d the Russian general that he rose in a rage,
and threatened to send Langeron to Siberia. Conscious of his peril the
French colonel fled, and entered into the service of the Austrians.

Emissaries of Catharine were sent through all the Greek isles, to
urge the Greeks to rise against the enemies of the cross and restore
their country to independence. Many of the Greeks rose, and
Constantinople was in consternation. A Grecian embassage waited upon
Catharine, imploring her aid for the enfranchisement of their country,
and that she would give them her grandson Constantine for a sovereign.
On the 20th of February, 1790, Joseph II., Emperor of Austria, died,
and was succeeded by Leopold II., who, yielding to the influence of
Prussia, concluded a separate peace with the Porte, and left Catharine
to contend alone with the Ottomans. The empress now saw that,
notwithstanding her victories, Russia was exhausted, and that she
could not hope for the immediate accomplishment of her ambitious
projects, and she became desirous of peace. Through the mediation of
England terms of peace were proposed, and acceded to in January, 1792.
In this war it is estimated that Russia lost two hundred thousand men,
Austria one hundred and thirty thousand, and Turkey three hundred and
thirty thousand. Russia expended in this war, beneficial to none and
ruinous alike to all, two hundred millions of dollars.

The empress, thwarted in her designs upon Turkey, now turned to
Poland. War was soon declared, and her armies were soon sweeping over
that ill-fated territory. Kosciusko fought like a hero for his
country, but his troops were mercilessly butchered by Russian and
Prussian armies. In triumph the allies entered the gory streets of
Warsaw, sent the king, Stanislaus Augustus, to exile on a small
pension, and divided the remainder of Poland between them. Catharine
now entered into the coalition of the European powers against
republican France. She consented to a treaty with England and Austria,
by which she engaged to furnish an army of eighty thousand men to
crush the spirit of French liberty, on condition that those two powers
should consent to her driving Turks out of Europe. Catharine was
highly elated with this treaty. It was drawn up and was to be signed
on the 6th of November, 1796.

On the morning of that day the empress, in her usual health and
spirits, rose from the breakfast table, and retired to her closet. Not
returning as soon as usual,