This was very bad news to travellers; however, it was carefully done of the governor, and we were very glad to hear we should have a guard. Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldiers sent us from a garrison of the Chinese on our left, and three hundred more from the city of Naum, and with those we advanced boldly: the three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front, the two hundred in our rear, and our men on each side of our camels with our baggage, and the whole caravan in the centre. In this order, and well prepared for battle, we thought ourselves a match for the whole ten thousand Mogul Tartars, if they had appeared; but the next day, when they did appear, it was quite another thing.
It was early in the morning, when marching from a little well-situated town, called Changu, we had a river to pass, where we were obliged to ferry; and had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had been the time to have attacked us, when, the caravan being over, the rear-guard was behind: but they did not appear there.
About three hours after, when we were entered upon, a desert of about fifteen or sixteen miles over, behold, by a cloud of dust they raised, we saw an enemy was at hand; and they were at hand indeed, for they came on upon the spur.
The Chinese, our guard on the front, who had talked so big the day before, began to stagger, and the soldiers frequently looked behind them; which is a certain sign in a soldier, that he is just ready to run away. My old pilot was of my mind; and being near me, he called out: “Seignior Inglese,” said he, “those fellows must be encouraged, or they will ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on, they will never stand it.”—“I am of your mind,” said I: “but what course must be done?”—“Done?” said he; “let fifty of our men advance, and flank them on each wing, and encourage them, and they will fight like brave fellows in brave company: but without it, they will every man turn his back.” Immediately I rode up to our leader, and told him, who was exactly of our mind; and accordingly fifty of us marched to the right wing, and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of reserve; for so we marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make another body to themselves, and to guard the camels; only that, if need were, they should send a hundred men to assist the last fifty.
In a word, the Tartars came on, and an innumerable company they were; how many, we could not tell, but ten thousand we thought was the least. A party of them came on first, and viewed our posture, traversing the ground in the front of our line; and as we found them within gun-shot, our leader ordered the two wings to advance swiftly, and give them a salvo on each wing with their shot, which was done; but they went off, and I suppose went back to give an account of the reception they were like to meet with; and, indeed, that salute clogged their stomachs; for they immediately halted, stood awhile to consider of it, and, wheeling off to the left, they gave over the design, and said no more to us for that time; which was very agreeable to our circumstances, which were but very indifferent for a battle with such a number.
Two days after this we came to the city of Naum, or Naunm. We thanked the governor for his care for us, and collected to the value of one hundred crowns, or thereabouts, which we gave to the soldiers sent to guard us; and here we rested one day. This is a garrison indeed, and there were nine hundred soldiers kept here; but the reason of it was, that formerly the Muscovite frontiers lay nearer to them than they do now, the Muscovites having abandoned that part of the country (which lies from the city west, for about two hundred miles) as desolate and unfit for use; and more especially, being so very remote, and so difficult to send troops hither for its defence; for we had yet above two thousand miles to Muscovy, properly so called.
After this we passed several great rivers, and two dreadful deserts, one of which we were sixteen days passing over, and which, as I said, was to be called No Man’s Land; and on the 13th of April we came to the frontiers of the Muscovite dominions. I think the first city, or town, or fortress, whatever it might be called, that belonged to the czar of Muscovy, was called Argun, being on the west side of the river Argun.
I could not but discover an infinite satisfaction; that I was now arrived in, as I called it, a Christian country; or, at least, in a country governed by Christians: for though the Muscovites do, in my opinion, but just deserve the name of Christians (yet such they pretend to be, and are very devout in their way:) it would certainly occur to any man who travels the world as I have done, and who had any power of reflection; I say, it would occur to him, to reflect, what a blessing it is to be brought into the world where the name of God, and of a Redeemer, is known, worshipped, and adored—and not where the people, given up by Heaven to strong delusions, worship the devil, and prostrate themselves to stocks and stones; worship monsters, elements, horrible-shaped animals, and statues, or images of monsters. Not a town or city we passed through but had their pagods, their idols, and their temples; and ignorant people worshipping even the works of their own hands!
Now we came where, at least, a face of the Christian worship appeared, where the knee was bowed to Jesus; and whether ignorantly or not, yet the Christian religion was owned, and the name of the true God was called upon and adored; and it made the very recesses of my soul rejoice to see it. I saluted the brave Scotch merchant I mentioned above, with my first acknowledgment of this; and, taking him by the hand, I said to him, “Blessed be God, we are once again come among Christians!” He smiled, and answered, “Do not rejoice too soon, countryman; these Muscovites are but an odd sort of Christians; and but for the name of it, you may see very little of the substance for some months farther of our journey.”
“Well,” said I, “but still it is better than paganism, and worshipping of devils.”—“Why, I’ll tell you,” said he; “except the Russian soldiers in garrisons, and a few of the inhabitants of the cities upon the road, all the rest of this country, for above a thousand miles farther, is inhabited by the worst and most ignorant of pagans.” And so indeed we found it.