The curious books of accounts enumerate some of the articles ordered for him in the first years of his childhood. Among them were “cradles covered with gold-embroidered Turkish velvet; sheets and pillows of white silk; coverlets of gold and silver stuffs; coats, caps, stockings, and shoes of velvet, silk, and satin, embroidered with gold and pearls; buttons and tassels of pearls and emeralds; a chest for his clothes, covered with dark blue velvet, ornamented with mother-of-pearl; and a miniature carriage, drawn by ponies, in which he was taken out to drive. Among his toys were musical instruments of various kinds, and all sorts of military equipments.” Peter grew rapidly. He was able to walk when six months old. Being the pet of his parents, he accompanied them in all their excursions and visits. When he was three years of age, he was presented with a small carriage drawn by four ponies, in which he was driven by the court dwarfs, and he began to take part in the public processions of the court. One scene is thus described: “Immediately after the carriage of the Czar, there appeared from another gate of the palace the carriage of the Czarina. In front went the chamberlains with two hundred runners, after which twelve large snow-white horses, covered with silk housings, drew the Czarina. Then followed the small carriage of the youngest prince, all glittering with gold, drawn by four dwarf ponies. At the side of it rode four dwarfs on ponies, and another one behind.” The presentation of Peter at court is thus described:— “The door on one side suddenly opened, and Peter, three years old, a curly-headed boy, was seen for a moment, holding his mother’s hand, and looking at the reception.” [Illustration: THE KRÉMLIN OF MOSCOW.] At this time, there were a dozen princesses living at the palace,—the sisters and the aunts and the six daughters of the Czar Alexis. All were unmarried. They were forbidden to marry any below their own rank; and since the Tartar invasion, only two attempts had been made to marry a Russian princess to a foreigner. None of these princesses, except Sophia, who had shared the lessons of her brother Theodore, had more than the rudiments of an education. Most of the princesses were disposed of by placing them in convents. Natalia, the mother of Peter, having been brought up by a Scotchwoman, had seen more of society than the other royal ladies; and she was allowed a greater degree of freedom than had been vouchsafed to her predecessors, who had been rigidly secluded within their own apartments. In 1676, the Czar Alexis died, and the throne descended to his eldest son, Theodore. It was the custom in Russia for the relations of the Czar’s wife to have great power at court; and when Theodore came to the throne, the Miloslávsky family, who were his mother’s relations, assumed great power, while the family of Peter’s mother, the Czarina Natalia, lost their influence for the time.