After we had remained in the hotel two days, we inquired of our caterers on what day the prince would summon us to an audience. "Whenever you wish," was their reply, "we will refer the question to our sovereign's councillors." We requested that it should be done immediately. A period was then appointed, which was put off to another day. On the day before that day the caterer himself came to say, "My lord's councillors have commanded me to announce to thee that thou must appear before our prince to-morrow." Moreover, on every occasion that they summoned us, they had interpreters with them. On that same evening the interpreter returned, and said: "Be in readiness, for you will be summoned into the presence of our master." Again in the morning he returned, repeating the same piece of warning: "To-day you will be in the presence of our master." Then within a quarter of an hour one or other of our caterers would come to say: "Some grandees will shortly come for you, so that it behoves you to be assembled together under the same roof." As soon therefore as I had gone to the house of the imperial ambassador, an interpreter came immediately to say that the grandees and chief men about the prince's court, who were to conduct us to the palace, were already arrived. One of these was the Knes Vasiley Taroslovski, allied by blood to the grand-duke, another was one of those who had previously received us in the name of the prince, and these were accompanied by a considerable number of noblemen.
Meanwhile our caterers endeavoured to persuade us to show honour to these grandees, and to go forth to meet them; to which we replied, "That we knew our duty and should do it." But as they had already alighted from their horses and were entering the count's hotel, the caterers forthwith urged us to advance to meet them, and thus, by a deferential expression of respect, in some degree give precedence to their prince over our own masters. But we, while they were
