Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1861-04-27
tTrom the Forthcoming volume Of Macaniay's His
tory.l
PETER THE GREAT IN ENGLAND
"a BilILLrANT HISTORICAL
SKETCH.

PETER THE GREAT IN ENGLAND
"a BRILLEANT HisTORICAL
In the same week in which Whitehall
perished, the Londoners were supplied
with a new topic Of conversation by n
royal visit. which Of all royal visits, was
the least pompous and ceremonious, and
yet the most interesting and Important
On the llth Of January vessel from Hol.
land anchored off Greenwich, and was
welcomed with great respect. Peter the
First, Car Of Mu.covy, was on board
He took boat with few attendants, and
was rowed up the Thames to Norfolk
street where house, overlooking the river,
had been prepared for his reception. His
journey is an epoch in the history not only
Of his own country, but Of ours. and of
the world. To the polished nations of
Western Europe, the empire which he
governed had till then been what Bokara
or Siam is to us. X
Oar ancestors, therefore, were not little
surprised to learn that young barbarian
who had at seventeen years of age, becoms
the autocrat of the immense region
stretching from the confines of Sweden
to those of China, aud whose education
had been inferior to that Of an English
farmer or shopman, had planned gigantic
Improvements, had learned enough of
some languages Of Western Europe to
enable him to communicate with civilized
mcn, had begun to surround himself with
able adventurers from various parts of the
world, had sent many Of his young sub
jects to study languages, arts and sciences
in foreign cities, and finally, had deter.
mined to travel as prIvae man, and to
discover by personal observation, the Sc
cret Of the immense prosperity and power
enjoyed by some communities whose whole
Territory was far less than the one hun
dredth part of his dominions.
1t might have been eXp-cred that FRANCE
would have been the first object OF hi,
cnrioSltv For the grace ani dignity of
the french King, the splendor Of III"
French court, the discipline .: the French
armies aud the genius and learning. OF the
French writers, wefe thea renowned all
over the world. But the Cars mind had
early taken strange r'y which 1t retained
to the last His empire was OF all en-
pires tine least capable OF being made a
great naval power. The Swedish provin-
ces lay between his states and the Baltic.
The BosphoroUS aud Dardanelles lay be
tween his states and the Medterranean.-
He had access TO the ocean only in a Iati-
tude in viii 2h navigation is, during great
part of every year, perilous and difficult.
On the ocean he had only single port,
Archangel and the whole shipping of
Archaugel was foreign. There did not
exist Russian vessel larger than fish
ing boat. Yet, from some cause which
cannot now be traced, he had a taste f,r
maritime pursuits which amounted 20 4
passion, indeed almost to a monomonia-
His Imagination was full OF sails, yard
arms and rudders. That large mind,
equal to the highest duties Of the general
and the statesman, contracted itself to the
most minute details of naval disci pine
Th, chief ambition OF the great conqueror
and legislator was to lie good b,atswain
and good ships carpenter, Holland and
England therefore had for him an attrac,
tion which was wanting to the galleries
and terraces Of Versailles. He repaired
to Amsterdam, took lodging in the dock
yard, assumed the gArb Of a pilot, put
down his name on the list of workmen,
welded with his own hand the ealking-
iron and the malet, fixed the pumps, and
twisted the ropes. Embassadors who
came to pay their respects to him were
forced, much against their will, to CLAM
ber up the rigging of man ofwar, and
found him enthroned on the eross-trees.
Such was the prince whom the populace
of London npw crowded to behold. His
stately form, his intellectual forehead, his
piercing black eyes, his Tartar nose aad
mouth, his gracious smile, his frown black
with all the stormy rage ard hate of a
barbarian tyrant and above all, a strange
nervous convulsion which sometimes trans
formed his counteuancc, during few mo
msnts, into an object on which it was inn
possible to look without terror, the i'm.
menss quantities Of meat which he de-
voured. the pints Of brandy which he
swallowed. and which, it was said he had
carefully distilled with his own hands, the
fool who jabbered at his feet, the monkey
which grinnsd at the back Of his chair,
were. during some weeks, popular topics
Of conversation. He meanwhile shnuned
the public gaze with a naughty shyuess
which nhamed curiosity. He went to II
play but, as soon as he perceived that
pit, boxes, and galleries were start 8, not
at the stage, but at him, ne retired 10
ba ok bench, where he was screened from
observation by his attendants. He was
desirous to see sitting Of the House of
Lords; but, as he was de ermined moi to
BE- seen, he was forced to climb up 30 the
leads, and to peep through a small @indow
He heard with great interest the royal
assent given toa bill for raising fifteen
hundfcd thousand poup is by land tax,