"Methinks you shall do best to have your house at Colmogro, which is
but one hundred miles from the right discharge of the ships; and yet
I trust the ships shall come nearer hereafter, because the ships may
not tarry long for their lading, which is one thousand miles from
Vologda by water, and all our merchants shall bring all our
merchandise to Colmogro to you, and so shall our merchants neither
go empty nor come empty. For if that they lack lading homeward,
there is salt, which is good ware here, that they may come laden
again." So we were very glad to hear that, and did agree to his
saying. For we shall, nevertheless, if we list, have a house at
Vologda and at the Moscow, yea, and at Novogrod, or where we will in
Russland. But the three-and-twentieth of this present we were with
the secretary, and then among other talk we moved, that if we should
tarry at Colmogro with our wares, and should not come to Vologda,
or, further, to seek our market, but tarry still at Colmogro, and
then the merchants of the Moscow and others should not come and
bring their wares, and so the ships should come, and not have their
lading ready, that then it were a great loss and hindrance for us.
Then said he again to us, that the merchants had been again together
with him, and had put the like doubt that if they should come and
bring their wares to Colmogro, and that they should not find wares
there sufficient to serve them, that then they should be at great
loss and hindrance, they leaving their other trades to fall to that.
And to that we did answer, that after the time that we do appoint
with them to bring their wares to Colmogro, God willing, they should
never come thither but at the beginning of the year, they should
find that our merchants would have at the least for a thousand
roubles, although the ships were not come. So that he said, that
then we must talk further with the merchants. So that as yet I know
not but that we shall have need of one house at Colmogro and another