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+Project Gutenberg's In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories, by Mór Jókai
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories
+
+Author: Mór Jókai
+
+Translator: Louis Felbermann
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2010 [EBook #34574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Jókai Mór]
+
+
+
+
+_SPECIAL AUTHORISED EDITION_
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+_AND OTHER STORIES_
+
+BY MAURICE JÓKAI
+
+TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN
+
+_WITH THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL PERMISSION_
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+AUTHOR OF "HUNGARY AND ITS PEOPLE" ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LONDON
+FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
+AND NEW YORK
+
+[_All rights reserved_]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                PAGE
+INTRODUCTION                       9
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA          17
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR               57
+VALDIVIA                         111
+BIZEBAN                          141
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST       151
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATED TO
+HUNGARY'S GREATEST WRITER
+
+MAURICE JÓKAI
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+"From him I took it; to him I give it"
+      EASTERN PROVERB
+
+_London 1894_
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The entire Hungarian nation--king and people--have recently been
+celebrating the jubilee of Hungary's greatest writer, Maurice Jókai,
+whose pen, during half a century of literary activity, has given no less
+than 250 volumes to the world. Admired and beloved by his patriotic
+fellow-countrymen, Jókai has displayed that kind of genius which
+fascinates the learned and unlearned alike, the old and the young. He
+enchants the children of Hungary by his fairy-tales, and as they grow up
+into men and women he implants within them a passion for their native
+land and a knowledge of its splendid history such as only his poetic and
+dramatic pen could engrave upon their memory. His versatility of
+talent--for, besides being the Hungarian poet-laureate, he is a
+novelist, playwright, historian, and orator--enables the Hungarians to
+see in him their Heine, their Byron, their Walter Scott, and their
+Victor Hugo.
+
+Jókai began his career at a period when Hungary aspired to political
+freedom, and his powerful pen, in combination with that of his familiar
+friend, Alexander Petőfi, Hungary's greatest lyric poet, was mainly
+instrumental in rousing the nation to arms. In 1849, when the Hungarian
+nation had sustained a cruel defeat, it was Jókai who cheered the
+flagging spirits of the Magyars, and by the potency and skill of his
+extraordinary pen influenced that reconciliation between Sovereign and
+people which was ultimately accomplished by Hungary's greatest
+statesman, Francis Deák.
+
+The Hungarian language is one of the richest of Turanian tongues, and
+particularly lends itself to the didactic and romantic styles. So far
+back as the beginning of the thirteenth century we find traces of
+Hungarian literature, and, if it had been permitted to develop, Hungary
+might now have possessed a literature second to none in the modern
+world. But in consequence of political struggles the Hungarian language
+and literature had to give way, at times, either to the Latin or German
+races, so much so that as late as 1849 all scientific subjects had to be
+taught either in German or in Latin. It was then that a few patriotic
+Magyars took the matter acutely to heart, and strove to restore the
+language and literature of their country, with the happy result that
+Hungary now, in proportion to its population, comes immediately after
+Germany in the number of its universities, colleges, and scientific
+institutions, where all subjects are taught in the _Hungarian language
+only_.
+
+Maurice Jókai is not only one of those who restored Hungarian
+literature, but is the creator of a particular style of romance, which
+stamps his works as unique, and has caused them to be eagerly read, and
+translated into almost every modern language. It is no wonder,
+therefore, that the Hungarians, who are a cultured race, should delight
+in showing all honour and respect to the veteran author, who has given
+to the world over a hundred splendid works on all subjects, comprising
+250 volumes.
+
+Jókai is descended from a middle-class family, a fact which he is always
+proud to own, and has no ambition to rise in higher spheres of society,
+although the greatest people in the land, including the Empress-Queen
+herself, favour him with their personal friendship.
+
+He is a tall, fine-looking man, and carries himself well. He generally
+dresses in a black-braided costume, which is the favourite national
+Hungarian uniform of those patriots who belong to the forty-eight
+period, which marks such an epoch in the history of Hungary. In his
+younger days his beard was dark and silky, but now he is quite grey. He
+occupies a modest house, and leads a very simple life.
+
+To give the full history of such a great writer as Maurice Jókai, the
+titles of whose works fill nine pages of the British Museum catalogue,
+would be a task of considerable research, and would itself extend to
+volumes. I therefore only propose to touch upon a few of the salient
+points of his career.
+
+Jókai was born on February 19, 1825, at Komárom, which city, by-the-by,
+is known as the "Virgin Fortress of Hungary."
+
+He received his education partly in his native town and at Pozsony, the
+ancient capital of Hungary, Pápa and Kecskemét; and in 1846 he passed an
+examination as an advocate, though he did not follow the profession
+afterwards.
+
+In the same year he took up his abode at Budapest, where in the
+following year he assumed the editorship of a paper called _Életképek_
+(Pictures of Life).
+
+In 1848 he played an important part in the revolution, both in inciting
+the people by his literary writings and as a soldier. In 1849 he married
+Rose Laborfalvi, the famous actress. In the same year he followed the
+National Hungarian Government, which removed its seat to Debreczen, and
+became the editor of the _Esti Lapok_ (Evening News). From that time
+activity characterised his literary and general career.
+
+In the political movements of 1861 he was to the front both as member of
+parliament and as newspaper editor. In 1860 he was elected member of the
+Kisfaludy Society, and in 1861 he became a member of the Hungarian
+Academy of Sciences, of which institute he is now a member of the
+executive committee. He is also the president of the Petőfi Society.
+
+His first novel was "A Hétköznapok" (Days of the Week), which appeared
+in 1846, and since then hardly a year elapsed without the issue of
+several volumes from his pen.
+
+Amongst his novels the most celebrated are:
+
+"Egy Magyar Nábob" (The Hungarian Nabob).
+
+"Kárpáthy Zoltán."
+
+"A Kőszívű Ember Fiai" (The Sons of the Stonehearted Man).
+
+"Szerelem Bolondjai" (Love's Puppet).
+
+"Névtelen Vár" (The Nameless Fortress).
+
+"Erdély Aranykora" (The Golden Period of Transylvania).
+
+"Bálványosvár" (Idol Fortunes).
+
+"Fekete Gyémántok" (Black Diamonds).
+
+"A Jövő Század Regénye" (The Romance of the Future Century).
+
+"Az Új Földesúr" (The New Landlord).
+
+"Nincsen Ördög" (There is no Devil).
+
+"Az Arany Ember" (The Gold Man).
+
+"A Szép Mikhál" (Pretty Michael).
+
+Of his recent novels the most famous is the one published in 1892, in
+which Monk Gregory is the hero.
+
+The short stories that we are presenting in this volume belong to his
+earliest writings.
+
+Jókai's novels--in which his own strong personality everywhere reveals
+itself--are characterised by great imaginative power and by a light,
+humorous style which fascinates the reader. It may be said, without much
+exaggeration, that in point of wit and humour few living writers can
+compare with him. His subjects are principally drawn from history; but
+many of his works are remarkable for their vivid descriptions of
+Hungarian life, both past and present. In one word it might justly be
+said that in reading Jókai's novels one reads the history of Europe, and
+in reading Jókai's history one reads a novel drawn from actual life.
+
+As a poet he occupies a unique position, and stands altogether alone:
+for his lyrics, ballads, and heroic verse are even sung by the
+schoolchildren throughout Hungary. As a dramatist his fame is extensive;
+and his "Könyves Kálmán" (Koloman, King of Hungary, surnamed the Book
+King), "Dózsa György, The Martyr of Szigetvár," "Az Arany Ember" (The
+Golden Man), and "Fekete Gyémántok" (Black Diamonds), have been
+incessantly performed with the greatest success.
+
+As a politician he has made a considerable mark, and no one who has had
+the privilege of hearing him deliver an oration will forget the music
+and sonority of his fine voice. What is less generally known is that he
+is an enthusiastic botanical student and an admirable painter.
+
+These are a few outlines of the life of Hungary's greatest writer, and
+in the interest of literature let it be hoped that his life may be long
+spared, and that his remaining years may be spent in the utmost
+happiness. Such is the fervent wish of all his admirers, who are drawn,
+not only from this country, but from all civilised peoples, nations, and
+languages.
+
+LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+(_Author of "Hungary and its People"_).
+
+
+
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+
+
+In the time of the Czar Peter III. a secret society existed at St.
+Petersburg which bore the title of "The Nameless." Its members used to
+assemble in the house of a Russian nobleman, Jelagin by name, who alone
+knew the personality of each visitor, they being, for the most part,
+unknown to one another. Distinguished men, princes, ladies of the Court,
+officers of the Guard, Cossack soldiers, young commercial men,
+musicians, street-singers, actors and actresses, scientific men,
+clergymen and statesmen, used to meet here. Beauty and talent were alone
+qualifications for entry into the Society, the members of which were
+selected by Jelagin. Everyone addressed the other as "thee" and "thou,"
+and they only made use of Christian names such as Anne, Alexandra,
+Katharine, Olga, Peter, Alexis, and Ivan. And for what purpose did they
+assemble here? To amuse themselves at their ease. Those who, by the
+prejudices of caste and rank, were utterly severed, and who occupied the
+mutual position of master and slave, tore the chains of their barriers
+asunder, and all met here. It is quite possible that he with whom the
+grenadier-private is now playing chess is the very same General who
+might order him a hundred lashes to-morrow, should he take a step on
+parade without his command! And now he contends with him to make a queen
+out of a pawn!
+
+It is also probable that the pretty woman who is singing sportive French
+songs to the accompaniment of the instrument she strikes with her left
+hand, is one of the Court ladies of the Czarina, who, as a rule, throws
+half-roubles out of her carriage to the street-musicians! Perhaps she is
+a Princess? possibly the wife of the Lord Chamberlain? or even higher in
+grade than this? Russian society, both high and low, flower and root,
+met in Jelagin's castle, and while there enjoyed equality in the widest
+sense of the word. Strange phenomenon! That this should take place in
+Russia, where so much is thought of aristocratic rank, official garb,
+and exterior pomp; where an inferior is bound to dismount from his horse
+upon meeting a superior, where sub-officers take off their coats in
+token of salute when they meet those of higher rank, and where generals
+kiss the priests' hands and the highest aristocrats fall on their faces
+before the Czar! Here they sing and dance and joke together, make fun of
+the Government, and tell anecdotes of the High Priests, utterly
+fearless, and dispensing with salutations!
+
+Can this be done for love of novelty? The existence of this secret
+society was repeatedly divulged to the police, and these cannot be
+reproached for not having taken the necessary steps to denounce it; but
+proceedings, once begun, usually evaporated into thin air, and led to no
+results. The investigating officer either never discovered suspicious
+facts, or, if he did, matters were adjourned. Those who were arrested in
+connection with the affair were in some way set at liberty in peace and
+quietness; every document relating to the matter was either burnt or
+vanished, and whole sealed cases of writings were turned into plain
+white paper. When an influential officer took energetically in hand the
+prosecution of "The Nameless," he was generally sent to a foreign
+country on an important mission, from which he did not return for a
+considerable period. "The Nameless Society" must have had very powerful
+protectors. At the conclusion of one of these free and easy
+entertainments, a young Cossack hetman remained behind the crowd of
+departing guests, and when quite alone with the host he said to him:
+
+"Jelagin, did you see the pretty woman with whom I danced the mazurka
+to-night?"
+
+"Yes, I saw her. Are you smitten with her, as others have been?"
+
+"That woman I must make my wife."
+
+Jelagin gave the Cossack a blow on the shoulder and looked into his
+eyes.
+
+"That you will not do! You will not take her as your wife, friend
+Jemeljan."
+
+"I shall marry her--I have resolved to do so."
+
+"You will not marry her, for she will not go to you."
+
+"If she does not come I will carry her off against her will."
+
+"You can't marry her, because she has a husband."
+
+"If she has a husband I will carry her off in company with him!"
+
+"You can't carry her off, for she lives in a palace--she is guarded by
+many soldiers, and accompanied in her carriage by many outriders."
+
+"I will take her away with her palace, her soldiers, and her carriage. I
+swear it by St. Gregory!"
+
+Jelagin laughed mockingly.
+
+"Good Jemeljan, go home and sleep out your love--that pretty woman is
+the Czarina!"
+
+The hetman became pale for a moment, his breath stopped; but the next
+instant, with sparkling eyes, he said to Jelagin:
+
+"In spite of this, what I have said I have said."
+
+Jelagin showed the door to his guest. But, improbable as it may seem,
+Jemeljan was really not intoxicated, unless it were with the eyes of the
+pretty woman.
+
+A few years elapsed. The Society of "The Nameless" was dissolved, or
+changed into one of another form. Katharine had her husband, the Czar,
+killed, and wore the crown herself. Many people said she had him killed,
+others took her part. It was urged that she knew what was going to
+happen, but could not prevent it--that she was compelled to act as she
+did, and to affect, after a great struggle with her generous heart,
+complete ignorance of poison being administered to her husband. It was
+said that she had acted rightly, and that the Czar's fate was a just
+one, for he was a wicked man; and finally, it was asserted that the
+whole statement was untrue, and that no one had killed Czar Peter, who
+died from intense inflammation of the stomach. He drank too much brandy.
+The immortal Voltaire is responsible for this last assertion. Whatever
+may have happened, Czar Peter was buried, and the Czarina Katharine now
+saw that her late husband belonged to those dead who do not sleep
+quietly. They rise--rise from their graves--stretch out their hands from
+their shrouds, and touch with them those who have forgotten them. They
+turn over in their last resting-place, and the whole earth seems to
+tremble under the feet of those who walk above them!
+
+Amongst the numerous contradictory stories told, one, difficult to
+believe, but which the people gladly credited, and which caused much
+bloodshed before it was wiped out of their memory, was this--that Czar
+Peter died neither by his own hand, nor by the hands of others, but that
+he still lived. It was said that a common soldier, with pock-marked face
+resembling the Czar, was shown in his stead to the public on the
+death-couch at St. Petersburg, and that the Czar himself had escaped
+from prison in soldier's clothes, and would return to retake his throne,
+to vanquish his wife, and behead his enemies! Five Czar pretenders rose
+one after the other in the wastes of the Russian domains. One followed
+the other with the motto, "Revenge on the faithless!" The usurpers
+conquered sometimes a northern, sometimes a southern province,
+collected forces, captured towns, drove out all officials, and put new
+ones in their places, so that it was necessary to send forces against
+them. If one was subjugated and driven away into the ice deserts, or
+captured and hung on the next tree, another Czar Peter would rise up in
+his place and cause rebellion, alarming the Court circle whilst they
+were enjoying themselves; and so things went on continually and
+continually. The murdered husband remained unburied, for to-day he might
+be put in the earth and to-morrow he would rise again one hundred miles
+off, and exclaim, "I still live!" He might be killed there, but would
+pop out his head again from the earth, saying, "Still I live." He had a
+hundred lives! When five of these Peter pretenders went the way of the
+real Czar a sixth rose, and this one was the most dreaded and most
+daring of all, whose name will perpetually be inscribed in the
+chronicles of the Russian people as a dreadful example to all who will
+not be taught wisdom, and his name is Jemeljan Pugasceff! He was born as
+an ordinary Cossack in the Don province, and took part in the Prussian
+campaign, at first as a paid soldier of Prussia, later as an adherent of
+the Czar. At the bombardment of Bender he had become a Cossack hetman.
+His extraordinary physical strength, his natural common sense and
+inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace
+which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress. He was sent
+with many discharged officers back to the Don. Let them go again and
+look after their field labours! Pugasceff's head, however, was full of
+other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which
+occupation he had been called ten years before. He hated the Czarina,
+and adored her! He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon
+the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who
+possessed the right to tread upon every Russian's heart! He became
+possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her
+throne, and take her afterwards into his arms. He had his plans prepared
+for this. He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live--they who
+oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the
+persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually
+extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this
+only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not
+upwards, as they do in Moscow!
+
+The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and
+could get a leader. Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these,
+but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was
+carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains. He might thus go on
+dreaming! Pugasceff dreamt one night that he burst the iron chains from
+his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the
+enclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled
+with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited
+plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent stitch
+of clothing! The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains
+of Uralszk--the most dreaded tribe in Russia--living in one of those
+border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with
+whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship. They change locality
+from year to year. One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the
+land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a
+Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks! Fighting is
+pleasanter work in the winter. In the summer everyone lives under the
+sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed! This people belong to the
+Roskolnik sect. Just a little while previously they had amused
+themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg,
+with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed
+to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had
+clearly proved that the Government had nothing to do with their pike!
+Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were
+dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what
+they should further do. One lovely autumn night the escaped convict,
+after a great deal of wandering in the miserable valley of Jeremina
+Kuriza, situated in the wildest part of the Ural Mountains, and in its
+yet more miserable town, Jaiczkoi, knocked at the door of the first
+Cossack habitation he saw and said that he was a refugee. He was
+received with an open heart, and got plenty of kind words and a little
+bread. The house-owner was himself poor; the Kirgizians had driven away
+his sheep. One of his sons, a priest of the Roskolnik persuasion, had
+been carried away from him into a lead-mine; the second had been taken
+to serve as a soldier, and had died; the third was hung because he had
+been involved in a revolt. Old Kocsenikoff remained at home without sons
+or family. Pugasceff listened to the grievances of his host, and said:
+
+"These can be remedied."
+
+"Who can raise for me my dead sons?" said the old man bitterly.
+
+"The one who rose himself in order to kill."
+
+"Who can that be?"
+
+"The Czar."
+
+"The murdered Czar?" asked the old soldier, with astonishment.
+
+"He has been killed six times, and yet he lives. On my way here,
+whenever I met with people, they all asked me, 'Is it true that the Czar
+is not dead yet, and that he has escaped from prison?' I replied to
+them, 'It is true. He has found his way here, and ere long he will make
+his appearance before you.'"
+
+"You say this, but how can the Czar get here?"
+
+"He is already here."
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"I am he!"
+
+"Very well--very well," replied the old Roskolnik. "I understand what
+you want with me. I shall be on the spot if you wish it. All is the
+same to me as long as I have anyone to lead me. But who will believe
+that you are the Czar? Hundreds and hundreds have seen him face to face.
+Everybody knows that the visage of the Czar was dreadfully pockmarked,
+whilst yours is smooth."
+
+"We can remedy that. Has not someone lately died of black-pox in this
+district?"
+
+"Every day this happens. Two days ago my last labourer died."
+
+"Well, I shall lay in his bed, and I shall rise from it like Czar
+Peter."
+
+He did what he said. He lay in the infected bed. Two days later he got
+the black-pox, and six weeks afterwards he rose with the same wan face
+as one had seen on the unfortunate Czar.
+
+Kocsenikoff saw that a man who could play so recklessly with his life
+did not come here to idle away his time. This is a country where out of
+ten men nine have stored away some revenge of their own for a future
+time. Amongst the first ten people to whom Kocsenikoff communicated his
+scheme, he found nine who were ready to assist in the daring
+undertaking, even at the cost of their lives; but the tenth was a
+traitor. He disclosed the desperate plot to Colonel Simonoff, the
+commander of Jaiczkoi, and the commander immediately arrested
+Kocsenikoff; but Pugasceff escaped on the horse which had been sent out
+with the Cossack who came to arrest him, and he even carried off the
+Cossack himself! He jumped into the saddle, patted and spurred the
+horse, and made his way into the forest.
+
+History records for the benefit of future generations the name of the
+Cossack whom Pugasceff carried away with his horse: Csika was the name
+of this timid individual! This happened on September 15. Two days
+afterwards Pugasceff came back from the forest to the outskirts of the
+town Jaiczkoi. Then he had his horse, a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, and
+three hundred brave horsemen. As he approached the town he had trumpets
+blown, and demanded that Colonel Simonoff should surrender and should
+come and kiss the hand of his rightful master, Czar Peter III.! Simonoff
+came with 5000 horsemen and 800 Russian regular troops against the
+rebels, and Pugasceff was in one moment surrounded. At this instant he
+took a loosely sealed letter from his breast and read out his
+proclamation in a ringing voice to the opposing troops, in which he
+appealed to the faithful Cossacks of Peter III. to help him to regain
+his throne and to aid him to drive away usurpers, threatening with death
+those traitors who should oppose his command. On hearing this the
+Cossack troops appeared startled, and the exclamation went from mouth to
+mouth, "The Czar lives! This is the Czar!" The officers tried to quiet
+the soldiers, but in vain. They commenced to fight amongst themselves,
+and the uproar lasted till late at night, with the result that it was
+not Simonoff who captured Pugasceff, but the latter who captured eleven
+of his officers; and when he retreated from the field his three hundred
+men had increased to eight hundred. It was a matter of great difficulty
+to the Colonel to lead back the rest into the town. Pugasceff set up
+his camp outside in the garden of a Russian nobleman, and on his trees
+he hung up the eleven officers. His opponent was so much alarmed that he
+did not dare to attack him, but lay wait for him in the trenches, at the
+mouth of the cannon. Our daring friend was not quite such a lunatic as
+to go and meet him. He required greater success, more decisive battles,
+and more guns. He started against the small towns which the Government
+had built along the Jaik. The Roskolniks received the pseudo-Czar with
+wild enthusiasm. They believed that he had risen from the dead to
+humiliate the power of the Moscow priests, and that he intended to
+adopt, instead of the Court religion, that which had been persecuted. On
+the third day 1500 men accompanied him to battle. The stronghold of
+Ileczka was the first halting-place he made. It is situated about
+seventy versts from Jaiczkoi. He was welcomed with open gates and with
+acclamation, and the guard of the place went over to his side. Here he
+found guns and powder, and with these he was able to continue his
+campaign. Next followed the stronghold of Kazizna. This did not
+surrender of its own accord, but commenced heroically to defend itself,
+and Pugasceff was compelled to bombard it. In the heat of the siege the
+rebel Cossacks shouted out to those in the fort, and they actually
+turned their guns upon their own patrols. All who opposed them were
+strung up, and the Colonel was taken a prisoner to Pugasceff, who showed
+no mercy to anyone who wore his hair long, which was the fashion at the
+time amongst the Russian officers, and for this reason the pseudo-Czar
+hung every officer who fell into his hands. Now, provided with guns, he
+made his way towards the fort of Nisnàja Osfernàja, which he also
+captured after a short attack. Those whom he did not kill joined him.
+Now he led 4000 men, and therefore he could dare attack the stronghold
+of Talitseva, which was defended by two heroes, Bilof and Jelagin. The
+Russian authorities took up a firm position in face of the fanatical
+rebels, and they would have repulsed Pugasceff, if the hay stores in the
+fort had not been burnt down. This fire gave assistance to the rebels.
+Bilof and Jelagin were driven out of the fort-gates, and were forced out
+into the plains, where they were slaughtered. When the pseudo-Czar
+captured the fort of Nisnàja Osfernàja, a marvellously beautiful woman
+came to him in the market-place and threw herself at his feet. "Mercy,
+my master!" The woman was very lovely, and was quite in the power of the
+conqueror. Her tears and excitement made her still more enchanting.
+
+"For whom do you want pardon?"
+
+"For my husband, who is wounded in fighting against you."
+
+"What is the name of your husband?"
+
+"Captain Chalof, who commanded this fort."
+
+A noble-hearted hero no doubt would have set at liberty both husband and
+wife, let them be happy, and love one another. A base man would have
+hung the husband and kept the wife. Pugasceff killed them both! He knew
+very well that there were still many living who remembered that Czar
+Peter III. was not a man who found pleasure in women's love, and he
+remained true to his adopted character even in its worst extremes.
+
+The rebels appeared to have wings. After the capture of Talicseva
+followed that of Csernojecsinszkaja, where the commander took flight on
+the approach of the rebel leader, and entrusted the defence of the fort
+to Captain Nilsajeff, who surrendered without firing a shot. Pugasceff,
+without saying "Thank you," had him hanged. He did not believe in
+officers who went over to the enemy. He only kept the common soldiers,
+and he had their hair cut short, so that in the event of their escaping
+he should know them again! Next morning the last stronghold in the
+country, Precsisztenszka, situated in the vicinity of the capital,
+Orenburg, surrendered to the rebels, and in the evening the mock Czar
+stood before the walls of Orenburg with thirty cannon and a
+well-equipped army! All this happened in fifteen days.
+
+Since the moment when he carried off the Cossack who had been sent to
+capture him, and met Kocsenikoff, he had occupied six forts, entirely
+annihilated a regiment, and created another, with which he now besieged
+the capital of the province.
+
+The towns of the Russian Empire are divided by great distances, and
+before things were decided at St. Petersburg, Marquis Pugasceff might
+almost have occupied half the country. It was Katharine herself who
+nicknamed Pugasceff Marquis, and she laughed very heartily and often in
+the Court circles about her extraordinary husband, who was preparing to
+reconquer his wife, the Czarina. The nuptial bed awaited him--it was the
+scaffold!
+
+On the news of Pugasceff's approach, Reinsburg, the Governor of
+Orenburg, sent, under the command of Colonel Bilof, a portion of his
+troops to attack the rebel. Bilof started on the chase, but he shared
+the fate of many lion-hunters. The pursued animal ate him up, and of his
+entire force not one man returned to Orenburg. Instead of this,
+Pugasceff's forces appeared before its gates.
+
+Reinsburg did not wish to await the bombardment, and he sent his most
+trusted regiment, under the command of Major Naumoff, to attack the
+rebels. The mock-Czar allowed it to approach the slopes of the mountains
+outside Orenburg, and there, with masked guns, he opened such a
+disastrous fire upon them that the Russians were compelled to retire to
+their fort utterly demoralised. Pugasceff then descended into the plains
+and pitched his camp before the town. The two opponents both began with
+the idea of tiring each other out by waiting. Pugasceff was encamped on
+the snow-fields. The plains of Russia are no longer green in October,
+and instead of tents he had huts made of branches of oak. The one force
+was attacked by frost--the other by starvation. Finally starvation
+proved the more powerful. Naumoff sallied from the fort, and turned his
+attention towards occupying those heights whence his forces had been
+fired upon a short time previously. He succeeded in making an onslaught
+with his infantry upon the rebel lines, but Pugasceff, all of a sudden,
+changed his plan of battle, and attacked with his Cossacks the cavalry
+of his opponent, who took to flight. The victory fell from the grasp of
+Naumoff, and he was compelled to fly with his cannon, breaking his way,
+sword in hand, through the lines of the Cossacks. Then Pugasceff
+attacked in his turn. He had forty-eight guns, with which he commenced a
+fierce bombardment of the walls, which continued until November 9th,
+when he ordered his troops to storm the town. The onslaught did not
+succeed, for the Russians bravely defended themselves. Pugasceff,
+therefore, had to make up his mind to starve out his opponents. The
+broad plains and valleys were white with snow, the forests sparkled with
+icicles, as though made of silver, and during the long nights the cold
+reflection of the moon alone brightened the desolate wastes where the
+audacious dream of a daring man kept awake the spirits of his men. The
+dream was this: That he should be the husband of the Czarina of All the
+Russias.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Katharine II. was passionately fond of playing tarok, and she
+particularly liked that variety of the game which was later on named,
+after a celebrated Russian general, "Paskevics," and required four
+players. In addition to the Czarina, Princess Daskoff, Prince Orloff,
+and General Karr sat at her table. The latter was a distinguished
+leader of troops--_in petto_--and as a tarok-player without equal. He
+rose from the table _semper victor_! No one ever saw him pay, and for
+this reason he was a particular favourite with the Czarina. She said if
+she could only once succeed in winning a rouble from Karr she would have
+a ring welded to it and wear it suspended from her neck. It is very
+likely that the mistakes of his opponents aided General Karr's continual
+success. The two noble ladies were too much occupied with Orloff's fine
+eyes to be able to fix their attention wholly upon the game, whilst
+Orloff was so lucky in love that it would have been the greatest
+injustice on earth if he had been equally successful at play. Once,
+whilst shuffling the cards, some one casually remarked that it was a
+scandalous shame that an escaped Cossack like Pugasceff should be in a
+position to conquer a fourth of Russia in Europe, to disgrace the
+Russian troops time after time, to condemn the finest Russian officers
+to a degrading death, and now even to bombard Orenburg like a real
+potentate.
+
+"I know the dandy, I know him very well," said Karr. "During the life of
+His Majesty I used to play cards with him at Oranienbaum. He is a stupid
+youngster. Whenever I called _carreau_, he used to give _cœur_."
+
+"It appears that he plays even worse now," said the Czarina; "now he
+throws _pique_ after _cœur_!"
+
+It was the fashion at this time at the Russian Court to throw in every
+now and then a French word, and _cœur_ in French means heart, and
+_piquer_ means to sting and prick.
+
+"Yes, because our commanders have been inactive. Were I only there!"
+
+"Won't you have the kindness to go there?" asked Orloff mockingly.
+
+"If Her Majesty commands me, I am ready."
+
+"Ah! this tarok-party would suffer a too great loss in you," said
+Katharine, jokingly.
+
+"Well, your Majesty might have hunting-parties at Peterhof," he said,
+consolingly, to the Czarina.
+
+This was a pleasant suggestion to Katharine, for at Peterhof she had
+spent her brightest days, and there she had made the acquaintance of
+Orloff. With a smile full of grace, she nodded to General Karr.
+
+"I don't mind, then; but in two weeks you must be back."
+
+"Ah! what is two weeks?" returned Karr; "if your Majesty commands it, I
+will seat myself this very hour upon a sledge, and in three days and
+nights I shall be in Bugulminszka. On the fourth day I shall arrange my
+cards, and on the fifth I shall send word to this dandy that I am the
+challenger. On the sixth day I shall give '_Volat_'[1] to the rascal,
+and the seventh and eighth days I shall have him as _Pagato ultimo_,[2]
+bound in chains, and bring him to your Majesty's feet!"
+
+[Footnote 1: "_Volat_" is an expression used in tarok to denote that no
+tricks have been made by an opponent.]
+
+[Footnote 2: This is another term in the game, when the player announces
+beforehand that he will make the last trick with the Ace of Trumps.]
+
+The Czarina burst out laughing at the funny technical expressions used
+by the General, and entrusted Orloff to provide the celebrated
+_Pagato_-catching General with every necessity. The matter was taken
+seriously, and Orloff promulgated the imperial _ukase_, according to
+which Karr was entrusted with the control of the South Russian troops,
+and at the same time he announced to him what forces he would have at
+his command. At Bugulminszka was General Freymann with 20,000 infantry,
+2000 cavalry, and thirty-two guns, and he would be reinforced by Colonel
+Csernicseff, the Governor of Szinbirszk, who had at his command 15,000
+horsemen, and twelve guns; while on his way he would meet Colonel
+Naumann with two detachments of the Body Guard. He was in particular to
+attach the latter to him, for they were the very flower of the army.
+Karr left that night. His chief tactics in campaigning consisted in
+speediness, but it seems that he studied this point badly, for his great
+predecessors, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Hannibal, &c.,
+also travelled quickly, but in company with an army, whilst Karr thought
+it quite sufficient if he went alone. He judged it impossible to travel
+faster than he did, sleighing merrily along to Bugulminszka; but it was
+possible. A Cossack horseman who started the same time as he did from
+St. Petersburg, arrived thirty-six hours before him, informed Pugasceff
+of the coming of General Karr, and acquainted him as to the position of
+his troops. Pugasceff despatched about 2000 Cossacks to fall upon the
+rear of the General, and prevent his junction with the Body Guard.
+
+Karr did not consult any one at Bugulminszka. He pushed aside his
+colleague Freymann in order to be left alone to settle the affair. He
+said it was not a question of fighting but of chasing. He must be caught
+alive--this wild animal. Csernicseff was already on the way with 1200
+horsemen and twelve guns, as he had received instructions from Karr to
+cross the river Szakmara and prevent Pugasceff from retreating, while he
+himself should, with the pick of the regiment, attack him in front and
+thus catch him between two fires. Csernicseff thought he had to do with
+clever superiors, and as an ordinary divisional leader he did not dare
+to think his General to be so ignorant as to allow him to be attacked by
+the magnificent force of his opponent, nor did he think that Pugasceff
+would possess such want of tactics as, whilst he saw before him a strong
+force, to turn with all his troops to annihilate a small detachment.
+Both these things happened. Pugasceff quietly allowed his opponents to
+cross over the frozen river. Then he rushed upon them from both sides.
+He had the ice broken in their rear, and thus destroyed the entire
+force, capturing twelve guns. Csernicseff himself, with thirty-five
+officers, was taken prisoner, and Pugasceff had them all hanged on the
+trees along the roadway. Then, drunk with victory, he moved with his
+entire forces against Karr. He, too, was approaching hurriedly, and,
+thirty-six miles from Bugulminszka, the two forces met in a Cossack
+village. General Karr was quite astonished to find, instead of an
+imagined mob, a disciplined army divided into proper detachments, and
+provided with guns. Freymann advised him, as he had sent away the
+trusted squadron of Csernicseff, not to commence operations now with the
+cavalry, to take the village as the basis of his operations, and to use
+his infantry against the rebels. A series of surprises then befell Karr.
+He saw the despised rowdy crowd approaching with drawn sabres, he saw
+the coolness with which they came on in the face of the fiercest
+musketry fire. He saw the headlong desperation with which they rushed
+upon his secure position. He recognised that he had found here heroes,
+instead of thieves. But what annoyed him most was that this rabble knew
+so well how to handle their cannon; for in St. Petersburg, out of
+precaution, Cossacks are not enlisted in the artillery, in order that no
+one should teach them how to serve guns. And here this ignorant people
+handled the guns, stolen but yesterday, as though accustomed to them all
+their lifetime, and their shells had already set fire to villages in
+many different places. The General ordered his entire line to advance
+with a rush, while with the reserve he sharply attacked the enemy in
+flank, totally defeating them. His cavalry started with drawn swords
+towards the fire-spurting space. Amongst the 1500 horsemen there were
+only 300 Cossacks, and in the heat of battle these deserted to the
+enemy. Immediately General Karr saw this, he became so alarmed that he
+set his soldiers the example of flight. All discipline at an end, they
+abandoned their comrades in front, and escaped as best they could.
+
+Pugasceff's Cossacks pursued the Russians for a distance of thirty
+miles, but did not succeed in overtaking the General. Fear lent him
+wings. Arrived at Bugulminszka, he learnt that Csernicseff's horsemen
+had been destroyed, that the Body Guard in his own rear had been taken
+prisoners, and that twenty-one guns had fallen into the hands of the
+rebels. Upon hearing this bad news he was seized with such a bad attack
+of the _grippe_ that they wrapped him up in pillows and sent him home by
+sledge to St. Petersburg, where the four-handed card-party awaited him,
+and that very night he had the misfortune to lose his XXI.[3]; upon
+which the Czarina made the _bon mot_ that Karr allowed himself twice to
+lose his XXI. (referring to twenty-one guns), which _bon mot_ caused
+great merriment at the Russian Court.
+
+[Footnote 3: The card next to the highest in tarok.]
+
+After this victory, Pugasceff's star (if a demon may be said to possess
+one) attained its meridian. Perhaps it might have risen yet higher had
+he remained faithful to his gigantic missions, and had he not forgotten
+the two passions which had led him on with such astonishing
+rapidity--the one being to make the Czarina his wife, the other, to
+crush the Russian aristocracy. Which of these two ideas was the boldest?
+He was only separated from their realisation by a transparent film.
+
+After Karr's defeat he had an open road to Moscow, where his appearance
+was awaited by 100,000 serfs burning to shake off the yoke of the
+aristocracy, and form a new Russian empire. Forty million helots awaited
+their liberator in the rebel leader. Then, of a sudden, he cast away
+from him the common sense he had possessed until now--for the sake of a
+pair of beautiful eyes!
+
+After the victory of Bugulminszka a large number of _envoyés_ from the
+leaders of the Baskirs appeared before him, and brought him, together
+with their allegiance, a pretty girl to be his wife.
+
+The name of the maiden was Ulijanka, and she stole the heart of
+Pugasceff from the Czarina. At that time the adventurer believed so
+fully in his star that he did not behave with his usual severity.
+Ulijanka became his favourite, and the adventurous chief appointed
+Salavatké, her father, to be the ruling Prince of Baskirk. Then he
+commenced to surround himself with Counts and Princes. Out of the booty
+of plundered castles he clothed himself in magnificent Court costumes,
+and loaded his companions with decorations taken from the heroic Russian
+officers. He nominated them Generals, Colonels, Counts, and Princes. The
+Cossack, Csika, his first soldier, was appointed _Generalissimus_, and
+to him he entrusted half his army. He also issued roubles with his
+portrait under the name of Czar Peter III., and sent out a circular note
+with the words, "_Redevivus et ultor_." As he had no silver mines, he
+struck the roubles out of copper, of which there was plenty about. This
+good example was also followed by the Russians, who issued roubles to
+the amount of millions and millions, and made payments with them
+generously. Pugasceff now turned the romance of the insurrection into
+the parody of a reign. Instead of advancing against the unprotected
+cities of the Russian Empire, he attacked the defended strongholds, and,
+in the place of pursuing the fairy picture of his dreams which had led
+him thus far, he laid himself down in the mud by the side of a common
+woman!
+
+Generalissimus Csika was instructed to occupy the fort Ufa, with the
+troops who were entrusted to his care. The time was January, 1774, and
+it was so terribly cold that nothing like it had been recorded in
+Russian chronicles. The trees of the forest split with a noise as though
+a battle were proceeding, and the wild fowl fell to the ground along the
+roads.
+
+To carry on a siege under such circumstances was impossible. The
+hardened earth would not permit the digging of trenches, and it was
+impossible to camp on the frozen ground.
+
+The two rebel chiefs occupied the neighbouring towns, and so cut off all
+supplies from the neighbouring forests. In Orenburg they had already
+eaten up the horses belonging to the garrison, and a certain Kicskoff,
+the commissary, invented the idea of boiling the skins of the
+slaughtered animals, cutting them into small slices and mixing them with
+paste, which food was distributed amongst the soldiers, and gave rise to
+the breaking out of a scorbutic disease in the fort which rendered half
+the garrison incapable of work. On January the 13th, Colonel
+Vallenstierna tried to break his way through the rebel lines with 2500
+men, but he returned with hardly seventy. The remainder, about 2000 men,
+remained on the field. At any rate, they no longer asked for food! A few
+hundred hussars, however, cut their way through and carried to St.
+Petersburg the news of what Czar Peter III. (who had now risen for the
+seventh time from his grave) was doing! The Czarina commenced to get
+tired of her adorer's conquests, so she called together her faithful
+generals, and asked which of them thought it possible to undertake a
+campaign in the depth of the Russian winter into the interior of the
+Russian snow deserts. This did not mean playing at war, nor a triumphal
+procession. It meant a battle with a furious people who, in forty years'
+time, would trample upon the most powerful European troops. There were
+four who replied that in Russia everything was possible which ought to
+be done. The names of these four gentlemen were: Prince Galiczin,
+General Bibikoff, Colonel Larionoff, and Michelson, a Swedish officer.
+Their number, however, was soon reduced to two at the very commencement.
