than an idiot; but his death was thought necessary to facilitate the ascension of the empress to the imperial throne. This being effected, she announced her accession to all the courts of Europe; and the same year deposed the duke of Courland, and bestowed that title on Biron, one of her own creatures. The next year the king of Poland died, on which she sent an army into that country, and compelled the Poles to elect Ponatoski, to the vacant throne. After this, she carried on a war against the Turks, which lasted about ten years, and ended greatly in favour of Russia. In 1787, fresh hostilities broke out between these formidable powers, when Catherine had a powerful ally in the emperor of Germany. The Turks had then the king of Sweden for an ally, who rendered him but little service. A peace was concluded in January 1792, but the blood shed at Ismael will ever remain a horrid stain in the history of this war.

The

rapacious Catherine now attended to European politics, and her first object was the partition of Poland, an event which will ever be remembered with indignation. This extraordinary woman was as salacious as she was ambitious, paying little or no regard to decency in her amours. Her lovers were extremely ⚫ numerous, and selected from all ranks. Being

her own caterer, she was influenced solely by the figure of a man, and not by his quality or condition. She went upon this maxim, that love, like death, brings all upon a level. We must do her the justice to admit, however, that she was

always

always liberal to her paramours, and when she thought proper to dismiss them, was not unmindful of their past services; but bestowed pecuniary favours upon them in proportion to her ideas of their merit. She was also magnificent to men of letters, encouraged science, and attended to the education of her people. To remove the popular prejudices against inoculation, she submitted to the operation herself, and amply rewarded the English physician, Dr. Dimsdale, who went to Petersburgh for that purpose; she also created him a baron of the Empire. On the whole, she possessed many of those qualities which are necessary in a great sovereign; but it is to be lamented that the steps by which she mounted the throne were so foully stained with blood. By Peter III. she had a son and a daughter. She was removed from this world by a fit of apoplexy, Nov. 10, 1797, and her son Paul Petrovitch, succeeded her. The late emperor was born in 1754.

CERVETTO, an Italian of great musical talents, came to England about 1740, being then an old man, and was engaged to play the bass, at the Theatre in Drury-lane. The following anecdote of him, it is presumed, will apologize for his introduction into this Dictionary! One evening, when Mr. Garrick appeared in the character of Sir John Brute, while the whole house was in profound silence, during one of that admirable performer's solemn pauses, poor Cervetto being half asleep, uttered a very loud and immoderate yawn. ` This

unexpected incident threw the audience into a roar of laughter, which greatly mortified our Roscius, who at the conclusion of the performance, severely reprimanded the musician, in the green-room, for his ill-timed groan. But the following flattering reply immediately disarmed the manager of his rage. "Oh, Mr. Garrick, (cried the humble scraper, with a shrug) I beg ten tousand pardons--- but it is alvays mine vay ven I be ver much please." Cervetto died in 1783, aged 103. He was distinguished among his friends of the galleries by the ludicrous name of Nosey, from his having a very prominent nasal feature.

CHARLES XII. king of Sweden. was born June. 27, 1682, and from his childhood possessed the spirit and ambition of Alexander the Great. When asked by his preceptor, what he thought of that hero? he said he should choose to be like him. but consider, replied the preceptor, that Alexander lived but thirty-two years. That is long enough, resumed the prince, when a man has conquered kingdoms. Impatient to reign, he caused himself to be declared of age at fifteen, at which time he ascended the throne; and at his coronation, snatched the crown from the hands of the archbishop of Upsal, and put it on his head himself. His youth presented a favourable opportunity to the sovereigns of Russia, Denmark, and Poland to form a confederacy against him. Undaunted at so formidable an alliance, the young hero attacked each in turn, beginning with the king of Denmark, which produced a peace with

that

that power. In 1700, he obtained an astonishing victory over the Russians at Narva; his own force consisting of only 8,000 men, when he slew 30,000 of the enemy, and 20,000 surrendered to the mercy of the conqueror. He then directed his arms against Poland, won several battles, dethroned Augustus, and placed Stanislaus on his throne. After these glorious successes, and the peace of 1706, Charles ought to have been contented; but a portion of madness seems to have entered into his character, and he formed the romantic reresolution of humbling Peter the Great. He gained some advantages at first, but at length experienced a total and terrible defeat, at Pultowa, in 1709. Almost the whole of his troops were either slain or taken prisoners; he was wounded himself in the arm, and obliged to be carried off in a litter. Charles sought an asylum in Turkey, where he was hospitaly received and entertained by the grand seignior. But, after some time, his behaviour gave offence, and the Turks wanted to get rid of him; but Charles refusing to depart, they were obliged to set his house on fire at Bender, to compel him to quit the place. From thence he removed to Demotia, and afterwards to Stralsund. On his arrival in his own country, he found it in a most wretched condition, but he soon mustered an army. His whole reign was one continued scene of warfare, and concluded at the siege of Frederickshall, in Norway, December 1, 1718; where, as he was visiting the works of his engineers by star-light, he was

struck