The chiefest place is that, where hangs the god by it, The owner of the house himselfe doth neuer sit, Unlesse his better come, to whom he yealds the seat: The stranger bending to the god, the ground with brow most beat And in that very place which they most sacred deeme, The stranger lies: a token that his guest he doth esteeme. Where he is wont to haue a beares skinne for his bed, And must, in stead of pillow, clap his saddle to his head. In Russia other shift there is not to be had, For where the bedding is not good, the boalsters are but bad I mused very much, what made them so to lie, Sith in their countrey Downe is rife, and feathers out of crie: Vnlesse it be because the countrey is so hard, They feare by nicenesse of a bed their bodies would be mard, I wisht thee oft with vs, saue that I stood in feare Thou wouldst haue loathed to haue layd thy limmes vpon a beare, As I and Stafford did, that was my mate in bed: And yet (we thanke the God of heauen) we both right well haue sped. Loe thus I make an ende: none other newes to thee, But that the countrey is too colde, the people beastly bee. I write not all I know, I touch but here and there, For if I should, my penne would pinch, and eke offend I feare. Who so shall read this verse, coniecture of the rest, And thinke by reason of our trade, that I do thinke the best. But if no traffique were, then could I boldly pen The hardnesse of the soile, and eke the maners of the men. They say the Lions paw giues iudgement of the beast: And so may you deeme of the great, by reading of the least. [Footenote: _Suggested emendation_: Them.] To Parker. [Footnote: Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. See an excellent account of him and his writings in Allibone's Dictionary.]