CHAPTER V.
When he arrived at Lubni, Pan Yan did not find the prince, who had goneto a christening at the house of an old attendant of his, PanSufchinski, at Senchy, taking with him the princess, two youngprincesses Zbaraskie, and many persons of the castle. Word was sent toSenchy of the lieutenant's return from the Crimea, and of the arrivalof the envoy.
Meanwhile Skshetuski's acquaintances and comrades greeted him joyfullyafter his long journey; and especially Pan Volodyovski, who had beenthe most intimate of all since their last duel. This cavalier was notedfor being always in love. After he had convinced himself of theinsincerity of Anusia Borzobogata, he turned his sensitive heart toAngela Lenska, one of the attendants of the princess; and when she, amonth before, became engaged to Pan Stanishevski, Volodyovski, toconsole himself, began to sigh after Anna, the eldest princessZbaraska, niece of Prince Yeremi.
But he understood himself that he had raised his eyes so high that hecould not strengthen himself with the least hope, especially since PanBodzynski and Pan Lyassota came to make proposals for the princess inthe name of Pan Pshiyemski, son of the voevoda of Lenchitsk. Theunfortunate Volodyovski therefore told his new troubles to thelieutenant, initiating him into all the affairs and secrets of thecastle, to which he listened with half an ear, since his mind and heartwere otherwise occupied. Had it not been for that mental disquiet whichalways attends even mutual love, Skshetuski would have felt himselfhappy on returning, after a long absence, to Lubni, where he wassurrounded by friendly faces and that bustle of military life to whichhe had long grown accustomed. Though Lubni, as a lordly residence, wasequal in grandeur to any of the seats of the "kinglets," still it wasdifferent from them in this,--that its life was stern, really of thecamp. A visitor unacquainted with its usages and order, and coming,even in time of profoundest peace, might suppose that some militaryexpedition was on foot. The soldier there was above the courtier, ironabove gold, the trumpet-call louder than sounds of feasts andamusements. Exemplary order reigned in every part, and a disciplineelsewhere unknown. On all sides were throngs of knights of variousregiments, armored cavalry dragoons, Cossacks, Tartars, andWallachians, in which served not only the whole Trans-Dnieper, butvolunteers, nobles from every part of the Commonwealth. Whoever wishedtraining in a real school of knighthood set out for Lubni; thereforeneither the Mazur, the Lithuanian, the man of Little Poland, nor eventhe Prussian, was absent from the side of the Russian. Infantry andartillery, or the so-called "fire people," were composed, for thegreater part, of picked Germans engaged for high wages. Russians servedprincipally in the dragoons, Lithuanians in the Tartar regiments; themen of Little Poland rallied most willingly to the armored regiments.The prince did not allow his men to live in idleness; hence there wasceaseless movement in the camp. Some regiments were marching outto relieve the stanitsas and outposts, others were entering thecapital,--day after day drilling and man[oe]uvres. At times, even whenthere was no trouble from Tartars, the prince undertook distantexpeditions into the wild steppes and wildernesses to accustom thesoldiers to campaigning, to push forward where no man had gone before,and to spread the glory of his name. So the past spring he haddescended the left bank of the Dnieper to Kudak, where Pan Grodzitski,in command of the garrison, received him as a monarch; then he advancedfarther beyond the Cataracts to Hortitsa; and at Kuchkasy he gaveorders to raise a great mound of stones as a memorial and a sign thatno other lord had gone so far along that shore.
Pan Boguslav Mashkevich--a good soldier, though young, and also alearned man, who described that expedition as well as various campaignsof the prince--told Skshetuski marvels concerning it, which wereconfirmed at once by Volodyovski, for he had taken part in theexpedition. They had seen the Cataracts and wondered at them,especially at the terrible Nenasytets, which devoured every year anumber of people, like Scylla and Charybdis of old. Then they set outto the east along the parched steppes, where cavalry were unable toadvance on the burning ground and they had to cover the horses' hoofswith skins. Multitudes of reptiles and vipers were met with,--snakesten ells long and thick as a man's arm. On some oaks standing apartthey inscribed, in eternal memory of the expedition, the arms of theprince. Finally, they entered a steppe so wild that in it no trace ofman was found.
