litary
force. To effect this, he abolished the old privileges of the
soldiers, disbanded them, and drafted them into the new regiments,
which he had organized on the European plan.

He found more difficulty in changing the dress of the people, who,
generally, wore the long Asiatic robe, and the Tartar beard; and such
was the opposition made by the people, that he was obliged to
compromise the matter, and compelled all who would wear beards and
robes to pay a heavy tax, except priests and peasants: having granted
the indulgence to priests on account of the ceremonial of their
worship, and to peasants in order to render their costume ignominious.

His next important measure was the toleration of all religions, and
all sects, with the exception of the Jesuits, whom he hated and
feared. He caused the Bible to be translated into the Sclavonic
language; founded a school for the marine, and also institutions for
the encouragement of literature and art. He abolished the old and
odious laws of marriage, by which women had no liberty in the choice
of husbands. He suppressed all useless monasteries; taxed the clergy
as well as the laity; humiliated the patriarch, and assumed many of
his powers. He improved the administration of justice, mitigated laws
in relation to woman, and raised her social rank. He established
post-offices, boards of trade, a vigorous police, hospitals and
almshouses. He humbled the nobility, and abolished many of their
privileges; for which the people honored him, and looked upon him as
their benefactor.

Having organized his army, and effected social reforms, he turned his
attention to war and national aggrandizement.

[Sidenote: His War with Charles XII.]

[Sidenote: Charles XII.]

His first war was with Sweden, then the most powerful of the northern
states, and ruled by Charles XII., who, at the age of eighteen, had
just ascended the throne. The _cause_ of the war was the desire of
aggrandizement on the part of the czar; the _pretence_ was, the
restitution of some lands which Sweden had obtained from Denmark
and Poland. Taking advantage of the defenceless state of
Sweden,--attacked, at that time, by Denmark on the one side, and by
Poland on the other,--Peter invaded the territories of Charles with an
army of sixty thousand men, and laid siege to Narva. The Swedish
forces were only twenty thousand; but they were veterans, and they
were headed by a hero. Notwithstanding the great disproportion betwe