his low companionship, his treasonable designs, and
exhibiting his utter unfitness, in all respects, to be entrusted with
the government of an empire. This remarkable document was concluded
with the following words:

"Now although our son, by such criminal conduct, merits the punishment
of death, yet our paternal affection induces us to pardon his crimes
and to exempt him from the penalty which is his due. But considering
his unworthiness, as developed in the conduct we have described, we
can not, in conscience, bequeath to him the throne of Russia,
foreseeing that, by his vicious courses, he would degrade the glory of
our nation, endanger its safety and speedily lose those provinces
which we have recovered from our foes with so much toil and at so vast
an expense of blood and treasure. To inflict upon our faithful
subjects the rule of such a sovereign, would be to expose them to a
condition worse than Russia has ever yet experienced. We do therefore,
by our paternal authority, in virtue of which, by the laws of our
empire, any of our subjects may disinherit a son and give his
succession to such other of his sons as he pleases, and, in quality of
sovereign prince, in consideration of the safety of our dominions, we
do deprive our son, Alexis, for his crimes and unworthiness, of the
succession after us to our throne of Russia, and we do constitute and
declare successor to the said throne after us our second son, Peter.

"We lay upon our said son, Alexis, our paternal curse if ever, at any
time, he pretends to, or reclaims said succession, and we desire our
faithful subjects, whether ecclesiastics or seculars, of all ranks and
conditions, and the whole Russian nation, in conformity to this, our
will, to acknowledge our son Peter as lawful successor, and to confirm
the whole by oath before the holy altar upon the holy gospel, kissing
the cross. And all those who shall ever oppose this, our will, and
shall dare to consider our son, Alexis, as successor, we declare
traitors to us and to their country. We have ordered these presents
to be everywhere promulgated, that no person may pretend ignorance.
Given at Moscow, February 3d, 1718."

This document was then taken to the cathedral, where all the higher
ecclesiastics had been assembled, and was read to them. Nothing was
omitted which could invest the act with solemnity, There is every
evidence that the heart of the father was rent with acutest anguish in
all these proceedi