+Larionoff returned home after the first battle of Bozal, where the
+rebels proved victorious, whilst Bibikoff died from the hardships of the
+winter campaign.
+
+Galiczin and Michelson alone remained. The Swede had already gained fame
+in the Turkish campaign from his swift and daring deeds, and when he
+started from the Fort of Bozal against the rebels his sole troops
+consisted of 400 hussars and 600 infantry, with four guns. With this
+small force he started to the relief of the Fort of Ufa. Quickly as he
+proceeded, Csika's spies were quicker still, and the rebel leader was
+informed of the approach of the small body of the enemy. As he expected
+that they only intended to reinforce the garrison of Ufa, he merely sent
+against them 3000 men, with nine guns, to occupy the mountain passes
+through which they would march on their way to Ufa. But Michelson did
+not go to Ufa as was expected. He seated his men on sledges, and flew
+along the plains to Csika's splendid camp. So unexpected, so daring, so
+little to be credited was this move of his, that when he fell on Csika's
+vanguard at one o'clock one morning nobody opposed him. The alarmed
+rebels hurried headlong to the camp, and left two guns in the hands of
+Michelson. The Swedish hero knew well enough that the 3000 men of the
+enemy who occupied the mountain pass would at once appear in answer to
+the sound of the guns, and that he would thus be caught between two
+fires; so he hastily directed his men to entrench themselves beneath
+their sledges in the road, and left two hundred infantry with two guns
+to defend them, whilst with the remaining troops he made his way towards
+the town of Csernakuka, whither Csika's troops had fled. Michelson saw
+that he had no time to lose. He placed himself at the head of his
+hussars, sounded the charge, and attacked the bulk of his opponents. For
+this they were not prepared. The bold attack caused confusion amongst
+them, and in a few moments the centre of the camp was cut through, and
+the first battery captured. He then immediately turned his attention to
+the two wings of the camp. After this, flight became general, and
+Csika's troops were dispersed like a cloud of mosquitos, leaving behind
+them forty-eight cannon and eight small guns. The victor now returned
+with his small body of troops to the sledges they had left behind, and
+he then entirely surrounded the 3000 rebels. Those who were not
+slaughtered were captured. The victorious hero sent word to the
+commander of the Ufa garrison that the road was clear, and that the
+cannon taken from his opponents should be drawn thither. A hundred and
+twenty versts from Ufa he reached the flying Csika. The Generalissimus
+then had only forty-two officers, whilst his privates had disappeared in
+every direction of the wind. Michelson got hold of them all, and if he
+did not hang them it was only because on the six days' desert march not
+a single tree was to be found. In the meantime, Prince Galiczin, whose
+troops consisted of 6000 men, went in pursuit of Pugasceff. On this
+miserable route he did not encounter the mock Czar until the beginning
+of March. Pugasceff waited for his opponent in the forest of Taticseva.
+This so-called stronghold had only wooden walls, a kind of ancient
+fencing. It was good enough to protect the sheep from the pillaging
+Baskirs, but it was not suitable for war. The genius of the rebel leader
+did not desert him, and he was well able to look after himself. Round
+the fences he dug trenches, where he piled up the snow, on which he
+poured water. This, after being frozen, turned almost into stone, and
+was, at the same time, so slippery that no one could climb over it. Here
+he awaited Galiczin with a portion of his troops, while the remainder
+occupied Orenburg. The Russian general approached the hiding-place of
+the mock Czar cautiously. The thick fog was of service to him, and the
+two opponents only perceived one another when they were standing at
+firing distance. A furious hand-to-hand fight ensued. The best of the
+rebel troops were there. Pugasceff was always in the front and where the
+danger was greatest, but finally the Russians climbed the ice-bulwarks,
+captured his guns, and drove him out of the forest. This victory cost
+the life of 1000 heroic Russians, but it was a complete one! Pugasceff
+abandoned the field with 4000 men and seven guns; but what was a greater
+loss still than his army and his guns, was that of the superstitious
+glamour which had surrounded him until now. The belief in his
+incapability of defeat, that was lost too! The revengeful Czar who had
+but yesterday commenced his campaign, now had to fly to the desert,
+which promised him no refuge. It was only then that the real horrors of
+the campaign commenced. It was a war such as can be imagined in Russia
+only, where in the thousands and thousands of square miles of borderless
+desert scantily distributed hordes wander about, all hating Russian
+supremacy, and all born gun in hand. Pugasceff took refuge amongst these
+people. Once again he turned on Galiczin at Kargozki. He was again
+defeated, and lost his last gun. His sweetheart, Ulijanka, was also
+taken captive--that is, if she did not betray him! From here he escaped
+precipitately with his cavalry across the river Mjaes.
+
+Here Siberia commences, and here Russia has no longer villages, but only
+military settlements which are divided from each other by a day's march,
+across plains and the ancient forests, along the ranges of the Ural
+Mountains--the so-called factories.
+
+The Woszkrezenszki factory, situated one day's walk into the desert, is
+divided by uncut forests from the Szimszki factory, in both of which
+cinnamon and tin paints are made, and here are to be seen the powder
+factory of Usiska and the bomb factory of Szatkin, where the exiled
+Russian convicts work. At the meeting of the rivers are the small towns
+of Stepnàja, Troiczka Uszt, Magitnàja, Petroluskàja, Kojelga, guarded by
+native Cossacks, whilst others are garrisoned by disgraced battalions.
+Hither came Pugasceff with the remnants of his army. Galiczin pursued
+him for some time, but finally came to the conclusion that in this
+uninhabited country, where the solitary road is only indicated by
+snow-covered trenches, he could not, with his regular troops, reach an
+opponent whose tactics were to run away, as far and as fast as possible.
+
+Pugasceff rallied to him all the tribes along the Ural district, who
+deserted their homesteads and followed him.
+
+The winter suddenly disappeared, and those mild, short April days
+commenced which one can only realise in Siberia, when at night the water
+freezes, while in the daytime the melting snow covers the expanse of
+waste, every mountain stream becomes a torrent, and the traveller finds
+in the place of every brook a vast sea. The runaway might still proceed
+by sledge, but the pursuer would only find before him fathomless
+morasses. Only one leader had the courage to pursue Pugasceff even into
+this land--this was Michelson. Just as the Siberian wolf who has tasted
+the blood of the wild boar does not swerve from the track, but pursues
+him even amongst reeds and morasses, so the daring leader chased his
+opponent from plain to plain. He never had more than 1000 men, cavalry,
+artillery, and gunners all told. Every one had to carry provisions for
+two weeks, and 100 cartridges. The cavalry had guns as well as sabres,
+so that they might also fight on foot, and the artillery were supplied
+with axes, so that, if necessary, they might serve as carpenters, and
+all prepared to swim should the necessity arise. With this small force
+Michelson followed Pugasceff amid the horde of insurrectionary tribes,
+surrounded on every side by people upon whose mercy he could not count,
+whose language he did not understand, and whose motto was death. Yet he
+went amongst them in cold blood, as the sailor braves the terrors of the
+ocean. On the 7th of May he was attacked by the father of the pretty
+Ulijanka, near the Szimszki factory, with 2000 Baskirs, who were about
+to join Pugasceff. Michelson dispersed them, captured their guns, and
+discovered from the Baskir captives that Beloborodoff, one of the dukes
+created by Pugasceff, was approaching with a large force of renegade
+Russian soldiers. Michelson caught up with them near the Jeresen stream,
+and drove them into the Szatkin factory. Riding all by himself, so close
+to them that his voice could be heard, he commenced by admonishing them
+to rejoin the standard of the Czarina. He was fired at more than 2000
+times from the windows of the factory, but when they saw that he was
+invulnerable they suddenly threw open the gates and joined his forces.
+From them he discovered the whereabouts of the mock Czar, who had at the
+time once more recovered himself, had captured three strongholds,
+Magitnàja, Stepnàja, and Petroluskàja, and was just then besieging
+Troiczka. This place he took before the arrival of Michelson, who found
+in lieu of a stronghold nothing but ruins, dead bodies, and Russian
+officers hanging from the trees. Pugasceff heard of the approach of his
+opponent, and, with savage cunning, laid a snare to capture the daring
+pursuer. He dressed his soldiers in the uniforms of the dead Russian
+soldiers, and sent messengers to Michelson in the name of Colonel Colon
+that he should join him beyond Varlamora. Michelson only perceived the
+trick when his vanguard was attacked and two of his guns captured.
+
+Although surrounded, he immediately fell upon the flower of Pugasceff's
+guard, and cut his way through just where the enemy was strongest. The
+net was torn asunder. It was not strong enough. Pugasceff fled before
+Michelson, and, with a few hundred followers, escaped into the interior
+of Siberia, near the lake of Arga. All of a sudden Michelson found
+Szalavatka at his rear with Baskir troops who had already captured the
+Szatkin factory, and put to the sword men, women, and children.
+Michelson turned back suddenly, and found the Baskir camp strongly
+intrenched near the river Aj. The enemy had destroyed the bridges over
+the river, and confidently awaited the Imperial troops. At daybreak
+Michelson ordered up forty horsemen and placed a rifleman behind the
+saddle of each, telling them to swim the river and defend themselves
+until the remainder of the troops joined them. His commands were carried
+out to the letter amidst the most furious firing of the enemy, and the
+Russians gained the other side of the river without a bridge, drawing
+with them their cannon bound to trees. The Baskirs were dispersed and
+fled, but whilst Michelson was pursuing them with his cavalry he
+received news that his artillery was attacked by a fresh force, and he
+had to return to their aid. Pugasceff himself, who again was the
+aggressor, stood with a regular army on the plains. The battle lasted
+till late at night in the forest. Finally the rebels retreated, and
+Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the
+Fort of Ufa. He speedily cut his way through the forest, and when
+Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
+him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again
+victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
+clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
+charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
+appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
+the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
+from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
+pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
+Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
+other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
+away before him, and he burnt before their very eyes the town of Birszk.
+With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he acquired
+guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before Kazan,
+which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the seat of
+an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian Czars use
+at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar. If he
+could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it on his
+head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals Brand and
+Banner had but 1500 musketry for the defence of Kazan, but the citizens
+of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from within their
+ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General Potemkin,
+accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The Imperialists had
+as many generals and colonels in their camp as Pugasceff had corporals
+who had deserted their colours, yet the horde led by the rebel stormed
+the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the first to scale the
+wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took refuge in the
+citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni Novgorod did not
+once look back.
+
+Pugasceff captured the town of Kazan, and gave it up to pillage. The
+Archbishop of Kazan received him before the cathedral, bestowed upon him
+gold to the value of half-a-million roubles, and promised that he would
+place the crown on his head immediately he procured it; it being in the
+citadel. Pugasceff set fire to the town in all directions, as he wanted
+to effect the surrender of the citadel garrison by that means. Just at
+this moment Michelson was on his way. The heroic General hardly allowed
+his troops time for rest, but again started in pursuit of Pugasceff. No
+news of him was heard, his footsteps alone could be traced. At Burnova
+he was attacked by a gang of rebels, whom he dispersed, but they were
+not the troops of Pugasceff. At Brajevana he came upon a detachment, but
+this also was not the one he was looking for. He then turned towards the
+Fort of Ossa, where he found a group of Baskir horsemen, whom he
+dispersed, capturing many others, from whom he learnt that Pugasceff had
+crossed the river Kuma; and he knew that he would find the rebel at
+Kazan. He hastened after him, meeting right and left with camps and
+troops belonging to his adventurous opponent. He found no boats on the
+river Kuma, so he swam it. Two other rivers lay in his way, but neither
+of these prevented his progress, and when he arrived at Arksz he heard
+firing in the direction of Kazan. Allowing but one hour's repose to his
+troops, he marched through the night, and at daybreak the thick dark
+smoke on the horizon told him that Kazan was in flames. Pugasceff's
+patrols communicated to their leader that Michelson was again at hand.
+The mock Czar cursed upon hearing the news. Was it a devil who was again
+at his heels, when he believed him 300 miles off? He decided that this
+must not be known to the garrison, who had been forced into the citadel.
+He collected from his troops those whom he could spare, and stationed
+them in the town of Taziczin, seven miles from Kazan, to prevent the
+advance of the dreaded enemy. Just as he was proclaiming himself Czar
+Peter III. in the market-place of Taziczin, a miserable-looking woman
+rushed in, and fell at his feet, embracing him, and covering him with
+kisses. This woman was Pugasceff's wife, who thought her husband lost
+long ago. They had been married very young, and Pugasceff himself
+believed her no longer living, but the poor woman recognised him by his
+voice. Pugasceff did not lose his presence of mind, but, gently lifting
+the woman up, he said to his officers:--"Look after this woman; her
+husband was a great friend of mine and I owe him much." But every one
+knew that the sham-Czar was no other than the husband of Marianka, and
+no doubt the appearance of the peasant woman told on the spirits of the
+insurgent troops. The most bitter and decisive battle of the
+insurrection awaited them. The night divided the two armies, and it was
+only in the morning that Michelson could force his way into the town,
+whence he sent word to the people of Kazan to come to his assistance.
+Pugasceff again attacked him with embittered fury, and as he could not
+dislodge him he withdrew the remainder of his troops from Kazan and
+encamped on the plain. The third day of the battle, fortune turned to
+the side of Pugasceff. They fought for four hours, and Michelson was
+already surrounded, when the hero put himself at the head of his small
+army and made a desperate rush upon Pugasceff.
+
+The insurrectionary forces were broken asunder. They left 3000 men on
+the battlefield, and 5000 captives fell into the hands of the victors.
+
+Kazan was free, but the Russian empire was not so yet.
+
+Pugasceff, trodden a hundred times to the ground, rose once more. After
+his defeat at Kazan, he fled, not towards the interior of Siberia, but
+straight towards the heart of the Russian empire--towards Moscow. Out of
+his army which was split asunder at Kazan he formed 100 battalions, and
+with a small number of these, crossed the Volga. Immediately he appeared
+on the opposite banks of the river, the entire province was enkindled:
+the peasantry rose in revolt against the aristocracy. Within a district
+of 100 miles every castle was destroyed, and one town after the other
+opened its gates to the mock Czar. The further he advanced the more his
+army increased and the faster his insurrectionary red flag travelled
+towards the gates of Moscow. On their way the rebels occupied forts,
+pillaged and destroyed the towns, and the troops which were sent against
+them were captured. Before the Fort of Zariczin an Imperial force
+challenged their advance. In the ensuing battle, every Russian officer
+fell, and the entire force was captured. Again Pugasceff had 25,000 men
+and a large number of guns, and his road would have been clear to Moscow
+if the ubiquitous Michelson had not been at his back! This wonderful
+hero did not dread his opponents, however numerous, and like the panther
+which drives before him the herd of buffaloes, so he drove with his
+small body Pugasceff's tremendous army. The rebel felt that this man had
+a magic power over him, and that he was in league with fate. Finally, he
+found a convenient place outside Sarepta, and here he awaited his
+opponent. It is a height which a steep mountain footpath divides, and
+this path is intersected by another. Pugasceff placed a portion of his
+best troops on the ascending path, whilst to the riff-raff he entrusted
+his two wings. If Michelson had caught the bull by the horns with his
+ordinary tactics, he ought to have cut through the little footpath
+leading to the steep road, and if he had succeeded then, the troops
+which were at the point of intersection would have fallen between two
+fires, from which they could not have escaped. But Michelson changed his
+system of attack. Whilst the bombardment was going on, he, together with
+Colonel Melin, rushed upon the wings of the opposing forces. Pugasceff
+saw himself fall into the pit he had dug for others. The rebel army,
+terror-struck, rushed towards his camp. The forces that flew to his
+rescue fell at the mouth of his guns, and he had to cut his way through
+his own troops in order to escape from the trap. This was his last
+battle! He escaped with sixty men, crossed the Volga, and hid amongst
+the bushes of an uninhabited plain.
+
+The Russian troops surrounded the plain, whence Pugasceff and his men
+could not escape. And yet he still dreamt of future glory! Amidst the
+great desert his old ambition came back to him--he pictured the golden
+dome of the Kremlin, and the conquered Czarina. And with these dreams he
+suffered the tortures of hunger. For days and days he had no nourishment
+but horse-flesh roasted on the reeds, which was made palatable by
+meadow-grass in place of salt. One night, as he was sitting over the
+fire and roasting his meagre dinner on a wooden spit, one of the three
+Cossacks who formed his body-guard said to him, "You have played your
+comedy long enough, Pugasceff!" The adventurer sprang up from his place.
+
+"Slave, I am your Czar!" and whilst saying this he slew the speaker. The
+two others made a rush at him, struck him to the ground, bound him, tied
+him to a horse, and thus took him to Ural Sorodok and delivered him to
+General Szuvarof. It was the very same Ural Sorodok whence he had
+started upon his bold undertaking. From here he was taken to Moscow. The
+sentence passed upon him was that he should be cut up alive into small
+pieces. The Czarina confirmed the sentence, though her beautiful eyes
+had had great share of responsibility for the sinner's fate. The hangman
+was more merciful. It was not specified in the sentence where he should
+commence the work of slaughter, so he began at once with the head, and
+for this oversight he was sent to Siberia! Katharine about this time
+changed her favourite. Instead of Orloff, Potemkin, a fine fellow, was
+chosen.
+
+
+
+
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+All around, as far as eye could range, not a palm, nor a plant, nor a
+blade of grass was to be seen. From one end of the horizon to the other,
+nothing on which the rising sun could cast a shadow! There was only a
+small hillock in the centre of this desert, and against this a man was
+resting, spreading out his hands upon the square stone which stood upon
+it. He had either just risen from sleep or from the recital of prayer,
+and, kneeling, he greeted the rising sun. His dress was similar to that
+of an Eastern mendicant, for he was covered with a long woollen cloak,
+and one could see through his wide-hanging sleeves the wounds on his
+arms which had been scorched by the sun. He was short, and lame with a
+crippled foot, and, although his hair and beard were already white, his
+face, which was ruddy and youthful, belied his age, for on his forehead
+no wrinkles were to be seen, and his eyes were bright and sparkling. The
+expression of his face was as grave and gentle as that of a philosopher
+or a pilgrim.
+
+To the eastern horizon of the desert, along the stony plain of Szivasz,
+a red pyramid arrested the sun's rays, and appeared through the morning
+mists like a red shadow, whilst westward, a long black streak of cloud
+seemed to hover, which the morning breeze was powerless to agitate and
+the light of dawn could not kindle into colour. Throughout the whole
+extent of the plains not a human voice was to be heard, but in the
+melancholy quietude some continuous and dismal sounds attracted the ear,
+proceeding apparently from the interior of the earth. Far and wide as
+the waste extended were these heartrending and distressing noises to be
+heard. It seemed as though the earth were sobbing, or as though one
+could recognise the sighs and groans ascending from lost souls in
+purgatory, numbed into faint echoes in their transit from the depths
+below. Or even as though the air were filled with the loud screams of
+evil spirits, coming and going one knew not whence or whither. On the
+face of the lonely wanderer no expression of fear was visible. He did
+not shrink shudderingly from the phantom of the plain, nor from the
+desolate picture spread before him. If he could pass the night alone
+amidst these ghostly surroundings, was it likely that he would be afraid
+in the sunlight?
+
+He knelt once again upon the hillock, touching the stone with his
+forehead, speaking in low murmurs as though into the sand:
+
+"Oh! Wisdom beyond all wisdoms! grant to me to acquire thy knowledge
+that I may wander throughout the world, and accomplish what Thou hast
+left unfinished."
+
+Whilst saying this he rose, and, with dignified mien, gazed around the
+expanse of plain. These plains were the blessed soil of Irán. But
+yesterday it was the fourth paradise of Asia, while to-day it is a
+desert.
+
+The little hillock was the sepulchre of Abu Mozlim who killed half a
+million of people in his fierce and continuous fights.
+
+The philosopher, wanderer, and mendicant who rested upon it was Timur
+(the man of the iron sword), nicknamed also Timur Lenk (the lame), who
+in the language of flatterers was called Gurgan (the high and mighty
+lord), Szabil Kirán (the master of all time), or Djeihangir (the
+conqueror of the world)--one of the greatest of all conquerors. On his
+head rested the crowns of twenty-seven countries, and from the Indus to
+the Volga twenty-seven nationalities groaned under his yoke.
+
+It was he himself, the dreaded Tamerlan. The red pyramid to the east was
+a pyramid of skulls, which had been piled up from the heads of 90,000
+soldiers captured during the war, whilst the immovable cloud towards the
+west was the smoke rising from Szivasz, which only two days ago was
+inhabited by 100,000 people and to-day held as many graves!
+
+The hollow murmuring from the centre of the earth was caused by the
+cries of 4000 Armenians, whom the victorious conqueror had caused to be
+buried alive in one vast timber-lined grave, so that their screams could
+be heard for some time. It was their moans which came from beneath the
+earth, whilst the cripple rested on his club, made from the horn of the
+buffalo, and gazed with a satisfied air around the desert wastes which,
+yesterday a paradise, had been battered down by his horses' hoofs into a
+dismal plain. What he saw and heard was delight to his heart. The air of
+the desert mourned, and the earth moaned in concert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Timur's camp was always full of learned men, poets, and lute singers.
+When he devastated a country or uprooted a town, there was never a
+living soul left behind his track--not the sound of a child's cry, the
+bark of a dog, or the crow of a cock--everything was destroyed!
+
+But he spared learned men and poets. On the day of destruction his camp
+was a place of refuge to them, and they were guarded by his soldiers in
+order that no evil might befall them; and when he moved onwards he
+carried with him not only the treasures of the dead--silver, gold, and
+jewels, but also those of the living--art and science. His camp was
+swarming with astronomers, magicians, singers, poets, painters,
+gymnasts, engineers, doctors, conjurers, monkey-trainers, and such like.
+Timur caused them to be elegantly dressed and well fed, and paid them
+handsomely. He carried them about everywhere with him, in order that
+they might amuse all but himself. Why should he trouble his head with
+astronomy when he knew no star so sparkling as himself? Why should he
+learn history, when he was the one to make it; or listen to verses which
+were sung in praise of love, when he distributed captive maidens to his
+soldiers as a portion of their pay? If he had scientific men in his camp
+it was in order that they should exert their power over his people. Let
+them hear the poet's stories, and the recital of heroic deeds, and let
+the chroniclers write on their parchment what he dictated. Let comedians
+amuse the crowd, so long as it was acknowledged that all the amusement
+was owing to him.
+
+It was 830 in the Hedjir year, and the countries of two great conquerors
+adjoined one another. One was Timur, another was Bajazet, whose surname
+was Djildirim (the lightning). This latter name is also inscribed in
+letters of blood in the chronicles of other unfortunate nations, and a
+people who yet cannot fail to remember his name are still called
+Magyars. Bajazet was the victorious hero of Nicapol. Where two
+sword-blades touch there is sure to be fighting, and how could two
+conquerors of the world find room close to one another? Bajazet
+conquered three provinces which were in vassalage to Timur, and drove
+away the Khans of Taherten, Szarnchan and Aidin. The last he took
+captive, together with his wife. Timur, with whom the Khan of Aidin was
+a favourite, sent envoys to the Sultan, asking him to restore their
+provinces to his _protégés_, and to set the Khan of Aidin and his wife
+at liberty. The Sultan was inclined to slay these envoys, but was
+dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, who said, "Timur, the son of
+the desert, never causes the envoys sent by his opponents to be killed."
+However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with
+camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent
+word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin
+he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.
+
+Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his
+troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.
+
+One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in
+thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes
+to appear before you."
+
+"For what purpose? If he wants money he can have it without seeing me."
+
+"He does not want money; he only asks to be received into your favour."
+
+"If he does not gain that, then, he will have stolen my time, and time
+is life; therefore, he will have deprived me of life, and will have to
+be considered a regicide!"
+
+Such thoughts as those were frequent utterances from Timur's lips, and
+it is a fact that he often had people killed for a mere trifle, and
+spared their lives as a sort of good joke.
+
+Shacheddin did not relinquish his request, and a few minutes afterwards
+Timur's guards hastened to bring the magician before their master. It
+was a mark of respect that all should enter hurriedly into the presence
+of this mighty man, and that they should throw themselves upon their
+faces on the ground. To walk slowly was considered a mark of haughty
+conduct by him.
+
+The magician was attired in grey robes, and on his head he wore a tall,
+silk cap. His beard was painted yellow, and his eyebrows blue, whilst on
+his face were inscribed Tallic words in green and red.
+
+"Magician," said Timur, with mocking condescension, "where have you
+learnt your art? Amongst the idiots of Almanzor, or in the company of
+Chinese clowns? Do you understand how to charm people back to this
+country from another, or _vice versâ_? Say, do you understand that?"
+
+"I understand that," answered the magician, bowing down to the ground.
+
+"If, indeed, you understand that, then command that in one moment my
+beloved servant, the Khan of Aidin, shall stand before me; and, if you
+cannot do this, perhaps you will manage to transplant yourself at least
+a thousand miles from me, for my hands can reach even to that extent,
+and may possibly cause your death!"
+
+"It shall be as you command," said the magician. "Will you please to
+order your slaves to bring a vat of water before me?"
+
+"Shacheddin has tried that," said Timur, with cold irony. "Bring water
+to the magician!"
+
+A vat filled with water was placed before the magician, and he jumped
+into it, still wearing his clothes.
+
+Timur gazed upon him with doubting condescension, thinking to himself at
+the same time what kind of death he should bestow upon this deceitful
+mortal. All at once the water was divided and in place of the magician a
+fine, tall young man, with hanging locks, stood before him.
+
+It was the Khan of Aidin himself!
+
+Timur rose hastily from his seat, and flew to him as a lioness who
+discovers her lost cubs. He embraced the young fellow and carried him in
+his arms to a panther skin, where he told him to be seated before him.
+
+"How did you get here?"
+
+"As an acrobat," replied the Khan of Aidin, with a smile. "I escaped
+disguised as a rope-dancer from your enemy's country!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+A Prince as an acrobat! Could there be a greater humiliation? Could
+there be anything in existence calling for more bitter revenge?
+
+"Which way did you come, and what towns did you touch?" asked Timur of
+the Khan, who was seated at his feet.
+
+"From Smyrna I escaped as a running footman. The people praised my
+running to such an extent that I felt compelled to prove how far I could
+go by running away altogether! In Aleppo I was a monkey-trainer! In
+Bagdad I turned somersaults! In Damascus I climbed by a rope to the
+Tower of Minarch! At Angora I put sharp swords into my throat; whilst in
+Szivasz I swallowed burning coals before the son of the Sultan!"
+
+Timur Lenk counted on his fingers the names of the towns as the Khan of
+Aidin recapitulated them; Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Bagdad, Angora,
+Szivasz--not one stone of them should remain! And the people who had
+been so amused by the acrobatic performances of a prince should bitterly
+deplore this! Little time should be given them to lament!
+
+"And your children?" asked Timur of his _protégé_.
+
+The Khan gave a sigh.
+
+"They are kissing the whips of Bajazet's slaves."
+
+"They shall not do so long!"
+
+Timur called Shacheddin before him, and had another letter written to
+the Sultan, taking care that every time his name was mentioned it should
+appear in a line with his in quite as large-sized letters, and not in
+different ink; whilst, in accordance with his usual custom, he signed
+his name at the top, not the bottom, of the page. The contents of the
+missive were not couched in angry terms, though they were written in a
+haughty manner.
+
+"Do you not know that the greater portion of Asia is submissive to my
+sword and my laws? Do you not know that my army reaches from one sea to
+another, and that the world's rulers stand humbly at my doors imploring
+to be heard! What is your boast to me? A victory over the Christians?
+You have been victorious over them because the swords of the
+prophet--blessed be Allah!--were in your hands. But who will defend you
+against me? Your only protector is the Koran, whose commands I obey as
+you do. Be wise! Do not despise your opponent because he was once
+insignificant. When the locust grows up, and its wings become red, it
+attacks the very birds who wished to consume it before!"
+
+Timur's envoys carried the message to Bajazet as quickly as Arab horses
+could gallop. In it he once more demanded that the captured towns of the
+Khan of Aidin should be restored to him in peace and quietness, and that
+his wife and children should be set at liberty, and he suggested that
+the joint armies of the Sultan and himself should afterwards start
+together and branch off in different directions, one east, the other
+west--one to destroy the Pagans, the other the Christians. Timur's
+messengers returned to his camp with Bajazet's reply, also as swiftly as
+Arab horses could gallop. Hardly had he opened the letter when Timur's
+face became flushed with anger. Bajazet's name was written in a
+different line to his, and was at least an inch larger, whilst Timur's
+name was similar in size to the rest of the lettering, and was in black
+ink! The name of the Sultan was in historic characters ornamented with
+gold. Nor were the contents of the letter couched in mild form. Timur
+saw here no flattering terms. He was not styled Gurgan, or Djeihangir,
+but "the Spoiler of Countries," "the Thief of the Desert," "the Worm,"
+"the Crippled Man," &c.; and he had to read how his fame was disparaged,
+his guns ridiculed, his requests mocked at, and his threats ignored.
+
+"What I have conquered belongs to me, quite as much as does my own
+country. Those whom I have captured are my slaves. If you want them,
+come for them! Come, and bring with you your million soldiers with their
+miserable arrows, who will be quickly scattered by my heroes as chaff
+before the wind! Come, and find me face to face! Come! If not, may you
+be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife if you do not appear before
+me!" Every Eastern chronicler notes these words with shuddering horror!
+
+Ibu Shimah, Arabshah, Sherefeddin, and the Persian Khandemir all record
+them with the greatest loathing, and Christian historians, such as
+Phranzas and Chalcondylas, admit that a greater curse could not befall a
+Mussulman! "May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+He who loves, nay adores, and respects his faithful wife, the mother of
+his children, who is to him a queen of the world as well as the queen of
+his heart, and he who knows that in accordance with the Alkoran it is
+easy to be separated from a wife, but should remarriage be desired, she
+must live with another man first, and only when he has thrust her aside
+can she again marry her first husband--he it is who will understand
+what a frightful curse is this to a Mussulman!
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+It is a greater insult than to slap the face; it is far worse than to
+break in two your opponent's sword! Nay, it is even more than to have
+the graves of one's ancestors uprooted, and is a deadly offence to all
+Mussulmans. And when this Mussulman is a Monarch! and this Monarch,
+Timur!
+
+Timur Lenk did not appear to be furious. He did not howl with rage. He
+stood up, speechless, and held the letter towards heaven as though he
+would say, "Here is this letter; read it!" His sons and generals and the
+vassal princes were horrified to see him as he stood there in his camp,
+apparently speaking, though none could hear him nor understand him, save
+those who are unseen, for his lips remained closed. He folded the letter
+slowly and placed it in his breast in order that he might carry it there
+until he could revenge himself for the insult. After this, anger was no
+longer visible on his countenance. He did not put the envoys in chains,
+though Bajazet had so treated those sent by him; he did not have their
+noses and ears cut off. On the contrary, he gave them presents of golden
+caps and richly embroidered coats, and had them mounted on horseback and
+escorted through his camp, in order that they might count his standards
+and number his troops. He had the fighting elephants brought before
+them; he let them know that his cavalry wore armour beneath their
+uniforms, in order that they might go back to their master and tell him
+that Timur was quite prepared and would soon meet him, or should he
+decide to come himself, that he would await him. The Sultan was not to
+hurry! He would do well to prepare himself in a befitting manner to meet
+his enemy! Meantime Timur would bombard the Fort of Szivasz, the
+Sultan's most important stronghold!
+
+Timur Lenk looked down from the Taurus Mountains into the Valley of
+Anadot. A new Paradise stretched before his feet. He saw hundreds and
+hundreds of places amidst the green meadows, and as far as eye could
+reach his troops were to be seen; and before him, in the mouth of the
+valley, lay Szivasz, surrounded on either side by massive citadels and
+canals, quite unapproachable, owing to morasses. There was but one route
+by which the gates could be reached, and this was defended by triple
+walls and high watch-towers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The woeful news was brought to Bajazet that Timur had started his
+expedition against him. He had received tidings of this beforehand, and
+therefore had time to prepare himself. Szivasz had 100,000 inhabitants,
+amongst whom were 20,000 military. The Sultan reinforced them by sending
+10,000 Armenians, the pick of his regiments, who were commanded by his
+second son, Ertogrul. The fort, which was called the "Unconquerable,"
+was provided with ammunition for one year. One year's ammunition! Within
+that space of time barley was being reaped in its courtyard after its
+capture by Timur!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Timur's followers were divided into a camp of twenty-seven sections.
+Tartars and Persians formed the cavalry; Manchou miners made the
+subterranean ways, whilst the supple Hindoos scaled the walls. These men
+were all veritable magicians! They climbed the enemy's ramparts like
+snakes, they were quite nude, with ropes round their shoulders, and they
+carried sharp iron prongs in their hands, and in their teeth yataghans.
+They clung partly to the bricks, partly to the smooth surface of the
+walls, and resting on the shoulders of their comrades beneath them, they
+reached the summit. Whilst this living ladder, man on man, made its way
+up the giddy heights and attained the foot of the citadel, those beneath
+were being continuously dragged up after them. Had they swerved or
+fallen they would have been dashed to pieces. Those who first reached
+the citadel, crept slowly, like so many panthers, to the unsuspecting
+guards, and stretched themselves along the ground as their backs were
+turned, then threw the ropes suddenly over their necks and pulled them
+down to the earth. Thus they died without making a sound. When one or
+two thousand Hindoos had reached the citadel, they flew down to the
+watch-towers, strangled the guard, and cut the chains of the bridges.
+Then Timur's iron men, with swords in both hands, made a rush to
+slaughter the whole population. They had been frequently successful in
+these cunning attacks upon the walled towns. Strong forts which had been
+prepared to resist an attack of a year's duration had often fallen
+suddenly in one night into the hands of the conqueror.
+
+This fate awaited Szivasz! The gates and trenches had been well seen to
+by spies, but yet Timur was ignorant of one fact--viz., that the
+Sultan's son, Ertogrul (called the "nightbird," as he only slept in
+daytime), guarded the walls at night, like an owl.
+
+Timur and his men waited before the gates with drawn swords until
+midnight, and, indeed, until daybreak, to receive the expected signal
+for the onslaught to be made. The Polar Star and the Morning Star
+appeared in the skies, yet no sound was to be heard in the fort. When it
+was daylight, Timur caused twenty-four huge machines, used for flinging
+blocks of stone, to be brought into operation. With the bullets which
+were returned in answer, came back to him the heads of his own soldiers!
+From early in the morning till late at night the heads of his bravest
+men were thrown at him! Timur saw them coming in tens and twenties from
+the heights above him! They had been all selected athletes and clever
+mechanics who had completed their studies at Delhi, and had silently
+slidden down on ropes from the precipitous rocks of Georgia to surprise
+and slaughter the enemy. Until late at night these gory balls fell at
+Timur's feet. He could have added to the large collection he already
+possessed, but these were cherished heads, belonging to his own men!
+Ertogrul had indeed lashed the lion!
+
+Suddenly Timur put into work 8000 miners! The wall of the fort was only
+to be got at on one side, and under this he made a subterranean way,
+walled it with timber, and filled it up with sulphur and resin, which he
+caused to be ignited. After the seventeen days' bombardment, the
+watchmen of Szivasz perceived a suffocating smell in the air, which
+seemed to settle heavily down upon them, and took away their courage.
+The earth beneath them became burning hot, the grass in the woods around
+the citadels dried up, and the walls could be heard to split and crack
+from top to basement. The heat became unbearable, the iron railings
+assumed a fiery red hue, whilst the grain stored away in the citadel was
+burnt as black as soot, and the wine-casks exploded. This was on the
+seventeenth day. On the eighteenth the walls of the citadel, together
+with the iron gates, fell down all together into a veritably burning
+hell! Then could be heard the Tartar cry of enthusiasm "Sürün!"
+
+Thus were forced open the gates of the Ottoman Empire, and the enemy
+slaughtered the whole population of the town. Not a man, woman or child
+was spared on the day of the capture of Szivasz.
+
+The lives of four thousand Armenians were alone preserved. Timur was
+merciful enough to promise Ertogrul that he would spare their lives, and
+that he would not kill the young prince himself until he should himself
+desire it, and he kept his word. He caused the four thousand soldiers to
+be buried alive in a huge vault, whilst Ertogrul was handed over to his
+slaves in order that he might be paraded about the camp with a crown on
+his head and golden circlets about him, and thus shown to the people as
+some curious monster. Three days later the Sultan's son himself prayed
+to be killed, and Timur acceded to his request.
+
+On the very day that this happened, Timur absented himself from the camp
+and went to the grave of Abu Mozlim the Cruel, on the burying-ground
+where he could yet hear the curses and cries of despair which came from
+those whom he had caused to be buried alive. He gazed with admiration on
+the wilderness which his people had created, and passed a whole night
+there.
+
+At daybreak his leaders came to him, bringing the copper gates of
+Szivasz, on which he rested his feet. These gates he caused to be
+afterwards sent to Samarcand, the capital of his empire, where were
+stored all the gates of those towns which he had captured or destroyed,
+making a terrible museum. They were placed at the base of an enormously
+high jasper monument raised to the god of the Delhi Brahmins, and were
+put along the roadway in order that every follower of the faithful might
+tread upon the emblems of Christianity with which they were adorned.
+
+After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the
+venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolpán (the Morning
+Star), his youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied
+the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these
+revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and
+caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur
+proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold
+and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men.
+Shacheddin, the historian, then pulled out his parchment, and read aloud
+his record of an event which he had described, in order that it might be
+handed down to posterity in the following terms:
+
+"In the year 830 of the Hedjir--the day after the death of the Prophet
+Omar--at the mere glance of the never-to-be-opposed Djeihangir, the
+world-renowned conqueror, the impregnable walls of Szivasz, built up by
+the Alaeddin to an enormous height, fell to the ground. A hundred
+thousand armed men who defended this fort fell down on their faces, and
+surrendered at the word of the mighty Szabil Kirán. The gracious Gurgan,
+who has ever been merciful, gave his gracious pardon to those who were
+left alive, and forbade that their blood should be shed. May honour and
+glory attend his footsteps!"
+
+Timur Lenk praised this description, and, after bestowing gifts upon the
+chronicler, shouldered his club and proceeded to further shatter the
+gates of the town. The desert plain continued to wail and groan after
+this, and who knows when it ceased to do so?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+I wonder at what hour commence the reveries of a heart which has not yet
+been opened fully into the light of life? What are the dreams which
+woman's soul creates whilst she remains yet between childhood and
+womanhood, whilst she is yet half a slave, half a queen, partly a
+careless being, partly an angel of light!
+
+On the day of the birth of Maria, the daughter of Eleázár, the King of
+Bulgaria, the horoscope which was cast for her by the soothsayers
+foretold that this woman would be the cause of a great monarch's death.
+King Eleázár naturally thought that this mighty monarch must mean
+himself, and on the day of her christening he left her in the convent
+where the ceremony had been performed, fully intending that she should
+never leave the place.
