanied by his spiritual court, an equally drunken and dissolute crowd, on the backs of hogs14, bears, and goats. These were Peter’s intimate friends, and the entire masquerade was designed by him.
The mock Patriarch was Zotoff, the tutor whom Natalia had given her son in his youth and who had suffered Peter to contract at an early date a love of every kind of dissoluteness. Some time before this year Peter, who led the revels in the foreign quarter and outdid all in boisterous16 practical jokes, had dubbed17 the old man—he was now nearly seventy, though he took his wine and brandy with the youngest—“Archbishop of Presburg and Patriarch of the banks of the Iaouza [the neighbouring stream], and the whole of the Kaukaui [a slang name of the wild foreign quarter].” The joke grew upon the heavy taste of the Tsar. He declared himself the Patriarch’s “deacon,” and his friends were formed into a group of “cardinals18,” who must hold occasional “conclaves.” The ridicule20 of the Papal Court was doubtless appreciated at Moscow, but even the most thoughtless may have been sobered by the equal burlesque21 of the head of the Russian Church. Historians again break into a dozen different explanations. Some hold that he was preparing the way for his destruction of the power of the Russian clergy22: which is to credit him with a large foresight23 and deliberateness of action that one finds it impossible to accept. It is more likely that he acted from sheer mockery of religion, adding the Papal details so as partially24 to disarm25 or perplex his Russian pietists. We need not suppose that Peter had definite sceptical convictions. There were few definite convictions of any kind in his sodden26 mind.
Earlier Tsars had humbly27 walked beside the Patriarch, holding the bridle28 of his mule29, in the great procession on Palm Sunday. Peter substituted for this the procession of his mock Patriarch, an aged30 toper who must have made a pretty Silenus, and his court. The “cardinals” were, as I said, the hardest drinkers and most dissolute adventurers of Peter’s intimate circle. The Frenchman (or Genevan) Lefort and the Scot Patrick Gordon were prominent amongst them; and there were other foreigners. They sprang from the lowest ranks of the people or from the highest nobility. Race, religion, or rank counted for nothing in “The Council of the Mad Ones,” as the society was (amongst other titles) known. From cunning and policy, and out of his constant itching31 to test his authority, Peter included also men of high taste and character. When men were forced to take quarts of wine and brandy they were apt to speak their thoughts, and Peter always kept a sober ear.
This was the detail of the carnival-procession of 1697. It was repeated in 1698, at the conclusion of the red horror of the streltsui. A mitre crowned the white locks of the intoxicated32 Zotoff, who was otherwise dressed as Bacchus, and a crowd of Bacchantes (probably the lady-friends of the cardinals from the foreign quarter) performed the well-known lascivious33 dance around him. With that freakishness which often gave something akin34 to the license35 of insanity36 to Peter’s imagination, he ordered his Bacchantes to bear burning tobacco-leaves. In England he had disposed of the tobacco-monopoly, and he was determined—in spite of the frowns of the clergy—to make his subjects smoke. The “Mad Ones” followed on their fantastic steeds.
It is necessary, if one would pass a comprehensive verdict upon Peter “the great,” to tell that this was something far more than a carnival-jest. He maintained the institution all his life, and was ever inventing fresh enormities for it. When a man was, willingly or unwillingly39, appointed to the “council,” he had to go to the house of the Patriarch, where four stutterers belonging to the large troupe41 of entertainers in the Tsar’s household introduced him. He received his red cardinalitial robes, and went to the “Consistory,” or meeting of the cardinals. There they sat on casks before the throne of Zotoff, were served with much wine by men dressed as Roman monks42, and went in procession to the “Conclave19,” which was held in a house prepared as a parody44 of the Sistine Chapel45 at Rome during an election of a Pope. They were confined there for three days and nights, and plied46 constantly with drink by Peter’s servants; and Peter himself listened in secret for any hint of treasonable inclination47. The kind of language used, and the things done, may be gathered from the extant letters of Peter to his Patriarch. At their normal meetings various women, of whom we will see something presently, were present.
Two incidents will show how Peter sustained to the end of his life the frame of mind which he shows in these things; for it was he who laboriously48 invented every detail of the riot. In 1714, in the midst of his heavy struggle with Sweden, he decided49 that he would marry Zotoff, who was then eighty-four years old, to a lady of noble birth sixty years old. The most elaborate and costly50 preparations were made for months, and a brilliant pageant13 was put upon the streets of St. Petersburg. All the nobles, sober or dissolute, had to take part, dressed as savages51 or bishops52, making a hideous53 discord54 with every instrument of noise that could be invented. A banquet and mighty55 drinking bout56, prolonged for several days, closed the ceremony.
Zotoff died a few years later, and it was necessary to proceed to the election of an “Archbishop of St. Petersburg in the diocese of drunkards, gluttons57, and madmen.” The Conclave was held in a mock nunnery, presided over by a lady of noble birth and dissolute habits; and the “cardinals” kissed her breasts as they took the ballot-balls (eggs) from her hands. Later still, within a few years of his death, Peter decided that his new Patriarch must marry Zotoff’s widow. After ceremonies which could only partly be described the couple were married, thoroughly58 intoxicated, and put to bed in a monument in the public square where the populace could enjoy the spectacle in its own indelicate way. In fine, only two years before the Tsar’s death, the Patriarch died, and it was necessary to elect another. Peter’s idea on this occasion, which was carried out, was to enclose the “cardinals” for twenty-four hours, saturating59 them all the time with wine and brandy, and then let them choose a spiritual head.
