The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 2 (of 2)

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XII.

  In the midst of feasting and the throng of new dignitaries, nobles, andknights who were coming continually, the kindly king forgot not hisfaithful servant who in the mountain-pass had exposed his breast to theSwedish sword with such daring; and on the day following his arrival inLyubovlya he visited the wounded Pan Andrei. He found him conscious andalmost joyful, though pale as death; by a lucky fortune the young herohad received no grievous wound, only blood had left him in largequantities.

  At sight of the king, Kmita even rose in the bed to a sitting position,and though the king insisted that he should lie down again, he wasunwilling to do so.

  "Gracious Lord," said he, "in a couple of days I shall be on horseback,and with your gracious permission will go farther, for I feel thatnothing is the matter with me."

  "Still they must have cut you terribly. It is an unheard of thing forone to withstand such a number."

  "That has happened to me more than once, for I think that in an eviljuncture the sabre and courage are best. Ei, Gracious Lord, the numberof cuts that have healed on my skin you could not count on an ox-hide.Such is my fortune."

  "Complain not of fortune, for it is evident that you go headlong toplaces where not only blows but deaths are distributed. But how long doyou practise such tactics? Where have you fought before now?"

  A passing blush covered the youthful face of Kmita.

  "Gracious Lord, I attacked Hovanski when all dropped their hands, and aprice was set on my head."

  "But listen," said the king, suddenly; "you told me a wonderful word inthat pass. I thought that delirium had seized you and unsettled yourreason. Now you say that you attacked Hovanski. Who are you? Are younot really Babinich? We know who attacked Hovanski!"

  A moment of silence followed; at last the young knight raised his paleface, and said,--

  "Not delirium spoke through me, but truth; it was I who batteredHovanski, from which war my name was heard throughout the wholeCommonwealth. I am Andrei Kmita, the banneret of Orsha."

  Here Kmita closed his eyes and grew still paler; but when theastonished king was silent, he began to speak farther,--

  "I am, Gracious Lord, that outlaw, condemned by God and the judgmentsof men for killing and violence. I served Radzivill, and together withhim I betrayed you and the country; but now, thrust with rapiers andtrampled with horses' hoofs, unable to rise, I beat my breast,repeating, _Mea culpa, mea culpa!_ (My fault, my fault!) and I imploreyour fatherly mercy. Forgive me, for I have cursed my previous acts,and have long since turned from that road which lies toward hell."

  Tears dropped from the eyes of the knight, and with trembling he beganto seek the hand of the king. Yan Kazimir, it is true, did not withdrawhis hand; but he grew gloomy, and said,--

  "Whoso in this land wears a crown should be unceasingly ready topardon; therefore we are willing to forgive your offence, since onYasna Gora and on the road you have served us with faithfulness,exposing your breast."

  "Then forgive them, Gracious Lord! Shorten my torment"

  "But one thing we cannot forget,--that in spite of the virtue of thispeople you offered Prince Boguslav to raise hands on majesty, hithertoinviolable, and bear us away living or dead, and deliver us intoSwedish hands."

  Kmita, though a moment before he had said himself that he was unable torise, sprang from the bed, seized the crucifix hanging above him, andwith the cuts on his face and fever in his flashing eyes, and breathingquickly, began to speak thus,--

  "By the salvation of my father and mother, by the wounds of theCrucified, it is untrue! If I am guilty of that sin, may God punish meat once with sudden death and with eternal fires. If you do not believeme, I will tear these bandages, let out the remnant of the blood whichthe Swedes did not shed. I never made the offer. Never was such athought in my head. For the kingdom of this world, I would not havedone such a deed. Amen! on this cross, amen, amen!" And he trembledfrom feverish excitement.

  "Then did the prince invent it?" asked the astonished king. "Why? forwhat reason?"

  "He did invent it. It was his hellish revenge on me for what I did tohim."

  "What did you do to him?"

  "I carried him off from the middle of his court and of his whole army.I wanted to cast him bound at the feet of your Royal Grace."