"I thought," said the learned Pan Mashkevich, "that at last we shouldhave to go to Hades, like Ulysses."
To this Volodyovski added: "The men of Zamoiski's vanguard swore thatthey saw those boundaries on which the circle of the earth rests."
The lieutenant told his companions about the Crimea, where he had spentalmost half a year in waiting for the answer of the Khan; he told ofthe towns there, of present and remote times, of Tartars and theirmilitary power, and finally of their terror at reports of a generalexpedition to the Crimea, in which all the forces of the Commonwealthwere to engage.
Conversing in this way every evening, they waited the return of theprince. The lieutenant presented to his most intimate companions PanLongin Podbipienta, who as a man of mild manners gained their hearts atonce, and by exhibiting his superhuman strength in exercises with thesword acquired universal respect. He did not fail to relate to each onethe story of his ancestor Stoveiko and the three severed heads; but hesaid nothing of his vow, not wishing to expose himself to ridicule. Hepleased Volodyovski, especially by reason of the sensitive heartsof both. After a few days they went out together to sigh on theramparts,--one for a star which shone above his reach, that is, forPrincess Anna; the other for an unknown, from whom he was separated bythe three heads of his vow.
Volodyovski tried to entice Longin into the dragoons; but theLithuanian decided at last to join the armored regiment, so as to servewith Skshetuski, whom, as he learned in Lubni, to his delight, allesteemed as a knight of the first degree, and one of the best officersin the service of the prince. And precisely in Skshetuski's regimentthere was a vacancy in prospect. Pan Zakshevski, nicknamed "MiserereMei," had been ill for two weeks beyond hope of recovery, since all hiswounds had opened from dampness. To the love-cares of Skshetuski wasnow added sorrow for the impending loss of his old companion and triedfriend. He did not go a step, therefore, from Zakshevski's pillow forseveral hours each day, comforting him as best he could, andstrengthening him with the hope that they would still have many acampaign together.
But the old man needed no consolation; he was closing life joyfully onthe hard bed of the soldier, covered with a horse-skin. With a smilealmost childlike, he gazed on the crucifix above his bed, and answeredSkshetuski,--
"Miserere mei! Lieutenant, I am on my way to the heavenly garrison. Mybody has so many holes from wounds that I fear Saint Peter, who is thesteward of the Lord and must look after order in heaven, won't let mein with such a rent body; but I'll say: 'Saint Peter, my dear, Iimplore you, by the ear of Malchus, make no opposition, for it waspagans who injured my mortal coil,' miserere mei. And if Saint Michaelshall have any campaigning against the powers of hell, old Zakshevskiwill be useful yet."
The lieutenant, though he had looked so often upon death as a soldierand inflicted it himself, could not restrain his tears while listeningto the old man, whose departure was like a quiet sunset.
At last, one morning the bells tolled in all the churches of Lubni,announcing the death of Pan Zakshevski. That same day the prince camefrom Senchy, and with him Bodzynski and Lyassota, with the whole courtand many nobles in a long train of carriages, for the company at PanSufchinski's was very large. The prince arranged a great funeral,wishing to honor the services of the deceased and to show how he lovedbrave men. All the regiments at Lubni took part in the procession; fromthe ramparts guns and cannon were fired; the cavalry marched from thecastle to the parish church in battle-array, but with furled banners;after them the infantry, with muskets reversed. The prince himself,dressed in mourning, rode behind the hearse in a gilded carriage, drawnby eight milk-white horses with purple-stained manes and tails, andtufts of black ostrich feathers on their heads. In front of thecarriage marched
a detachment of janissaries, the body-guard of theprince. Behind the carriage, on splendid steeds, rode pages in Spanishcostume; farther on, high officials of the castle, attendants, lackeys;finally, haiduks and guards.