It is not “history” delicately to suppress these things, or merely hint that Peter sought relief from his colossal61 labours in somewhat boisterous jokes, and then enumerate62 the deeds by which he earned the title of “the great.” These, and his ferocious63 bursts of rage—his brutal64 attacks on a man or woman who offended, and his truculent65 torture and murder of graver offenders—are part of his normal character. He had no feeling of decency67 or morals; indeed his whole life was a mockery of it. He was wholly devoid68 of any kind of fine or tender sentiment. Occasionally, with a dull air of generosity69, he pardoned an offender66; and he set up many philanthropic institutions at Moscow and St. Petersburg. Habitually71 he was coarse and unrestrained in the last degree. He would in public play with the breasts of noble ladies of the court, and many of his private acts and expressions cannot be described. I am not stressing the fact that Peter was immoral72, which is not inconsistent with greatness, even of character. He was, in these and a thousand other things, little, petty, shallow, uncivilised.
It would, however, be not less unjust to dwell upon these matters to the exclusion73 of those services to his country which have, it is generally understood, made Peter the one great monarch75 of the Romanoff dynasty. These must be duly considered. They fall naturally into two categories: the reforms by which he at least broke some of the ice which locked Russia in its rigid76 medi?valism, and the wars by which he lessened77 the power of its hereditary78 enemies and profitably extended its boundaries.
The habit of writing history from a dynastic point of view is so deep-rooted that many a reputation lingers in our democratic age after the sentiments on which it was originally based have disappeared. This applies in part to Peter’s fame as a conqueror79. He created an army and a navy, he weakened and thrust back the Swedes, and he regained80 a large part of southern Russia. These were large and needed services, but—without passing minutely from battlefield to battlefield, which is not the purpose of this study—we must see how far these aims were plainly conceived in a mastermind and with what ability they were achieved.
Peter had spent ten precious years playing at soldiers and making boats in the vicinity of Moscow. The shallowness of the plea that he was seriously preparing for a great task is seen the moment he sets out on his first military adventure. He decided to attack Sweden. Some historians would have us picture the young genius brooding over a map of Russia and considering in which direction he may cut a channel for its commerce (which hardly existed) to the sea and the broad world beyond. That was not his way. His one imperial idea was, as I said, that he would create an army and a navy, and would use them. It was fairly obvious that they must be used against Sweden, but his journey had, in any case, lodged81 this idea in his mind. It had begun in Sweden, where the King had treated the young boor83 with the disdain84 he felt for his person and his power. It ended in Poland, which had succumbed85 to Sweden and hated it. From Vienna, at the end of his trip, Peter had gone to Rawa and spent a few days with Augustus II of Poland. Augustus was a man after his own heart: a tall, strong man, a great hunter and hard drinker and loose liver. They talked much about Sweden and, with the fervour of intoxicated youth, decided to smite86 that formidable power.
Sweden was still at the top of the wave which lifted up and cast down one European nation after another, and many powers were jealous of it. Peter and Augustus entered upon a crude diplomatic campaign for the formation of a league against it. The Prussians were too cool and cynical87 to promise to do more than share the spoils of any victory, but the Danes and Dutch consented. In 1700 Peter secured peace with the Turks in the south and joyously88 led his grand new army, of 40,000 men, to the siege of Narva. He would, he said, avenge89 the insults put upon his imperial majesty90 in Sweden: to which he had gone as a non-commissioned officer of the Preobrajenshote regiment91. His artillery92 made little impression upon the town, and his long carouses93 left him imperfectly informed on the larger situation. In point of fact the King of Sweden had patched up a peace with Denmark and was hurrying to Narva. On November 17th the Tsar heard that King Charles and his seasoned soldiers were a day’s march away from his camp, and—he fled. It is suggested that his officers prevailed upon him not to expose his valuable life to danger. It is claimed that he hurried off to spur on his lagging reinforcements. It is said—by himself—that he did not know of the nearness of the Swedish King. From all which the majority of soldiers and historians conclude that Peter fell into a panic at the first smell of real gunpowder94, and fled. His grand new army could do no better, and a Swedish force not one-fourth as large sent the Russians scurrying95 back to their frontier.
Peter the Great
It seems to have been the laughter of Europe which roused the Tsar from the half-hysterical condition into which he fell, and it may be said that from that time forward he became a more vigorous and skilful96, and generally courageous97, commander. That he ever became a great soldier is emphatically denied by many competent authorities. But he had, we saw, two qualities of value: a colossal nervous energy, and a great promptness to seek teachers in the more advanced west. He entered upon terrific preparations for a more promising98 campaign. Brushing aside the clergy, he melted down their bells to make cannon99, and he, swinging from place to place with giant strides, spurred his subjects to throw all their energy into the task. That he had a clear and statesmanlike idea of opening “a window upon Europe” may very well be questioned. It is more in accord with his psychology100 to suppose that his mind did not go much beyond a fierce resolve to beat Sweden. But out of his very need to create an army for this purpose he began to develop his Empire. He needed money, and his merchants must earn more money. He needed metal, and it must be found. He was stung by the opinion of the world that Russia was still barbaric, and he struck fiercely at cherished old traditions. He saw the Church, especially on its monastic side, as a great fat pale fungus101 sucking the national sap, and he attacked it.