  "It's a wonder, it's a wonder! I believe you, but I do not understand.How was it? You were serving Yanush, and carried off Boguslav, who wasless guilty, and you wanted to bring him bound to me?"

  Kmita wished to answer; but the king saw at that moment his pallor andsuffering, therefore he said,--

  "Rest, and later tell me all from the beginning. I believe you; here isour hand."

  Kmita pressed the king's hand to his lips, and for some time wassilent, for breath failed him; he merely looked at the king's face withimmeasurable affection; at last he collected his strength, and said,--

  "I will tell all from the beginning. I warred against Hovanski, but Iwas hard with my own people. In part I was forced to wrong them, and totake what I needed; I did this partly from violence, for the blood wasstorming within me. I had companions, good nobles, but no better thanI. Here and there a man was cut down, here and there a house wasburned, here and there some one was chased over the snow with sticks.An outcry was raised. Where an enemy could not touch me, complaint wasmade before a court. I lost cases by default. Sentences came one afteranother, but I paid no heed; besides, the devil flattered me, andwhispered to surpass Pan Lashch, who had his cloak lined withjudgments; and still he was famous, and is famous till now."

  "For he did penance, and died piously," remarked the king.

  When he had rested somewhat, Kmita continued: "Meanwhile ColonelBillevich--the Billeviches are a great family in Jmud--put off histransitory form, and was taken to a better world; but he left me avillage and his granddaughter. I do not care for the village, for incontinual attacks on the enemy I have gathered no little property, andnot only have made good the fortune taken from me by the Northerners,but have increased it. I have still in Chenstohova enough to buy twosuch villages, and I need ask no one for bread. But when my partyseparated I went to winter quarters in the Lauda region. There themaiden, Billevich's granddaughter, came so near my heart that I forgotGod's world. The virtue and honesty in this lady were such that I grewshamefaced in presence of my former deeds. She too, having an inbornhatred of transgression, pressed me to leave my previous manner oflife, put an end to disturbances, repair wrongs, and live honestly."

  "Did you follow her advice?"

  "How could I, Gracious Lord! I wished to do so, it is true,--God seesthat I wished; but old sins follow a man. First, my soldiers wereattacked in Upita, for which I burned some of the place."

  "In God's name! that is a crime," said the king.

  "That is nothing yet. Later on, the nobles of Lauda slaughtered mycomrades, worthy cavaliers though violent. I was forced to avenge them.I fell upon the village of the Butryms that very night, and tookvengeance, with fire and sword, for the murder. But they defeated me,for a crowd of homespuns live in that neighborhood. I had to hide. Themaiden would not look at me, for those homespuns were made fathers andguardians to her by the will. But my heart was so drawn to her that Icould not help myself. Unable to live without her, I collected a newparty and seized her with armed hand."

  "Why, the Tartars do not make love differently."

  "I own that it was a deed of violence. But God punished me through thehands of Pan Volodyovski, and he cut me so that I barely escaped withmy life. It would have been a hundred times better for me if I had notescaped, for I should not have joined the Radzivills to the injury ofthe king and the country. But how could it be otherwise? A new suit wasbegun against me for a capital offence; it was a question of life. Iknew not what to do, when suddenly the voevoda of Vilna came to me withassistance."

  "Did he protect you?"

  "He sent me a commission through this same Pan Volodyovski, and therebyI went under the jurisdiction
of the hetman, and was not afraid of thecourts. I clung to Radzivill as to a plank of salvation. Soon I put onfoot a squadron of men known as the greatest fighters in all Lithuania.There were none better in the army. I led them to Kyedani. Radzivillreceived me as a son, referred to our kinship through the Kishkis, andpromised to protect me. He had his object. He needed daring men readyfor all things, and I, simpleton, crawled as it were into bird-lime.Before his plans had come to the surface, he commanded me to swear on acrucifix that I would not abandon him in any straits. Thinking it aquestion of war with the Swedes or the Northerners, I took the oathwillingly. Then came that terrible feast at which the Kyedani treatywas read. The treason was published. Other colonels threw their batonsat the feet of the hetman, but the oath held me as a chain holds a dog,and I could not leave him."

