I Therefore Endeavoured To Procure An Answer About My Departure,
And Solicited A Second Audience For That Purpose.
On this occasion I was
very politely received by the grand duke, accompanied by three of his
principal barons.
At first they expatiated at some length on the subject
of John Baptista, formerly mentioned; but at length I received liberty to
remain or to depart as I thought proper. They dismissed me with this
vague answer, and the grand duke set out from Moscow soon afterwards. I
owed a great deal of money to Marcus, which he had expended for me and my
people, as he had defrayed the whole expences of our journey, and had
supplied me with many things of which I stood in need. I requested
permission from him to go away, giving him the most solemn assurance that
I would transmit full payment to him immediately after my arrival at
Venice. But he declared this was not in his power, as he was under the
necessity of repaying the Tartarian and Russian merchants, who had
advanced all these things for us, and to whom he had become security for
payment. Finding every application to the duke and Marcus on this subject
ineffectual, as I could not procure the necessary funds for my journey
from either, I was under the necessity of sending Stephen Testa to Venice,
to solicit a remittance from our illustrious senate, by which I might be
enabled to pay my debts. Stephen left Moscow on the 7th of October,
accompanied by one _Nicolas Leopolitain_[5], who knew the country.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 247 of 812
Words from 67476 to 67739
of 224388
