Pruth was concluded upon. This action gained Catherine great popularity, and the emperor particularly specified it as one of the reasons which induced him to crown her publicly at Moscow with his own hand. This ceremony was performed in 1724, and although designed by Peter only as a proof of his affection, was the principal cause of her subsequent elevation.
Towards the latter end of 1714, the czar instituted the new order of St. Catherine, in her honour, and to perpetuate the memory of her love to him on the banks of the river Pruth. He invested her with full power to bestow it on such of her own sex as she should think proper. The ensigns of this order are, a broad white ribband worn over the right shoulder, with a medal of St. Catherine adorned with precious stones, and the motto—"Out of love and fidelity."
She had one son by the emperor, who was to have succeeded him, but died young. Catherine's influence, however, was not shaken by this event. The most noble part of her character was her peculiar humanity and compassion for the unfortunate. Motraye has paid a handsome tribute to this excellence. "She had, in some sort, the government of all his (Peter's) passions, and even saved the lives of a great many more persons than Le Fort was able to do: she inspired him with that humanity, which, in the opinion of his subjects, nature seemed to have denied him. A word from her mouth, in favour of a wretch just going to be sacrificed to his anger, would disarm him; but if he was fully resolved to satisfy that passion, he would give orders for the execution when she was absent, for fear she should plead for the victim." In a word, to use the expression of the celebrated Munich, She was truly the mediatress between the monarch and his subjects.
