[Sidenote: King Obdolowcan.] The Next Day Being The 19 Day, I Was Sent For To Come To The King, Named Obdolowcan, Who Kept His Court At That Time In The High Mountaines In Tents, Distant From The Said Shamaki Twentie Miles, To Auoyd The Iniury Of The Heat:

And the 20 day I came before his presence, who gently interteined me, and hauing kissed his hands, he bad me to dinner, and commanded me to sit downe not farre from him.

[Sidenote: The maiestie and attire of King Obdolowcan.] This king did sit in a very rich pauillion, wrought with silke and golde, placed very pleasantly, vpon a hill side, of sixteene fathom long, and sixe fathom broad, hauing before him a goodly fountaine of faire water; whereof he and his nobility did drinke, he being a prince of a meane stature, and of a fierce countenance, richly apparrelled with long garments of silke, and cloth of gold, imbrodred with pearles and stone: vpon his head was a tolipane with a sharpe ende standing vpwards halfe a yard long, of rich cloth of golde, wrapped about with a piece of India silke of twentie yards long, wrought with golde, and on the left side of his tolipane stood a plume of fethers, set in a trunke of golde richly inameled, and set with precious stones: his earerings had pendants of golde a handfull long, with two great rubies of great value, set in the ends thereof: all the ground within his pauilion was couered with rich carpets, and vnder himselfe was spred a square carpet wrought with siluer and golde, and thereupon was layd two suitable cushions. Thus the king with his nobility sitting in his pauilion with his legs acrosse, and perceiuing that it was painfull for me so to sit, his highnesse caused a stoole to be brought in, and did will me to sit thereupon, after my fashion. Dinner time then approching, diuers clothes were spred upon the ground, and sundry dishes serued, and set in a ranke with diuers kindes of meats, to the number of 140 dishes, as I numbred them, which being taken away with the table clothes, and others spred, a banket of fruits of sundry kindes, with other banketting meates, to the number of 150 dishes, were brought in: so that two seruices occupied 290 dishes, and at the end of the sayd dinner and banket, the king said vnto me, Quoshe quelde, that is to say, Welcome: and called for a cup of water to be drawen at a fountaine, and tasting thereof, did deliuer me the rest, demanding how I did like the same, and whether there were so good in our countrey or not: vnto whom I answered in such sort, that he was therewith contented: then he proponed vnto me sundry questions, both touching religion, and also the state of our countreys, and further questioned whether the Emperor of Almaine, the Emperor of Russia, or the great Turke, were of most power, with many other things too long here to rehearse, to whom I answered as I thought most meet. [Sidenote: The Queenes letters to Sophy.] Then he demanded whether I intended to goe any further, and the cause of my comming: vnto that I answered that I was sent with letters from the Queenes most excellent Maiesty of England into the great Sophy, to intreat friendship and free passage, and for his safeconduct to be granted vnto English merchants to trade into his Segniories, with the like also to be granted to his subiects, when they should come into our countreys, to the honour and wealth of both realmes, and commodity of both their subiects, with diuers other words, which I omit to rehearse. [Sidenote: Casbin.] This sayd king much allowing this declaration sayd, that he would not onely giue me passage, but also men to safeconduct me vnto the sayd Sophy, lying from the foresayd citie of Shamaki thirty dayes iourney, vp into the land of Persia, at a castle called Casbin: so departing from the king at that time, within three dayes after, being the foure and twentieth day of August the yere aforesayd, he sent for me againe: vnto whom I repaired in the morning, [Sidenote: Multitude of concubines.] and the king not being risen out of his bed (for his maner is, that watching in the night, and then banketting with his women, being an hundred and forty in number, he sleepeth most in the day) did giue one commandement that I should ride on hawking with many Gentlemen of his Court, and that they should shew me so much game and pastime as might be: which was done, and many cranes killed. We returned from hawking about three of the clocke at the afternoone: the king then risen, and ready to dinner, I was inuited thereunto, and approaching nigh to the entring in of his tent, and being in his sight, two gentlemen incountered me with two garments of that countrey fashion, side, downe to the ground, the one of silke, and the other of silke and golde, sent vnto me from the king, and after that they caused me to put off my vpper garment, being a gowne of blacke veluet furred with Sables, they put the sayd two garments vpon my backe, and so conducted me vnto the king, before whom doing reuerence, and kissing his hand, he commanded me to sit not farre from him, and so I dined in his presence, he at the time being very mery, and demanding of me many questions, and amongst other, how I like the maner of their hawking. Dinner so ended, I required his highnesse safeconduct for to depart towards the Sophy, who dismissing me with great fauour, and appointing his Ambassadour (which returned out of Russia) and others, to safeconduct me, he gaue me at my departure a faire horse with all furniture, and custome free from thence with all my goods.

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