Many of his internal reforms belong to this period. In 1698, we saw, he had fallen, scissors in hand, upon the Russian beard, and desecrated102 it. A ukase ordered all Russians to shave the chin, and even this change cost a mighty struggle. Ancient texts of Scripture103 plainly sanctioned the beard: sacred ikons showed that the saints, and even Christ, had always worn beards: and, in fine, it was not comfortable to have to face the piercing Russian winds in the winter with a clean-shaven face. Peter fought for years against this symbol of the power of antiquity104. Soldiers were put at the doors of churches and instructed to pull out the beards of rebels. Heavy fines were imposed.
With this went a reform of the clothing. Long, skirted coats were traditional, and had become sacred; and they were considered warmer in a Russian winter. Peter ordered shorter and more workman-like coats, and patterns were exhibited in the streets to the outraged105 people. The nobles were, as a rule, not unwilling38 to dress in western fashion. The poor were allowed a few years in which to wear out their long coats. But it was a long and futile106 struggle, as pictures of Russian peasants show to-day. Even women were ordered to trail less cloth and, to the boisterous amusement of the crowd, the skirts of the recalcitrant107 were lifted up in the street by officials and torn or sheared108.
The position of woman was a more direct religious concern. The customs which made the Russian woman, especially of the middle and better class, a slave of her menfolk and easy victim of the clergy, had been elaborated and codified109 by the clergy themselves, though in substance the zealous110 enclosure of women was, we saw, borrowed alike from Tatars and Greeks. A girl lived in terror behind locked doors, growing fat for the marriage-mart. The way out from her quarters was through the father’s room, and, whenever she was suffered to go out, she was heavily veiled. Marriages were arranged by deputies. Even during the ceremony bride and bridegroom were separated by a curtain. The bride went to bed while her new husband was thoroughly intoxicated below—the worse the bargain his relatives had made for him the more carefully he was stupefied with drink—and when he at length reeled into the room, she showed her face for the first time. Usually he did not examine her face closely. If he were sober enough to find that he had a pock-marked, cross-eyed, lean and skinny spouse111, he might there and then bully112 her into a promise to enter a nunnery and leave him free. The marriage was generally consummated113 before he came to dislike her, but the resource was still open to a resourceful man. The stick was a powerful instrument of persuasion114, and it was used generally and brutally115. Women drank heavily in their miserable116 quarters, and remained in the last degree of ignorance and superstition117.
Peter’s mother, and the example of Sophia, had already raised some defiance118 of this tradition. Peter himself loathed119 it and violently assailed120 it: partly because it was one of the antique practices which made Russia ridiculous and kept it unprogressive, partly because he genuinely wanted the women, morals or no morals, to enjoy life as his gay women-friends of the foreign quarter, and later of his court, did. He kicked over the barriers and encouraged women to come out. He ordered a six weeks’ interval121 between betrothal122 and marriage, and wanted girls to see men before they married them. He gave his daughters a French governess, and urged his nobles to do the same, or send their daughters abroad to be educated. In 1704 he startled and outraged Moscow by having a procession of young ladies on the street, scattering123 flowers and showing their fresh faces to the world.
Toward the close of his reign15 (in 1718) he desperately124 ordered his people to hold periodical receptions, or “drawing-room” entertainments, in their houses from four in the afternoon until ten. It is understood that his recent visit to Paris gave him the idea. Chess and smoking and dancing and drinking—but no cards or dice—were to be provided, and men and women were to mix socially. But social intercourse125 enforced by the knout is not apt to be genial126. They were, as far as the law was obeyed, melancholy127 entertainments.
To all these reforms the clergy and monks were opposed, and he quickly attacked their power and wealth. In the December of 1699 he flouted128 the Church-calendar and decreed that henceforward, as in the rest of the civilised world, the year would begin on the First of January. An entire reform of the calendar was beyond even his audacity129, and Russia still lingered behind the world. In 1700 he ordered the opening of apothecaries’ shops in Moscow, and, although the bulk of the messes sold in such places at the time were not much more efficacious than charms or the prayers of the monks, it was a healthy assault on tradition and the trade of the priests. In the same year he began his direct assault upon the ecclesiastical authorities.
The Patriarch of Moscow died in October, and Peter boldly refused to appoint a successor. It could not be pretended that such an institution was an essential part of the Russian tradition, as the patriarchate of Moscow had been founded only by Boris Godunoff, but the murmurs130 of the clergy may be imagined. Peter appointed instead a “Superintendent of the Patriarchal Throne,” and through this man he got control of the wealth and affairs of the Church. A separate department took control of the monasteries131, and the Tsar made a bold attack upon this economic evil. Monasteries and convents were full of men and women who were religious only in name and dress. Frequently they took no vows132, and their sole intention was to enjoy the immunities133, the well-fed idleness, and the frequent dissoluteness of the religious institutions. As in other lands, centuries of ignorant piety134 had showered wealth upon an institution which at first had won sympathy by its austerity and now retained it by hypocrisy135. Such a condition, when Peter sought for war-purposes every rouble he could get, stirred his wrath136, and he had little piety to restrain him. He “regulated” the incomes of the monasteries and convents in such fashion that they became less attractive to economic parasites137 and sensual hypocrites. As time went on he increased the restrictions138 of monastic life, and tried to compel the monks to teach or work.