  "But did not all those who deserted us later swear loyalty?" asked theking, sadly.

  "I, too, though I did not throw down my baton, had no wish to steep myhands in treason. What I suffered, Gracious Lord, God alone knows. Iwas writhing from pain, as if men were burning me alive with fire; andmy maiden, though even after the seizure the agreement between usremained still unbroken, now proclaimed me a traitor, and despised meas a vile reptile. But I had taken oath not to abandon Radzivill. She,though a woman, would shame a man with her wit, and lets no one surpassher in loyalty to your Royal Grace."

  "God bless her!" said the king. "I respect her for that."

  "She thought to reform me into a partisan of the king and the country;and when that came to naught, she grew so steadfast against me that herhatred became as great as her love had been once. At that junctureRadzivill called me before him, and began to convince me. He explained,as two and two form four, that in this way alone could he save thefalling country. I cannot, indeed, repeat his arguments, they were sogreat, and promised such happiness to the land. He would have convinceda man a hundred times wiser, much less me, a simple soldier, he such astatesman! Then, I say, your Royal Grace, that I held to him with bothhands and my heart, for I thought that all others were blind; only hesaw the truth, all others were sinning, only he was the just man. And Iwould have sprung into fire for him, as now I would for your RoyalGrace, for I know not how to serve or to love with half a heart."

  "I see that, this is true!" said Yan Kazimir.

  "I rendered him signal service," continued Kmita, gloomily, "and I cansay that had it not been for me his treason could not have yielded anypoisonous fruits, for his own troops would have cut him to pieces withsabres. They were all ready for that. The dragoons, the Hungarianinfantry and the light squadrons were already slaying his Scots, when Isprang in with my men and rubbed them out in one twinkle. But therewere other squadrons at various quarters; these I dispersed. PanVolodyovski alone, who had come out from prison, led his Lauda men toPodlyasye by a wonder and by superhuman resolve, so as to join withSapyeha. Those who escaped me assembled in Podlyasye in considerablenumbers, but before they could do that many good soldiers perishedthrough me. God alone can count them. I acknowledge the truth as if atconfession. Pan Volodyovski, on his way to Podlyasye, seized me, anddid not wish to let me live; but I escaped because of letters whichthey found on my person, and from which it transpired that whenVolodyovski was in prison and Radzivill was going to shoot him, Iinterceded persistently and saved him. He let me go free then; Ireturned to Radzivill and served longer. But the service was bitter forme, the soul began to revolt within me at certain deeds of the prince,for there is not in him either faith, honesty, or conscience, and fromhis own words it comes out that he works as much for himself as for theKing of Sweden. I began then to spring at his eyes. He grew enraged atmy boldness, and at last sent me off with letters."

  "It is wonderful what important things you tell," said the king. "Atleast we know from an eyewitness who _pars magna fuit_ (took a greatpart) in affairs, how things happened there."

  "It is true that _pars magna fui_ (I took a great part)," answeredKmita. "I set out with the letters willingly, for I could not remain inthat place. In Pilvishki I met Prince Boguslav. May God give him intomy hands, to which end I shall use all my power, so that my vengeancemay not miss him for that slander. Not only did I not promise himanything, Gracious Lord, not only is that a shameless lie, but it wasjust there in Pilvishki that I became converted when I saw all thenaked deceit of those heretics."

  "Tell quickly how it was, for we were told that Boguslav aided hiscousin only through constraint."

