"Who comes there?"
"The emperor," was the answer from the yacht.
"There is no emperor," the sentinel replied.
Peter III. started forward upon the deck, and, throwing back his cloak, exhibited the badges of his order, exclaiming,
"What! do you not know me?"
"No!" cried a thousand voices; "we know of no emperor. Long live the Empress Catharine II."
They then threatened immediately to sink the yacht unless the tzar retired.
The heroic Munich urged the tzar to an act of courage of which he was totally incapable.
"Let us leap on shore," said he; "none will dare to fire on you, and Cronstadt will still be your majesty's."
But Peter, in dismay, fled into the cabin, hid himself among his women, and ordered the cable instantly to be cut, and the yacht to be pulled out to sea by the oars. They were soon beyond the reach of the guns. It was now night, serene and beautiful; the sea was smooth as glass, and the stars shone with unusual splendor in the clear sky. The poltroon monarch of all the Russias had not yet ventured upon deck, but was trembling in his cabin, surrounded by his dismayed mistresses, when the helmsman entered the cabin and said to the tzar,