Ferdinand of Austria, King of the Romans, and afterwards Emperor, Sovereign of Hungary and Bohemia, was in a most critical position; it is no exaggeration to say that he and his kingdoms lay at the mercy of the Sultan, who might any day annihilate his forces, and take possession of his dominions. His only hope of rescuing his subjects from slavery lay in the skill of his ambassadors. In 1545 Gerard Veltwick[70] (Velduvic), had been sent to represent the two brothers, Charles V. and Ferdinand, at the Turkish court; on his return, John Maria Malvezzi, one of his companions, had succeeded to the post. Malvezzi was not fortunate; the Turks regarded an ambassador simply in the light of a hostage,[71] and when Ferdinand in the autumn of 1551 broke faith with them by taking possession of Transylvania, they threw Malvezzi into a horrible dungeon; there the unfortunate man remained till August 1553, when his release was procured by Francis Zay and Antony Wranczy (Verantius) afterwards Bishop of Erlau, who came to Constantinople as Ferdinand’s representatives. Malvezzi returned to Vienna broken in health by his sufferings in the Turkish dungeon. It was not long, however, before Ferdinand ordered him to resume his duties at Constantinople; Malvezzi did his utmost to comply with his master’s wish; he struggled as far as Komorn and there broke down. Ferdinand suspected him of pretending to be worse than he really was, in order to avoid a post of the perils of which he had had such painful experience. As Busbecq forcibly remarks, Malvezzi’s death a few months later removed this doubt! Ferdinand had need of some one to succeed Malvezzi. It was not an enviable post, and the courtiers of Vienna had no fancy for the risk of being slowly done to death in some noisome dungeon at Constantinople, or of returning, as the Pashas at one time intended Busbecq should return, noseless and earless! But Ferdinand felt that it was absolutely necessary to have a representative at the Turkish Court to assist him in staving off the evil day. Accordingly he sent a summons to Busbecq, and at the same time despatched a message to his late chief, Don Pedro Lasso, asking him to use his influence with the young diplomatist, and urge him to start at once for Vienna. It would seem as if the post were but little coveted, when such pressure had to be applied. Busbecq, however, needed no urging; he was a man capable of finding intense pleasure in new scenes, new work, new discoveries, and all were included in the prospect now opening to his eager eyes.