when the colony was supposedly massacred. The merchants of Hamburg later gave him a damask tablecloth and napkins while those of Lübeck gave him a "great silver loving cup". He also befriended the 1200 Scots (and a few English) prisoners that were in Moscow. He arranged for them to get paid employment in the Russian Army and got permission for them to build a church. During his time in Moscow, Horsey seems to have carried out private trading on behalf of members of the English Court, such as Leicester and Walsingham, which was against the rules of the Russia Company. This later caused a dispute with the company, but eventually the problem was resolved by his giving up the property he owned in Moscow, and it was found that they owed him money rather than the other way around. At the court of Ivan's successors Horsey seems to have spent considerable time at the Russian Court, being invited by Tsar Ivan into the Treasury and attending the coronation of his successor Tsar Theodore. The Russian Court was very divided. Jerome says that "my most implacable enemy" was Vasily Shchelkanov but Boris Godunov was a friend. Another friend, whom he seems later to have wanted to marry, was Princess Maria Vladimirovna. Maria first became the wife of Magnus the Dane but after Magnus's death Horsey was asked by Boris to persuade her to return to Russia where she was imprisoned. However, the marriage with Maria was not allowed as he was a commoner, and she was placed in a nunnery. In late November 1581 Horsey was asked by Ivan to take letters, hidden in a flask, to Queen Elizabeth. He had to travel overland as the sea was frozen. This journey was very difficult and included being arrested at the Danish island of Oesel, but the wife of the governor happened to be Madelyn van Uxel whom he had saved earlier. Horsey also had to pass through Pilten where he met Maria the Russian princess. Second visit to Russia On arrival in London, Horsey had several meetings with Queen Elizabeth, translating the papers he had carried into English. Horsey returned to Russia with nine ships loaded with cargo, partly supplied by adventurers outside the Russia Company. He later returned to England with letters from the Tsar asking for help, as the wife of the Tsar was having difficulty conceiving. But this