| Content Description | Requests leave to return home; explains that his constitution does not suit the 'excessive colds of this country'; does not think he can be of much use to England in this condition; explains that his distance from the Court and army only allows him to provide 'very late and imperfect accounts of their councills and actions'; thinks that the march of the King of Sweden into Poland will further disrupt their correspondence; believes that Mr Robinson is in a better position to provide information; says he has done all he can for the merchants as the remaining points to be settled await the return of the Court to Moscow; discusses the difficulties he has experienced in his attempts to gain a catalogue of the manuscripts in the Czar's library.
Says that the oldest manuscript is a Greek Testament written in the 'year of the world 6058, which according to the Russian Computation is 1157 years ago, they reckoning now 7215'; stresses that, were the Czar in Moscow, he would allow him access as he [the Czar] wishes a survey to be made; reports the Czar desires 'correct maps' of his Empire; says the Czar wishes to investigate whether there 'be any passage to the Indies by the North East of his Dominions which His Majesty believes to be one continued Continent with Greenland'.
Part of this document is written in cypher. |