happily the Rights of a whole People were more facred here than the Perfons of foreign Minifters. The Czar's Memorials urged the Queen with the Satisfaction which she had extorted herself, when only the Boat and Servants of the Earl of Manchester had been infulted at Venice. That State had broken through their fundamental Laws to content the Queen of Great Britain. How noble a Picture of Government, when a Monarch that can force another Nation to infringe its Conftitution, dare not violate his own! One may imagine with what Difficulties our Secretaries of State must have laboured through all the Ambages of Phrafe in English, French, German and Rufs, to explain to Muscovite Ears and Mufcovite Understandings, the Meaning of Indictments, Pleadings, Precedents, Juries and Verdicts [z]; and how impatiently Peter must have liftened to Promifes of a Hearing next Term ! With what Astonishment must he have beheld a great Queen, engaging to endeavour to prevail on her Parliament to pass an Act to prevent any such Outrage for the future! What Honour does it reflect on the Memory of that Princess to see her not blush to own to an arbitrary Emperor, that even to appeafe him She dared not put the meanest of her Subjects to Death uncondemned by Law! There are," fays the [a], in one of her Dispatches to him, "infuperable Difficulties with

[x] Mr. Dayrolles in his Letter to the Ruffian Embaffador, March 10, 1705, gives him a particular Account of the Trial before the Lord Chief Justice Polt.

Vide Motley's Life of Peter I. Vol. II. p. 57.

[a] Ibid. p. 67.

"refpect to the ancient and fundamental Laws of "the Government of our People, which we fear do "not permit fo fevere and rigorous a Sentence to be "given, as your Imperial Majefty at firft feemed "to expect in this Cafe: and we perfuade our Self,

that your Imperial Majefty, who are a Prince "famous for Clemency and for exact Justice, will "not require us, who are the Guardian and Pro❝tectress of the Laws, to inflict a Punishment upon "our Subjects, which the Law does not empower "us to do." Words fo venerable and heroic, that this Broil ought to become Hiftory, and be exempted from the Oblivion due to the filly Squabbles of Embaffadors and their Privileges. If Anne deferved Praife for her Conduct on this Occafion, it reflects ftill greater Glory on Peter, that this ferocious Man had Patience to liften to these Details, and had Moderation and Juftice enough to be perfuaded by the Rea fon of them.

Mr. Whitworth had the Honour of terminating this Quarrel. In 1714, he was appointed Plenipotentiary to the Diet of Aufbourg and Ratifbon; in 1716, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the King of Pruffia. In 1717, Envoy Extraordinary to the Hague. In 1719, He returned in his former Chas racter to Berlin; and in 1721, the late King rewarded his long Services and Fatigues, by creating him Baron Whitworth of Galway in the Kingdom of Ireland, the Preamble of his Patent enumerating many of his Virtues and Labours, being as follows:

CUM

CU Mali

f

UM alii homines re aliâ clari inclytique fefe Nobis commendaverint, haud minorem tamen vel fibimet gloriam acquirere, vel Regnis noftris utilitatem conferre eos exiftimamus, qui res noftras apud principes, statusque exteros prudenter feliciterque adminiftrant. Inter hofce quidem eminet plurimum tum longinquo ufu atque exercitatione, tum folertiâ quadam fingulari fidelis &dilectus nobis Caro.us Whitworth Armiger. Variis in aulis externis perfunctis muneribus fefe antecefforibus noftris gloriofa memoria, Gulielmo Tertio Regi, Reginæque Anna perfpe&ium imprimis comprobatumque reddidit. In Comitiis Ratisbonenfibus, in Aula Cafareo-Germanicâ, atque apud Czarum Mufcovia temporibus difficillimis res maximi momenti femper cum laude tractavit, ac meritis fuis eximiis fummos honores rerum exterarum curatoribus tribui folitos, legati fcilicet axtraordinarii et Plenipotentiarii characterem confecutus eft. Ita ornatum, ita commendatum nos eum accepimus, ac proinde ejus operâ in arduis compluribus negociis tante cum noftra commodo tantoque cmnium plaufu ufi fumus, ut teftimonio aliquo illuftri ejus virtutes, intemeratam præcipuè fidem et conftantiam, remunerandas effe cenfuerimus; et cum Majeftatem imperii noftri deceat, tum rebus tractandis pondus aliquod adjiciat nobilitatis fplendor atque amplitudo, nos predictum Carolum Whitworth, quem legati noftri extraordinarii ac plenipotentiarii titulis infignivimus ad tractatus pacis in congreffu Brunfvicenfi proximo celebrandos, qui in Aula Berolinenfi, atque apud Ordines Generales Uniti Belgii, plenâ potentiâ res noftras procurat, ad dignitatem gradumque Baronis in Regno noftro Hibernia promovendum effe ftatuimus: Sciatis igitur, &c.

'The

The next Year his Lordship was entrusted with the Affairs of Great Britain at the Congress of Cambray, in the Character of Embassador Extraordinary and Plenepotentiary. He returned Home in 1724, and died the next Year at his Houfe in Gerard-freet, London. His Body was interred in Westminster Abbey.

These fhort Memorials, communicated to me by his Family without any Oftentation, are all I have been able to recover of a Man fo useful to his Country; who, befides the following little Piece, which muft retrieve and preserve his Character from Oblivion, has left many Volumes of State-letters and Papers in the Poffeffion of his Relations. One little Anecdote of him I was told by the late Sir Luke Schaub, who had it from himfelf: Lord Whitworth had had a perfonal Intimacy with the famous Czarina Catherine, at a Time when her Favours were not purchased nor rewarded at fo extravagant a Rate as that of a Diadem. When He had compromised the Rupture between the Court of England and the Czar, He was invited to a Ball at Court, and taken out to dance by the Czarina. As they began the Minuet, She squeezed him by the Hand, and faid in a Whif per, Have you forgot little Kate?

It is to be lamented that fo agreeable a Writer as Lord Whitworth, has not left us more ample Accounts of this memorable Woman. Even his Portrait of her Lord is not detailed enough to fatisfy our Curiofity. How ftriking a Picture might an Author

of

of Genius form from the Contraft exhibited to-Eu rope by four extraordinary Men at the fame Period! Peter recalled that Image of the Founders of Empires, of whom we read with much Satisfaction and much Incredulity in ancient Story. Charles the Twelfth, of those frantic Héroes of Poefy, of whom we read with perhaps more Satisfaction and no Credulity at all. Romulus and Achilles filled Half our Gazettes, while Lewis the Fourteenth was treading to Universal Monarchy with all the Pomp and Policy of thefe latter Ages. William the Third was oppofing this modern Xerxes with the fame Arts; and (with perhaps a little of Charles's Jealousy) had the good Fortune to have his Quarrel confounded with that of Europe. While Peter tamed his Savages, raised Cities, Invited Arts, converted Forests into Fleets, Charles was trying to recall the Improvements of War to its firft Principle, brutal Strength; fancying that the Weight of the Turkish Empire was to be overturned by a fingle Arm, and that heroic Obftinacy might be a Counterpoize to Gun-powder.

A Philofopher in these four Men faw at once the Outlines of what the World had been, and of what it is.

great

Lord Whitworth's MS. was communicated to me by Richard Owen, Cambridge, Efq. having been purchased by him in a very curious Sett of Books, collected by Monsieur Zolman, Secretary to the late Stephen Poyntz, Efq. This little Library relates folely to Ruffian Hiftory and Affairs, and contains in

1

many