[7] About 85 per cent. of bleeders die in their childhood or early youth. The chances of a fatal issue diminish greatly as they attain manhood. That is easily understood. An adult knows how to exercise the care his condition requires, and the causes of trauma are thus greatly lessened. Although hæmophilia is incurable, it does not prevent many of its victims from reaching an advanced old age. The children of Alexis Nicolaïevitch would not have been affected by this terrible malady, as it is only transmitted by women.
[8] Queen Victoria did not like the Germans and had a particular aversion for the Emperor William II., which she handed on to her granddaughter, who always preferred England, her country on her mother’s side, to Germany. Yet she always remained greatly attached to the friends and relations she had left there.
[9] She was extremely anxious to improve the lot of poor women by building maternity and other hospitals. She hoped to establish professional schools, and so on.
[10] Her continual fear of an attempt on the life of the Czar or her son always helped to wear down the Czarina’s nervous vitality.
[11] Relations between the Czarina and Mlle. Tioutcheva were never again what they had been, and the latter resigned her post in the spring of 1912.
[12] Son of the famous Professor Sergius Botkin and Court Physician.
[13] The regiment which acted as the Czar’s bodyguard. It comprised representatives of all the regiments of the Guard.
[14] At the time my pupil was learning Russian, French, arithmetic, history, geography and religious knowledge. He did not begin English until later, and never had German lessons.
[15] Her Majesty talked English with them, the Czar Russian only. The Czarina talked English or French with the members of her suite. She never spoke in Russian (though she spoke it pretty well ultimately) except to those who knew no other language. During the whole period of my residence with the Imperial family I never heard one of them utter a word of German, except when it was inevitable, as at receptions, etc.
[16] It was thus that I learned that from January 1st, 1914, to the day of his death in December, 1916, Rasputin only saw Alexis Nicolaïevitch three times.