Note 42 — Chapter VI · PETER THE GREAT (continued 2)

Bruce, who was in the battle of the Pruth, asserts his belief that this negotiation was conducted without Peter’s knowledge; and the Journal de Pierre le Grand alludes to the transmission of the letter, but is silent as to the share Catherine took in the affair. There is no doubt, however, that the details of her interference are correct, and Peter afterwards appears to have confirmed them by his declaration at the coronation of the empress in 1723, that she “had been of great assistance to the empire in all times of danger, but particularly at the battle of the Pruth.”