The cortege stopped before the church door, where the priest,Yaskolski, made a speech beginning with the words: "Whither art thouhastening, O Zakshevski!" Then speeches were made by some of hiscomrades, and among them by Skshetuski, as the superior and friend ofthe deceased. Then his body was borne into the church, and there washeard the voice of the most eloquent of the eloquent, the Jesuit priestMukhovetski, who spoke with such loftiness and grace that the princehimself wept; for he was a man of rare tenderness of heart and a realfather to the soldiers. He maintained an iron discipline, but wasunequalled in liberality and kindly treatment of people, and in thecare with which he surrounded not only them, but their children andwives. Terrible and pitiless to rebels, he was a real benefactor, notonly to the nobility, but to all his people. When the locusts destroyedthe crops in 1646 he remitted the rent for a year, and ordered grain tobe given from the granaries to his subjects; and after the fire inKhorol he supported all the townspeople at his own expense for twomonths. Tenants and managers of crown estates trembled lest accounts ofany of the abuses or wrongs inflicted by them on the people should cometo the ears of the prince. His guardianship over orphans was so goodthat these orphans were called, in the country beyond the Dnieper, "theprince's children." Princess Griselda herself watched over this, aidedby Father Mukhovetski.
Order reigned in all the lands of the prince, with plenty, justice,peace, but also terror,--for in case of the slightest opposition theprince knew no bounds to his anger and to the punishments he inflicted;to such a degree was magnanimity joined with severity in his nature.But in those times and in those regions that severity alone permittedlife and the labor of men to thrive and continue. Thanks to it alone,towns and villages rose, the agriculturist took the place of thehighwayman, the merchant sold his wares in peace, bells called thedevout in safety to prayer, the enemy dared not cross the boundaries,crowds of thieves perished, empaled on stakes, or were changed intoregular soldiers, and the wilderness bloomed.
A wild country and its wild inhabitants needed such a hand; for to thecountry beyond the Dnieper went the most restless elements of theUkraine. Settlers came in, allured by the land and the fatness of thesoil; runaway peasants from all lands of the Commonwealth; criminalsescaping from prison,--in one word, as Livy said, "Pastorumconvenarumque plebs transfuga ex suis populis." Only a lion at whoseroar everything trembled could hold them in check, make them peaceableinhabitants, and force them into the bonds of settled life.
Pan Longin Podbipienta, seeing the prince for the first time at thefuneral, could not believe his own eyes. Having heard so much of hisglory, he imagined that he must be a sort of giant, a head above therace of common men; while the prince was really of small stature, andrather delicate. He was still young,--in the thirty-sixth year of hisage,--but on his countenance military toil was evident; and as he livedin Lubni like a real king, so did he share in time of campaign andexpedition the hardships of the common soldier. He ate black bread,slept on the ground in a blanket; and since the greater part of hislife was spent in labors of the camp, the years left their marks on hisface. But that countenance revealed at the first glance anextraordinary man. There was depicted on it an iron, unbending will,and a majesty before which all involuntarily inclined. It was evidentthat this man knew his own power and greatness; and if on the morrow acrown were placed on his head, he would not feel astonished oroppressed by its weight. He had large eyes, calm, and indeed mild;still, thunders seemed to slumber in them, and you felt that woe wouldfollow him who should rouse them. No man could endure the calm light ofthat look; and ambassadors trained at courts on appearing before Yeremiwere seen to grow confused and unable to begin their discourse. He was,moreover, in his domain beyond the Dnieper a genuine king. There wentout from his chancery privileges and grants headed, "We, by the graceof God Prince and Lord," etc. There were few magnates whom heconsidered equal to himself. Princes of the blood of ancient rulerswere his stewards. Such in his day was the father of Helena, VassilyBulyga Kurtsevich, who counted his descent, as already mentioned, fromKoryat; but really he was descended from Rurik.
There was something in Prince Yeremi which, in spite of his nativekindness, kept men at a distance. Loving soldiers, he was familiar withthem; with him no one dared to be familiar; and still, if he should askmounted knights to spring over the precipices of the Dnieper, theywould do so without stopping to think. From his Wallachian mother heinherited a clearness of complexion like the color of iron at a whiteglow, from which heat radiates, and hair black as a raven's wing,which, shaven closely at the sides of his head, was cut square abovethe brows, covering half his forehead. He wore the Polish costume, andwas not over-careful of his dress. Only on great occasions did he wearcostly apparel; but then he was all glitter from gold and jewels.
