IVAN THE TERRIBLE.
the inhabitants, and ravaging the whole country from the frontiers of Asia to the banks of the Vistula. Famine and pestilence accompanied war; in the year 1230 thirty thousand people died of the plague at Smolensk and forty-two thousand at Novgorod. Alexander Nevski defeated the Swedes and Livonians on the banks of the Neva. He was a prince of Novgorod, and one of the most enlightened of his time.
"Moscow was founded about 1147, and grew rapidly, although it was repeatedly sacked by the Mongol invaders, who slew on one occasion twenty-four thousand of its inhabitants. The capital was established there, and under various rulers the war with the Mongols was continued to a successful end. Ivan III., surnamed 'The Great,' drove them out, and successfully repelled their attempts to return. His son and successor, Ivan IV., was surnamed 'The Terrible,' and certainly he deserved the appellation. We have mentioned him already in our account of what we saw in St. Petersburg.
"He was an energetic warrior, encouraged commerce, made treaties with other nations, introduced the art of printing, and invited many foreigners to reside in Russia and give instruction to the people. On the other hand,
