of the Ssiecha, and part of the arms taken from their enemies; they
were kept in inaccessible hiding-places, in the reeds along the banks
of the river. All the other Cossacks rushed to the boats to inspect
them, and to put them in readiness for use. In a minute the banks
of the river were covered with people; carpenters came with axes in
their hands; young Zaporoghians as well as elderly ones; the latter,
sunburnt, broad-shouldered, thick-footed, with gray hair in their
mustachios, stood knee deep in the water, and dragged the boats into
the river by means of strong cords. Others were bringing timber and
balks ready dried. Here some were nailing planks on a boat; there a
boat, keel upwards, was being caulked and pitched; in another place,
according to the Cossack custom, long bundles of reeds were bound to
the sides of the boats, to prevent them from being capsized by the sea
waves; and still farther all along the river fires were kindled and
tar boiled in copper kettles for tarring the boats. The experienced
and elderly Cossacks gave their advice to the young ones. Noise and
clamours arose from every side. The banks of the river were all alive
with the stir and bustle.
At this moment a great ferry-boat came near the island. The men who
were standing in it had already, at a distance, begun to wave their
arms. They were Cossacks and dressed in coats falling to rags. The
miserable dress which they wore (some of them had nothing about them
but their shirt and a short pipe in their mouth) showed at once that
they had recently escaped from misfortune, or that they had been
feasting until they had spent all that they had about their persons.
From among them came forward, a short, thickset, broad-shouldered
Cossack, some fifty years old. He shrieked louder than any, and waved
his arms in the most discordant manner. But the cries and the talking
of the workmen prevented him from being heard.
"What brings you here?" asked the Koschevoï, while the ferry-boat was
landing. All the workmen, stopping in their work with raised axes and
other instruments, looked on in expectation.
"Misfortune!" shouted the thickset Cossack from the ferry-boat.
"What misfortune?"
"Gentlemen Zaporoghians, let me address you?"
"Speak on!"
"Or, may be, you wish to convoke a _rada_?"
"Speak, we are all here!" cried the people with one accord.
"Have you, then, heard nothing about what has happened in the hetman's
dominions?"[20]
"And what is the matter there?" asked the ataman of one of the koorens.
"What is the matter! It seems the Tartars must have well boxed your
ears that you heard nothing!"
"Tell, then, what _did_ happen there!"
"Such things have happened that, since you were born and christened,
you never saw the like of them!"
"Speak, then, at once; and say what has happened, thou son of a dog!"
cried one among the crowd, losing patience.
"Such times are come that even the holy churches are no longer ours!"
"How so?"
"Jews are made landlords thereof.[21] If one does not pay the toll to
the Jew no mass can be performed."
"What nonsense art thou saying?"
"And if the cursed Jew does not put, with his damned finger, a mark
upon the holy passover, the passover cannot be consecrated!"
"He lies, gentlemen brothers! This cannot be, that an unclean Jew
should put a sign upon the holy passover!"
"Listen, only! I have more to tell you. The Latin priests now drive
over all Ukraine in chariots. But the evil is not in their driving in
chariots: the evil is in the chariots being no longer drawn by horses
but by orthodox Christians. Hear me! I have more to tell you:--They say
that Jewesses are now making themselves petticoats out of our priests'
vestments. These are the things that happen in Ukraine, gentlemen! And
you are here resting and carousing in your Ssiecha! Truly, it seems the
Tartars have put you into such a fright, that you have no eyes left to
see, no ears to hear what passes in the world!"
"Stop! Stop!" interfered the Koschevoï, who had remained standing with
his eyes fixed upon the ground, as well as all the Zaporoghians, who in
important business never obeyed the first impulse, but kept silent, and
in their silence gathered the stern force of indignation. "Stop! let me
say _my_ word, too! And what did you do? you--may your father be beaten
by the devil! Had you no sabres, then? Had you none? How did you let
such profanations happen?"
"How did we let such profanations happen? I should like to have seen
you try to stop them when there were fifty thousand Poles, and--there
is no use to conceal it--when there were some among us, the cursed
dogs, who went over to the Polish faith, too!"