+
+Just about this time the Osman Emperors commenced to overrun Europe, and
+Eleázár was vanquished by them, and, in order to save himself from
+slavery, he offered his daughter as wife to the notorious enemy, in
+accordance with a custom then prevalent. At this time the Sultans had
+their own lawful wives, and it happened that Maria became the last
+Sultana upon the Ottoman throne. Those who followed her were merely
+favourites, and sat on footstools at the steps of the throne.
+
+Maria was just sixteen when she exchanged the walls of the nunnery for
+those of the Seraglio.
+
+One is as closely guarded as the other.
+
+In this abode of innocent virgins she was taught that the world is
+divided into three parts. The portion above is Paradise, which is
+inhabited by angels; that below is Hades, where the devils abide; and
+between these comes the earth, where dwell women, and heartless beings,
+alien to animals, and nothing more! The inhabitants of the upper and
+lower worlds are continually fighting one against the other, and it is
+the duty of the women who live on earth to pray incessantly and to
+glorify and honour the angels.
+
+The Sultan sent his chariot to fetch Maria away, and she only descended
+from this at the door of the Emerald Room of the palace, where she was
+greeted by three hundred maidens.
+
+She now learnt to know that there was such a thing as a man in the
+world, and that he was the Sultan Bajazet! She believed in the existence
+of one man alone. The others she thought were all _Dzsins_
+(Christians)--that is to say, good and evil spirits, who continually
+fight against one another. She imagined Bajazet to be the chief of the
+good _Dzsins_, whom he led into battle against the bad.
+
+Maria was just sixteen, and she did not know that there was more than
+one man in the world, and that was her husband, the Emperor Bajazet,
+whom she loved, revered, and adored, and for whom she forgot everything,
+even all that she had been taught by the sainted, marble-faced sisters
+in the convent, concerning the paradise which is lit up by the rays of
+the stars.
+
+She was happy, and she made others happy. Both in the Seraglio and in
+the convent she saw none but women's faces. The only difference was that
+_here_ were glitter and pomp, and nothing but cheerfulness and
+merriment, whilst _there_ all was coldness and severe simplicity. _Here_
+she had a variety of enjoyments, whilst _there_ she had to renounce all
+pleasure. _Here_ her idol was a living man with a smiling countenance,
+who heaped love and flattery upon her, whilst _there_ it was an unhappy
+Saviour who wore a crown of thorns, and whose pale face looked down upon
+her from the cross.
+
+Bajazet reposed in the society of Maria after his victories, and it
+gratified him to recount to her how many of his opponents he had slain
+in one day, whilst she caressed his snowy beard, and kissed his wrinkled
+forehead, being glad to know that there were so many _Dzsins_ the less
+in the world.
+
+Little did she know that those very _Dzsins_ were of her own creed, and
+that they were having their last desperate fight for existence with him.
+
+The Odalisc (women of the harem) sang of the Sultan's glories in
+something like the following strain, in which Maria delighted: "The
+unbelievers disappear as a flock before a hailstorm, and as tow in the
+flames. They are burned in their own cities!" Maria applauded this
+singing, little knowing that amongst the _Dzsins_ fell her own brothers!
+
+"Should you kill the King of the _Dzsins_ bring me his eyes," she said
+one day to the Sultan.
+
+Bajazet was a tender husband and a cunning inventor of tales. The next
+day he made her a present of two diamonds as large as a man's eyes, and
+he said they had come from the forehead of the King of the _Dzsins_.
+
+The eyes of other spirits were made, said Bajazet, of opals, emeralds,
+and rubies, and he, after each of his victories, heaped these precious
+stones upon her, and pearls, which he made her believe were the teeth of
+fallen _Dzsins_, were so heavy as to weigh down her bodice!
+
+"When will you start again on a fresh campaign? And what will you bring
+me back? I have myself plaited your whip and I have embroidered the
+saddle which your horse is to wear when it carries you into battle."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bajazet was at this time just starting on an expedition against the
+Greek Emperor, whose empire was then limited to the extent of the walls
+of Constantinople, which were being bombarded by his adversary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+One morning the Sultan was awakened by what seemed to him to be the
+voice of a nightingale, and, looking up, he saw Maria near him kneeling
+down, with bent head and arms crossed. The Sultan gazed long upon the
+childish figure. He could not understand what she was doing.
+
+Finally he interrupted her. "Morning Star, what are you doing?"
+
+The girl started. "I am praying!"
+
+Bajazet had never seen anything like this before.
+
+"To whom do you pray?" he questioned her, with astonishment.
+
+"To God!"
+
+The Sultan shook his head, for amongst Mussulmans it is not customary
+for women to pray.
+
+"And why are you praying?"
+
+"That God may be with you when you start for battle, and that He may
+grant you victory!"
+
+The Sultan was overcome with joy at the idea that Maria should pray to
+her own God when her husband started for battle--a battle which was to
+cause the destruction of her God's own altars. This idea was sweeter to
+him than the thought of the blood to be shed.
+
+"Pray for me. Pray fervently, with all the orthodox prayers to which you
+are accustomed. I do not understand them, but your prophets will know
+how they can persuade the ruler of good and evil to act differently to
+what he had intended, perhaps, a million years before. Tell me about
+your prayers. I find delight in them. I do not believe in them, but you
+do, and that is pleasurable to me. And I swear to you by the name of my
+own prophet Allah, and in the name of your God, that when I return from
+the battle, concerning which you pray, you shall have whatever your
+heart desires. In the meantime think of some desire which is as yet
+unfulfilled--a desire which is yet hardly existent--which may be only a
+fancy--waken it into life, demand it, and I will fulfil it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Soon afterwards he left to bombard Byzantium.
+
+The Sultan was right in his belief that the world's history does not
+depend on the tears of women. It was decided a million years ago that
+this rotten country was to fall to pieces, but no one man was empowered
+to hasten the destruction before the allotted day and year. Just when
+the siege was completed the frightful news reached Bajazet that the
+avenging Timur had accepted his challenge. Impregnable Szivasz had
+fallen, and his greatest hero, his son, had been killed by the enemy!
+Bajazet at once suspended the bombardment of Byzantium. He had neither
+time nor desire to attack the Christian Churches when an enemy, mightier
+than himself, approached. Byzantium, therefore, had for a short time to
+be spared the fate of having its name changed to Stamboul, just as, 450
+years later, it was spared from being rechanged to Byzantium, though the
+change was already looming in the distance.
+
+Bajazet was quite certain that he would take Byzantium. It was a dream
+from which he could not free himself until it was fulfilled. Every one
+was against the war. The soothsayers prophesied evil to come. His
+leaders warned him not to commence the bombardment until he had finished
+with Tamerlan. But he would not be dissuaded. The soothsayer who
+advised him to start against Timur before proceeding to Byzantium was
+dismissed from his presence.
+
+When Timur approached towards Szivasz the Sultan's advisers again
+implored him.
+
+"Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+When he was tired of hearing this he had a few of them killed, but the
+warning did not die with them. Though his advisers could no longer speak
+to him, a sad and moaning song was heard amongst the soldiers, the
+refrain of which was, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+The Sultan had to listen to this nightly from his tent, and when he
+forbade it to be sung in his camp, it was passed on to the shepherds in
+the Izmid mountains. In the silent night, and in the far distance, the
+wailing of the shepherds' horn was heard from the Pontus as far as the
+Sultan's tent, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+Bajazet had the shepherds driven into the mountains, or killed, in order
+that he could no longer hear the cursed song! But he heard afterwards
+what he little wanted to believe, that both Szivasz and his hero had
+fallen, and had been destroyed by the hands of his enemy. Bajazet
+strewed ashes on his head! This was his own fault.
+
+He no longer attacked the gates of Byzantium. He left the subways in the
+midst of their construction, crossed the Pontus with his army, collected
+his generals and all his war-utensils, and was ready to start on his big
+and revengeful expedition. As he anchored near the Izmid mountain, a
+shepherd was seen close by, resting on his crook. Bajazid exclaimed to
+him: "Now blow with your horn that song to me: 'Do not let Szivasz fall,
+or your son be lost!'" The shepherd obeyed his commands and blew the sad
+and melancholy sounds, which were re-echoed in the mountains. They found
+an echo in the heart of the Sultan, who cried out, with grief and
+despair, that he had let his bravest son die; and from that moment the
+trumpeters were ordered to constantly play the melancholy song during
+the expedition to Szivasz.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+Timur Lenk did not hasten. He had time to look through the towns in
+which the Khan of Aidin had been made to turn somersaults. He also had a
+little account to settle with the Sultan of Egypt. It was a short and
+gory one. He only took with him the metal gates of the towns--the others
+he left behind amongst the ruins. He did not leave one stone upon
+another, but he piled up the heads of the inhabitants in heaps.
+
+This was his style of architecture!
+
+When Damascus was burnt down, the tops of the burning cypresses and
+cedars and the smoking resin perfumed the plain with their odour ten
+miles around. Of the holy town, only one minaret was left standing. It
+was that of the altar of the Ommiads, which was covered with lead, and
+the metal from it streamed down into the street. The top being of wood,
+remained standing. It was this tower which the Khan of Aidin had
+ascended by means of ropes, and, according to the Turkish saying, when
+the day of resurrection comes, it will be here that the Lord will
+descend and give judgment as to life and death.
+
+Whilst Bajazet was collecting his lightning forces, Tamerlan had time to
+destroy the three Iron provinces, and as many regiments, together with
+the Egyptian Mameluks. The heroic Syrians could not bar his way, and he
+made them fly like a cloud of mosquitos or a flock of swallows. Kings
+disappeared before him. The only one who escaped--and that by mere
+chance--was _Ferndzs_. In token of homage he sent gifts to the great
+Shah, nine, in number, of every kind, according to the religious system
+of counting in vogue with the Tartars: nine horses, nine camels, nine
+female slaves, and eight men slaves. Timur understood by this that it
+was intended to represent the sender himself as a ninth fraction, and
+for this reason he showed him mercy. Drunk with victory, thirsting for
+revenge, and loaded with treasure, Timur left Syria to meet his
+mightiest opponent, to whom he had now given time for preparation; and
+in the 804th year of the Hedjir, on a bright summer's day, he crossed
+the Araxes river!
+
+Bajazet, the "lightning," dreamt a waking dream of revenge as he sat by
+Maria's side, and caused his forces to be collected together to await
+his opponent's arrival on to the battlefield which was to decide the
+fate of the world. Under such a roof of sweet delight no one could talk
+of battles. Here even the Sultan did not deplore his lost son; Maria did
+not even know that he was the father of sons--men like himself, but
+minus grey beards! The Sultana found in her returned husband a return of
+all her happiness, and at this joyful moment she remembered the promise
+he had made to her before his departure, "Whatever your desire may be,
+it shall be fulfilled." And when her husband asked of her "What do you
+desire?" she replied:
+
+"Oh! my dear Djildirim, when will you next start against the _Dzsins_?"
+
+"This year, perhaps this very month."
+
+"Oh! how I should like to see a living _Dzsin_."
+
+"That is impossible. A _Dzsin_ is not a doll, my darling. Do you not
+know, from the tales your women tell you daily, that if you tread upon a
+talisman you will force a spirit to appear who will be always at your
+bidding, but who will rend you asunder if you do not keep him
+continually employed?"
+
+But she was so delighted with this new idea that she would not allow
+herself to forget it for a moment.
+
+Next day she said to Bajazet, "Bring me a _Dzsin_, and be here to order
+him about for me!"
+
+"It is impossible. _Dzsins_ do not tolerate the presence of another man
+near a woman."
+
+"What idiots the _Dzsins_ must be!"
+
+The third day she said to Bajazet: "My lightning, my love, I have a
+desire which I want you to fulfil."
+
+"It is already fulfilled, if you really desire it."
+
+"What I wish is this, that when you next start against the _Dzsins_ you
+will take me with you."
+
+Oh! tempting heart of woman!
+
+"My morning star, my darling, what would you do in the midst of battle?
+It is a cruel tempest, where lightning rages. The glittering stars have
+no place there. The thoughts of your heart are alluring songs heard
+amidst the thunder and tempest of the battle. There is no room there for
+your sweet soul. If you pass a mown meadow, you weep over every flower
+which has been trampled under foot. The battle blood flows from the
+cut-down human flowers. How could you see this? You would die at the
+sight of it."
+
+But women do not give way.
+
+"I want to see how thousands of Dzsins melt away at your glance; to note
+how they fall to the ground when you only look at them. Does not the
+song say this? 'They are numerous and come in great numbers. Their
+noise, like thunder, makes heaven tremble. My Djildirim steps forward,
+and they fall to the ground, and their voices fill hell.' Does not the
+song say, 'The opponents' leader is a metal idol, but Bajazet is the
+lightning, and the lightning melts the metal.' Does not the song tell
+the truth?"
+
+Bajazet had to admit that all was true which the women of the harem sang
+about him.
+
+"I wish to see you," urged Maria, "I wish to see you in the blaze of
+your glory. I wish to see you as Djildirim, as the lightning which
+pursues the enemy! I want to admire you in the height of your glory! I
+want to applaud at and delight in your glory! I want to be on the spot,
+so that I may weave the wreath, and place it upon your brow, so that,
+dazzled by the light of victory upon your face, I may fall at your feet!
+Will you not take me with you, my Djildirim?"
+
+The Sultan said, "Let it be so!"
+
+He was excited at the idea of fighting in the presence of his wife, and
+of proving to her, who believed him to be an earthly god, that he was
+one indeed. The desire being roused in his heart, he was now doubly
+thirsty for revenge and also for glory! His wife's eyes would watch his
+deeds; therefore they must be magnificent!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+In the year 1446, according to the Christian era, an enormous comet
+appeared upon the horizon. The golden tint of this phenomenon of the
+heavens was observed for six months amongst the stars, and when it was
+closest to earth two-fourths of the sky was covered by the dreaded
+spectre. When the sun set and the gigantic marvel made its appearance,
+the pale phosphor head drawing its tail after it, everything was lit up
+by its wonderful light. Forests, mountains, people's faces, appeared
+ghastly by its illumination, and all around amongst the mountains was
+to be seen a glow which appeared like a distant fire lighting up the
+sky. Only the reflection of the light was not red, but green; and when
+the moon made her appearance, with her silver-tipped crescent, the two
+heavenly wanderers followed after one another with curious wonder. Once
+it happened that the moon went into the vaporous element of the comet,
+and astronomers then calculated how many million miles it covered and
+how long it would take before it would touch the moon with its head in
+place of its tail. Then both would shoot down from heaven, and the Day
+of Judgment would arrive. Religious folk went on pilgrimages and awaited
+the _Dies Iræ_; whose herald was this Lampadias, the name given it by
+Greek astronomers. Under the fearful glitter of this heavenly
+phenomenon, which wandered over the horizon and lit up the entire
+surface of the earth, compelling the inhabitants to breathe its deadly
+poison, the two most dreaded men in the Mussulman world prepared to
+fight against one another in a life and death struggle. Sultan Bajazet
+had 420,000 men; Timur Lenk had 780,000. One million two hundred
+thousand fighting men, therefore, had to seek a suitable place amidst
+the Asiatic wastes, which would afford sufficient space for the blood
+required to be shed.
+
+The two conquerors of the world were not alarmed by the sign from
+Heaven. They not only divided between them the stars which led them, but
+they also cut the comet asunder! The head of the Lampadias bent towards
+the west, and the thinner end of its long mane hung to the east. Bajazet
+said it was a sword which the Prophet had sent to him, and that with its
+aid he should kill the heretic Shitáá. Tamerlan, however, gave out that
+this was the same club which the Prophet had given into his hands, and
+that the head was turned towards the heretic Szunnita. The stars at the
+end of the tail he held to be the head of the club, with which he would
+lay him low! And so, the two greatest generals of the period started in
+search of one another with two enormous forces, and as quickly as they
+neared one another, so quickly did the dreaded star approach the earth!
+The two conquerors debated to themselves which of them would first grasp
+the comet by its tail!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Both Bajazet and Timur Lenk did what no conqueror of the world ever did
+before or after them. They each carried their favourite wives with them
+to view the decisive battle of the world! It was as though they were to
+witness a dramatic spectacle, in which one million armed men took part,
+and by which the government of a portion of the world would be decided
+either to the right or to the left. Such a spectacle was surely never
+before presented by a general to his wife!
+
+Bajazet's wife was in the camp in an elevated tent made of muleskin.
+One thousand women riders went before, and one thousand after her, to
+keep from her gaze the face of every man. These were masculine women,
+accustomed to sword-handling, and to cutting off heads, women for whom
+men can feel but horror, and of whom it is difficult to form an idea.
+Bajazet headed this woman's camp with 10,000 veteran Janesars and old
+soldiers scarred with wounds. They were picked out from amongst the
+Nicapol victors. Every one of them was a hero, and their attacks on the
+enemy were always made simultaneously. To the right of Maria were 15,000
+Christians, mounted and mailed, and under the leadership of Stephen
+Lazaruvich, the Servian Waidwode. These were the most faithful adherents
+of the Sultan. The remainder of the troops were led by the Sultan's
+sons. Suleiman, the eldest, was in the centre of the camp; whilst the
+two wings, consisting of Turcomans and Tartars, were commanded by Isá
+and Múza. Amongst these troops were the people of the Khan of Aidin.
+Mustafa, another of the sons of the Sultan, led the heroic Arab troops;
+and Mohammed, yet another, was in command of the reserve. Timur Lenk's
+sons, Mirán Shah, Chalit Shah, and Mirza Mohammed, were also in the
+camp. Fathers fought against fathers, sons against sons, and women
+against women! Mirza Mohammed Khan led his own troops, and each
+detachment was dressed in different colours--some, for instance, in red
+uniform and red bucklers, with red standards, red saddles, &c., others
+in blue or yellow, white or black. When they moved in square, it seemed
+as though figures were moving on a chess-board!
+
+The name of the place where the two opposing forces met was Csibuk Abad.
+It is an historic spot. Here Pompey and Mithridates fought a decisive
+battle! At the back stand the celebrated Stetta cedar-forests, and
+facing it are the endless plains where the tall oriental reeds grow in
+line from which the people cut stalks to make the stems of pipes,
+calling them from the place, Csibuk.
+
+Towards the eastern horizon the towers of the citadels of Angora were to
+be seen, whence Timur might be observed approaching. He was engaged in
+bombarding this place against the Bey Yakab, when the approach of his
+opponent caused him to raise the siege.
+
+Between the two forces was only one well (Miral) which supplied the
+district abundantly with water. The inhabitants were, therefore, right
+to call it the Sainted Well. Bajazet hastened to seize this before his
+enemy. He knew very well that he who secured it would have the advantage
+of tiring out his opponents, who would be forced out into the desert.
+Sheik Trzlan, an old Dervish, at one time an adherent of Timur Lenk, was
+the guardian of the well. As a follower of Shi he possessed magic power
+over the people.
+
+Bajazet rode to this Sainted Well, and asked the Dervish for a drink of
+water out of it. He filled the jug, and gave it over to the Padishah
+with the usual blessing, "Glory be to Him who created clouds and
+wells!"
+
+The Sultan threw a golden piece to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked up
+the money and looked at the portrait. Then he returned it, saying, "Oh!
+my Lord, of what use is this money to me, when Timur Lenk's head is
+engraved here?"
+
+The Sultan dragged the coin out of the Dervish's hand and threw it with
+horror into the air, wondering how his enemy's money could possibly have
+found its way into his camp. Then he took out another gold piece, upon
+which he first looked earnestly; then, seeing his own likeness engraved
+upon the coin, he threw it to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked it up,
+and then, with marks of the greatest respect and reverence, he handed it
+back to him again.
+
+"Why here, my master, on this piece also is engraved Timur's portrait!"
+
+And so indeed it was.
+
+Bajazet, who was now furious, took out a third coin, which he threw to
+the Sheik, who, on picking it up, showed him that again it bore the same
+superscription.
+
+"You scoundrelly magician!" shouted Bajazet in despair, "it is your
+delusive magic!" and he slashed the Dervish across the face and breast
+with his whip.
+
+"Thank you for your gracious kindness, mighty lord," said the Dervish,
+putting his blood-stained face into the dust.
+
+Timur Lenk would not have acted like this. He allowed blood to flow in
+streams, but never in his life did he hurt a scholar or a Dervish.
+Afterwards when the infuriated Sheik ran bleeding from the breast
+through the streets of Chorazan, Timur Lenk, looking at him, smiled and
+said: "This is a sign that Chorazan itself, which is the breast of Asia,
+will fly to me voluntarily."
+
+And so indeed it came to pass.
+
+Bajazet was so certain of having obtained possession of the Miril well,
+that the next day he organised a hunting expedition to the ancient
+forest of Stetta for Maria's amusement. Whilst half of his troops were
+pursuing the stag or shooting game, and he himself was shooting wild
+peacocks, the enemy, at a distance of trumpet-call, commenced to pull
+down the stakes of his camp. In the evening, when the party returned,
+tired out, from the chase, Bajazet's son, Suleiman, who had been left
+behind with the rest of the forces, came to him in a furious state, and
+said:
+
+"To-morrow we shall have to face the enemy."
+
+"Why?" asked the Sultan, with surprise.
+
+"Because we have no water!"
+
+"Surely the well has not dried up in one night?"
+
+"It has not dried up, but it is contaminated. The Dervish whose face you
+struck yesterday hung heavy stones round his neck last night and jumped
+into the well, where this morning he was found drowned. You know that
+when a man has been found dead in a well no one will touch its waters
+until the new moon. So the camp has been parched with thirst throughout
+the whole day!"
+
+"Oh! cursed Dervish!"
+
+"Ah! the Dervishes were all devoted to Timur. Beware, for he who was
+capable of killing himself might yet kill you! And now you had best
+decide whether you will retreat or make an advance to-morrow, for in
+this place it is impossible for us to remain longer."
+
+Bajazet angrily pointed to the watch-fires of Timur Lenk, and exclaimed,
+in hot fury, "Advance!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+It is quite natural that two loving hearts should think and dream alike,
+but it happens often, too, that the hearts of two opponents who bitterly
+hate one another think in concord. That night neither Bajazet nor Timur
+shut his eyes. Both of them were tortured by the conjecture as to which
+of the two should lead the morrow's attack, prove victor, and destroy
+his adversary. They both anxiously awaited the break of day, for each
+longed to be first upon the battle-field.
+
+It was yet dark when the priests completed their morning prayer in
+Bajazet's camp, and as the Sultan stepped out from his tent, the 10,000
+Janesars, who stood ready for attack, commenced to sing the
+blood-curdling song which thus concludes:
+
+    Do not let your son be lost!
+
+This was the Sultan's daily greeting, and he now stood face to face with
+his son's murderer! At the other end of the camp the dreaded signal of
+the _gurgach_, twice repeated, responded to the strains of the song, and
+this was accompanied by the screaming and clacking of the _kernai
+reveillé_. The _gurgach_ was a big drum and the _kernai_ a trumpet, and
+these signals announced that the attack had commenced. When the sun
+peeped out from behind the lilac-coloured mountains of Karadegh both
+camps were in marching order. The standards and the horses' tails used
+as banners were flying aloft in the centre, and the tails of two horses
+dyed red let it be known that two sovereigns were fighting face to face.
+Here were Bajazet's Janesars, while there were Timur Lenk's brave
+Samarcand troops, and between them two rows of fighting and mailed
+elephants were placed to form barriers. Skilful armed throwers of Greek
+fire were placed in towers with orders not to waste their arrows on
+other heads but those of princes. Timur, who was resting upon the bare
+earth, was greeted in turn by his officers, who stood with their horses'
+bridles in their hands, exclaiming:
+
+"_Raszti ruszti!_"
+
+These were historical words by which leave was taken, and they signified
+"Justice" and "Aid." Amongst the rows of elephants stood a white one,
+the largest of all. This Timur had brought from the Court of the Prince
+of Burmah, where it used to be worshipped as a holy animal. On the back
+of this curious beast a tower had been erected, where the two favourite
+wives of the Khan, Tumanaga and Csolpán, were seated. The one was the
+mother of his children, the other his latest favourite. Timur rode up
+to them before the commencement of the battle, greeted them lovingly,
+and unsheathed his sword before them. Raising it towards Heaven he
+exclaimed:
+
+"Now may it be decided which of us is to be thrice separated from his
+wife!"
+
+Sheriff Said then knelt down upon the ground at Timur's feet, filled his
+hands with grass, and as a symbol of cursing and destruction, he threw
+this towards Bajazet's camp. Then turning towards Timur, with a
+trembling voice he murmured:
+
+"Go, and be thou victor!"
+
+To these words the trumpeters in camp responded.
+
+On the opposite side Bajazet had raised a high wooden tower for his
+wives, from whence they inspected as from an amphitheatre-box the
+magnificent and dreadfully dramatic spectacle which was being enacted
+before them by two real heroes. It could not indeed have been other than
+a truly novel spectacle to Maria. What a fearful array of _Dszins_ she
+saw clad in iron and copper armour! Such garb surely could only be worn
+by inhabitants from another world! What tremendous camps! Surely only
+evil spirits who fly, constantly following one another through the air,
+could come in such large flocks! Likerbuli, the favourite songstress,
+was seated at Maria's feet when the attack commenced, and the strains of
+her lute seemed to bring the spectators into line to watch the battle
+which was proceeding before them.
+
+"Look how they come towards us, the cursed enemy! Seven detachments in
+seven colours like the rainbow! The leader--Timur Lenk's son--the devil
+whose name is Mirza Abubekr, rides before them. His armour is made
+entirely of rubies. How it sparkles in the sun! He who faces him, clad
+in dark armour, and seated on a black horse, is our hero, Lazaruvich. He
+can be recognised by his standards, which bear crosses. Hearken! how the
+earth trembles beneath the tramp of their horses. Listen! how the skies
+ring with the tumult of the battle!"
+
+"'Sürün! Sürün!' exclaim the cruel enemy. 'Allah! Allah!' scream our
+troops. 'Jesus! Jesus!' shout the men of Lazaruvich, but Allah listens
+also to these!"
+
+Maria secretly crossed herself, and prayed to Jesus.
+
+"Look, they have just come into collision. The clashing of the swords
+and axes upon their shields can be heard up here. Look, Timur's
+seven-hued troops become disordered. Lazaruvich sweeps them away before
+him as a whirlwind tosses the mown grass, or as the waves of the sea
+sweeps the shells towards the shore. Ha! Mirza Abubekr's chosen horsemen
+no longer keep to their own colours. White is mixed with red, and green
+has yellow patches like china fragments trodden under foot! Lazaruvich
+is the first hero amongst our troops!"
+
+Maria herself bent forward from her balcony, and applauded this
+wonderful spectacle, which was soon, however, obliterated from the sight
+of all in the reedy forest by the clouds of dust which were uplifted.
+Lazaruvich now commenced to pursue the despised Tartar horsemen who
+were fleeing towards Angora. Maria, intoxicated with joy, tore the lute
+out of Likerbuli's hands, and began to sing herself the song glorifying
+Bajazet and his hero "Korona" (Lazaruvich).
+
+The wild madness of the battle seemed to enter into her soul, and she,
+too, cursed the drunken enthusiasm of these demons who were always the
+cause of glory or trouble to her own people.
+
+In the dust-cloud of the battle, Khan Mohammed Mirza noticed his
+brother's flight, and rushed to his aid, with his crack Samarcand
+regiment. In the midst of the Csibukabad reeds he reached one of the
+wings of Lazaruvich, whilst Shah Miron, and Chalid with his archers
+threw themselves upon the troops of Prince Mustafa just where a gap had
+been caused owing to Lazaruvich having made a rush from thence upon the
+enemy. Mohammed, the Sultan's son, was there with reserve troops, but he
+had orders from Bajazet not to move until ordered to do so by him, for
+the deceitful enemy might make a circuit, and then there would be need
+for this reserve. Bajazet, in order to relieve his two sons, ordered
+Suleiman, who commanded the left wing, to throw himself upon Timur with
+his entire force.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Suleiman had 15,000 Tartars amongst his troops, principally inhabitants
+of Aidin and Saruchán, who were led by Bey Illisz. These Tartar hordes
+were suddenly let loose in one body, being sheltered on either side by
+the Anatol troops. Timur's opposing force advanced slowly towards the
+rushing enemy. At its head was the Khan of Aidin who, on that day, wore
+neither armour nor helmet, and did not even draw out his sword from its
+scabbard, though he made straight for Illisz.
+
+The Bey of Illisz was twirling his pike, and turned it towards the Khan.
+As he nearly reached him and was within throw, the Bey exclaimed,
+"Defend yourself," and threw the pike at him.
+
+The Khan of Aidin smiled. Had he earned his bread for a whole year as a
+magician in vain that he should be frightened by a pike?
+
+"You had better defend yourself," he replied to Illisz, as the pike
+hissed towards him. He grasped it in its flight, and threw it back to
+the Bey, and the iron penetrated his cheek-bone. In this state his
+terrified charger ran away with him. Then the Khan of Aidin rose in his
+saddle and straightened himself on his horse's back, whilst with ringing
+voice he cried out to the Tartars, "I am your Khan! Return to me, and
+aid me against the enemy!" In a moment the entire Tartar force turned
+round to him and threw clouds of arrows upon the Turkish horsemen
+behind them, and thus cut open a space in the left wing for the advance
+of Timur's troops.
+
+This move decided the fate of the battle. Bajazet could not believe that
+his Tartar soldiers would desert him at the sight and by the command of
+their late master. Those whom he believed to be his own followers had
+now actually gone over to the enemy! The Sultan's son Suleiman upon this
+stroke of ill-fate turned his horse's head, struck spurs into him, and
+was the first to leave the battle-field.
+
+Another son, Mohammed, commenced a fight with the reserve, but no
+success attended their efforts. The day was lost to Bajazet. The
+"lightning" was vanquished, and the iron sword prevailed; but Bajazet
+still could have escaped with the rest of his troops, and might have
+overcome his enemy from his European forts, could he have reconciled
+himself to the notion of flight. All round was heard the tumult of the
+tempestuous war. It was impossible to see, owing to the clouds of dust,
+and the women away yonder in the velvet tower no longer sang of victory,
+but trembling awaited the close of the day. Once during the afternoon a
+ray of hope sprang up, when Timur's force made an advance, and the
+Waiwode Lazaruvich cut his way through the Csibukabad reeds across
+Mohammed Mirza, and joined Bajazet in correct battle order. The Sultan
+stood motionless amidst his unconquered veterans. Lazaruvich, with his
+fagged out and wounded troops, who were blackened by dust and covered
+with the blood of the enemy, with broken pikes and torn standards,
+suddenly appeared before the Sultan.
+
+Lazaruvich hardly recognised him.
+
+"Is it you, my faithful friend?" the Sultan asked, with emotion.
+
+"It is I, father. Escape; the battle is lost!"
+
+"Then let me perish," replied the Sultan. "You had best return. You have
+wife and children, and have yet a long life to live."
+
+"God can alone bring help," answered Lazaruvich, and quitted the
+battle-field.
+
+It was already twilight. The escaping forces were seen in all
+directions. Only 10,000 Janesars stood steadfast round Bajazet. Since
+the morning they had been thirsting for water: now they thirsted for
+blood! They could have had plenty of time and opportunity for escape,
+for Timur did not attack them until later on. The night came on; the sun
+disappeared, and the comet--the dread of heaven and earth--shone out on
+the sky. By the aid of its demoniacal glitter Bajazet could see the
+opponent's army. He was not frightened, either by the star or by Timur's
+victory, and motionless he stood with his ten thousand men on the spot
+where half a million men had already perished. Then Timur raised his
+hand to heaven, as though he would grasp the flaming club, and with it
+strike his enemy.
+
+"Well, so be it," he said, and with this he gave the signal to start his
+troops of mailed men, the Dzsagata horsemen and the rows of fighting
+elephants, against Bajazet's Janesars. Maria heard tremblingly from her
+tower the bellowing of the elephants. "Ah! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+But Bajazet will pursue them and rout them asunder, for he is the
+'lightning.'"
+
+The flying Greek fire opened the attack. From the elephants' towers the
+blinding sparks came in clouds, and created dazzling colours in this
+night battle, whilst arrows shot at the same instant from all sides. The
+Janesars fought and died speechless, as though they were not men, but
+spectres. The two forces fought without a word. Only the clanking of
+their swords spoke. Oh! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+
+Suddenly one of the flaming arrows cut its way through the ranks of the
+Janesars, and flew to the women's tower, igniting a velvet curtain, and
+so setting the whole place on fire. The women, terror stricken, rushed
+down from the burning amphitheatre, which, in a few moments, was as a
+burning torch in the midst of the camp, lighting up the spectacle of
+slaughter. Immediately Bajazet saw this his heart gave way, and he
+turned back with his suit of horsemen, and, leaving behind him the
+fighting Janesars, he galloped towards the women. Maria was then lying
+on the earth, her face covered with dust.
+
+Oh, the _Dzsins_--the _Dzsins_! "To horse quickly, by my side, away to
+the mountains!" exclaimed the defeated "lightning," lifting his wife
+from the dust, and with these words he escaped from the field. One
+thousand brave horsemen and two thousand fighting Amazons accompanied
+them. Mahmud Khan saw the Sultan's flight, and rushed after him with
+4000 Dzsagata horsemen. Until midnight he pursued him up to the foot of
+the mountain. The soldiers left behind fought with Timur's men whilst
+the Sultan got away.
+
+The Khan of Dzsagat did not relax his search after Bajazet, whose
+horsemen and horses fell to the right and left, and by daybreak only
+forty men remained. The Sultan was, therefore, left almost alone with
+his women. He then stopped and awaited his pursuers. He was clad in
+impenetrable armour, and held a good Damascus blade in his hand, for he
+had to defend his beloved harem. Ten of his pursuers fell before their
+swords could touch him, but finally becoming dazzled by the frequent
+strokes of his sword, he fell down from his horse at Maria's feet, where
+he was captured. Maria had to see the face of her demigod become pale
+and besmirched with dust. His eyes were heavy, and from his lips issued
+impotent curses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Timur Lenk was playing chess with his favourite son. The young prince
+was commonly known as Schach Roch (castleing). He had been called this
+because it was he who had invented the chessmove where the king changes
+places with a castle. Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to
+Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood
+the captured Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne
+for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!
+
+Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent,
+leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.
+
+"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made
+you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is
+ready. You will not be watched by any one. You will find there your wife
+and your son Muza, who have been taken prisoners, and they will remain
+with you. I only ask you one thing. That is, your solemn promise not to
+attempt to escape from me by trickery whilst I remain fighting your
+sons. If we can conclude peace, then you can return quietly to your
+country, for Allah does not permit two faithful Sultans to humiliate one
+another! Therefore you had best give me your solemn word of honour."
+
+Bajazet was moved by his opponent's generosity, so he gave his solemn
+word, accompanied by a grasp of the hand, that he would not attempt to
+escape from Timur Lenk's camp. After this he was led to a pompous tent,
+where his wife and son awaited him. The tent was magnificent, and those
+whom he loved were there, yet it was a tower in place of a kingly
+throne. Schach Roch!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+"So long as you keep your sovereign word to me you will be regarded as a
+Sovereign in my camp." This was Timur Lenk's promise to his opponent.
+Whichever direction Bajazet took, he was received with the honours paid
+to a Sovereign, and imperial pomp surrounded his tent. Overnight, whilst
+the captive Sultan was walking in front of his camp, he found a screw of
+parchment lying before him, on which the following words were written:
+
+      "MY SULTAN,--Your sons are coming with fresh forces
+      against Tamerlan; Jacob Bey will break upon Angora.
+      The Waiwode is returning with reinforcements. Be
+      prepared. We are making a subterranean way from the
+      Bakery which will lead into your tent. To-night all
+      will be ready. Be ready yourself also. At daybreak
+      disguise yourselves as bakers, and you can escape with
+      your wife and sons into the open, where you will find
+      your horses awaiting you. Be ready!
+
+      "YOUR FRIENDS!"
+
+This letter was too tempting for Bajazet, and he eagerly seized the
+opportunity offered. It was indeed a fact that a subterranean way was
+made to his tent, but it was Tamerlan's workmen who constructed it! At
+midnight the hammering of the subterranean poleaxes let the Sultan know
+that his rescuing body of moles were coming! The earth gave way under
+his feet, and from a narrow passage human heads rose up from the earth
+before him. "Come!" whispered the head which ascended from the earth's
+depths. "Come!" And the Sultan followed the enticer, taking with him
+Maria and his son Muza. They could only proceed in bent form along the
+footpath, holding one another's hands. Finally the neck of the cavernous
+way became visible. The extreme end was the Bakery oven. When Bajazet
+was going to step out from the low opening, some one put out a hand to
+assist him, and when he emerged he who had given him a helping hand did
+not release his own. The Sultan looked at him. Timur Lenk stood before
+him!
+
+"What! Is this your sovereign word?" he softly demanded of the terrified
+Bajazet.
+
+The Sultan saw that he was trapped. Timur threw away his hand from him:
+
+"This is not the hand of a Sovereign. It is the hand of a slave."
+
+So saying, he turned away and left him to himself. Bajazet saw only the
+executioners before him, carrying chains and iron rods in their hands!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Timur was not an ordinarily cruel man--satisfied to be able to bathe
+himself in the blood and break the limbs of his opponents. He was a
+veritable poet and artist in mercilessness! He required poisoned arrows
+by which to strike his foes. He did not want to kill Bajazet, but he
+wanted to drive him mad. After this attempt at escape he had a cage
+made for him out of iron rods, wherein he caused him to be imprisoned,
+and he placed the cage on a car and had it drawn about the camp. A crier
+preceded this, pointing out with his pike this spectacle to the curious
+multitude.
+
+"Here is a captive Sultan; a celebrated wild animal whose name is
+Bajazet, the King of Kings, the Padishah, the Master of the Seas and
+Earth, a crowned king who has got four hundred thousand soldiers, foot
+and horsemen. Look at the conqueror of the Round World! who is the only
+Master from East to West! He is in the cage!"
+
+Ha! ha! ha! laughed the armed crowd gathered together. Bajazet sat mute
+and motionless inside the iron bars as though nothing could hurt his
+feelings. The crowd threw jibes and curses after him, and the youth
+threw oranges and walnuts into his cage as it is customary to do to
+monkeys. But Bajazet's face did not change. The crier now formed the
+idea of playing on the drum and cornet an air which evidently amused
+him, and which ended in the refrain "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your
+son be lost!" If anything could fill the captive's heart with bitter
+sorrow it was this song! Oh, had he only listened in time to this! Oh,
+if he had not in the days of his pride forbidden it to be blown by the
+shepherds of Izmid! Had he but only hastened in time to the rescue of
+his son Ertogrul, he would not then have had to listen to it from the
+cornet of this bear-dancer and buffoon, who now paraded a King in place
+of strange animals!
