reasonable designs--The plot
defeated--Precautions of the Czar--Mazeppa's plans--He goes on step by
step--He sends his nephew to the Czar--The envoy is arrested--Commotion
among the Cossacks--Failure of the plot--Mazeppa's trial and
condemnation--The effigy--Execution of the sentence upon the
effigy--New chieftain chosen

In the mean time the war with Sweden went on. Many campaigns were
fought, for the contest was continued through several successive years.
The King of Sweden made repeated attempts to destroy the new city of
St. Petersburg, but without success. On the contrary, the town grew
and prospered more and more; and the shelter and protection which the
fortifications around it afforded to the mouth of the river and to the
adjacent roadsteads enabled the Czar to go on so rapidly in building
new ships, and in thus increasing and strengthening his fleet, that
very soon he was much stronger than the King of Sweden in all the
neighboring waters, so that he not only was able to keep the enemy very
effectually at bay, but he even made several successful descents upon
the Swedish territory along the adjoining coasts.

But, while the Czar was thus rapidly increasing his power at sea, the
King of Sweden proved himself the strongest on land. He extended his
conquests very rapidly in Poland and in the adjoining provinces, and at
last, in the summer of 1708, he conceived the design of crossing the
Dnieper and threatening Moscow, which was still Peter's capital. He
accordingly pushed his forces forward until he approached the bank of
the river. He came up to it at a certain point, as if he was intending
to cross there. Peter assembled all his troops on the opposite side of
the river at that point in order to oppose him. But the demonstration
which the king made of an intention to cross at that point was only a
pretense. He left a sufficient number of men there to make a show, and
secretly marched away the great body of his troops in the night to a
point about three miles farther up the river, where he succeeded in
crossing with them before the emperor's forces had any suspicion of his
real design. The Russians, who were not strong enough to oppose him in
the open field, were obliged immediately to retreat, and leave him in
full possession of the ground.

Peter was now much alarmed. He sent an officer to the camp of the King
of Sweden with a flag of truce, to ask on what terms the king would
make peace with him.