COXE’s TRAVELS IN RUSSIA.

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demand pardon, the tears ftarting from his eyes from this neceflary but degradingconcefiion.

Soon afterwards, Biron fent a mefiage by Marlhal Munich ordering the Prince torefign his military employments.

At variance with the parents of the Emperor , fufpicious of plots, and detefted by thenation, the regent became agitated and unealy, felt the precarioufnefs of his fituation,paid his court with great affiduity to the Princefs Elizabeth, and feems even to haveformed the defign of marrying her to the Prince, his eldeit fon, and of railing her, orher nephew the Duke of Holftein to the throne. He even declared publicly, that if thePrincefs or her hufband were refractory, he would fend them both into Germany , andplace the Duke of Holftein on the throne.

While he was hefitating in regard to his future conduCf, and laying plans to removethofe who gave him umbrage, his own ruin came from a quarter which he did not expeft,and was not prepared to refill. Marlhal Munich, fecretly difgufted with the regent,fomented the difcontents, awakened the fufpicions of the Princefs Anne, prevailed upon,her to order the arreft of the Duke of Courland, and fucceeded in fecuring his perfonon the 18th of December, only'twenty days after his appointment to the regency.Manftein, who was employed by Munich on this occafion *, penetrated at the head oftwenty men, into the palace inhabited by Biron, though guarded by forty foldiers, whoWere placed under the windows of his bed-chamber, and by numerous centinels polledin the apartments. Being perfonally known to the centinels, they permitted him to pafs,thinking that he had an affair of confequence to communicate to the regent. Havingforced open the door, he approached the bed, in which the Duke and Duchefs ffept fofoundly that the noife did not awaken them. On drawing the curtains, both ftartedup in furprife, and the Duke inftantly leaped from the bed with an intention to efcape,but was prevented by Manftein, who threw himfelf upon him, and held him till the fol-diers came to his afliftance. In this ftruggle the Duke difengaged himfelf from Man-ftein, and endeavouring to burft from the foldiers who laid hold of his arm, receivedfeveral blows with the but-ends of their mulkets. Being at length thrown on the floor,his mouth gagged with a handkerchief, and his hands tied behind with an officer’s fafh,he was led to the guard-room, covered with a foidier’s cloak, and conveyed in a carriageto the winter palace in which the Princefs Anne refided. When he was led out, theDuchefs fprang out of bed, ran after him into the ftreet, fcreaming in an agony of de-fpair, till forced away by the foldiers, (he funk down on the fnow, and would haveperilhed, had not the Captain of the guard furnilhed her with clothes, and re-conduCtedher to the palace.

The next day the Duke and his family were conveyed to the fortrefs of Schluflel-burgh, and in June were removed to Pelim, a fmall town in Siberia , where he wasim-prifoned in a wooden hovel under the ftri&eft confinement. But he did not long re-main in this dreary fituation. The Emprefs Elizabeth recalled him from his imprifon-ment; and if his misfortunes had not foftened his vindictive fpirit, he enjoyed thepleafure of feeing his enemy, Marlhal Munich , occupy that hovel which he had juftquitted.

Biron was transferred to a comfortable manfion at Yaroflaf, where he received fiveroubles a day, and the permiffion of hunting in the vicinity. In this fituation, wretchedwhen contrafted with his former ftation as the omnipotent favourite of Anne, or as re-gent of Ruffia, but a paradife when compared with his prifon at Pelim, he pafled his

days

■* Memoirs of Manttein.