DISGRACE AND EXILE 175the Moscow group had received powerful assistance from another
quarter.
The Moscow "Fronde" and Rostopchin enlisted the support of a
person very near to Emperor Alexander himself, his sister, Grand
Duchess Catherine Pavlovna. The closest bonds of affection tied
Alexander to Catherine, the only member of his family from whom
he did not feel estranged. The Emperor had a very high regard for
his sister's intelligence and character; she was his intimate confidante,
and his letters to her are the only documents in which he reveals
himself openly and fully. The Emperor often traveled to Tver', the
Grand Duchess' residence after her marriage to Duke George of
Oldenburg, to hear her advice on problems that troubled him most.
Grand Duchess Catherine was a woman of strong character and great
will power, and was devoured by political ambition. Her great
disappointment in life was that she had not become a ruling princess,
and she tried to compensate for it by wielding power indirectly
through her influence on her brother and her husband. For the latter
she had obtained posts of importance, the Governor Generalship of
Tver', Iaroslav, Novgorod, and the Direction of Transports.
Speransky's position of influence with her brother and his efforts at
bringing more legality to the administrative process, seemed to Cath-
erine so many obstacles to the fulfillment of her own ambitions. The
Grand Duchess, for she kept the title even after her marriage, also had
some personal grudges against the State Secretary. On occasion he had
failed to give her wishes or her .husband's business the exclusive and
sympathetic consideration she believed was due to them. At one time,
Speransky had refused one of her demands because it was against some
rules. The proud Princess had not forgiven him for treating her like
an ordinary mortal. Another time, Speransky had suggested his own
candidate for the position of Chief of Transportations and Roads, a
post Catherine wanted for her husband. Finally, the Grand Duchess
deeply resented the fact that all official papers, even her husband's,
had to come to Speransky before they reached the Emperor. Catherine
did not conceal her feelings towards her brother's advisor and his
policies. Naturally, all those who were similarly minded were attracted
to her. As her residence, Tver', was close to Moscow, the conservative
aristocracy of the Old Capital, with Rostopchin as their energetic and
persuasive leader, joined her camp and made up her intimate entourage.
At Tver' also was found the man who wrote the principal act of in-
dictment against Speransky. It was the well known writer and historian
N. M. Karamzin. In the course of conversations with the historian at