Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 4 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
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Strong wals, circuling the one within the other,
and streets lying betwene, whereof the inmost wall, and the buildings
closed within it (lying safest as the heart within the body, fenced and
watred with the riuer Moscoua, that runneth close by it) is all accompted
the Emperors castle.
The number of houses (as I haue heard) through the
whole Citie (being reckoned by the Emperor a little before it was fired by
the Crim) was 41500. in all. Since the Tartar besieged and fired the towne,
(which was in the yere 1571.) there lieth waste of it a great breadth of
ground, which before was wel set and planted with buildings, specially that
part on the South side of Moscua, built not long before by Basilius the
Emperor for his garison of souldiers, to whom he gaue priuiledge to drinke
Mead, and beere at the dry or prohibited times, when other Russes may
drinke nothing but water, and for that cause called this new city by the
name of Naloi, that is skinck [Footnote: From _Scenc_ - drink, SAX.
Where every iovial tinker for his chink,
May cry, mine host, to crambe giue us drink,
And do not slink, but skink, or else you stink.
(B. JONSON, _New Inn_, I. 3.)]
or poure in. So that now the city of Mosco is not much bigger then the city
of London. [Sidenote: Nouograd.] The next in greatnes, and in a maner as
large, is the citie Nouograd: where was committed (as the Russe saith) the
memorable warre so much spoke of in stories of the Scythians seruants, that
tooke armes against their Masters: which they report in this sort: viz.
That the Boiarens or gentlemen of Nouograd and the territory about (which
only are souldiers after the discipline of those countreis) had war with
the Tartars. Which being wel performed and ended by them, they returned
homewards. Where they vnderstood by the way that their Cholopey or
bondslaues whom they left at home, had in their absence possessed their
townes, lands, houses, wiues and all. At which newes being somewhat amased,
and yet disdeining the villany of their seruants, they made the more speed
home: and so not far from Nouograd met them in warlike maner marching
against them. Whereupon aduising what was best to be done, they agreed all
to set vpon them with no other shew of weapon but with their horse whips,
(which as their maner is euery man rideth withal) to put them in
remembrance of their seruile condition, thereby to terrifie them, and abate
their courage. And so marching on and lashing al together with their whips
in their hands they gaue the onset. Which seemed so terrible in the eares
of their villaines, and stroke such a sense into them of the smart of the
whip which they had felt before, that they fled altogether like sheepe
before the driuers. In memory of this victory the Nouogradians euer since
haue stamped their coine (which they cal a dingoe Nouogrodskoy currant
through al Russia) with the figure of a horsman shaking a whip aloft in his
hand.
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