[Footnote 10:  “La France n’avait eu encore aucune correspondance avec la Russie; on ne le connaissait pas; et l’Academie des Inscriptions celebra par une medaille cette ambassade, comme si elle fut venue des Indes.”—­Histoire de l’Empire de Russie, sous Pierre le Grand, page 93.]

Peter had now attained his eighteenth year, and began to manifest pretty decisively a will of his own.  He fell in love with a beautiful maiden, Ottokesa Lapuchin, daughter of one of his nobles, and, notwithstanding all the intriguing opposition of Sophia, persisted in marrying her.  This marriage increased greatly the popularity of the young prince, and it was very manifest that he would soon thrust Sophia aside, and with his own vigorous arm, wield the scepter alone.

The regent, whose hands were already stained with the blood of assassination, now resolved to remove Peter out of the way.  The young prince, with his bride, was residing at his country seat, a few miles out from Moscow.  Sophia, in that corrupt, barbaric age, found no difficulty in obtaining, with bribes, as many accomplices as she wanted.  Two distinguished generals led a party of six hundred strelitzes out of the city, to surround the palace of Peter and to secure his death.  The soldiers had already commenced their march, when Peter was informed of his danger.  The tzar leaped upon a horse, and spurring him to his utmost speed, accompanied by a few attendants, escaped to the convent of the Trinity, to which we have before alluded as one of the strongest fortresses of Russia.  The mother, wife and sister of the tzar, immediately joined him there.

The soldiers were not aware of the mission which their leaders were intending to accomplish.  When they arrived at the palace, and it was found that the tzar had fled, and it was whispered about that he had fled to save his life, the soldiers, by nature more strongly attached to a chivalrous young man than to an intriguing, ambitious woman, whose character was of very doubtful reputation, broke out into open revolt, and, abandoning their officers, marched directly to the monastery and offered their services to Peter.  The patriarch, whose religious character gave him almost unbounded influence with the people, also found that he was included as one of the victims of the conspiracy; that he was to have been assassinated, and his place conferred upon one of the partisans of Sophia.  He also fled to the convent of the Trinity.

Sophia now found herself deserted by the soldiery and the nation.  She accordingly, with the most solemn protestations, declared that she had been accused falsely, and after sending messenger after messenger to plead her cause with her brother, resolved to go herself.  She had not advanced more than half way, ere she was met by a detachment of Peter’s friends who informed her, from him, that she must go directly back to Moscow, as she could not be received into the convent.  The next day Peter assembled a council, and it was resolved to bring the traitors to justice.  A colonel, with three hundred men, was sent to the Kremlin to arrest the officers implicated in the conspiracy.  They were loaded with chains, conducted to the Trinity, and in accordance with the barbaric custom of the times were put to the torture.  In agony too dreadful to be borne, they of course made any confession which was demanded.