Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (110 page)

 1
“Her Highness has been selected”: Oldenbourg, 110

 2
“In the two years I had been in Russia”:
Memoirs
, 113

 3
“Now, as I was married”: Herzen, 66

 4
“I know quite well”:
Memoirs
, 114

 5
“I could not save myself by flight”: Ibid.

 6
“such talk would displease the empress”: Ibid., 119

 7
“In those days”: Ibid., 123

 8
“Never did two minds resemble each other less”: Ibid., 129

 1
“your father was not a king”: Ibid., 130

 2
“Apparently, my words carried conviction”: Ibid.

 3
“This was a dreadful blow for us”: Ibid., 127

 4
“Within a few days”: Ibid., 128

 5
“a gentle, reasonable man”: Ibid.

 6
“The grand duke and I”: Ibid., 133

 7
“In his distress, the grand duke”: Ibid., 128

 8
“There were moments”: Ibid., 129

 1
“It seems to me that I was good for something else”: Kaus, 101

 2
“The least rabbi of Petersburg”: Kaus, 94

 1
“Get up and get out”:
Memoirs
, 141

 2
“like the waves of the sea”: Ibid., 142

 3
“Immediately afterward”: Herzen, 89

 4
“That, as to my stupidity”:
Memoirs
, 136

 5
“To show how useless this kind of order is”: Herzen, 84

 6
“often slipped me useful … information”: Ibid.

 7
“This is from your mother”:
Memoirs
, 144

 1
“a large, stupid, clumsy girl”:
Memoirs
(Anthony), 132

 2
“I had the greatest freedom imaginable”: Ibid., 147

 3
“dominant passion”: Herzen, 78

 4
“On a woman’s saddle”: Ibid., 131

 5
“To tell the truth”:
Memoirs
, 183

 6
“She was tall”: Ibid., 181

 7
“We bit our lips”: Ibid., 182

 1
“She was a living archive”:
Memoirs
, 164

 2
“Do not come near me!”: Ibid., 150

 3
“Last night, Count Lestocq and his wife”: Ibid.

 4
“The empress did not have the courage”: Ibid., 151

 5
“This son of a bitch”: Ibid., 140

 6
“Do you remember the time”: Ibid., 141

 7
“This is the effect”: Ibid.

 8
“So, in order not to spoil his pleasure”: Ibid., 133

 9
“only two occupations”: Ibid., 154

10
“From seven in the morning”: Ibid.

11
“One day, hear a poor dog cry”: Ibid., 159

 1
“Countess Shuvalova told the empress”:
Memoirs
, 156

 2
“I know that. We will not speak of it”: Ibid., 157

 3
“It was the worst I have ever had”: Ibid., 160

 4
“She was mortally afraid of mice”: Ibid., 163

 5
“I rode constantly all day”: Ibid., 161

 6
“himself no enemy of wine”: Ibid., 163

 7
“He did not know what he was saying”: Ibid.

 8
“He was very cheerful”: Ibid., 161

 9
“She sat by my bed”: Ibid., 164

 1
“one would have thought”: Herzen, 101

 2
“Choglokov is a conceited fool with a swollen head”:
Memoirs
, 165

 3
“As he could never keep”: Ibid., 167

 4
“I have never in my life felt anything like the pain”: Ibid., 170

 1
“beautiful eyes”:
Memoirs
, 173

 2
“her wit made one forget”: Herzen, 118

 3
“seeing myself slighted”: Ibid., 120

 4
“everyone was shocked and disgusted”: Ibid.

 5
“I would like to see what she can do”:
Memoirs
, 174

 6
“both took leave of their senses”: Ibid.

 7
“My God!, what happened?”: Ibid., 177

 8
“Wipe your cheek”: Ibid.

 9
“You see how these women treat us”: Ibid.

 1
“an extraordinary passion”:
Memoirs
, 148

 2
“I listened to talk”: Herzen, 126

 3
“If this man or someone like him”: Ibid., 124

 4
“As ambassador, I have no instructions”:
Memoirs
, 192

 1
“of a dullness that I have never seen equaled”: Herzen, 148

 2
“He was blond and foppish”: Ibid., 132

 3
“Good God, what modesty!”:
Memoirs
, 190

 4
“I was very glad to see him”: Ibid., 189

 5
“And so, things went no further”: Herzen, 149

 6
“The truth”:
Memoirs
, 181

 7
“How is this, Madame Choglokova?”: Herzen, 151

 1
“He was a born clown”:
Memoirs
, 194

 2
“a fool in every sense”: Herzen, 132

 3
“As these people”:
Memoirs
, 199

 4
“And your wife”: Ibid., 200

 5
“All that glitters”: Ibid.

 6
“He was twenty-six years old”: Ibid.

 7
“handsome as the dawn”: Ibid. 153 “How do you know”: Ibid., 201

 8
“his favorite subject”: Herzen, 155

 9
“I had to admit”:
Memoirs
, 201

10
“Yes, yes, but go away”: Ibid.

11
“He already believed himself”: Ibid., 202

12
“Sergei Saltykov and my wife”: Ibid.

13
“without something happening first”: Herzen, 158

14
“I must speak to you”:
Memoirs
, 208

15
“Madame Choglokova began”: Ibid.

16
“You will see”: Ibid.

17
“As soon as I had seen”: Ibid., 207

18
“a few words that would allow him”: Ibid.

19
“I know that you can see through them”: Ibid.

