Memoirs of the Princess Daschkaw

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. The princess goes into White Russia?Visits her brother?A presentiment?Death of the emperor?His character?Contrast to that of Catherine the Second?The princess and her brother invited to court?The princess goes to Petersburg?Returns to Moscow?Description of the coronation of Alexander?The...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. The princess goes into White Russia?Visits her brother?A presentiment?Death of the emperor?His character?Contrast to that of Catherine the Second?The princess and her brother invited to court?The princess goes to Petersburg?Returns to Moscow?Description of the coronation of Alexander?The Empress Elizabeth?Return of the princess to Troitskoe?Arrival of Miss Wilmot?Conclusion. The summer following, I went to visit my estate in White Russia, where I remained some weeks, having found that innumerable depredations had been committed there by my steward, a Pole by birth, under a false persuasion that Siberia would be my destination. I made several arrangements favourable to my peasants, and placed at the head of the administration of this estate one of my Russian subjects. On my return thence, I went to pass six weeks with my brother. Here I occupied myself with the improvements of his grounds, planting trees and shrubs, removing others which had been injudiciously placed, and doing much to render his country place agreeable. As we were many hours together every day, ourconversation frequently recurred to a subject which profoundly affected us both?the misfortunes of our country, and those which menaced every individual; for he who in his own person was not the victim of the despotic tyranny of Paul, had to bewail the fate of a friend, a relative, or a neighbour. An idea, I know not how, had taken full possession of my mind, that the year 1801 would be the termination of this reign of terror. I could give no satisfactory explanation to my brother, to whom I often mentioned this persuasion, how it had originated; but it remained a settled conviction, which I could not displace from my imagination. In the beginning of that year, my brother reminded me of my p...