Ogniem i mieczem. English

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XXII.

  Prince Vishnyevetski knew of the defeat at Korsun before Skshetuski hadbeen found sitting on the ruins of Rozlogi, since Polyanovski, one ofhis hussar officers, had brought news of it to Segotin. Previous tothat the prince had been in Priluka, and from there had sent BoguslavMashkevich with a letter to the hetmans, inquiring when they wouldorder him to march with all his forces. But as Pan Mashkevich did notreturn for a long time with the answer of the hetmans, the prince movedon toward Pereyaslav, sending orders on every side to the detachmentsthat the regiments which were scattered here and there in theTrans-Dnieper should assemble as quickly as possible at Lubni.

  But news came that some Cossack regiments disposed in outposts alongthe borders next the Tartars had dispersed or joined the insurrection.Thus the prince saw his forces suddenly decreased, and was grieved nota little; for he did not expect that those men whom he had led so oftento victory could ever desert him. However, upon meeting with PanPolyanovski and receiving news of the unexampled catastrophe, heconcealed it from the army and went on toward the Dnieper, thinking tomarch at random into the midst of the storm and uprising, and eitherrevenge the defeat, wipe away the disgrace of the armies, or shed hisown blood. He judged that there must be some, and perhaps large,portions of the army of the Crown left after the defeat. These, ifjoined to his division of six thousand, might measure themselves withHmelnitski with hope of victory.

  Halting at Pereyaslav, he ordered Pan Volodyovski and Pan Kushel tosend their dragoons in every direction,--to Cherkasi, Mantovo,Sekirnaya, Buchach, Staiki, Trakhtimiroff, and Rjischeff,--to collectall the boats and craft which they could find anywhere. Then the armywas to cross from the left side to Rjischeff.

  The messengers heard of the defeat from fugitives whom they met hereand there; but at all the above-mentioned places they could not find asingle boat, since, as already stated, the Grand Hetman of the Crownhad taken one half of them long before for Krechovski and Barabash, andthe rebellious mob on the right bank had destroyed the rest throughfear of the prince. But Volodyovski crossed over with ten men to theright bank on a raft which he had fashioned in haste from tree-trunks,and seized a number of Cossacks, whom he brought to the prince, wholearned from them of the enormous extent of the rebellion and theterrible fruits of the defeat at Korsun. The whole Ukraine had risen tothe last man. The insurrection had spread like a deluge, which coveringa level land occupies more and more space at each twinkle of an eye.The nobles defended themselves in large and small castles; but many ofthese castles had been already captured.

  Hmelnitski was increasing in power every moment. The captured Cossacksgave the number of his army at two hundred thousand men, and in acouple of days it might be doubled. For this reason he remained inKorsun after the battle, and took immediate advantage of the peace tomarshal the people into his countless hosts. He divided the mob intoregiments, appointed colonels from the atamans and experiencedZaporojian essauls, and sent detachments or whole divisions to captureneighboring castles. Considering all this. Prince Yeremi saw that onaccount of the absence of boats the construction of which for an armyof six thousand men would occupy several weeks' time, and on account ofthe strength of the enemy which had increased beyond measure, there wasno means of crossing the Dnieper in those parts in which he then foundhimself. Pan Polyanovski, Colonel Baranovski, the commander of thecamp, Alexander Baranovski, Volodyovski, and Vurtsel were in favor ofmoving to the north toward Chernigoff, which was on the other side ofdense forests, thence they would march on Lubech, and cross the riverto Braginoff. It was a long and perilous journey; for beyond theChernigoff forests, in the direction of Braginoff, were enormousswamps, which were not easy of passage even for infantry, and what mustthey be for heavy cavalry-wagons and artillery. The proposal, however,pleased the prince; but he wished, before going on that long and as heconsidered unavoidable road, to show himself once more in hisTrans-Dnieper domains, prevent immediate outbreak, gather the noblesunder his wing, transfix the people with terror, and leave behindthe memory of that terror, which in the absence of the master would bethe only safeguard to the country and the guardian of all who wereunable to march with the army. Besides this, Princess Griselda, thePrincesses Zbaraskie, the ladies in waiting, the whole court, and someregiments,--namely, the infantry,--were still in Lubni. The princetherefore determined to go to Lubni for a last farewell.

