barbarous warfare carried on between the Turks and Cossacks, in which
he took such a prominent part, seemed to justify; coupled as it has
been, too, with the story of his having packed up in a sack the heads
of the Janissaries who had fallen by his hand, for the purpose of
laying them at the feet of his general. The spirit of the times,
and of those with whom his lot was cast, must be looked to as some
palliation for the savage conflicts in which he was engaged. That they
had not hardened his heart against all tender emotions is surprising.

Pierre Alexis Wasiltowitch, Count Suwarrow, was born in 1730, in
Moscow, according to his biographer, of a Swedish family. He began his
military career when but twelve years of age, having been placed in
the School of Young Cadets in St. Petersburgh by his father. He was a
mere boy when he entered the Russian service as a private soldier. For
some years he was not advanced beyond the rank of a subaltern. From
the earliest age the decision and originality of his character were
developed, and he was not long in perceiving his own superiority to
those by whom he was commanded. This conviction rendered the control
to which he was forced to submit extremely distasteful, and made him
determine to raise himself from a subordinate situation. To determine
was to achieve, in one possessed of his powers of mind and matchless
energy. The singularity of his bearing was very remarkable, and as
he lost no opportunity of rendering it conspicuous, it soon attracted
observation, which was all that was necessary for the discovery of the
extraordinary intellectual powers which he possessed. Thus recommended
by his superior abilities, his advancement was rapid. Before he was
twenty-nine he was a lieutenant-colonel. His reliance on his own
unaided powers was so entire, that he could ill brook the thought of
considering himself bound by obedience to any one. When speaking at a
later period on the subject, he said, "When my sovereign does me the