ALEXANDER II (1818-1881), AUTOGRAPH

Autographed letter to Ekaterina Dolgorouki. Saint Petersburg, Saturday, 10/22 of February 1868 at 4 pm and 10/23 of February at 10 am. 8 pp. in-8. Letterhead paper with the Tsar’s crest in the corner, written in French with numerous Russian passages. After a quarrel with Katia, the Tsar is begging her forgiveness. “After realising the chance we were given to have met, without any arrangement, I am now desperate, due to my candidness. (...) I hope that you will not deny me the bliss of seeing you again tonight, so that I can explain myself orally. (...) Unfortunately, you pretended wanting to stay irrelevant to my words of love. (...) That put me beside myself, to the point where I did not know what I was doing anymore; which led me to offend you unworthily. (...) Oh! Forgive me, dear Angel. (...)”.