We Ought No Saints To Touch. Conceiue The Rest Your Selfe, And Deeme What Liues They Lead, Where Lust Is

Lawe, and Subiects liue continually in dread. And where the best estates haue none assurance good Of lands, of liues,

Nor nothing falles vnto the next of blood. But all of custome doeth vnto the prince redowne, And all the whole reuenue comes vnto the King his crowne. Good faith I see thee muse at what I tell thee now, But true it is, no choice, but all at princes pleasure bow. So Tarquine ruled Rome as thou remembrest well, And what his fortune was at last, I know thy selfe canst tell. Where will in Common weale doth beare the onely sway, And lust is Lawe, the prince and Realme must needs in time decay. The strangenesse of the place is such for sundry things I see, As if I woulde I cannot write ech priuate point to thee. The colde is rare, the people rude, the prince so full of pride, The Realme so stored with Monks and nunnes, and priests on euery side: The maners are so Turkie like, the men so full of guile, The women wanton, Temples stuft with idols that defile The Seats that sacred ought to be, the customes are so quaint, As if I would describe the whole, I feare my pen would faint. In summe, I say I neuer saw a prince that so did raigne, Nor people so beset with Saints, yet all but vile and vaine. Wilde Irish are as ciuill as the Russies in their kinde, Hard choice which is the best of both, ech bloody, rude and blinde. If thou bee wise, as wise thou art, and wilt be ruld by me, Liue still at home, and couet not those barbarous coasts to see. No good befalles a man that seeks, and findes no better place, No ciuill customes to be learned, where God bestowes no grace. And truely ill they do deserue to be belou'd of God, That neither loue nor stand in awe of his assured rod: Which though be long, yet plagues at last the vile and beastly sort. Of sinnill wights, that all in vice do place their chiefest sport.

A dieu friend Parker, if thou list, to know the Russes well, To Sigismundus booke repaire, who all the trueth can tell: For he long earst in message went vnto that sauage King. Sent by the Pole, and true report in ech respect did bring, To him I recommend my selfe; to ease my penne of paine, And now at last do wish thee well, and bid farewell againe.

* * * * *

The fourth voyage into Persia, made by M. Arthur Edwards Agent, Iohn Sparke, Laurence Chapman, Christopher Faucet, and Richard Pingle, in the yeere 1568. declared in this letter written from Casbin in Persia by the foresaide Laurence Chapman to a worshipfull merchant of the companie of Russia in London. Anno Domini 1569. Aprill 28.

[Sidenote: Their arriuall at Bilbil the 14. of August 1568.] Worshipfull sir, my duetie alwayes remembred, and your prosperous health, and good successe in all your affaires wished, to the glory of God, and your owne hearts desire, &c. May it please you to vnderstand that your Agent M. Arthur Edwards and we departed from Yeraslaue in Iuly 1568. and the 14. of August arriued at our port called Bilbil, with your ship the Grace of God, and the goods in her in good safetie, God bee thanked for it, finding there neither the people so ready to ayd vs for the bringing of her in, and vnlading of the goods, nor yet so obedient to the Shaughs priuilege, as the worshipfull company haue bene informed. Our goods brought vpon land, we were compelled to open and sel as they would set the price, or otherwise it would haue bene worse for vs. [Sidenote: Prince Erasbec.] Being so satisfied to their contentment, we were speedily aided with camels by the prince Erasbec Sultan his appointment, to carry our goods to Shamaki, to which place we attained the first of September, finding it so throughly furnished with maner of commodities by occasion of our late comming, and by such as came before vs, that no man would aske to buy any one piece of karsie of vs, and lying then the space of one whole moneth before your Agent Arthur Edwards would disperse vs abroade with the goods, such as came out of Russia afterwardes, had brought their goods to that and other places, and spoyled those sayles wee might haue made, being sent abroad in time conuenient, being no little hinderance to the worshipfull, as also great griefe vnto vs to see. To conclude, through our dayly calling vpon him, he bent himselfe for Casbin, taking with him the greatest summe of the goods, and two of the worshipfuls seruants, to witte, Iohn Sparke and my selfe, to helpe and procure the better sale for the same: [Sidenote: Christopher Faucet and Richard Pingle.] and leauing at Shamaki Christopher Faucet and Richard Pingle with three hundred and fiftie pieces of karsies in their handes, supposed to be solde there or in Arrash before hee should be able to make his return from Casbin, which, so farre foorth as I can vnderstand, lie for the greatest part vnsolde. And being vpon our way, at a certaine towne called Ardouil, we chanced to barter nine pieces of karsies with those merchants for fourescore and foure batemans of cynamom, selling the karsies at one hundred and fiftie shawghs the piece.

And being at that present not farre from Teueris, called the principal place in this countrey for vttering of cloth or karsies, by much intreatie I perswaded your Agent to send thither to prooue what might be done, and receiuing from him foure and fiftie pieces of karsies, as also his commission for the sale of the same, I proceeded on that voyage my selfe, and one Tolmach in company with me, finding in that place great store of broad cloth and karsies brought thither, some part by the Turkes who be resident there, some by the Armenians, who fetch them at Aleppo, and some by the townesmen, who trauell vnto Venice and there buy them, so that no man offered me one penie more then a hundred and fourtie shawghs for a karsie:

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