To the dissenters139 he was, naturally, more lenient140 than his predecessors141, though he took advantage of their nonconformity to secure heavy fines for his treasury142; and to foreign heretics he gave complete liberty. Clergy, monks, and dissenters roared their discontent, openly calling him “Antichrist,” but Peter was content with an occasional execution or application of the knout to some monk43’s broad shoulders. In 1721 he at length conceived a plan of Church-government, and created the “Ecclesiastical College,” as the supreme143 clerical authority, which became in time the Holy Synod. His futile efforts to educate Russia out of its morass144 of superstition and conservatism will be noticed later. For the moment I would recall only how the mighty problems raised by the appalling condition of the country forced themselves upon him in the course of his one clearly conceived design: the destruction of the Swede. When he thus saw an abuse he smote145 it, angrily and unscientifically. He had not the mood or mind to sit down to the elaboration of a constructive programme. He probably devoted146 more time, and more cheerfully, to creating the rules and orgies of his “Mad Ones” than to the conception of a system of education.
In 1701 he, after a mighty drinking bout with Augustus, made a fresh treaty with Poland and renewed the war with Sweden. The war went on with varying success until, in 1703, Peter took the marshy147 region which included the mouth of the river Neva. For some reason—it may have been because it was believed that here Rurik and his brothers had entered Russia—the Tsar fell into the wildest rejoicing, and began almost immediately to form a wooden settlement on the bank of the river. This was the humble148 foundation of St. Petersburg. It seems to have been at a later date that he conceived the idea of making it the new capital of Russia, and his choice has been very severely149 criticised. For a metropolis151 it was too near Sweden, the great hostile power of the time, and not easy of defence. For commercial purposes it was inferior to Riga or Libau, which he afterwards took, and could only with great difficulty and sacrifice be converted at all into a centre of commerce. But Peter loathed Moscow, with its musty air of conservatism and its gilded152 palaces and churches. He must have a new capital, and a centre of the northern region he was gaining. His genius was energy, not insight or foresight. With the labours of—it is said—hundreds of thousands of Swedish prisoners, whose lives were recklessly squandered153, he raised the primitive154 St. Petersburg and embodied155 in it, as he thought, the new spirit of progress.
He was now creating, with dim large vision of a great future, and his wild Dionysiac nature rejoiced in the labour and in the rewarding feast. In the next year, 1704, he took Narva, after a long and bloody156 siege; and in his morbid157 nervous way, with his wretched lack of self-control and chivalrous158 feeling, he struck the brave Swedish commander across the mouth, for resisting so long, when that general was brought before him, and, with pitiful spite, had the body of the man’s wife dug up and thrown into the river. Still he had to fight on for years, with varying fortune. All the time he wrung159 money out of his country and urged his generally incompetent160 and despised envoys162 abroad to get for him money and allies. Poland deserted163 him and made peace with Sweden; and just at that time trouble arose in the south, among the Cossacks, to divert his attention.
Ivan Mazeppa, the hetman of the Cossacks of Little Russia, or the Ukraine, disliked finding taxes for Peter, and entered into negotiations164 with the Swedes. The Ukraine was, like most of Russia, full of bitter discontent. There seemed some hope of securing independence. A Cossack chief whose daughter was seduced165 by Mazeppa fled to Peter and warned him; but Peter’s insight failed, as it often did, and he handed the informer to Mazeppa for punishment. Mazeppa continued to correspond with the Swedes and promise co-operation if they invaded Russia. It was the early summer of 1708 before Charles of Sweden entered Russia, and Peter decided to baffle him as Napoleon would be baffled at a later date. The Russians fell back, laying waste the provinces as they retired166, and drew the Swedes on to spend a winter in the frozen plains. The details do not concern us. Charles in time found himself threatened with famine. Mazeppa found, when he was at length stung into action, that only two thousand of his Cossacks would follow his adventurous167 banner; and he packed his gold in two barrels and set out on his hopeless enterprise. And Peter, reaping at last the reward of all his toil168, fell upon the Swedes at Poltava and defeated them.
It is true that King Charles was wounded and the Swedish army worn and demoralised; and it is true that Peter, eager to celebrate his victory in the usual way, allowed the Swedes to retire more cheaply than a great commander would have done. But he had redeemed169 his failures, and had dealt a great blow at Sweden. Incidentally he had done much to recover, or gain, his personal repute, so badly shaken since he had fled at Narva. In the battle of Poltava he faced the bullets, and got one through his hat and another—rather a disputable one this—on the breast, which broke its force miraculously170 on his jewelled cross. He was soon back in Moscow arranging a pageant. He posed, as Hercules in the procession.
The next few years were spent in feverish dreams of larger armies and imperial expansion, checked periodically by bad diplomacy171 and poor economics. His generals took Riga for him, however, and overran the Baltic provinces. Then the wily Swede roused on his flank a more terrible enemy than the Cossack. At the beginning of 1711 he heard that the Turks and Tatars were afield, and he hurried south with 45,000 men: also many thousand women and camp-followers, for, when the Tsar would take his Catherine, other officers would have their wives or some equivalent. The result was that the large and unwieldy body soon found itself in a worse situation than that into which the Russians had drawn172 Charles. An army of Turks and Tatars, four or five times as numerous as the Russians, closed round them on the river Pruth. There was no escape.