+
+The fellow carried him away in his cage up to the hills where the heads
+of his heroes were piled up. On the summit of these piles were placed
+here and there the heads of leaders, whose turbans fluttered in the
+wind! Bajazet knew these faces too well! They were the heads of his most
+trusted veterans. He had frequently distinguished them for their
+services, and kissed their faces after victorious battles! Now they
+stared at him with glassy eyes from the top of these piles raised from
+the heads of his troops! After this buffoon had carried the Sovereign
+captive about the camp, he returned with him to Tamerlan. The Khan, his
+sons, and the vassal princes, the Khan's wives, and the slaves of the
+Court were taking part in a _fête_, and at the height of its amusement
+the gilded iron cage arrived with its sad captive. A vanquished Sultan
+brought thus before drunken slaves!
+
+Mockery and shouts of laughter greeted the appearance of the conquered
+lion from his intoxicated victors, and still Bajazet's face remained
+unchanged! Timur Lenk himself was drunk. Wine, victory, and
+revenge--this triple inebriety filled his veins.
+
+"This glass I raise to the health of the master of half of this world,"
+exclaimed the conqueror, and threw the contents upon his opponent's face
+in the cage.
+
+Yet Bajazet's face remained unchanged!
+
+"Bring fresh wine--more women slaves," said Timur Lenk, thumping with
+his hand, and Bajazet saw the figure of an elegant slender woman walking
+totteringly forward. On her head rested a floral wreath. Her hair hung
+loosely and carelessly around her. Her silken mantle was rent from top
+to bottom in accordance with Tartar fashion. This woman tottered, for
+she was herself intoxicated. She went forward to fill the Khan's glass,
+and in her Bajazet recognised Maria! This was the final blow to the
+captive Sultan when he saw his wife so humbled and tottering towards the
+Khan's footstool. Then he sprang up from his seat and grasped the iron
+bars of the cage, and burst out ravingly, "Oh, you demoniacal beast,
+Timur! You crippled dog, who have buried your soul's better part in your
+useless foot, and remain here living in this world, half of you a demon!
+You are no vanquisher of men! You have never wholly been a man. You can
+only revenge yourself on women. You grave-worm, who chew treacherously
+what a greater hero than you has let fall! Detestation rest upon your
+filthy name! Every woman will execrate you as a coward, and will throw
+your image on the ground to be played with and broken by her children.
+Disgrace be upon you and ignominy rest upon your belongings--you, who
+were hatched by a slave and will be buried by the executioner! You were
+born to drive camels, you wretch, and your father, who died on a
+dust-heap, was a better man than you! Faugh! I spit upon you! This will
+be the best spot in your filthy glory! Curses be upon you and upon your
+offshoots! Your soul to hell, and your bones to the dogs! Your name to
+derision! I shall await you, where both of us are to meet!"
+
+With these words he struck his head with such force against the iron
+railings that he fell down dead.
+
+Tamerlan could no longer joy in his opponent's impotent fury.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Timur Lenk arranged a pompous funeral for Bajazet. His entire troops
+came out to accompany the body. On his tombstone he caused to be
+engraved a recital of his glorious deeds, and he commanded the Sultan's
+women to wail and mourn for him. As he returned from the funeral
+ceremony his historian, Shacheddin, came before him, to read out what he
+had written down concerning the event, for the benefit of future
+generations. It was as follows:
+
+"When Timur Djeihangir defeated his enemy and captured him, he treated
+him as a brother. He placed him next to him at table, calling him
+friend, and treated him with the distinction due to a Sovereign. When
+Bajazet, following fate's decree, departed to his ancestors, he had him
+buried like a King, and raised a royal mausoleum over his ashes. Glory
+be to Him who sees everything!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Comet disappeared, and did not destroy the Earth after all!
+
+
+
+
+VALDIVIA
+
+
+Valdivia is the name of a Chilian province; also of the river which
+there pours down from the mountains into the plains: and likewise of a
+city which is remarkable for its architecturally constructed
+bamboo-bridge, and for the fact that every man you meet in the street is
+called Rocca, and prides himself on his ancestors having been the
+ancient rulers of Chili and walked about there barefooted. Now the
+inhabitants have degenerated into wearing boots and they talk Spanish.
+Even, however, after centuries of blood-mixture by intermarriage, the
+men of the nation are still peculiar for a certain kind of beard which
+grows very thin, whilst the women still possess somewhat bronzed
+complexions and a love of ornamenting their hair with long feathers and
+snake-skins. Although the male population retain a traditional fondness
+for slaughtering an enemy when they get fairly hold of him, they no
+longer, like their fathers, hunt the wild boar; this unfortunate animal,
+indeed, having long since been hunted out of existence. The noble
+Roccas, no longer occupied with the chase or war, have become merchants.
+One, Bria Rocca, is a great sugar-planter; another, Marco Rocca, owns a
+huge coal-mine; and a third, Alvarez Rocca, does a nice little business
+in the slave trade.
+
+The Rocca is a fine, powerfully built man, six feet in height, whom one
+would not care to meet in a lonely road. The native woman is a handsome
+creature with beautiful eyes, whom one would be charmed to meet in a
+lonely road were it not that she is a little too quick in slapping one's
+face.
+
+Descendants of a long kingly lineage, these people to-day go about the
+streets and along the banks of the river selling Spanish onions and
+little trinkets.
+
+The town of Valdivia, situated on the river, had a widely different
+aspect three hundred years ago. At that time stood there the bamboo
+palace of Bria Rocca, whose façade rested upon two mighty bamboos
+resembling, in appearance, a couple of polished marble columns. The
+whole palace was built of this same wood. Its walls were curiously
+carved, and, but for its majestic dimensions, it might have reminded you
+of the toy palaces you build in childhood. Its doors and windows were
+made of interwoven tree branches, whilst its roof was thatched with
+agave leaves. In front of the palace was a balcony where Bria Rocca was
+accustomed to hold councils with the sages of his nation, and from this
+balcony two doors opened into the interior. One of them led into the
+apartment of Bria Rocca. It was an immense lofty room, and the ceilings
+were lined with jaguar skins, while the walls were covered with the
+skins of the black buffalo. Here and there hung axes and hatchets,
+arrows, specimens of the dreaded tomahawk, sundry warlike weapons of
+stone, and the deadly globe which, furnished with sharp teeth and
+hurled at an enemy, would not leave his body until it had torn out his
+heart. Finally, in a row, were ranged various trophies of victory,
+including a blood-stained helmet which the king had worn.
+
+The other door led into the queen's apartment. It was finely painted
+with the dye obtained from the native indigo trees, whilst its ceilings
+were covered with curiously woven mats. There were two magnificent
+bedsteads in the room, remarkable for the beauty of their coverlets and
+still more for that of the curtains with which they were hung; for had
+not Queen Evoeva spun them with her own hand? It was no wonder that Bria
+Rocca had chosen her to be his wife; for what woman in the land could
+weave such gorgeous tapestry as she, or prepare such delicious cheese?
+It was said of her, moreover, that in the whole dominions there was no
+woman of such entrancing beauty, her eyes being ablaze with all the
+colours of the finest opal; and if she only threw one momentary glance
+through her long, dark eyelashes she could tame the fiercest tiger--and
+even man himself. Her figure was exceedingly beautiful, and when she
+danced before her husband she would gracefully curve her head backwards
+and downwards until she could kiss her own heel. Yet she was wonderfully
+powerful, and if she was suddenly attacked by a jaguar she would press
+the beast to her bosom until she had crushed it to death. One might,
+therefore, easily imagine how highly her embraces would be prized by a
+man whom she was really in love with, and what pleasures would lurk in
+one kiss from her sweet lips. Once, when the king had been poisoned in
+the shoulder by an arrow, she herself sucked the poison out. She was,
+consequently, very ill for a year afterwards, and the king, of course,
+thenceforward loved her more passionately than ever.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the happy land of Chili the trees never cast their beautiful green
+leaves and the flowers never hide their heads in consequence of the
+cold. The bears do not betake themselves to slumber during the winter
+season; and the singing birds do not periodically fly away to a warmer
+climate. Summer, in this region, is only distinguished from winter by
+the fresh budding of the flowers, by the falling of cocoa-nuts from the
+trees; by a glittering appearance assumed by the stem of the _hevea_
+tree, which then sheds its juice in abundance; by the strewing of the
+ground with the nuts of the urcur tree, and by the flowers of the _pao_
+tree casting off their wool. There is no difference between the seasons
+but these, except that winter means a six weeks' spell of rain.
+
+About that time a great fête is held in honour of the gods of the
+_hevea_, the _urcur_, and the _pao_, who have provided their chosen
+people with so many good things. On this occasion the inhabitants would
+cut open the bark of the hevea tree, from which would flow a white fluid
+which, when boiled by the fire of the urcur nut, was changed into a
+leathery solid, from which they manufactured all kinds of fancy articles
+in order to sell them to the surrounding countries, who, not knowing the
+secret of manufacture, were ready purchasers. On the day of the
+festival the male inhabitants would wash their skin with the sticky
+juice of the hevea, and then cover their bodies with the beautiful white
+wool which comes from the pao-tree, whereupon they painted themselves
+with gorgeous colours, and the whole covering looks as if it grew to
+their flesh. The women were not, however, permitted to practise this
+custom; they had to content themselves with ornamenting their necks with
+rows of coral, their ears with snake-pendants, and their waist with a
+girdle of long feathers.
+
+When the flowers are beginning to open afresh, and the beautiful roses
+for which this land has so long been famous commence to re-expand, then
+the summer is approaching, and a fête is held in honour of the goddess
+Morinka. The _morinka_ is a gigantic flower which, growing from the
+bottom of the lake, expands the petals of its flower on the surface. So
+huge is it that one single petal would suffice for the cradle of a
+child, while a single flower will perfume the entire neighbourhood far
+and wide.
+
+At the time when the morinka commences to spread forth its beauty the
+inhabitants bring sacrifices to the goddess, who, if in a good temper
+and auspicious, causes the flower to expand freely and with great
+beauty. In this case there will be a splendid harvest; but if the flower
+is scanty and reluctant to open, then the goddess is angry--there will
+be dearth, drought, and plague, and a foreign foe will invade the land.
+
+The home of the Aruacans was indeed a happy land. The gigantic walls of
+the Andes mountains surrounded it like a fortification, and the steep
+mountain clefts cut it off from its neighbours, whose curiosity, desire
+of conquest, and thirst for treasures made them long to explore its
+unknown regions. It would have been useless for them to build bridges
+across the tremendous waterfalls that tore up the mountain peaks; in
+vain would they have made tunnels through the massive mountains; in vain
+would they have constructed winding pathways over the ridges; a December
+rain would have destroyed all man's labour. If that were not sufficient
+to protect the country from invasion, the Andes mountains had four
+mighty forts in addition--whose names were Maypo, Peteroa, Chollan, and
+Antuco. They were volcanic mountains. If only one of these strongholds
+would have started the campaign against the conquerors there would have
+been an end to all toils of theirs; the roads would have been replaced
+by precipices, while the valleys would be covered with lava and
+icebergs; the plains would be concealed by avalanches dotted over them
+like soap-bubbles; the entire district, with its cliffs and waterfalls,
+would appear in a different light, as though in a huge kaleidoscope:
+towering hills would have taken the place of running waters in the
+mountain basin.
+
+One day two hundred strangers appeared before Bria Rocca's town;
+peculiar looking people--such indeed as the good inhabitants had never
+yet beheld in their country. Straight to the Palace of Bria Rocca did
+the two hundred horsemen ride along, in presence of curious crowds and
+with sound of trumpet. Then the leader placed his soldiers in line, and
+a respectful message that he should allow them to pay him their respects
+was sent to the Cazcique. The leader's name was Valdivia, now for the
+first time pronounced in that territory. Did not the land of Chili
+tremble when she heard this name for the first time? Did not the river
+swell? Did not the volcanic mountains which had lain dormant for a long
+time burst out into violent eruption? No, oh no! They are deceived who
+imagine that the soil is mother of her people and that she feels and
+grieves over her sons' dangers. The soil is a coquette who delights in
+strangers, reveals her bosom to them, and to them as to others gives her
+bloom; she makes love to a new-comer and protects him from hostile
+attacks; on the graves of her old admirers does she grow him flowers.
+
+Why should she not in the present instance? Were not the Spaniards
+stately men, superior to the ancient inhabitants? Their whole apparel
+was bright, and sparkled; the sun could see himself in their glittering
+buckles, the breeze found an attraction in their fluttering ribbons. And
+how much more intellectual were they than the old inhabitants! Why, they
+could actually hold communication by means of signs, and towards
+whatever direction they desired could shoot out fire by means of metal
+tubes; they could travel by ocean, and they knew those who lived beyond
+it; they could build high-towered palaces from stones, and from small
+threads they made delightful raiment; from seeds they prepared such
+savoury dishes! Why should not the land prefer them to her old
+inhabitants! Bria Rocca has already heard of the fame of those white
+fairies--rumour travels unaided--for now Pizarro had long conquered
+Peru, which is divided from Chili only by the snow-peaked Cordillera
+mountains. He accorded a warm reception to Valdivia; he conducted him to
+his palace, asked him to be seated on his finest bear-skin, and placed
+before him the best coca drinks in cocoa-nut shells. And no one could
+prepare them so well as Evoeva! Then Valdivia could talk the language of
+the Redskins; he acquired their tongue and primitive phrases and could
+talk as well as if he had been an Inca.
+
+"Gentle Cazcique," he said to Bria Rocca, "brethren never come to visit
+you with strong and friendly arms. In one hand they hold glittering
+pearls and jewellery, which would gracefully adorn your women's necks,
+also fire-concealing liquor which exhilarates the sad ones and
+strengthens the feeble; it cools in hot weather, warms in cold. The
+other hand contains sharp iron which would cut your shields, and
+fire-throwing implements which aim from a distance! You can choose which
+one you please. We do not ask much of you, only give us that little hill
+you call Guelen, that we may build ourselves a shelter there, near the
+Matocko river. Consider your reply to my proposal."
+
+Bria Rocca puffed thrice from his hookah, and while looking through its
+smoke, pondered what he should say.
+
+"You remarked that you are white brethren and that you come with full
+arms; in the one hand carry presents, in the other guns. We are
+accustomed to catch monkeys in a similar manner; in one hand we hold
+fruit, in the other spears, and when the animal approaches for the fruit
+we hurl the spear at it. We desire not your presents--neither those from
+the right hand nor those from the left. Our women are pretty enough
+without your pearls, we are in good spirits without your liquors, and if
+you have more effective guns we have stronger arms; and if you present
+fire, we throw poison, which also brings death. If you wish for the
+Guelen mountain in exchange for your pearls and liquors you will not get
+it; if you ask it in return for sharp swords and fiery arrows, once
+more, you will not get it; but if you ask it nicely, you can have it
+gratis."
+
+"What is the 'nice' phrase, gentle Cazcique?"
+
+"That you will never do us any harm, that you will leave us in peace and
+not destroy our forests."
+
+Valdivia promised the Cazcique that they would remain faithful brethren,
+and as a proof of eternal friendship they both drank water from the
+river Matocko out of a pumpkin-shell. They then broke the shell and
+divided its pieces as a token of the sealed friendship, the idea being
+that just as the pumpkin-shell could not be put together without mutual
+consent, so they themselves could not be happy the one without the
+other. They finally smoked the pipe of peace and parted company.
+Valdivia mounted his horse and his followers went away, leaving behind
+them a cask filled with the "drink of wisdom"--the phrase by which the
+Spaniards designated brandy when speaking of it to the Indians.
+
+The Indian fathers asked Bria Rocca to divide the spirit amongst them,
+in order that they might all taste it and become as wise as the white
+people--"And such slaves as the Peruvians," thought Bria Rocca, though
+he did not say so. The spirit of the great Tao-tum had blessed him with
+the art of keeping judiciously silent. He poured out the spirit into a
+large tank and placed all the curious people around it, remarking that
+when he gave the signal they should bend down and drink to their hearts'
+contents. Bria Rocca then lit a long camphor laurel switch, which burned
+with a white flame, and twirled it round his head, thereafter dipping it
+into the tank. Hardly had the burning shoot touched the tank's contents
+when, in a moment, they became ignited, and the wonderful white
+transparent liquid began to burn with a pale blue flame from every part
+of the vessel's surface. The Indians recoiled in terror from this
+strange phenomenon, but Bria Rocca thrust his switch into the flaming
+fluid, and the blazing drops were spurted over their naked bodies like a
+shower of fire-sparks. He then grasped the edge of the tank and poured
+out from it the flaming liquid, which followed the Indians as they
+retreated. Even those of them who managed to escape carried on their
+heels some flames, and a certain amount they dropped at each step they
+took. The good people asked no more to taste the wise men's spirit, and
+the Spanish calabasse did not have the same destroying charm over them
+as it did over their copper-coloured brethren.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the Tlenoch legendary lore there was a strange and ancient tradition,
+originated long before the Spaniards set foot on that soil. According to
+one legend the Queczalcot gnome had appeared hundreds and hundreds of
+years before in South America; its face was white, with a beard and
+moustache, and it taught the people what herbs to eat, also chronology,
+the use of copper, and the building of houses. The gnome remained there
+for a century, spreading happiness all over the country. Then it
+disappeared across the sea, towards the east, promising to return
+hundreds of years thereafter, when it would teach much more. Well! the
+legend has just been fulfilled. The blessed white-faced, black-bearded
+descendants of Queczalcot have come, and have brought many nice things.
+In the rich Aztec province of Tlenoch this teaching was very easy; the
+Aztec tribe were already an extremely submissive people; they knew
+already the value of gold and apparel; they had their own fashions and a
+rich capital, which overlooked on one side a salt-water, and on the
+other, a fresh-water, lake. Around the earth were built houses,
+pyramids, and sacrificial _teocallis_, where at holiday time hundreds
+and hundreds of their chosen men are sacrificed to their bloodthirsty
+gods. Gold and men's lives were of small value, but pleasures were
+expensive. No wonder, therefore, that the Spaniards taught them so
+quickly how to appreciate their imported pleasures. But in Chili the
+gold was still under the soil; the people were treading upon it, not it
+upon them. Their hatred of foreigners existed from time immemorial, and
+also the desire to preserve their ancient customs, which they
+worshipped. So the Spaniards found them very bad pupils, their alluring
+words were not appreciated by the old ones; their presents were not
+esteemed by the young; the women's eyes refused to rest upon them. These
+people could be subdued by bold and daring means only.
+
+Valdivia gave wonderful presents to Bria Rocca for the Guelen
+mountain--a fully caparisoned horse, a kingly present and one worthy of
+acceptance being amongst the number. Cazcique could not refuse such a
+gift, and after having learnt to ride was pleased to know how he looked
+on horseback. At that time the proper use of the noble horse was unknown
+to the Indians. Valdivia had calculated well. As soon as Bria Rocca
+became possessed of his horse he rode about for several weeks upon the
+Salt Plains, and employed his time in pursuing herds of musk-ox in the
+high and luxuriant prairie grass, never dreaming that the Spaniards were
+building a fort on the top of Mount Guelen. When the Morinka fête was
+about to be held, Bria Rocca, according to established custom, ordered
+every man to retire from the scene; the Morinka fête was for women only,
+and no man's eye was allowed to witness it. On such occasions the people
+would retire to the forests to hunt; in town none were left but children
+and old women; the young married women and maidens were at the Morinka
+lake, and nobody was allowed to disturb them. Let that man beware who
+would dare to set eyes on this fête! He would carry the sentence of
+death upon his face. Although he should hide in forest after forest yet
+would he be traced out and killed for presuming to invade the Morinka
+fête. The heavenly flower _morinka_ is herself goddess amongst flowers;
+a most peculiar plant is she; eleven months of the year she reposes
+under water, twelve feet beneath the surface. During this time she has
+no actual existence. When her birthday arrives, which it never fails to
+do, for it falls at that precise date when the day is longest and the
+night shortest, all of a sudden the lake gets covered with brown and
+orange-coloured bubbles a span long, which float on the surface like
+many small boats. One day later the bubbles will burst open, and the
+knotted membranes will expand, enormous cup-shaped leaves coming out,
+whose inside is painted a pale carmine colour, which glitters on the
+rich and fleshy fibres of the leaves like the inside of an autumn peach.
+Its light green netted veins turn to a bright gold as they approach the
+stamens, the leaves begin to develop with astonishing rapidity, and
+spread on the water's surface like round tables. The pale carmine enamel
+changes into a mild green colour, and the veins that from yellow and
+lily colour have become carmine in netted form divide it up into 1000
+squares. The tremendous leaves grow and extend with visible rapidity;
+some of them are a fathom in width. Thus they cover the Morinka lake
+with a wonderfully rich carpet, over which, indeed, one may walk to and
+fro. The wide leaf may bend, but it will not become filled with water
+under the tread. A man's weight is no more to it than is a butterfly's
+to an ordinary flower. Ten days afterwards the buds--their huge closed
+cups as large as a child's head--burst from under the leaf, resting
+sideways owing to its weight. The outer leaves, which are white and
+netted, are as large as melon slices; two days afterwards they have
+changed to a pink colour, and on the night of the fourth day they burst.
+The flower does not bend any more, but stands straight.
+
+As the cup bursts open many white petals appear from the light pink
+calyx. An indescribably sweet perfume spreads all over the district; and
+so intoxicatingly delicious a sensation does it produce upon those who
+have inhaled its pure and virgin fragrance that a woman forgets she is a
+woman and imagines herself a fairy. On the fifth and sixth days the
+flower opens quite, and one petal after another develops; on the seventh
+day it appears in its fullest glory.
+
+The petals have snow-white branches, coloured deep red; their centre is
+of a rich gold colour, containing thousands of thready moulds. The
+length of the calyx is then from three to four spans. The Morinka fête
+takes place on the night when the flower opens. It is held at new moon,
+under a dull sky; for so sensitive to light are the petals of our fairy
+plant that with the moon's light even they open but half-way; when the
+sun shines they shrink together again; but the stars' cold glitter is
+very dear to them, as also are those star mimics which are visible from
+afar, and whose virgin brilliancy does not affect the picturesque
+senses, I mean the fire-fly.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: By the most serious people of serious Europe, this plant
+has been named "the Queen." _Victoria Regina_ is the name by which it is
+called. It is to be found in royal collections only.]
+
+When the flowers begin to burst open millions of fire-flies appear by
+the lake--attracted perhaps, by the perfume; possibly they are born with
+the flower, so that each may be fated to take delight in the other. Now
+the tremendous calyx, with a light green colour like diamond glitter,
+bends to and fro. Nature's artistic hand has ornamented its crown with
+precious stones, for thousands of dewdrops, those stars of floral
+creation, are glittering from the petals, while the fire-flies are
+continually flitting from one leaf to another, thus forming a fairy-like
+walk; on the majestic flower glistens the sovereign fire-fly, the
+magnificent _avra_, the lenten insect, on whose glittering colours the
+petal shades are thrown. The night is moonless, but rich in stars; the
+surface of the Morinka lake is covered with a green leaf carpet, on
+which many little stars are shining as if in heaven above. The dense
+banana grove that surrounds the enchanting lake gives it the appearance
+of a temple encircled by thousands of green columns. And the surface of
+the lake forms a magnificent altar, whence, from the gigantic calyx, the
+most delicate sacrifice, the most delightful odour, rises to heaven. By
+the sides of the lake, on a grassy plot, the Indian women solemnise the
+sacrificial rites. Thousands of the most beautiful virgins and childless
+women, placed in three circles, dance about and sing praises to the
+Great Spirit who brought forward the budding season of the
+water-flowers, and who awakes the feeling of the slumbering heart.
+Whoever saw them from a distance would imagine them to be fairy circles.
+Each woman had a chain of glittering gems round her neck. These in fact
+consisted of many hundred Brazilian insects, which the Indian women
+strung upon thread and used as neck-ornaments. The colours of the
+insects were continually changing from green and marigold to a ruby hue,
+and _vice versâ_, and surpassed in brilliancy the most precious stones.
+
+In the midst of the circle stood Queen Evoeva. She was distinguished by
+her wearing three insect chains on her neck. Round her waist, too, was
+arranged a broad girdle, ornamented with many dazzling insects; their
+light was not, however, sufficiently great to allow one to see the
+shadow cast by this charming woman. In her dark hair there glittered a
+splendid "lampyris," whose moon-shaped light was thrown upon the lovely
+creature's face, to which it imparted a pale serenity.
+
+Could one have seen those women one would have imagined they were
+fairies. But who would have presumed to approach them? Would not the
+Great Spirit have been enraged at the breaking of a divine command?
+
+Indeed an Indian would not have dared to do this, even were he an enemy.
+A Spaniard, however, does it, though a friend.
+
+All of a sudden wild noises of men were heard in the banana groves; the
+women, frightened, rushed into one group. "Men, it seems," cried they,
+"have broken into the Holy Grove on the eve of the Morinka fête." It was
+Valdivia with one hundred and fifty of his comrades. When Queen Evoeva
+recognised the Spaniards she stepped forward with stately tread, and
+boldly asked Valdivia how they dared appear on the sacred ground while
+the Morinka fête was being held, and when every man was required to keep
+at a respectful distance. Valdivia's reply was to embrace the queen's
+beautiful form, and to implant a kiss upon her cheek, burning with fury.
+"Ah!" shouted the Indians, "our queen has been kissed by a strange
+man--a kiss has reached her lip on the eve of Morinka! The kiss of a
+_strange man_!" The Indian women madly attacked Valdivia and his
+comrades and began a severe struggle for her majesty. Here, then, was a
+conflict between feeble, naked women, unarmed, and strong mailed men.
+With nails and teeth did the former fight, like wild beasts, considering
+but little the wounds which they themselves received. The Spaniards were
+obliged to have recourse to arms against those enraged attacking ones,
+and before long red streams were flowing towards the Morinka
+lake--streams of women's blood. But Evoeva was freed from Valdivia's
+grasp, and one moment gave her time to jump into the lake, whose surface
+was covered with huge nymphean leaves. These clod themselves upon her
+and did not part asunder again. Hundreds upon hundreds of women followed
+the queen's example, throwing themselves into the lake to escape their
+pursuers. The Spaniards saw none rise to the surface; the nymphic leaves
+floated there as before. But the women swam under the smooth leaf-carpet
+to the river's mouth; the river emptied itself into the lake, and
+farther up formed a waterfall ten fathoms in height; across this the
+women proceeded. Those only escaped who were neither dashed by the rocks
+nor suffocated by the waterfall.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bria Rocca was until late evening pursuing a jaguar--which he contrived
+to reach and kill--on the wild plains. It was nightfall when he returned
+with his men and reached the banks of the Mapocho river, where they
+encamped.
+
+Bria Rocca led his horse to the river to drink. The noble animal had
+been moving about quickly the whole day and was very thirsty; but as
+soon as it bent its head towards the water it retreated and galloped to
+its master, shaking all over; then, tossing its mane from side to side,
+it broke into a violent snorting. The king thought that the horse had
+smelt an alligator in the stream, and conducted it to another part; but
+she manifested the old signs of aversion. "There is blood in the water,
+Bria Rocca, woman's blood; your horse dreads it, and that is why he
+refuses to drink." It was now midnight, but still a light seemed to
+shine from the forest. "Look how soon it gets light now!" said the
+Indians, awaking from their dreams. "It is not daybreak, nor is it the
+flames of a burning forest." The king's town was in flames, and beneath
+that spot where the sky seemed brightest blazed the royal palace. The
+strangers had set it on fire! Towards daybreak there was great commotion
+in the grove. At first a few crying children rushed thither and awoke
+the slumbering camp. These informed his majesty that the white strangers
+had disturbed their dreams and made fire on the roofs of their homes,
+and that those who could not run away were slain. Then came other
+messengers to Bria Rocca, and the heads of slaughtered women and
+children could be seen floating down the river. These could not speak to
+the king, but sufficient could be gathered from their silent
+communication.
+
+Bria Rocca stood on the river bank, resting on his axe and looking at
+the floating human remains. All around the following raving noise was
+heard, "It is all up with Matocka town; the dreaded of the Guelen
+mountain have by stealth broken into it and bombarded it with metal
+dragons; they have killed the children, carried away the women, and
+burnt down the king's palace."
+
+The King himself replied quickly, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria
+Rocca should bathe his feet in blood, and should warm himself at his
+town's flame, Bria Rocca is silent and refrains from shedding tears."
+
+The old people told his majesty that the white men from the Papua and
+Omagua tribes had secretly collected in force in the Guelen mountain,
+and during the Morinka fête, when all had withdrawn to the forest, had
+attacked every village of Bria Rocca and destroyed them; and that
+Valdivia was proclaimed master of the country. The King quietly
+replied, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria Rocca's people should
+leave their kingdom, Bria Rocca refrains from shedding tears."
+
+Lastly, there became visible on the Mapocko river rush-boats, on which
+the women who had escaped, with their tiny children--many of whom, that
+possibly life might again appear, were still pressed to their mother's
+breasts, dead from the strokes of the enemy--lay terror-stricken and
+furious.
+
+Now approached the king's wife, the beautiful Evoeva. Her black hair
+hung loosely over her face in order that her shame might be covered. The
+women grasped Bria Rocca's hand with great fury, pointing to Evoeva.
+
+"Look," said they, "here is your wife; her cheeks were kissed by a
+strange man."
+
+Bria Rocca's lips paled, and every vein on his temples became swollen;
+yet the war-lance did not move in his hand. He resignedly answered the
+women, "If the Great Spirit desires that I shall not behold Evoeva any
+more Bria Rocca is content and never will look at her again."
+
+Whilst saying these words he covered with a skin the wife who knelt at
+his feet, and turned away from her. The Indians seized their arms and,
+beating upon their shields, vowed vengeance upon the strangers. Bria
+Rocca approached them softly, and said:
+
+"Let your arms rest; this day we have lost, let our enemies gain it; it
+is to-day the fight of kings against beggars whose lances are weak as
+straw. Let them have happiness, splendid towns, fine women and
+children, and abundance of earthly treasure. At present they have
+nothing to give us in return for this evening's gift. Let us wait until
+they have."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ten years have elapsed since Bria Rocca's palace was burnt, and since
+then many changes have taken place in Chili. Valdivia has occupied Chili
+in the name of Pizarro; then he goes over to the king's side and helps
+to overthrow Pizarro, and as a reward receives the Viceroyalty of Chili.
+A portion of the province which he had first conquered was named
+Valdivia, and also that river from which Bria Rocca's horse refused to
+drink. The splendid city too, which was built on the site of the ancient
+bamboo town of Bria Rocca, was named Valdivia. This Valdivia gave quite
+a different appearance to the whole district. Stone-made roads,
+constructed by European adventurers, were laid, and from town to town
+people have ploughed and gathered in the earth's produce, and have
+exposed the precious metal of the mountains, just as if they were really
+quite at home. Nobody has disturbed them in their work; the
+copper-coloured persons have disappeared, not a sound of them can be
+heard in the forest, nor a trace of their footsteps observed on the
+ground--like a crowd of grasshoppers before a seven-days' rain have they
+become entirely destroyed.
+
+Perhaps they have gone up to the mountains or into the wastes of the
+interior, where the Golden Land has already sprung into existence, and
+concerning which so many wonderful stories have been related to
+adventurous Spaniards about the monks Cabeça de Vaca and Niça: where
+wild people were walking about in civilised clothing, where the towns
+were laid out with emerald and turquoise, and whose fort Cibolla was ten
+miles long.
+
+Some people who tried to find out this remarkable land, never returned
+from it. In the time of Valdivia the Spanish imagination became excited
+about this El Dorado. If any wondered how Bria Rocca's people
+disappeared, without leaving a trace behind them, they could console
+themselves with the fact that they were now very happy, and that they
+had gone in search of brethren to Cibolla town, where they were now
+wallowing in milk and honey. Although they wondered why they could not
+follow the Indians, the Spaniards now quietly settled in Chili; they
+have ceased to dig trenches round the town, and to post guards along the
+roads; they no longer teach their bloodhounds to scent out the
+two-footed wild animal; there is peace and tranquillity in the whole
+country. The merchants count out their money and the great lords
+lavishly spend it; pretty women walk about in silks, and little children
+ride on their fathers' knees. Yes, yes! the Spaniards have
+everything--riches, happiness, and splendid towns, also beautiful women
+and tiny, chattering offspring. . . . .
+
+"Let us wait until they can repay us," said Bria Rocca.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A new lake would be found, and the waterfalls would have cut for
+themselves new passages. Still, Bria Rocca's people have taken refuge
+there with their herds and flocks, whilst the eager searchers for El
+Dorado have failed to discover the way to fairyland. The Chilian volcano
+has rested for a hundred years, and only a few craters have shown from a
+distance that he too was one of those gigantic bombarders of the heavens
+who now rests conquered. But perhaps he sleeps merely--such great beings
+dream long. Whilst, then, he is thus dreaming, the Southern voluptuous
+plants have entwined themselves round about him, and every kind of grass
+and tree derives nourishment from his presence; at his foot a forest of
+red cedar has formed, and on his head tamarisk bushes live and flourish.
+From the autumn greenery which covers the mountain, dark caverns peep
+out. These are the mouths of ancient lava-streams by which one might get
+at the mountain's heart. According to the stories of the Omagua tribes,
+it was through such that the Aruacans made their way to the Cordillera
+interior. There were always a few adventurers who attempted to penetrate
+these caverns in search of the Golden Land, but they, as a rule, never
+returned, and nobody troubled about them. Once, however, two monks,
+accompanied by an Indian who understood the language, left Sant-Jago in
+search of this mysterious country. Had all three disappeared, no one
+would have made much ado; but it so happened that the Indian returned
+soon afterwards without the monks. He was interrogated on the subject,
+but he merely said that his comrades had perished--in what way he
+declined to tell. He had sworn by the great teeth of Mahu-Mahu that he
+never should divulge the secret. Valdivia had him placed on the bench of
+torture, and it appears that he felt the thumb-screwing instruments,
+and boiling oil had greater effect upon him than the big teeth of
+Mahu-Mahu, and so he promised to disclose everything. According to his
+story he and his comrades, after they had provided themselves with
+torchlights, entered the Chillon cavern, where, after proceeding a few
+hundred yards, they discovered on the moist soil the footprints of
+Aruacans. They knew them to be theirs, for they were marked by
+india-rubber heels, worn as a rule by the Aruacans to protect them from
+serpents. As they advanced further the cavern got wider in extent, and
+from its steep sides great rocks stood out. The descent, which became
+steeper and steeper as they advanced, was crossed by a stream that one
+could hear but not see from the cavern's mouth. Over this stream a
+bamboo suspension bridge become visible later on, similar to that which
+the Aruacans had erected over the Matocka river.
+
+The volcanic footpaths got more and more difficult to tread upon, and at
+times he and his companions were obliged to climb upon the rocks, as if
+they were trying to ascend a mountain.
+
+Finally the opening became so narrow that two men could hardly walk
+through it, and there they reached a spot that seemed hollowed out
+beneath. They advanced further when the earth gave way, and they all
+fell down to the cavern depths. It was a trap from which there was no
+escape. After they had for a few hours vainly endeavoured to rise from
+this pitfall, they suddenly heard sounds of voices, and--recognised the
+Aruacans. They recognised them from the wool which covered their
+bodies. The Indians pulled them up with long ropes, blindfolded them,
+and bound their hands behind their backs, driving them on between two
+tough trees. Ere long the echo from the narrow passage ceased, and the
+atmosphere revealed to them that they were in the open air. When their
+eyes were unfolded they saw they were in the Chillon crater. It was a
+dreadful smoking valley, with a funnel-like descent, whose sides were
+then just as bare as when the last eruption had taken place.
+
+All around there were red-brown stone piles, quite burnt out--dead for
+ever--on which no plant could live. Not even a piece of moss or of
+lichen was to be seen upon them.
+
+Lower down the valley got compressed, and on its sides numberless small
+holes, like wasps' nests, were visible. Neither grass nor flower could
+be observed anywhere--nothing of that kind, indeed, but a few pale green
+trees scattered about at intervals. These were upas-trees, in the poison
+of whose sap the Indians dip their spears. Every surrounding plant had
+been killed by their exhalations, so that they alone grew in the valley.
+
+On the sides of this dreadful valley a wide, hollow border was to be
+seen; it represented the last active volcano; in appearance it resembled
+the gallery of a great amphitheatre. On this gallery stood the Aruacan
+fathers with Bria Rocca. Under it was formed a sort of semicircle, where
+many large china jugs might be seen placed near one another, whose
+mouths were for the most part covered with india-rubber; some were
+open. As the captives were brought before Bria Rocca two such jugs were
+procured, and the two monks, tied to a couple of columns, were then
+killed with two long axes, similar to those with which the Aruacans cut
+the hevea-trees. Their blood poured out into the jugs; their bodies were
+thrown down the precipice. After this the Indians carried away the jugs
+with the blood and placed them near the others. Soon thereafter numerous
+serpents peeped out of holes in the walls: in appearance they were like
+cigars. A traveller who does not know this serpent might be deceived,
+and, imagining it a cigar, pick it up--which would mean death. One bite
+from this serpent is fatal. These dreaded reptiles crept in thousands
+into the jugs in which the murdered Spaniards' blood had been placed,
+and when they filled them two Indians approached and carefully put two
+india-rubber covers over them, so as to prevent their exit.
+
+They meant at first to kill the priest's dusky guide, but Bria Rocca
+said that black blood was useless, and they let him go. But he had to
+swear by the great Mahu Mahu that he should not tell a soul what he had
+seen; if he did tell, the Aruacans would come for him in tens of
+thousands, and they would not be particular as to who was white and who
+black. So they let him go through the same way as he and the monks came
+in, and he could not say how he got out of the crater.
+
+Of course, nobody believed a word of the Indian's story, and they
+believed that he himself killed the monks and invented a fable. It was
+all a tissue of lies, they thought, and the unfortunate man was pinned
+to a stake outside Sant-Jago.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Indian's story had long been forgotten in Chili. Valdivia returned
+with glory and overwhelmed with distinction from Peru, and settled down
+to live peacefully in the town which bore his name. He dispersed his
+troops amongst the various towns and settlements, and he had hardly more
+than three hundred soldiers left with him. These, moreover, got out of
+practice, as they seldom had occasion to handle the gun.
+
+All of a sudden, on a still and quiet night, a wild noise awoke the
+peaceful inhabitants of Valdivia. Frantic shouting came from the
+surrounding hills, and all around the farm-buildings were set on fire;
+the faces of hundreds of people were distinguished by the flames. "The
+Aruacans have returned!" were the words, distractedly uttered, that
+sounded through the town, and that also reached Valdivia's palace. Yes,
+the Aruacans _have_ returned--to ask for an explanation regarding the
+presumption of building a town over the graves of their ancestors; and
+Bria Rocca was there to inquire who it was that killed thousands of his
+subjects, and also who it was that kissed the cheek of Evoeva. The
+attack was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to report the
+great danger to the adjoining town; and before Valdivia had time to draw
+his sword all the hills surrounding the town were occupied by thousands
+of the Red Indians. There was only one outlet from the town through
+which the Spaniards might have escaped, and it seemed as if the Indians
+had purposely left that unguarded. The Spaniards were not, however, to
+be led into a trap, rightly thinking that it would have been folly to
+throw themselves upon thousands of wild and enraged Indians, who would
+have despatched them with their poisonous spears; they, therefore, drew
+up their guns on the fortification walls. How, possibly, can the simple
+arrows of the Indians compete with such weapons?
