Explore "Peter and Alexis" by Dmitri Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Peter fell ill. He had caught cold during the flood when, in rescuing the poor people's chattels from the cellar dwellings, he had stood waist-deep in water. At first he paid no heed to his illness, and tried to get over it by ignoring it, but on November 15, he was obliged to take to his bed and the Court Physician, Blumentrost, declared that the Tsar's life was in danger.
These days were to decide the fate of Alexis. On October 28, the day of Alexis' wife's funeral, on their return from the Peter and Paul Cathedral, Peter gave him a letter, "a declaration to my son," which demanded immediate reform on the threat of severe anger and the loss of the crown.