Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 1, 1851).djvu/131

Rh enterprise; and whoever managed to avoid it congratulated himself on escaping a great danger. How many qualities then must the man have united in himself who was to keep his dignity in a country so little known and so entirely different to all the countries of Europe in manners and customs, who could gain respect for his own person and a successful result of his mission. And all these qualities were found in a rare and happy combination in Herberstein. Possessing, as he did, a noble prepossessing countenance—a countenance shewing tranquillity and dignity—a demeanour formed by travelling, and long experience in courts and by intercourse with men of all ranks, and, together with all these very rare advantages, attainments such as could rarely be found at all in statesmen of that time, including the knowledge of the Sclavonic language,—Maximilian could not have made a better choice for a negotiation of so delicate a nature in a country like Russia, with a prince such as Vasiley Ivanovich, to whom already had been given the epithet of the “Courageous”. The preference given to Herberstein in this mission was perfectly justified by the result; and although the expected effect for Poland was delayed by the deep-rooted hatred existing between the antagonist monarchs and other circumstances, his stay in Moscow was of effectual service in fastening the alliance between Maximilian and Vasiley. At Augsburg he was joined on his route by a numerous company, mostly consisting of his own attachés, and partly of ambassadors and persons of distinction returning