Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-05-05
THE WILL OF PETER THE GREAT.

ap,horitv seems TO be attached ia the present cr
ss TO the fiction of history known as The WW Of eler e
Great we subjon refutation Of lis authenticity from thc
New York Tribune:
Public creduity u Europe is continually kept alive con
cernng the great apocypha called the Testament OF fee n
Great In recent number OF The London Times we hnd
extracts from this spurious document graVey put as
worthy of attention. and elsewhere give the pace ~
columns These extracts alone contain conclusive internal
evidence of the fasty Of the whcle paper II hey snow
ANYTHING Il is the will is the product OF modern IDEAS
and views Of things such as were not even deameo OF o
the greutes philosophers in the time oil aud such as
he least of all men, could have originated For example
the will compares the Of Europe 10 The decrepitude oi
the Roman Empire aud holds up an invasion oil the norh
n as being necessary for the regeneration OF
society as was of the German tribes in the early CEN
,ures the Christian era Peter is represented as con
sterine such inuudaons 10 be unavoidable like perlod-
cal floods of the Nile. conception which, with all
of its kind belongs TO the philosophy OF history, as
comprehended by our epoch no attroa.e II 10 me ne
thought and thus greater than Vol'aire Lcbnitz
yco or Herder But the fact is that Peter 100 busy 10
have had study history and speculate upon lis laws
Besides nj his epoch there such idea in existence
the decrepude of Europe and bad there beep he must h
rejected it, for he abored with all his might to
his subjects Finally he died xpectedy 10 The midst oi
varied enterprises and of activity which had no other aim
than TO carry radically the internal reforms ne mad set
ON foot He died Of rapid inammatory disease ater nav
ing taken cold In dragging of the water the crew Of an
upset boat Just they on the point OF drowning AT
the time Of this exploit he was himself laborng under &C.
we're attack Of gave aio eH Is
tha, the first idea Of the PARTITION OF Poand-wh'h Is
another of the points this false
in Berlin and was thence communicated TO Vienna When
frederick The Great Maria Theresa had settled the oIir
themselves the plan was carried to ST. PETERSBURG
by Prince Henry the brother of Frederick 10 be accepted
sanctioned and shared n by Cnharnc isnSe"ise noto
s 10 al, who are acquainted with Russian history thai the
tendency toward Constannope was st positively conceV.
ed aud manifested under the reign OF Cahane H. ls che
suppor ters nj that among others the Opffs and
Potemkin who when Caarno with great pOmp visited the
rauan region raised there umpha win tue
Inscription: "The Road TO Consantnope In the recent
but already famous correspondence between the Emperor
and the British Cabinet the Gar himself admits that hese
ambitious views of Russian policy originated wth CANA,
ne though there had been any POSSIBILITY @ s q"
seize upon it, His hobby Is TO trace back ms actions 70 me
great whom he regards as his mcde and MS ce
aversion is to whatever ageandlzes me eoty anu tne
mory of Catharne Again in this apocyp VIII inc aa-
vic tribes spread over The East oil Europe IN foian1'
tria Hungary and Turkey called Greeks while fetcs ~
all his correspondence and other documents OF his record
Cd in The Russnn history of this sovereign, always MEN
lions them as a kindred people,
The discovery this precious document is traced asai
Sask as 10 The year ' IN ne usu anomaey Of e time Of
XIV i,s godfather This in Itself would Ge more tsan
enough to render doubtful but the London Times as 10
coroborac lis genuincness cites II from History OF fc'er
the Great published in Germany by Edward Pez
Whoever acquainted with Mr. Pcz and his literary pro.
duclions for example with the descriptions OF America
the Americans and of their and customs "hic
furnishes from New York TO papers pnblshcd IN uea
nv will understand that his authority Is Sill less
Trustworthy than that OF even such an aaVentuer as ne
Cbevaer d. Eon We believe that MIR. Pez has made
compilation from other works concerning the history oil re-
cr but il impossible that he himself should have had
cess 10 my sources of Information not perfectly known he.
FORE that for some time he was established a. 81
Petersburg as bookseller OF very Inferior order without
INV connection whatever with OF learning, or oil such
Official rank as 10 have to the Russian archives
For some he always 10 bad odor win me
honse and tho police and finally his shop was shut up oy
the order of the latter and he Obliged TO leave 81 petes
bnrg II seems that this fallen greatness aerward oecame
histoyan and ia now made appear as an auiotiy III
behalf of this spurious testament