Pan Longin, a few days later, was present at such a solemnity, when theprince gave audience to Rozvan Ursu. The reception of ambassadorsalways took place in a Heavenly Hall, so called because on its ceilingwas depicted the firmament of heaven with the stars, by the pencil ofHelm of Dantzig. On that occasion the prince sat under a canopy ofvelvet and ermine on an elevated seat like a throne, the footstool ofwhich was bound with a gilded circle. Behind the prince stood thepriest Mukhovetski, his secretary, the steward prince Voronich, and PanBoguslav Mashkevich; farther on, pages and twelve body-guards, inSpanish costume, bearing halberts. The depths of the hall were filledwith knights in splendid dress and uniforms. Pan Rozvan asked, in thename of the hospodar, that the prince by his influence and the terrorof his name should cause the Khan to prohibit the Budjak Tartars fromattacking Wallachia, where they caused fearful losses and devastationevery year. The prince answered in elegant Latin that the BudjakTartars were not over-obedient to the Khan himself; still, since heexpected to receive an envoy of the Khan during the coming April, hewould remind the Khan through him of the injury done the Wallachians.
Pan Yan had already given a report of his embassy and his journey,together with all he had heard of Hmelnitski and his flight to theSaitch. The prince decided to despatch a few regiments to Kudak, butdid not attach great importance to this affair. Since nothing appearedtherefore to threaten the peace and power of his domain beyond theDnieper, festivals and amusements were begun in Lubni by reason of thepresence of the envoy Rozvan, also because Bodzynski and Lyassota onthe part of the son of the voevoda Pshiyemski had made a formalproposal for the hand of Anna, the elder princess, and had received afavorable answer from the prince and the Princess Griselda.
Volodyovski suffered not a little from this; and when Skshetuski triedto pour consolation into his heart, he answered,--
"It is easy for you to talk; you have but to wish and AnusiaBorzobogata will not avoid you. She spoke of you very handsomely allthe time. I thought at first that she was rousing the jealousy ofBykhovets; but I see that she was ready to put him on a hook, feelingliving sentiment in her heart for you alone."
"Oh! what is Anusia to me? Return to her; I have no objection. Butforget Princess Anna, since thinking of her is like wishing to coverthe ph[oe]nix on its nest with your cap."
"I know she is a ph[oe]nix, and therefore I shall surely die of grieffor her."
"You'll live and straightway be in love again; but don't fall in lovewith Princess Barbara, for another son of a voevoda will snatch heraway from under your nose."
"Is the heart a servant at command, or can the eyes be stopped fromlooking at such a wonderful being as Princess Barbara, the sight ofwhom would be enough to move wild beasts themselves?"
"Well, devil, here is an overcoat for you!" cried Pan Yan. "I see youwill console yourself without my help. But I repeat. Go back to Anusia;you will meet with no hindrance from me."
But Anusia was not thinking, in fact, of Volodyovski. Instead of that,her curiosity was roused. She was angry at the i
ndifference ofSkshetuski, who on his return from so long an absence did not even lookat her. In the evening, when the prince with his chief officers andcourtiers came to the drawing-room of the princess to converse, Anusia,looking from behind the shoulder of her mistress (for the princess wastall and Anusia was short), peered with her black eyes into thelieutenant's face, wishing to get at the solution of this riddle. Butthe eyes of Skshetuski, like his mind, were elsewhere; and when hisglance fell on the maiden it was as preoccupied and glassy as if he hadnever looked upon her, of whom he had once sung,--
"The Tartar seizes people captive; Thou seizest captive hearts!"
"What has happened to him?" asked of herself the petted favorite of thewhole castle; and stamping with her little foot, she determined toinvestigate the matter. She didn't love Skshetuski; but accustomed tohomage, she was unable to endure neglect, and was ready from very spiteto fall in love with the insolent fellow.
Once, when running with skeins of thread for the princess, she met PanYan coming out of the bedchamber of the prince. She ran against himlike a storm, striking him full in the breast; then springing back, sheexclaimed,--
"Oh, how you have frightened me! Good-day, sir!"
"Good-day. Am I such a monster as to terrify you?"
