Simon had pretended to agree as the
only means of saving him. He had dressed the son of a serf, who
slightly resembled Demetrius, in garments similar to those worn
by the young prince, and thereafter cut the lad's throat, leaving
those who had found the body to presume it to be the prince's.
Meanwhile, Demetrius himself had been concealed by the physician,
and very shortly thereafter carried away from Uglich, to be
placed in safety in a monastery, where he had been educated.
Such, in brief, was the story with which Demetrius convinced the
court of Poland, and not a few who had known the boy at Uglich
came forward now to identify with him the grown man, who carried
in his face so strong a resemblance to Ivan the Terrible. That
story which Boris now heard was soon heard by all Russia, and
Boris realized that something must be done to refute it.
But something more than assurances--his own assurances--were
necessary if the Muscovites were to believe him. And so at last
Boris bethought him of the Tsarina Maria, the mother of the
murdered boy. He had her fetched to Moscow from her convent, and
told her of this pretender who was setting up a claim to the
throne of Russia, supported by the King of Poland.
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