allowed a report of his condition to be sent
to thy Empress-mother and the Grand Duke
Constantine.

The night of the twenty-second was
tolerably easy, but in the morning he felt very
ill. At eleven lie had an alarming fainting
fit, and all day a burning skin, with strong
perspiration in the evening. He never spoke
unless when he wanted anything, and
appeared almost always in a comatose state.

On the twenty-third he felt somewhat better,
and the empress remained with him till
dinner-time; but on standing up, he fainted
again.

On the twenty-fourth he enjoyed some
orange lemonade very much, and seemed
considerably relieved.

On the twenty-fifth his skin was burning,
and all day he did not speak a word. As the
lemonade made him sick, they gave him
cherry syrup.

On the twenty-sixth he was so much
stronger, that he sat up and shaved himself;
but at twelve had another access of fever.
The physician recommended leeches, bxit he
would not hear of them; and in case of
irritating him by the attempt, they were not
alluded to again. On the recurrence of a
fainting fit, at eight o'clock, Wylie told
Volkousky that his life was in great danger.
The latter went at once to the empress, and
told her no time was to be lost if she wished
the emperor to perform his last Christian
duties. The unhappy empress found herself
strong enough to go without delay to the
emperor, to speak to him on the subject.

'Am I indeed so ill '?" he asked.

"My dearest friend," answered the
empress, "you have refused every means
suggested by the doctors; let us now make an
experiment with this."

"With all my heart," said the emperor,
and called in the physician.

"I am then so ill?" he said.

"Yes, sire," replied Wylie, with tears.
"You would not follow my prescriptions,
and now I must tell you—not as your
physician, but as an honourable and Christian
man there is not a moment to lose."

The emperor pressed his hands, which he
held a long time in his, and sank into deep
thought. Wylie was now asked if the
confession might be delayed till the morning,
and to this he agreed. At eleven o'clock the
emperor besought his wife to go and take
some rest.

Between four and five of the morning of
the twenty-seventh, the emperor was much
worse, and the empress was summoned. The
confessor came.

"I must now be left alone," said
Alexander. And when he had finished his
confession, the empress returned and joined in
the communion. She then, throwing herself
on her knees along with the confessor,
besought him to let leeches be applied. He
promised his consent, and turning to the
empress, said: " Never did I find myself
more perfectly at peace, and for this I am
eternally indebted to you." Thirty leeches
were applied, but took more than two hours
to bite, and drew little blood.

The night of the twenty-eighth was very
restless, and the emperor greatly exhausted.
He took a spoonful of lemonade, and in
spite of all applications was ill the whole
day. On the twenty-ninth a blister was
applied to his back. At ten o'clock he came
to himself again, spoke a little, and recognised
everybody. He wished to drink, and
said to Volkousky, "Edrean nisire." On
which the other replied, " Tino? Nonackambe."
But Volkousky saw that he had no
strength to take the gargle, and he was now
in the greatest danger.

On the thirtieth he seemed tolerably strong,
but the fever increased, and the danger grew
more threatening all day. Every time he
opened his eyes he looked to the empress,
took her hands, kissed them, and pressed
them to his heart. Volkousky approached
to kiss his hand, but he did not seem pleased,
as he never liked kissing of hands. He lost
consciousness at twenty minutes to twelve
and never recovered it.

On the first of December he breathed his
last, at ten minutes to eleven in the morning.
The empress closed his eyes.

The priest to whom he confessed is called
Alexis, and is arch-priest of the high church
at Taganrog. The Archbishop of Ecatheriuoslaff
read the prayers when the emperor
was laid out. The corpse of the emperor lay
nine days in his cabinet, while it was
embalmed. During this time the empress resided
in the town. The body was, however, not so
well embalmed as could be wished. It was
necessary to dip it constantly in ice, and to
moisten the face with an acid by which his
features became dark and unrecognisable. In
the head some wrong-placed membranes were
found, at the exact spot which he used to
touch when he was in pain. The emperor
had suffered greatly in his last moments; he
breathed fast, and with difficulty. He died
in his cabinet, on a divan. The persona in
the next room heard his struggles. During
his illness, he often lay in the little room at
the front of his cabinet. A moment was
seized, while the empress was out of the
chamber, to administer the last sacraments.

Early in August will be published, price 5s. 6d.,
neatly bound in cloth,
THE ELEVENTH VOLUME
OF
HOUSEHOLD WORDS.
Containing the Numbers issued between the 3rd of
February and the 28th July, 1855. The Library Edition
of the previous Ten Volumes (bound in five) of HOUSEHOLD
WORDS, with an Index to the whole, price
£2 12S. 6D, may always be had of the booksellers.