I was with Prince Bafile Nolodimerowitz Dolgoruki, and with Count Frederick Matwyewitz Apraxin, before I fent my Answer to your Majefty. I defired them, when your Majesty fpoke to them of me, to perfuade you to deprive me of the Succeffion, and to let me live upon fome private Estate, to spend the rest of my Days there. Frederick Matwyewitz answered, If your Father speaks of it to me I shall give bim that Advice. Prince Bafile faid the fame. Thing, adding, Send him a thousand Letters; who knows what will happen, when the Cafe in view comes to be Fact? You know the old Proverb, Ulita yedett, kolita boudet; The Time will come, but God knows when. It is not one of the Bargains made by the good Men in Times past, that if a Man did not perform, he was obliged to pay for it.

When I had fent this Letter, Prince Bafile came to me in your Name, to bid me fhew him the Answer your Majefty had wrote. I read it to him, and he faid, I have spoke of you to your Father; I believe he will deprive you of the Succeffion, and he seems to be fatisfied with your Letter.

He defired a Minute of it from me: I read it to him, because he had advised me to mention my Brother in the Terms I did. When I had read it, he told me it was well, and he repeated to me the aforefaid Words, adding, Enjoy yourself at prefent, you have nothing now farther to do.

As to Frederick Matwyewitz, I don't remember whether I fhewed the Letter to him or no ; but I wrote it in Concert with Kikin and Nicephorus, both apart; having fent them Copies C 3 fealed

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fealed up by Bafile Barikof, because Kikin living at a Distance from me, I had not always an Opportunity of converfing with him; befides that he had given me Notice, there were Spies from your Court to obferve who came to visit me. When I asked him how he knew that, he faid that fome of your Court had told him so, but he did not name them.

As to Barikof, I cannot fay whether he knew what the Letters were he carried from me to Kikin, at least I never told him; for I only ordered him to carry them privately to Kikin, who always fent them back to me sealed up, after he had corrected them.

Kikin advised me to renounce the Succeffion, faying, You'll be at rest when you have given up all, which is much better. I know the Weakness of your Complexion will not allow you to carry fo beavy Burthen as the Crown: You have done ill not to give it up yourself, but the Business is over, you have no longer Time to provide a Remedy.

NICEPHORUS fpoke thus, What fignifies a Crown, provided you have your Eafe? I confulted the fame Kikin and Nicephorus, upon my fecond Letter to your Majefty, but without fending it to them, or their fending it back to me, fo far as I remember, because the Time was fhort; only I know that Kikin came once to me, as I think, and told me, before the Letter was yet written, that I ought to retire into the Convent. For, fays he, The Frock is not nailed to one's Head; one may lay it afide at any Time, and hang it on a Hook. He farther added, All is well at prefent; who knows what may afterwards happen?

The

The Difcourfe Nicephorus then had with me does not at prefent come into my Memory: I only remember that he faid, If there's no other Expedient, fend for your Confeffor, and tell him that you are forced to retire into a Monaftery; be may tell it to the Archbishop of Refan, that they may not think you're haven for any Crime.

I followed this Advice of Nicephorus, and having spoke of it to my Confeffor George, Arch-Prieft of the Cathedral Church of Peterburgh, he answered, I fhall tell him at a convenient Time. I afterwards afked him whether he had told him, and he answered no; upon which I bad him not mention it for the future. I know not what View Nicephorus had in advifing me to act thus ; but the Confeffor knew nothing of the Conferences I held with Kikin, nor did I ever enter into any Deliberation with him.

After having fent my fecond Letter to your Majefty, I wrote two others to my Confeffor James and to John Kikin; I let them know that I was going by Force into the Convent, and defired they would give the Perfon who carried the Letter a certain Sum of Money, out of that which they then had of mine in their Hands; I do not remember the Sum. I faid to the Girl, whom I fent with the two Letters fealed, If I fhould die, for I was then fick, carry these two Letters to the Perfons they are addreffed to, and they will give you fome Money. It was the Girl who attended upon me.

She kept these Letters in a finall Cabinet, but she knew nothing of those which I received from your Majefty, or of my Anfwers. I took her with me by Artifice, when I had refolved

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to make my Escape. I told her, I fhould carry her only to Riga; and from thence I brought her farther, making her believe, as I did the rest of my Attendants, that I had Orders to go to Vienna, to form an Alliance against the Ottoman Porte, and that I was obliged to travel privately, left the Turks fhould have Notice of it; and this was all the People about me knew of the Matter.

Laftly, Those who had any farther Knowledge of my aforefaid Letter to your Majesty, are Prince Yuriga, Yuriewitz, Trubeskoy, and the Czarewitz of Siberia; but they never faw the Letter itfelf. Prince Trubeskoy asked me about three Weeks after, What Letter was that your Father gave you, when I was prefent? Were the Contents of it good or bad? I told him the Subject of it, and my Anfwer. You do well, fays he, not to lay Claim to the Succeffion. There are Croffes and Afflictions in the Midst of Grandeur and Riches. I anfwered, he was most certainly in the Right. The Siberian asked me, What Letters were thofe which Makaroff brought you? We all know the Contents of them. He told it the fame Day to Prince James Dolgoruki. I owned it to him, and gave him a Sum of Ducats to pay my Mistress for her Subfiftence, when I fhould be retired into the Convent; but I took the Money back fome few Days after. The Perfons who knew of it were Nicephorus Vafenski, John Affonaflief, and Counfellor George. But for the Letters, I do not remember whether I mentioned them to the Confeffor or no; at least he knew nothing of my Escape.

II.

Did they not in their Difcourfe, during my great Illness at Petersburgh, exprefs, an earneft Defire to join with you, in cafe I should die.

ANSWER.

I never heard any Body speak upon that Subject, whilft you was ill, in cafe you should die.

III.

Is it long fince you form'd the Project of your Escape, and with whom did you concert it? For as you acted fo fuddenly in this Affair, it may be fuppofed that it was premeditated for a long Time.

Declare openly the whole Matter, with whom, and in what Place; whether by Word of Mouth, or Correfpondence by Letter, or by what Channel?

Farther, by whofe Counsel did you write the aforefaid fraudulent Letter by the Way? Who affifted you in it, and for what Reafon did you write it? and have you not wrote befides to fome other Perfon during your Abfence?

ANSWER.

I have frequently, and at different Times, difcourfed with the faid Kikin, and especially before I received your Letters, and returned my Answer to them. The Purport of our Difcourfe was as follows:

That if I once arrived in any foreign Coun try, wherefoever it was, I fhould continue there, tho' it were only to live at quiet, and be absent from Business.

Not

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