g please you," said I,
"keep it, so that you restore my books." I requested letters from him to
his father to restore my things; but he was in haste to be gone, and said
that we should alight at the train of the ladies, which was near at hand,
and he should send me Sartachs answer. Though I was fearful he might
deceive me, yet I dared not to contend with him. Late in the evening his
messenger came with two coats, seemingly all of silk, saying that Sartach
had sent me these, one for myself, and that I might present the other to my
king on his behalf. I answered, that I wore no such garments, but should
present both to my king, in honour of his lord; and I now send both by the
bearer of these letters. He delivered me also a letter for the father of
Coiac, to restore all that belonged to me.

We returned to the court of Baatu on the same day on which I had departed
thence the year before, being the second day after the invention of the
Holy Cross, 16th September 1254; and I found our young men in health,
though much afflicted with poverty. Gosset told me, they had perished for
want, if the king of Armenia had not comforted them, and recommended them
to Sartach, for the Tartars believed I was dead, and even asked them if
they could keep oxen and milk mares; for if I had not returned, they had
certainly been reduced to servitude. After this Baatu called me before him,
and made the letters which Mangu-khan sends you to be interpreted to me. He
likewise demanded what way I would go, whether by sea or land? I said the
sea would be frozen, as whiter was approaching, and I must, therefore, go
by land; and believing your majesty was still in Syria, I directed my
journey to Persia, for if I had known you were in France, I would have gone
through Hungary. We had to travel a month with Baatu before we could obtain
a guide. At length they appointed a Jugur, who understanding I would give
him nothing, and that I wished to go by Armenia, caused our letters to be
made for conducting me to the soldan of Turkey, hoping he might there
receive gifts. We left the moving court of Baatu fifteen days before All
Saints, 16th October, and went direct southwards for Sarai, always keeping
near the Volga, and there the Volga divides into three branches or arms,
each almost twice as large as the branch of the Nile at Damieta. Besides
these, it divides into four lesser arms, so that we had to pass seven
branches of the river in boats: Upon the middle bra