b ook tranfuilion. The mbit material circumftances I could collect
. f , were communicated to me by an intimate acquaintance of
the above-mentioned lady he affured me that he had frequently
attempted to converfe with her upon the death of
Alexey, but had always found her extremely averfe to hold
any difcourfe upon the fubjeft; ihe feemed exceedingly
ihocked whenever this topick was introduced ;• and
nothing could be further extorted from her, than that
fhe was the perfon who prepared the body for the ceremony
of its lying in hate. This unwillingnefs of the lady to enter
upon the fubjeót, together with her declaration that ihe prepared
the body, feems to add a great degree of confiraiationi
to the account of Bufching ; and it is not improbable, from
the confidential intercourfe which fubfifted between them,
that ihe might, on fome particular occafion, have difclofed
to him a ftate-fecret of fuch moment, which, excepting in
this fingle inftance, ihe invariably concealed.
An additional proof, in favour of the authenticity of this
fait, I lately received from ari Engliih gentleman, 011 whole
veracity the publick may rely. That gentleman affined me,
that he had been informed by prince Cantemir’S fecietary,
with whom he was intimately acquainted abroad, that Alexey
was beheaded in prifon. As prince Cantemir was in high
f a v o u r with Peter, the intelligence of his confidential feere-
tary muft carry with it great weight.
This fact appears fo well attefted, that many o f the German
hifiorians, who have written upon Ruifia, have adopted
it without referve ; and, in feveral genealogical tables of the
Imperial family, Alexéy is put down as beheaded. A pafiage,
however, in Bruce’s Memoirs, feems at firft fight to invalidate
this concurrent evidence, and to prove that he was
poifoned.
poifoned. This pafiage is too cjurious not to be introduced
to the reader. *-—.— >
44 The trial * was b egun the 25th o f June, and cohtinued to the 6th o f July, when
44 thjs'fupreme court, with unanimous confent, palfed fentence o f death upon the prince,
44 but left the, manner o f it to his majefty’s determination : the prince was brought be-
44 fore the court, his fentence was read to him, and he was re-conveyed to the fortrefs,
44 On the next day, his majefty, attended by all the fenators and bifliops, with feveral
44 others o f high rank, went.to the fort, and entered the apartments where the tza ro v iteh
44 was kept prifoner. . Some little time thereafter, marflial Weyde came out, and ordered
44 me to go to Mr. Bear’s the druggift, whofe iliop was hard-by, and tell him to make
44 the potion itrong which' he had belpoke, as the prince was then very i l l : when I deli-
44 vered this-meflage to Mr. Bear, he turned quite pale, and fell a ihaking and trembling,
44 and appeared in the utmoft confufion ; which furprized me fo much, that I aiked him
-*l vvliat was the'matter with him, but he-was .unable to return me any anfwer; in the
44 mean time the .marflial himfelf came in, much in the fame condition with the drug-
44 gift, faying,''he: ought’ to have been more expeditious, as the prince was very ill o f an
44 apopleftick f i t ; upon this the druggift delivered him a filver cup with a-cover, which
44 the marflial himfelf carried into the prince’ s apartment, ftaggering all the way as he
44 went like one drunk. About half an hour after, the czar, .with all his attendants,
44 withdrew, with very difmal countenances ; and when they went, the marflial Ordered
44 me to attend at the prince’s apartment, and, in cafe o f any'alteration, to inform him
44 immediately thereof. There were at that time two phyficians and two furgeoris in
44 waiting, with whom, and the officer on guard, I dined on what had been drefled for the
44 prince’ s dinner. T h e phyficians were called in immediately after to attend the prince,
44.who was ftruggling out o f one eonVulfion into another, and, after great agonies,
44 expired at five o’clock in the afternoon-. I went dire£tly to inform the marihal, and he
44 tvent that moment to acquaint li is-majefty, who ordered the corpfe to be embowelled,
44 after which it was laid in a coffin, covered with black velvet, and a pall o f rich gold
44 tiflue fpread over i t ; it was then carried out o f the fort to the church o f the Holy
44 Trinity, where the corpfe lay in-ftate till the n th in the evening, when it was carried
44 back to the' fort, and depofited'in the royal burying Vault, next the coffin o f theprin-
44 cefs his late confort; on which occafion the czar arid czarina, and the chief o f the
44 nobility, followed in proceffion. Various were -the. reports that were fpread concern-
44 ing his death : it was given out publickly, that, on hearing his fentence o f death pro-
44 nounced, the dread thereof threw him into an apople&ick fit, o f which he died ; very
44 few believed he died a natural death, but it was dangerous. fo r .people to fpeak as they thought.
44 The minifters o f :the emperor,, and the ftates- o f Holland, were forbid the court for
44 fpeak ing their minds'too freely on this occafion', and,-upon complaint againft theiq, ^
44 were both-recalled.”
* Bruce’s Memoirs, p. 185-1—-1.87,
4. E a From