young ladies, who had come to kiss her hand, upon the mouth. She was
surrounded by the Orloffs and by other nobles who had assisted in placing
her on the throne. For the comfort and pleasure of her loyal subjects the
empress graciously expressed her intention of holding a bank at faro of
ten thousand roubles.

Instantly the table and the cards were brought forward, and the piles of
gold placed in order. She took the cards, pretended to shuffle them, and
gave them to the first comer to cut. She had the pleasure of seeing her
bank broken at the first deal, and indeed this result was to be expected,
as anybody not an absolute idiot could see how the cards were going. The
next day the empress set out for Mitau, where triumphal arches were
erected in her honour. They were made of wood, as stone is scarce in
Poland, and indeed there would not have been time to build stone arches.

The day after her arrival great alarm prevailed, for news came that a
revolution was ready to burst out at St. Petersburg, and some even said
that it had begun. The rebels wished to have forth from his prison the
hapless Ivan Ivanovitz, who had been proclaimed emperor in his cradle,
and dethroned by Elizabeth Petrovna. Two officers to whom the
guardianship of the prince had been confided had killed the poor innocent
monarch when they saw that they would be overpowered.

The assassination of the innocent prince created such a sensation that
the wary Panin, fearing for the results, sent courier after courier to
the empress urging her to return to St. Petersburg and shew herself to
the people.

Catherine was thus obliged to leave Mitau twenty-four hours after she had
entered it, and after hastening back to the capital she arrived only to