tended there was a Letter inclosed from Mofcow, with the inclofed Paper itself, never came to his Hands; but he had received in the Letter dated in February, an inclofed Account of what Bleyer wrote from Petersburgh, and that there was no Paper inclosed in the Letter of April.

That he had certainly written by Force to the Senate and the Archbishops, and not of his own Inclination; but he did not remember that the Expreffion ever was to be found in his Letter, or that he had faid without my having committed any Thing to deferve it. That in the original Letter to the Archbishops, there was none of thefe Words, The fame Perfons who treated Mother in the like Manner.

my

That he did not remember why the Words at prefent were twice blotted out.

That he had concealed Dubrofski with Defign, because he had spoke of it to him in private; and for this Reason, he was unwilling to mention him in his Confeffions.

That it was thro' Forgetfulness he had not declar'd any Thing in relation to Simon Naraskin and Kikin.

That he had spoke of his Escape to the Czarewna in these Terms, I am refolved to hide myfelf; and he own'd himself faulty, for not having declared it in his Confeffions, because he had Pity of her.

1718.

He declared upon the DEPOSITION of ASSON AS
SIEF and EBARLAKOF,

T

drunk.

HAT he had fpoken of the common
People in a Paffion, and when he was

That he had not faid what was laid to his Charge concerning the Archbishops.

That he was in Paffion, when he spoke of Count Golowin, his Son, and Prince Trubeskoi.

That all the World knew he was married with his own good Liking, and not by Force. That his Letter to his Father, to defire his Leave, was a clear Proof of it; and that he had written at leaft thirteen upon this Subject.

That what he faid concerning Petersburgh, he had heard from the Mouth of the Czarewitz of Siberia.

That it was thro' pure Forgetfulness he had not mentioned Ebarlakof in his Confeffion; but that indeed he had held the Difcourfe with him, which was alledged.

That he had fometimes taken Phyfick by Diffimulation, that they might think him indifpofed; and in this he owned himself faulty.

Laftly, The Czarewitz befought his Czarian Majefty to allow him Time to confider and write, promifing to fet down whatever fhould recur to his Memory.

His Majefty granted him this Permiffion, and declared to him at the fame Time, that feeing feveral Things had efcaped him in his Confeffion, which he had acknowledged at pre

Thefe Letters are fill preferved in the Original.

fent,

fent, he would again repeat to him what had been denounced before: That he was to difco- U ver all that bore any Relation to this Affair, tho' he was not queftioned about it.

Upon which the Czarewitz prefented in the Month of May Confeffions figned with his own. Hand upon this Examination.

In his firft CONFESSION, of the 14th of May, he wrote as follows:

Did not feal any Letter before the Arrival

of M. Tolstoi; but the Secretary of the Viceroy having fent me a Plan, and the Relation of the Seige of Belgrade, had defired to fend them back to him fealed, that the Captain who was with me might not know what they fent me, because I then paffed for a Prisoner; and therefore I fent the Plan back fealed up.

I alfo wrote a Note to the faid Secretary, and do not remember upon what Occafion; but I think it was upon fomething that I wanted.

The Captain who was with me, fhewed me from Time to Time the printed Plans of feveral Attacks.

I knew nothing of the Archbishop of Refan's Sermon, because I had been a long Time abfent from Moscow. It was in Pomerania, as I remember, that I first heard Prince Bafile Dolgoruki, or Frederick Glebof speak of it. One of them faid to me, The Archbishop of Refan, in a Sermon at Moscow, has spoke of you in very bad Terms, as if you were turned out; and the Senators bave obliged him to give them a Copy of

the Sermon.

1718

1718.

The Archbishop of Refan was used to write to me fometimes before, and I to him, tho' feldom, except when I had urgent Business; but as foon as I was informed of the Sermon, I broke off the Correfpondence, and went no more to see the Archbishop, neither did I fuffer him to come to me, that I might not give Room for Sufpicions.

I told Afrofini, that I had written Letters pursuant to the Directions of the aforefaid Secretary; but not to Perfons with whom I had any great Correspondence. I believe, faid I, the Senators will fhew my Letter; but I do not believe there will be any Informations against them, because of their Numbers; and tho' this should happen, they can fay nothing of me, for I never made any Overture to them of my Escape; and for the Archbishops, tho they should burn them alive, they cannot fay I communicated any Thing

to them.

Tho' I ought to have wrote to the Archbishop of Rejan, as well as the two aforefaid Archbishops, because the Secretary had bid me write to the chief of the Clergy and Laity, and yet I did not do it, that no one might think I had concerted my Efcape with him; for I knew him more particularly than the rest, and the Sufpicions would have been ftronger against him and me, becaufe of the Sermon he had preached.

What I wrote concerning my Return into my Country, had regard to the Time after my Father's Death, and not* during his Life.

The Contrary will appear by and by.

In

In his fecond CONFESSION, of the 16th of May, he wrote as follows:

G

ENERAL Baur was in Poland at the I Time of my Flight, with his Body of Troops, and was my particular Friend: I thought my Father's Death was near, upon my being told that he was ill of an Epilepfy, as it is faid that if People in Years fall into this Diftemper, they cannot live long; I concluded that he would at leaft die in two Years Time; I thought that after his Death I could eafily come out of the Emperor's Territories into Poland, and from Poland with Baur into Ukrania, where I did not doubt but all the World would declare for me; and I believe that the Czarewna Mary at Mofcow, and feveral of the Archbishops, and even the greatest Part would do the fame; and for the common People, I have heard a great many fay, that I was beloved by them.*

Farther, I was abfolutely refolved not to return fo long as my Father lived, except in the Cafe I have done it, to wit, upon my being recalled.

I trufted no one with my Defign in efcaping, neither verbally nor in Writing; nor is there any Perfon that was at all acquainted with it. I have fometimes faid to Afrofini, that fuch or fuch a one were my Friends; but when she asked me who they were, I told her he did not know them.

1718.

*This was not written fincerely, as afterwards appeared, and will be proved hereafter.