It, on rushing to the guns, found that they could not be fired. The

consequence was that the battery was taken, the men put to flight, and

the guns destroyed. This defeat entirely disconcerted the Russian

army, and so effectually deranged their plans that they were obliged to

raise the siege and withdraw, with the expectation, however, of

renewing the attempt in another campaign.

Accordingly, the next year the attempt was renewed, and many more boats

and vessels were built upon the river to co-operate with the besiegers.

The Turks had ships of their own, which they brought into the Sea of

Azof for the protection of the town. But Peter sent down a few of his

smaller vessels, and by means of them contrived to entice the Turkish

commander up a little way into the river. Peter then came down upon

him with all his fleet, and the Turkish ships were overpowered and

taken. Thus Peter gained his first naval victory almost, as we might

say, on the land. He conquered and captured a fleet of sea-going ships

by enticing them among the boats and other small craft which he had

built up country on the banks of a river.

Soon after this Azof was taken. One of the conditions of the surrender

was that the treacherous artilleryman should be delivered up to the

Czar. He was taken to Moscow, and there put to death with tortures too

horrible to be described. They did not deny that the man had been

greatly injured by his Russian commander, but they told him that what

he ought to have done was to appeal to the emperor for redress, and not

to seek his revenge by traitorously giving up to the enemy the trust

committed to his charge.

The emperor acquired great fame throughout Europe by the success of his

operations in the siege of Azof. This success also greatly increased

his interest in the building of ships, especially as he now, since Azof

had fallen into his hands, had a port upon an open sea.

In a word, Peter was now very eager to begin at once the building ships

of war. He was determined that he would have a fleet which would

enable him to go out and meet the Turks in the Black Sea. The great

difficulty was to provide the necessary funds. To accomplish this

purpose, Peter, who was never at all scrupulous in respect to the means

which he adopted for attaining his ends, resorted at once to very

decided measures. Besides the usual taxes which were laid upon the

people to maintain the war, he ordained that a certain number of

wealthy noblemen should each pay for one ship, which, however, as some

compensation for the cost which the nobleman was put to in building it,

he was at liberty to call by his own name. The same decree was made in

respect to a number of towns, monasteries, companies, and public

institutions. The emperor also made arrangements for having a large

number of workmen sent into Russia from Holland, and from Venice, and

from other maritime countries. The emperor laid his plans in this way

for the construction and equipment of a fleet of about one hundred

ships and vessels, consisting of frigates, store-ships, bomb-vessels,

galleys, and galliasses. These were all to be built, equipped, and

made in all respects ready for sea in the space of three years; and if

any person or party failed to have his ship ready at that time, the

amount of the tax which had been assessed to him was to be doubled.

In all these proceedings, the Czar, as might have been expected from

his youth and his headstrong character, acted in a very summary, and in

many respects in an arbitrary and despotic manner. His decrees

requiring the nobles to contribute such large sums for the building of

his fleet occasioned a great deal of dissatisfaction and complaint.

And very soon he resorted to some other measures, which increased the

general discontent exceedingly.

He appointed a considerable number of the younger nobility, and the

sons of other persons of wealth and distinction, to travel in the

western countries of Europe while the fleet was preparing, giving them

special instructions in respect to the objects of interest which they

should severally examine and study. The purpose of this measure was to

advance the general standard of intelligence in Russia by affording to

these young men the advantages of foreign travel, and enlarging their

ideas in respect to the future progress of their own country in the

arts and appliances of civilized life. The general idea of the emperor

in this was excellent, and the effect of the measure would have been

excellent too if it had been carried out in a more gentle and moderate

way. But the fathers of the young men were incensed at having their

sons ordered thus peremptorily out of the country, whether they liked

to go or not, and however inconvenient it might be for the fathers to

provide the large amounts of money which were required for such

journeys. It is said that one young man was so angry at being thus

sent away that he determined that his country should not derive any

benefit from the measure, so far as his case was concerned, and

accordingly, when he arrived at Venice, which was the place where he

was sent, he shut himself up in his house, and remained there all the

time, in order that he might not see or learn any thing to make use of

on his return.

This seems almost incredible. Indeed, the story has more the air of a

witticism, invented to express the sullen humor with which many of the

young men went away, than the sober statement of a fact. Still, it is

not impossible that such a thing may have actually occurred; for the