+
+The Indians occupied all the adjoining hills, and had they had guns in
+their possession they could very easily have fired into the town.
+
+Valdivia's men looked quietly down from the rampart walls, for they
+observed that the Indians had no storming engines with which they might
+attack the stronghold.
+
+Bria Rocca's tent was erected on a hill concealed from view by huge
+cocoa-palms, from which Valdivia's palace could be seen. At the Indian
+chief's command the brown leaves of eight trees were pulled down, and
+the trunks of the trees were cut open to the extent of several feet in
+width; then were tied to their tops long ropes of sap-wood, the other
+end of the ropes being twisted round a potter's wheel which was made to
+turn by means of long rods. Under the influence of these ropes the trees
+got quite bent and their tops touched the ground. Then the Indians
+placed some strange-looking vessels into the hollows of the trunks; the
+mouths of these vessels were covered over with india-rubber. Bria Rocca
+next pulled his axe from his belt and cut the ropes in twain. The palm
+trunks flew up with great force, and with a tremendous noise the jugs
+that had been placed in the tree-hollows shot into the market-place of
+Valdivia. Each tree discharged its dangerous bombs as did the others.
+Oh, what a curse those bombs proved! Thousands upon thousands of
+poisonous serpents escaped from the broken jugs and, maddened by white
+man's blood, rushed at the people in every direction. Guns were of no
+avail when dealing with these cursed little monsters. The bloodthirsty,
+devil-moved insects crept up the legs of the horses, and getting beneath
+the armour killed their riders. They swarmed all over the streets and
+streamed into the houses, killing the women and children and those who
+could not fly from them. In one hour's time Valdivia had more dead than
+fighting men. Valdivia himself became desperate and mounted his horse,
+and, accompanied by a hundred horsemen, proceeded towards the gate
+leading to Sant-Jago, that gate which the Indians had left unguarded. He
+heard the triumphant shouts of the Indians and saw before him the
+ancient forest shooting out flames in hundreds of directions. He was
+surrounded! The enraged Indians followed him up behind, and in front the
+burning forest cut off the means of escape. His companions rode away in
+alarm; they preferred to die fighting, not in this manner. Valdivia
+thought it best to boldly cut his way through the burning forest, and so
+effect his escape--or perish in the attempt. The Indians pursued him to
+the edge of the forest, but seeing how boldly he galloped through the
+flames they nearly all held back there. One man only attempted to
+pursue him further--namely, Bria Rocca. The Spanish horses on which both
+were mounted did not fear the fire. Burning foliage fell over them and
+little embers glowed under their feet; still the two horses wildly
+plunged forward, step for step. Valdivia did not even look back, and he
+did not, therefore, observe the Indian chief when he threw a long
+harpoon spear at him. This spear entered his body, and when it was
+pulled out the heart came away along with it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The spot on which Valdivia stood was strewn with the charred ruins of
+the burned town, and there--on that gloomy space--Bria Rocca, after ten
+years' mourning, held a feast in honour of the injured Goddess Morinka.
+He sent for his wife Evoeva, whom he had thrust away from him, and upon
+whose countenance he had not gazed for ten years; and when he had
+embraced her he presented her with a tambourine and a flute of bone, as
+well as a cup filled with native wine. Then he said: "This is a day of
+great rejoicing, Evoeva. To-day you must sing, drink and dance. Strike
+upon this tambourine, blow the flute, empty the cup--the tambourine is
+made from Valdivia's skin, the flute is his bone, the cup his head."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Up to the present day the Aruacan's country has remained unconquered.
+
+
+
+
+BIZEBAN
+
+
+Such is the name of the deaf and dumb boy who waits upon the Sultan.
+
+The art of manufacturing these _bizebans_ is very simple, and at Gozond
+there are several hundred professors of it who find it lucrative enough.
+From poor people, who possess families, they buy children, at ten or
+twenty rupees apiece--mere infants a twelvemonth old. As yet, of course,
+they cannot talk. These men begin by pouring into the ears of the little
+creatures a fluid prepared from herbs, which renders them absolutely
+deaf. Two-thirds of the children die under the process. Those which
+survive are valuable articles of commerce. Having lost their hearing
+they can, of course, no longer learn to talk, and they remain dumb, as
+well as deaf, for life. These children, as they grow up, see the world
+around them but cannot comprehend what they see. Their native
+intelligence cannot become developed: they are like human beings from
+whom the soul has been snatched. These soulless boys are very valuable
+articles in the seraglio. They are always hovering around the Sultan. In
+the most secret chambers they are in attendance; the most valuable
+documents are entrusted to their care; and beneath their eyes passes all
+the private correspondence between the Sultan and his confidential
+advisers. They do not hear a syllable of any conversation--of such a
+thing as speech they have no conception. How can they imagine what those
+peculiarly shaped letters mean which their eyes behold? There is no
+corresponding knowledge or intelligence within them which would render
+this possible; and the few things which they both see and understood,
+they could not communicate to other people.
+
+Such were the unfortunate _bizebans_. Nevertheless they were dressed in
+purple and silk robes. Long chains of pearls hung from their neck, and
+they were fed upon what overflowed from the Sultan's own table. In all
+respects they were treated with especial consideration--like monkeys or
+parrots which are kept as playthings.
+
+These creatures, deprived of soul, know how to do one or two things, but
+no more. They understand that they must remain on guard at a certain
+post and not move thence; they can carry a certain article to a certain
+place; they can cut the Sultan's nails to beautiful fine points and
+adjust his turban--such is the utmost limit of their accomplishments.
+They are indeed like dogs, taught to fetch and carry things for their
+masters in their mouth.
+
+Before Sultan Mustapha II. ascended the throne he already possessed a
+number of _bizebans_. One of these was his especial favourite--a boy who
+was quite superior to the rest and who excited more sympathy; for in
+his big, dreamy eyes so much sentiment and intelligence was visible that
+it seemed sad that he could not be taught to feel and think like a human
+being. Like other _bizebans_ he had no name. Why should a _bizeban_ have
+a name? He won't hear it even if it is addressed to him.
+
+As a rule the _bizeban_ also fulfilled the office of eunuch, and walked
+freely into the seraglio. Prince Mustapha used often, by the hand of his
+pet _bizeban_, to send to his sister, the beautiful Saliha, presents of
+a certain kind of very choice melon which only grew in the Sultan's
+garden and concerning which fruit a very sad story was told.
+
+One day, noticing that one melon was missing from the beds, the Sultan
+had all his gardeners tortured that the culprit might confess his theft.
+Then, when this experiment failed, he had seven of them cut open. To no
+purpose; but when the eighth was ripped up fragments of the melon were
+revealed, which was very fortunate, as a few hundred other servants
+would, but for this, have been treated likewise.
+
+The lovely Saliha was a very kind-hearted creature. She thought her
+brother's _bizeban_ was a very sweet and gentle little thing, and she
+did not hesitate to pet him. She tried to make him understand this and
+that, and he seemed to have a very quick intelligence. Why should he not
+one day possess a soul? This idea occurred to her as she was walking, on
+one occasion, in the shrubbery. Could she not give back to him the soul
+of which he had been deprived, could she not teach him the alphabet? If
+she showed him a certain letter and then pointed to some object with
+which he was familiar could he not by degrees be made acquainted with
+the world?
+
+Saliha made the experiment. She found it a very pleasant recreation, for
+life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.
+
+We have heard that prisoners in their dungeons have even taught spiders
+to dance at the sound of music (and the seraglio as a place of detention
+is scarcely more exhilarating than a dungeon). Why should not the deaf
+and dumb boy prove as apt as a spider? At her first essay, Saliha was
+amazed to see how the soul of the _bizeban_ began to expand. He grasped
+anything in a moment. Once shown the alphabet he could afterwards trace
+out each letter on the ground. Once shown the name of a certain article
+he never forgot it. This success encouraged Saliha to further attempts.
+Would it not be possible to speak to the _bizeban_? But how could the
+speaking be done so that no beholder comprehended it? Ah! with the
+hands! The human hand has five fingers, and their variety of motion, as
+they open and shut, is such that the entire alphabet might thereby be
+distinctly expressed. Saliha determined to teach the boy to converse
+with her by means of his fingers; and the success of her experiments
+exceeded her expectations. He quickly learned the secret signs. It was
+delightful to Saliha; and she determined to get amusement out of it too.
+She would extract from the _bizeban_ secrets concerning her brother
+which he thought no one living knew, and then she would tease this
+relative by pretending that she had discovered them through the mystic
+words of the Cabala. Who could ever dream of suspecting a _bizeban_ who
+was deaf and dumb?
+
+After the death of Osman, Prince Mustapha ascended the throne. His
+youthful gaiety now quickly fled--his shoulders began to bend beneath
+the weight of the Turkish Empire, which was then already in a tottering
+condition, with enemies on every side.
+
+At that time the country possessed a great statesman in the person of
+Raghib Pasha, whose potent hand had preserved the empire from
+destruction. It was he who crushed the forces of the rebellious Egyptian
+princes and laid the province at the feet of the Padishah. Raghib was
+not only a hero in war, he was also a famous poet and the greatest
+scholar in the land. Historians describe him, in his character of
+statesman, as a "leader of leaders," _szad rul vezir_, and in that of
+writer as the "Prince of Roumelian poets". (_Sultani suari Rum_). In his
+gigantic work entitled _Zezinet Olulum_ ("Ship of Knowledge") all the
+legends are collected which had lain scattered about the Arab plains. It
+was he who founded the splendid library which bears his name.
+
+At the time of which we now write, Saliha was in the very springtide of
+her beauty--like the lotus-flower which opens its petals before the dew
+of dawn. Sultan Mustapha could not have given Raghib Pasha a greater
+reward than by bestowing upon him the hand of his lovely sister; and as
+to whether he inspired her with real affection I need only say that he
+was fifty-nine when he married her and that she loved him so much that
+when he died her mind became deranged.
+
+Raghib Pasha ruled not only over the Mussulmans but also over the ruler
+of the Mussulmans, for he had divined the Sultan's thoughts--yes, his
+innermost thoughts.
+
+It was the Sultan's habit not to retire at night to his bedchamber until
+he had recorded, in a voluminous diary, all the events of the day and
+his impressions concerning them. This book he habitually kept in the
+secrecy of his own room, and the _bizeban_ watched over it until the
+morning. To whom would it ever have occurred that the deaf and dumb from
+birth could read, or that he could communicate the written lines to some
+one else? In the room where this diary was kept there was a little
+window which opened into the _khazoda_, the Sultan's place of worship.
+But it was so shut off from view by various corridors as to be only
+visible from the seraglio. Every evening, just as the Sultan was leaving
+his apartments in order to go and say his final prayers in this
+sanctuary, the murzims were accustomed to strike seven times with a
+hammer a bell without a tongue. Then the Imam who stood before the altar
+would say: "Ahamdu lillahi Rabbil alemum" ("Grace descends from Heaven,
+which rules over all"). Thereupon the congregation would fall on their
+faces. They remained prostrate until the Sultan reached the door; when
+the Imam would exclaim: Allehú ekber! ("The Lord is powerful"), and all
+present rose to their feet. During the period of prostration a secret
+hand would be stretched out from the little window we have mentioned,
+and would make all kinds of signs. No one noticed this hand, except
+Saliha, who carefully watched its mysterious movements whilst she was
+upon her knees. From these signs she knew everything that the Sultan had
+that day recorded in his diary; and the very same night she would
+whisper the information to her husband.
+
+Raghib Pasha was a wise man, who knew how to keep such information
+secret. He thereby learned who his enemies were and managed to clear
+them out of his way. He got to know the wishes of the Sultan and could
+long before anticipate them. Everything he did was done in the name of
+the Sultan: the pomp and glory which he himself achieved he allowed
+people to ascribe to his Sovereign, and he even made Mustapha imagine
+that he ruled; whereas the feeble-hearted monarch was a mere puppet in
+the hands of his skilful Grand Vizier.
+
+In his poems Raghib extolled the Sultan for his mighty and politic
+deeds--eulogised him for inspecting the navy and the military magazines,
+for increasing the nation's revenue by 6,000,000 piastres, and doing
+other things which Raghib himself had in fact done on his own account.
+
+Throughout Turkey, throughout Europe, it was known well enough that, not
+the Sultan, but his Minister, ruled at Stamboul; it was only Mustapha
+who did not know it.
+
+One day Raghib's enemies, Hamil Pasha, Bahir Mustapha, and Mohamed Emin,
+who were jealous of the Minister's great power, said to the Sultan:
+
+"This man only calls you Sultan in mockery. He does everything without
+you, just as if the State were his. He has just concluded, without your
+knowledge, an alliance with the ruler of one of the infidel empires--an
+alliance which, although it may prove the destruction of other
+unfaithful nations, he should never have dared to make before obtaining
+the consent of his monarch, in whose presence he is nothing but dust."
+It was Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who, believing in the
+wisdom of the distinguished Minister, had invited his alliance, and the
+documents ratifying it had already been signed. Had that alliance been
+allowed to continue, perhaps the crescent of Turkey would have risen
+again. But the heart of Mustapha had been perturbed by these malicious
+whisperings. When the traitors had left him he said nothing, but simply
+ordered his _bizeban_ to bring him his diary, wherein he proceeded to
+record his impressions of the day. Then, shutting the book and giving it
+to the _bizeban_, he went to evening prayers. On this occasion the hand
+appeared at the little window and made certain signs which Saliha
+watched intently. They said: "Escape, Raghib. The Sultan knows of your
+letter to the Prussian king. To-morrow your head will be cut off and
+your documents confiscated."
+
+The Sultan returned from his profound devotions with a lightened heart.
+No one, he said to himself, knew his secret, and to-morrow morning he
+would send his executioner to fetch him Raghib's head. Yes, he longed to
+possess that head ignominiously severed from its trunk.
+
+But when the executioner reached the Grand Vizier's residence, he found
+there his dead body, which could no longer be killed. On his table lay a
+letter addressed to the Sultan and enclosed in a velvet envelope. It was
+taken to the Sovereign with the news that the Minister had been found
+dead. The letter ran thus:
+
+      "Mustapha, the Omniscient has vouchsafed, in His
+      mysterious providence, to let me know that you wished
+      to kill me because, without your knowledge, I
+      concluded, for the benefit of your dominion, an
+      alliance with the King of Prussia. I did not run away
+      from death; I simply anticipated it. I consider I have
+      lived long enough in order to die fitly now, and long
+      enough not to be forgotten. All the documents at my
+      palace I have burned. You will see what I have done
+      for your country; the rest will be said when we meet
+      in presence of the great Prophet."
+
+The Sultan was paralysed with wonder and fear. How could that secret,
+which had been locked up only in his own heart, have been divined by
+Raghib? First he accused the _dsins_ (Christian prophets), then the
+Hindoo soothsayers, then the interpreters of dreams--then the very pen
+with which he had written. How could he dream that the deaf and dumb
+could speak?
+
+When Mustapha endeavoured to further the alliance with the King of
+Prussia, this great ruler of the infidels replied that there had until
+recently been one wise man in Turkey, but that he did not now propose
+to do business with fools. This was a bitter humiliation to the
+Sultan--to think that his late slave could have procured an alliance
+which was contemptuously refused to the King of Kings!
+
+Mustapha frequently lamented the loss of Raghib, and was constantly
+tortured by the mystery whereby the secret of his heart had been
+penetrated. After the Grand Vizier's death the _bizeban_ ceased to
+communicate to Saliha the secrets of the Sultan. He had no longer any
+motive to do so.
+
+First came Hamil, who only, however, remained Grand Vizier for six
+months, when he was executed for his negligence; and chroniclers relate
+of him that he let the empire go as it pleased, doing it neither good
+nor harm. Then followed the head of Bahir Mustapha. It was cut off for
+his barbarity. The third was Mohamed Emin, whom the Sultan beheaded for
+cowardice on the battlefield. Mustapha shed tears over the loss of his
+three Grand Viziers--but not on their personal account, for he had never
+forgotten Raghib, who was so wise, brave, and noble; and whenever he
+beheaded one of his Grand Viziers he would always think of the
+unfortunate Raghib.
+
+The _bizeban_ laughed within himself; for the deaf and dumb can laugh
+when they are alone. His secret no one ever knew.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST
+
+
+Pozdordy was one of the best known and respected farmers in the province
+of B----, and the surrounding gentry were accustomed to visit him at his
+picturesque homestead. The frequency of their visits was, however, due
+chiefly to the circumstance that he was possessed of a lovely daughter.
+This maiden, besides being enchantingly beautiful, was as proud as a
+queen.
+
+It was quite natural that the young men from round and about should be
+helplessly in love with her and willing to hazard life itself in the
+hope of winning such a prize. But many as were the rival suitors, they
+all at last had to give way to one upon whom Etelka bestowed her
+preference, and that preference could not be divided either in two or
+more parts. As a matter of fact no objection could have been made
+against her choice, for it fell upon such a man as is generally regarded
+as the ideal of a woman's dreams. He was of fine stature, tall,
+well-proportioned, no longer young, it is true, but far from his
+decline. He was a retired major, and bore himself with a faultless
+military carriage. His manners were polished, his education extensive,
+and his wit by no means inferior. He was good-hearted, patriotic, and
+keen in business matters; he did not gamble, neither did he run into
+debt--in fact, from top to toe, you could not find a fault in him.
+
+Of course the various competitors for the hand of Etelka had to bow
+before her decision, they could not help themselves; but one of them, in
+his fierce dissatisfaction, vowed inwardly that he would not yield the
+prize so easily. This rival was a young man who fancied that Etelka had
+regarded him with a degree of favour which was only second to that which
+she had bestowed on the victorious Major.
+
+But Mogyorôdy, the malcontent in question, knew that Major Duránczy was
+very handy with rapier and pistol and did not care to be trifled with.
+He therefore determined to use diplomacy. He paid a friendly sort of
+visit to the father of Etelka, and spent the evening with him. Pozdordy
+had a pretty good suspicion as to why the visitor had come.
+
+In due course the conversation turned upon Duránczy.
+
+"A very nice fellow indeed, isn't he?" said the farmer.
+
+"Oh, yes," replied Mogyorôdy, who at the same time made a grimace which
+betrayed his real opinion.
+
+The farmer, who was evidently uneasy at the young man's obvious
+jealousy, exclaimed:
+
+"But you have nothing to say against him?"
+
+"Oh, no, nothing in the world!"
+
+"But you have something on your mind. It is true he's not so youthful as
+you, but he is not yet old."
+
+"Oh, no, he's in the prime of life."
+
+"Do you wish to imply that there is anything against his past?"
+
+"No; for who amongst us has not got a past?"
+
+"Perhaps you wish to make out that he is only marrying Etelka for her
+money?"
+
+"By no means."
+
+"Do you accuse him of being a gambler?"
+
+"He never touches cards."
+
+"A spendthrift?"
+
+"He is the very reverse--stares on both sides of every halfpenny before
+he parts with it."
+
+"Do you think him lazy?"
+
+"No, a model of plodding industry."
+
+"Then what is amiss with his character?"
+
+"It is perfect--almost monotonously so; but he has one peculiarity with
+which you ought to be made acquainted if you are going to marry your
+daughter to him."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Well, if you want to know, he's a lunar somnambulist--when the moon is
+at the full he rises at night from his bed, and, with open eyes, walks
+about the house in a dream, muttering all kinds of extraordinary things.
+If swords or pistols were then within his reach he would probably wound
+or kill any one, and I shouldn't like to see your daughter murdered in
+one of these moonlight perambulations."
+
+"Oh, that is nonsense. I will believe no tale of that kind."
+
+"Do as you please. I have discharged my duty, and told you. Now,
+good-night."
+
+But after Mogyorôdy had departed, the farmer, although he had pretended
+to be unconcerned, said to himself:
+
+"This might possibly be true; I must investigate the matter further
+before the marriage takes place."
+
+His mind being very uneasy, he determined to invite Duránczy to his
+house on the next occasion, when the moon would be at its full; and when
+the night in question arrived he entertained the Major at his farm with
+all the outward demonstration of confidence and friendship.
+
+It so happened that during the evening Mogyorôdy looked in, for although
+a rejected lover, he was still a recognised visitor, owing to business
+and family connections with the farmer.
+
+Pozdordy, albeit that he was somewhat alarmed at the appearance of his
+rival, politely welcomed him, and was relieved to notice, as his two
+guests conversed together, that the old jealousy seemed to have quite
+disappeared, and that Mogyorôdy evinced towards the Major every symptom
+of good fellowship.
+
+The wine circulated freely, and the night wore pleasantly away, until
+the clock reminded Pozdordy that there was a limit to every festivity.
+He had already intended to press Duránczy to sleep with him; but, as it
+was already late, he felt he could not do less than extend the
+invitation to Mogyorôdy. Wishing, however, to have the alleged
+somnambulist under his inspection, he assigned to the Major a spare bed
+in his own dormitory, and gave Mogyorôdy a separate room.
+
+In due course, both host and guests retired. The farmer, as soon as he
+was between the sheets, lit a massive long-stemmed pipe, and began to
+smoke, keeping his eye upon Duránczy.
+
+The moonlight was streaming in upon the Major's pillow. It looked weird.
+The farmer watched Duránczy as he lay prostrate--watched and watched
+until he himself dozed off into an involuntary slumber.
+
+Presently he was awoke by a noise. In the moonlight he perceived a
+figure, robed in a night-shirt. Ah! the Major, who seemed to be gazing
+around him with an air of mysterious inquiry. Then, step by step, with
+great circumspection, he advanced towards the farmer's bedside. Pozdordy
+held his breath. "Yes," he said to himself, "this man is a lunar
+somnambulist!"
+
+Upon tiptoe the figure now went nearer and nearer to the farmer's couch.
+Pozdordy, in breathless expectation, grasped his heavy long-stemmed
+pipe--the only weapon of self-defence within arm's length--and just as
+the somnambulist was reaching towards an antique and richly inlaid
+sword, suspended high up against the wall, he dealt him a blow, so
+terrific as to produce a howl from the apparition. The farmer leaped out
+of bed, and, to protect his own life, was proceeding to half-strangle
+the sleepwalker, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it was not the
+Major.
+
+"Who are you?" he exclaimed.
+
+There was no answer. The farmer looked towards the Major's bed--there,
+in the moonlight, lay the warrior, who was just beginning to be roused
+from sleep by the noise of the scuffle, and who dreamily exclaimed,
+"What the devil?"
+
+Pozdordy released his hold of the neck of this unknown man, who hastily
+escaped from the room; and the report goes that Mogyorôdy travelled home
+at 2 A.M. in his night-shirt. Anyhow, after hiding under the Major's bed
+in order to make him out to be a somnambulist, he never again dared to
+put his nose into Pozdordy's household; and the gallant soldier is
+to-day in peaceful possession of the beautiful Etelka.
+
+
+
+
+_Printed by BALANTYNE, HANSON & CO._
+_London & Edinburgh_
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Many of the Hungarian titles listed in the
+Introduction were misspelled. "Estílapok" was changed to "Esti Lapok",
+"A Magyar Nábob" was changed to "Egy Magyar Nábob", "A Kőszivü Ember
+Fiaa" was changed to "A Kőszívű Ember Fiai", "A Szerelem Bolondja" was
+changed to "Szerelem Bolondjai", "A Névtelen Vár" was changed to
+"Névtelen Vár", "Bálványvárak" was changed to "Bálványosvár", "A Fekete
+Gyémántok" was changed to "Fekete Gyémántok", "A Jővé Század Regéje" was
+changed to "A Jövő Század Regénye", and "Az Uj Földes Ur" was changed to
+"Az Új Földesúr".
+
+In addition, the following typographical errors in the text have been
+corrected.
+
+In "In Love With the Czarina", "she nodded to Genera Karr" was changed
+to "she nodded to General Karr".
+
+In "Tamerlan the Tartar", Chapter I, "the immovable cloud towards the
+east" was changed to "the immovable cloud towards the west", and "the
+victorious couqueror" was changed to "the victorious conqueror". In
+Chapter III, a period was changed to a comma after "the Thief of the
+Desert". In Chapter VIII, "two real hereoes" was changed to "two real
+heroes", and "Mirza Abubker's chosen horsemen" was changed to "Mirza
+Abubekr's chosen horsemen".
+
+In "Valdivia", "If you wish for the Guelin mountain" was changed to "If
+you wish for the Guelen mountain".
+
+In "Bizeban", a quotation mark was added before "This man only calls you
+Sultan".
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other
+Stories, by Mór Jókai
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+Project Gutenberg's In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories, by Mór Jókai
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories
+
+Author: Mór Jókai
+
+Translator: Louis Felbermann
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2010 [EBook #34574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Jókai Mór]
+
+
+
+
+_SPECIAL AUTHORISED EDITION_
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+_AND OTHER STORIES_
+
+BY MAURICE JÓKAI
+
+TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN
+
+_WITH THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL PERMISSION_
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+AUTHOR OF "HUNGARY AND ITS PEOPLE" ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LONDON
+FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
+AND NEW YORK
+
+[_All rights reserved_]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                PAGE
+INTRODUCTION                       9
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA          17
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR               57
+VALDIVIA                         111
+BIZEBAN                          141
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST       151
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATED TO
+HUNGARY'S GREATEST WRITER
+
+MAURICE JÓKAI
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+"From him I took it; to him I give it"
+      EASTERN PROVERB
+
+_London 1894_
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The entire Hungarian nation--king and people--have recently been
+celebrating the jubilee of Hungary's greatest writer, Maurice Jókai,
+whose pen, during half a century of literary activity, has given no less
+than 250 volumes to the world. Admired and beloved by his patriotic
+fellow-countrymen, Jókai has displayed that kind of genius which
+fascinates the learned and unlearned alike, the old and the young. He
+enchants the children of Hungary by his fairy-tales, and as they grow up
+into men and women he implants within them a passion for their native
+land and a knowledge of its splendid history such as only his poetic and
+dramatic pen could engrave upon their memory. His versatility of
+talent--for, besides being the Hungarian poet-laureate, he is a
+novelist, playwright, historian, and orator--enables the Hungarians to
+see in him their Heine, their Byron, their Walter Scott, and their
+Victor Hugo.
+
+Jókai began his career at a period when Hungary aspired to political
+freedom, and his powerful pen, in combination with that of his familiar
+friend, Alexander Petofi, Hungary's greatest lyric poet, was mainly
+instrumental in rousing the nation to arms. In 1849, when the Hungarian
+nation had sustained a cruel defeat, it was Jókai who cheered the
+flagging spirits of the Magyars, and by the potency and skill of his
+extraordinary pen influenced that reconciliation between Sovereign and
+people which was ultimately accomplished by Hungary's greatest
+statesman, Francis Deák.
+
+The Hungarian language is one of the richest of Turanian tongues, and
+particularly lends itself to the didactic and romantic styles. So far
+back as the beginning of the thirteenth century we find traces of
+Hungarian literature, and, if it had been permitted to develop, Hungary
+might now have possessed a literature second to none in the modern
+world. But in consequence of political struggles the Hungarian language
+and literature had to give way, at times, either to the Latin or German
+races, so much so that as late as 1849 all scientific subjects had to be
+taught either in German or in Latin. It was then that a few patriotic
+Magyars took the matter acutely to heart, and strove to restore the
+language and literature of their country, with the happy result that
+Hungary now, in proportion to its population, comes immediately after
+Germany in the number of its universities, colleges, and scientific
+institutions, where all subjects are taught in the _Hungarian language
+only_.
+
+Maurice Jókai is not only one of those who restored Hungarian
+literature, but is the creator of a particular style of romance, which
+stamps his works as unique, and has caused them to be eagerly read, and
+translated into almost every modern language. It is no wonder,
+therefore, that the Hungarians, who are a cultured race, should delight
+in showing all honour and respect to the veteran author, who has given
+to the world over a hundred splendid works on all subjects, comprising
+250 volumes.
+
+Jókai is descended from a middle-class family, a fact which he is always
+proud to own, and has no ambition to rise in higher spheres of society,
+although the greatest people in the land, including the Empress-Queen
+herself, favour him with their personal friendship.
+
+He is a tall, fine-looking man, and carries himself well. He generally
+dresses in a black-braided costume, which is the favourite national
+Hungarian uniform of those patriots who belong to the forty-eight
+period, which marks such an epoch in the history of Hungary. In his
+younger days his beard was dark and silky, but now he is quite grey. He
+occupies a modest house, and leads a very simple life.
+
+To give the full history of such a great writer as Maurice Jókai, the
+titles of whose works fill nine pages of the British Museum catalogue,
+would be a task of considerable research, and would itself extend to
+volumes. I therefore only propose to touch upon a few of the salient
+points of his career.
+
+Jókai was born on February 19, 1825, at Komárom, which city, by-the-by,
+is known as the "Virgin Fortress of Hungary."
+
+He received his education partly in his native town and at Pozsony, the
+ancient capital of Hungary, Pápa and Kecskemét; and in 1846 he passed an
+examination as an advocate, though he did not follow the profession
+afterwards.
+
+In the same year he took up his abode at Budapest, where in the
+following year he assumed the editorship of a paper called _Életképek_
+(Pictures of Life).
+
+In 1848 he played an important part in the revolution, both in inciting
+the people by his literary writings and as a soldier. In 1849 he married
+Rose Laborfalvi, the famous actress. In the same year he followed the
+National Hungarian Government, which removed its seat to Debreczen, and
+became the editor of the _Esti Lapok_ (Evening News). From that time
+activity characterised his literary and general career.
+
+In the political movements of 1861 he was to the front both as member of
+parliament and as newspaper editor. In 1860 he was elected member of the
+Kisfaludy Society, and in 1861 he became a member of the Hungarian
+Academy of Sciences, of which institute he is now a member of the
+executive committee. He is also the president of the Petofi Society.
+
+His first novel was "A Hétköznapok" (Days of the Week), which appeared
+in 1846, and since then hardly a year elapsed without the issue of
+several volumes from his pen.
+
+Amongst his novels the most celebrated are:
+
+"Egy Magyar Nábob" (The Hungarian Nabob).
+
+"Kárpáthy Zoltán."
+
+"A Koszívu Ember Fiai" (The Sons of the Stonehearted Man).
+
+"Szerelem Bolondjai" (Love's Puppet).
+
+"Névtelen Vár" (The Nameless Fortress).
+
+"Erdély Aranykora" (The Golden Period of Transylvania).
+
+"Bálványosvár" (Idol Fortunes).
+
+"Fekete Gyémántok" (Black Diamonds).
+
+"A Jövo Század Regénye" (The Romance of the Future Century).
+
+"Az Új Földesúr" (The New Landlord).
+
+"Nincsen Ördög" (There is no Devil).
+
+"Az Arany Ember" (The Gold Man).
+
+"A Szép Mikhál" (Pretty Michael).
+
+Of his recent novels the most famous is the one published in 1892, in
+which Monk Gregory is the hero.
+
+The short stories that we are presenting in this volume belong to his
+earliest writings.
+
+Jókai's novels--in which his own strong personality everywhere reveals
+itself--are characterised by great imaginative power and by a light,
+humorous style which fascinates the reader. It may be said, without much
+exaggeration, that in point of wit and humour few living writers can
+compare with him. His subjects are principally drawn from history; but
+many of his works are remarkable for their vivid descriptions of
+Hungarian life, both past and present. In one word it might justly be
+said that in reading Jókai's novels one reads the history of Europe, and
+in reading Jókai's history one reads a novel drawn from actual life.
+
+As a poet he occupies a unique position, and stands altogether alone:
+for his lyrics, ballads, and heroic verse are even sung by the
+schoolchildren throughout Hungary. As a dramatist his fame is extensive;
+and his "Könyves Kálmán" (Koloman, King of Hungary, surnamed the Book
+King), "Dózsa György, The Martyr of Szigetvár," "Az Arany Ember" (The
+Golden Man), and "Fekete Gyémántok" (Black Diamonds), have been
+incessantly performed with the greatest success.
+
+As a politician he has made a considerable mark, and no one who has had
+the privilege of hearing him deliver an oration will forget the music
+and sonority of his fine voice. What is less generally known is that he
+is an enthusiastic botanical student and an admirable painter.
+
+These are a few outlines of the life of Hungary's greatest writer, and
+in the interest of literature let it be hoped that his life may be long
+spared, and that his remaining years may be spent in the utmost
+happiness. Such is the fervent wish of all his admirers, who are drawn,
+not only from this country, but from all civilised peoples, nations, and
+languages.
+
+LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+(_Author of "Hungary and its People"_).
+
+
+
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+
+
+In the time of the Czar Peter III. a secret society existed at St.
+Petersburg which bore the title of "The Nameless." Its members used to
+assemble in the house of a Russian nobleman, Jelagin by name, who alone
+knew the personality of each visitor, they being, for the most part,
+unknown to one another. Distinguished men, princes, ladies of the Court,
+officers of the Guard, Cossack soldiers, young commercial men,
+musicians, street-singers, actors and actresses, scientific men,
+clergymen and statesmen, used to meet here. Beauty and talent were alone
+qualifications for entry into the Society, the members of which were
+selected by Jelagin. Everyone addressed the other as "thee" and "thou,"
+and they only made use of Christian names such as Anne, Alexandra,
+Katharine, Olga, Peter, Alexis, and Ivan. And for what purpose did they
+assemble here? To amuse themselves at their ease. Those who, by the
+prejudices of caste and rank, were utterly severed, and who occupied the
+mutual position of master and slave, tore the chains of their barriers
+asunder, and all met here. It is quite possible that he with whom the
+grenadier-private is now playing chess is the very same General who
+might order him a hundred lashes to-morrow, should he take a step on
+parade without his command! And now he contends with him to make a queen
+out of a pawn!
+
+It is also probable that the pretty woman who is singing sportive French
+songs to the accompaniment of the instrument she strikes with her left
+hand, is one of the Court ladies of the Czarina, who, as a rule, throws
+half-roubles out of her carriage to the street-musicians! Perhaps she is
+a Princess? possibly the wife of the Lord Chamberlain? or even higher in
+grade than this? Russian society, both high and low, flower and root,
+met in Jelagin's castle, and while there enjoyed equality in the widest
+sense of the word. Strange phenomenon! That this should take place in
+Russia, where so much is thought of aristocratic rank, official garb,
+and exterior pomp; where an inferior is bound to dismount from his horse
+upon meeting a superior, where sub-officers take off their coats in
+token of salute when they meet those of higher rank, and where generals
+kiss the priests' hands and the highest aristocrats fall on their faces
+before the Czar! Here they sing and dance and joke together, make fun of
+the Government, and tell anecdotes of the High Priests, utterly
+fearless, and dispensing with salutations!
+
+Can this be done for love of novelty? The existence of this secret
+society was repeatedly divulged to the police, and these cannot be
+reproached for not having taken the necessary steps to denounce it; but
+proceedings, once begun, usually evaporated into thin air, and led to no
+results. The investigating officer either never discovered suspicious
+facts, or, if he did, matters were adjourned. Those who were arrested in
+connection with the affair were in some way set at liberty in peace and
+quietness; every document relating to the matter was either burnt or
+vanished, and whole sealed cases of writings were turned into plain
+white paper. When an influential officer took energetically in hand the
+prosecution of "The Nameless," he was generally sent to a foreign
+country on an important mission, from which he did not return for a
+considerable period. "The Nameless Society" must have had very powerful
+protectors. At the conclusion of one of these free and easy
+entertainments, a young Cossack hetman remained behind the crowd of
+departing guests, and when quite alone with the host he said to him:
+
+"Jelagin, did you see the pretty woman with whom I danced the mazurka
+to-night?"
+
+"Yes, I saw her. Are you smitten with her, as others have been?"
+
+"That woman I must make my wife."
+
+Jelagin gave the Cossack a blow on the shoulder and looked into his
+eyes.
+
+"That you will not do! You will not take her as your wife, friend
+Jemeljan."
+
+"I shall marry her--I have resolved to do so."
+
+"You will not marry her, for she will not go to you."
+
+"If she does not come I will carry her off against her will."
+
+"You can't marry her, because she has a husband."
+
+"If she has a husband I will carry her off in company with him!"
+
+"You can't carry her off, for she lives in a palace--she is guarded by
+many soldiers, and accompanied in her carriage by many outriders."
+
+"I will take her away with her palace, her soldiers, and her carriage. I
+swear it by St. Gregory!"
+
+Jelagin laughed mockingly.
+
+"Good Jemeljan, go home and sleep out your love--that pretty woman is
+the Czarina!"
+
+The hetman became pale for a moment, his breath stopped; but the next
+instant, with sparkling eyes, he said to Jelagin:
+
+"In spite of this, what I have said I have said."
+
+Jelagin showed the door to his guest. But, improbable as it may seem,
+Jemeljan was really not intoxicated, unless it were with the eyes of the
+pretty woman.
+
+A few years elapsed. The Society of "The Nameless" was dissolved, or
+changed into one of another form. Katharine had her husband, the Czar,
+killed, and wore the crown herself. Many people said she had him killed,
+others took her part. It was urged that she knew what was going to
+happen, but could not prevent it--that she was compelled to act as she
+did, and to affect, after a great struggle with her generous heart,
+complete ignorance of poison being administered to her husband. It was
+said that she had acted rightly, and that the Czar's fate was a just
+one, for he was a wicked man; and finally, it was asserted that the
+whole statement was untrue, and that no one had killed Czar Peter, who
+died from intense inflammation of the stomach. He drank too much brandy.
+The immortal Voltaire is responsible for this last assertion. Whatever
+may have happened, Czar Peter was buried, and the Czarina Katharine now
+saw that her late husband belonged to those dead who do not sleep
+quietly. They rise--rise from their graves--stretch out their hands from
+their shrouds, and touch with them those who have forgotten them. They
+turn over in their last resting-place, and the whole earth seems to
+tremble under the feet of those who walk above them!
+
+Amongst the numerous contradictory stories told, one, difficult to
+believe, but which the people gladly credited, and which caused much
+bloodshed before it was wiped out of their memory, was this--that Czar
+Peter died neither by his own hand, nor by the hands of others, but that
+he still lived. It was said that a common soldier, with pock-marked face
+resembling the Czar, was shown in his stead to the public on the
+death-couch at St. Petersburg, and that the Czar himself had escaped
+from prison in soldier's clothes, and would return to retake his throne,
+to vanquish his wife, and behead his enemies! Five Czar pretenders rose
+one after the other in the wastes of the Russian domains. One followed
+the other with the motto, "Revenge on the faithless!" The usurpers
+conquered sometimes a northern, sometimes a southern province,
+collected forces, captured towns, drove out all officials, and put new
+ones in their places, so that it was necessary to send forces against
+them. If one was subjugated and driven away into the ice deserts, or
+captured and hung on the next tree, another Czar Peter would rise up in
+his place and cause rebellion, alarming the Court circle whilst they
+were enjoying themselves; and so things went on continually and
+continually. The murdered husband remained unburied, for to-day he might
+be put in the earth and to-morrow he would rise again one hundred miles
+off, and exclaim, "I still live!" He might be killed there, but would
+pop out his head again from the earth, saying, "Still I live." He had a
+hundred lives! When five of these Peter pretenders went the way of the
+real Czar a sixth rose, and this one was the most dreaded and most
+daring of all, whose name will perpetually be inscribed in the
+chronicles of the Russian people as a dreadful example to all who will
+not be taught wisdom, and his name is Jemeljan Pugasceff! He was born as
+an ordinary Cossack in the Don province, and took part in the Prussian
+campaign, at first as a paid soldier of Prussia, later as an adherent of
+the Czar. At the bombardment of Bender he had become a Cossack hetman.
