Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/108

102 10. Tell no tales out of school; whatever goes in at one ear must go out at the other before leaving the room.

A transgressor against these rules shall, on the testimony of two witnesses, for every offence drink a glass of cold water, not excepting the ladies, and further read a page of the "Telemachiade" aloud.

Whoever breaks any three of these rules during the same evening shall commit six lines of the "Telemachiade" to memory.

And whoever offends against the tenth rule shall not again be admitted.'

"The 'Telemachiade' which is prescribed as a penance was the work of a Russian poet of Catherine's time, who does not seem to have enjoyed the Imperial favor. It is said that invitations to these parties were much sought; but, in spite of all her efforts, the Empress could not induce her guests to forget entirely that she was their sovereign. However, she managed to make her parties much less formal than anything ever known before at the Imperial Palace, and this was a great deal to accomplish in such a time and in such a country.

"I may remark, by-the-way, that the Empress Catherine was the first sovereign of Russia to invite an American officer into the Imperial service. That officer was the celebrated John Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth but an American citizen at the time of the Revolutionary war. The havoc he wrought upon the British fleets attracted the attention of the Russian Government, and after our war was over he received an intimation that he could find employment with the armies of the Empress. He went to St. Petersburg, was received by Catherine at a special audience, and accorded the rank of admiral in the Imperial Navy. Russia was then at war with Turkey. Admiral Jones was sent to command the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, and operate against the Turkish fleet, which he did in his old way.

"The Russians were besieging a town which was held by the Turks, who had a fleet of ships supporting their land-forces. Jones dashed in among the Turkish vessels with a boarding-party in small boats, backed by the guns of his ships and those of the besieging army. He captured two of the Turkish galleys, one of them belonging to the commander of the fleet, and made such havoc among the enemy that the latter was thoroughly frightened. Unfortunately, Jones incurred the displeasure of Potemkin, the Prime-minister, and favorite of the Empress, and shortly after the defeat of the fleet he was removed from command and sent to the Baltic, where there was no enemy to operate against.

"But I am neglecting the palace in following the career of an American in the service of Russia.