284 ANECDOTES OF GOFFE, THE REGICIDE. find out that it was Goffe, till many years afterwards. At another time an Englishman came over to Hadley who was very famous for his knowledge and skill at fencing. It appears that he had known the two judges, Goffe and Whalley, in England, and had often fenced with them, but did not dream of meeting them in America. One day, as he was parading the streets of Hadley, challenging every body to play at swords with him, up came an old man with a mop in one hand, and a cheese in the other, and accepted his challenge. The Englishman regarded it as an insult, but concluded to play with him. His antagonist, who was no less a personage than Goffe, presently received the Englishman's sword, at a full lounge, into the cheese; vexed at this and growing angry, he withdrew the sword, and aimed a blow at the head; but again his sword was received in the cheese, and before he had time to withdraw it, Goffe, who had dipped his mop in a mud puddle, drew it across one of his cheeks. Vexed still more, he made a third blow, determined to finish the old man, when, to his surprise, the cheese received the sword the third time, and the mop was drawn across the other side of his face. Being now fairly beaten, he gave it up; saying with an oath, "What can it mean? You must be Goffe or Whalley or the devil; for there was nobody else that could beat me, in England." The rest of the story was not related. SWEET LAVENDER. BY AGNES STRICKLAND. SWEET Lavender! I love thy flower Which meets the morn and evening hour, In cottage-maid's parterre thou'rt seen, The Rose, with bright and peerless bloom, But while her glories and perfume Thy fragrance never dies. Thou art not like the fickle train, Our adverse fates estrange; But thou art emblem of the friend, Who, whatsoe'er our lot, ANECDOTES OF PETER THE GREAT. "I HAVE just been thinking," said Egbert one day, as he was taking a walk with his mother, "I have just been thinking, mother, of something my uncle Eustace said, the other day to father. They had been talking of tall men ; and my uncle spoke of some one who was Now, you six feet seven inches high. know, father is very tall, and he is but six feet two; so that person must have been quite a giant." 66 ANECDOTES OF PETER THE GREAT. 285 Yes," said little Gertrude; "and is spent, as Czar Peter's was, in active they call him Peter the Great. I sup- and unwearied efforts for the good of pose he was called 'the Great' because his subjects. Perhaps, if I were to tell he was so tall." you a few of the labours of this real friend to his country, you would see that his exertions, both of mind and body, were rather more numerous than those of a little boy, whose greatest trouble is preparing a few lessons for his tutor." "No, my little girl," said Mrs. Stanhope smiling, "he was not called the Great, on that account; but for his many great abilities, and for his extraordinary powers of mind. Peter the Great was one of the most famous of the Russian Emperors." "Thank you, dear mother," said Egbert, as a blush suffused his cheek; "pray tell us. But why did you call 66 What rendered him so famous, moth- " er?" inquired George. "He was a man of an intelligent and inquiring mind, George; undaunted by difficulties, and of a determined and persevering character. His principal object was to raise the Russian empire from the state of semi-barbarism in which he found it when he ascended the throne, and to place it on a rank with more civilized nations. For this purpose, he visited England, France, Germany, and Holland: examined their manufactories; inspected their public institutions; made himself acquainted with their laws and customs; observed their improvements in trade and commerce; and returned to his own country, to bring his newly acquired knowledge into action. "Well,” cried Egbert; "I should not have thought that an emperor would have taken all that trouble. I thought they led a more easy life. I have often wished that I was one." "The life of an emperor, or any ruler over a great kingdom, is far from being an easy one, Egbert; especially when it him Czar Peter ?" 66 Czar, my dear, is a title given to the emperors of Russia. I have told you of the trouble Peter the Great took to acquire knowledge in other countries, which might be useful to his own; and when he returned home, he proved that his time had not been misemployed. "He improved the marine, encouraged learning, promoted commerce, taught the Russians the art of ship-building, and gave his empire an influence and importance which it had never enjoyed before. Besides this, he built the magnificent city of St. Petersburgh, of which you have frequently heard your uncle speak." "Oh! yes mother," said Gertrude ; "and he brought us some beautiful toys from St. Petersburgh." But it is not "He did, my love. much more than a hundred years ago, that, on the spot where the capital of Russia now stands, there was little to be seen but wild boggy land, with only one fisherman's hut, in which the emperor 286 ANECDOTES OF PETER THE GREAT. remained a few days, whilst he formed the design of founding the city." "He did not seem to mind difficulties, however," observed George. 66 No one ever rose to eminence, my dear George, who allowed a few difficulties to discourage him. The Czar Peter used to rise at four o'clock; to live in a plain and frugal manner; and to spend so little money on his dress, that he was frequently seen with his stockings darned, and his shoes well mended. "You look astonished; but I have more to tell you. He went in disguise to England in 1698, and worked at Deptford for some time as a common ship-carpenter, receiving the same wages, and keeping the same hours as the other men; for the patriotic purpose of becoming acquainted with the art of ship-building, and imparting his knowledge to his subjects. You see, trouble was nothing to him when he had an object in view. "With his own hands he forged a bar of iron, weighing 120 lbs. which is still to be seen in the Academy at St. Petersburgh and I have no doubt, that the Emperor of all the Russias sat down, after that day's labour, as glad of rest and refreshment as the poorest peasant in his extensive dominions." "Dear mother," said George, "the Czar Peter makes me quite ashamed of myself! I will begin from this day to be more industrious and persevering." by forming early habits of industry, though you may not be a second Peter the Great, you may become a valuable and useful member of society. In endeavouring to correct your faults, you will be following the example of this great emperor; who, not forgetting his own failings, amidst the numerous concerns which occupied his mind, exclaimed, 'I may reform my people, but how can I reform myself!'" "Was Peter ever married, mother?" "Yes, he raised to the throne the daughter of a peasant, who, by her sweet disposition and affectionate care, acquired a great ascendancy over him. It is said, that she was never seen peevish, nor out of temper, for a moment." Well, dear mother," said little Gertrude, "I will try to follow her example. But now cannot you think of a pretty little story for us, while we sit down on this mossy bank?" 66 I hope you will, my dear boy. Be To believe a business impossible, is assured, you will never regret it: and, the way to make it so. |