+His extraordinary physical strength, his natural common sense and
+inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace
+which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress. He was sent
+with many discharged officers back to the Don. Let them go again and
+look after their field labours! Pugasceff's head, however, was full of
+other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which
+occupation he had been called ten years before. He hated the Czarina,
+and adored her! He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon
+the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who
+possessed the right to tread upon every Russian's heart! He became
+possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her
+throne, and take her afterwards into his arms. He had his plans prepared
+for this. He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live--they who
+oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the
+persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually
+extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this
+only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not
+upwards, as they do in Moscow!
+
+The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and
+could get a leader. Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these,
+but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was
+carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains. He might thus go on
+dreaming! Pugasceff dreamt one night that he burst the iron chains from
+his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the
+enclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled
+with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited
+plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent stitch
+of clothing! The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains
+of Uralszk--the most dreaded tribe in Russia--living in one of those
+border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with
+whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship. They change locality
+from year to year. One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the
+land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a
+Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks! Fighting is
+pleasanter work in the winter. In the summer everyone lives under the
+sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed! This people belong to the
+Roskolnik sect. Just a little while previously they had amused
+themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg,
+with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed
+to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had
+clearly proved that the Government had nothing to do with their pike!
+Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were
+dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what
+they should further do. One lovely autumn night the escaped convict,
+after a great deal of wandering in the miserable valley of Jeremina
+Kuriza, situated in the wildest part of the Ural Mountains, and in its
+yet more miserable town, Jaiczkoi, knocked at the door of the first
+Cossack habitation he saw and said that he was a refugee. He was
+received with an open heart, and got plenty of kind words and a little
+bread. The house-owner was himself poor; the Kirgizians had driven away
+his sheep. One of his sons, a priest of the Roskolnik persuasion, had
+been carried away from him into a lead-mine; the second had been taken
+to serve as a soldier, and had died; the third was hung because he had
+been involved in a revolt. Old Kocsenikoff remained at home without sons
+or family. Pugasceff listened to the grievances of his host, and said:
+
+"These can be remedied."
+
+"Who can raise for me my dead sons?" said the old man bitterly.
+
+"The one who rose himself in order to kill."
+
+"Who can that be?"
+
+"The Czar."
+
+"The murdered Czar?" asked the old soldier, with astonishment.
+
+"He has been killed six times, and yet he lives. On my way here,
+whenever I met with people, they all asked me, 'Is it true that the Czar
+is not dead yet, and that he has escaped from prison?' I replied to
+them, 'It is true. He has found his way here, and ere long he will make
+his appearance before you.'"
+
+"You say this, but how can the Czar get here?"
+
+"He is already here."
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"I am he!"
+
+"Very well--very well," replied the old Roskolnik. "I understand what
+you want with me. I shall be on the spot if you wish it. All is the
+same to me as long as I have anyone to lead me. But who will believe
+that you are the Czar? Hundreds and hundreds have seen him face to face.
+Everybody knows that the visage of the Czar was dreadfully pockmarked,
+whilst yours is smooth."
+
+"We can remedy that. Has not someone lately died of black-pox in this
+district?"
+
+"Every day this happens. Two days ago my last labourer died."
+
+"Well, I shall lay in his bed, and I shall rise from it like Czar
+Peter."
+
+He did what he said. He lay in the infected bed. Two days later he got
+the black-pox, and six weeks afterwards he rose with the same wan face
+as one had seen on the unfortunate Czar.
+
+Kocsenikoff saw that a man who could play so recklessly with his life
+did not come here to idle away his time. This is a country where out of
+ten men nine have stored away some revenge of their own for a future
+time. Amongst the first ten people to whom Kocsenikoff communicated his
+scheme, he found nine who were ready to assist in the daring
+undertaking, even at the cost of their lives; but the tenth was a
+traitor. He disclosed the desperate plot to Colonel Simonoff, the
+commander of Jaiczkoi, and the commander immediately arrested
+Kocsenikoff; but Pugasceff escaped on the horse which had been sent out
+with the Cossack who came to arrest him, and he even carried off the
+Cossack himself! He jumped into the saddle, patted and spurred the
+horse, and made his way into the forest.
+
+History records for the benefit of future generations the name of the
+Cossack whom Pugasceff carried away with his horse: Csika was the name
+of this timid individual! This happened on September 15. Two days
+afterwards Pugasceff came back from the forest to the outskirts of the
+town Jaiczkoi. Then he had his horse, a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, and
+three hundred brave horsemen. As he approached the town he had trumpets
+blown, and demanded that Colonel Simonoff should surrender and should
+come and kiss the hand of his rightful master, Czar Peter III.! Simonoff
+came with 5000 horsemen and 800 Russian regular troops against the
+rebels, and Pugasceff was in one moment surrounded. At this instant he
+took a loosely sealed letter from his breast and read out his
+proclamation in a ringing voice to the opposing troops, in which he
+appealed to the faithful Cossacks of Peter III. to help him to regain
+his throne and to aid him to drive away usurpers, threatening with death
+those traitors who should oppose his command. On hearing this the
+Cossack troops appeared startled, and the exclamation went from mouth to
+mouth, "The Czar lives! This is the Czar!" The officers tried to quiet
+the soldiers, but in vain. They commenced to fight amongst themselves,
+and the uproar lasted till late at night, with the result that it was
+not Simonoff who captured Pugasceff, but the latter who captured eleven
+of his officers; and when he retreated from the field his three hundred
+men had increased to eight hundred. It was a matter of great difficulty
+to the Colonel to lead back the rest into the town. Pugasceff set up
+his camp outside in the garden of a Russian nobleman, and on his trees
+he hung up the eleven officers. His opponent was so much alarmed that he
+did not dare to attack him, but lay wait for him in the trenches, at the
+mouth of the cannon. Our daring friend was not quite such a lunatic as
+to go and meet him. He required greater success, more decisive battles,
+and more guns. He started against the small towns which the Government
+had built along the Jaik. The Roskolniks received the pseudo-Czar with
+wild enthusiasm. They believed that he had risen from the dead to
+humiliate the power of the Moscow priests, and that he intended to
+adopt, instead of the Court religion, that which had been persecuted. On
+the third day 1500 men accompanied him to battle. The stronghold of
+Ileczka was the first halting-place he made. It is situated about
+seventy versts from Jaiczkoi. He was welcomed with open gates and with
+acclamation, and the guard of the place went over to his side. Here he
+found guns and powder, and with these he was able to continue his
+campaign. Next followed the stronghold of Kazizna. This did not
+surrender of its own accord, but commenced heroically to defend itself,
+and Pugasceff was compelled to bombard it. In the heat of the siege the
+rebel Cossacks shouted out to those in the fort, and they actually
+turned their guns upon their own patrols. All who opposed them were
+strung up, and the Colonel was taken a prisoner to Pugasceff, who showed
+no mercy to anyone who wore his hair long, which was the fashion at the
+time amongst the Russian officers, and for this reason the pseudo-Czar
+hung every officer who fell into his hands. Now, provided with guns, he
+made his way towards the fort of Nisnàja Osfernàja, which he also
+captured after a short attack. Those whom he did not kill joined him.
+Now he led 4000 men, and therefore he could dare attack the stronghold
+of Talitseva, which was defended by two heroes, Bilof and Jelagin. The
+Russian authorities took up a firm position in face of the fanatical
+rebels, and they would have repulsed Pugasceff, if the hay stores in the
+fort had not been burnt down. This fire gave assistance to the rebels.
+Bilof and Jelagin were driven out of the fort-gates, and were forced out
+into the plains, where they were slaughtered. When the pseudo-Czar
+captured the fort of Nisnàja Osfernàja, a marvellously beautiful woman
+came to him in the market-place and threw herself at his feet. "Mercy,
+my master!" The woman was very lovely, and was quite in the power of the
+conqueror. Her tears and excitement made her still more enchanting.
+
+"For whom do you want pardon?"
+
+"For my husband, who is wounded in fighting against you."
+
+"What is the name of your husband?"
+
+"Captain Chalof, who commanded this fort."
+
+A noble-hearted hero no doubt would have set at liberty both husband and
+wife, let them be happy, and love one another. A base man would have
+hung the husband and kept the wife. Pugasceff killed them both! He knew
+very well that there were still many living who remembered that Czar
+Peter III. was not a man who found pleasure in women's love, and he
+remained true to his adopted character even in its worst extremes.
+
+The rebels appeared to have wings. After the capture of Talicseva
+followed that of Csernojecsinszkaja, where the commander took flight on
+the approach of the rebel leader, and entrusted the defence of the fort
+to Captain Nilsajeff, who surrendered without firing a shot. Pugasceff,
+without saying "Thank you," had him hanged. He did not believe in
+officers who went over to the enemy. He only kept the common soldiers,
+and he had their hair cut short, so that in the event of their escaping
+he should know them again! Next morning the last stronghold in the
+country, Precsisztenszka, situated in the vicinity of the capital,
+Orenburg, surrendered to the rebels, and in the evening the mock Czar
+stood before the walls of Orenburg with thirty cannon and a
+well-equipped army! All this happened in fifteen days.
+
+Since the moment when he carried off the Cossack who had been sent to
+capture him, and met Kocsenikoff, he had occupied six forts, entirely
+annihilated a regiment, and created another, with which he now besieged
+the capital of the province.
+
+The towns of the Russian Empire are divided by great distances, and
+before things were decided at St. Petersburg, Marquis Pugasceff might
+almost have occupied half the country. It was Katharine herself who
+nicknamed Pugasceff Marquis, and she laughed very heartily and often in
+the Court circles about her extraordinary husband, who was preparing to
+reconquer his wife, the Czarina. The nuptial bed awaited him--it was the
+scaffold!
+
+On the news of Pugasceff's approach, Reinsburg, the Governor of
+Orenburg, sent, under the command of Colonel Bilof, a portion of his
+troops to attack the rebel. Bilof started on the chase, but he shared
+the fate of many lion-hunters. The pursued animal ate him up, and of his
+entire force not one man returned to Orenburg. Instead of this,
+Pugasceff's forces appeared before its gates.
+
+Reinsburg did not wish to await the bombardment, and he sent his most
+trusted regiment, under the command of Major Naumoff, to attack the
+rebels. The mock-Czar allowed it to approach the slopes of the mountains
+outside Orenburg, and there, with masked guns, he opened such a
+disastrous fire upon them that the Russians were compelled to retire to
+their fort utterly demoralised. Pugasceff then descended into the plains
+and pitched his camp before the town. The two opponents both began with
+the idea of tiring each other out by waiting. Pugasceff was encamped on
+the snow-fields. The plains of Russia are no longer green in October,
+and instead of tents he had huts made of branches of oak. The one force
+was attacked by frost--the other by starvation. Finally starvation
+proved the more powerful. Naumoff sallied from the fort, and turned his
+attention towards occupying those heights whence his forces had been
+fired upon a short time previously. He succeeded in making an onslaught
+with his infantry upon the rebel lines, but Pugasceff, all of a sudden,
+changed his plan of battle, and attacked with his Cossacks the cavalry
+of his opponent, who took to flight. The victory fell from the grasp of
+Naumoff, and he was compelled to fly with his cannon, breaking his way,
+sword in hand, through the lines of the Cossacks. Then Pugasceff
+attacked in his turn. He had forty-eight guns, with which he commenced a
+fierce bombardment of the walls, which continued until November 9th,
+when he ordered his troops to storm the town. The onslaught did not
+succeed, for the Russians bravely defended themselves. Pugasceff,
+therefore, had to make up his mind to starve out his opponents. The
+broad plains and valleys were white with snow, the forests sparkled with
+icicles, as though made of silver, and during the long nights the cold
+reflection of the moon alone brightened the desolate wastes where the
+audacious dream of a daring man kept awake the spirits of his men. The
+dream was this: That he should be the husband of the Czarina of All the
+Russias.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Katharine II. was passionately fond of playing tarok, and she
+particularly liked that variety of the game which was later on named,
+after a celebrated Russian general, "Paskevics," and required four
+players. In addition to the Czarina, Princess Daskoff, Prince Orloff,
+and General Karr sat at her table. The latter was a distinguished
+leader of troops--_in petto_--and as a tarok-player without equal. He
+rose from the table _semper victor_! No one ever saw him pay, and for
+this reason he was a particular favourite with the Czarina. She said if
+she could only once succeed in winning a rouble from Karr she would have
+a ring welded to it and wear it suspended from her neck. It is very
+likely that the mistakes of his opponents aided General Karr's continual
+success. The two noble ladies were too much occupied with Orloff's fine
+eyes to be able to fix their attention wholly upon the game, whilst
+Orloff was so lucky in love that it would have been the greatest
+injustice on earth if he had been equally successful at play. Once,
+whilst shuffling the cards, some one casually remarked that it was a
+scandalous shame that an escaped Cossack like Pugasceff should be in a
+position to conquer a fourth of Russia in Europe, to disgrace the
+Russian troops time after time, to condemn the finest Russian officers
+to a degrading death, and now even to bombard Orenburg like a real
+potentate.
+
+"I know the dandy, I know him very well," said Karr. "During the life of
+His Majesty I used to play cards with him at Oranienbaum. He is a stupid
+youngster. Whenever I called _carreau_, he used to give _coeur_."
+
+"It appears that he plays even worse now," said the Czarina; "now he
+throws _pique_ after _coeur_!"
+
+It was the fashion at this time at the Russian Court to throw in every
+now and then a French word, and _coeur_ in French means heart, and
+_piquer_ means to sting and prick.
+
+"Yes, because our commanders have been inactive. Were I only there!"
+
+"Won't you have the kindness to go there?" asked Orloff mockingly.
+
+"If Her Majesty commands me, I am ready."
+
+"Ah! this tarok-party would suffer a too great loss in you," said
+Katharine, jokingly.
+
+"Well, your Majesty might have hunting-parties at Peterhof," he said,
+consolingly, to the Czarina.
+
+This was a pleasant suggestion to Katharine, for at Peterhof she had
+spent her brightest days, and there she had made the acquaintance of
+Orloff. With a smile full of grace, she nodded to General Karr.
+
+"I don't mind, then; but in two weeks you must be back."
+
+"Ah! what is two weeks?" returned Karr; "if your Majesty commands it, I
+will seat myself this very hour upon a sledge, and in three days and
+nights I shall be in Bugulminszka. On the fourth day I shall arrange my
+cards, and on the fifth I shall send word to this dandy that I am the
+challenger. On the sixth day I shall give '_Volat_'[1] to the rascal,
+and the seventh and eighth days I shall have him as _Pagato ultimo_,[2]
+bound in chains, and bring him to your Majesty's feet!"
+
+[Footnote 1: "_Volat_" is an expression used in tarok to denote that no
+tricks have been made by an opponent.]
+
+[Footnote 2: This is another term in the game, when the player announces
+beforehand that he will make the last trick with the Ace of Trumps.]
+
+The Czarina burst out laughing at the funny technical expressions used
+by the General, and entrusted Orloff to provide the celebrated
+_Pagato_-catching General with every necessity. The matter was taken
+seriously, and Orloff promulgated the imperial _ukase_, according to
+which Karr was entrusted with the control of the South Russian troops,
+and at the same time he announced to him what forces he would have at
+his command. At Bugulminszka was General Freymann with 20,000 infantry,
+2000 cavalry, and thirty-two guns, and he would be reinforced by Colonel
+Csernicseff, the Governor of Szinbirszk, who had at his command 15,000
+horsemen, and twelve guns; while on his way he would meet Colonel
+Naumann with two detachments of the Body Guard. He was in particular to
+attach the latter to him, for they were the very flower of the army.
+Karr left that night. His chief tactics in campaigning consisted in
+speediness, but it seems that he studied this point badly, for his great
+predecessors, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Hannibal, &c.,
+also travelled quickly, but in company with an army, whilst Karr thought
+it quite sufficient if he went alone. He judged it impossible to travel
+faster than he did, sleighing merrily along to Bugulminszka; but it was
+possible. A Cossack horseman who started the same time as he did from
+St. Petersburg, arrived thirty-six hours before him, informed Pugasceff
+of the coming of General Karr, and acquainted him as to the position of
+his troops. Pugasceff despatched about 2000 Cossacks to fall upon the
+rear of the General, and prevent his junction with the Body Guard.
+
+Karr did not consult any one at Bugulminszka. He pushed aside his
+colleague Freymann in order to be left alone to settle the affair. He
+said it was not a question of fighting but of chasing. He must be caught
+alive--this wild animal. Csernicseff was already on the way with 1200
+horsemen and twelve guns, as he had received instructions from Karr to
+cross the river Szakmara and prevent Pugasceff from retreating, while he
+himself should, with the pick of the regiment, attack him in front and
+thus catch him between two fires. Csernicseff thought he had to do with
+clever superiors, and as an ordinary divisional leader he did not dare
+to think his General to be so ignorant as to allow him to be attacked by
+the magnificent force of his opponent, nor did he think that Pugasceff
+would possess such want of tactics as, whilst he saw before him a strong
+force, to turn with all his troops to annihilate a small detachment.
+Both these things happened. Pugasceff quietly allowed his opponents to
+cross over the frozen river. Then he rushed upon them from both sides.
+He had the ice broken in their rear, and thus destroyed the entire
+force, capturing twelve guns. Csernicseff himself, with thirty-five
+officers, was taken prisoner, and Pugasceff had them all hanged on the
+trees along the roadway. Then, drunk with victory, he moved with his
+entire forces against Karr. He, too, was approaching hurriedly, and,
+thirty-six miles from Bugulminszka, the two forces met in a Cossack
+village. General Karr was quite astonished to find, instead of an
+imagined mob, a disciplined army divided into proper detachments, and
+provided with guns. Freymann advised him, as he had sent away the
+trusted squadron of Csernicseff, not to commence operations now with the
+cavalry, to take the village as the basis of his operations, and to use
+his infantry against the rebels. A series of surprises then befell Karr.
+He saw the despised rowdy crowd approaching with drawn sabres, he saw
+the coolness with which they came on in the face of the fiercest
+musketry fire. He saw the headlong desperation with which they rushed
+upon his secure position. He recognised that he had found here heroes,
+instead of thieves. But what annoyed him most was that this rabble knew
+so well how to handle their cannon; for in St. Petersburg, out of
+precaution, Cossacks are not enlisted in the artillery, in order that no
+one should teach them how to serve guns. And here this ignorant people
+handled the guns, stolen but yesterday, as though accustomed to them all
+their lifetime, and their shells had already set fire to villages in
+many different places. The General ordered his entire line to advance
+with a rush, while with the reserve he sharply attacked the enemy in
+flank, totally defeating them. His cavalry started with drawn swords
+towards the fire-spurting space. Amongst the 1500 horsemen there were
+only 300 Cossacks, and in the heat of battle these deserted to the
+enemy. Immediately General Karr saw this, he became so alarmed that he
+set his soldiers the example of flight. All discipline at an end, they
+abandoned their comrades in front, and escaped as best they could.
+
+Pugasceff's Cossacks pursued the Russians for a distance of thirty
+miles, but did not succeed in overtaking the General. Fear lent him
+wings. Arrived at Bugulminszka, he learnt that Csernicseff's horsemen
+had been destroyed, that the Body Guard in his own rear had been taken
+prisoners, and that twenty-one guns had fallen into the hands of the
+rebels. Upon hearing this bad news he was seized with such a bad attack
+of the _grippe_ that they wrapped him up in pillows and sent him home by
+sledge to St. Petersburg, where the four-handed card-party awaited him,
+and that very night he had the misfortune to lose his XXI.[3]; upon
+which the Czarina made the _bon mot_ that Karr allowed himself twice to
+lose his XXI. (referring to twenty-one guns), which _bon mot_ caused
+great merriment at the Russian Court.
+
+[Footnote 3: The card next to the highest in tarok.]
+
+After this victory, Pugasceff's star (if a demon may be said to possess
+one) attained its meridian. Perhaps it might have risen yet higher had
+he remained faithful to his gigantic missions, and had he not forgotten
+the two passions which had led him on with such astonishing
+rapidity--the one being to make the Czarina his wife, the other, to
+crush the Russian aristocracy. Which of these two ideas was the boldest?
+He was only separated from their realisation by a transparent film.
+
+After Karr's defeat he had an open road to Moscow, where his appearance
+was awaited by 100,000 serfs burning to shake off the yoke of the
+aristocracy, and form a new Russian empire. Forty million helots awaited
+their liberator in the rebel leader. Then, of a sudden, he cast away
+from him the common sense he had possessed until now--for the sake of a
+pair of beautiful eyes!
+
+After the victory of Bugulminszka a large number of _envoyés_ from the
+leaders of the Baskirs appeared before him, and brought him, together
+with their allegiance, a pretty girl to be his wife.
+
+The name of the maiden was Ulijanka, and she stole the heart of
+Pugasceff from the Czarina. At that time the adventurer believed so
+fully in his star that he did not behave with his usual severity.
+Ulijanka became his favourite, and the adventurous chief appointed
+Salavatké, her father, to be the ruling Prince of Baskirk. Then he
+commenced to surround himself with Counts and Princes. Out of the booty
+of plundered castles he clothed himself in magnificent Court costumes,
+and loaded his companions with decorations taken from the heroic Russian
+officers. He nominated them Generals, Colonels, Counts, and Princes. The
+Cossack, Csika, his first soldier, was appointed _Generalissimus_, and
+to him he entrusted half his army. He also issued roubles with his
+portrait under the name of Czar Peter III., and sent out a circular note
+with the words, "_Redevivus et ultor_." As he had no silver mines, he
+struck the roubles out of copper, of which there was plenty about. This
+good example was also followed by the Russians, who issued roubles to
+the amount of millions and millions, and made payments with them
+generously. Pugasceff now turned the romance of the insurrection into
+the parody of a reign. Instead of advancing against the unprotected
+cities of the Russian Empire, he attacked the defended strongholds, and,
+in the place of pursuing the fairy picture of his dreams which had led
+him thus far, he laid himself down in the mud by the side of a common
+woman!
+
+Generalissimus Csika was instructed to occupy the fort Ufa, with the
+troops who were entrusted to his care. The time was January, 1774, and
+it was so terribly cold that nothing like it had been recorded in
+Russian chronicles. The trees of the forest split with a noise as though
+a battle were proceeding, and the wild fowl fell to the ground along the
+roads.
+
+To carry on a siege under such circumstances was impossible. The
+hardened earth would not permit the digging of trenches, and it was
+impossible to camp on the frozen ground.
+
+The two rebel chiefs occupied the neighbouring towns, and so cut off all
+supplies from the neighbouring forests. In Orenburg they had already
+eaten up the horses belonging to the garrison, and a certain Kicskoff,
+the commissary, invented the idea of boiling the skins of the
+slaughtered animals, cutting them into small slices and mixing them with
+paste, which food was distributed amongst the soldiers, and gave rise to
+the breaking out of a scorbutic disease in the fort which rendered half
+the garrison incapable of work. On January the 13th, Colonel
+Vallenstierna tried to break his way through the rebel lines with 2500
+men, but he returned with hardly seventy. The remainder, about 2000 men,
+remained on the field. At any rate, they no longer asked for food! A few
+hundred hussars, however, cut their way through and carried to St.
+Petersburg the news of what Czar Peter III. (who had now risen for the
+seventh time from his grave) was doing! The Czarina commenced to get
+tired of her adorer's conquests, so she called together her faithful
+generals, and asked which of them thought it possible to undertake a
+campaign in the depth of the Russian winter into the interior of the
+Russian snow deserts. This did not mean playing at war, nor a triumphal
+procession. It meant a battle with a furious people who, in forty years'
+time, would trample upon the most powerful European troops. There were
+four who replied that in Russia everything was possible which ought to
+be done. The names of these four gentlemen were: Prince Galiczin,
+General Bibikoff, Colonel Larionoff, and Michelson, a Swedish officer.
+Their number, however, was soon reduced to two at the very commencement.
+Larionoff returned home after the first battle of Bozal, where the
+rebels proved victorious, whilst Bibikoff died from the hardships of the
+winter campaign.
+
+Galiczin and Michelson alone remained. The Swede had already gained fame
+in the Turkish campaign from his swift and daring deeds, and when he
+started from the Fort of Bozal against the rebels his sole troops
+consisted of 400 hussars and 600 infantry, with four guns. With this
+small force he started to the relief of the Fort of Ufa. Quickly as he
+proceeded, Csika's spies were quicker still, and the rebel leader was
+informed of the approach of the small body of the enemy. As he expected
+that they only intended to reinforce the garrison of Ufa, he merely sent
+against them 3000 men, with nine guns, to occupy the mountain passes
+through which they would march on their way to Ufa. But Michelson did
+not go to Ufa as was expected. He seated his men on sledges, and flew
+along the plains to Csika's splendid camp. So unexpected, so daring, so
+little to be credited was this move of his, that when he fell on Csika's
+vanguard at one o'clock one morning nobody opposed him. The alarmed
+rebels hurried headlong to the camp, and left two guns in the hands of
+Michelson. The Swedish hero knew well enough that the 3000 men of the
+enemy who occupied the mountain pass would at once appear in answer to
+the sound of the guns, and that he would thus be caught between two
+fires; so he hastily directed his men to entrench themselves beneath
+their sledges in the road, and left two hundred infantry with two guns
+to defend them, whilst with the remaining troops he made his way towards
+the town of Csernakuka, whither Csika's troops had fled. Michelson saw
+that he had no time to lose. He placed himself at the head of his
+hussars, sounded the charge, and attacked the bulk of his opponents. For
+this they were not prepared. The bold attack caused confusion amongst
+them, and in a few moments the centre of the camp was cut through, and
+the first battery captured. He then immediately turned his attention to
+the two wings of the camp. After this, flight became general, and
+Csika's troops were dispersed like a cloud of mosquitos, leaving behind
+them forty-eight cannon and eight small guns. The victor now returned
+with his small body of troops to the sledges they had left behind, and
+he then entirely surrounded the 3000 rebels. Those who were not
+slaughtered were captured. The victorious hero sent word to the
+commander of the Ufa garrison that the road was clear, and that the
+cannon taken from his opponents should be drawn thither. A hundred and
+twenty versts from Ufa he reached the flying Csika. The Generalissimus
+then had only forty-two officers, whilst his privates had disappeared in
+every direction of the wind. Michelson got hold of them all, and if he
+did not hang them it was only because on the six days' desert march not
+a single tree was to be found. In the meantime, Prince Galiczin, whose
+troops consisted of 6000 men, went in pursuit of Pugasceff. On this
+miserable route he did not encounter the mock Czar until the beginning
+of March. Pugasceff waited for his opponent in the forest of Taticseva.
+This so-called stronghold had only wooden walls, a kind of ancient
+fencing. It was good enough to protect the sheep from the pillaging
+Baskirs, but it was not suitable for war. The genius of the rebel leader
+did not desert him, and he was well able to look after himself. Round
+the fences he dug trenches, where he piled up the snow, on which he
+poured water. This, after being frozen, turned almost into stone, and
+was, at the same time, so slippery that no one could climb over it. Here
+he awaited Galiczin with a portion of his troops, while the remainder
+occupied Orenburg. The Russian general approached the hiding-place of
+the mock Czar cautiously. The thick fog was of service to him, and the
+two opponents only perceived one another when they were standing at
+firing distance. A furious hand-to-hand fight ensued. The best of the
+rebel troops were there. Pugasceff was always in the front and where the
+danger was greatest, but finally the Russians climbed the ice-bulwarks,
+captured his guns, and drove him out of the forest. This victory cost
+the life of 1000 heroic Russians, but it was a complete one! Pugasceff
+abandoned the field with 4000 men and seven guns; but what was a greater
+loss still than his army and his guns, was that of the superstitious
+glamour which had surrounded him until now. The belief in his
+incapability of defeat, that was lost too! The revengeful Czar who had
+but yesterday commenced his campaign, now had to fly to the desert,
+which promised him no refuge. It was only then that the real horrors of
+the campaign commenced. It was a war such as can be imagined in Russia
+only, where in the thousands and thousands of square miles of borderless
+desert scantily distributed hordes wander about, all hating Russian
+supremacy, and all born gun in hand. Pugasceff took refuge amongst these
+people. Once again he turned on Galiczin at Kargozki. He was again
+defeated, and lost his last gun. His sweetheart, Ulijanka, was also
+taken captive--that is, if she did not betray him! From here he escaped
+precipitately with his cavalry across the river Mjaes.
+
+Here Siberia commences, and here Russia has no longer villages, but only
+military settlements which are divided from each other by a day's march,
+across plains and the ancient forests, along the ranges of the Ural
+Mountains--the so-called factories.
+
+The Woszkrezenszki factory, situated one day's walk into the desert, is
+divided by uncut forests from the Szimszki factory, in both of which
+cinnamon and tin paints are made, and here are to be seen the powder
+factory of Usiska and the bomb factory of Szatkin, where the exiled
+Russian convicts work. At the meeting of the rivers are the small towns
+of Stepnàja, Troiczka Uszt, Magitnàja, Petroluskàja, Kojelga, guarded by
+native Cossacks, whilst others are garrisoned by disgraced battalions.
+Hither came Pugasceff with the remnants of his army. Galiczin pursued
+him for some time, but finally came to the conclusion that in this
+uninhabited country, where the solitary road is only indicated by
+snow-covered trenches, he could not, with his regular troops, reach an
+opponent whose tactics were to run away, as far and as fast as possible.
+
+Pugasceff rallied to him all the tribes along the Ural district, who
+deserted their homesteads and followed him.
+
+The winter suddenly disappeared, and those mild, short April days
+commenced which one can only realise in Siberia, when at night the water
+freezes, while in the daytime the melting snow covers the expanse of
+waste, every mountain stream becomes a torrent, and the traveller finds
+in the place of every brook a vast sea. The runaway might still proceed
+by sledge, but the pursuer would only find before him fathomless
+morasses. Only one leader had the courage to pursue Pugasceff even into
+this land--this was Michelson. Just as the Siberian wolf who has tasted
+the blood of the wild boar does not swerve from the track, but pursues
+him even amongst reeds and morasses, so the daring leader chased his
+opponent from plain to plain. He never had more than 1000 men, cavalry,
+artillery, and gunners all told. Every one had to carry provisions for
+two weeks, and 100 cartridges. The cavalry had guns as well as sabres,
+so that they might also fight on foot, and the artillery were supplied
+with axes, so that, if necessary, they might serve as carpenters, and
+all prepared to swim should the necessity arise. With this small force
+Michelson followed Pugasceff amid the horde of insurrectionary tribes,
+surrounded on every side by people upon whose mercy he could not count,
+whose language he did not understand, and whose motto was death. Yet he
+went amongst them in cold blood, as the sailor braves the terrors of the
+ocean. On the 7th of May he was attacked by the father of the pretty
+Ulijanka, near the Szimszki factory, with 2000 Baskirs, who were about
+to join Pugasceff. Michelson dispersed them, captured their guns, and
+discovered from the Baskir captives that Beloborodoff, one of the dukes
+created by Pugasceff, was approaching with a large force of renegade
+Russian soldiers. Michelson caught up with them near the Jeresen stream,
+and drove them into the Szatkin factory. Riding all by himself, so close
+to them that his voice could be heard, he commenced by admonishing them
+to rejoin the standard of the Czarina. He was fired at more than 2000
+times from the windows of the factory, but when they saw that he was
+invulnerable they suddenly threw open the gates and joined his forces.
+From them he discovered the whereabouts of the mock Czar, who had at the
+time once more recovered himself, had captured three strongholds,
+Magitnàja, Stepnàja, and Petroluskàja, and was just then besieging
+Troiczka. This place he took before the arrival of Michelson, who found
+in lieu of a stronghold nothing but ruins, dead bodies, and Russian
+officers hanging from the trees. Pugasceff heard of the approach of his
+opponent, and, with savage cunning, laid a snare to capture the daring
+pursuer. He dressed his soldiers in the uniforms of the dead Russian
+soldiers, and sent messengers to Michelson in the name of Colonel Colon
+that he should join him beyond Varlamora. Michelson only perceived the
+trick when his vanguard was attacked and two of his guns captured.
+
+Although surrounded, he immediately fell upon the flower of Pugasceff's
+guard, and cut his way through just where the enemy was strongest. The
+net was torn asunder. It was not strong enough. Pugasceff fled before
+Michelson, and, with a few hundred followers, escaped into the interior
+of Siberia, near the lake of Arga. All of a sudden Michelson found
+Szalavatka at his rear with Baskir troops who had already captured the
+Szatkin factory, and put to the sword men, women, and children.
+Michelson turned back suddenly, and found the Baskir camp strongly
+intrenched near the river Aj. The enemy had destroyed the bridges over
+the river, and confidently awaited the Imperial troops. At daybreak
+Michelson ordered up forty horsemen and placed a rifleman behind the
+saddle of each, telling them to swim the river and defend themselves
+until the remainder of the troops joined them. His commands were carried
+out to the letter amidst the most furious firing of the enemy, and the
+Russians gained the other side of the river without a bridge, drawing
+with them their cannon bound to trees. The Baskirs were dispersed and
+fled, but whilst Michelson was pursuing them with his cavalry he
+received news that his artillery was attacked by a fresh force, and he
+had to return to their aid. Pugasceff himself, who again was the
+aggressor, stood with a regular army on the plains. The battle lasted
+till late at night in the forest. Finally the rebels retreated, and
+Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the
+Fort of Ufa. He speedily cut his way through the forest, and when
+Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
+him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again
+victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
+clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
+charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
+appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
+the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
+from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
+pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
+Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
+other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
+away before him, and he burnt before their very eyes the town of Birszk.
+With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he acquired
+guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before Kazan,
+which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the seat of
+an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian Czars use
+at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar. If he
+could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it on his
+head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals Brand and
+Banner had but 1500 musketry for the defence of Kazan, but the citizens
+of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from within their
+ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General Potemkin,
+accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The Imperialists had
+as many generals and colonels in their camp as Pugasceff had corporals
+who had deserted their colours, yet the horde led by the rebel stormed
+the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the first to scale the
+wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took refuge in the
+citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni Novgorod did not
+once look back.
+
+Pugasceff captured the town of Kazan, and gave it up to pillage. The
+Archbishop of Kazan received him before the cathedral, bestowed upon him
+gold to the value of half-a-million roubles, and promised that he would
+place the crown on his head immediately he procured it; it being in the
+citadel. Pugasceff set fire to the town in all directions, as he wanted
+to effect the surrender of the citadel garrison by that means. Just at
+this moment Michelson was on his way. The heroic General hardly allowed
+his troops time for rest, but again started in pursuit of Pugasceff. No
+news of him was heard, his footsteps alone could be traced. At Burnova
+he was attacked by a gang of rebels, whom he dispersed, but they were
+not the troops of Pugasceff. At Brajevana he came upon a detachment, but
+this also was not the one he was looking for. He then turned towards the
+Fort of Ossa, where he found a group of Baskir horsemen, whom he
+dispersed, capturing many others, from whom he learnt that Pugasceff had
+crossed the river Kuma; and he knew that he would find the rebel at
+Kazan. He hastened after him, meeting right and left with camps and
+troops belonging to his adventurous opponent. He found no boats on the
+river Kuma, so he swam it. Two other rivers lay in his way, but neither
+of these prevented his progress, and when he arrived at Arksz he heard
+firing in the direction of Kazan. Allowing but one hour's repose to his
+troops, he marched through the night, and at daybreak the thick dark
+smoke on the horizon told him that Kazan was in flames. Pugasceff's
+patrols communicated to their leader that Michelson was again at hand.
+The mock Czar cursed upon hearing the news. Was it a devil who was again
+at his heels, when he believed him 300 miles off? He decided that this
+must not be known to the garrison, who had been forced into the citadel.
+He collected from his troops those whom he could spare, and stationed
+them in the town of Taziczin, seven miles from Kazan, to prevent the
+advance of the dreaded enemy. Just as he was proclaiming himself Czar
+Peter III. in the market-place of Taziczin, a miserable-looking woman
+rushed in, and fell at his feet, embracing him, and covering him with
+kisses. This woman was Pugasceff's wife, who thought her husband lost
+long ago. They had been married very young, and Pugasceff himself
+believed her no longer living, but the poor woman recognised him by his
+voice. Pugasceff did not lose his presence of mind, but, gently lifting
+the woman up, he said to his officers:--"Look after this woman; her
+husband was a great friend of mine and I owe him much." But every one
+knew that the sham-Czar was no other than the husband of Marianka, and
+no doubt the appearance of the peasant woman told on the spirits of the
+insurgent troops. The most bitter and decisive battle of the
+insurrection awaited them. The night divided the two armies, and it was
+only in the morning that Michelson could force his way into the town,
+whence he sent word to the people of Kazan to come to his assistance.
+Pugasceff again attacked him with embittered fury, and as he could not
+dislodge him he withdrew the remainder of his troops from Kazan and
+encamped on the plain. The third day of the battle, fortune turned to
+the side of Pugasceff. They fought for four hours, and Michelson was
+already surrounded, when the hero put himself at the head of his small
+army and made a desperate rush upon Pugasceff.
+
+The insurrectionary forces were broken asunder. They left 3000 men on
+the battlefield, and 5000 captives fell into the hands of the victors.
+
+Kazan was free, but the Russian empire was not so yet.