"And your hetman and your colonels? what did they do?"
"Our colonels did such doings, that God forbid any one else should do
the same!"
"How so?"
"Why, so that the hetman now lies roasted in a copper ox at Warsaw,
and the arms and heads of our colonels are carried to the fairs to be
shown to the people.[22] Such were the doings of our colonels!"
A shudder of horror ran through the whole crowd. A moment's silence
reigned among it, like that which immediately precedes a terrible
storm, then all at once a murmur arose and every one gave vent to his
indignation.
"Jews renting Christian churches! Popish priests to be driving about on
orthodox Christians! Such torments to be suffered on Russian soil from
accursed Papists! So to treat the hetman and the colonels! This must
not be--this shall not be!" Speeches of this kind were heard on all
sides.
The Zaporoghians went on shouting and felt their strength. It was no
longer the hum of a giddy people; strong and heavy characters were now
aroused, who, if they were long before turning red-hot, yet, when once
red-hot, kept their internal heat a long time.
"Let us hang all the Jews!" cried a voice from the crowd; "let them not
make petticoats for their Jewesses out of our priests' robes! Let them
not put signs on holy passovers! We will drown all the accursed race in
the Dnieper."
These words, uttered by some one from the crowd, flew like lightning
from one to another and the people rushed to the suburb with the
intention of putting all the Jews to death. The poor sons of Israel,
losing the last remains of their almost always diminutive spirit,
hid themselves in empty brandy casks, in ovens, and even crept under
the petticoats of their Jewesses. But the Cossacks found them out
everywhere.
"Most illustrious gentlemen!" shouted a Jew, as tall and as long as a
hop-pole, thrusting forth his miserable face, all contorted by fright,
from amidst a group of his comrades, "most illustrious gentlemen! let
us tell you only one word! We will tell you such a thing as you never
heard of before! Such an important thing, that words cannot say how
important it is!"
"Let them say it!" said Boolba, who always liked to give a hearing to
the accused party.
"Most serene gentlemen!" said the Jew; "such gentlemen nobody ever saw
before, by Heavens! never! Such good, such kind, such brave gentlemen
never were before in the world!" His voice was choked and trembling
with fear. "How could it be that we should ever have thought anything
bad about the Zaporoghians! Those that are renting churches in Ukraine
are not our people at all! by Heavens, they are not ours! They are
no Jews! The devil knows what they are! They are people worthy to be
spit at, and nothing more. Here are witnesses for me. Say I not true,
Shlema? or thou, Shmool?"
"By Heavens, so it is!" answered Shlema and Shmool, both in ragged
caps,[23] and both pale as chalk from fright.
"We have never yet been on the side of your enemies," continued the
tall Jew; "and as for the Papists, we do not even wish to know them;
may the devil haunt their sleep! We are for the Zaporoghians, like
bosom-brothers!"
"You, the brother of the Zaporoghians!" said one from the crowd. "That
will never be, cursed Jews! Gentlemen, into the Dnieper with them all!
Let us drown every one of the accursed race."
"These words were the signal for seizing the Jews and throwing them
into the river. Pitiful shrieks resounded on every side; but the stern
Zaporoghians only laughed as they saw the Jews' slippered feet beating
the air. The poor orator, who had called down this storm upon his own
head, jumped out of his coat, which some one had already laid hold of,
and left in a dirty tight waistcoat, grasped the feet of Boolba, and
in a whining voice entreated him: 'Mighty lord! Most illustrious lord!
I knew your brother, the late lamented Dorosh! He was a warrior who
was an ornament to all chivalry! It was I who gave him eight hundred
sequins, when he stood in need of his ransom from the Turks.'"
"Didst thou know my brother?" asked Tarass.
"By Heavens, I knew him! a generous lord was he!"
"What is thy name?"
"Yankel."
"Very well," said Tarass; then, after thinking for a while, he turned
towards the Cossacks and said, "If we want to do it, we shall always
find time to hang the Jew; but, for the present let me have him." After
which Tarass took him to his chariots, which were guarded by his own
Cossacks, "Crawl under that waggon, lie there and do not move, and
you, my lads, keep watch over the Jew."