From the many accounts of Peter’s behaviour on that occasion one seems bound to conclude that he lost his new courage, and fell into a state of maudlin173 despair. It seems also to be a myth that his Catherine roused and saved him. His generals fortunately knew the venality175 of Turkish commanders, and a very heavy bribe176—including, apparently177, Catherine’s jewels—passed to the Grand Vizier’s camp. The terms, one would think, were hardly worth so large a bribe. Peter was to evacuate178 Azoff and all the territory in the south that he had taken from the Turk: he was to give up the Baltic provinces to Sweden, except the district at the mouth of the Neva, for which he passionately179 pleaded; and he was to pay a very large indemnity180. He swaggered back to Moscow and endeavoured to brazen181 it out.
Again he settled down to stern exertions182, to prepare an army and navy and seek allies. In 1717 he went to Paris in search of aid, carefully leaving Catherine behind, though (as we shall see) he had now married her. His conduct was more sober than on the earlier journey, though it was eccentric enough and gave Paris food for talk for many years. When they had at length found Peter a lodging183 more or less to his taste, he declared that the young king, Louis XV, must come to see him; and, eager as he was to see the sights of Paris, he kept his hotel three days and nights in the hope of forcing the visit. But we need not again enlarge upon his eccentricities184. He came away without hope of alliance, and France played with him to the end of his life. Two years later he proposed to marry his daughter Elizabeth to Louis XV, having failed to get the grandson of George I. When that project was at last very firmly declined, he asked at least for a prince of the blood, and he was humoured with negotiations until he died. As we shall see, Elizabeth was the illegitimate daughter (legitimised by later marriage) of Peter and a peasant-woman who had been for a time almost common camp-property.
In brief, to make an end of wars, Peter took Finland and beat the Swedes on the Baltic, but he brought the terrible English fleet upon his new vessels186. A peace was arranged at Nystadt in 1721, and, for a payment of two million crowns, Peter was suffered to keep his gains on the Baltic. There was a stupendous flow of beer and wine and brandy at St. Petersburg. Peter lit the fireworks with his own hand, and, although the Senate now gravely nominated him “Father of his Country” and “Emperor of all the Russias,” he mingled187 with the crowd, wore a fancy dress, and danced and sang and leaped on to tables like a school-boy.
Peter had, therefore, as a result of twenty years of costly warfare188, which embittered189 his subjects, been permitted to buy the fringe of territory which brought his Empire to the shores of the Baltic: the Cossacks of the Don and the Ukraine were, of course, already subject to Russia, and were merely prevented from breaking away. This, and the creation of an army and navy and lowering of the prestige of Sweden, were his accomplishments190 on that side. His other ventures in the way of expansion were crude and unsuccessful. Several times he made fruitless efforts to reach India and Persia, but was always defeated. In 1721 the governor of Astrakhan sent word that the Turks would forestall191 his design upon Persia, and in the following May, having peace with Sweden, he led 100,000 men south from Astrakhan. The expedition was poorly organised, and had to return in some disgrace.
In the following year, 1723, he made his last and wildest effort. Two frigates192 set sail, secretly and hastily, from the port of the capital, and were presently driven back by storms. These two vessels, of poor capacity, had actually been ordered by Peter, in the prime of his age, to take the island of Madagascar, and possibly sail on from there to India! Peter had heard that the Swedes were about to do this, and he had written a letter to “the king of Madagascar,” urging him to see that a Russian was better than a Swedish protectorate. Such was the value of the Tsar’s famous training in ship-building that he insisted that a few useless alterations193 should be made and the boats should start again, and he fell furiously upon his officers when they pointed40 out the impossibility.
The internal reforms which he effected were of that large, violent, and unsystematic character which one would expect from his nature. I have described some of these, and shown how they were, in great measure, angry and impulsive194 thrusts at evils which thwarted195 his plans. Brigandage196 was still very common, on a large scale, in Russia, and interfered197 with the industry which was to supply his sinews of war, so Peter attacked it vigorously. Mendicancy198 had, as everywhere in the Middle Ages, become an opportunity of virtue199 and a wicked leak of the nation’s energy. The lash200 of Peter’s knout fell upon the beggars. Men still killed each other instead of killing201 Swedes and Turks, and Peter forbade them to carry knives. He fostered and protected home-industries, and sent young men to Holland and Italy to learn trades. He spurred the native production of iron and copper202, sent expeditions in search of gold, dug miles of canals, and tried by heavy punishments to break Russian traders of their notorious dishonesty. He pressed reform in agriculture, introduced breeding studs, and slightly alleviated203 the lot of the serfs, who were now sold like cattle or negroes. He regulated municipal life, dividing the country into administrative204 areas and created a Senate. Nothing was done thoroughly, and all was done for the purpose of extracting (by a crude fiscal205 system and thoroughly dishonest officials) more money for the army and navy. Yet these were all valuable innovations, and they entitled Peter, as far as they went, to a name only a little less than “great.”