+
+Pugasceff, trodden a hundred times to the ground, rose once more. After
+his defeat at Kazan, he fled, not towards the interior of Siberia, but
+straight towards the heart of the Russian empire--towards Moscow. Out of
+his army which was split asunder at Kazan he formed 100 battalions, and
+with a small number of these, crossed the Volga. Immediately he appeared
+on the opposite banks of the river, the entire province was enkindled:
+the peasantry rose in revolt against the aristocracy. Within a district
+of 100 miles every castle was destroyed, and one town after the other
+opened its gates to the mock Czar. The further he advanced the more his
+army increased and the faster his insurrectionary red flag travelled
+towards the gates of Moscow. On their way the rebels occupied forts,
+pillaged and destroyed the towns, and the troops which were sent against
+them were captured. Before the Fort of Zariczin an Imperial force
+challenged their advance. In the ensuing battle, every Russian officer
+fell, and the entire force was captured. Again Pugasceff had 25,000 men
+and a large number of guns, and his road would have been clear to Moscow
+if the ubiquitous Michelson had not been at his back! This wonderful
+hero did not dread his opponents, however numerous, and like the panther
+which drives before him the herd of buffaloes, so he drove with his
+small body Pugasceff's tremendous army. The rebel felt that this man had
+a magic power over him, and that he was in league with fate. Finally, he
+found a convenient place outside Sarepta, and here he awaited his
+opponent. It is a height which a steep mountain footpath divides, and
+this path is intersected by another. Pugasceff placed a portion of his
+best troops on the ascending path, whilst to the riff-raff he entrusted
+his two wings. If Michelson had caught the bull by the horns with his
+ordinary tactics, he ought to have cut through the little footpath
+leading to the steep road, and if he had succeeded then, the troops
+which were at the point of intersection would have fallen between two
+fires, from which they could not have escaped. But Michelson changed his
+system of attack. Whilst the bombardment was going on, he, together with
+Colonel Melin, rushed upon the wings of the opposing forces. Pugasceff
+saw himself fall into the pit he had dug for others. The rebel army,
+terror-struck, rushed towards his camp. The forces that flew to his
+rescue fell at the mouth of his guns, and he had to cut his way through
+his own troops in order to escape from the trap. This was his last
+battle! He escaped with sixty men, crossed the Volga, and hid amongst
+the bushes of an uninhabited plain.
+
+The Russian troops surrounded the plain, whence Pugasceff and his men
+could not escape. And yet he still dreamt of future glory! Amidst the
+great desert his old ambition came back to him--he pictured the golden
+dome of the Kremlin, and the conquered Czarina. And with these dreams he
+suffered the tortures of hunger. For days and days he had no nourishment
+but horse-flesh roasted on the reeds, which was made palatable by
+meadow-grass in place of salt. One night, as he was sitting over the
+fire and roasting his meagre dinner on a wooden spit, one of the three
+Cossacks who formed his body-guard said to him, "You have played your
+comedy long enough, Pugasceff!" The adventurer sprang up from his place.
+
+"Slave, I am your Czar!" and whilst saying this he slew the speaker. The
+two others made a rush at him, struck him to the ground, bound him, tied
+him to a horse, and thus took him to Ural Sorodok and delivered him to
+General Szuvarof. It was the very same Ural Sorodok whence he had
+started upon his bold undertaking. From here he was taken to Moscow. The
+sentence passed upon him was that he should be cut up alive into small
+pieces. The Czarina confirmed the sentence, though her beautiful eyes
+had had great share of responsibility for the sinner's fate. The hangman
+was more merciful. It was not specified in the sentence where he should
+commence the work of slaughter, so he began at once with the head, and
+for this oversight he was sent to Siberia! Katharine about this time
+changed her favourite. Instead of Orloff, Potemkin, a fine fellow, was
+chosen.
+
+
+
+
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+All around, as far as eye could range, not a palm, nor a plant, nor a
+blade of grass was to be seen. From one end of the horizon to the other,
+nothing on which the rising sun could cast a shadow! There was only a
+small hillock in the centre of this desert, and against this a man was
+resting, spreading out his hands upon the square stone which stood upon
+it. He had either just risen from sleep or from the recital of prayer,
+and, kneeling, he greeted the rising sun. His dress was similar to that
+of an Eastern mendicant, for he was covered with a long woollen cloak,
+and one could see through his wide-hanging sleeves the wounds on his
+arms which had been scorched by the sun. He was short, and lame with a
+crippled foot, and, although his hair and beard were already white, his
+face, which was ruddy and youthful, belied his age, for on his forehead
+no wrinkles were to be seen, and his eyes were bright and sparkling. The
+expression of his face was as grave and gentle as that of a philosopher
+or a pilgrim.
+
+To the eastern horizon of the desert, along the stony plain of Szivasz,
+a red pyramid arrested the sun's rays, and appeared through the morning
+mists like a red shadow, whilst westward, a long black streak of cloud
+seemed to hover, which the morning breeze was powerless to agitate and
+the light of dawn could not kindle into colour. Throughout the whole
+extent of the plains not a human voice was to be heard, but in the
+melancholy quietude some continuous and dismal sounds attracted the ear,
+proceeding apparently from the interior of the earth. Far and wide as
+the waste extended were these heartrending and distressing noises to be
+heard. It seemed as though the earth were sobbing, or as though one
+could recognise the sighs and groans ascending from lost souls in
+purgatory, numbed into faint echoes in their transit from the depths
+below. Or even as though the air were filled with the loud screams of
+evil spirits, coming and going one knew not whence or whither. On the
+face of the lonely wanderer no expression of fear was visible. He did
+not shrink shudderingly from the phantom of the plain, nor from the
+desolate picture spread before him. If he could pass the night alone
+amidst these ghostly surroundings, was it likely that he would be afraid
+in the sunlight?
+
+He knelt once again upon the hillock, touching the stone with his
+forehead, speaking in low murmurs as though into the sand:
+
+"Oh! Wisdom beyond all wisdoms! grant to me to acquire thy knowledge
+that I may wander throughout the world, and accomplish what Thou hast
+left unfinished."
+
+Whilst saying this he rose, and, with dignified mien, gazed around the
+expanse of plain. These plains were the blessed soil of Irán. But
+yesterday it was the fourth paradise of Asia, while to-day it is a
+desert.
+
+The little hillock was the sepulchre of Abu Mozlim who killed half a
+million of people in his fierce and continuous fights.
+
+The philosopher, wanderer, and mendicant who rested upon it was Timur
+(the man of the iron sword), nicknamed also Timur Lenk (the lame), who
+in the language of flatterers was called Gurgan (the high and mighty
+lord), Szabil Kirán (the master of all time), or Djeihangir (the
+conqueror of the world)--one of the greatest of all conquerors. On his
+head rested the crowns of twenty-seven countries, and from the Indus to
+the Volga twenty-seven nationalities groaned under his yoke.
+
+It was he himself, the dreaded Tamerlan. The red pyramid to the east was
+a pyramid of skulls, which had been piled up from the heads of 90,000
+soldiers captured during the war, whilst the immovable cloud towards the
+west was the smoke rising from Szivasz, which only two days ago was
+inhabited by 100,000 people and to-day held as many graves!
+
+The hollow murmuring from the centre of the earth was caused by the
+cries of 4000 Armenians, whom the victorious conqueror had caused to be
+buried alive in one vast timber-lined grave, so that their screams could
+be heard for some time. It was their moans which came from beneath the
+earth, whilst the cripple rested on his club, made from the horn of the
+buffalo, and gazed with a satisfied air around the desert wastes which,
+yesterday a paradise, had been battered down by his horses' hoofs into a
+dismal plain. What he saw and heard was delight to his heart. The air of
+the desert mourned, and the earth moaned in concert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Timur's camp was always full of learned men, poets, and lute singers.
+When he devastated a country or uprooted a town, there was never a
+living soul left behind his track--not the sound of a child's cry, the
+bark of a dog, or the crow of a cock--everything was destroyed!
+
+But he spared learned men and poets. On the day of destruction his camp
+was a place of refuge to them, and they were guarded by his soldiers in
+order that no evil might befall them; and when he moved onwards he
+carried with him not only the treasures of the dead--silver, gold, and
+jewels, but also those of the living--art and science. His camp was
+swarming with astronomers, magicians, singers, poets, painters,
+gymnasts, engineers, doctors, conjurers, monkey-trainers, and such like.
+Timur caused them to be elegantly dressed and well fed, and paid them
+handsomely. He carried them about everywhere with him, in order that
+they might amuse all but himself. Why should he trouble his head with
+astronomy when he knew no star so sparkling as himself? Why should he
+learn history, when he was the one to make it; or listen to verses which
+were sung in praise of love, when he distributed captive maidens to his
+soldiers as a portion of their pay? If he had scientific men in his camp
+it was in order that they should exert their power over his people. Let
+them hear the poet's stories, and the recital of heroic deeds, and let
+the chroniclers write on their parchment what he dictated. Let comedians
+amuse the crowd, so long as it was acknowledged that all the amusement
+was owing to him.
+
+It was 830 in the Hedjir year, and the countries of two great conquerors
+adjoined one another. One was Timur, another was Bajazet, whose surname
+was Djildirim (the lightning). This latter name is also inscribed in
+letters of blood in the chronicles of other unfortunate nations, and a
+people who yet cannot fail to remember his name are still called
+Magyars. Bajazet was the victorious hero of Nicapol. Where two
+sword-blades touch there is sure to be fighting, and how could two
+conquerors of the world find room close to one another? Bajazet
+conquered three provinces which were in vassalage to Timur, and drove
+away the Khans of Taherten, Szarnchan and Aidin. The last he took
+captive, together with his wife. Timur, with whom the Khan of Aidin was
+a favourite, sent envoys to the Sultan, asking him to restore their
+provinces to his _protégés_, and to set the Khan of Aidin and his wife
+at liberty. The Sultan was inclined to slay these envoys, but was
+dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, who said, "Timur, the son of
+the desert, never causes the envoys sent by his opponents to be killed."
+However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with
+camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent
+word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin
+he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.
+
+Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his
+troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.
+
+One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in
+thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes
+to appear before you."
+
+"For what purpose? If he wants money he can have it without seeing me."
+
+"He does not want money; he only asks to be received into your favour."
+
+"If he does not gain that, then, he will have stolen my time, and time
+is life; therefore, he will have deprived me of life, and will have to
+be considered a regicide!"
+
+Such thoughts as those were frequent utterances from Timur's lips, and
+it is a fact that he often had people killed for a mere trifle, and
+spared their lives as a sort of good joke.
+
+Shacheddin did not relinquish his request, and a few minutes afterwards
+Timur's guards hastened to bring the magician before their master. It
+was a mark of respect that all should enter hurriedly into the presence
+of this mighty man, and that they should throw themselves upon their
+faces on the ground. To walk slowly was considered a mark of haughty
+conduct by him.
+
+The magician was attired in grey robes, and on his head he wore a tall,
+silk cap. His beard was painted yellow, and his eyebrows blue, whilst on
+his face were inscribed Tallic words in green and red.
+
+"Magician," said Timur, with mocking condescension, "where have you
+learnt your art? Amongst the idiots of Almanzor, or in the company of
+Chinese clowns? Do you understand how to charm people back to this
+country from another, or _vice versâ_? Say, do you understand that?"
+
+"I understand that," answered the magician, bowing down to the ground.
+
+"If, indeed, you understand that, then command that in one moment my
+beloved servant, the Khan of Aidin, shall stand before me; and, if you
+cannot do this, perhaps you will manage to transplant yourself at least
+a thousand miles from me, for my hands can reach even to that extent,
+and may possibly cause your death!"
+
+"It shall be as you command," said the magician. "Will you please to
+order your slaves to bring a vat of water before me?"
+
+"Shacheddin has tried that," said Timur, with cold irony. "Bring water
+to the magician!"
+
+A vat filled with water was placed before the magician, and he jumped
+into it, still wearing his clothes.
+
+Timur gazed upon him with doubting condescension, thinking to himself at
+the same time what kind of death he should bestow upon this deceitful
+mortal. All at once the water was divided and in place of the magician a
+fine, tall young man, with hanging locks, stood before him.
+
+It was the Khan of Aidin himself!
+
+Timur rose hastily from his seat, and flew to him as a lioness who
+discovers her lost cubs. He embraced the young fellow and carried him in
+his arms to a panther skin, where he told him to be seated before him.
+
+"How did you get here?"
+
+"As an acrobat," replied the Khan of Aidin, with a smile. "I escaped
+disguised as a rope-dancer from your enemy's country!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+A Prince as an acrobat! Could there be a greater humiliation? Could
+there be anything in existence calling for more bitter revenge?
+
+"Which way did you come, and what towns did you touch?" asked Timur of
+the Khan, who was seated at his feet.
+
+"From Smyrna I escaped as a running footman. The people praised my
+running to such an extent that I felt compelled to prove how far I could
+go by running away altogether! In Aleppo I was a monkey-trainer! In
+Bagdad I turned somersaults! In Damascus I climbed by a rope to the
+Tower of Minarch! At Angora I put sharp swords into my throat; whilst in
+Szivasz I swallowed burning coals before the son of the Sultan!"
+
+Timur Lenk counted on his fingers the names of the towns as the Khan of
+Aidin recapitulated them; Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Bagdad, Angora,
+Szivasz--not one stone of them should remain! And the people who had
+been so amused by the acrobatic performances of a prince should bitterly
+deplore this! Little time should be given them to lament!
+
+"And your children?" asked Timur of his _protégé_.
+
+The Khan gave a sigh.
+
+"They are kissing the whips of Bajazet's slaves."
+
+"They shall not do so long!"
+
+Timur called Shacheddin before him, and had another letter written to
+the Sultan, taking care that every time his name was mentioned it should
+appear in a line with his in quite as large-sized letters, and not in
+different ink; whilst, in accordance with his usual custom, he signed
+his name at the top, not the bottom, of the page. The contents of the
+missive were not couched in angry terms, though they were written in a
+haughty manner.
+
+"Do you not know that the greater portion of Asia is submissive to my
+sword and my laws? Do you not know that my army reaches from one sea to
+another, and that the world's rulers stand humbly at my doors imploring
+to be heard! What is your boast to me? A victory over the Christians?
+You have been victorious over them because the swords of the
+prophet--blessed be Allah!--were in your hands. But who will defend you
+against me? Your only protector is the Koran, whose commands I obey as
+you do. Be wise! Do not despise your opponent because he was once
+insignificant. When the locust grows up, and its wings become red, it
+attacks the very birds who wished to consume it before!"
+
+Timur's envoys carried the message to Bajazet as quickly as Arab horses
+could gallop. In it he once more demanded that the captured towns of the
+Khan of Aidin should be restored to him in peace and quietness, and that
+his wife and children should be set at liberty, and he suggested that
+the joint armies of the Sultan and himself should afterwards start
+together and branch off in different directions, one east, the other
+west--one to destroy the Pagans, the other the Christians. Timur's
+messengers returned to his camp with Bajazet's reply, also as swiftly as
+Arab horses could gallop. Hardly had he opened the letter when Timur's
+face became flushed with anger. Bajazet's name was written in a
+different line to his, and was at least an inch larger, whilst Timur's
+name was similar in size to the rest of the lettering, and was in black
+ink! The name of the Sultan was in historic characters ornamented with
+gold. Nor were the contents of the letter couched in mild form. Timur
+saw here no flattering terms. He was not styled Gurgan, or Djeihangir,
+but "the Spoiler of Countries," "the Thief of the Desert," "the Worm,"
+"the Crippled Man," &c.; and he had to read how his fame was disparaged,
+his guns ridiculed, his requests mocked at, and his threats ignored.
+
+"What I have conquered belongs to me, quite as much as does my own
+country. Those whom I have captured are my slaves. If you want them,
+come for them! Come, and bring with you your million soldiers with their
+miserable arrows, who will be quickly scattered by my heroes as chaff
+before the wind! Come, and find me face to face! Come! If not, may you
+be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife if you do not appear before
+me!" Every Eastern chronicler notes these words with shuddering horror!
+
+Ibu Shimah, Arabshah, Sherefeddin, and the Persian Khandemir all record
+them with the greatest loathing, and Christian historians, such as
+Phranzas and Chalcondylas, admit that a greater curse could not befall a
+Mussulman! "May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+He who loves, nay adores, and respects his faithful wife, the mother of
+his children, who is to him a queen of the world as well as the queen of
+his heart, and he who knows that in accordance with the Alkoran it is
+easy to be separated from a wife, but should remarriage be desired, she
+must live with another man first, and only when he has thrust her aside
+can she again marry her first husband--he it is who will understand
+what a frightful curse is this to a Mussulman!
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+It is a greater insult than to slap the face; it is far worse than to
+break in two your opponent's sword! Nay, it is even more than to have
+the graves of one's ancestors uprooted, and is a deadly offence to all
+Mussulmans. And when this Mussulman is a Monarch! and this Monarch,
+Timur!
+
+Timur Lenk did not appear to be furious. He did not howl with rage. He
+stood up, speechless, and held the letter towards heaven as though he
+would say, "Here is this letter; read it!" His sons and generals and the
+vassal princes were horrified to see him as he stood there in his camp,
+apparently speaking, though none could hear him nor understand him, save
+those who are unseen, for his lips remained closed. He folded the letter
+slowly and placed it in his breast in order that he might carry it there
+until he could revenge himself for the insult. After this, anger was no
+longer visible on his countenance. He did not put the envoys in chains,
+though Bajazet had so treated those sent by him; he did not have their
+noses and ears cut off. On the contrary, he gave them presents of golden
+caps and richly embroidered coats, and had them mounted on horseback and
+escorted through his camp, in order that they might count his standards
+and number his troops. He had the fighting elephants brought before
+them; he let them know that his cavalry wore armour beneath their
+uniforms, in order that they might go back to their master and tell him
+that Timur was quite prepared and would soon meet him, or should he
+decide to come himself, that he would await him. The Sultan was not to
+hurry! He would do well to prepare himself in a befitting manner to meet
+his enemy! Meantime Timur would bombard the Fort of Szivasz, the
+Sultan's most important stronghold!
+
+Timur Lenk looked down from the Taurus Mountains into the Valley of
+Anadot. A new Paradise stretched before his feet. He saw hundreds and
+hundreds of places amidst the green meadows, and as far as eye could
+reach his troops were to be seen; and before him, in the mouth of the
+valley, lay Szivasz, surrounded on either side by massive citadels and
+canals, quite unapproachable, owing to morasses. There was but one route
+by which the gates could be reached, and this was defended by triple
+walls and high watch-towers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The woeful news was brought to Bajazet that Timur had started his
+expedition against him. He had received tidings of this beforehand, and
+therefore had time to prepare himself. Szivasz had 100,000 inhabitants,
+amongst whom were 20,000 military. The Sultan reinforced them by sending
+10,000 Armenians, the pick of his regiments, who were commanded by his
+second son, Ertogrul. The fort, which was called the "Unconquerable,"
+was provided with ammunition for one year. One year's ammunition! Within
+that space of time barley was being reaped in its courtyard after its
+capture by Timur!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Timur's followers were divided into a camp of twenty-seven sections.
+Tartars and Persians formed the cavalry; Manchou miners made the
+subterranean ways, whilst the supple Hindoos scaled the walls. These men
+were all veritable magicians! They climbed the enemy's ramparts like
+snakes, they were quite nude, with ropes round their shoulders, and they
+carried sharp iron prongs in their hands, and in their teeth yataghans.
+They clung partly to the bricks, partly to the smooth surface of the
+walls, and resting on the shoulders of their comrades beneath them, they
+reached the summit. Whilst this living ladder, man on man, made its way
+up the giddy heights and attained the foot of the citadel, those beneath
+were being continuously dragged up after them. Had they swerved or
+fallen they would have been dashed to pieces. Those who first reached
+the citadel, crept slowly, like so many panthers, to the unsuspecting
+guards, and stretched themselves along the ground as their backs were
+turned, then threw the ropes suddenly over their necks and pulled them
+down to the earth. Thus they died without making a sound. When one or
+two thousand Hindoos had reached the citadel, they flew down to the
+watch-towers, strangled the guard, and cut the chains of the bridges.
+Then Timur's iron men, with swords in both hands, made a rush to
+slaughter the whole population. They had been frequently successful in
+these cunning attacks upon the walled towns. Strong forts which had been
+prepared to resist an attack of a year's duration had often fallen
+suddenly in one night into the hands of the conqueror.
+
+This fate awaited Szivasz! The gates and trenches had been well seen to
+by spies, but yet Timur was ignorant of one fact--viz., that the
+Sultan's son, Ertogrul (called the "nightbird," as he only slept in
+daytime), guarded the walls at night, like an owl.
+
+Timur and his men waited before the gates with drawn swords until
+midnight, and, indeed, until daybreak, to receive the expected signal
+for the onslaught to be made. The Polar Star and the Morning Star
+appeared in the skies, yet no sound was to be heard in the fort. When it
+was daylight, Timur caused twenty-four huge machines, used for flinging
+blocks of stone, to be brought into operation. With the bullets which
+were returned in answer, came back to him the heads of his own soldiers!
+From early in the morning till late at night the heads of his bravest
+men were thrown at him! Timur saw them coming in tens and twenties from
+the heights above him! They had been all selected athletes and clever
+mechanics who had completed their studies at Delhi, and had silently
+slidden down on ropes from the precipitous rocks of Georgia to surprise
+and slaughter the enemy. Until late at night these gory balls fell at
+Timur's feet. He could have added to the large collection he already
+possessed, but these were cherished heads, belonging to his own men!
+Ertogrul had indeed lashed the lion!
+
+Suddenly Timur put into work 8000 miners! The wall of the fort was only
+to be got at on one side, and under this he made a subterranean way,
+walled it with timber, and filled it up with sulphur and resin, which he
+caused to be ignited. After the seventeen days' bombardment, the
+watchmen of Szivasz perceived a suffocating smell in the air, which
+seemed to settle heavily down upon them, and took away their courage.
+The earth beneath them became burning hot, the grass in the woods around
+the citadels dried up, and the walls could be heard to split and crack
+from top to basement. The heat became unbearable, the iron railings
+assumed a fiery red hue, whilst the grain stored away in the citadel was
+burnt as black as soot, and the wine-casks exploded. This was on the
+seventeenth day. On the eighteenth the walls of the citadel, together
+with the iron gates, fell down all together into a veritably burning
+hell! Then could be heard the Tartar cry of enthusiasm "Sürün!"
+
+Thus were forced open the gates of the Ottoman Empire, and the enemy
+slaughtered the whole population of the town. Not a man, woman or child
+was spared on the day of the capture of Szivasz.
+
+The lives of four thousand Armenians were alone preserved. Timur was
+merciful enough to promise Ertogrul that he would spare their lives, and
+that he would not kill the young prince himself until he should himself
+desire it, and he kept his word. He caused the four thousand soldiers to
+be buried alive in a huge vault, whilst Ertogrul was handed over to his
+slaves in order that he might be paraded about the camp with a crown on
+his head and golden circlets about him, and thus shown to the people as
+some curious monster. Three days later the Sultan's son himself prayed
+to be killed, and Timur acceded to his request.
+
+On the very day that this happened, Timur absented himself from the camp
+and went to the grave of Abu Mozlim the Cruel, on the burying-ground
+where he could yet hear the curses and cries of despair which came from
+those whom he had caused to be buried alive. He gazed with admiration on
+the wilderness which his people had created, and passed a whole night
+there.
+
+At daybreak his leaders came to him, bringing the copper gates of
+Szivasz, on which he rested his feet. These gates he caused to be
+afterwards sent to Samarcand, the capital of his empire, where were
+stored all the gates of those towns which he had captured or destroyed,
+making a terrible museum. They were placed at the base of an enormously
+high jasper monument raised to the god of the Delhi Brahmins, and were
+put along the roadway in order that every follower of the faithful might
+tread upon the emblems of Christianity with which they were adorned.
+
+After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the
+venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolpán (the Morning
+Star), his youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied
+the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these
+revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and
+caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur
+proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold
+and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men.
+Shacheddin, the historian, then pulled out his parchment, and read aloud
+his record of an event which he had described, in order that it might be
+handed down to posterity in the following terms:
+
+"In the year 830 of the Hedjir--the day after the death of the Prophet
+Omar--at the mere glance of the never-to-be-opposed Djeihangir, the
+world-renowned conqueror, the impregnable walls of Szivasz, built up by
+the Alaeddin to an enormous height, fell to the ground. A hundred
+thousand armed men who defended this fort fell down on their faces, and
+surrendered at the word of the mighty Szabil Kirán. The gracious Gurgan,
+who has ever been merciful, gave his gracious pardon to those who were
+left alive, and forbade that their blood should be shed. May honour and
+glory attend his footsteps!"
+
+Timur Lenk praised this description, and, after bestowing gifts upon the
+chronicler, shouldered his club and proceeded to further shatter the
+gates of the town. The desert plain continued to wail and groan after
+this, and who knows when it ceased to do so?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+I wonder at what hour commence the reveries of a heart which has not yet
+been opened fully into the light of life? What are the dreams which
+woman's soul creates whilst she remains yet between childhood and
+womanhood, whilst she is yet half a slave, half a queen, partly a
+careless being, partly an angel of light!
+
+On the day of the birth of Maria, the daughter of Eleázár, the King of
+Bulgaria, the horoscope which was cast for her by the soothsayers
+foretold that this woman would be the cause of a great monarch's death.
+King Eleázár naturally thought that this mighty monarch must mean
+himself, and on the day of her christening he left her in the convent
+where the ceremony had been performed, fully intending that she should
+never leave the place.
+
+Just about this time the Osman Emperors commenced to overrun Europe, and
+Eleázár was vanquished by them, and, in order to save himself from
+slavery, he offered his daughter as wife to the notorious enemy, in
+accordance with a custom then prevalent. At this time the Sultans had
+their own lawful wives, and it happened that Maria became the last
+Sultana upon the Ottoman throne. Those who followed her were merely
+favourites, and sat on footstools at the steps of the throne.
+
+Maria was just sixteen when she exchanged the walls of the nunnery for
+those of the Seraglio.
+
+One is as closely guarded as the other.
+
+In this abode of innocent virgins she was taught that the world is
+divided into three parts. The portion above is Paradise, which is
+inhabited by angels; that below is Hades, where the devils abide; and
+between these comes the earth, where dwell women, and heartless beings,
+alien to animals, and nothing more! The inhabitants of the upper and
+lower worlds are continually fighting one against the other, and it is
+the duty of the women who live on earth to pray incessantly and to
+glorify and honour the angels.
+
+The Sultan sent his chariot to fetch Maria away, and she only descended
+from this at the door of the Emerald Room of the palace, where she was
+greeted by three hundred maidens.
+
+She now learnt to know that there was such a thing as a man in the
+world, and that he was the Sultan Bajazet! She believed in the existence
+of one man alone. The others she thought were all _Dzsins_
+(Christians)--that is to say, good and evil spirits, who continually
+fight against one another. She imagined Bajazet to be the chief of the
+good _Dzsins_, whom he led into battle against the bad.
+
+Maria was just sixteen, and she did not know that there was more than
+one man in the world, and that was her husband, the Emperor Bajazet,
+whom she loved, revered, and adored, and for whom she forgot everything,
+even all that she had been taught by the sainted, marble-faced sisters
+in the convent, concerning the paradise which is lit up by the rays of
+the stars.
+
+She was happy, and she made others happy. Both in the Seraglio and in
+the convent she saw none but women's faces. The only difference was that
+_here_ were glitter and pomp, and nothing but cheerfulness and
+merriment, whilst _there_ all was coldness and severe simplicity. _Here_
+she had a variety of enjoyments, whilst _there_ she had to renounce all
+pleasure. _Here_ her idol was a living man with a smiling countenance,
+who heaped love and flattery upon her, whilst _there_ it was an unhappy
+Saviour who wore a crown of thorns, and whose pale face looked down upon
+her from the cross.
+
+Bajazet reposed in the society of Maria after his victories, and it
+gratified him to recount to her how many of his opponents he had slain
+in one day, whilst she caressed his snowy beard, and kissed his wrinkled
+forehead, being glad to know that there were so many _Dzsins_ the less
+in the world.
+
+Little did she know that those very _Dzsins_ were of her own creed, and
+that they were having their last desperate fight for existence with him.
+
+The Odalisc (women of the harem) sang of the Sultan's glories in
+something like the following strain, in which Maria delighted: "The
+unbelievers disappear as a flock before a hailstorm, and as tow in the
+flames. They are burned in their own cities!" Maria applauded this
+singing, little knowing that amongst the _Dzsins_ fell her own brothers!
+
+"Should you kill the King of the _Dzsins_ bring me his eyes," she said
+one day to the Sultan.
+
+Bajazet was a tender husband and a cunning inventor of tales. The next
+day he made her a present of two diamonds as large as a man's eyes, and
+he said they had come from the forehead of the King of the _Dzsins_.
+
+The eyes of other spirits were made, said Bajazet, of opals, emeralds,
+and rubies, and he, after each of his victories, heaped these precious
+stones upon her, and pearls, which he made her believe were the teeth of
+fallen _Dzsins_, were so heavy as to weigh down her bodice!
+
+"When will you start again on a fresh campaign? And what will you bring
+me back? I have myself plaited your whip and I have embroidered the
+saddle which your horse is to wear when it carries you into battle."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bajazet was at this time just starting on an expedition against the
+Greek Emperor, whose empire was then limited to the extent of the walls
+of Constantinople, which were being bombarded by his adversary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+One morning the Sultan was awakened by what seemed to him to be the
+voice of a nightingale, and, looking up, he saw Maria near him kneeling
+down, with bent head and arms crossed. The Sultan gazed long upon the
+childish figure. He could not understand what she was doing.
+
+Finally he interrupted her. "Morning Star, what are you doing?"
+
+The girl started. "I am praying!"
+
+Bajazet had never seen anything like this before.
+
+"To whom do you pray?" he questioned her, with astonishment.
+
+"To God!"
+
+The Sultan shook his head, for amongst Mussulmans it is not customary
+for women to pray.
+
+"And why are you praying?"
+
+"That God may be with you when you start for battle, and that He may
+grant you victory!"
+
+The Sultan was overcome with joy at the idea that Maria should pray to
+her own God when her husband started for battle--a battle which was to
+cause the destruction of her God's own altars. This idea was sweeter to
+him than the thought of the blood to be shed.
+
+"Pray for me. Pray fervently, with all the orthodox prayers to which you
+are accustomed. I do not understand them, but your prophets will know
+how they can persuade the ruler of good and evil to act differently to
+what he had intended, perhaps, a million years before. Tell me about
+your prayers. I find delight in them. I do not believe in them, but you
+do, and that is pleasurable to me. And I swear to you by the name of my
+own prophet Allah, and in the name of your God, that when I return from
+the battle, concerning which you pray, you shall have whatever your
+heart desires. In the meantime think of some desire which is as yet
+unfulfilled--a desire which is yet hardly existent--which may be only a
+fancy--waken it into life, demand it, and I will fulfil it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Soon afterwards he left to bombard Byzantium.
+
+The Sultan was right in his belief that the world's history does not
+depend on the tears of women. It was decided a million years ago that
+this rotten country was to fall to pieces, but no one man was empowered
+to hasten the destruction before the allotted day and year. Just when
+the siege was completed the frightful news reached Bajazet that the
+avenging Timur had accepted his challenge. Impregnable Szivasz had
+fallen, and his greatest hero, his son, had been killed by the enemy!
+Bajazet at once suspended the bombardment of Byzantium. He had neither
+time nor desire to attack the Christian Churches when an enemy, mightier
+than himself, approached. Byzantium, therefore, had for a short time to
+be spared the fate of having its name changed to Stamboul, just as, 450
+years later, it was spared from being rechanged to Byzantium, though the
+change was already looming in the distance.
+
+Bajazet was quite certain that he would take Byzantium. It was a dream
+from which he could not free himself until it was fulfilled. Every one
+was against the war. The soothsayers prophesied evil to come. His
+leaders warned him not to commence the bombardment until he had finished
+with Tamerlan. But he would not be dissuaded. The soothsayer who
+advised him to start against Timur before proceeding to Byzantium was
+dismissed from his presence.
+
+When Timur approached towards Szivasz the Sultan's advisers again
+implored him.
+
+"Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+When he was tired of hearing this he had a few of them killed, but the
+warning did not die with them. Though his advisers could no longer speak
+to him, a sad and moaning song was heard amongst the soldiers, the
+refrain of which was, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+The Sultan had to listen to this nightly from his tent, and when he
+forbade it to be sung in his camp, it was passed on to the shepherds in
+the Izmid mountains. In the silent night, and in the far distance, the
+wailing of the shepherds' horn was heard from the Pontus as far as the
+Sultan's tent, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+Bajazet had the shepherds driven into the mountains, or killed, in order
+that he could no longer hear the cursed song! But he heard afterwards
+what he little wanted to believe, that both Szivasz and his hero had
+fallen, and had been destroyed by the hands of his enemy. Bajazet
+strewed ashes on his head! This was his own fault.
+
+He no longer attacked the gates of Byzantium. He left the subways in the
+midst of their construction, crossed the Pontus with his army, collected
+his generals and all his war-utensils, and was ready to start on his big
+and revengeful expedition. As he anchored near the Izmid mountain, a
+shepherd was seen close by, resting on his crook. Bajazid exclaimed to
+him: "Now blow with your horn that song to me: 'Do not let Szivasz fall,
+or your son be lost!'" The shepherd obeyed his commands and blew the sad
+and melancholy sounds, which were re-echoed in the mountains. They found
+an echo in the heart of the Sultan, who cried out, with grief and
+despair, that he had let his bravest son die; and from that moment the
+trumpeters were ordered to constantly play the melancholy song during
+the expedition to Szivasz.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+Timur Lenk did not hasten. He had time to look through the towns in
+which the Khan of Aidin had been made to turn somersaults. He also had a
+little account to settle with the Sultan of Egypt. It was a short and
+gory one. He only took with him the metal gates of the towns--the others
+he left behind amongst the ruins. He did not leave one stone upon
+another, but he piled up the heads of the inhabitants in heaps.
+
+This was his style of architecture!
+
+When Damascus was burnt down, the tops of the burning cypresses and
+cedars and the smoking resin perfumed the plain with their odour ten
+miles around. Of the holy town, only one minaret was left standing. It
+was that of the altar of the Ommiads, which was covered with lead, and
+the metal from it streamed down into the street. The top being of wood,
+remained standing. It was this tower which the Khan of Aidin had
+ascended by means of ropes, and, according to the Turkish saying, when
+the day of resurrection comes, it will be here that the Lord will
+descend and give judgment as to life and death.
+
+Whilst Bajazet was collecting his lightning forces, Tamerlan had time to
+destroy the three Iron provinces, and as many regiments, together with
+the Egyptian Mameluks. The heroic Syrians could not bar his way, and he
+made them fly like a cloud of mosquitos or a flock of swallows. Kings
+disappeared before him. The only one who escaped--and that by mere
+chance--was _Ferndzs_. In token of homage he sent gifts to the great
+Shah, nine, in number, of every kind, according to the religious system
+of counting in vogue with the Tartars: nine horses, nine camels, nine
+female slaves, and eight men slaves. Timur understood by this that it
+was intended to represent the sender himself as a ninth fraction, and
+for this reason he showed him mercy. Drunk with victory, thirsting for
+revenge, and loaded with treasure, Timur left Syria to meet his
+mightiest opponent, to whom he had now given time for preparation; and
+in the 804th year of the Hedjir, on a bright summer's day, he crossed
+the Araxes river!
+
+Bajazet, the "lightning," dreamt a waking dream of revenge as he sat by
+Maria's side, and caused his forces to be collected together to await
+his opponent's arrival on to the battlefield which was to decide the
+fate of the world. Under such a roof of sweet delight no one could talk
+of battles. Here even the Sultan did not deplore his lost son; Maria did
+not even know that he was the father of sons--men like himself, but
+minus grey beards! The Sultana found in her returned husband a return of
+all her happiness, and at this joyful moment she remembered the promise
+he had made to her before his departure, "Whatever your desire may be,
+it shall be fulfilled." And when her husband asked of her "What do you
+desire?" she replied:
+
+"Oh! my dear Djildirim, when will you next start against the _Dzsins_?"
+
+"This year, perhaps this very month."
+
+"Oh! how I should like to see a living _Dzsin_."
+
+"That is impossible. A _Dzsin_ is not a doll, my darling. Do you not
+know, from the tales your women tell you daily, that if you tread upon a
+talisman you will force a spirit to appear who will be always at your
+bidding, but who will rend you asunder if you do not keep him
+continually employed?"
+
+But she was so delighted with this new idea that she would not allow
+herself to forget it for a moment.
+
+Next day she said to Bajazet, "Bring me a _Dzsin_, and be here to order
+him about for me!"
+
+"It is impossible. _Dzsins_ do not tolerate the presence of another man
+near a woman."
+
+"What idiots the _Dzsins_ must be!"
+
+The third day she said to Bajazet: "My lightning, my love, I have a
+desire which I want you to fulfil."
+
+"It is already fulfilled, if you really desire it."
+
+"What I wish is this, that when you next start against the _Dzsins_ you
+will take me with you."
+
+Oh! tempting heart of woman!
+
+"My morning star, my darling, what would you do in the midst of battle?
+It is a cruel tempest, where lightning rages. The glittering stars have
+no place there. The thoughts of your heart are alluring songs heard
+amidst the thunder and tempest of the battle. There is no room there for
+your sweet soul. If you pass a mown meadow, you weep over every flower
+which has been trampled under foot. The battle blood flows from the
+cut-down human flowers. How could you see this? You would die at the
+sight of it."
+
+But women do not give way.
+
+"I want to see how thousands of Dzsins melt away at your glance; to note
+how they fall to the ground when you only look at them. Does not the
+song say this? 'They are numerous and come in great numbers. Their
+noise, like thunder, makes heaven tremble. My Djildirim steps forward,
+and they fall to the ground, and their voices fill hell.' Does not the
+song say, 'The opponents' leader is a metal idol, but Bajazet is the
+lightning, and the lightning melts the metal.' Does not the song tell
+the truth?"
+
+Bajazet had to admit that all was true which the women of the harem sang
+about him.
+
+"I wish to see you," urged Maria, "I wish to see you in the blaze of
+your glory. I wish to see you as Djildirim, as the lightning which
+pursues the enemy! I want to admire you in the height of your glory! I
+want to applaud at and delight in your glory! I want to be on the spot,
+so that I may weave the wreath, and place it upon your brow, so that,
+dazzled by the light of victory upon your face, I may fall at your feet!
+Will you not take me with you, my Djildirim?"
+
+The Sultan said, "Let it be so!"
+
+He was excited at the idea of fighting in the presence of his wife, and
+of proving to her, who believed him to be an earthly god, that he was
+one indeed. The desire being roused in his heart, he was now doubly
+thirsty for revenge and also for glory! His wife's eyes would watch his
+deeds; therefore they must be magnificent!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+In the year 1446, according to the Christian era, an enormous comet
+appeared upon the horizon. The golden tint of this phenomenon of the
+heavens was observed for six months amongst the stars, and when it was
+closest to earth two-fourths of the sky was covered by the dreaded
+spectre. When the sun set and the gigantic marvel made its appearance,
+the pale phosphor head drawing its tail after it, everything was lit up
+by its wonderful light. Forests, mountains, people's faces, appeared
+ghastly by its illumination, and all around amongst the mountains was
+to be seen a glow which appeared like a distant fire lighting up the
+sky. Only the reflection of the light was not red, but green; and when
+the moon made her appearance, with her silver-tipped crescent, the two
+heavenly wanderers followed after one another with curious wonder. Once
+it happened that the moon went into the vaporous element of the comet,
+and astronomers then calculated how many million miles it covered and
+how long it would take before it would touch the moon with its head in
+place of its tail. Then both would shoot down from heaven, and the Day
+of Judgment would arrive. Religious folk went on pilgrimages and awaited
+the _Dies Iræ_; whose herald was this Lampadias, the name given it by
+Greek astronomers. Under the fearful glitter of this heavenly
+phenomenon, which wandered over the horizon and lit up the entire
+surface of the earth, compelling the inhabitants to breathe its deadly
+poison, the two most dreaded men in the Mussulman world prepared to
+fight against one another in a life and death struggle. Sultan Bajazet
+had 420,000 men; Timur Lenk had 780,000. One million two hundred
+thousand fighting men, therefore, had to seek a suitable place amidst
+the Asiatic wastes, which would afford sufficient space for the blood
+required to be shed.
