cern'd in that wicked Attempt; and, against their Confcience, to impute to him Sentiments equally inconfiftent with his Majefty's Honour and Reputation, with his own Interefts, and with the Tenor of his whole Conduct; all which demonftrate, that 'tis not poffible for his Majefty ever to be capable of harbouring fuch Thoughts.

His Majefty's Surprize, in that Refpect, was the greater, in that his Enemies, to give fome Colour to their malicious Infinuations, have been fo daring, as to mention in their Letters, That M. Erskine, Phyfician to the Czar my Mafter, had held a Correfpondence with the Earl of Mar, and had fuggefted to him, That his Czarish Majefty is fenfible of the juft Caufe of the Pretender, and that he wishes for nothing more than a Conjuncture, in which he may be able to restore him to his Dominions; with other odious Expreffions: Although his Czarith Majefty, confidering his faid Phyficians good Behaviour for the Space of thirteen Years, during which, he has been in his Service, cannot believe that he can have forgot himself fo far, as, without any Order, to enter into fo criminal a Correfpondence; the rather, because his Majefty never admits him to his Councils, or Matters of State, but only employs him in the Way of his Profeffion. Much lefs can his Majefty believe, that he has been fo daring as to abuse his Name in an Affair of fuch a Nature, and to father fuch bafe Things upon him, to the Hazard of his Life and Fortune. For, as foon as the Czar, my Mafter, was inform'd, That fome Relations of his faid Physician had been engag'd in the late Rebellion against your Majefty, he did immediately forbid him to hold any Correfpondence with them not only about Matters of Moment, but even concerning their Family Affairs. Nevertheless his Czarith Majefty did not fail, with eager Zeal, to examine him about it, as foon as he receiv'd the News of it; but he protefted that he was entirely innocent of this whole Plot; the rather, because he never receiv'd Orders from his Czarith Majefty to enter into fuch Affairs, or to hold fo dangerous a Correfpondence, which might tend to the great Prejudice of his Ma jefty's Interefts, and to the Interruption of the good Harmony eftablifh'd between his Czarith Majefty and your Majefty; and he afterwards declar'd, upon Oath, and on the Forfeiture of his Life, that he never wrote

fuch

fuch Letters, either to the Earl of Mar, or any other; and he is confident, that no Man can prove any fuch Thing against him, and that no fuch Letters of his can be found any where; and in cafe any fhould, he. voluntarily fubmits himself to the most rigorous Punifhment. As for the reft, this Affair is of fuch a Nature, that whoever will confider it without Prejudice, will eafily acknowledge, and clearly fee the Artifice and Fallity that lurks under it. For it evidently, appears, by the Czar my Mafter's paft Conduct, and by the repeated Proofs lie has given, on all Occasions, of his good Intentions for the Interefts of your Majefty, and of all your Royal Family, both from the firft Eftablishment of the Friendship between his Czarith Majesty and your Majefty, even when your Majefty was but one of the Electors of the Empire, and fince your happy Acceffion to the British Throne. All thefe, I fay, evince, how far his Czarith Majefty is from the Thoughts which his Enemies have dar'd to impute to him in their faid Letters, in fo falfe and injurious a Manner. Your Majefty may well remember, as well as all Europe, with what Joy the Czar, my Mafter, receiv'd the News of your Advancement to the Throne of Great Britain; and what Advantages he caus'd to be propos'd to your Majefty by his Minifters, towards a ftricter Union with your Majefty: And befides, the Application with which his Czarith Majefty has ever endeavour'd to preferve your Majefty's Friendfip, fufficiently thews the Regard he has for you; and that he never did, nor ever will make any Step, that may occafion any Alteration or Coldness, Therefore it is eafy to fee, that his Czarith Majefty could never have the Thought of favouring the Pretender, or to enter with him, directly or indirectly, into any Measures to your Majesty's Prejudice; much lefs ftill, to favour the Defign of the King of Sweden, his principal and perpetual Enemy, to advance the faid Pretender to the Throne of Great Britain. Can fuch a Defign be confiftent with his Czarith Majefty's Interefts? Would he not, on the contrary, have eafily perceiv'd the pernicious Confequences of it? For if the faid Pretender fhould come to that Crown, he would not fail, out of Gratitude, to affift the King of Sweden againit the Czar, my Mafter. His Majesty has already fhewn how far he is from any fuch Thoughts, when not only the laft Year, he offer'd to Z