She stood with downcast eyes, began to twist the end of her tresses,and standing first on one foot and then on the other, as if confused,she answered with a smile: "Oh, no! not at all,--sure as I love mymother!" She looked quickly at the lieutenant and dropped her eyes asecond time. "Are you angry with me?" asked she.
"I? But could Panna Anna care for my anger?"
"Well, to tell the truth, no. Maybe you think that I would fall tocrying at once? Pan Bykhovets is more polite."
"If that is true, there is nothing for me but to leave the field to PanBykhovets and vanish from the eyes of Panna Anna."
"Do I prevent you?" Having said this, Anusia blocked the way beforehim. "You have just returned from the Crimea?" asked she.
"From the Crimea."
"And what have you brought back from the Crimea?"
"I've brought back Pan Podbipienta. You have seen him, I think? A veryamiable and excellent cavalier."
"It is sure he is more amiable than you. And why has he come?"
"So there might be some one on whom Panna Anna might try her power. ButI advise great care, for I know a secret which makes this cavalierinvincible, and Panna Anna can do nothing with him."
"Why is he invincible?"
"He cannot marry."
"What do I care for that? Why can he not marry?"
Skshetuski bent to the ear of the young woman, but said very clearlyand emphatically: "He has made a vow of celibacy."
"Oh, you stupid!" cried Anusia, quickly; and at the same moment sheshot away like a frightened bird.
That evening, however, she looked for the first time carefully at PanLongin. The guests were numerous, for the prince gave a farewell dinnerto Pan Bodzynski. Our Lithuanian, dressed with care in a white satintunic and a dark blue velvet coat, had a grand appearance, especiallysince a light curved sabre hung at his side in a gilded sheath, insteadof his death-dealing long sword.
The eyes of Anusia shot their darts at Pan Longin, somewhat on purposeto spite Skshetuski. The lieutenant would not have noticed them,however, had it not been for Volodyovski, who, pushing him with hiselbow, said,--
"May captivity strike me if Anusia isn't making up to that Lithuanianhop-pole!"
"Tell him so."
"Of course I will. They will make a pair."
"Yes, he might wear her in place of a button in his coat, such is theproportion between them, or instead of a plume in his cap."
Volodyovski went up to the Lithuanian and said: "It is not long sinceyou arrived, but I see you are getting to be a great rogue."
"How is that, brother? how is that?"
"You have already turned the head of the prettiest girl among theladies in waiting."
"Oh, my dear friend!" said Podbipienta, clasping his hands together,"what do you tell me?"
"Well, look for yourself at Panna Anusia Borzobogata, with whom we haveall fallen in love, and see how she fixes you with her eyes. But lookout that she doesn't fool you as she has us!"
When he had said this, Volodyovski turned on his heel and walked off,leaving Podbipienta in meditation. He did not indeed dare to look inthe direction of Anusia at once. After a time, however, he cast a quickglance at her, but he trembled. From behind the shoulder of PrincessGriselda two shining eyes looked on him steadfastly and curiously."Avaunt, Satan!" thought the Lithuanian; and he hurried off to theother end of the hall, blushing like a schoolboy.
Still, the temptation was great. That imp, looking from behind theshoulder of the princess, possessed such charm, those eyes shone soclearly, that something drew Pan Longin on to glance at them even oncemore. But that moment he remembered his vow. Zervikaptur stood beforehim, his ancestor Stoveiko Podbipienta, the three severed heads,--andterror seized him. He made the sign of the cross, and looked at her nomore that evening. But next morning, early, he went to the quarters ofPan Yan.
"Well, Lieutenant, are we going to march soon? What do you hear aboutthe war?"
"You are in great straits. Be patient till you join the regiment."
Pan Podbipienta had not yet been enrolled in the place of thelate Zakshevski; he had to wait till the quarter of the year hadexpired,--till the first of April. But he was in a real hurry;therefore he asked,--
"And has the prince said nothing about this matter?"
"Nothing. The king won't stop thinking of war while he lives, but theCommonwealth does not want it."
"But they say in Chigirin that a Cossack rebellion is threatened."
