Alexis Orloff received them, lying upon his divan, and to their
solemn address he laughingly answered: "I receive commands from no one
but my empress! It remains as before, that I shall go when I please, and
not earlier!"
The senators departed with bitter murmurs and severe threats. Count
Alexis Orloff remained, and the cowardly senate, trembling with fear
of this young Russian empire, had silently pocketed the humiliation of
seeing this over-bearing Russian within their walls for several weeks
longer. This evidence of the haughty insolence of Count Orloff was
related among the Romans with undisguised pleasure, and they thanked
him for having thus humiliated and insulted the proud and imperious
republic. But they suspiciously shook their heads when they learned that
he seemed disposed to display his pride and arrogance in Rome! They
told of a _soiree_ of the Marchesa di Paduli which Alexis Orloff had
attended. As they there begged of him to give some proof of the very
superior strength which had acquired for him the name of "the Russian
Hercules," he had taken one of the hardest apples from a silver plateau
that stood upon the table and playfully crushed it with two fingers of
his left hand.
Pages:
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389