Having said this, he repaired to the square where the crowd had been
for some time assembling. They had all with one accord left off mending
the boats, as the campaign now impending was to be led over land; and,
instead of boats, chariots and steeds were now required. Now all, both
young and old, were to take the field, and by a decision of the elders,
of the atamans of all the koorens, and of the Koschevoï, as well as by
the common assent of all the Zaporoghian Ssiecha, it was resolved to
push straight into Poland, and to avenge the sufferings and humiliation
of the Cossack's religion and glory; to pillage every town, set fire
to every hamlet and every corn-field, and make the Cossack name once
more renowned over all the steppes. Every one donned his war dress
and armour. The Koschevoï seemed suddenly to have grown to double
his former size; he was no longer the flattering accomplisher of the
giddy wishes of a free people; he was now the commander with unlimited
authority; he was a despot who knew but to command. All the knights,
lately so self-willed and idle, now stood arrayed in ranks, with their
heads respectfully bent, not daring so much as to lift their eyes while
he was giving his orders without any noise or haste, but slowly and
composedly as an old and experienced master of his art, who had more
than once accomplished feats cleverly devised.
"Look, look well about you!" Thus he spoke. "Put to rights the waggons
and the tar-pail for pitching the wheels. Try your arms. Don't take
much clothing: a shirt and two pairs of trowsers for each Cossack, a
pot of dried oatmeal, another of pounded millet--more than this no one
must have. There will be plenty of provisions in the baggage waggons.
Every Cossack must have a couple of horses. Then we must take some
two hundred bullocks; because bullocks will be required for passing
fords and marshy places. And above all, gentlemen, keep order. I know
there are some of you who, directly any booty falls into their hands,
are quite ready to seize every rag of nankeen, just as well as costly
stuffs, were it but to wrap up their feet.[24] Leave off such devilish
habits; throw away all the petticoats, and keep nothing but arms (if
good ones come in your way) and gold and silver coins, because these
are easy to carry and may be wanted when the time comes. And now,
gentlemen, I tell you beforehand if any one is found to be tipsy during
the march, no trial will be allowed him: I will have him dragged to the
waggons, and--whoever he may be, were he the bravest of the brave--he
shall be shot on the spot and thrown without interment to the birds of
prey--for a drunkard on march is not worthy of Christian burial. Young
men! obey in everything the older ones. If any one is touched by a
bullet, or gets a sabre wound in the head or anywhere else, don't pay
too much attention to such trifles; mix up a charge of powder in a dram
of brandy, swallow it all at once, and all will be over--no fever will
ensue. On a wound, if it be not too large, only put some earth, which
ought to be first kneaded with spittle in the palm of the hand: the
wound will dry at once. Now, to business! my lads; to business, and no
hurry!"
So spoke the Koschevoï; and as soon as he had done all the Cossacks
went to their business. The whole of the Ssiecha had all at once grown
sober, and nowhere could have been found even one tipsy man, as if no
such thing had ever existed among the Cossacks. Some mended the hoops
of the wheels and put new axle-trees to the carts; others brought sacks
of provisions to the waggons; some stowed away the arms; others drove
horses and bullocks. On all sides was heard the trampling of horses,
the experimental firing of guns, the jingling of sabres, the bellowing
of bullocks, the creaking of carts, the talk, the clamours, the shouts
of the drivers. Presently the whole of the Cossack army drew up in line
along the field, and he who attempted to run from its head to its tail
would have had a long run before him.
A priest was saying mass in the small wooden chapel. He sprinkled all
the people with holy water: they all kissed the cross; and, as the army
set in motion, and was leaving the Ssiecha, all the Zaporoghians turned
back their heads and said, almost in the same words, "Farewell, our
mother! may God preserve thee from every impending evil!"
As Tarass Boolba rode through the suburb, he saw that his Jew, Yankel,
had already set up a tent and was selling flints, turnscrews, powder,
and various other requisites of war likely to be needed on the
way--even rolls and loaves.
"What a devil of a Jew!" thought Tarass, and riding up to him said,
"Fool! why art thou sitting here? dost thou wish to be shot like a
sparrow?"
