th, to teach him first how to fence. _He went over to
Great Britain_, where he knew that potent kingdom could, as yet, have no
jealousies of his growth of power, and in the eye of which his vast
extent of nation lay neglected and unconsidered and overlooked, as I am
afraid it is to this very day. He was present at all our exercises,
looked into all our laws, inspected our military, civil, and
ecclesiastical regimen of affairs; yet this was the least he then
wanted; this was the slightest part of his errand. But by degrees, when
he grew familiar with our people, he visited our docks, pretending not
to have any prospect of profit, but only to take a huge delight (the
effect of curiosity only) to see our manner of building ships. He kept
his court, as one may say, in our shipyard, so industrious was he in
affording them his continual Czarish presence, and to his immortal glory
for art and industry be it spoken, that the great Czar, by stooping
often to the employ, could handle an axe with the best artificer of them
all; and the monarch having a good mathematical head of his own, grew in
some time a very expert royal shipwright. A ship or two for his
diversion made and sent him, and then two or three more, and after that
two or three more, would signify just nothing at all, if they were
granted to be sold to him by the _Maritime Powers_, that could, at will,
lord it over the sea. It would be a puny inconsiderable matter, and not
worth the regarding. Well, but then, over and above this, he had
artfully insinuated himself into the goodwill of many of our best
workmen, and won their hearts by his good-natured familiarities and
condescension among them. To turn this to his service, he offered many
very large premiums and advantages to go and settle in his country,
which they gladly accepted of. A little after he sends over some private
ministers and officers to negotiate for more workmen, for land officers,
and likewise for picked and chosen good seamen, who might be advanced
and promoted to offices by going there. Nay, even to this day, any
expert seaman that is upon our traffic to the port of Archangel, if he
has the least spark of ambition and any ardent desire to be in office,
he need but offer himself to the sea-service of the Czar, and he is a
lieutenant immediately. Over and above this, that Prince has even found
the way to take by force into his service out of our merchant ships as
many of their ablest seamen as he please