His most beneficent design, and his chief failure, was in the matter of education; general illiteracy206 was still the rule in Europe. Russia was merely a few degrees worse than other countries in that respect. But social visionaries were appearing here and there, pointing out the connection between ignorance and crime and poverty, and some of them found the ear of Peter. Impulsively207, as usual, he declared that he would have universal, compulsory208 education in Russia. A Ukase of February 28th, 1714, ordered the opening of provincial209 schools, and Peter rushed to other tasks. Five years later he learned from an official report that one such school had been opened, and it had twenty-six pupils. He returned again and again to the subject, and failed as much from his own lack of patient study as from the general hostility210 of his subjects. His ideas of schooling211 were extremely crude, and they stultified212 themselves in practice. All that we can say is that, as in the case of most of the other reforms, he did bring a few rays of light into the medi?val darkness of Russia, and is for that entitled to grateful recognition.
Had these reforms been associated with a different type of character they might very well, in spite of their grave incompleteness, dispose us to grant the title of “Peter the Great.” But if that epithet213 is to measure the stature214 of the whole man we must strenuously215 refuse it. The Tsar was energetic, persevering216 in congenial tasks, even highly endowed in intellect; but his gifts and, accomplishments were marred217 by deep, habitual70 vices74 and weaknesses which make it ludicrous to call him a great man. To this aspect we turn again before we consider the closing tragedies of his reign.
I have sufficiently218 introduced the kind of men who were the intimate friends and coworkers of the Tsar in his youth. Lefort and Gordon both died in 1699, and new favourites arose. Some of these were, like General Sheremetieff, fine and loyal servants of proved worth. Some were, like Romodanovski, nobles of high birth and ability who, in spite of their insufferable haughtiness219 and despotism, served the Tsar and the State well. But a large number were mere60 adventurers whom a glib220 tongue, a large capacity for liquor, or a contemptible221 obsequiousness222 commended to the Tsar, and who then plundered223 the Empire with utter unscrupulousness. Of these Menshikoff was the most prominent, most successful, and most infamous224.
Legends grew like mushrooms in the dank soil of Peter’s reign, and Menshikoff’s origin is, like that of many of his colleagues, very obscure. It seems certain that, either as a boy or a young man, he sold meat-pies on the streets of Moscow; and Peter lets us know that he was an illegitimate child. The wit with which he plied his trade attracted Lefort, who made a valet of him, and then attracted Peter, who appropriated him. Peter gave him a license which many historians interpret in accordance with the morals of the time. He went everywhere with the Tsar and became rich. In 1706, for no public merit, he became a Prince; in 1711 he bought the Duchy of Courland. He was the most corrupt225 and venal174 of Peter’s corrupt ministers, and was, on various occasions, compelled to disgorge a total sum of two and a half million dollars, yet remained fabulously226 rich, and as haughty227 and brutal to his serfs and servants as he was rich. Count Golovin, in later years, found a similar type of man, a boot-black, and pushed him at court as a rival of Menshikoff. He did become Public Prosecutor228, but he never dislodged Menshikoff.
After 1700 this man was Peter’s chief associate and private minister. The young Tsar, as we saw in the last chapter, built a palace for him in the foreign quarter, and made it the chief scene of his rollicking. Menshikoff had two sisters, Marie and Anne, who, with Daria and Barbara Arsenieff and Anisia Tolstoi, formed the nucleus229 of the loose young women of the colony. Peter had, at his mother’s instance, married Eudoxia Lapukhin, who bore him two children, Alexander (who died young) and Alexis. She was a typical Russian, of a type as different as possible from that of the Menshikoffs and Arsenieffs. When his mother, Natalia, died, he scattered230 Eudoxia’s relatives and practically deserted her. He is said to have soaked her brother in spirits of wine and set fire to him. Some historians have a light way of marking these stories “incredible,” but very little was incredible in Peter’s world. His pious231 sister-in-law, Prascovia, widow of the Tsar Feodor, one day poured her bottle of brandy over an offending servant, set fire to it, and beat him with her cane232 on the sore spot.
To finish for the moment with Eudoxia, Peter’s first and, apparently, only legitimate185 wife. In 1698, as we saw, he condemned233 her to enter a convent, though there was not the least evidence that she was involved in the conspiracy234. She struggled hard, but a coach bore her away to Suzdal, where we will resume her strange adventures later.
Lefort had been intimate with a young woman named Anna Mons, the daughter of a German wineseller (or, according to others, jeweller) of the colony. Peter, as in other cases, took over his friend’s relict, and set her up, as chief favourite, in a handsome house. In 1703, however, the Saxon envoy161 was drowned near Moscow, and tender letters from Anna were found in his pocket, it is said. At all events Anna went to prison for ingratitude235, but she found the way out and joined the establishment of the Prussian envoy: who, when he presumed to ask of Peter some favour on the ground of his new position, heard her described in terms which may not be translated.
But the list of Peter’s amours, curious and interesting as it is, would unduly236 swell237 the dimensions of this volume. It is enough to note here that his mistresses, of an hour or a year, were almost all of the most common fleshy type: buxom238, sensual, and coarse. One must say seriously, in connection with Peter’s character, that it was as much a matter of economy as of taste. And this is the simple key to his association with the woman whom he eventually, legally or illegally, married and made his Tsarina.
