The 1 of October in the morning we were commanded to come unto the Emperors court, and when we came thither, we were brought unto the Emperor unto whom we did our duties accordingly: wherupon he willed us to dine with him that day, and so with thanks unto his majestie, we departed untill dinner time, at which time we came and found the tables covered with bread and salt as at the first: & after that we were all set upon one side of the table, the Emperors majestie according to his accustomed maner sent unto every man a piece of bread by some of the Dukes which attended on his highnesse.

And whereas the 14 of September we were served in vessels of gold, we were now served in vessels of silver, and yet not so abundantly as was the first of gold: they brought drinke unto the table in silver boles which conteined at the least sixe gallons a piece, and everie man had a smal silver cuppe to drinke in, & another to dip or to take his drinke out of the great boll withall: the dinner being ended, the Emperour gave unto every one of us a cup with meade, which when we had received, we gave thanks and departed.

Moreover, whensoever the Emperors pleasure is that any stranger shall dine with him, he doth send for them in the morning, and when they come before him, he with his owne mouth biddeth them to dinner, and this order he alwaies observeth.

The 10 of October the Emperour gave unto M. Standish 70 rubles in money, and to the rest of our men of occupations 30 rubles apiece.

The 3 of November we dined againe with the Emperour, where we were served as before.

The 6 of December being S. Nicholas day, we dined againe at the Emperours, for that is one of the principall feasts which the Moscovites hold: we were served in silver vessels and ordered in all points as before, and it was past 7 of the clocke at night before dinner was ended.

The Emperors majestie useth every yeare in the moneth of December, to have all his ordinance that is in the citie of Mosco caried into the field which is without the Suburbs of the citie, and there to have it planted and bent upon two houses of Wood filled within with earth: against which houses there were two faire white

markes set up, at which markes they discharge all their ordinance, to the ende the Emperour may see what his Gunners can doe. They have faire ordinance of brasse of all sortes, bases, faulcons, minions, sakers, culverings, cannons double and royall, basiliskes long and large, they have sixe great pieces whose shot is a yard of height, which shot a man may easily discerne as they flee they have also a great many of morter pieces or potguns, out of which pieces they shoote wild fire.

The 12 of December the Emperors Majestie and all his nobility came into the field on horsebacke, in most goodly order, having very fine Jennets & Turkie horses garnished with gold & silver abundantly. The Emperors majestie having on him a gowne of rich tissue, & à cap of skarlet on his head, set not only with pearles, but also with a great number of rich and costly stones : his noble men were all in gownes of cloth of gold, which did ride before him in good order by 3. & 3. and before them there went 5000 harquebusiers, which went by 5 and 5 in a rank in very good order, every of them carying his gun upon his left shoulder, and his match in his right hand, and in this order they marched into the field where as the foresayd ordinance was planted.

And before the Emperors majestie came into the field, there was a certaine stage made of small poles which was a quarter of a mile long, and about threescore yardes off from the stage of poles were certaine pieces of ice of two foot thicke, and sixe foote high set up, which ranke of ice was as long as the stage of poles, and as soone as the Emperors majestie came into the field, the harquebusiers went upon the stage of poles where they setled themselves in order. And when the Emperors majestie was setled where he would be, and where he might see all the ordinance discharged and shot off, the harquebusiers began to shoot off at the banke of ice, as though it had bin in any skirmish or battel, who ceased not shooting, untill they had beaten all the ice flat on the ground.

After the handguns, they shot off their wild fire up into the aire, which was a goodly sight to behold. And after this, they began to discharge the smal pieces of brasse, beginning with the smallest and so orderly bigger and bigger, untill the last and biggest. When they had shot them all off, they began to charge them againe, and so shot them al off 3 times after the first order, beginning

with the smallest, and ending with the greatest.

And note that before they had ended their shooting, the 2 houses that they shot unto were beaten in pieces, & yet they were very strongly made of Wood and filled with earth, being at the least 30 foote thicke. This triumph being ended, the Emperour departed and rode home in the same order that he came foorth into the field. The ordinance is discharged every yeare in the moneth of December, according to the order before mentioned.

On Christmas day we were all willed to dine with the Emperors Majestie, where for bread, meat and drinke, we were served as at other times before: but for goodly and rich plate, we never saw the like or so much before. There dined that day in the Emperors presence above 500 strangers, and two hundred Russes, and all they were served in vessels of gold, and that as much as could stand one by another upon the tables. Besides this there were foure cupbords garnished with goodly plate both of gold & silver. Among the which there were 12 barrels of silver, conteining above 12 gallons a piece, and at each end of every barrell were 6 hoopes of fine gold: this dinner continued about sixe houres.

