LE CZAR, GENERAL LE FORT, Sec. i6<)
qué s’il étoit content de s’en défaire ,'^he took a particular delight to be en-illui demandât à lui même, s’il le fe- ¡ tertain’d by him with difcourfes con-roit & qu’en ce Cas il lui donnerait cerning the divers Courts jwhich he
un de íes Interprètes pour le fervirtant qu’il en aurait befoin; l’Ambaf-fadeur répondit que le Change êtoittrop avantageux pour Le Fort 6c qu’illui vouloit trop de de Bien pour n’ypas confentir! He bien, dit le Czar-,„ S’il en eil content qu’il vienne me„ trouver demain Matin à mon Lever;Le Fort y fût, 6c y demeura, il letrouvoit trop grand 8c trop âgé pourun Page ; il le fit fon premier Inter-prète 6c il devint bientôt fon Favori,fl le menoit partout oùilalloit, pre-noit plaifir à s’en faire entretenir fin-ies Cours qu*il avoit vues 6c il lui fai-foit des Queitions fur tous les autresSujets étrangers dont il s’avifoit 6c é-toit charmé de fes Réponfes; un jourqu’il l’entretenoit fur les Gardes-du-Corps du Roi àc Damemark , 'û\m de-manda ce qu’il penfoit des fiens, quiétoientcompoféz deStrelttsÇa)-, il vou-lût qu’il le lui dit fans Deguifement 8clibrement; il répondit qu’il en pen-foit ce qu’il penfoit de tous fes Sol-dats ,que c’étoient de beaux 6c grandshommes à qui il ne manquoit Rienque d’être bien difeiplinez 8c habillezd’une Maniere convenable, que leurslongues Robes ne convenoient nulle-ment à des Gens de Guerre maisétoient au contraire fort incommodes8c embarrafiantes -, Le Czar lui dit,ne me pourrais-tu point donc fai-re voir quelques habits convenables,Le Fort répondit qu’il tâcherait, ilfût fans perdre de Temps chez l’Am-baffadeur de Dannemark fe fit prendrepar fon Tailleur la Mefure pour unHabitde Capitaine de Gardes 6c pourun autre de fimple Garde-du-Corps,il parût deux jours après au lever duCzar avec le premier, il le furprit enentrant dans fa Chambre 6c n’en fûtreconnu qu’en lui parlant ; ce Prin-ce fe mit à rire, loua fa diligence, 6c
ap-
(æ) C’eft une Milice qui repondoit alors à celledes jauiJJ'aires en Turquie.
had feen as thofe of Savoy , France andDanmark, he asked him Queflions li-pon any other foreign Maters that hethought of and wasextreemly well fatis-fy’d with his Anfwears, one Day thatthe Difcourfe fell upon the King ofDanmark's Life - Guards , he askedhim his opinion of his which werecompos’d of Strelits (b) and comman-ded him to delivor it freely and wit-hout the lefs diflimutation , Le Fortanfwaer’d, that he entertain’d the fameOpinion of them as he did of all his Sol-diers, that they were fine tall ilrongand well made Men who were wan-ting what was, according to his beftjudgment, the moil Effential Part ofa Soldier , that thofe long cloths thatthey wore did by no Means be-come Soldiers, but were trouble fomeand very unconvient, the Czar toldhim couldn’t thou let me fee then fomeconvenient cloths ? he reply’d hewould do his Beil for, accordinglywithout loofing Time he went to theAmbafladout of Danmarks , had hisMeafure taken by his Taylor for aCaptain of the Guards-fuit of Clothsand for an other of a fingle life-GuardMan, he appear’d two Days after be-fore the Czar cloth’d with the firft,he wasfurprifed at his coming in hisRoom and didn’t knew him till he camenearer and fpolce to him, that Princelaugh’d and praifed much his Dili-gence in complying with his Defireand approved mightly thereof,twomore Days after he appear’d in theother fuit of Cloths, the Czar was fowell fatisfy’d therewith that he faidhe would have fuch ones for an who-le Company and to caufe the fameto be difeiplin’d after the Manner of theCourts which he had mention’d. LeFort fent to all the Foreign Marchants,and wenr himfelfe to fome for all theV V ne-
(b) A Militia which anfwered then to that ofJanuaries in Turkey,