  "He? He is worse than Prince Yanush, and in his head was the treasonfirst hatched. Did he not tempt the hetman first, pointing out a crownto him? God will decide at the judgment. Yanush at least simulated andshielded himself with _bono publico_ (public good); but Boguslav,taking me for an arch scoundrel, revealed his whole soul to me. It is aterror to repeat what he said. 'The devils,' said he, 'must take yourCommonwealth, it is a piece of red cloth, and we not only will notraise a hand to save it, but will pull besides, so that the largestpiece may come to us. Lithuania,' said he, 'must remain to us, andafter Yanush I will put on the cap of Grand Prince, and marry hisdaughter.'"

  The king covered his eyes with his hands. "O passion of our Lord!" saidhe. "The Radzivills, Radzeyovski, Opalinski--how could that whichhappened not happen!--they must have crowns, even through rending whatthe Lord had united."

  "I grew numb, Gracious Lord, I had water poured on my head so as not togo mad. The soul changed in me in one moment, as if a thunderbolt hadshaken it. I was terrified at my own work. I knew not what to do,whether to thrust a knife into Boguslav or into myself. I bellowed likea wild beast, they had driven me into such a trap. I wanted service nolonger with the Radzivills, but vengeance. God gave me a suddenthought: I went with a few men to the quarters of Prince Boguslav, Ibrought him out beyond the town, I carried him off and wanted to bringhim to the confederates so as to buy myself into their company and intothe service of your Royal Grace at the price of his head."

  "I forgive you all!" cried the king, "for they led you astray; but youhave repaid them! Kmita alone could have done that, no man besides. Ioverlook all and forgive you from my heart! But tell me quickly, forcuriosity is burning me, did he escape?"

  "At the first station he snatched the pistol from my belt and shot mein the mouth,--here is the scar. He killed my men and escaped. He is afamous knight, it would be hard to deny that; but we shall meet again,though that were to be my last hour."

  Here Kmita began to tear at the blanket with which he was covered, butthe king interrupted him quickly,--

  "And through revenge he invented that letter against you?"

  "And through revenge he sent that letter. I recovered from the wound,in the forest, but my soul was suffering more and more. To Volodyovski,to the confederates I could not go, for the Lauda men would have cut meto pieces with their sabres. Still, knowing that the hetman was aboutto march against them, I forewarned them to collect in a body. And thatwas my first good deed, for without that Radzivill would have crushedthem out, squadron after squadron; but now they have overcome him and,as I hear, are besieging him. May God aid them and send punishment toRadzivill, amen!"

  "That may have happened already; and if not it will happen surely,"said the king. "What did you do further?"

  "I made up my mind that, not being able to serve with the confederatetroops of your Royal Grace, I would go to your person and there atonefor my former offences with loyalty. But how was I to go? Who wouldreceive Kmita, who would believe him, who would not proclaim him atraitor? Therefore I assumed the name Babinich, and passing through thewhole Commonwealth, I reached Chenstohova. Whether I have rendered anyservices there, let Father Kordetski give witness. Day and night I wasthinking only how to repair the injuries to the country, how to spillmy blood for it, how to restore myself to repute and to honesty. Therest, Gracious Lord, you know already, for you have seen it. And if afatherly kind heart incline you, if this new service has outweighed myold sins, or even equalled them, then receive me to your favor and yourheart, for all have deserted me
, no one comforts me save you. You alonesee my sorrow and tears,--I am an outcast, a traitor, an oath-breaker,and still I love this country and your Royal Grace. God sees that Iwish to serve both."

  Here hot tears dropped from the eyes of the young man till he wascarried away with weeping; but the king, like a loving father, seizinghim by the head began to kiss his forehead and comfort him.

  "Yendrek! you are as dear to me as if you were my own son. What have Isaid to you? That you sinned through blindness; and how many sin fromcalculation? From my heart I forgive you all, for you have wiped awayyour faults. More than one would be glad to boast of such services asyours. I forgive you and the country forgives; and besides, we areindebted to you. Put an end to your grieving."

  "God give your Royal Grace everything good for this sympathy," said theknight, with tears. "But as it is I must do penance yet in the worldfor that oath to Radzivill; for though I knew not to what I wasswearing, still an oath is an oath."

