er attempted for two or three successive
days to force the Russian lines, but without success, and at length the
grand vizier, who was in command of the Turkish troops, finding that he
could not force his enemy to quit their intrenchments, determined to
starve them out; so he invested the place closely on all sides. The Czar
now gave himself up for lost, for he had only a very small stock of
provisions, and there seemed no possible way of escape from the snare in
which he found himself involved. Catharine was with her husband in the
camp at this time, having had the courage to accompany him in the
expedition, notwithstanding its extremely dangerous character, and the
story is that she was the means of extricating him from his hazardous
position by dextrously bribing the vizier.

The way in which she managed the affair was this. She arranged it with
the emperor that he was to propose terms of peace to the vizier, by
which, on certain conditions, he was to be allowed to retire with his
army. Catharine then secretly made up a very valuable present for the
vizier, consisting of jewels, costly decorations, and other such
valuables belonging to herself, which, as was customary in those times,
she had brought with her on the expedition, and also a large sum of
money. This present she contrived to send to the vizier at the same time
with the proposals of peace made by the emperor. The vizier was
extremely pleased with the present, and he at once agreed to the
conditions of peace, and thus the Czar and all his army escaped the
destruction which threatened them.

The vizier was afterward called to account for having thus let off his
enemies so easily when he had them so completely in his power; but he
defended himself as well as he could by saying that the terms on which he
had made the treaty were as good as could be obtained in any way, adding,
hypocritically, that "God commands us to pardon our enemies when they ask
us to do so, and humble themselves before us."

In the mean time, years passed away, and the emperor and Catharine lived
very happily together, though the connection which subsisted between
them, while it was universally known, was not openly or publicly
recognized. In process of time they had two or three children, and this,
together with the unassuming but yet faithful and efficient manner in
which Catharine devoted herself to her duties as wife and mother,
strengthened the bond which bound her to the Cz