Nevertheless, when the news of the death of the Emperor Alexander reached St. Petersburg, the Grand-Duke Nicolas ignored the fact of the renunciation, took oath of allegiance to the Grand-Duke Constantine and despatched a messenger to him to invite him to come and take possession of the throne. But at the same time that this letter was being carried from St. Petersburg to Warsaw, the Grand-Duke Michel was on his way from Warsaw to St. Petersburg with the following letter from Constantine to his brother:-- "MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,--It was with the most profound grief that I learnt yesterday evening the news of the death of our adored sovereign and my benefactor, the Emperor Alexander. I hasten to express to you my feelings of sorrow at this cruel misfortune, and at the same time I beg to inform you that I am sending a letter by the same hands to Her Imperial Majesty, our royal mother, in which I declare that, in accordance with the edict I obtained dated February 1822, sanctioning my renunciation of the throne, it is still my unalterable resolution to cede to you all my rights of succession to the throne of the Emperor of All the Russias. I therefore beg our beloved mother and those who are concerned in this matter, to announce that my wishes in this respect are still unchanged, in order that matters may be settled as arranged. "Having made this declaration, I look upon it as my sacred duty very humbly to beseech your Imperial Majesty to let me be the first to swear faithful allegiance and submission to you, and to allow me to assert that I do not wish for any fresh dignity or any new title; I wish simply and solely to maintain my title of Czarovitch, which my revered father condescended to confer upon me in recognition of my services. Henceforth my only happiness will be to tender your Imperial Majesty tokens of my profoundest respect and of my unbounded devotion; I can offer in pledge thereof more than thirty years of faithful service, and the unswerving zeal that I have displayed towards my imperial father and brother. Animated by these sentiments, I will not cease to serve your Imperial Majesty and your successors as long as life shall be granted me, in my present office and functions.--I am, with the most profound respect, CONSTANTINE" The day after the Grand-Duke Nicolas had despatched his courier to the czarovitch, the Council of State had informed him that they had been commissioned to keep a document for him, that had been handed to their care on 15 October 1823, sealed with the seal of the Emperor Alexander and accompanied by an autograph letter from His Majesty, who had charged them to keep the document until further orders, and in case of death to open it at an extraordinary session.