Having Remained Some Days With His Mother, We Returned To His
Court, Where We Continued A Whole Month, In Such
Extreme distress for
victuals and drink, that we could hardly keep ourselves alive; for the
provisions allowed us for four
Days, were scarcely sufficient to serve us
for one day, neither could we go to purchase at the public market, as it
was too far from us. But God sent to our aid a Russian goldsmith, named
Cosmas, who was considerably favoured by the emperor, and who procured us
some food. This man shewed us the imperial throne and seal, both of which
he had been employed to make.
After some time, the emperor sent for us, and intimated, by Chingay, his
secretary, that we should write down our messages and affairs, and deliver
them to him, which we did accordingly. Many days afterwards, we were again
called to the presence, and were asked if there were any persons about the
Pope who understood the Russian, Arabic, or Tartarian languages. To this we
answered that we were ignorant of these languages, and though there were
Saracens in our land, they inhabited at a great distance from our lord the
Pope; and we proposed, that when they had written in the Tartar language,
they might explain the meaning to us, which we would carefully write down
in our language, and would then deliver both the originals and the
translation to his holiness. On this they went from us to the emperor.
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