Yankel, instead of answering, drew nearer to him and making a gesture
with both his hands, as if he were about to disclose some mystery,
said, "Let my lord only hold his peace and not tell it to any one.
Among the Cossack waggons there is one which is mine. I bring every
requisite provision for the Cossacks, and during the march I will sell
everything at such reduced prices that no Jew has ever sold at such
before! By Heavens, I will! by Heavens!"
Tarass Boolba shrugged his shoulders, astonished at the Jewish nature,
and rode away to the army.
V.
In a short time the whole of the south-east of Poland became a
prey to terror. Everywhere the news had spread, "The Zaporoghians!
the Zaporoghians are coming!" All those who could save themselves
by flight, used to run away in those times, so disordered, so
astonishingly careless, when no fortresses, no castles were built, but
when men set up some temporary thatched dwelling, thinking it useless
to lose either money or labour on what was doomed to be destroyed in
the next Tartar invasion! The alarm was general: one changed his oxen
and his plough for a horse and a gun, and repaired to the regiments;
another hid himself, driving away his cattle and carrying off
everything possible. Now and then were to be found some who encountered
the strangers with armed hands, but always with a bad result; the
greater part hurriedly took flight. Every one knew how hard it was
to contend with the Zaporoghians, warriors hardened in warfare, and
who, even in their self-willed licence, kept a pre-concerted order in
battle. The mounted Cossacks rode without encumbering or over-exerting
the horses; the infantry steadily followed the waggons, and the whole
army moved only during the night, taking rest by day in open places,
uninhabited tracts and forests, of which there were then plenty.
Spies were sent in advance to gather information and to reconnoitre.
And oftentimes the Zaporoghians appeared where they were the least
expected; then the only thing was to bid farewell to life; the hamlets
became the prey of flames; the cattle and horses, which could not be
carried off by the Cossacks, were slaughtered on the spot. They seemed
rather to be carousing than carrying on a campaign. But the hair
would stand on end at the relation of the terrible feats of cruelty
of those half-savage times which were everywhere accomplished by the
Zaporoghians. Children were put to the sword; women's breasts cut away;
the skin torn from the leg as far as the knee of those who were left
free--such was the terrible payment of the Cossacks for past debts.
The abbot of a monastery, hearing of their approach, sent two monks
to them to say they had no right to act thus, as the Zaporoghians and
Poland were at peace; that they were infringing their duty towards the
king, and at the same time violating the law of nations.
"Tell the reverend father from me and from all the Zaporoghians,"
answered the Koschevoï, "that he has nothing to fear; the Cossacks are
as yet only just lighting their pipes."
And soon after, the majestic abbey was enshrouded in devastating
flames, and its gigantic Gothic windows looked with severe aspect
through the occasionally disunited waves of the conflagration. Crowds
of flying monks, Jews and women, soon found those towns where there
was any hope to find any protection in the number of the garrison and
in the thickness of the walls. At times the government sent help; but
these few detachments, coming too late, either could no longer find
the Cossacks or took fright, turned back at the first encounter and
fled away on their swift horses. It happened, however, that some of
the king's captains, who had been victorious in previous battles,
resolved to unite their strength and put a stop to the progress of the
Zaporoghians. It was on such occasions that our young Cossacks were put
to the trial: they were strangers to pillage, careless about booty, or
about fighting a weak foe; but they were inflamed with the desire of
exhibiting their prowess before their older comrades--of fighting hand
to hand with the brisk and boastful Pole, who came dashing upon his
fiery steed, the flowing sleeves of his cloak flying behind him in the
wind. The school was amusing to them. They had already taken a great
many horse-trappings, costly swords and guns. One month ago they were
but half-fledged nestlings; their nature was now quite changed; they
were grown men; even their features, which till then had the meekness
of youth, now bore a menacing and strongly marked expression.
