b o o k right of fucceffion to the crown, he was conveyed to Peterf-
<_i3—j burgh, thrown into the fortrefs, tried by à feledt committee,
and condemned to fuffer death. The acts of his procefs and.
condemnation are well known, being put forth by order of
the emperor, and are to he found in feveral publications ‘L
Whatever prejudices, we may have entertained againft
Alexèy, wè cannot perufe the trial without beingihocked at
the cruel’ and unjuft mode, with which it was conducted :
when his mercilefs profecutors eagerly laid hold o f every
advantage which was afforded by his youth and fimpliçity;
when his Finiandifh miftrefs, who was afterwards penfioned
for her atteftations, depofed every angry expreffion againft
his father which ihe ever recollected to have fallen from
him in the molt unguarded moments ; when not only his
words and aftions were brought to witnefs againft him,.but.
his very thoughts were fcrutinized, and his own confeiiion t
* Mottley, vol. II/' And more circum- pouvait être
flantially in Perry, vol. II.
f “ On remarque, que dans ce procès on
* ‘ fuivait lés formes infidieufes de Pinquifi-
“ tion. C ’était à l’accule à chercher labo-
“ rieufement fes fautes, à faire des efforts
“ de mémoire pour les aggraver. Son in-
“ nocence dépendait de. fe declarer, de fe
*£ prouver criminel. Un oubli, une réti-
“ cence innocente ou même louable devenait
44 un crime. Ou plutôt, epie, preffe^ lur-
“ pris de tous'cotès, il ne pouvait éviter fa
“ condemnation. S’il taifaifTes fautes, fon
44 filence le rendait coupable : S’il les de-
44 voilait,- il était convaincu par fon aveu.”
L ’Evefque, vol. IV . p . 427.
T h e reader, I flatter myfelr, will not be
difpleafed at my introducing to his acquaintance
fuch fpirited paflages as the one juft
quoted, and the following upon the dépoli
tion o f the tzàrovitch.
“ La- fimplicitè enfantine de toute cette
44 derniere déclaration eft précieufe : Elle
“ prouve que le tzarévitch pouvait avoir
“ les vices & la groffiereté "d’une mauvaife
‘ éducation, mais qu’ il
44 ‘criminel.”
And again, 44 Mais que ferait-ce, 11 ces
4 aveux les plus forts lui avaient été diélés,
!4 arrachés, extorqués ? fi l ’on avait mis a
44 profit fa timidité, fa faibleffe, pour le
44 forcer, à fe montrer-plus coupable qu’il
44 ne l ’était en effet ? Si, chaque jour des .
44 mauvais traitements nouveauxfatiguaient,
44-donnaient fa patience, & l ’obligeaient; à
4 4 faire les aveux qu’on exigeait de lui ? fi
44 l ’on employait même les tortures pour
44 vaincre faréfiftance ? files cris & le bruit
44 des coups qu’il recevait étaient entendus
44 par un prifonnier qui était en même
4‘ temps dans la fortereffe, & qui a dévoilé
44 dépuis cet odieux fecret ? fi le tz a r iu ï
i4 même était le fpeélateur & peut-être le
44 miniftre des tourmeuts de fon .fils ? On
i ‘ ne peut s’empêcher d é rapporter cette
44 tradition : mais elle afflige l’humanité
44 qui fe plaît à la révoquer en doute ; elle
44 femble en même temps choquer la vrai-
44 femblance.” , Ib. p. 440, 441.
extorted
extorted from him in prifon employed to convicft him. In- C^ IP’
deed many of his own depofitions, which tended moft to cri-'— .— >
ruinate him, by difcovering intentions of rebellion, were not
openly acknowledged, but only figned by him in prifon;
and a lignal difference is remarkable between his confellions
during his firft examination at Mofcow, which was more
publick, and thofe made at Peteriburgh, when his trial was
chiefly carried on in private before Peter and his immediate
confidents ; circumftances which feem to prove the infliction
of torture.
With refpeCt to the circumftances of Alexey’s death, there
are two prevailing opinions; one, advanced in the manifefto
of Peter, that he was feized with an apopledtick fit, and died
of convulfions, occafioned by the violent paflions of his
mind and the terrors qf death ; and the other, that he was
fecretly executed in prifon. And the latter of thefe feems
moft entitled to belief, notwithftanding the aflertions of
Peter, and the apology o f his panegyrifts, particularly of
Voltaire who has fupported his innocence with the moil
plaufible arguments.
Of all the accounts of his death, that given by Eufching
feems to be the moft probable and authentick. This author^
politively afferts, that he was beheaded by order of his father,
and that marihal Weyde was the perfon who performed the
office of executioner. He received the intelligence from a
lady at Peteriburgh, named Cramer, who was in high confidence
both with Peter and Catherine, and who was employed
in fewing the.prince’s head to his body previous to
its lying in ftate. During my ftay at Peteriburgh I was at
fome pains to authenticate this fail, but I found it extremely
(difficult to obtain any pofitive information upon fo fecret a
* Bui, Hif. Mag. vol. III. p . 224. Alfo Introdu&ion to vol. IX.
V ol. I. 4 E tranfadlion.