The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-10-01

| weak, and would take no steps to over
throw that fortune which, he believed
was likely to make of his offspring al
empress However, he was not wholly
insensible to the tortures of her stu
alton. " Keep watchful eye on my
daughter" he beseeches the ear in {
letter recently disclosed, for she is {
lamb in gentleness, and ill-suited To tho
rough ways of hot and hasty cavalier
I~pray thee be pleased to restrain thy
imperial son, and keep back the evil
reports which come daily to my ears"
The birth of two children-Natalia
who died prematureIy, and Peter, after
ward Gar Peter Ibid not soften the
evil tendencies of Alexis; on the con-
trary, it was the signal for a most terri
bic climax. While the princess was yet
suffering from her confinement, Alexis,
more in a fit of devilish wrath than OF
intOxication, struck her so savagely with
| his cane, that she fell senseless to the
floor. Those who stood near thought
that she was dead; and few hours later
her physician sent word to the car that
his daughter-in-law had been carried off
| by a sudden attack of mysteries!
Peter the Great received the intelli-
gence of the princess's death on the Goth
of October, 1715, and, being then at
Schlusselburg, busily employed on his
| works, he set out instantly for the cap
itOl. On the way he himself was seized
with illness, and was forced to take to
his bed In the midst of his grief the
announcement came that the empress
had been delivered of prince, which
speedily changed sadness into JOY. In
II n
was almost forgotten. But runor had
already sounded her dread alarms, and
Alexis, fearing the wrath of his father,
had fled to his cOuntry-house.
Meanwhile a grand carnival proclaimed
the new birth. Splendid entertainments,
balls and fireworks, followed one another
in rapid succession, and universal hilar-
ity prevailed. Elsewhere, coffin robed
in black, and followed only by a few at
tendants, was borne into the fortress of
st. Petersburg, and deposited in the
church of Saints Peter and Paul. Later
a horseman rode to the royal palace and
announced that the remains of Princess
Charlotte Sophia, cOnsort of the heir
apparent of all the Russias, were inferred.
Time elapsed, and it soon appeared that
the car had not really forgotten the
gentle girl who, deserving a better fate,
had missed her road to happiness; neither
had he failed to notice the absence of his
SON. The death of the neglected wife
was a sore affection to Peters mind; but
he hoped that it might be the means of
reforming the prince. Accordingly he
wrote him letter, accusing him of muir
der, but promising forgiveness if he would
w nd |
answer personally or in writing" the let
ter concludes, " or / must deal with you
as a criminal" Alexis replied, 81 in
tend to embrace the mOnastic life, and |
request your gracious consent to that
effect"
For awhile the affair was dropped, and
the car departed on a journey into Ger
many and France. The grand duke,
fearful of his life, fled, accompanied by
his mistress, to quarters unknown. Seven
months passed away, during which time
the car heard nothing from his son.
One day two Russian envoys overlook
Alexis in Naples, and placed in his hands
a letter from his father. eff you do not
return home" it read, by virtue of the
power / have received from God as your
sire, | pronounce against you my ever
lasting curse; and, as your sovereign, L
can assure you shall find ways to pun
ish you; which l hope, as my cause is
Just, God will take it in hand and assist
me in avenging it."
When entreaties failed, the ENJOYS had
recourse to strategy. One of them offered
a large sum of money to Eufrosine if she
would induce Alexis to throw himself at
the feet of his father. She piled her art
of persuasion so well that, on the follow
ing day, the prince set out for Moscow.
Upon his arrival the great bell tOlled;
gloomy council was convened in the cas-
tie; and the clergy said mass in the
cathedral. In solemn tones the ear pro-
nounced maledictiOn en- his son Alexis,
deprived him Of succession to the throne,
and even disinherited him in the pres
ence of the whole assembly. Never
was prince forgotten" says the royal
record, Gin so sovereign and authentic
manner.
A trial for high treason followed this
awful humiliation; and, on the 9TH of
July, 1718, it was publicly announced
that the Grand Duke Alexis had died in
prison, in consequence of Over-eXclte-
ment." Recent research proves that he
was murdered by German named
Weide, at the order of Peter the Great.
At this point the traSedymay be said
to end; and the mystery, if such it was,
TO begin.
Twenty years later, Chevalier Bossu
published in Paris book which is now
rare curiosity, entitled New Travels in
Nerth America, in a Series of Letters"
in which he affirmed that he had seen
the Princess Charlotte, who was thought
to have died long ago, at a plantation in
Louisiana. She was, he said, there well
known by her own name; and that he
had the full particulars of her romantic
career. From these statements, corrected
by the recent researches of Kersakoff,
who, having free access to imperial re-
cords at st. Petersburg, has at length
disclosed the truth, we shall briefly COM
plete one of the strangest stories in ex-
istence.
As early as 1714 the countess of KDon-
igsmark, mother of Maurice of SaXOny,
and an attendant on the Princess Char
lotte, urged the latter to escape from
Russia in the guise of a servant. But
the plan was frustrated. In the follow
ing year, and amid the JOY which an
nOunced the birth of a son of Catharine,
the princess, having somewhat recovered
from the assault already mentioned, was
secretly placed on board a Prussian YES
sci, and landed on the southern shore of
the Baltic.
At the same time the countess and the
physician played bold game. A sham
burial was originated. A wax figure,
skilIfully moulded, was placed in a cof-
fin, which, while the bells were tolling,
was hurried away and CONSIGNED to a