Old Tarass was delighted to see both his sons always among the
foremost. Ostap seemed to have been born to tread the path of war, and
to accomplish difficult feats of arms. Never losing his presence of
mind--on no occasion alarmed; but with a coolness quite unnatural in
a young man of twenty-two, he understood at the first glance the whole
of the danger and the position of things, and on the spot found the
means of avoiding difficulty, but avoided it only to be the more sure
of surmounting it. His movements were now stamped with the certainty of
experience, and the propensities of the future captain might unerringly
be traced in him. His body breathed forth strength--his knightly
qualities already made him like the mighty lion.
"Oh! that fellow will make in time a good colonel!" said old Tarass;
"by Heavens, he will be a good colonel, and such a one, that he will
excel his father!"
Andrew gave himself up to the bewitching music of bullets and swords.
He understood not what it is to consider, or to calculate, or to
measure the strength on one side and on the other. In battle he saw
but a frantic luxury and delight; he found something festive in
those moments when his brain was on fire--when everything glimmered
confusedly before his eyes--when heads flew about--when horses fell
with a crash on the ground, and he himself went galloping amidst the
whistling of bullets and the clashing of swords, striking on every
side and never feeling the strokes which he received. And old Tarass
more than once was amazed at seeing Andrew, induced only by his own
vehemence, rush on such deeds as no cool-minded and reflective man
would have ever undertaken, and achieve solely by the madness of the
attack, which could not but astonish the oldest warriors. Old Tarass
wondered at Andrew and said, "This one, too, is a good warrior--may the
fiend not take him! Not such a one as Ostap; but still a good--yes, a
very good warrior."
It was decided that the army should push its march straight to the city
of Doobno, where, as the rumour went, there was much money and many
rich inhabitants. The march was accomplished in a day and a half, and
the Zaporoghians appeared under the walls of the town. The citizens
resolved to defend it to the last, and preferred dying in the squares
and in the streets before their houses to letting the foe enter their
city. A high earthen rampart surrounded it; where the rampart was lower
there projected a stone wall, or a house converted into a battery, or
at least a strong wooden palisade. The garrison was strong, and felt
the importance of its duty. The Zaporoghians at first rushed at the
ramparts, but were stopped by murderous volleys of grape-shot. The
burghers and citizens of the town seemed also not to wish to remain
idle, and stood in crowds on the town wall. Their looks expressed the
desperation of resistance. Even women took part in the contest; and
stones, casks, and pots flew down on the Zaporoghians; pitch and sacks
of sand blinded their eyes.
The Zaporoghians did not like fighting against fortresses; sieges were
not their business. The Koschevoï gave orders for a retreat, and said,
"Never mind, gentlemen brothers, let us withdraw; but may I be rather a
cursed Tartar, and not a Christian, if we allow any one to escape from
the town. Let them, the dogs, perish Dy hunger!"
The army after retreating surrounded the town, and, having nothing
to do, began to lay waste the country around; setting fire to the
neighbouring hamlets and corn-ricks; driving herds of horses into the
unreaped corn-fields, where, as if on purpose, stood the full waving
ears, the produce of an abundant crop which this year had brought
to all labourers. The besieged watched with horror the destruction
of their means of subsistence. The Zaporoghians, in the mean time,
drew up their waggons into two files all round the town, and, after
dividing their encampment into koorens, as in the Ssiecha, played at
leap-frog, at pitch and toss, and looked with killing coolness at the
town. Bonfires were lighted at night; the cooks of each kooren boiled
buckwheat in enormous copper kettles; sleepless sentinels stood all
night long by the bonfires.
The Zaporoghians, however, soon began to grow weary of inactivity,
principally from the tediousness of sobriety unconnected with any
exertion. The Koschevoï found it even necessary to double the
proportion of brandy--a practice sometimes used with the Cossacks when
they were not engaged in any difficult enterprise. The young Cossacks,
especially the sons of Tarass Boolba, were displeased with this mode of
life. Andrew evidently was overpowered by its dulness.
"Stupid boy," said Tarass to him, "the Cossack who knows how to wait,
becomes an Ataman.[25] He is not a good warrior who merely does not
lose his presence of mind in danger; but he is a good warrior who
does not become dull even in inactivity, and who, notwithstanding all
impediments, will end by attaining his aim."
But fiery youth is no match to an old man. Both have different
natures, and both look with different eyes at the same thing.