It was from this young man, whose name was Lefort, whom Peter casually met at dinner at the house of the Danish envoy, that he was made acquainted with the superior discipline of the troops of France and Germany, and the mercantile greatness of Holland and England,—­the two things which he was most anxious to understand; since, as he believed, on the discipline of an army and the efficiency of a navy the political greatness of his country must rest.  A disciplined army would render secure the throne of absolutism, and an efficient navy would open and protect his ports for the encouragement of commerce,—­one of the great sources of national wealth.  Without commerce and free intercourse with other countries no nation could get money; and without money even an absolute monarch could not reign as he would.

So these two young men took counsel together; and the conviction was settled in the minds of each that there could be no military discipline and no efficient military power so long as the Streltzi—­those antiquated and turbulent old guards—­could depose and set up monarchs.  They settled it, and with the enthusiasm of young men, that before they could get rid of these dangerous troops,—­only fit for Oriental or barbaric fighting,—­they must create a regiment after their own liking, large enough to form the nucleus of a real European army, and yet not large enough to excite jealousy,—­for Sophia was then still regent, and the youthful Peter was supposed to be merely amusing himself.  The Swiss “adventurer”—­one of the most enlightened men of his age, and full of genius—­became colonel of this regiment; and Peter, not thinking he knew anything about true military tactics, and wishing to learn,—­and not too proud to learn, being born with disdain of conventionalities and precedents,—­entered the regiment as drummer, in sight of his own subjects, who perhaps looked upon the act as a royal freak,—­even as Nero practised fiddling, and Commodus archery, before the Roman people.  From drummer he rose to the rank of corporal, and from corporal to sergeant, and so on through all the grades.

That is the way Peter began,—­as all great men begin, at the foot of the ladder; for great as it was to be born a prince, it was greater to learn how to be a general.  In this fantastic conduct we see three things:  a remarkable sagacity in detecting the genius of Lefort, a masterly power over his own will, and a willingness to learn anything from anybody able and willing to teach him,—­even as a rich and bright young lady, now and then, when about to assume the superintendence of a great household, condescends to study some of the details of a kitchen, those domestic arts on which depend something of that happiness which is the end and aim of married life.  Many a promising domestic hearth is wrecked—­such is the weakness of human nature—­by the ignorance or disdain of humble acquirements, or what seem humble to fortunate women, and yet which are really steps to a proud ascendency.