Folio 68: MacKenzie to Townshend. Collins still asserts the veracity of the case...

Folio 68: MacKenzie to Townshend. Collins still asserts the veracity of the case sent to you Oct. 22 last. Knowing nothing the least against him, but that the Czar spoke Russian on board his ship, and that he was going hence to Sweden on the pretext of trade but verily to decoy the Czar to sea. One of his ships a large 24 gunner, has the Queen's Pass, and these circumstances should give good impression and excuse his detention of Collins. All I can hope to learn is put aside until Naryskin has represented his story to the Czar. I know that Collins has been given bail until the end of January next. Then I shall insist unless I have your orders to the contrary, on his release and free departure. Yesterday had a long conversation with the vice chancellor Baron Safirov about my house, when he took more than an hour to offer me another. The first, which I was, as a foreigner trapped into, necessitated taking 3 different vehicles on land and water to get to either court or Chancery, bad advertisement to others of being 3 miles or so from either palace or posthouse. The Baron cited Versailles etc. My answer was Russian Ministry was very near St. James's, also that the Danish Minister is lodged almost on verge of Czar's Palace, and that Great Britain had similar convention to Denmark and should not be expected to be housed in what Denmark would refuse. It was suggested I should comply with the Czar's design even unwillingly. When I would not a new house was allocated. Dated St Petersburg, 31 Dec 1714.