  The troops moved that very day, and at their head Pan Volodyovski withhis dragoons, who, though all Russian without exception, still held bythe bonds of discipline and trained as regular soldiers, almostsurpassed in loyalty the other regiments. The country was quiet yet.Here and there had been formed ruffianly bands which plundered castleand cottage alike. These bands the prince destroyed in great part alongthe road and empaled on stakes. The common people had risen in noplace. Their minds were seething, fire was in the eyes and souls of thepeasants, they armed in secret and fled beyond the Dnieper; but fearwas still superior to the thirst for blood and murder. It might beconsidered of ill-omen for the future, however, that the inhabitants ofthose villages from which the peasants had not gone to Hmelnitski fledat the approach of the army, as if fearing that the terrible princewould read in their faces that which was hidden in their hearts andwould punish them in advance. And he did punish wherever he found theleast sign of incipient rebellion; and as he had a nature unboundedboth in rewarding and punishing, he punished without measure andwithout mercy. It might have been said at that time that two vampireswere careering along both banks of the Dnieper,--one, Hmelnitski,devouring nobles; the other, Prince Yeremi, destroying the uprisenpeople. It was whispered among the peasants that when these two met thesun would be darkened and the water in all rivers run red. But themeeting was not at hand; for Hmelnitski, the conqueror at Joltiya Vodiand Korsun,--that Hmelnitski who had battered into fragments the armiesof the Crown, who had taken captive the hetmans, and who was then atthe head of hundreds of thousands of warriors,--simply feared that lordof Lubni, who was going to look for him west of the Dnieper. The armiesof the prince had passed Sleporod. The prince himself stopped to restat Philipovo, where he was informed that envoys had come fromHmelnitski with a letter and begged for an audience. The prince gaveorders to produce them at once. Then the six Zaporojians entered thehouse of the under-starosta where the prince was stopping. They enteredboldly enough, especially the chief of them, the ataman Sukhaya Ruka,distinguished through the victory of Korsun and his new rank ofcolonel. But when they saw the prince such fear seized them that theyfell at his feet, not daring to utter a word.

  The chieftain, surrounded by his principal knights, ordered them torise, and asked what they had brought.

  "A letter from the hetman," answered Sukhaya Ruka.

  The prince fixed his eyes on the Cossack, and answered quietly, butwith emphasis on every word,--

  "From a bandit, a ruffian, and a robber,--not from a hetman!"

  The Zaporojians grew pale, or blue rather, and dropping their heads ontheir breasts stood in silence at the door. Then the prince ordered PanMashkevich to take the letter and read it.

  The letter was humble, though it was after Korsun. The fox had gainedthe upper hand of the lion in Hmelnitski, the serpent of the eagle, forhe remembered that he was writing to Vishnyevetski. He flattered inorder to quiet, and then the more easily to sting. He wrote that whathad happened was through the fault of Chaplinski, and that thefickleness of fortune had met the hetmans; hence it was not his fault,but their evil fate and the oppressions which the Cossacks had enduredin the Ukraine. Still he asked the prince not to be offended, to pardonhim, and he would ever remain his obedient and willing servant; and towin favor for his envoys and save them from anger, he declared that hehad dismissed in safety Pan Skshetuski, the hussar officer taken in theSaitch.

  Now followed complaints against the haughtiness of Skshetuski, who hadrefused to take letters from Hmelnitski to the prince, by which actionhe had put a great slight upon the dignity of the hetman and th
e wholeZaporojian army. To haughtiness and contempt like this which theCossacks met with from the Poles at every step, did Hmelnitskiattribute specially all that had happened from Joltiya Vodi to Korsun.The letter ended with assurances of regret, and of loyalty to theCommonwealth, together with offers of service to Yeremi.