20
“He gave him”: Ibid., 208

21
“I must have been pregnant”: Herzen, 168

22
“When this happened”: Ibid., 169

23
“No one had ever seen”: Alexander, 45

24
“There was no furniture”: Herzen, 173

25
“He was dying just at a time”:
Memoirs
, 220

26
“I am certain that my husband”: Herzen, 184

 1
“a pillar of salt”:
Memoirs
, 248

 2
“Countess Shuvalova’s petticoats”: Herzen, 174

 3
“a depression”:
Memoirs
, 223

 4
“my troubles followed me”: Ibid.

 5
“isolated, with no company”: Herzen, 187

 6
“I had not the strength to crawl”: Ibid., 189

 7
“through excess of care”: Ibid., 192

 8
“I did not have a kopeck”:
Memoirs
, 228

 9
“whatever came from the empress”: Ibid.

10
“This meant that I was”: Ibid., 229

11
“I thought him beautiful”: Ibid.

12
“until I felt strong enough”: Ibid.

13
“a singular revolution in my brain”: Herzen, 196

14
“ought to be the Breviary”: Durant, 10:435

15
“all day and part of the night”:
Memoirs
, 230

16
“constantly smoked”: Ibid.

17
“I underwent agonies”: Herzen, 197

18
“I saw as clear as day”:
Memoirs
, 231

19
“He knew how to conceal his faults”: Ibid., 200

20
“Has he not committed”: Alexander, 63

 1
“I had a superb dress made”:
Memoirs
, 232

 2
“I treated them with profound contempt”: Herzen, 198

 3
“One day, His Imperial Highness”:
Memoirs
, 233

 4
“he could have saved himself”: Herzen, 201

 5
“he got nothing”:
Memoirs
, 234

 6
“shuddered to think”: Herzen, 203

 7
“Those accursed Germans”:
Memoirs
, 235

 8
“a freakish prank”: Ibid., 236

 9
“We have become the servants”: Ibid.

10
“as far away as I could”: Ibid

 1
“It was not difficult to talk”:
Memoirs
, 239

 2
“a stumbling block”: Ibid.

 3
“nowhere are people quicker”: Ibid., 240

 4
“The empress’s health”: Kaus, 138

 5
“A man at my age”: Cronin, 105

 6
“I have some hesitation”: Troyat, 87

 7
“Whatever may be further given”: Kaus, 143

 1
“I have heard with pleasure”: Kaus, 144–45

 1
“An excellent education”: Haslip, 71

 2
“A severe education”: Poniatowski, 157

 3
“She was twenty-five”: Madariaga,
Russia in the Age
, 48

 4
“I cannot deny myself the pleasure”: Oldenbourg, 178

 1
“You ought to go and see her”:
Memoirs
, 242

 2
“The evening passed”: Ibid., 243

 3
“Sometimes at the theater”: Ibid., 244,

 4
“like a servant girl”: Haslip, 76

 5
“Tell me how much you know”:
Memoirs
, 252

 6
“there is no worse traitor”: Ibid., 249

 7
“in the present critical and delicate”: Haslip, 82

 8
“I pressed her strongly”: Anthony, 137

 1
“They tell me he is suspected”:
Memoirs
, 254

 2
“If such things are done: Ibid., 249

 3
“Come to my apartment”: Ibid., 255.

 4
“Speak to the grand duchess”: Ibid.

 5
“Baba Ptitsa”:
Ibid., 256

 6
“He took money from everyone”: Ibid.

 7
“Look at this devil of a fellow”: Ibid., 257

 8
“The great problem lay in the fact”: Ibid., 258

 9
“Well, you began very young”: Ibid., 259

10
“You seem to be well-informed”: Ibid., 264

11
“The weather was superb”: Ibid., 276

12
“The Grand Duchess is kindness”: Ibid., 277

13
“please the empress”: Kaus, 147

14
“The grand duke is as completely a Prussian”: Ibid., 148

15
“I love you as my father”: Cronin, 110

 1
“a very corpulent man”: Cronin, 109

 2
“If the empress should die”:Haslip, 89

 3
“And there now remains”: Kaus, 171

 1
“I have no idea”:
Memoirs
, 280

 2
“You fool! Go back”: Ibid.

 3
“Go to the devil!”: Ibid.

 4
“It is said that the public celebrations”: Ibid., 283

 5
“only just awakened”: Ibid., 284

 6
“You should not die of hunger”: Ibid.

 7
“the grand duke’s musicians”: Ibid., 285

 8
“except for Alexander Shuvalov”: Ibid.

 1
“Count, I have just received a message”:
Memoirs
, 286

 2
“Thank God, we are going to arrest”: Ibid., 287

 3
“a loyal, honest man”: Ibid.

 4
“With a dagger in my heart”: Ibid., 288

 5
“What do all these wonderful things mean?”: Ibid.

 6
“attempting to sow discord”: Ibid., 292

 7
“You are a witness to the fact”: Ibid., 294

 1
“in a fearful passion”:
Memoirs
, 297

 2
“What will you say to her?”: Ibid.

 3
“Today, my damned nephew”: Ibid., 299

 4
“I felt myself possessed”: Ibid

 5
“My natural pride”: Ibid., 300

 6
“I have just said”: Ibid., 301

 7
“We are all afraid”: Ibid., 302

 1
“Why do you wish me”:
Memoirs
, 305

 2
“My children are in your hands”: Ibid.

 3
“Your Imperial Majesty will tell them”: Ibid.

 4
“God is my witness”: Ibid.

 5
“You are dreadfully haughty”: Ibid., 306

 6
“She is dreadfully spiteful”: Ibid.

 7
“You meddle in many things”: Herzen, 288

 8
“And why did you write”: Ibid., 289

 9
“The grand duke showed much bitterness”: Ibid.

10
“I have many more things to say”: Ibid., 290

11
“He told me that the empress had spoken”: Ibid., 291

12
“I expect you to answer truthfully”: Ibid., 296