And tolde
him also that the next day the Emperour would send a great noble man vnto
him, to conferre with him of certaine abuses done him by Shalkan the
chancellor, and his ministers.
And so the day following he sent Bodan Belskoy the chiefest counceller that
he had, a man most in credit with him: this man examined all matters
wherewith the ambassador had found himselfe grieued, and supplied him, with
what hee wanted, and righted him in all things wherein hee had beene
wronged.
Not long after the returne of this noble man, the Emperor caused to be set
downe in his owne presence, a new and much larger allowance of diet for the
ambassador then he had had before, and shortly after sent the same to the
ambassadour by his principall Secretarie Sauio Frollo. This diet was so
great, as the ambassadour oftentimes sought to haue it lessened, but the
Emperour would not by any means.
The scroule of the new diet was this:
One bushel of fine meale for three dayes.
One bushel of wheate meale for a day and a halfe.
Two liue geese for one day.
Twenty hennes for the day.
Seuen sheepe for a day.
One oxe for three dayes.
One side of pork for a day.
Seuentie egges for a day.
Ten pound of butter.
Seuenty peny white loaues of bread.
Twelue peny loaues of bread.
One veather or gallon of vinegar.
Two veathers of salt cabiges.
One pecke of onions.
Ten pound of salt.
On altine, or sixe peny woorth of waxe candles.
Two altines of tallow candles.
One fourth part of a veather of cherrie mead.
As much of Malynouomead.
Halfe a veather of burnt wine.
One veather of sodden mead called Obarni.
Three veathers of sweet mead.
Ten veathers of white mead.
Fifteene veathers of ordinary mead.
Foure veathers of sweet beere.
Fiftene veathers of beere.
Halfe a pound of pepper.
Three sollitincks or ounces of saffron.
One sollitincke of mase.
One sollitincke of nutmegs.
Two sollitincks of cloues.
Three sollitincks of sinamon.
Prouender.
One bushell of oats.
One load of hay.
One load of straw.
Now he began so much to discouer his purpose and affections towards her
Maiesty and her countrey, as he sent to the ambassador, intreating him that
his preacher [Marginal note: M. Cole.], and doctor Iacob his English
physician, might set downe the points of the religion in vse in England,
which the Ambassadour caused to be done accordingly, and sent them vnto
him, who seemed so well to like them, as he caused them (with much good
allowance) to be publikely read before diuers of his councell, and many
others of his nobility.
Now he drew hotly againe in question to marry, some kinsewoman of her
Maiesties, and that he would send againe into England, to haue some one of
them to wife, and if her Maiestie would not vpon his next Ambassage send
him such a one as he required, himselfe would then goe into England, and
cary his treasure with him, and marry one of them there.
Here you must vnderstand that the yeere before this ambassage, he had sent
to her Maiesty by his ambassador to haue had the lady Mary Hastings in
marriage, which intreaty by meanes of her inability of body, by occasion of
much sicknesse, or perhaps, of no great liking either of herselfe or
friends, or both, tooke no place.
The ambassador was now so farre growen into the Emperors fauor, and his
affection so great to England, as those great councellors that were the
Ambassadors great enemies before, were now desirous of some publike
courtesies at his hands for their aduantage to the Emperour: neither durst
they, now any more interpose themselues twixt the Emperour and him: for not
long before this, the Emperor for abusing the ambassador, had (to shew his
fauour towards him) beaten Shalkan the chanceller very grieuously, and had
sent him word, that he would not leaue one of his race aliue.
Now whilest the ambassador was thus strongly possest of the Emperours
fauor, he imployed himselfe in all he might, not onely for the speedy
dispatch of the negociation he had in hand, but laboured also by all the
good means he might, further to benefit his country and countreymen, and so
not long after wanne at the Emperours hands not onely all those things he
had in commission to treat for by his instructions, but also some other of
good and great importance, for the benefit of the merchants.
Priuate sutes obteined of the Emperor by the ambassador.
Leaue for Richard Fransham an English man and apothecary to the Emperour,
his wife, and children to come home into England, and to bring with him all
such goods as he had gotten there.
He obteined like leaue for Richard Elmes an English man one of the
Emperours surgions.
He also got leaue for Iane Ricards the widow of Doctor Bomelius a Dutchman,
and physician to the Emperour, who, for treason practised with the king of
Pole against the sayd Emperour, was rosted to death at the city of Mosco,
in the yere 1579.
These following he obteined for the behoofe of the merchants.
He procured for the merchants promise of recompence for certaine goods
taken from their factors by robbery vpon the Volga.
He obtained likewise the payment of fiue hundred marks, which was payd for
ten yeeres before his going into Russia (into the Emperors receit) for a
rent of a house that they had at Vologda.
