Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 1, 1851).djvu/191



thus entering upon the description of Moscow, which is the capital of Russia, and which extends its sway far and wide through Scythia, it will be indispensable, candid reader, that I should in this work touch upon many parts of the north, which have not been sufficiently known either to ancient authors or those of our own day, and it will follow that I shall sometimes be compelled to differ from the accounts they give. And in order that my opinion in this matter may not be looked upon with suspicion, or considered presumptuous, I assert with all honesty, that not once only, but repeatedly, while engaged as ambassador for the Emperor Maximilian, and his grandson Ferdinand king of the Romans, I have seen and investigated Moscow, as it were under my very eyes (as the saying is); that I made myself acquainted with the greater part of the talented and trustworthy men of the place, and did not rely upon this or that man’s account, but trusted only to the unvarying statements of the many; and having the advantage of knowing the Sclavonic language, which is identical with the Russian and Muscovitic, I have written these things and handed them down to the memory of posterity, not only as an ear, but as an eye-witness, and that not with any disguise in my description, but openly and freely.

But, in like manner as every nation has its own peculiar mode of pronunciation, so also the Russians connect and join together their letters in various ways, after a fashion to which we are quite unaccustomed; so that no one who did not pay particular attention to their pronunciation, would be able either conveniently to ask them a question, or to gain any intelligible reply. Since, therefore, in my description of Russia, I have, not without consideration, used Russian words in naming objects, places, and rivers, I have thought it right thus at the outset briefly to show the connexion and force of certain letters; by observing which, the reader will be enabled to understand many things more easily, and occasionally, perhaps, be induced to extend his inquiries.