  "God will not condemn you for that," said the king. "He would have tosend half this Commonwealth to hell; namely, all those who broke faithwith us."

  "I think myself, Gracious King, that I shall not go to hell, forKordetski assured me of that, though he was not certain that purgatorywould miss me. It is a hard thing to roast for a hundred of years. Butit is well even to go there! A man can endure much when the hope ofsalvation is lighting him; and besides prayers can help somewhat andshorten the torment."

  "Do not grieve," said Yan Kazimir, "I will prevail on the nunciohimself to say Mass for your intention. With such assistance you willnot suffer great harm. Trust in the mercy of God."

  Kmita smiled through his tears. "Besides," said he, "God give me toreturn to strength, then I will shell the soul out of more than oneSwede, and through that there will be not only merit in heaven, but itwill repair my earthly repute."

  "Be of good cheer and do not be troubled about earthly glory. Iguarantee that what belongs to you will not miss you. More peacefultimes will come; I myself will declare your services, which are notsmall, and surely they will be greater; and at the Diet, with God'shelp, I will have this question raised, and you will be restored soonto honor."

  "Let that, Gracious Lord, give some comfort; but before then the courtswill attack me, from which even the influence of your Royal Gracecannot shield me. But never mind! I will not yield while there isbreath in my nostrils, and a sabre in my hand. I am anxious concerningthe maiden. Olenka is her name. Gracious Lord; I have not seen her thislong time, and I have suffered, oh, I have suffered a world without herand because of her; and though at times I might wish to drive her outof my heart and wrestle with love as with a bear, it's of no use, forsuch a fellow as he will not let a man go."

  Yan Kazimir smiled good-naturedly and kindly: "How can I help you here,my poor man?"

  "Who can help me if not your grace? That maiden is an inveterateroyalist, and she will never forgive me my deeds at Kyedani, unlessyour Royal Grace will make intercession, and give witness how I changedand returned to the service of the king and my country, not fromconstraint, not for profit, but through my own will and repentance."

  "If that is the question I will make the intercession; and if she issuch a royalist as you say, the intercession should be effectual,--ifthe girl is only free, and if some mishap has not met her such as arefrequent in war-time."

  "May angels protect her!"

  "She deserves it. So that the courts may not trouble you, act thuswise: Levies will be made now in haste. Since, as you say, outlawryweighs on you, I cannot give you a commission as Kmita, but I will giveyou one as Babinich; you will make a levy which will be for the good ofthe country, for you are clearly a mettlesome soldier with experience.You will take the field under Stefan Charnyetski; under him death iseasiest, but the chances of glory are easiest. And if need comes youwill attack the Swedes of yourself as you did Hovanski. Your conversionand good deeds commenced with the day when you called yourselfBabinich; call yourself Babinich still further, and the courts willleave you at rest. When you will be as bright as the sun, when thereport of your services will be heard through the Commonwealth, let mendiscover who this great cavalier is. This and that kind of man will beashamed to summon such a knight to a court. At that time some will havedied, you will satisfy others. Not a few decisions will be lost, and Ipromise to exalt your services to the skies, and will present them tothe Diet for reward, for in my eyes they deserve it."

  "Gracious Lord! how have I earned such favors?"

  "Better than many who think they have a right to them. Well, well! benot grieved, dear royalist, for I trust that the royalist maiden willnot be lost to you, and God grant you to assemble for me more royalistssoon."

  Kmita, though sick, sprang quickly from the bed and fell his wholelength at the feet of the king.

  "In God's name! what are you doing?" cried the king. "The blood willleave you! Yendrek! Hither, some one!"

  In came the marshal himself, who had long been looking for the kingthrough the castle.

  "Holy Yerzy! my patron, what do I see?" cried he, when he saw the kingraising Kmita with his own hands.

  "This is Babinich, my most beloved soldier and most faithful servant,who saved my life yesterday," said the king. "Help, Lord Marshal, toraise him to the couch."