Ogniem i mieczem. English

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  It is easy to understand how the prince received the statement whichSkshetuski made of the refusal of Osinski and Koritski. Everything hadso combined that it needed such a great soul as that iron princepossessed, not to bend, not to waver, or let his hands drop. In vainwas he to spend a colossal fortune on the maintenance of armies; invain was he to struggle like a lion in a net; in vain was he to tearoff one head of the rebellion after another, showing wonders of braveryall for nothing. A time was coming in which he must feel his ownimpotence, withdraw somewhere to a distance, to a quiet place, andremain a silent spectator of what was being done in the Ukraine. Andwhat was it that rendered him powerless? Not the swords of theCossacks, but the ill-will of his own people. Was it not reasonable forhim to hope when he marched from the Trans-Dnieper in May that whenlike an eagle from the sky he should strike rebellion, when in thegeneral dismay and confusion he should first raise his sword over hishead, the whole Commonwealth would come to his aid, and put its powerand its punishing sword in his hand? But what did happen? The king wasdead, and after his death the command was put into other hands, and he,the prince, was passed by ostentatiously. That was the first concessionto Hmelnitski. The soul of the prince did not suffer for the office hehad lost; but it suffered at the thought that the insulted Commonwealthhad fallen so low that it did not seek a death-struggle, but drew backbefore one Cossack, and preferred to restrain his insolent right handby negotiations.

  From the time of the victory at Makhnovka worse and worse tidings werebrought to the camp,--first news of negotiations sent through PanKisel; then news that Volynian Polesia was covered with the waves ofinsurrection; then the refusal of the colonels, showing clearly how farthe commander-in-chief, Prince Dominik Zaslavski-Ostrogski, washostile. During Skshetuski's absence Pan Korsh Zenkovich came to campwith information that all Ovruch was on fire. The people had beenquiet, and not anxious for rebellion; but the Cossacks, coming underKrechovski and Polksenjits, forced the mob to enter their ranks.Castles and villages were burned; the nobles who did not escape werecut to pieces, and among others old Pan Yelets, a former servant andfriend of the Vishnyevetskis. In view of this, the prince had decidedafter a juncture with Osinski and Koritski to overwhelm Krivonos, andthen move north toward Ovruch, and after an agreement with the hetmanof Lithuania, to seize the rebels between two fires. But all theseplans had fallen through now on account of the refusal of both colonelscaused by Prince Dominik. For Yeremi, after all the marches, battles,and labors, was not strong enough to meet Krivonos, especially when notsure of the voevoda of Kieff, who belonged heart and soul to the peaceparty. Pan Yanush yielded before the importance and power of Yeremi,and had to go with him; but the more he saw his authority broken themore inclined was he to oppose the warlike wishes of the prince, as wasshown at once.

  Skshetuski gave his account, and the prince listened to it in silence.All the officers were present; their faces were gloomy at the news ofthe refusal. All eyes turned to the prince when he said,--

  "Prince Dominik, of course, sent them the order."

  "Yes, they showed it to me in writing."

  Yeremi rested his arms on the table and covered his face with hishands; after a while he said,--

  "This indeed is more than a man can bear. Am I to labor alone, andinstead of assistance meet only obstructions? Could I not have gone tomy estates in Sandomir and lived quietly? And what prevented me fromdoing so, except love of country? This is my reward for toil, for lossof fortune and blood."

  The prince spoke quietly, but such bitterness and pain trembledin his voice that all present were straitened with sorrow. Oldcolonels--veterans from Putivl, Starets, Kumeiki,--and young menvictorious in the last conflicts, looked at him with unspeakable sorrowin their eyes; for they knew what a heavy struggle that iron man washaving with himself, how terribly his pride must suffer from thehumiliation put upon him. He, a prince, "by the grace of God;" he, avoevoda in Russia, senator of the Commonwealth,--must yield to someHmelnitski or Krivonos. He, almost a monarch, who recently had receivedambassadors from foreign rulers, must withdraw from the field of glory,and confine himself in some little castle, waiting for the outcome of awar directed by others or for humiliating negotiations. He, predestinedfor great things, conscious of ability to direct them, had to confessthat he was without power.

