in less than an
hour the camp was taken by storm. One of the most awful routs known in
the annals of war ensued. The Swedes toiled to utter exhaustion in
cutting down the flying fugitives. Thirty thousand Russians perished
on that bloody field. Nearly all of the remainder were taken captive,
with all their artillery. Disarmed and with uncovered heads, thirty
thousand of these prisoners defiled before the victorious king.[12]

[Footnote 12: These are the numbers as accurately as they can now be
ascertained by the most careful sifting of the contradictory accounts.
The forces of the Russians have been variously estimated at from forty
thousand to one hundred thousand. That the Swedes had but nine
thousand is admitted on all hands.]

Peter, the day before this disastrous battle, had left the
intrenchments at Narva to go to Novgorod, ostensibly to hasten forward
the march of some reinforcements. When Peter was informed of the
annihilation of his army he replied, with characteristic coolness,

"I know very well that the Swedes will have the advantage of us for a
considerable time; but they will teach us, at length, to beat them."

He immediately collected the fragments of his army at Novgorod, and
repairing to Moscow issued orders for a certain proportion of the
bells of the churches and convents throughout the empire to be cast
into cannon and mortars. In a few months one hundred pieces of cannon
for sieges, and forty-two field pieces, with twelve mortars and
thirteen howitzers, were sent to the army, which was rapidly being
rendezvoused at Novgorod.

Charles XII., having struck this terrific blow, left the tzar to
recover as best he could, and turned his attention to Poland, resolved
to hurl Augustus from the throne. Peter himself hurried to Poland to
encourage Augustus to the most vigorous prosecution of the war,
promising to send him speedily twenty thousand troops. In the midst of
these disasters and turmoil, the tzar continued to prosecute his plans
for the internal improvement of his empire, and commenced the vast
enterprise of digging a canal which should unite the waters of the
Baltic with the Caspian, first, by connecting the Don with the Volga,
and then by connecting the Don with the Dwina, which empties into the
Baltic near Riga.

War continued to rage very fiercely for many months between the Swedes
on one side, and Russia and Poland on the other, Charles XII. gaining
almost constant victories. The Swede