sends one of his people in advance to intimate to him that a great man is coming, who intends receiving him at a certain place, which he specifies. They use the expression "great man", because it is given to all persons of superior rank, for that is the title which they bestow upon every powerful or noble personage, or baron, or other illustrious or distinguished man. But at the point of meeting the said delegate is so jealous of giving place, that in winter time he orders the snow to be swept away wherever it may lie, so that the ambassador may pass, but he himself wall not give way on the public beaten road. This further custom also they observe at the meeting: they send a messenger to the ambassador to desire him to alight from his horse or carriage, and if the latter should excuse himself on the plea of weariness or sickness, the servant makes answer, that the message of his master is not allowed either to be delivered or heard, unless the parties are standing. The delegate takes watchful heed not to alight first from his horse or carriage, lest by so doing he should seem to derogate from his master's dignity, and will not himself alight till he has first seen the ambassador dismount from his horse.
In my first embassy, I told the person who came to meet me from Moscow, that I was weary with travelling, and that we could transact our business on horseback; but for the reason I have mentioned, he did not think fit to go through the ceremony in this fashion. The interpreters and the rest had already alighted, and advised me to do the same; to which I replied, "That as soon as the Russian alighted, I would alight". The fact was, that when I found they laid so much stress upon the matter, I was equally unwilling to fail in my duty to my own master, or to compromise his dignity. But as he refused to descend first, and as this question of pride was causing some little delay, in order to put a stop to the business I moved my foot from the stirrup as if I were about to alight, and the delegate seeing this,