Every yeare upon the 12 day they use to blesse or sanctifie the river Moscua, which runneth through the citie of Mosco, after this maner.

First, they make a square hole in the ice about 3 fadoms large every way, which is trimmed about the sides & edges with white boords. Then about 9 of the clocke they come out of the church with procession towards the river in this wise.

First and foremost there goe certaine young men with waxe tapers burning, and one carying a great lanterne : then follow certaine banners, then the crosse, then the images of our Lady, of S. Nicholas, and of other Saints, which images men carie upon their shoulders: after the images follow certaine priests to the number of 100 or more after them the Metropolitane who is led betweene two priests, and after the Metropolitan came the Emperour with his crowne upon his head, and after his majestie all his noble men orderly. Thus they followed the procession unto the water, & when they came unto the hole that was made, the priests set themselves in order round about it. And at one side of the same poole there was a scaffold of boords made, upon which stood a faire chaire

in which the Metropolitan was set, but the Emperours majestie stood upon the ice.

After this the priests began to sing, to blesse and to sense, and did their service, and so by that time that they had done, the water was holy, which being sanctified, the Metropolitane tooke a litle thereof in his hands, and cast it on the Emperour, likewise upon certaine of the Dukes, & then they returned againe to the church with the priests that sate about the water: but that preasse that there was about the water when the Emperor was gone, was wonderful to behold, for there came above 5000 pots to be filled of that water: for that Moscovite which hath no part of that water, thinks himselfe unhappy.

And very many went naked into the water, both men and women and children: after the prease was a litle gone, the Emperours Jennets and horses were brought to drinke of the same water, and likewise many other men brought their horses thither to drinke, and by that means they make their horses as holy as themselves.

All these ceremonies being ended, we went to the Emperour to dinner, where we were served in vessels of silver, and in all other points as we had bene beforetime.

The Russes begin their Lent alwaies 8 weekes before Easter the first weeke they eate egs, milke, cheese & butter, and make great cheare with pancakes and such other things, one friend visiting another, & from the same Sunday until our Shrofesunday there are but few Russes sober, but they are drunke day by day, and it is accompted for no reproch or shame among them.

The next weeke being our first weeke of Lent, or our clensing weeke, beginning our Shrofesunday, they make and keepe a great fast. It is reported, and the people do verily beleeve that the Metropolitan neither eateth nor drinketh any maner of thing for the space of seven dayes, and they say that there are many religious men which doe the like.

The Emperors Majestie eateth but one morsel of bread, and drinketh but one draught of drinke once in the day during that weeke, and all men that are of any reputation come not out of their houses during that time, so that the streetes are almost void of company, saving a few poore folkes which wander to and fro. The other sixe weekes they keepe as we do ours, but not one of them will eate either butter, cheese, egs or milke.

On Palme sunday they have a very solemne procession in this maner following.

First, they have a tree of a good bignesse which is made fast upon two sleds, as though it were growing there, and it is hanged with apples, raisins, figs and dates, and with many other fruits abundantly. In the midst of ye same tree stand 5 boyes in white vestures, which sing in the tree before the procession: after this there followed certaine yong men with waxe tapers in their hands burning, & a great lanterne that al the light should not go out: after them followed two with long banners, & sixe with round plates set upon long staves: the plates were of copper very ful of holes and thin: then followed 6 carying painted images upon their shoulders, after the images followed certaine priests to the number of 100 or more, with goodly vestures, wherof 10 or 12 are of white damaske, set and imbrodered round about with faire and orient pearles, as great as pease, and among them certaine Sapphires and other stones. After them followed the one halfe of the Emperours noble men: then commeth the Emperors majestie and the Metropolitane, after this maner.

First, there is a horse covered with white linnen cloth down to ye ground, his eares being made long with the same cloth like to an asses ears. Upon this horse the Metropolitane sitteth sidelong like a woman in his lappe lieth a faire booke, with a crucifix of Goldsmiths worke upon the cover, which he holdeth fast with his left hand, and in his right hand he hath a crosse of gold, with which crosse he ceaseth not to blesse the people as he rideth.

There are to the number of 30 men which spread abroad their garments before the horse, and as soone as the horse is past over any of them, they take them up againe and run before, and spred them againe, so that the horse doth alway go on some of them. They which spred the garments are all priests sonnes, and for their labours the Emperour giveth unto them new garments.

One of the Emperors noble men leadeth the horse by the head, but the Emperour himselfe going on foote leadeth the horse by the ende of the reine of his bridle with one of his hands, and in the other of his hands he had a branch of a Palme tree: after this followed the rest of the Emperours Noble men and Gentlemen, with a great number of other people. In this order they went from