  The envoys themselves were astonished when they heard this letter; forthey had no previous knowledge of its contents, and supposed that itcontained abase and harsh challenges rather than requests. One thingwas clear to them,--Hmelnitski had no wish to risk everything with sucha famous leader, and instead of moving on him with all his forces, wasdelaying and deceiving him with humility, and waiting apparently tillthe forces of the prince should be worn out on campaigns and struggleswith various detachments; in one word, he seemed to fear the prince.The envoys became still more subservient, and during the readingperused the prince's face carefully to see if they could find in it thehour of their death. Though in coming they were prepared to die, stillfear seized them then. The prince listened quietly, but from time totime dropped the lids of his eyes as if wishing to restrain thethunderbolts hidden within, and it was as visible as if on the palm ofthe hand that he was holding terrible anger in check. When the letterwas finished he answered no word to the envoys, but merely orderedVolodyovski to remove and keep them under guard; then he turned to thecolonels himself and said,--

  "Great is the cunning of this enemy, for he wishes to lull me with thatletter so as to attack me asleep; or he will move into the heart of theCommonwealth, conclude terms, and receive immunity from the yieldingestates and the king, and then he will feel himself safe,--for if Iwanted to war with him after that, not he, but I should act against thewill of the Commonwealth, and be held as a rebel."

  Vurtsel caught himself by the head. "Oh, vulpes astuta!"

  "Well, gentlemen, what action do you advise?" asked the prince. "Speakboldly, and then I will indicate to you my own will."

  Old Zatsvilikhovski, who had left Chigirin some time before and joinedthe prince, said,--

  "Let it be according to the will of your Highness; but if we arepermitted to speak, then I will say that you have sounded theintentions of Hmelnitski with your usual quickness, for they are whatyou say and no other. I should think, therefore, that there is no needof paying attention to his letter, but after securing the future safetyof the princess, to cross the Dnieper and begin war before Hmelnitskisettles any conditions. It would be a shame and dishonor for theCommonwealth to suffer such insults to pass unpunished. But," here heturned to the colonels, "I wait your opinions, not giving my own asinfallible."

  The commander of the camp, Alexander Zamoiski, struck his sabre andsaid,--

  "Worthy colonel, age speaks through you, and wisdom also. We must tearoff the head of that hydra before it grows and devours us."

  "Amen!" said the priest Mukhovetski.

  Other colonels, instead of speaking, followed the example of thecommander, shook their sabres, breathed hard, and gritted their teeth;but Vurtsel said,--

  "It is a downright insult to the name of your Highness that thatruffian should dare to write to you. A koshevoi ataman has rankconfirmed and recognized by the Commonwealth, with which the kurenatamans can cloak their action. But this is a pretended hetman, who canbe considered in no light but that of a robber; and Pan Skshetuskiacted in a praiseworthy manner when he refused to take his letters toyour Highness."

  "That is just what I think," said the prince; "and since I cannot reachhim, he will be punished in the persons of his envoys." Then he turnedto the colonel of the Tartar regiment of his guard: "Vershul, orderyour Tartars to behead those Cossacks; and for their chief let a stakebe trimmed, and seat him on it without delay."

  Vershul inclined his head, which was red as a flame. The priestMukhovetski, who usually restrained the prince, crossed his hands as ifin prayer, and looked imploringly into his eyes, wishing to find mercy.

  "I know, priest, what you want," said the prince, "but it cannot be.This is necessary on account of the cruelties which they have committedwest of the Dnieper, for our own dignity, and for the good of theCommonwealth. It must be shown convincingly that there is some one yetwho is not afraid of that outcast, and treats him as a bandit,--who,though he writes with submission, acts with insolence, and conductshimself in the Ukraine as if he were an independent prince, and hasbrought such a paroxysm on the Commonwealth as it has not gone throughfor many a day."

  "Your Highness, as he states, he liberated Pan Skshetuski unharmed,"said the priest, timidly.

  "I thank you in Skshetuski's name for comparing him with butchers."Here the prince frowned. "But enough! I see," continued he, turning tothe colonels, "that your voices are all for war; this too is my will.We march on Chigirin, collecting nobles by the way. We will cross atBragin, then move to the south. Now to Lubni!"

  "God be on our side!" said the colonels.

  At this moment the door opened, and in it appeared Roztvorovski,lieutenant of the Wallachian regiment, sent two days before with threehundred horse on a reconnoissance.

  "Your Highness," cried he, "the rebellion is spreading. Rozlogi isburned. The garrison at Vassflyevka is cut to pieces!"

