B°°K where he was employed by the patriarch in tranfcribing
>— v_ j books for the fervice of the church. It is not afcertained,
even from thefe accounts of his life, at what period he
firft ftyled himfelf Demetrius. Some report, that while
he continued in the monaftery of Tchudof, he obtained the
•moft minute information relative to the perfonand character
■of the prince, and even began to affume his name, for
which he was deemed infane, and excited the laughter of the
monks. Others relate, that he was in pofleffion of feveral
jewels which had formerly belonged to Demetrius ; and,
having one day declared that he ihould afcend the throne of
Ruffia, he was confined, by order of Boris Godunof, in a
diftant monaftery, from whence he efcaped into Poland;
his adventures in which country have been already delineated.
On the contrary, Margaret, who afferts that he is
¡the true Demetrius, gives the following detail.
Demetrius, being refcued from aflaliination by the fubfti-
tution * of another -child, was fecretly educated in Ruffia
until
* The principal objection againft the ac- “ ceffion, and the pofterity o f that houfe»
count o f Margaret arifes from the difficulty “ He is kept in a remote place from Mollco,
o f fubftituting a child in the place o f De- “ under the tuition o f his mother,, and her
.metrius, particularly i f the fon o f his nurfe “ kindred o f the houfe o f the Na g aie s ; yet
was one o f the aflaffins; and as Vaffili “ not f a ß (as I have heard)from attempts o f
Shuiiki is faid to have examined.the body “ making away by p r a c t i c e o f fome that afp ir t
«of the c’.eceafed, foon after the fuppofed af- “ to the fucccjjion, i f this emperor die without
iaffination. In anfwer to this it may be “ ijfue” Fletcher's Ruffia, Chap. V .
iaid, that his mother had fufficient reafons “ II eft aflez ä prefuppofer,” as Margaret
to be upon.her guard againft the attempts juftly obferves, “ que la mere Sc les autres,
o f Boris Godunof.; and it is evident that “ &c. voyant ce but ou le dit Boris tendoit,
iuch attempts had been made previous to “ eflayorent par tous moyens ä delivrcr l’en-
the afiaffination, from the following paf- “ fant du danger ou il eftoit. Or je fcay
fage in, Fletcher, who was at Mofcow in the •“ et j e -cr-ois que Fon confeflera qu’ il n’y
beginning o f Feodor’s reign. “ Beiides the “ avoit nul autre moyen que dele changer
emperor that now is, who hath no'child, “ et en fuppofer un autre enfa place, et le
il nor ever like to have, there is but one “ faire nourrir fecretement, en attendant u
“ more, a child of. fix or .feven years old, “ le temps ne changeroit ou empecheroit
.** in-whom refleth,all the hope o f the fu c - “ jxfintles defieins du dit Boris Fetlervits,
vmtil the election of Boris Godunof, when he was conveyed chap.
into Poland under the care of the monk Grille a, which after- -■ .
wards gave rife to the report that Griika had perfonated Demetrius.
As a proof that they were two diftin6t perfons,-
he informs us, that Boris Godtinof fent repeated expreflès to
bis guards upon the frontiers, to prevent all travellers from
quitting the country, even ihould they be- provided with'
paflports, for there were two-1raitôrs wha were■ endeavouring-
to eicape into Poland. Margaret adds, Grifka was-thirty-
five years of age, and Demetrius fcarcely twenty-four ; he
accompanied the-new tzar to Mofcow, and was fêenby many
in that city, being a perfdn well known,- and* having a brother
who poflefled :an eftate near'Galitz r he was notorious
bfefore his flight into Poland for 'his infolence and drunken-
nefs, and, on account of-'his- mifConduft, he was banilhed bv
Demetrius' to Yarollaf.’ Margaret, moreover,was informed
by an-Engliih merchant of Yaroflaf, well acquainted with
Griika, that the latter, upon the news of the tzaris-death,
“ Ce qu’ils effe&uerent fi bien que nul«, “ à Ouglitch par Boris-; ils virent et re-
“ fors ceux de la partie n’en feurent rien,” “ connurent le corps du tzarévitch et
&c. p. 154. “ lui rendirent les honneurs funebres. Eh ! '
With fefpeét to the privity o f the nurfe, “ fait on ce qu’ont vu ces deux émiflaires
and her fon, the wiftiefs o f the bell-ringer, “ de Boris, ce qu’ ils lu i ont rapporté en- ■
and the teftimony o f Vaffili Shuiiki, “ fecret ? Le corps" même qu’ils examine-
L’Evefque makes- the following judicious “ r.ent, défiguré par des bleflures, et gardé
obtervations. “ long-temps fans être embaumé, devait
“ Mais ces. circonftances font elles bien “ être meconnaiflable. On ignore abfolu-
“ confirmées. Tous les aflaffins du tzaré-’ “ ment ce qu’ils ont découvert, et ce qu’ ils
“ vitch furent maffacrés prelqu’ auffi-itôt “ ont penfé* S’ils ont débite à leur retour
qu’ils eurent commis ce crime, lis n’ont ‘ ‘ une fable concertée entr’eux et le 'm i-
“ point été interrogés, on n’a rien fu de “ niftre, ils n’ont pu dans le fuite faire
“ leur bouche. Un. fonneur de la cathe- “ connaître la vérité» fans avouer qu’ils
“ drale fut témoin du meurtre de Dmitri. “ avoient été des fourbes venduë à un fcé-
“ Mais qui a reçu fon témoignage ? Eft.il “ lérat,” &c. Vol. 111. p. 227. Ifi.a word1
‘ même certain que ce témoin ait exifté ? the belief that a chi Id-was fubftituted in •
4 Si les aiTaffins furent trompés, n’ait il pas the place o f Demetrius, though liable to »
“ pu l ’être lui même, et prendre pour le many objections, is yet attended with much *
* tzarévitch un enfant du même age ! N e fewer difficulties, than the notion that the ..
Jconvient.on-pas que Boris, &c. Mais tzar who reigned under the name o f Deme- -
Chouiiki. mais Clechnin. furent. envoyés- trius was an impoftor,
aad<!