The Empress Catherine shall have a chapter to herself, in which we will tell her early story. From orphan-maid in a Lutheran pastor’s house at Marienburg she had, in 1702, passed to the Russian camp and been successively promoted until she shared the tent of the General, and then entered the harem of Menshikoff. There Peter had discovered her and annexed239 her. She was then eighteen and, by all accounts, not a beauty. But she had the large hips240 and full bosom241, the round red lips and cheeks, the rolling sensual eyes, which Peter loved. Candid242 observers speak of the eyes as insipid243 and staring, and describe the nose as turned up; but she must have had qualities. Probably she was shrewd, pliant244, simple-minded, and rather motherly in his hours of rage and illness. She settled with him in his humble cottage at St. Petersburg and washed his shirts. She bore him two sons, and went with him on his campaigns; and in 1712 he went through the form of marriage with her.
Catherine bore Peter in all eleven children, but the heir to the throne was Prince Alexis, son of his first wife. Eudoxia had had two sons. Alexander had died, and Alexis was, when his mother was enclosed in a convent in 1699, entrusted245 to the egregious246 care of Menshikoff for education. One of Menshikoff’s first tasks was to teach him to drink brandy, and he acquired a truly Russian capacity for drink. As he matured, he was similarly educated in license of conduct. He was, like his father, nervous and unstable247, and he became irritable248, moody249, and coarse. But there was a singular difference between father and son. Alexis was very pious. Piety, in Russia, was apt to lodge82 in a special part of the brain, and did not exclude drunken and dissolute habits. Alexis loved Moscow and its churches and rich ritual and legends of the saints. And, naturally, the spreading discontent at Peter’s “reforms” and blasphemies250 found something in the nature of a focus in the court of Alexis. As he grew up, he intensely disliked his father’s policy.
Peter roughly summoned him to quit Moscow and prepare, by a military education, for the throne. He quailed251 and protested that he did not want to be a soldier. Peter sent him to Dresden, and, hearing that his lady-friends were too numerous and notorious, married him to Princess Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel: a gentle, religious, pock-marked young lady, who could not compete with the livelier dames252. She died in childbirth, and Alexis continued to drink and riot and admire the religious art of Dresden. Peter again sharply scolded him, and gave him the alternative of becoming either a soldier (and Tsar) or a monk, Alexis whined253 that he would rather be a monk than a rough and bloody soldier; though he shuddered254 at the ascetic255 prospect256, and, apparently, intended to escape at his father’s death on the ground that he had taken the vows under compulsion. He still dallied257.
In 1716, Alexis being now twenty-six years old, the Tsar peremptorily258 bade him enter the monastery259 at Tver or join the army. He replied that he was coming to Russia, and he begged to be allowed to bring his latest passion, a young lady named Euphrosyne. After a short delay Peter heard that Alexis and Euphrosyne had fled, and in a terrible rage he sent his agents over Europe in search of his son. They traced him and his lady to an ancient castle in Austria. Alexis had fled to Vienna and hysterically260 begged the Emperor’s protection, and the Emperor had sent him to the obscure castle until he could bring about a reconciliation261. When it was known that Russian spies watched the castle, the Emperor ordered the Prince to leave behind all his Russian comrades, who encouraged him in deep drinking, and fly to Naples; and Alexis, taking only one page for whom he passionately pleaded—it was Euphrosyne, in male dress—fled to the south. Naples was then under the Empire.
The Russian agents at the court of Vienna demanded the surrender of Alexis. Dreading262 the anger of the Tsar, the Emperor sent them on to Naples, and directed his Viceroy that they must have an interview with the Prince. The doors were thrown open, and the agents persuaded Alexis, by lying representations, that Peter would forgive him. Their last argument was that Euphrosyne would be taken away from him unless he complied, and the girl—a lusty, thick-lipped peasant-girl, like Catherine, it seems—tearfully begged her royal lover to go. The jade263 had been bribed264 by Peter’s agents. She was pregnant and was left in Italy, where the price of her treason was quickly spent. Alexis, full of the promise that he had only to ask forgiveness and he could retire to his country-seat and wed37 his dear Euphrosyne, hurried joyfully265 to Moscow.
He arrived on the last day of January (1718), and Moscow, ignorant of the arts by which he had been entrapped266, beheld267 him with tragic268 astonishment269. The Tsar was in one of his worst moods. Three days later a court of clerical and lay dignitaries was formed, and father and son met before them. Peter showered invectives on his miserable son, and then, as Alexis flung himself to the ground and asked pardon, promised to forgive him if he would renounce270 his right to the throne and betray the accomplices271 of his supposed plot. Every man or woman to whom Alexis had disparaged272 his father was named, and Peter shuddered with rage. There had been no conspiracy, Alexis said: nothing but vague murmurs. But the torture-chambers soon rang with shrieks273, and Russian blood streamed again upon the stones of Moscow.
In his bloodshot fury Peter conceived, or affected274, a suspicion that his first wife, Eudoxia, had been in the plot, and a gang of “questioners” went to the convent at Suzdal. Fifty nuns275 were flogged and questioned, but the innocence276 of Eudoxia could not be brought under suspicion. Unhappily a curious page of Eudoxia’s conventual life, which had ended years before, was brought to light. She had had a lover in the convent. A noble named Gleboff had befriended her, and from friendship they passed to intimacy277. Her impassioned love-letters of eight years before were put before the Tsar, and he saw red. Gleboff was horribly tortured and—wrapped in furs, as it was cold, to preserve his vitality278 and torture a little longer—impaled. It is said, but of this we cannot be sure, that Eudoxia was scourged279, naked, by two monks. She was, at all events, confined more strictly280 from that time.
