IO

THE RUSSIAN FLEET

of Kronslot and so termed hereafter, unless anyparticular incident obliges to use a distinction:though that name properly belongs to a round forti-fication, on a sandbank, on the other side of theprincipal channel for the ships’ passage, half gunshotfrom the island. Three batteries were raised, andbehind the uppermost the haven designed with asort of fortification of turf at the west end of theisland, named after Prince Menshikoff, 1 AlexanderSchans. 2

In 1705, and the following year, some frigates,none exceeding 30 guns, were launched, withseveral snows and vessels of burthen for service onthe River. About this time two Master Buildersmore, Messrs. Bent and Richard Browne, arrivedfrom England; the latter served Mr. Harding 3 that

1 The celebrated favourite of Peter the Great. Alexander(Danilovitsch), son of the farmer ( bauer , free peasant) DanielMenshik, was born near Moscow on November 27, 1672. Hisfather, says Kleinschmidt, put him in the service of a Moscowpastrycook, whose wares he sold in the streets. This has beendenied, and the selling of pastry by the future powerful favouritehas been declared to have been a mere frolic or practical joke.He entered the service of the Swiss Lefort as lackey, and attractedthe notice of Peter, who made him Denschtschik , or Aide-de-Camp,and called him Menshikoff. He took part, in company with theTsar, in the affair with the Swedish small craft just mentioned.His biography after this belongs to the public history of Russia.In 1705 the Emperor Leopold made him a Prince of the HolyRoman Empire. In 1707 Peter conferred on him the title ofPrince of Ingermanland, with the designation of £ Serene Highness/making him the first Russian to receive this princely dignity. Hewas Rear-Admiral in 1718. He died in November 1729.

2 That is to say, ‘ Alexander Redoubt or Entrenchment.’ Theword in the text is the Dutch schans— Swedish skans , and ourword sconce (Calisch, Woordenboek ). The last is rarely used inEnglish for fortification, though ensconced (=entrenched) is notuncommon.

3 The Royal Sovereign here mentioned was, most likely, thesuccessor of the celebrated ship which, when being prepared forrebuilding a second time at Chatham in January 1696, ‘accident-ally took fire and was totally consumed’ (Derrick, Memoirs of