"It is evident that your vow troubles you greatly. As to a rebellion,you may be sure there will be none till spring; for though the winteris mild, winter is winter. It is now the 15th of February, and frostmay come any day. The Cossacks will not take the field till they canintrench themselves behind earthworks; they fight terribly, but in thefield they cannot hold their own."
"So one must wait for the Cossacks?"
"Think of this, too, that although you should find your three heads intime of rebellion, it is unknown whether you would be released fromyour vow; for Crusaders or Turks are one thing, and your own people areanother,--children of the same mother, as it were."
"Oh, great God! what a blow you have planted on my head! Here isdesperation! Let the priest Mukhovetski relieve me from this doubt, forotherwise I shall not have a moment's rest."
"He will surely solve your doubt, for he is a learned and pious man;but he will not tell you anything else. Civil war is a war ofbrothers."
"But if a foreign power should come to the aid of the rebels?"
"Then you would have a chance. Meanwhile I can recommend but one thingto you,--wait, and be quiet."
But Skshetuski was unable to follow this advice himself. His melancholyincreased continually. He was annoyed by the festivals at the castle,and by those faces on which some time before he gazed with suchpleasure. Bodzynski and Rozvan Ursu departed at last, and after theirdeparture profound quiet set in. Life began to flow on monotonously.The prince was occupied with the review of his enormous estates, andevery morning shut himself in with his agents, who were arriving fromall Rus and Sandomir, so that even military exercises took place butrarely. The noisy feasts of the officers, at which future wars werediscussed, wearied Skshetuski beyond measure; so he used to go out witha gun on his shoulder to Solonitsa, where Jolkefski had inflicted suchterrible defeats on Nalivaika, Loboda, and Krempski. The traces ofthese battles had already disappeared from the memory of men, and thefield of conflict; but from time to time the earth cast up from itsbosom whitened bones, and beyond the water was visible the Cossackbreastwork from behind which the Zaporojians of Loboda and thevolunteers of Nalivaika had made such a desperate defence. But a densegrove had already spread its roots over the breastwork. That was theplace w
here Skshetuski hid himself from the noise of the castle; andinstead of shooting at birds he fell into meditation, and before theeyes of his spirit stood the form of the beloved maiden called hitherby his memory and his heart. There in the mist, the rustle of thereeds, and the melancholy of those places he found solace in his ownyearning.
But later on began abundant rains, the harbinger of spring. Solonitsabecame a morass; it was difficult to put one's head from under theroof. The lieutenant was deprived, therefore, even of the comfort whichhe had found in wandering about alone; and immediately his disquietbegan to increase, and justly. He had hoped at first that the princesswould come immediately with Helena to Lubni, if she could only succeedin sending Bogun away; but now that hope vanished. The wet weather haddestroyed the roads; the steppe for many miles on both sides of theSula had become an enormous quagmire, which could not be crossed tillthe warm sun of spring should suck out the superfluous water.
All this time Helena would have to remain under guardianship in whichSkshetuski had no trust, in a real den of wolves, among wild, uncouthpeople, ill disposed to him. They had, it is true, to keep faith fortheir own sake, and really they had no other choice; but who couldguess what they might invent, what they might venture upon, especiallywhen they were pressed by the terrible Bogun, whom they seemed both tolove and fear? It would be easy for Bogun to force them to yield up thegirl, for similar deeds were not rare. In this way Loboda, the comradeof the ill-starred Nalivaika, had forced Pani Poplinska to give him herfoster-daughter as wife, although she was of good family and hated theCossack with her whole soul. And if what was said of the immeasurablewealth of Bogun were true, he might remunerate them for the girl andthe loss of Rozlogi. And then what? "Then," thought Pan Yan, "they willtell me with a sneer, 'Your lash is lost,' they will vanish into someLithuanian or Mazovian wilderness, where even the hand of the princecannot reach them."
Skshetuski shook as if in a fever at the thought, and was impatient asa chained wolf, regretted the word of honor he had given the princess,and knew not what to do. He was a man who was unwilling to let chancepull him on by the beard. There was great energy and enterprise in hisnature. He did not wait for what fate would give, he chose to take fateby the shoulder and force it to give him good fortune; hence it wasmore difficult for him than any other man to sit with folded hands inLubni. He resolved, therefore, to act. He had a young lad in waiting,Jendzian, from Podlesia,--sixteen years old, but a most cunning rogue,whom no old fox could out-trick,--and he determined to send him toHelena at once to discover everything.
