_“The whole canvas of the novel,” says Danilevski, “such as the life and infatuation of Merovitch, the customs and manners of the period, many details of the reign of Ekaterina and the attempt of Merovitch, are taken from the diary and reminiscences of my great-grandmother, and of my grandmother, who was ~Fräulein~ at the court of Peter III. Many things I took down from the lips of my uncle, the eldest son of my father’s mother,--a born Rosslavleff, who, together with Orloff, as every one knows, played so conspicuous a part in the ~Coup-d’État~ which placed Ekaterina on the throne. But in all that belongs to history, I have, of course, strictly adhered to authentic documents from the Imperial archives. I have also had access to the archives of the citadel of Schlusselburg, to the official documents of the council of Archangel, and I have visited the celebrated dungeon of the unfortunate Prince Johann Antonovitch, and the birthplace of ‘Merovitch.’”_ _“Merovitch” is thus a detailed account of the ~Coup-d’État~ which placed Ekaterina on the throne of Russia, and of the conspiracy and attempt to put Johann Antonovitch on the throne, which was his by right._ _An officer named Merovitch penetrated into the citadel above referred to, and hoping to surprise the sentinels and throw them off their guard, read a proclamation, trusting to be able in the confusion to facilitate the escape of the unfortunate prince. But long before strict orders had been given (it is supposed by Ekaterina) that at the first attempt at escape on the part of the prince he was to be killed on the spot. This command was strictly carried out. When Merovitch entered the prince’s cell, he found only the dead body of the unfortunate martyr._ _Ekaterina II. plays so important a part in the events described in these novels that some particulars of her life and character may not be out of place._ _She was born in the year 1729, at Stettin. Her father, a general in the Prussian service, and the governor of this town, inherited by the death of his cousin, the Prince of Zerbst, a small principality, situated on the borders of the Elbe, between Prussia and Saxony._ _Her mother came of the house of Holstein. Princess Sophie Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was therefore distantly related to her future husband. She came over to Russia in her fourteenth year with her mother, and was at once instructed in the Russian faith and tongue. The following year, 1745, having been baptized into the Greek faith under the name of Ekaterina Alexéevna, she was united to the heir of the Russian empire._