The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-10-02

sine, and his wife made complaints to
the car, the prince was snrcly enragcd,
and beat the princess most cruelty a
chastisement i'll return from the ear ONLY
made the affair worse. Charlotte, dailv
| in tears, regretted her sorrowfu plight.
and longcd to be released from her brut-
| lsh lord. She even wrote to her father,
Duke Louis, cntrcating him to take steps
Tor dissolving her marriage But Louis
was as proud and naughty rs she was
weak, and would take no steps to over
throw that fortune which, he believed,
WAS likely I" make of his offspring an
empress. However, he was not wholly
lnsensiblc to the torturcs of her stu
alton. Keep Il wntchful eye on my
daughter" he bcsccchcs the ear in Il
letter recently disclosed, "for she is a
lamb i'll gcntlcncss and ill-suitcd to the
rough ways of u hot and hasty cavalier.
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 prcnlaturcly, and Peter, after
ward Gar Peter Ibid not soften the
evil tendencies of Alexis; on the con
trary, ii was the signal for most terri
| blc climax. While the princess was yet
| suffering from her confinement, Alexis,
more in Il fit Of deviish wrath than of
| lnt"Nlcatlon, struck her so savagclv with
| his cane, that she fell scnsplcss to the
iloor. Those who stood near thought
| that she was dead; and few hours later
| her physician sent word to the czar that
| his daughtcr-in-law had been carried off
by sudden attack of Mysteries!
Peter the Great received the intelli-
gcncc OF the princcss's death on the goth
of October, I7l5, and, being then at
Schussclburg, 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 Il prince, which
| speedily changed sadness into JOY. In
the ensuing confusion, poor Charlotte
was almost forgotten. But rumor had
already sounded her dread alarms, and
Alexis fearing the wrath Of his iltlcr,
had fled to his country-house.
Meanwhilca grand carnival proclaimed
the new birth. Splendid entertainments
balls and fireworks, followed one another
in rapid succession, and universal hilar-
| lty prevailed Elsewhere, Il coffin robcd
in black, and followed only by ii few at
tcndants wts borne into the fortress of
st. Petersburg, and deposited in the
church of Saints Peter and Paul Later
horscman rode To the roya palace and
announced that the remains .f Princess
) sGSnh,ariotte. n,1 Sophia, s.,sort o. ,he heir
Time elapsed, and it soon appeared that
the czar had not really forgotten the
gentle girl who, deserving better fate,
q m !, ~
had he failed to notice the absence of hi;
son. The death of the neglected wife
was .t sore afflictioD 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
only amend his conduct. 81 desire your
answer personally ur in writing" the let
| ter concludes, cor I nlust dea! with YOU
rs 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 czar departed on 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 ear heard nothing from his SON.
One day two Russian ENJOYS overlook
Alexis in Naples, and placed in his hands
Il letter from his father. If 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, /
can assure you shall find ways to pun
! ish you; which hope, as my cause is
Just, God will take it in hand and assist
me in avGnging it,"
When cntrc"tics failed, the envoys had
recourse to strategy. One of chem offered
Il large sum of money to EuIrosine 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.
fPon his arrival the great bell tolled; a
gloomy council was convened in tlie cas-
tie; and the clergy said mass in the
cathedral. In solemn tones the czar pro-
nounccd malcdiction on his son Alexis
deprived him of succession to the throne
and even disinheritcd him in the pres
cncc of the whole assembly. Never
was prince forgotten" says the royal
! record, in 30 sovereign and authentic Il
manner. ~
trlal lot nlSn treason followed this
awful humiliation; and, on the eth of
July, l7lS, it was publicly announced
that the Grand Duke Alexis had died i'm
prison, in consequence of Over-excite.
mcnt" Recent research proves that he
was murdered by German named
Wcidc, at the order of Peter the Great.
At this point the tragedy may he said
10 end; and the mystery, if such it was,
to begin.
Twenty years later, Chevalier Bo.su
nuhlishcl in Paris q book which 10 nn,r a