1718.

not forfake you, and when there shall be Occafion, after your Father's Death, he will affift you in the Recovery of the Throne, with an armed Force. I told him I did not ask fo much, but only that the Emperor would grant me his Protection, which was the utmost of my Wishes.

VIII.

Declare to us, and difcover whatever can have any Relation to this Affair, tho' it be not here expreffed; and clear yourself, as if it were at Confeffion.

For if you conceal any Thing of what fhall be difcovered by any other Means, do not impute the Confequence of it to me; for you was told Yefterday, that in cafe you concealed any Thing, the Pardon granted you should be null and void.

ANSWER.

I will tell every Thing that has any Relation to this Affair.

Prince Menzikoff gave me a thoufand Ducats, at my Departure from Petersburgh; and when I took Leave of the Senators, they also gave me a thousand Ducats; and as they had not then fo many Ducats by them, they gave me the Sum in two thousand Roubles.

I farther borrowed of Ilia Ifaiev five thoufand Ducats in Specie, and two thoufand in current Silver, which an Officer of the Garrifon changed into Ducats.

Neither Prince Menzikoff, nor the Senators, nor Ilia Ifaiew knew any Thing of my Efcape. I told

* He has made a quite different Declaration below.

I told them that I was going to attend upon you at Copenhagen, and they gave me the Money upon that Suppofition.

It was Alonafief who advised me to borrow of Ilia Ifaiew. What I farther have heard at different Times, and from different Perfons, which may deserve mention, is as follows:

I heard the Czarewitz of Siberia say these Words: Michael Samarin has told me, That in a little Time Things will be changed with you; don't forget me when you are in your Prosperity; for all that Samarin fays, comes to pass.

He did not fay what this Change would be. The fame Perfon told me, in March, 1716, that there would be a Change on the ift of April; and when I asked him what Change, he faid, either the Czar would die, or Petersburgh would be overthrown, and that he had feen it in a Dream.

When the Day was pass'd, I ask'd him why nothing had happened? He told me, This may fall out fome Years hence upon this Day. I did not fay it would be this Year, only take Notice of the ift of April; but as to the Year I know nothing of it.

NICEPHORUS VASENSKI being come from Mofcow to Thorn, told me he had heard Alexander Sergeiof fay, That the Czar would not live above five Years; but I don't know how he knows it.

When I was in the Neighbourhood of Stetin, Prince Bafile Dolgoruki, being on Horseback, addressed himself to me, and faid, If the CzaᎠ 3 rina

The Czarewitz of Siberia afterwards cleared the faid Samarin, faying in his Interrogatories, that he did not hear bim hold that Difcourfe.

1718.

1718.

rina was not with the Czar, we could not live for the Severity of his Temper; and that he would be the first to betray him at Stetin.

In the Original was figned,

In the Caftle of Preobrazinki,
February the 8th, 1718.

All this has declared your most bumble Servant,

and SON,

ALEXIS.

There were farther declared in the Czarewitz's
Confeffion, the following Particulars:

As a Supplement to the Points of the Interrogatory given above, I now declare, for my Dif charge, what before I had forgotten.

D

ISCOURSING with Frederick Dubrofski at my Departure, I do not remember what Day it was, he afked me, * Do you go to your Father? Go for the Love of God. I told him I was taking a Journey, but God knew whether it was to him, or fomewhere elfe. He faid, Several others of your Rank have found their Safety in Flight, I believe your Relations will not forfake you.

SIMON NARASKIN meeting me between Memel and Konigsberg, faid to me, You have done ill to come, you might have ftaid where you were; we, who are faithful to you, have confidered of it, and Kikin wrote to you.

I told

He did not tell this till after the Execution of the Criminals began, for fear it should be difcovered without

bim.

I told him I could not guefs at what he meant in his Letter. He faid, that at prefent Matters muft go as they were.

JOHN ASSONASSIEF, before my Departure, and whilft I was communicating to him my Defign of escaping, brought me the Orders I was to fign for my Domestick Affairs, in order to regulate what was to be done during my Abfence, according to my Custom when I took any Journey. I asked him, to what Purpose I fhould fign it, when I was making my Escape. This, fays he, will ferve to juftify me. He alfo proposed to me, to fend my Men and Furniture to Copenhagen, to fave Appearances.

It was he who advised me to carry my Mistress with me by Way of Stratagem, as I have already mentioned in the preceding Discourse, and not to tell her, nor any other of my Domefticks who went with me, that I had a Defign to fly.

He farther advised me to borrow upwards of five thousand Ducats of Ilia Ifaiew. This appears from the Payments made, and is already mentioned above.

All this was done by his Advice.

The Czarewitz wrote with his own Hand in his Confeffion to the Articles of this Examination, drawn up by his Czarian Majefty, the Names of fome Perfons who had advifed his Escape, and were acquainted with it, but he did not name them all; for at the fame Time he concealed a confiderable Number of them, as alfo his Defign of Rebellion, and Confpiracy against his Czarian Majefty, his Lord and Father, of which he did not declare nor difcover any Thing.

D4

Parti

1718.

Particularly upon the fourth Article of his Examination, the Czarewitz wrote in his Confeffions, as has been mentioned above, that whilst he was abfent, he had received no Letters from any Perfon, either from Ruffia, or elsewhere, concerning any Thing, except what Count Schonborn wrote to him at Ehrenberg: First, that there was Advice he was with them, and that he should live privately: And fecondly, when the Refident Wefelowski had spoken of him at Vienna, pursuant to the Orders of the Court: That he, the Czarewitz, did not remember to which of thefe two Letters of Count Schonborn was joined the Copy of a Letter from the Refident Bleyer, implying that there had been fome Tumult after his Departure, in the Army which is in the Country of Mecklenbourg. And farther, he had a Letter from the faid Schonborn, that he, the Czarewitz, was to be conveyed to Naples, and that he received no other Letters at Naples.

However, fince the Papers of the Czarewitz were brought hither, there were now found Proofs that the Czarewitz had received three Letters from the faid Imperial Minister, Count Schonborn, and that in one of them Mention was made of an inclofed Sheet, containing what was written from Mofcow. The Czarewitz however, in his Confeffion, had acknowledged only one Paper inclofed, which was joined to Schonborn's Letter, which was written in February, and particularly the Copy of Bleyer's Letter, written from Petersburgh; but he concealed what was fpecified in Schonborn's other Letter, they write from Moscow.