Venice.
On the day before that which I had fixed for my departure, I was invited to dine at court. Before dinner, I was taken into one of the halls of the palace, where I found the grand duke, accompanied by Marcus and a secretary. His highness addressed me very graciously, and desired me to report all the marks of esteem and friendship he had shewn me, from respect to our illustrious republic, and offered me every thing I could desire, and which lay in his power to grant. While speaking, I drew back from respect; but as I retired he always advanced. I answered every thing to his satisfaction, and humbly offered my most grateful thanks for all his benevolence to me. He treated me with the utmost politeness and familiarity, and even condescended to shew me some robes of gold tissue, magnificently lined with Scythian sables; after which we went to dinner. The repast was extraordinarily magnificent, at which several of the barons and great officers of state assisted. When we rose from table, the grand duke called me to him, and gave me my audience of leave in the most gracious terms, speaking so loud as to be heard by all the company, and expressing his high esteem for the illustrious republic of Venice. After this, by his order, a silver cup was brought to me filled with mead, of which he made me a present, as a mark of high regard with which he honours ambassadors, and other persons to whom he shews favour. This present was to me a matter of very serious consideration, as the etiquette required me to empty its contents, and the cup was very large. When I had drained about a quarter of the liquor, knowing the sobriety of the Italians, and perceiving that I was much difficulted, the grand duke had the goodness to order the remainder to be emptied, and the goblet given to me. Having thanked the grand duke in as respectful terms as I was able, I took my leave and retired, accompanied by several barons and other persons of rank.
Every thing was now in readiness for my departure, but Marcus would by no means hear of my leaving Moscow, without taking a dinner with him, and accordingly gave me a magnificent entertainment. Louis, the patriarch of Antioch, of whom I have before made mention, came about this time to Moscow, and was detained there by order of the grand duke; but I made interest through Marcus for his release, which I obtained, and he was to have travelled along with me. But as he delayed too long, I set off without him. At length, on the 21st January 1476, we set out from Moscow in sledges, made like small huts, each drawn by a horse, and guided by a driver. In these sledges we carried our baggage and provisions along with us, and in them, journeys of great length may be made in a wonderfully short time. By order of the grand duke, I had a guide appointed to conduct me on the right road, and this was continued from place to place all, through his dominions. We slept the first night in a small village, where we found our lodgings exceedingly cold, but that was the smallest of our inconveniencies, and on this account I hastened our journey as much as possible. On the 27th of January, we arrived at Vieseme , and a few days afterwards at Smolensk on the frontiers of Lithuania, in the dominions of Casimir king of Poland. From Smolensk, till we arrived at Trach [1], a city of Lithuania, we travelled continually in a plain interspersed with some hills, the whole country being covered with wood, and our only lodgings were in miserable hovels; dining always about noon wherever we could meet with a fire, which had been left burning by travellers who had passed before us. We had generally to break the ice to procure water for our horses; we lighted fires to warm ourselves; and our sledges served us instead of beds, as without them we must have slept on the ground. We went with such expedition, over the frozen snow, that we were assured we had travelled 300 miles in three days and two nights.
[1] This almost certainty a corruption of Troki--E.
Casimir king of Poland, who then resided at Troki , immediately on learning my arrival, sent two of his gentlemen to compliment me in his name, and to congratulate me on my safe return. They likewise invited me to dine with his majesty on the following day, which was the 15th of February, and presented me on the part of the king with a robe of purple damask, lined with Scythian furs, in which I dressed myself to go to court. On this occasion, I went in a coach and six, accompanied by four noblemen and several other persons. The king himself did me the honour to receive me, and conducted me into a magnificent apartment, where he introduced me to two of his sons in presence of many nobles, knights, and gentlemen of the court. A chair was placed for me in the middle of the room; and when I offered to kneel on one knee while addressing the king, his majesty had the goodness to insist that I should sit down in his presence, which I did after some hesitation. I then gave a recital of all that had occurred in my travels, with some account of the dominions of Uzun-Hassan, and of the number of his forces, and of the empire and manners of the Tartars. The king and his courtiers listened to me with much attention during my whole speech, which lasted more than half an hour. I then thanked his majesty for the present he had made me, and for all his kindnesses to me, attributing his attentions to the esteem he entertained for our illustrious republic. His majesty was pleased, by means of an interpreter, to express great satisfaction at my safe arrival, as he hardly expected I should ever have been able to return; and that he was much pleased with the information I had given him respecting Uzun- Hassan and the Tartars, which he believed to be more authentic than any he had received before. After some other discourse, I was conducted to the hall where the dinner was served; soon after which his majesty came into the hall with his two sons, preceded by several trumpets. The king sat down at the head of the table, having his two sons on his right hand; the primate of the kingdom sat next on his majestys left, and I was placed next the bishop. The remainder of the table was occupied by about forty of the nobles. Each service was ushered in with the sound of trumpets, and all the meats were served on large silver dishes.
After dinner, which lasted two hours, I rose to depart, and asked the king if he had any farther orders to honour me with; when he was pleased to say very graciously, that he charged me to assure the senate that his most anxious desire was to cultivate perpetual friendship and good-will with our illustrious republic, and he was pleased to make his sons express the same friendly wishes. Having respectfully taken leave of the king, I was conducted back to my lodgings by several of the courtiers.
Being supplied with a guide, I departed from Troki on the 16th of February, and in nine days, passing through the city of Ionici , I arrived at Warsaw on the 1st of March. The country of Poland appeared very pleasant, and abundant in every, thing except fruit. During our journey we saw many villages and castles, and were well received everywhere, but we found no considerable city. After remaining four days in Warsaw, where I purchased horses for the rest of our journey, we set out from that place on the 5th of March, and came that day to a town call Messarig , where we began to travel with less assurance of safety, as this place is on the frontiers towards Germany. On the 9th I arrived at Frankfort on the Oder, from which place we found more commodious lodgings in traversing Germany, than we had been accustomed to for a long time. While passing the city of Gia [2], on the 15th of March, I had the good fortune to meet with Stephen Testa, whom I had sent from Moscow to Venice for money. I was quite delighted at this meeting, as from him I received good accounts from home. We now entered the city of Gia , where we rested two days. On the 22d we reached Nurenburgh, where we remained four days; from whence we went by Augsburgh, and several other fine cities of Germany, and arrived at Trent on the 4th of April, where we celebrated the festival of Easter. Being extremely anxious to revisit my beloved country, I set out from thence after three days stay, and reached Scala , in the dominions of our republic. In discharge of a vow that I had entered into, I went to visit the church of the blessed Virgin on Mount Arthon, and presented the offerings which I had promised at her holy shrine. I had already sent notice to my brother Augustine, that he might expect me in Venice towards evening of the 10th of April; but my extreme desire of getting back to my country, made me get home considerably earlier. Embarking at break of day, I arrived at three in the afternoon at Lucafusina ; and, before going to my own house, I went, in the discharge of another vow, to the church of our Lady of Grace , and met my brother on my way in the Jews street. We embraced with great affection, and went together to the church. After finishing my devotions, I went to the palace, as the Pregadi were then assembled, it being on a Thursday. I was admitted into the council, to which I gave an account of the success of my embassy; after which, as our serene Doge was indisposed, I paid my respects to him in his apartment, and gave him a short history of my travels, and particularly concerning those things on which I had been commissioned.
