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Article THE LIFE OF PRINCE POTEMKIN. ← Page 2 of 8 →
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The Life Of Prince Potemkin.
The matrimonial bond was as incapable of fixing the taste of Potemkin as that of his Imperial mistr-.-ss . Tie soon emancipated himself from the obligations imposed by . such a tie , and delegated them to a youth of more ardent feelings , and to one of greater complaisance . This youth was a subaltern in the guards ; his name was Yefmoioff . But his ingratitude to his benefactor removed him from the
situation to which , he had been raised . Potemkin had for a long time gained such an ascendancy over Catharine ' s mind , that no favourite could stand in competition with him . When the Empress visited the Krimea , and in her way thither was joined at KiofF by Marshal Romanzoff , that general was treated with great arrogance by Potemkin . But , whatever value the
Empress attached to the brilliant services of the vanquisher of the . Ottomans , the favour of Potemkin suffered no diminution thereby . Like his r val mistress , he often changed the object of his affections . Among the females who had resorted to the court of Catharine , was a Grecian lady already famous ;* whose charms had probed the heart of Prince Potemkinand threatened to snatch him away from
, the crowd of beauties who contended for his favours . Long previous to her departure from Petersburg , the Empress had sent Major Sergiusto Constantinople , in order to apprize the Divan of her design to come into the Krimea . The Divan did not receive this intelligence with pleasure ; they almost regarded the journey in the li ght of an aggression : they repaired to repel it ; and while tha
Empress was at Kerson , four Turkish ships of the line and sixteen fri gates came and anchored at the mouth of the Borysthenes . These ships were neither inclined , nor , without doubt , had the ability to attempt any thing injurious ; but the very sight of them rankled on Catharine ' s soul . She beheld them with scorn , and could not turn her eyes from viewing them . ' Do you see ? ' said she to her courtiers : ' one would imagine that the Turks no longer remembered Tschesme !'
The Empress was received in the Krimea by the principal Myrzas , whose troops made in her presence various evolutions . All at once the carriages were surrounded by a thousand Tartars , who formed themselves into an escort . Joseph III who had not been apprised of what was to happen , expressed some uneasy apprehensions ; but the Empress preserved her usual tranquillity . These Tartars had previousl y been placed there by Potemkin . They had assuredly no sinister design , but admitting they had , would they have dared to VOL . xt . s s
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Prince Potemkin.
The matrimonial bond was as incapable of fixing the taste of Potemkin as that of his Imperial mistr-.-ss . Tie soon emancipated himself from the obligations imposed by . such a tie , and delegated them to a youth of more ardent feelings , and to one of greater complaisance . This youth was a subaltern in the guards ; his name was Yefmoioff . But his ingratitude to his benefactor removed him from the
situation to which , he had been raised . Potemkin had for a long time gained such an ascendancy over Catharine ' s mind , that no favourite could stand in competition with him . When the Empress visited the Krimea , and in her way thither was joined at KiofF by Marshal Romanzoff , that general was treated with great arrogance by Potemkin . But , whatever value the
Empress attached to the brilliant services of the vanquisher of the . Ottomans , the favour of Potemkin suffered no diminution thereby . Like his r val mistress , he often changed the object of his affections . Among the females who had resorted to the court of Catharine , was a Grecian lady already famous ;* whose charms had probed the heart of Prince Potemkinand threatened to snatch him away from
, the crowd of beauties who contended for his favours . Long previous to her departure from Petersburg , the Empress had sent Major Sergiusto Constantinople , in order to apprize the Divan of her design to come into the Krimea . The Divan did not receive this intelligence with pleasure ; they almost regarded the journey in the li ght of an aggression : they repaired to repel it ; and while tha
Empress was at Kerson , four Turkish ships of the line and sixteen fri gates came and anchored at the mouth of the Borysthenes . These ships were neither inclined , nor , without doubt , had the ability to attempt any thing injurious ; but the very sight of them rankled on Catharine ' s soul . She beheld them with scorn , and could not turn her eyes from viewing them . ' Do you see ? ' said she to her courtiers : ' one would imagine that the Turks no longer remembered Tschesme !'
The Empress was received in the Krimea by the principal Myrzas , whose troops made in her presence various evolutions . All at once the carriages were surrounded by a thousand Tartars , who formed themselves into an escort . Joseph III who had not been apprised of what was to happen , expressed some uneasy apprehensions ; but the Empress preserved her usual tranquillity . These Tartars had previousl y been placed there by Potemkin . They had assuredly no sinister design , but admitting they had , would they have dared to VOL . xt . s s