noa were then the
great monarchs of the ocean. England was just beginning to become the
dangerous rival of those States whom she has already so infinitely
surpassed in maritime greatness. She had then formed the project of
opening a shorter route to the Indies through the North Sea, and, in
1553, during the reign of Edward VI., had dispatched an expedition of
three vessels, under Hugh Willoughby, in search of a north-east
passage. These vessels, separated by a tempest, were unable to
reunite, and two of them were wrecked upon the icy coast of Russian
Lapland in the extreme latitude of eighty degrees north. Willoughby
and his companions perished. Some Lapland fishermen found their
remains in the winter of the year 1554. Willoughby was seated in a
cabin constructed upon the shore with his journal before him, with
which he appeared to have been occupied until the moment of his death.
The other ship, commanded by Captain Chanceller, was more fortunate.
He penetrated the White Sea, and, on the 24th of August, landed in the
Bay of Dwina at the Russian monastery of St. Nicholas, where now
stands the city of Archangel. The English informed the inhabitants,
who were astonished at the apparition of such a ship in their waters,
that they were bearers of a letter to the tzar from the King of
England, who desired to establish commercial relations with the great
and hitherto almost unknown northern empire. The commandant of the
country furnished the mariners with provisions, and immediately
dispatched a courier to Ivan at Moscow, which was some six hundred
miles south of the Bay of Dwina.

Ivan IV. wisely judged that this circumstance might prove favorable to
Russian commerce, and immediately sent a courier to invite Chanceller
to come to Moscow, at the same time making arrangements for him to
accomplish the journey with speed and comfort. Chanceller, with some
of his officers, accepted the invitation. Arriving at Moscow, the
English were struck with astonishment in view of the magnificence of
the court, the polished address and the dignified manners of the
nobles, the rich costume of the courtiers, and, particularly, with the
jeweled and golden brilliance of the throne, upon which was seated a
young monarch decorated in the most dazzling style of regal splendor,
and in whose presence all observed the most respectful silence.
Chanceller presented to Ivan IV. the letter of Edward VI. It was a
noble letter, worthy of England's monarch