Alexis had complied with the conditions, but Peter “the Great” had not done with his son. The vile281 Euphrosyne was brought to Moscow, and she supplied fresh “evidence.” A new court was convoked282, and it shrank from the murder that the Tsar plainly contemplated283. Alexis was confronted with his faithless lover: he was knouted: and he held to his simple story that he could not be a soldier, and had done no more than criticise150. A third court was set up, and it issued sentence of death; and a few days later the Prince’s body was exposed to the public gaze, with a story that God had spared the father the blood of his son by visiting Alexis with apoplexy. How the Prince really died no man knows, but few, now or then, would believe the story of natural death. . . . It was June 26th; and on June 29th, we read, a new ship was launched, and Peter joined with his usual robustness284 in the merrymaking.
In 1719 Catherine’s son Peter died, and, on the hereditary principle, the crown should pass to little Peter, son of the dead Alexis and Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel. The Tsar was worried, but took no effective steps to settle the very grave matter of the succession. Catherine, too, was worried, for Peter had a new mistress, a woman of far greater charm than she, and it was well within the sphere of his ingenuity285 to secure a divorce and wed again. But the romance of Peter Mikhailoff has already, in spite of condensation286, run to such length, and the new romance so largely concerns Catherine, that we may open a new chapter and present that lady properly to the reader before describing the last phase.
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1
coerced
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| v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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debauch
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| v.使堕落，放纵 | |
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Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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dubbed
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| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
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cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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22
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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itching
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| adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 ) | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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lascivious
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| adj.淫荡的，好色的 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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troupe
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| n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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parody
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| n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文 | |
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45
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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46
plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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47
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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48
laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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49
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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51
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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52
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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gluttons
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| 贪食者( glutton的名词复数 )； 贪图者； 酷爱…的人； 狼獾 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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saturating
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| 浸湿，浸透( saturate的现在分词 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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truculent
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| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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82
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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83
boor
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| n.举止粗野的人；乡下佬 | |
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84
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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85
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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86
smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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87
cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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88
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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89
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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90
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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91
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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92
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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93
carouses
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的第三人称单数 ) | |
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94
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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95
scurrying
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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96
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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97
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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98
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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99
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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100
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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101
fungus
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| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
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102
desecrated
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| 毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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104
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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105
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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106
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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107
recalcitrant
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| adj.倔强的 | |
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108
sheared
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| v.剪羊毛( shear的过去式和过去分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
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109
codified
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| v.把（法律）编成法典( codify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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111
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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112
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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113
consummated
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| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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114
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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115
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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116
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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117
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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118
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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119
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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120
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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121
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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122
betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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123
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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124
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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125
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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126
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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127
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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128
flouted
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| v.藐视，轻视( flout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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130
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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131
monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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132
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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133
immunities
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| 免除，豁免( immunity的名词复数 )； 免疫力 | |
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134
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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135
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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136
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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137
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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138
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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139
dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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140
lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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141
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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142
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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143
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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144
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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145
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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146
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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147
marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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148
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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149
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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150
criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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151
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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152
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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153
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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155
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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156
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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157
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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158
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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159
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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160
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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161
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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162
envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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163
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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164
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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165
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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166
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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167
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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168
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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169
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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170
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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171
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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172
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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173
maudlin
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| adj.感情脆弱的，爱哭的 | |
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174
venal
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| adj.唯利是图的，贪脏枉法的 | |
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175
venality
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| n.贪赃枉法，腐败 | |
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176
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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177
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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178
evacuate
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| v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便 | |
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179
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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180
indemnity
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| n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金 | |
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181
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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182
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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183
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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184
eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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185
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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186
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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187
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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188
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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189
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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190
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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191
forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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192
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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193
alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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194
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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195
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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196
brigandage
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| n.抢劫；盗窃；土匪；强盗 | |
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197
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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198
mendicancy
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| n.乞丐，托钵，行乞修道士 | |
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199
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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200
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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201
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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202
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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203
alleviated
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| 减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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204
administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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205
fiscal
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| adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的 | |
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206
illiteracy
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| n.文盲 | |
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207
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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208
compulsory
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| n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的 | |
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209
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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210
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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211
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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212
stultified
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| v.使成为徒劳，使变得无用( stultify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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213
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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214
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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215
strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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216
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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217
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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218
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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219
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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220
glib
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| adj.圆滑的，油嘴滑舌的 | |
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221
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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222
obsequiousness
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| 媚骨 | |
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223
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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224
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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225
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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226
fabulously
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| 难以置信地，惊人地 | |
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227
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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228
prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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229
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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230
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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232
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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234
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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235
ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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236
unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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237
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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238
buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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239
annexed
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| [法] 附加的，附属的 | |
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hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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241
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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insipid
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| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
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pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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248
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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249
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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250
blasphemies
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| n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为） | |
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251
quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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252
dames
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| n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人 | |
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253
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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254
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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255
ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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256
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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257
dallied
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| v.随随便便地对待( dally的过去式和过去分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
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258
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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259
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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260
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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261
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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262
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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263
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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264
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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266
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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267
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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268
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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270
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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272
disparaged
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| v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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273
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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275
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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276
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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277
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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278
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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279
scourged
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| 鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
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280
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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281
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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282
convoked
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| v.召集，召开（会议）( convoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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283
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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284
robustness
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| 坚固性，健壮性；鲁棒性 | |
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285
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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286
condensation
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| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
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