with
Lithuania. To settle the difficulty, he invaded the dukedom, and
annexed it to Moscow. Then, having his hands free, he thought of
Novgorod. The Germans of the Hanseatic League had formed a colony in
the old republic, which had grown very wealthy. Ivan looked upon that
wealth as his; if it was not, it ought to be. Acting upon this
satisfactory conclusion, he remembered that the people of Novgorod had
omitted to do him homage when he succeeded his father. They had even
failed to appreciate the gentle letter of remonstrance in which he
reminded them of their oversight. Good-natured as he knew himself to
be, he could not afford to encourage such a rebellious spirit; but,
being a careful man, he concluded that it would be more humane as well
as cheaper to try the gentle means of bribery. His gold, distributed
where it would do most good, procured him a large party. The
opposition was led by a woman named Marfa, the wealthy widow of a
possadnik. She urged that the republic should ask the help of Casimir
IV, King of Poland, but Ivan's friends in the vetche replied that, if
Poland should win, the Roman Catholic Church would enter, whereas
Russia was at least loyal to the Greek Church.

Marfa's influence prevailed; the republic submitted to Poland, on
condition that its charter should be respected. Gentle Ivan despatched
some Envoys to warn the people of the error of their ways, and when
that did no good, he hired Tartar cavalry, overran the territory of
the republic, and directed his troops to cut off the noses and lips
of the prisoners. It is probable that he wept, although history (p. 099)
omits mentioning the fact. Novgorod was unprepared; a mob was
collected and styled an army, and in the battle of the Chelona, 3,000
trained troops put to flight 30,000 citizen soldiers. Novgorod was
lost. Ivan kindly permitted the name "republic" to continue, but his
authority was admitted. He also received a share of the wealth as an
indemnity. (1470.)

Two years later he married the niece and supposed heiress of the last
Byzantine emperor. Her father, Thomas Palaeologus, had fled to Rome
where he died leaving one daughter Sophia. Pope Paul II wished to find
her a husband, and Cardinal Bessarion of the Greek Church advised him
to offer her hand to Ivan. The offer was accepted; Sophia received a
dower from the Pope who still hoped to unite the two churches, and the
bride was received with great honor in Ivan's territory. The gran