be

be Guaranty of the Succeffion to the Crown of Great Britain, in the Houfe of Hanover, as it is now fettled, but alfo towards the End of the faid Year, and in the Beginning of this prefent, he offer'd to enter into a Treaty with your Majefty upon the fame Foot; and had exprefsly commanded his Minifters, as well at Hanover, as at the Hague, to profecute that Negotiation. Nor is it his Czarish Majefty's Fault, that the faid Negotiation was not brought to a happy Conclufion; although his Czarith Majefty has of late obferv'd divers Counter-fteps which your Majefty's Ministers have taken in feveral foreign Courts, particularly at the Court of his Imperial Majefty, as well as thofe of the Kings of Denmark and Pruffia, as alfo at the Dyet of Ratibon, without any Occafion given on his Side: And tho' his Czarish Majefty had fufficient Reasons to take Precautions, and to provide for his private Security, upon the Reports that had been fpread, and the Informations he receiv'd from feveral Parts, that your Majefty was treating of a particular Peace with the King of Sweden, promifing even Affiftance against his Czarish Majefty, upon his yielding the Dutchy of Bremen, as appears clearly enough, even from the Letters of the Swedish Minifters, that have been publifh'd; nor was, perhaps, that Report, at that Time, altogether groundlefs. But however, it made no manner of Impreffion upon his Majefty's Mind, nor gave him the leaft Thought of a particular Peace. On the contrary, he has not only caus'd all the ProFofals that have been made to him from any Side, to be faithfully communicated to your Majefty and your Allies, but has alfo lately endeavour'd, by fending to your Majefty his Privy-Counsellor, the Sieur Tolstoy, to remove all Occafion of Diftruft, which fome illgrounded Infinuations might have occafion'd, and to re-establish the ancient good Harmony, and at the fame Time concert with your Majefty the neceffary Measures for the vigorous Profecution of the War against the common Enemy, in order to procure a firm and advantageous Peace to all the Northern Allies in general; and to conclude thereupon, either a formal Treaty, or a Concert, towards which his Czarish Majefty fhew'd all imaginable Difpofitions; but the faid Negotiations having been broken, against all Expectation, and for Reafons of fmall Importance, on your Majefty's Part; and even Access to

your

your Perfon having been deny'd to his Czarifh Ma jefty's Minifters, he might, with more Reafon, have given Credit to the Infinuations that were made to him, and have taken his Measures accordingly: But his Czarish Majefty has feen all this with a great deal of Patience, as alfo the other Steps that have been made to his Prejudice, contrary to the Obligations of Friendship and Alliances, as well at Copenhagen as in the Empire; which Steps were not many Removes from an open Rupture. Notwithstanding all this, his Czarish Majesty still offers to renew a good Friendfhip with your Majefty. And as your Majefty, as well as your Minifters, know very well the Truth of all that is above reprefented, fo, on the other Hand, it is certain, as every one may eafily imagine, that all thofe malicious Infinuations have been fpread, and perhaps written by the Enemy, in all Appearance, with an Intention to encourage the English Faction, who have enter'd into their pernicious Defign; and, by fuch Reports, to create a greater Diftruft between the Czar my Mafter and your Majefty. It is farther evident, that this obftinate Enemy, in the weak Condition to which he is reduc'd, runs all Hazards, and only ftudies to difunite the Northern Allies by his Intrigues and artful Infinuations, and would fain improve the Misunderstanding he endeavours, by any Means, to create amongst them, thereby, in fome Meafure, to retrieve his broken Affairs. Therefore his Czarish Majesty could not but be very much concern'd at your Majefty's caufing to be printed in the faid Letters of the Swedish Minifters, the malicious Infinuations of his Enemies, which wound the Honour and Reputation of his Czarilh Majefty, without either a previous Communication of the fame, or demanding an Explanation of thofe Paffages which, nevertheless, thould have been done, as well by Virtue of the good Intelligence establish'd between the Czar my Master and your Majefty, as of the reciprocal Obligations of one Ally to another. His Czarith Majefty, however, can entertain no other Thoughts about it, than that fome ill-minded Perfons have endeavour'd to take Advantage of this Occafion, to render himself and his Conduct obnoxious both to your Majefty and other Potentates, and to break off the good Harmony which has hitherto fubfifted, to the mutual Advantage of the

Z z

Rufian

Ruffian and British Nations,ás alfo to hinder for the Future a ftricter Union between them, to which his Czarish Majefty is ready to give his Confent. Bur, in order to remove all the finifter Impreffions which thofe malicious Infinuations may have made on the . Mind of your Majefty and of the whole World, and to fhew how far his Czarith Majefty is from having any Share in the horrid Attempt of your Enemies, his Majefty has moft graciously commanded the under-written Secretary of Embaffy, folemnly to proteft, in his Name, against all those false Infinuations, as he moft exprefsly does by this prefent Memorial, declaring on the Part of his Czarith Majefty, That his Majefty looks upon the faid falfe Infinuations fpread by the Enemy, as Calumnies truely base and ignominious; and, as fuch, referves to himfelf to thew his Refentment against the Authors of them. Moreover, his Czarish Majesty would be glad, if, 'contrary to all Expectation, any Thing could be difcover'd, whereby his Phyfician Erskine might be convicted of having held a Correfpondence fo injurious and prejudicial to his Czarith Majefty, and that the whole were communicated to him, that he might clearly thew to the whole World, by the Refentment he would exprefs of it, that his Czarish Majefty never gave any Orders about it, nor ever had the Thought of having the leaft Share in fo bafe and fo deteftable an Attempt.

The under-written Secretary of Embaffy has the Honour, in the Name of his Czarith Majefty, his Mafter, to affure your Majefty in the ftrongeft Manner, That as his Majefty never had any other Intention, than to continue in good Intelligence and FriendThip with your Majefty, and to cultivate it more and more with all imaginable Care, fo his Czarifh Majefty will ever perfevere in these Sentiments, being ready in the prefent Juncture, to enter with your Majefty, as King of Great Britain, into all the neceffary and fitting Engagements for the Good and Security of both Powers; and to teftify the Regard his Czarith Majefty has for your Majefty's Perfon, and the Confideration he entertains for the British Nation, who, Time out of Mind, have maintain'd with his Predeceffors a good Correfpondence, Amity, and Commerce. Moreover, to give fresh Inftances of it, his Czarish Majefty is inclin'd to grant

them