  This suffering, together with his labors, was marked on his figure. Hehad become greatly emaciated; his eyes had sunk; his hair, black as thewing of a raven, had begun to grow gray. But a certain grand tragiccalm was spread over his countenance, for pride guarded him frombetraying his suffering.

  "Well, let it be so," said he; "we will show this unthankful countrythat we are able not only to fight, but to die for it. Indeed I shouldprefer a more glorious death,--to fall in some other war than in adomestic squabble with serfs--"

  "Do not speak of death," interrupted the voevoda of Kieff; "for thoughit is unknown what God has predestined to any man, still death may befar away. I do homage to your military genius and your knightly spirit;but I cannot take it ill, either of the viceroy, the chancellor, or thecommanders, if they try to stem civil war by negotiations, for in itthe blood of brothers is flowing, and who, unless a foreign enemy, canreap advantage from the stubbornness of both sides?"

  The prince looked long into the eyes of the voevoda, and saidemphatically,--

  "Show favor to the conquered, and they will accept it with thanks andwill remember it, but you will be only despised by conquerors. Wouldthat no one had ever done injustice to these people! But when onceinsurrection has flamed up, we must quench it with blood, notnegotiations; if we do not, disgrace and destruction to us!"

  "Speedy ruin will come if we wage war each on his own account,"answered the voevoda.

  "Does that mean that you will not go on with me?"

  "I call God to witness that this is out of no ill-will to you; but myconscience tells me not to expose my men to evident destruction, fortheir blood is precious, and will be of value to the Commonwealth yet."

  The prince was silent awhile; then turning to his colonels, he said,--

  "You, my old comrades, will not leave me now!"

  At these words the colonels, as if impelled by one power and one will,rushed to the prince. Some kissed his garments; some embraced hisknees; others, raising their hands to heaven, cried,--

  "We are with you to the last breath, to the last drop of blood! Leadus, lead us! we will serve without pay."

  "And let me die with you," cried young Pan Aksak, blushing like a girl.

  At sight of this the voevoda of Kieff was moved; but the prince wentfrom one to another, pressed the head of each one, and thanked him. Amighty enthusiasm seized on young and old. From the eyes of thewarriors sparks flashed; they grasped their sabres from moment tomoment.

  "I will live with you, die with you!" said the prince.

  "We will conquer!" cried the officers. "Against Krivonos! On Polonnoe!Whoever wishes to leave us, let him leave. We will do without aid. Wewish to share neither glory nor death."

  "It is my will," said the prince, "that before moving on Krivonos wetake even a short rest to restore our strength. It is now the thirdmonth that we are on horseback, scarcely ever dismounting. The flesh isleaving our bones from excessive toil and change of climate. We have nohorses; the infantry are barefoot. Let us go then to Zbaraj; there wewill recruit and rest. Perhaps too some soldiers will join us, and wewill move into the fire with new forces."

  "When do you wish to start?" asked old Zatsvilikhovski.

  "Without delay, old soldier, without delay!" Here the prince turned tothe voevoda: "And where do you wish to go?"

  "To Gliniani, for I hear that forces are collecting there."

  "Then we will conduct you to a safe place, so that no harm may happento you."

  The voevoda said nothing, for he felt rather ill at ease. He wasleaving, and the prince still showed care for him and intended toconduct him. Was there irony in the
words of the prince? The voevodadid not know. Still the voevoda did not abandon his design; for thecolonels of the prince looked on him more inimically every moment, andit was clear that in any other less disciplined army there would havebeen an outbreak against him.

  He bowed and went out; and the colonels went, each to his own regimentto make ready for the march. Skshetuski alone remained with the prince.

  "What kind of soldiers are in those regiments?" asked the prince.

  "So good that you cannot find better. Dragoons drilled in Germanfashion, and with infantry of the guard, veterans of the Thirty Years'War. When I saw them I thought they were Roman legionaries."

  "Many of them?"

  "Two regiments with the dragoons,--just three thousand men."

  "Oh, it is a pity, it is a pity! Great things might be done with theirassistance."

