A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Mniszech, Marina
MNISZECH, MARINA,
Czarina of Muscovy, was the daughter of a Polish nobleman, George Mniszech, palatine of Sandomir. He was ambitious, bat without the ability to conduct his ambition, and he deserves the appellation of an intriguer rather than a politician. It has been often seen how trivial incidents sway the destinies of individuals; and a long train of events, romantic and horrible, which form the destiny of Manna, may be traced to the circumstance of a pardon granted by the palatine to an old woman condemned to death, who held the social position of a witch. This personage being introduced into the palace for the exercise of her profession, casting her eyes upon the extraordinary beauty and grace of the daughter of George, boldly predicted that she would one day occupy a throne. This prediction was taken seriously; the child was educated for her future elevation, to which she looked forward with confidence. A noble youth called Zarucki, with whom she had been educated, conceived for her a most violent passion; but her thoughts were bent upon ambitious elevation, and she received his sentiments with indifference. He will appear at another period of her life.
By a train of almost incredible events, which read more like the wildest imaginings of fiction than the records of sober history, our heroine was placed on the throne of Russia, being as the wife of Demetrius, a real or assumed son of Ivan the Fourth, crowned Czarina, this Ivan having been the first Russian monarch who assumed the title of Czar, in 1550.
Demetrius, however, soon gave offence to his subjects, who conspired against him and slew him. Marina escaped, and meeting with an adventurous Jew named Jankéli, who was willing to personate the murdered czar, escaped as it was said from the blows of the assassins, entered into a contest with the usurper who occupied it for the throne. This contest was put an end to by the Polish monarch Sigismond the Third, who placed his son Ladislaus thereon. But though the other claimants were set aside, the ambitions Marina would not give up so readily the aim of her life; she dressed herself in the garb of a general, mounted on horseback, put herself at the head of all the forces she could collect, and manfully opposed herself to Ladislaus. A powerful unwearying will, sustained by such wonderful courage, obtained many adherents. She made herself allies of the wandering Tartars and Cossacks; but the treachery of her pseudo-husband turned these into enemies, and, after incredible efforts, she found herself at last in a dungeon, in the power of her opponents. Disdaining to supplicate compassion, she resigned herself to her fate. She said she did not wish to live, if she could not reign. But she had not come to the end of her adventures. One day, the quiet of her prison was broken by a noise of combatants; the doors flew open. Oh Providence! It was Zarucki, the lover of her childhood; he had become a chief of the Cossacks. After liberating her, he offered to conduct her into Poland to her father. This offer she refused. Intoxicated with the ambition of royalty, she exerted her influence over this devoted champion to incite new and fruitless attempts at recovering a sovereignty to which she had no claim. She united herself to Zarucki, over whose mind she obtained complete dominion; his Cossacks followed her with impetuosity, and, like a devastating torrent, poured upon the east of Russia. It was at this epoch that the patriots Kosmo, Minin, and the Prince Pojarski, formed a confederacy to free their country from the foreigners, who rendered it a scene of carnage. The first to be encountered was Zarucki; their superior forces completely overpowered him, and he was forced to flee with Marina and their infant son among the snows and wildernesses. It would be difficult to describe the sufferings they encountered; for it was in the depth of winter that their wanderings began. Their fate was inevitable; they were taken by a detachment of the Russian army. Zarucki fell at the feet of his wife, staining the snow with his blood. Marina was considered by these men as the firebrand which had brought destruction upon their country. With revengeful brutality they broke the ice of the River Jaick with axes, and plunged the unfortunate creature into its cold waters!