  "How? what? where?" was asked on every side.

  But the prince motioned with his hand to be silent, and asked: "Who didit,--marauders or troops?"

  "They say Bogun did it."

  "Bogun?"

  "Yes."

  "When did it happen?"

  "Three days ago."

  "Did you follow the trace, catch up with them, seize informants?"

  "I followed, but could not come up, for I was three days too late. Icollected news along the road. They returned to Chigirin, thenseparated,--one half going to Cherkasi, the other to Zoelotonosha andProhorovka."

  Here Pan Kushel said: "I met the detachment that was going toProhorovka, and informed your Highness. They said they were sent byBogun to prevent peasants from crossing the Dnieper; therefore I letthem pass."

  "You committed a folly, but I do not, blame you. It is difficult not tobe deceived when there is treason at every step, and the ground underone's feet is burning," said the prince.

  Suddenly he seized himself by the head. "Almighty God!" cried he, "Iremember that Skshetuski told me Bogun was making attempts on the honorof Kurtsevichovna; I understand now why Rozlogi was burned. The girlmust have been carried away. Here, Volodyovski!" said the prince, "takefive hundred horse and move on again to Cherkasi; let Bykhovets takefive hundred Wallachians and go through Zolotonosha to Prohorovka.Don't spare the horses; whoever rescues the girl for me will haveYeremiovka for life. On! on!" Then to the colonels: "And we will go toLubni through Rozlogi."

  Thereupon the colonels hurried out of the under-starosta's house andgalloped to their regiments. Soldiers rushed to their horses. Theybrought to the prince the chestnut steed which he usually rode on hisexpeditions. And soon the regiments moved, and stretched out like along and many-colored gleaming serpent over the Philipovo road.

  Near the gate a bloody sight struck the eyes of the soldiers. On stakesof the hurdle-fence were to be seen the severed heads of the fiveCossacks, which gazed on the army marching past with the dead whites oftheir open eyes; and some distance beyond the gate, on a green moundstruggled and quivered the ataman Sukhaya Ruka, sitting upright,empaled on a stake. The point had already passed through half his body;but long hours of dying were indicated yet for the unfortunate ataman,for he might quiver there till night before death would put him torest. At that time he was not only living, but he turned his terribleeyes on the regiments as each one of them passed by,--eyes which said:"May God punish you, and your children, and your grandchildren to thetenth generation, for the blood, for the wounds, for the torments! Godgrant that you perish, you and your race; that every misfortune maystrike you! God grant that you be continually dying, and that you maynever be able either to die or to live!" And although he was a simpleCossack,--although he died not in purple nor cloth of gold but in acommon blue coat, and no
t in the chamber of a castle but under thenaked sky on a stake,--still that torment of his, that death circlingabove his head, clothed him with dignity, and put such a power into hislook, such an ocean of hate into his eyes, that all understood wellwhat he wanted to say, and the regiments rode past in silence. But hein the golden gleam of the midday towered above them, shining on thefreshly smoothed stake like a torch.

  The prince rode by, not turning an eye; the priest Mukhovetski made thesign of the cross on the unfortunate man; and all had passed, when ayouth from the hussar regiment, without asking any one for permission,urged his horse to the mound, and putting a pistol to the ear of thevictim, ended his torments with a shot. All trembled at such daringinfraction of military rules, and knowing the rigor of the prince, theylooked on the youth as lost; but the prince said nothing. Whether hepretended not to hear or was buried in thought, it is sufficient thathe rode on in silence, and only in the evening did he order the youngman to be called.

  The stripling stood before the face of his lord barely alive, andthought that the ground was opening under his feet. But the princeinquired,--

  "What is your name?"

  "Jelenski."

  "You fired at the Cossack?"

  "I did," groaned he, pale as a sheet.

  "Why did you do it?"

  "Because I could not look at the torment."

  "Oh, you will see so much of their deeds that at a sight like this pitywill fly from you like an angel; but because on account of your pityyou risked your life, the treasurer in Lubni will pay you ten goldenducats, and I take you into my personal service."

  All wondered that the affair was finished in this way; but meanwhile itwas announced that a detachment from Zolotonosha had come, andattention was turned in another direction.