  Suffering was already depicted on the face of the prince. After a whilehe said as if to himself,--

  "It is unfortunate that such commanders were chosen in times of defeat!Ostrorog would be the right man if war could be put down with eloquenceand Latin; Konyetspolski is my brother-in-law and a warrior by nature;but he is young, without experience. Zaslavski is worst of all. I knowhim of old. He is a man of small heart and narrow mind. His business isto slumber over the cup, not to manage an army. I do not speak of thisin public, lest it might be thought that malice moves me, but I foreseeterrible disaster, especially now, at this time, when such people havethe helm in their hands! Oh, God, God, remove this cup from me! Whatwill happen to this country? When I think of it I would prefer death,for I am greatly wearied, and I tell you that I shall not last long. Myspirit is rushing to the war, but my body lacks strength."

  "You should care more for your health, in which the whole country isdeeply concerned, and which is already greatly injured by toil."

  "The country thinks differently, it is evident, when it avoids me anddrags the sabre out of my hand."

  "God grant when Prince Karl changes his cap for a crown, he will seewhom to elevate and whom to punish; but you are powerful enough to carefor no one at present."

  "I will go my own way."

  The prince did not notice perhaps that, like the other "kinglets," hewas carrying on a policy of his own; but if he had noticed it, he wouldnot have abandoned it, for he felt clearly that that was the only onethat could save the honor of the Commonwealth.

  Again followed a moment of silence, soon broken by the neighing ofhorses and the sound of trumpets. The regiments were mustering for themarch. These sounds roused the prince from meditation. He shook hishead as if wishing to shake off suffering and evil thoughts; then hesaid,--

  "You had a quiet journey?"

  "I met, in the forest, a large body of peasants, a couple of hundredmen whom I destroyed."

  "Well done! And you took prisoners, for that is an important thingnow?"

  "I did, but--"

  "But you have commanded them to be executed already? Is that true?"

  "No, I set them free."

  Yeremi looked with wonderment at Skshetuski; then his brows contractedsuddenly. "What was that for? Do you too belong to the peace party?"

  "Your Highness, I brought an informant; for among the peasants was adisguised noble who remained alive. I freed the others, for God showedmercy to me and comfort. I will bear the punishment. That noble was PanZagloba, who brought me tidings of the princess."

  The prince approached Pan Yan quickly. "She is alive and well?"

  "Praise be to God on high, she is."

  "And where is she?"

  "In Bar."

  "That is a strong fortress, my boy!" Here the prince raised his hands,and taking Skshetuski's head, kissed him a number of times on theforehead. "I rejoice in your gladness, for I love you as a son."

  Pan Yan kissed the prince's hand with emotion, and though for many aday he would have willingly shed his blood for him, he felt again thatat his command he would spring into rolling flames. To such a degreedid that terrible and cruel Yeremi know how to win the hearts of theknights.

  "Well, I do not wonder that you let those men go free. You will gounpunished. But he's a sharp fellow, that noble! Then he took her fromthe Trans-Dnieper to Bar, praise be to God! In these grievous timesthis is a real delight to me also. He must be a fox of no common kind.But let's have a look at this Zagloba."

  Skshetuski moved quickly toward the door; but at that moment it wasopened suddenly, and there appeared in it the flaming head of Vershul,who had been on a distant expedition with the Tartars of the guard.

  "Your Highness," cried he, panting, "Krivonos has taken Polonnoe, cutdown ten thousand people, among them women and children."

  The colonels began to assemble again, and crowd around Vershul. Thevoevoda of Kieff hurried up also. The prince was astonished, for he hadnot expected such news.

  "But Russians were shut up in there! It cannot be!"

  "Not a living soul escaped."

  "Do you hear?" said the prince, turning to the voevoda. "Negotiate withan enemy like that, who does not spare even his own!"

  The voevoda snorted and said: "Oh, the curs! If that is the case, thenmay the devils take it all! I will go with you."

  "Then you are a brother to me," said the prince.

  "Long live the voevoda of Kieff!" said Zatsvilikhovski.

  "Success to concord!"

  The prince turned again to Vershul. "Where did they go after Polonnoe?Unknown?"

  "To Konstantinoff, probably."

  "Oh, God save us! Then the regiments of Osinski and Koritski are lost,for they cannot escape with infantry. We must forget our wrongs andhurry to their aid. To horse! to horse!"

  The face of the prince brightened with joy, and a glow enlivened hisemaciated cheeks, for the path of glory was open before him again.