When I woke next morning we were in the heart of a Finnish fjord. It was an exquisite spot. The sea was deep emerald green, flaked with white by the waves, and dotted with small islands of red granite crowned with pines whose trunks flashed in the sunshine. In the middle distance was the shore, with its long fringe of yellow sand and its dark green forests which stretched away to the horizon. I went down to Alexis Nicolaïevitch’s room. He had had a very bad night. The Czarina and Dr. Botkin were with him, but quite powerless to alleviate his terrible sufferings.[24] The day passed sullenly and slowly. Since the previous evening I had noticed that the suite were a prey to unwonted excitement. I asked Colonel D---- what the cause was, and learned that there had been an attack on Rasputin and that his life was in danger. He had gone to Siberia a fortnight before, and on his arrival at his own village, Pokrovskoïe, had been stabbed in the stomach by a young woman. The wound might be fatal. There was great excitement on board, whisperings and mysterious confabulations which suddenly stopped whenever anyone suspected of being an adherent of Rasputin came near. Everyone else was inspired by a lively hope of being at last delivered from that baneful influence, but no one dare reveal his joy too openly. The villainous _moujik_ seemed to have nine lives, and he might recover.[25] * * * * * On the 19th we returned to Peterhof, where the President of the French Republic was expected. Our cruise was only interrupted, and we were to resume our voyage after he left. Alexis Nicolaïevitch had taken a turn for the better in the last two days, but he was still unable to walk, and he had to be carried off the yacht. In the afternoon of the next day the cruiser _La France_ arrived in Cronstadt harbour with the French President on board. The Czar was there to receive him. They returned to Peterhof together, and M. Poincaré was taken to the apartments prepared for him in the palace. In the evening a gala banquet was given in his honour, and the Czarina and the ladies-in-waiting were present. For four days the President of the French Republic was the guest of Nicholas II., and many ceremonies marked his short visit. He made an excellent impression upon the Czar, a fact which I was able to prove to my own satisfaction under the following circumstances. M. Poincaré had been invited to the Imperial luncheon-table, where he was the sole guest. He was received without the slightest formality into the family circle at the little Alexandria Cottage. When the meal was over the Czarevitch came and showed me, not without considerable pride, the ribbon of the Legion of Honour which the President of the Republic had just given him. We then went out into the park, and in a few minutes we were joined by the Czar.