and a purse of ten thousand sequins. The haughty
Russian declined the invitation to dine, returning the purse and the
robes with the ungracious response,

"I have nothing to say to pachas. I have no need to wear their
clothes, neither have I any need of their money. I wish only to speak
to the sultan."

Notwithstanding this arrogance, Bajazet II., the sultan, received
Plestchief politely, and returned a conciliatory answer to the grand
prince, promising the redress of those grievances of which he
complained. The Turk was decidedly more civilized than the Christian.
He wrote to Mengli Ghirei, the pacha of the Crimea, where most of
these annoyances had occurred:

"The monarch of Russia, with whom I desire to live in friendly
relations, has sent to me a clown. I can not consequently allow any of
my people to accompany him back to Russia, lest they should find him
offensive. Respected as I am from the east to the west, I blush in
being exposed to such an affront. It is in consequence my wish that my
son, the sultan of Caffa, should correspond directly with the grand
prince of Moscow."

With a sense of delicacy as attractive as it is rare, Bajazet II.
refrained from complaining of the boorishness of the Russian envoy,
but wrote to the grand prince, Ivan III., in the following courteous
terms:

"You have sent, in the sincerity of your soul, one of your lords to
the threshold of my palace. He has seen me and has handed me your
letter, which I have pressed to my heart, since you have expressed a
desire to become my friend. Let your embassadors and your merchants no
longer fear to frequent our country. They have only to come to certify
to the veracity of all which your envoy will report to you from us.
May God grant him a prosperous journey and the grace to convey to you
our profound salutation--to you and to your friends; for those whom
you love are equally dear to us."

In the whole of this transaction the Turkish court appears far
superior to the Russian in the refinements and graces of polished
life. There seems to be something in a southern clime which
ameliorates harshness of manners. The Grecian emperors, perhaps, in
abandoning their palaces, left also to their conquerors that suavity
which has transmitted even to our day the enviable title of the
"polished Greek."

In the year 1503, Ivan III. lost his spouse, the Greek princess
Sophia. Her death affected the aged monarch deeply, and seriously
impaired his heal