prove to Ivan the greatest of earthly
calamities. She had been his guardian angel, his guide to virtue.
Having lost his guide, he fell into many errors from which Anastasia
would have preserved him.

In the course of a few months, either the tears of Ivan were dried up,
or political considerations seemed to render it necessary for him to
seek another wife. Notwithstanding the long hereditary hostility which
had existed between Russia and Poland, perhaps _in consequence of it_,
Ivan made proposals for a Polish princess, Catharine, sister of
Sigismond Augustus, the king. The Poles demanded, as an essential item
in the marriage contract, that the children of Catharine should take
the precedence of those of Anastasia as heirs to the throne. This
iniquitous demand the tzar rejected with the scorn it merited. The
revenge in which the Poles indulged was characteristic of the rudeness
of the times. The court of Augustus sent a white mare, beautifully
caparisoned, to Ivan, with the message, that such a wife he would find
to be in accordance with his character and wants. The outrageous
insult incensed Ivan to the highest degree, and he vowed that the
Poles should feel the weight of his displeasure. Catharine, in the
meantime, was married to the Duke of Finland, who was brother to the
King of Sweden, and whose sister was married to the King of Denmark.
Thus the three kingdoms of Poland, Sweden and Denmark, and the Duchy
of Finland were strongly allied by matrimonial ties, and were ready to
combine against the Russian emperor.

Ivan IV. nursed his vengeance, waiting for an opportunity to strike a
blow which should be felt. Elizabeth was now Queen of England, and her
embassador at the court of Russia was in high favor with the emperor.
Probably through his influence Ivan showed great favor to the Lutheran
clergy, who were gradually gaining followers in the empire. He
frequently admitted them to court, and even listened to their
arguments in favor of the reformed religion. The higher clergy and the
lords were much incensed by this liberality, which, in their view,
endangered the ancient usages, both civil and religious, of the realm,
and a very formidable conspiracy was organized against the tzar.

Ivan IV. was apprised of the conspiracy, and, with singular boldness
and magnanimity, immediately assembled his leading nobles and higher
clergy in the great audience-chamber of the Kremlin. He presented
himself before them in the glit