“The oak should be young; with a bluish, and never a reddish hue. Made of such oak, the vessel will be as hard as iron, even a bullet could not pierce it further than two inches.”
In the hemp stores, he took handfuls from the bales, and, holding the hemp between his knees, carefully examined, shook and tested it like an expert. “Ship cables for mooring are of great consequence; they ought to be made of the very best and strongest hemp. When the cable is trustworthy, the vessel is safe; if faulty, vessel and crew are doomed.” On all sides the Tsar was heard rating the agents and contractors:—
“I see that during my absence the work has gone sidelong, like a crab, at snail’s speed.”
“I shall be obliged to bring you to order by demanding from you extra work, and by a merciless infliction of corporal punishment.”
“Just wait a bit, I will give you a keepsake, which you won’t forget till next spring!”
He cut short lengthy speeches. One day, when a distinguished foreigner elaborated some unessential detail, he spat in his face, reviled him obscenely, and turned away.
To a clerk who cheated, he remarked: “I will score on your back the figures you failed to put on paper.”
To a petition for raising the stipend of the Admiralty Councillors, he answered:—
“Nonsense! they are more anxious to fill their pockets than to render good service.”