February was at an end; the rains had ceased. March appeared ratherfavorable, and the roads must have improved a little. Jendzian gotready for the journey, Skshetuski provided him with paper, pens, and abottle of ink, which he commanded him to guard as the eye in his head,for he remembered that those things were not to be had at Rozlogi. Theyoung fellow was not to tell from whom he came, but to pretend that hewas going to Chigirin, to keep a sharp eye on everything, andespecially to find out carefully where Bogun was, and what he wasdoing. Jendzian did not wait to have his instructions repeated; hestuck his cap on the side of his head, cracked his whip, and was off.
Dreary days of waiting set in for Skshetuski. To kill time, he occupiedhimself in sword exercise with Volodyovski, who was a great master inthis art, or hurled javelins at a ring. There happened in Lubni alsosomething which came near costing the lieutenant his life. One day abear, having broken away from his chain, wounded two stable-boys,frightened the horse of Pan Hlebovski, the commissary, and finallyrushed on the lieutenant, who was on his way to the prince at thearmory without a sabre, and had only a light stick with a brass knob inhis hand. He would have perished undoubtedly, had it not been for PanLongin, who, seeing from the armory what was passing, rushed for hislong sword, and hurried to the rescue. Pan Longin showed himself aworthy descendant of his ancestor Stoveiko in the full sense, for withone blow he swept off the front half of the bear's head, together withhis paw, before the eyes of the whole court. This proof ofextraordinary strength was seen from the window by the prince himself,who took Pan Longin afterward to the apartments of the princess, whereAnusia Borzobogata so tempted him with her eyes that next morning hehad to go to confession, and for three days following he did not showhimself in the castle until by earnest prayer he had expelled everytemptation.
Ten days had passed, and no sign of Jendzian. Skshetuski had grown sothin from waiting and so wretched-looking that Anusia began to ask,through messengers, what the matter was, and Carboni, physician of theprincess, prescribed an herb for melancholy. But he needed anotherremedy; for he was thinking of his princess day and night, and witheach moment he felt more clearly that no trivial feeling had nestled inhis heart, but a great love which must be satisfied, or his breastwould burst like a weak vessel.
It is easy to imagine, then, the gladness of Pan Yan when one morningabout daybreak Jendzian entered his room covered with mud, weary, thin,but joyful, and with good news written on his forehead. The lieutenanttore himself from the bed, rushed to the youth, caught him by theshoulder, and cried,--
"Have you a letter?"
"I have. Here it is."
The lieutenant tore it open and began to read. For a long time he hadbeen in doubt whether in the most favorable event Jendzian would bringa letter, for he was not sure that Helena knew how to write. Women inthe country were uneducated, and Helena was reared among illiteratepeople. It was evident now that her father had taught her to write, forshe had sent a long letter on four pages of paper. The poor girl didn'tknow how to express herself elegantly or rhetorically, but she wrotestraight from the heart, as follows:--
"Indeed I shall never forget you. You will forget me sooner, for I hearthat there are deceivers among you. But since you have sent your lad onpurpose so many miles, it is evident that I am dear to you as you areto me, for which I thank you with a grateful heart. Do not think thatit is not against my feeling of modesty to write thus to you aboutloving; but it is better to tell the truth, than to lie or dissemblewhen there is something altogether different in the heart. I have askedJendzian what you are doing in Lubni, and what are the customs at agreat castle; and when he told me about the beauty and comeliness ofthe young ladies there, I began to cry from sorrow "--
Here the lieutenant stopped reading and asked Jendzian: "What did youtell her, you dunce?"
"Everything good," answered Jendzian.
The lieutenant read on:--
--"for how could I, ignorant girl, be equal to them? But your servanttold me that you wouldn't look at any of them"--
"You answered well," said the lieutenant.
Jendzian didn't know what the question was, for the lieutenant read tohimself; but he put on a wise look and coughed significantly.Skshetuski read on:--
--"and I immediately consoled myself, begging God to keep you for thefuture in such feeling for me and to bless us both,--Amen. I have alsoyearned for you as if for my mother; for it is sad for me, orphan inthe world, when not near you. God sees that my heart is clean; anythingelse comes from my want of experience, which you must forgive."
