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This third Letter of Schonborn's, dated the 27th of February, 1717, imports, that the World began to talk of his being loft; fome faying that he had run away by Reason of his Father's Cruelty; others, that he had been put to Death by his Order; and fome, that he was killed by Robbers on the Road; but no Body precisely knew where he was. That he inclofed out of Curiofity an Account of what was written from Petersburgh concerning him; but that they advised the unfortunate Czarewitz, for his own. Advantage, to keep him as much concealed as might be, because there would be an exact Enquiry into this Affair, when the Czar, his Father, fhould return from Amfterdam.

However, the Czarewitz faid nothing, in his Confeffion, of this third Letter, which was fent him with the inclosed from Mofcow.

The Czarewitz had written in his Confeffion, that Count Schonborn's Secretary, one Keil, had forced him to write to the Senate and the Archbishops, when he conveyed him to Naples, in the Apartment of the Secretary of the Viceroy, Wingarten; that Keil had faid to him, If you'll not write we will not protect you; and that he did not leave him till he had written.

That the Czarewitz being constrained by this Secretary, had at last written to the Senate, and the two Archbishops of Roftou and Kouditz, in Substance as is mentioned above, in the Examination; that they had not allowed him to take Minutes of thefe Letters, and that there onby remained a Piece of one of them, &c. as in the aforefaid Confeffion.

However, there were found in the Poffeffion of his Mistress Afrofini, among the Papers of

the

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the Czarewitz, the genuine Minutes written and finished with his own Hand, and anfwerable to the Letter he left with the Imperialists; and the Contents of them were as follows:

To the SENATE.

Moft Excellent SENATORS,

Believe you will be no lefs furprized than the reft of the World at my leaving my Country, without any one's knowing the Place of my Refidence: Continued ill Treatments and Disorders have obliged me to quit my dearest Country. There was a Defign to throw me into a Convent in the Beginning of the Year 1716, without my having done-any Thing that may deserve it; none of you can be ignorant of it, but God of his Mercy has preserved me, by offering me an Opportunity the laft Autumn of retiring from my dear Country, and you, whom I should not have refolved to leave, if I had not been reduced to the Circumstances I then found myself in.

I am at prefent eafy and in good Health, under the Protection of a certain eminent Perfon, till God, who had preferved me, fhall call me back to my dear Country.

I beg you would not forfake me then, and for the prefent give no Credit to the Reports which may be fpread abroad concerning my Death, or otherwife, through the Defire they have to blot me out of the Memory of Men. For God has me in his Keeping, and my Benefactors will not forfake me. This they have promised me, as also to affift me hereafter in Cafe of Need.

I am yet alive, and fhall always continue full of good Wishes for your Excellencies, and all the whole Country.

To the ARCHBISHOPS.

Moft Sacred Vladiko,

I prized as the

Imagine your refolines will be as much furprized as the rest of the World, at my having left the Country without their Knowledge: The continued ill Treatments I have undefervedly received have obliged me to it, and I was very near being fhut up in a Convent,

I believe that you are not ignorant of it; the Design was founded by the fame Perfons who have treated my Mother in the fame Manner: But the great God has been moved by your Prayers, and preferved me, and led me under the Protection of a great Prince; I find myself eafy and in good Health, till it fhall pleafe God to bring about my Return; in this Cafe I beg of you not to forfake me at prefent.

If there is, or has been any Report concerning me, as tho' I were dead, or any others of a like Nature, (for they have a Mind to blot me out of the Memory of Men) give no Credit to it, and be fo kind as to fatisfy well-intentioned Perfons of the contrary; for I am alive, and wish all poffible Happiness to you.

The Czarewitz, in his Examination, made no Mention of the aforefaid Expreffion, in this Cafe do not forfake me at prefent, and the Word at prefent was twice written and blotted out.

The Imperial Court kept thefe Letters at Vienna, and fo they were not fent to Petersburgh;

but

*This is a Title given to Acrchbishops to denote their Primacy.

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but his Czarian Majefty charged the Resident Wefelowski to demand of the Emperor, the Reafon why they had forced the Czarewitz to write them, and defired that they would deliver them. The Resident Abraham Wefelowsksi made Answer to this in his Relation of the 28th of May.

That upon his Representation, Prince Eugene had given him Notice, by Order of the Emperor, that the Vice-Chancellor, Count Schonborn, had been examined in Prefence of all the Ministry, upon the three Letters of the Czarewitz Alexis Petrowitz, and that it appeared in Effect, That the Czarewitz fent of himfelf his Letters to the Vice-Chancellor to be dispatched into Poland, in order to give Notice of his Retreat; but that thefe Letters had not been fent, and were still in their Hands; That they had even fhewn them to him fealed up, without an Infcription, but that they had not reftored them to him: Prince Eugene Laying, That the Emperor had never ordered thefe Letters to be demanded of the Czarewitz, and that it was impoffible Count Schonborn fhould have forced him to it without Orders.

Afterwards, when the Czarewitz learnt that the other Persons were begun to be examined, he prefented his Czarian Majefty with another Confeffion in Writing.

FREDERICK DUBROFSKI Owned upon Examination, That he was acquainted with the Flight of the Czarewitz; that he had discoursed with him upon it, and had advised him to ef cape; and yet the Czarewitz had concealed Dubrofski in his first Examination, and declared

he

he knew nothing of his Defign, or his Conferences with Kikin.

SIMON NARASKIN owned upon Examination, That having met the Czarewitz between Memel and Konigsberg, he said to him by Kikin's Order, You have done wrong to come hither, you might have tarried where you was, and a long

Time too.

When the Proceedings of the Criminal Procefs of Sudal were began on the 20th of February, they brought thither from Rofton D'Offife, the Bishop of that Town, who confeffed upon Examination, feveral Indecencies which he charged upon the Czarewna Mary Alexiewna, and the religious Helen, who was formerly Czarina.

After all these Examinations were began, to wit, on the 27th of Febuary, the Czarewitz gave in a Writing to his Czarian Majesty, in which he confeffed, that having met with the faid Princess Mary Alexiewna by the Way, he discoursed with her concerning his Mother, the divorced Czariana; but he did not then own that the Princess had any Knowledge of his Flight, as he had also concealed it in his firft Confeffion.

JOHN ASSONASSIEF, and Frederick Ebarlakof, accused the Czarewitz in writing upon their Examination: The former, that he had heard his Brother fay, the Czarewitz had swore he would cause Dame Anniffe Tolstoi, Prince Menzikoff, and his Sifter in Law Barbara Arfenief to be impaled alive, as he had alfo broke out into violent Expreffions against Affonafief.

That being one Day in a Paffion against the great Chancellor Count Golofskin and Prince Tru

betskoy,

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