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Notwithstanding, I was not very hafty to execute this Project; but when I fet out from Carlsbad, Kikin said to me,

When you are recovered, write to your Father, and tell him you are still to take Medicines till Spring; then you may go into Holland, and after that into Italy, when the Medicines are taken. And thus you may continue abfent for two or thres Years.

I wrote to him from Carlsbad, to know whether I fhould proceed or not, in the Manner we had agreed upon; and he made me this Anfwer, How can you do it without your Father's Permiffion? You have Caufe to fear, left he should be angry; write to him, and afk his Leave; but do not forget your own Business.

I could not understand what he meant by thefe Words; and when I had changed the Refolution I had taken of going into Holland, and was come back to Petersburgh, I found Kikin there, who was condemned to Banifhment by the Proceedings which were then on Foot against him; but as he was not any longer under an Arrest, I had an Opportunity of dif courfing with him. He afked me, If any one bad been with me from the Court of France? I told him, I had feen no Body. He answered, You was much in the Wrong not to have held a Correfpondence with the Court of France, and retired thither. The King is a Prince of a great Soul, and gives Protection to Kings themselves; and it would have been no great Trouble to him to have protected you.

I asked him what he meant in his Letter by thofe Words, That I fhould not forget my own Affairs. He answered, I meant that you should

have retired into France; for I durft not write plainly to you, and you might have guessed at my Meaning.

As to the laft Escape, which I actually put in Execution, I never confulted with any Body before about it, but having received your Letter from Copenhagen, and finding I was at Liberty to leave Ruffia, in Confequence of the preceding Difcourfe with Kikin, I took the Refolution of retiring somewhere or other, either to the Emperor, or into fome Republick, to Venice or Switzerland, but I communicated my Design to no Body; I only let the elder Afonafief know that I was refolved to fly into fome one of the aforefaid Places, without explaining precifely whither, for had not yet abfolutely determined upon it.

I farther told him, that I had formerly spoke with Kikin upon this Subject, who had probably found me a proper Place of Retirement, as he was now in thofe Quarters; and that when I should meet him, he would advise me what I fhould do; and if I did not find him, I would go into one or other of the Places mentioned.

I never before that Time had any Discourse upon this Subject with the faid John Affonafief, nor with any other Perfon, except Kikin, either by Word or Writing, or after any other Manner; nor was there held a Confultation upon any Pretext whatsoever. None of my Domefticks, nor any Stranger had the leaft Notice of my Escape, except thofe whom I have named above. John Affonaffief faid to me, I am refolved to keep your Secret, but it will be

a great

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1718.

a great Misfortune to us if you go away; confider what you do.

When I met Kikin at Libau, and asked him whether he had found me a Place, Yes, faid he, I'd have you go to Vienna, to the Emperors they will not deliver you up. And then he told me how he had lived at Vienna.

I asked him what Bufinefs had carried him to Vienna, whether it was mine, or any other? For, faid I, tho' you told me, before my Departure, you would go and feek a Place for me, you never writ me any Thing about it. He answered, I had no other Business than yours; I defired Leave of the Czarienne, Princess Mary Alexewna, to go to Vienna upon my own private Bufinefs, and fhe ordered me to perfuade Broforofski to return.

I then asked him what I fhould do if they fent fome Body to meet me at Dantzick or Konigsberg. Efcape, faid he, alone by Night, or at least take with you but one Servant; let what will come of the Baggage, and the reft; but if they should fend two Perfons to you, feign yourself fick, and make one of them go before, whilst you efcape with the other.

As to the fraudulent Letter, it was written from Libau, by the Advice of Kikin, and dated from Konigsberg, that no one might obferve he had any Hand in it; for I faw him publickly there.

The Letter was given to Prince Chakofski, Captain of the Regiment of Semenow, who was ordered to fend it by the Poft: But the Captain knew nothing of our Affairs; and the Defign of writing this Letter, was to prevent

any

any Perfon, by this Means, from being fent after me.

The fame Kikin farther made me write a Letter to John Affonaffief, the Elder, as I told him that he was acquainted with what we had concerted, and with my Escape, to let him know that he fhould follow me, and that I had left for him, with the Poft-Mafter of Dantzick, the Addrefs whither he fhould come : Kikin reasoned thus, If Affonaffief be no longer at Petersburgh, this Matter cannot be discovered; for except we two and him, no Body knows any Thing of it: As for me, fays he, I was not at Petersburgh when you fet out, and thus no Sufpicion will fall upon me; but if Affonaf fief continues there, it is to be feared left fomething fhould efcape him with fome Body or other.

I told him that I did not think Afonafief would leave the Place; upon which Kikin added, In this Cafe write him a fecond Letter, implying that no Difcourfes ever paffed between you and him upon this Matter; and that you had only taken this Refolution as you was upon your Journey, and bid him take your Jewels with him, and come after you.

I do not remember the Name of the Town, where he faid I fhould write to Affonafief to join me; I, fays he, will tell him to fhew your Letter to Prince Menzikoff, as if he dif covered the Secret to him; and thus there will be no Information made against him.

He farther bid me write to Prince Bafile, a Letter of Acknowledgment for his Kindness, which I would endeavour to repay in due Time. For, fays Kikin, if any Sufpicion of your Ef

cape

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1718. cape fhould fall upon me, I will immediately make Mention of your Letter to Prince Bafile, and fay, it appears from thence that the Scheme had been concerted with him, because you had made him Acknowledgments, and that I had intercepted your Letter.

KIKIN took this Letter along with him, but I don't know whether he deliver'd it: But with the other Letters to Affonassief, he had writ alfo to Prince Menzikoff, to give Orders to Af fonaffief for the Pofts, and to dispatch him; and that I fhould alfo thank him for having advised me to take my Mistress along with me. Perhaps, fays Kikin, he will fhew this Letter to your Father, and that will bring him into fome Sufpicion with him.

You

As to Prince Menzikoff, the Cafe was thus: When I was with him before my Departure, he asked me, where I would leave my Mistress? I told him, I would take her with me as far as Riga, and then fend her back hither. had better, fays he; take her with you. And indeed, my Intention was, without this, to have taken her with me, tho' I faid, I would take her no farther than Riga, in order to cover my Defign of running away.

It was for this Reafon I did not tell the Truth, not even to her, for Fear fomething of it fhould fall from her; and when I mention'd it to Kikin, it was upon this he bad me write as above to Prince Menzikoff; but the Prince knew nothing of my Defign to efcape, nor was Prince Bafile in the leaft acquainted with it.

After this I took Leave of Kikin, who defired I would let both him and Afonafief know where I was upon my Journey, and that I

fhould