Farther on in the letter, the charming princess wrote that she and heraunt would come to Lubni as soon as the roads were better, and that theold princess herself wanted to hasten the journey, for tidings werecoming from Chigirin of Cossack disturbances. She was only waiting forthe return of her sons, who had gone to Boguslav to the horse-fair.
"You are a real wizard [wrote Helena] to be able to win my aunt to yourside."
Here the lieutenant smiled, for he remembered the means which he wasforced to use in winning her aunt. The letter ended with assurances ofunbroken and true love such as a future wife owed her husband. And ingeneral a genuine good heart was evident in it. Therefore thelieutenant read the affectionate letter several times from beginning toend, repeating to himself in spirit, "My dear girl, may God forsake meif I ever abandon you!"
Then he began to examine Jendzian on every point.
The cunning
lad gave him a detailed account of the whole journey. Hewas received politely. The old princess made inquiries of himconcerning the lieutenant, and learning that he was a famous knight, aconfidant of the prince, and a man of property besides, she was glad.
"She asked me, too," said Jendzian, "if you always keep your word whenyou make a promise, and I answered, 'My noble lady, if the Wallachianhorse on which I have come had been promised me, I should be sure hewouldn't escape me.'"
"You are a rogue," said the lieutenant; "but since you have given suchbonds for me, you may keep the horse. You made no pretences, then,--yousaid that I sent you?"
"Yes, for I saw that I might; and I was still better received,especially by the young lady, who is so wonderful that there isn'tanother like her in the world. When she knew that I came from you, shedidn't know where to seat me; and if it hadn't been a time of fast, Ishould have been really in heaven. While reading your letter she shedtears of delight."
The lieutenant was silent from joy, too, and after a moment askedagain: "But did you hear nothing of that fellow Bogun?"
"I didn't get to ask the old lady or the young princess about him, butI gained the confidence of Chehly, the old Tartar, who, though a pagan,is a faithful servant of the young lady. He said they were all veryangry at you, but became reconciled afterward, when they discoveredthat the reports of Bogun's treasures were fables."
"How did they discover that?"
"Well, you see, this is how it was. They had a dispute with theSivinskis which they bound themselves to settle by payment. When thetime came, they went to Bogun with, 'Lend us money!' 'I have someTurkish goods,' said he, 'but no money; for what I had I squandered.'When they heard this, they dropped him, and their affection turned toyou."
"It must be said that you have found out everything well."
"If I had found out one thing and neglected another, then you might saythat you would give me the horse, but not the saddle; and what is thehorse without a saddle?"
"Well, well, take the saddle too."
"Thank you most humbly. They sent Bogun off to Pereyaslav immediately.When I found that out, I thought to myself, 'Why shouldn't I push on toPereyaslav? My master will be satisfied with me, and a uniform willcome to me the sooner.'"
"You'll get it next quarter. So you were in Pereyaslav?"
"I was, but didn't find Bogun. Old Colonel Loboda is sick. They sayBogun will succeed him soon. But something strange is going on. Hardlya handful of Cossacks have remained in the regiment; the others, theysay, have gone after Bogun, or run away to the Saitch; and this is veryimportant, for some rebellion is on foot. I wanted to know somethingcertain about Bogun, but all they told me was that he had crossed tothe Russian bank,[7] 'Well,' thought I, 'if that is true, then ourprincess is safe from him;' and I returned."
"You did well. Had you any adventures on the road?"
"No, but I want awfully to eat something."
Jendzian went out; and the lieutenant, being alone, began to readHelena's letter again, and to press to his lips those characters thatwere not so shapely as the hand that had penned them. Confidenceentered his heart, and he thought,--
"The road will soon dry, if God gives good weather. The Kurtsevichi,too, knowing that Bogun has nothing, will be sure not to betray me. Iwill leave Rozlogi to them, and add something of my own to get thatdear little star."
He dressed with a bright face, and with a bosom full of happiness wentto the chapel to thank God humbly for the good news.