CHAPTER LXI.
The meeting at Ratsiondz, on an island of the Vistula, to which the king went about Corpus Christi, took place with bad omens, and did not lead to such agreement and settlement of various questions as those which took place two years later, and at which the king recovered the land of Dobryn, and with Dobryn Bobrovniki, which had been mortgaged treacherously by Opolchik.
At his arrival Yagello was greatly irritated by the calumny against him spread by the Knights of the Cross at the courts of western Europe, and in Rome even, and he was indignant at the dishonesty of the Order. The Grand Master would not discuss the affair of Dobryn; he refrained purposely; and both he and other dignitaries repeated to the Poles daily: "We wish no war with you, nor with Lithuania, but the Jmud land is ours, for Vitold himself gave it. Promise not to help Vitold, and war with him will be ended sooner; there will be leisure then to speak of Dobryn, and we will make great concessions." But the king's counsellors, having quick wit with much experience, and knowing the deceit of the Order, did not let themselves be tricked. "When ye increase in power, your insolence will increase also," said they to the Grand Master. "Ye say that ye have no concern with Lithuania, but ye wish to seat Skirgello on the throne in Vilno. By the dear God! that is Yagello's inheritance; he alone can decide whom he wishes to make prince in Lithuania. Therefore restrain yourselves, lest our great king punish you."
To this the Master replied that if the king was the real lord of Lithuania, let him command Vitold to abandon war and give Jmud back to the Order, otherwise the Order must strike Vitold wherever it could reach and wound him. In this manner the disputes dragged on from morning until evening, like a road winding round in a circle. The king, not wishing to bind himself to anything, grew more and more impatient; and told the Master that if Jmud were happy under
