Prince Gavril Konstantinovich was in a cell adjoining theirs; he was shocked at his uncle Dmitry's appearance when they were first reunited. Until the last, Gavril recalled, Dmitry was the cheerful favorite uncle of his childhood, telling him jokes, attempting to raise the spirits, and bribing prison Guards to carry hopeful messages to his nephew's cell. Some of their relatives made frantic efforts in their behalf to obtain their release through Maxim Gorky who was sympathetic and asked Lenin to set them free. Near the end of 1918, Prince Gavril, who was sick, was eventually permitted to leave and found his way out of Russia.