+
+The two conquerors of the world were not alarmed by the sign from
+Heaven. They not only divided between them the stars which led them, but
+they also cut the comet asunder! The head of the Lampadias bent towards
+the west, and the thinner end of its long mane hung to the east. Bajazet
+said it was a sword which the Prophet had sent to him, and that with its
+aid he should kill the heretic Shitáá. Tamerlan, however, gave out that
+this was the same club which the Prophet had given into his hands, and
+that the head was turned towards the heretic Szunnita. The stars at the
+end of the tail he held to be the head of the club, with which he would
+lay him low! And so, the two greatest generals of the period started in
+search of one another with two enormous forces, and as quickly as they
+neared one another, so quickly did the dreaded star approach the earth!
+The two conquerors debated to themselves which of them would first grasp
+the comet by its tail!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Both Bajazet and Timur Lenk did what no conqueror of the world ever did
+before or after them. They each carried their favourite wives with them
+to view the decisive battle of the world! It was as though they were to
+witness a dramatic spectacle, in which one million armed men took part,
+and by which the government of a portion of the world would be decided
+either to the right or to the left. Such a spectacle was surely never
+before presented by a general to his wife!
+
+Bajazet's wife was in the camp in an elevated tent made of muleskin.
+One thousand women riders went before, and one thousand after her, to
+keep from her gaze the face of every man. These were masculine women,
+accustomed to sword-handling, and to cutting off heads, women for whom
+men can feel but horror, and of whom it is difficult to form an idea.
+Bajazet headed this woman's camp with 10,000 veteran Janesars and old
+soldiers scarred with wounds. They were picked out from amongst the
+Nicapol victors. Every one of them was a hero, and their attacks on the
+enemy were always made simultaneously. To the right of Maria were 15,000
+Christians, mounted and mailed, and under the leadership of Stephen
+Lazaruvich, the Servian Waidwode. These were the most faithful adherents
+of the Sultan. The remainder of the troops were led by the Sultan's
+sons. Suleiman, the eldest, was in the centre of the camp; whilst the
+two wings, consisting of Turcomans and Tartars, were commanded by Isá
+and Múza. Amongst these troops were the people of the Khan of Aidin.
+Mustafa, another of the sons of the Sultan, led the heroic Arab troops;
+and Mohammed, yet another, was in command of the reserve. Timur Lenk's
+sons, Mirán Shah, Chalit Shah, and Mirza Mohammed, were also in the
+camp. Fathers fought against fathers, sons against sons, and women
+against women! Mirza Mohammed Khan led his own troops, and each
+detachment was dressed in different colours--some, for instance, in red
+uniform and red bucklers, with red standards, red saddles, &c., others
+in blue or yellow, white or black. When they moved in square, it seemed
+as though figures were moving on a chess-board!
+
+The name of the place where the two opposing forces met was Csibuk Abad.
+It is an historic spot. Here Pompey and Mithridates fought a decisive
+battle! At the back stand the celebrated Stetta cedar-forests, and
+facing it are the endless plains where the tall oriental reeds grow in
+line from which the people cut stalks to make the stems of pipes,
+calling them from the place, Csibuk.
+
+Towards the eastern horizon the towers of the citadels of Angora were to
+be seen, whence Timur might be observed approaching. He was engaged in
+bombarding this place against the Bey Yakab, when the approach of his
+opponent caused him to raise the siege.
+
+Between the two forces was only one well (Miral) which supplied the
+district abundantly with water. The inhabitants were, therefore, right
+to call it the Sainted Well. Bajazet hastened to seize this before his
+enemy. He knew very well that he who secured it would have the advantage
+of tiring out his opponents, who would be forced out into the desert.
+Sheik Trzlan, an old Dervish, at one time an adherent of Timur Lenk, was
+the guardian of the well. As a follower of Shi he possessed magic power
+over the people.
+
+Bajazet rode to this Sainted Well, and asked the Dervish for a drink of
+water out of it. He filled the jug, and gave it over to the Padishah
+with the usual blessing, "Glory be to Him who created clouds and
+wells!"
+
+The Sultan threw a golden piece to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked up
+the money and looked at the portrait. Then he returned it, saying, "Oh!
+my Lord, of what use is this money to me, when Timur Lenk's head is
+engraved here?"
+
+The Sultan dragged the coin out of the Dervish's hand and threw it with
+horror into the air, wondering how his enemy's money could possibly have
+found its way into his camp. Then he took out another gold piece, upon
+which he first looked earnestly; then, seeing his own likeness engraved
+upon the coin, he threw it to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked it up,
+and then, with marks of the greatest respect and reverence, he handed it
+back to him again.
+
+"Why here, my master, on this piece also is engraved Timur's portrait!"
+
+And so indeed it was.
+
+Bajazet, who was now furious, took out a third coin, which he threw to
+the Sheik, who, on picking it up, showed him that again it bore the same
+superscription.
+
+"You scoundrelly magician!" shouted Bajazet in despair, "it is your
+delusive magic!" and he slashed the Dervish across the face and breast
+with his whip.
+
+"Thank you for your gracious kindness, mighty lord," said the Dervish,
+putting his blood-stained face into the dust.
+
+Timur Lenk would not have acted like this. He allowed blood to flow in
+streams, but never in his life did he hurt a scholar or a Dervish.
+Afterwards when the infuriated Sheik ran bleeding from the breast
+through the streets of Chorazan, Timur Lenk, looking at him, smiled and
+said: "This is a sign that Chorazan itself, which is the breast of Asia,
+will fly to me voluntarily."
+
+And so indeed it came to pass.
+
+Bajazet was so certain of having obtained possession of the Miril well,
+that the next day he organised a hunting expedition to the ancient
+forest of Stetta for Maria's amusement. Whilst half of his troops were
+pursuing the stag or shooting game, and he himself was shooting wild
+peacocks, the enemy, at a distance of trumpet-call, commenced to pull
+down the stakes of his camp. In the evening, when the party returned,
+tired out, from the chase, Bajazet's son, Suleiman, who had been left
+behind with the rest of the forces, came to him in a furious state, and
+said:
+
+"To-morrow we shall have to face the enemy."
+
+"Why?" asked the Sultan, with surprise.
+
+"Because we have no water!"
+
+"Surely the well has not dried up in one night?"
+
+"It has not dried up, but it is contaminated. The Dervish whose face you
+struck yesterday hung heavy stones round his neck last night and jumped
+into the well, where this morning he was found drowned. You know that
+when a man has been found dead in a well no one will touch its waters
+until the new moon. So the camp has been parched with thirst throughout
+the whole day!"
+
+"Oh! cursed Dervish!"
+
+"Ah! the Dervishes were all devoted to Timur. Beware, for he who was
+capable of killing himself might yet kill you! And now you had best
+decide whether you will retreat or make an advance to-morrow, for in
+this place it is impossible for us to remain longer."
+
+Bajazet angrily pointed to the watch-fires of Timur Lenk, and exclaimed,
+in hot fury, "Advance!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+It is quite natural that two loving hearts should think and dream alike,
+but it happens often, too, that the hearts of two opponents who bitterly
+hate one another think in concord. That night neither Bajazet nor Timur
+shut his eyes. Both of them were tortured by the conjecture as to which
+of the two should lead the morrow's attack, prove victor, and destroy
+his adversary. They both anxiously awaited the break of day, for each
+longed to be first upon the battle-field.
+
+It was yet dark when the priests completed their morning prayer in
+Bajazet's camp, and as the Sultan stepped out from his tent, the 10,000
+Janesars, who stood ready for attack, commenced to sing the
+blood-curdling song which thus concludes:
+
+    Do not let your son be lost!
+
+This was the Sultan's daily greeting, and he now stood face to face with
+his son's murderer! At the other end of the camp the dreaded signal of
+the _gurgach_, twice repeated, responded to the strains of the song, and
+this was accompanied by the screaming and clacking of the _kernai
+reveillé_. The _gurgach_ was a big drum and the _kernai_ a trumpet, and
+these signals announced that the attack had commenced. When the sun
+peeped out from behind the lilac-coloured mountains of Karadegh both
+camps were in marching order. The standards and the horses' tails used
+as banners were flying aloft in the centre, and the tails of two horses
+dyed red let it be known that two sovereigns were fighting face to face.
+Here were Bajazet's Janesars, while there were Timur Lenk's brave
+Samarcand troops, and between them two rows of fighting and mailed
+elephants were placed to form barriers. Skilful armed throwers of Greek
+fire were placed in towers with orders not to waste their arrows on
+other heads but those of princes. Timur, who was resting upon the bare
+earth, was greeted in turn by his officers, who stood with their horses'
+bridles in their hands, exclaiming:
+
+"_Raszti ruszti!_"
+
+These were historical words by which leave was taken, and they signified
+"Justice" and "Aid." Amongst the rows of elephants stood a white one,
+the largest of all. This Timur had brought from the Court of the Prince
+of Burmah, where it used to be worshipped as a holy animal. On the back
+of this curious beast a tower had been erected, where the two favourite
+wives of the Khan, Tumanaga and Csolpán, were seated. The one was the
+mother of his children, the other his latest favourite. Timur rode up
+to them before the commencement of the battle, greeted them lovingly,
+and unsheathed his sword before them. Raising it towards Heaven he
+exclaimed:
+
+"Now may it be decided which of us is to be thrice separated from his
+wife!"
+
+Sheriff Said then knelt down upon the ground at Timur's feet, filled his
+hands with grass, and as a symbol of cursing and destruction, he threw
+this towards Bajazet's camp. Then turning towards Timur, with a
+trembling voice he murmured:
+
+"Go, and be thou victor!"
+
+To these words the trumpeters in camp responded.
+
+On the opposite side Bajazet had raised a high wooden tower for his
+wives, from whence they inspected as from an amphitheatre-box the
+magnificent and dreadfully dramatic spectacle which was being enacted
+before them by two real heroes. It could not indeed have been other than
+a truly novel spectacle to Maria. What a fearful array of _Dszins_ she
+saw clad in iron and copper armour! Such garb surely could only be worn
+by inhabitants from another world! What tremendous camps! Surely only
+evil spirits who fly, constantly following one another through the air,
+could come in such large flocks! Likerbuli, the favourite songstress,
+was seated at Maria's feet when the attack commenced, and the strains of
+her lute seemed to bring the spectators into line to watch the battle
+which was proceeding before them.
+
+"Look how they come towards us, the cursed enemy! Seven detachments in
+seven colours like the rainbow! The leader--Timur Lenk's son--the devil
+whose name is Mirza Abubekr, rides before them. His armour is made
+entirely of rubies. How it sparkles in the sun! He who faces him, clad
+in dark armour, and seated on a black horse, is our hero, Lazaruvich. He
+can be recognised by his standards, which bear crosses. Hearken! how the
+earth trembles beneath the tramp of their horses. Listen! how the skies
+ring with the tumult of the battle!"
+
+"'Sürün! Sürün!' exclaim the cruel enemy. 'Allah! Allah!' scream our
+troops. 'Jesus! Jesus!' shout the men of Lazaruvich, but Allah listens
+also to these!"
+
+Maria secretly crossed herself, and prayed to Jesus.
+
+"Look, they have just come into collision. The clashing of the swords
+and axes upon their shields can be heard up here. Look, Timur's
+seven-hued troops become disordered. Lazaruvich sweeps them away before
+him as a whirlwind tosses the mown grass, or as the waves of the sea
+sweeps the shells towards the shore. Ha! Mirza Abubekr's chosen horsemen
+no longer keep to their own colours. White is mixed with red, and green
+has yellow patches like china fragments trodden under foot! Lazaruvich
+is the first hero amongst our troops!"
+
+Maria herself bent forward from her balcony, and applauded this
+wonderful spectacle, which was soon, however, obliterated from the sight
+of all in the reedy forest by the clouds of dust which were uplifted.
+Lazaruvich now commenced to pursue the despised Tartar horsemen who
+were fleeing towards Angora. Maria, intoxicated with joy, tore the lute
+out of Likerbuli's hands, and began to sing herself the song glorifying
+Bajazet and his hero "Korona" (Lazaruvich).
+
+The wild madness of the battle seemed to enter into her soul, and she,
+too, cursed the drunken enthusiasm of these demons who were always the
+cause of glory or trouble to her own people.
+
+In the dust-cloud of the battle, Khan Mohammed Mirza noticed his
+brother's flight, and rushed to his aid, with his crack Samarcand
+regiment. In the midst of the Csibukabad reeds he reached one of the
+wings of Lazaruvich, whilst Shah Miron, and Chalid with his archers
+threw themselves upon the troops of Prince Mustafa just where a gap had
+been caused owing to Lazaruvich having made a rush from thence upon the
+enemy. Mohammed, the Sultan's son, was there with reserve troops, but he
+had orders from Bajazet not to move until ordered to do so by him, for
+the deceitful enemy might make a circuit, and then there would be need
+for this reserve. Bajazet, in order to relieve his two sons, ordered
+Suleiman, who commanded the left wing, to throw himself upon Timur with
+his entire force.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Suleiman had 15,000 Tartars amongst his troops, principally inhabitants
+of Aidin and Saruchán, who were led by Bey Illisz. These Tartar hordes
+were suddenly let loose in one body, being sheltered on either side by
+the Anatol troops. Timur's opposing force advanced slowly towards the
+rushing enemy. At its head was the Khan of Aidin who, on that day, wore
+neither armour nor helmet, and did not even draw out his sword from its
+scabbard, though he made straight for Illisz.
+
+The Bey of Illisz was twirling his pike, and turned it towards the Khan.
+As he nearly reached him and was within throw, the Bey exclaimed,
+"Defend yourself," and threw the pike at him.
+
+The Khan of Aidin smiled. Had he earned his bread for a whole year as a
+magician in vain that he should be frightened by a pike?
+
+"You had better defend yourself," he replied to Illisz, as the pike
+hissed towards him. He grasped it in its flight, and threw it back to
+the Bey, and the iron penetrated his cheek-bone. In this state his
+terrified charger ran away with him. Then the Khan of Aidin rose in his
+saddle and straightened himself on his horse's back, whilst with ringing
+voice he cried out to the Tartars, "I am your Khan! Return to me, and
+aid me against the enemy!" In a moment the entire Tartar force turned
+round to him and threw clouds of arrows upon the Turkish horsemen
+behind them, and thus cut open a space in the left wing for the advance
+of Timur's troops.
+
+This move decided the fate of the battle. Bajazet could not believe that
+his Tartar soldiers would desert him at the sight and by the command of
+their late master. Those whom he believed to be his own followers had
+now actually gone over to the enemy! The Sultan's son Suleiman upon this
+stroke of ill-fate turned his horse's head, struck spurs into him, and
+was the first to leave the battle-field.
+
+Another son, Mohammed, commenced a fight with the reserve, but no
+success attended their efforts. The day was lost to Bajazet. The
+"lightning" was vanquished, and the iron sword prevailed; but Bajazet
+still could have escaped with the rest of his troops, and might have
+overcome his enemy from his European forts, could he have reconciled
+himself to the notion of flight. All round was heard the tumult of the
+tempestuous war. It was impossible to see, owing to the clouds of dust,
+and the women away yonder in the velvet tower no longer sang of victory,
+but trembling awaited the close of the day. Once during the afternoon a
+ray of hope sprang up, when Timur's force made an advance, and the
+Waiwode Lazaruvich cut his way through the Csibukabad reeds across
+Mohammed Mirza, and joined Bajazet in correct battle order. The Sultan
+stood motionless amidst his unconquered veterans. Lazaruvich, with his
+fagged out and wounded troops, who were blackened by dust and covered
+with the blood of the enemy, with broken pikes and torn standards,
+suddenly appeared before the Sultan.
+
+Lazaruvich hardly recognised him.
+
+"Is it you, my faithful friend?" the Sultan asked, with emotion.
+
+"It is I, father. Escape; the battle is lost!"
+
+"Then let me perish," replied the Sultan. "You had best return. You have
+wife and children, and have yet a long life to live."
+
+"God can alone bring help," answered Lazaruvich, and quitted the
+battle-field.
+
+It was already twilight. The escaping forces were seen in all
+directions. Only 10,000 Janesars stood steadfast round Bajazet. Since
+the morning they had been thirsting for water: now they thirsted for
+blood! They could have had plenty of time and opportunity for escape,
+for Timur did not attack them until later on. The night came on; the sun
+disappeared, and the comet--the dread of heaven and earth--shone out on
+the sky. By the aid of its demoniacal glitter Bajazet could see the
+opponent's army. He was not frightened, either by the star or by Timur's
+victory, and motionless he stood with his ten thousand men on the spot
+where half a million men had already perished. Then Timur raised his
+hand to heaven, as though he would grasp the flaming club, and with it
+strike his enemy.
+
+"Well, so be it," he said, and with this he gave the signal to start his
+troops of mailed men, the Dzsagata horsemen and the rows of fighting
+elephants, against Bajazet's Janesars. Maria heard tremblingly from her
+tower the bellowing of the elephants. "Ah! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+But Bajazet will pursue them and rout them asunder, for he is the
+'lightning.'"
+
+The flying Greek fire opened the attack. From the elephants' towers the
+blinding sparks came in clouds, and created dazzling colours in this
+night battle, whilst arrows shot at the same instant from all sides. The
+Janesars fought and died speechless, as though they were not men, but
+spectres. The two forces fought without a word. Only the clanking of
+their swords spoke. Oh! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+
+Suddenly one of the flaming arrows cut its way through the ranks of the
+Janesars, and flew to the women's tower, igniting a velvet curtain, and
+so setting the whole place on fire. The women, terror stricken, rushed
+down from the burning amphitheatre, which, in a few moments, was as a
+burning torch in the midst of the camp, lighting up the spectacle of
+slaughter. Immediately Bajazet saw this his heart gave way, and he
+turned back with his suit of horsemen, and, leaving behind him the
+fighting Janesars, he galloped towards the women. Maria was then lying
+on the earth, her face covered with dust.
+
+Oh, the _Dzsins_--the _Dzsins_! "To horse quickly, by my side, away to
+the mountains!" exclaimed the defeated "lightning," lifting his wife
+from the dust, and with these words he escaped from the field. One
+thousand brave horsemen and two thousand fighting Amazons accompanied
+them. Mahmud Khan saw the Sultan's flight, and rushed after him with
+4000 Dzsagata horsemen. Until midnight he pursued him up to the foot of
+the mountain. The soldiers left behind fought with Timur's men whilst
+the Sultan got away.
+
+The Khan of Dzsagat did not relax his search after Bajazet, whose
+horsemen and horses fell to the right and left, and by daybreak only
+forty men remained. The Sultan was, therefore, left almost alone with
+his women. He then stopped and awaited his pursuers. He was clad in
+impenetrable armour, and held a good Damascus blade in his hand, for he
+had to defend his beloved harem. Ten of his pursuers fell before their
+swords could touch him, but finally becoming dazzled by the frequent
+strokes of his sword, he fell down from his horse at Maria's feet, where
+he was captured. Maria had to see the face of her demigod become pale
+and besmirched with dust. His eyes were heavy, and from his lips issued
+impotent curses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Timur Lenk was playing chess with his favourite son. The young prince
+was commonly known as Schach Roch (castleing). He had been called this
+because it was he who had invented the chessmove where the king changes
+places with a castle. Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to
+Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood
+the captured Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne
+for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!
+
+Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent,
+leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.
+
+"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made
+you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is
+ready. You will not be watched by any one. You will find there your wife
+and your son Muza, who have been taken prisoners, and they will remain
+with you. I only ask you one thing. That is, your solemn promise not to
+attempt to escape from me by trickery whilst I remain fighting your
+sons. If we can conclude peace, then you can return quietly to your
+country, for Allah does not permit two faithful Sultans to humiliate one
+another! Therefore you had best give me your solemn word of honour."
+
+Bajazet was moved by his opponent's generosity, so he gave his solemn
+word, accompanied by a grasp of the hand, that he would not attempt to
+escape from Timur Lenk's camp. After this he was led to a pompous tent,
+where his wife and son awaited him. The tent was magnificent, and those
+whom he loved were there, yet it was a tower in place of a kingly
+throne. Schach Roch!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+"So long as you keep your sovereign word to me you will be regarded as a
+Sovereign in my camp." This was Timur Lenk's promise to his opponent.
+Whichever direction Bajazet took, he was received with the honours paid
+to a Sovereign, and imperial pomp surrounded his tent. Overnight, whilst
+the captive Sultan was walking in front of his camp, he found a screw of
+parchment lying before him, on which the following words were written:
+
+      "MY SULTAN,--Your sons are coming with fresh forces
+      against Tamerlan; Jacob Bey will break upon Angora.
+      The Waiwode is returning with reinforcements. Be
+      prepared. We are making a subterranean way from the
+      Bakery which will lead into your tent. To-night all
+      will be ready. Be ready yourself also. At daybreak
+      disguise yourselves as bakers, and you can escape with
+      your wife and sons into the open, where you will find
+      your horses awaiting you. Be ready!
+
+      "YOUR FRIENDS!"
+
+This letter was too tempting for Bajazet, and he eagerly seized the
+opportunity offered. It was indeed a fact that a subterranean way was
+made to his tent, but it was Tamerlan's workmen who constructed it! At
+midnight the hammering of the subterranean poleaxes let the Sultan know
+that his rescuing body of moles were coming! The earth gave way under
+his feet, and from a narrow passage human heads rose up from the earth
+before him. "Come!" whispered the head which ascended from the earth's
+depths. "Come!" And the Sultan followed the enticer, taking with him
+Maria and his son Muza. They could only proceed in bent form along the
+footpath, holding one another's hands. Finally the neck of the cavernous
+way became visible. The extreme end was the Bakery oven. When Bajazet
+was going to step out from the low opening, some one put out a hand to
+assist him, and when he emerged he who had given him a helping hand did
+not release his own. The Sultan looked at him. Timur Lenk stood before
+him!
+
+"What! Is this your sovereign word?" he softly demanded of the terrified
+Bajazet.
+
+The Sultan saw that he was trapped. Timur threw away his hand from him:
+
+"This is not the hand of a Sovereign. It is the hand of a slave."
+
+So saying, he turned away and left him to himself. Bajazet saw only the
+executioners before him, carrying chains and iron rods in their hands!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Timur was not an ordinarily cruel man--satisfied to be able to bathe
+himself in the blood and break the limbs of his opponents. He was a
+veritable poet and artist in mercilessness! He required poisoned arrows
+by which to strike his foes. He did not want to kill Bajazet, but he
+wanted to drive him mad. After this attempt at escape he had a cage
+made for him out of iron rods, wherein he caused him to be imprisoned,
+and he placed the cage on a car and had it drawn about the camp. A crier
+preceded this, pointing out with his pike this spectacle to the curious
+multitude.
+
+"Here is a captive Sultan; a celebrated wild animal whose name is
+Bajazet, the King of Kings, the Padishah, the Master of the Seas and
+Earth, a crowned king who has got four hundred thousand soldiers, foot
+and horsemen. Look at the conqueror of the Round World! who is the only
+Master from East to West! He is in the cage!"
+
+Ha! ha! ha! laughed the armed crowd gathered together. Bajazet sat mute
+and motionless inside the iron bars as though nothing could hurt his
+feelings. The crowd threw jibes and curses after him, and the youth
+threw oranges and walnuts into his cage as it is customary to do to
+monkeys. But Bajazet's face did not change. The crier now formed the
+idea of playing on the drum and cornet an air which evidently amused
+him, and which ended in the refrain "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your
+son be lost!" If anything could fill the captive's heart with bitter
+sorrow it was this song! Oh, had he only listened in time to this! Oh,
+if he had not in the days of his pride forbidden it to be blown by the
+shepherds of Izmid! Had he but only hastened in time to the rescue of
+his son Ertogrul, he would not then have had to listen to it from the
+cornet of this bear-dancer and buffoon, who now paraded a King in place
+of strange animals!
+
+The fellow carried him away in his cage up to the hills where the heads
+of his heroes were piled up. On the summit of these piles were placed
+here and there the heads of leaders, whose turbans fluttered in the
+wind! Bajazet knew these faces too well! They were the heads of his most
+trusted veterans. He had frequently distinguished them for their
+services, and kissed their faces after victorious battles! Now they
+stared at him with glassy eyes from the top of these piles raised from
+the heads of his troops! After this buffoon had carried the Sovereign
+captive about the camp, he returned with him to Tamerlan. The Khan, his
+sons, and the vassal princes, the Khan's wives, and the slaves of the
+Court were taking part in a _fête_, and at the height of its amusement
+the gilded iron cage arrived with its sad captive. A vanquished Sultan
+brought thus before drunken slaves!
+
+Mockery and shouts of laughter greeted the appearance of the conquered
+lion from his intoxicated victors, and still Bajazet's face remained
+unchanged! Timur Lenk himself was drunk. Wine, victory, and
+revenge--this triple inebriety filled his veins.
+
+"This glass I raise to the health of the master of half of this world,"
+exclaimed the conqueror, and threw the contents upon his opponent's face
+in the cage.
+
+Yet Bajazet's face remained unchanged!
+
+"Bring fresh wine--more women slaves," said Timur Lenk, thumping with
+his hand, and Bajazet saw the figure of an elegant slender woman walking
+totteringly forward. On her head rested a floral wreath. Her hair hung
+loosely and carelessly around her. Her silken mantle was rent from top
+to bottom in accordance with Tartar fashion. This woman tottered, for
+she was herself intoxicated. She went forward to fill the Khan's glass,
+and in her Bajazet recognised Maria! This was the final blow to the
+captive Sultan when he saw his wife so humbled and tottering towards the
+Khan's footstool. Then he sprang up from his seat and grasped the iron
+bars of the cage, and burst out ravingly, "Oh, you demoniacal beast,
+Timur! You crippled dog, who have buried your soul's better part in your
+useless foot, and remain here living in this world, half of you a demon!
+You are no vanquisher of men! You have never wholly been a man. You can
+only revenge yourself on women. You grave-worm, who chew treacherously
+what a greater hero than you has let fall! Detestation rest upon your
+filthy name! Every woman will execrate you as a coward, and will throw
+your image on the ground to be played with and broken by her children.
+Disgrace be upon you and ignominy rest upon your belongings--you, who
+were hatched by a slave and will be buried by the executioner! You were
+born to drive camels, you wretch, and your father, who died on a
+dust-heap, was a better man than you! Faugh! I spit upon you! This will
+be the best spot in your filthy glory! Curses be upon you and upon your
+offshoots! Your soul to hell, and your bones to the dogs! Your name to
+derision! I shall await you, where both of us are to meet!"
+
+With these words he struck his head with such force against the iron
+railings that he fell down dead.
+
+Tamerlan could no longer joy in his opponent's impotent fury.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Timur Lenk arranged a pompous funeral for Bajazet. His entire troops
+came out to accompany the body. On his tombstone he caused to be
+engraved a recital of his glorious deeds, and he commanded the Sultan's
+women to wail and mourn for him. As he returned from the funeral
+ceremony his historian, Shacheddin, came before him, to read out what he
+had written down concerning the event, for the benefit of future
+generations. It was as follows:
+
+"When Timur Djeihangir defeated his enemy and captured him, he treated
+him as a brother. He placed him next to him at table, calling him
+friend, and treated him with the distinction due to a Sovereign. When
+Bajazet, following fate's decree, departed to his ancestors, he had him
+buried like a King, and raised a royal mausoleum over his ashes. Glory
+be to Him who sees everything!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Comet disappeared, and did not destroy the Earth after all!
+
+
+
+
+VALDIVIA
+
+
+Valdivia is the name of a Chilian province; also of the river which
+there pours down from the mountains into the plains: and likewise of a
+city which is remarkable for its architecturally constructed
+bamboo-bridge, and for the fact that every man you meet in the street is
+called Rocca, and prides himself on his ancestors having been the
+ancient rulers of Chili and walked about there barefooted. Now the
+inhabitants have degenerated into wearing boots and they talk Spanish.
+Even, however, after centuries of blood-mixture by intermarriage, the
+men of the nation are still peculiar for a certain kind of beard which
+grows very thin, whilst the women still possess somewhat bronzed
+complexions and a love of ornamenting their hair with long feathers and
+snake-skins. Although the male population retain a traditional fondness
+for slaughtering an enemy when they get fairly hold of him, they no
+longer, like their fathers, hunt the wild boar; this unfortunate animal,
+indeed, having long since been hunted out of existence. The noble
+Roccas, no longer occupied with the chase or war, have become merchants.
+One, Bria Rocca, is a great sugar-planter; another, Marco Rocca, owns a
+huge coal-mine; and a third, Alvarez Rocca, does a nice little business
+in the slave trade.
+
+The Rocca is a fine, powerfully built man, six feet in height, whom one
+would not care to meet in a lonely road. The native woman is a handsome
+creature with beautiful eyes, whom one would be charmed to meet in a
+lonely road were it not that she is a little too quick in slapping one's
+face.
+
+Descendants of a long kingly lineage, these people to-day go about the
+streets and along the banks of the river selling Spanish onions and
+little trinkets.
+
+The town of Valdivia, situated on the river, had a widely different
+aspect three hundred years ago. At that time stood there the bamboo
+palace of Bria Rocca, whose façade rested upon two mighty bamboos
+resembling, in appearance, a couple of polished marble columns. The
+whole palace was built of this same wood. Its walls were curiously
+carved, and, but for its majestic dimensions, it might have reminded you
+of the toy palaces you build in childhood. Its doors and windows were
+made of interwoven tree branches, whilst its roof was thatched with
+agave leaves. In front of the palace was a balcony where Bria Rocca was
+accustomed to hold councils with the sages of his nation, and from this
+balcony two doors opened into the interior. One of them led into the
+apartment of Bria Rocca. It was an immense lofty room, and the ceilings
+were lined with jaguar skins, while the walls were covered with the
+skins of the black buffalo. Here and there hung axes and hatchets,
+arrows, specimens of the dreaded tomahawk, sundry warlike weapons of
+stone, and the deadly globe which, furnished with sharp teeth and
+hurled at an enemy, would not leave his body until it had torn out his
+heart. Finally, in a row, were ranged various trophies of victory,
+including a blood-stained helmet which the king had worn.
+
+The other door led into the queen's apartment. It was finely painted
+with the dye obtained from the native indigo trees, whilst its ceilings
+were covered with curiously woven mats. There were two magnificent
+bedsteads in the room, remarkable for the beauty of their coverlets and
+still more for that of the curtains with which they were hung; for had
+not Queen Evoeva spun them with her own hand? It was no wonder that Bria
+Rocca had chosen her to be his wife; for what woman in the land could
+weave such gorgeous tapestry as she, or prepare such delicious cheese?
+It was said of her, moreover, that in the whole dominions there was no
+woman of such entrancing beauty, her eyes being ablaze with all the
+colours of the finest opal; and if she only threw one momentary glance
+through her long, dark eyelashes she could tame the fiercest tiger--and
+even man himself. Her figure was exceedingly beautiful, and when she
+danced before her husband she would gracefully curve her head backwards
+and downwards until she could kiss her own heel. Yet she was wonderfully
+powerful, and if she was suddenly attacked by a jaguar she would press
+the beast to her bosom until she had crushed it to death. One might,
+therefore, easily imagine how highly her embraces would be prized by a
+man whom she was really in love with, and what pleasures would lurk in
+one kiss from her sweet lips. Once, when the king had been poisoned in
+the shoulder by an arrow, she herself sucked the poison out. She was,
+consequently, very ill for a year afterwards, and the king, of course,
+thenceforward loved her more passionately than ever.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the happy land of Chili the trees never cast their beautiful green
+leaves and the flowers never hide their heads in consequence of the
+cold. The bears do not betake themselves to slumber during the winter
+season; and the singing birds do not periodically fly away to a warmer
+climate. Summer, in this region, is only distinguished from winter by
+the fresh budding of the flowers, by the falling of cocoa-nuts from the
+trees; by a glittering appearance assumed by the stem of the _hevea_
+tree, which then sheds its juice in abundance; by the strewing of the
+ground with the nuts of the urcur tree, and by the flowers of the _pao_
+tree casting off their wool. There is no difference between the seasons
+but these, except that winter means a six weeks' spell of rain.
+
+About that time a great fête is held in honour of the gods of the
+_hevea_, the _urcur_, and the _pao_, who have provided their chosen
+people with so many good things. On this occasion the inhabitants would
+cut open the bark of the hevea tree, from which would flow a white fluid
+which, when boiled by the fire of the urcur nut, was changed into a
+leathery solid, from which they manufactured all kinds of fancy articles
+in order to sell them to the surrounding countries, who, not knowing the
+secret of manufacture, were ready purchasers. On the day of the
+festival the male inhabitants would wash their skin with the sticky
+juice of the hevea, and then cover their bodies with the beautiful white
+wool which comes from the pao-tree, whereupon they painted themselves
+with gorgeous colours, and the whole covering looks as if it grew to
+their flesh. The women were not, however, permitted to practise this
+custom; they had to content themselves with ornamenting their necks with
+rows of coral, their ears with snake-pendants, and their waist with a
+girdle of long feathers.
+
+When the flowers are beginning to open afresh, and the beautiful roses
+for which this land has so long been famous commence to re-expand, then
+the summer is approaching, and a fête is held in honour of the goddess
+Morinka. The _morinka_ is a gigantic flower which, growing from the
+bottom of the lake, expands the petals of its flower on the surface. So
+huge is it that one single petal would suffice for the cradle of a
+child, while a single flower will perfume the entire neighbourhood far
+and wide.
+
+At the time when the morinka commences to spread forth its beauty the
+inhabitants bring sacrifices to the goddess, who, if in a good temper
+and auspicious, causes the flower to expand freely and with great
+beauty. In this case there will be a splendid harvest; but if the flower
+is scanty and reluctant to open, then the goddess is angry--there will
+be dearth, drought, and plague, and a foreign foe will invade the land.
+
+The home of the Aruacans was indeed a happy land. The gigantic walls of
+the Andes mountains surrounded it like a fortification, and the steep
+mountain clefts cut it off from its neighbours, whose curiosity, desire
+of conquest, and thirst for treasures made them long to explore its
+unknown regions. It would have been useless for them to build bridges
+across the tremendous waterfalls that tore up the mountain peaks; in
+vain would they have made tunnels through the massive mountains; in vain
+would they have constructed winding pathways over the ridges; a December
+rain would have destroyed all man's labour. If that were not sufficient
+to protect the country from invasion, the Andes mountains had four
+mighty forts in addition--whose names were Maypo, Peteroa, Chollan, and
+Antuco. They were volcanic mountains. If only one of these strongholds
+would have started the campaign against the conquerors there would have
+been an end to all toils of theirs; the roads would have been replaced
+by precipices, while the valleys would be covered with lava and
+icebergs; the plains would be concealed by avalanches dotted over them
+like soap-bubbles; the entire district, with its cliffs and waterfalls,
+would appear in a different light, as though in a huge kaleidoscope:
+towering hills would have taken the place of running waters in the
+mountain basin.
+
+One day two hundred strangers appeared before Bria Rocca's town;
+peculiar looking people--such indeed as the good inhabitants had never
+yet beheld in their country. Straight to the Palace of Bria Rocca did
+the two hundred horsemen ride along, in presence of curious crowds and
+with sound of trumpet. Then the leader placed his soldiers in line, and
+a respectful message that he should allow them to pay him their respects
+was sent to the Cazcique. The leader's name was Valdivia, now for the
+first time pronounced in that territory. Did not the land of Chili
+tremble when she heard this name for the first time? Did not the river
+swell? Did not the volcanic mountains which had lain dormant for a long
+time burst out into violent eruption? No, oh no! They are deceived who
+imagine that the soil is mother of her people and that she feels and
+grieves over her sons' dangers. The soil is a coquette who delights in
+strangers, reveals her bosom to them, and to them as to others gives her
+bloom; she makes love to a new-comer and protects him from hostile
+attacks; on the graves of her old admirers does she grow him flowers.
+
+Why should she not in the present instance? Were not the Spaniards
+stately men, superior to the ancient inhabitants? Their whole apparel
+was bright, and sparkled; the sun could see himself in their glittering
+buckles, the breeze found an attraction in their fluttering ribbons. And
+how much more intellectual were they than the old inhabitants! Why, they
+could actually hold communication by means of signs, and towards
+whatever direction they desired could shoot out fire by means of metal
+tubes; they could travel by ocean, and they knew those who lived beyond
+it; they could build high-towered palaces from stones, and from small
+threads they made delightful raiment; from seeds they prepared such
+savoury dishes! Why should not the land prefer them to her old
+inhabitants! Bria Rocca has already heard of the fame of those white
+fairies--rumour travels unaided--for now Pizarro had long conquered
+Peru, which is divided from Chili only by the snow-peaked Cordillera
+mountains. He accorded a warm reception to Valdivia; he conducted him to
+his palace, asked him to be seated on his finest bear-skin, and placed
+before him the best coca drinks in cocoa-nut shells. And no one could
+prepare them so well as Evoeva! Then Valdivia could talk the language of
+the Redskins; he acquired their tongue and primitive phrases and could
+talk as well as if he had been an Inca.
+
+"Gentle Cazcique," he said to Bria Rocca, "brethren never come to visit
+you with strong and friendly arms. In one hand they hold glittering
+pearls and jewellery, which would gracefully adorn your women's necks,
+also fire-concealing liquor which exhilarates the sad ones and
+strengthens the feeble; it cools in hot weather, warms in cold. The
+other hand contains sharp iron which would cut your shields, and
+fire-throwing implements which aim from a distance! You can choose which
+one you please. We do not ask much of you, only give us that little hill
+you call Guelen, that we may build ourselves a shelter there, near the
+Matocko river. Consider your reply to my proposal."
+
+Bria Rocca puffed thrice from his hookah, and while looking through its
+smoke, pondered what he should say.
+
+"You remarked that you are white brethren and that you come with full
+arms; in the one hand carry presents, in the other guns. We are
+accustomed to catch monkeys in a similar manner; in one hand we hold
+fruit, in the other spears, and when the animal approaches for the fruit
+we hurl the spear at it. We desire not your presents--neither those from
+the right hand nor those from the left. Our women are pretty enough
+without your pearls, we are in good spirits without your liquors, and if
+you have more effective guns we have stronger arms; and if you present
+fire, we throw poison, which also brings death. If you wish for the
+Guelen mountain in exchange for your pearls and liquors you will not get
+it; if you ask it in return for sharp swords and fiery arrows, once
+more, you will not get it; but if you ask it nicely, you can have it
+gratis."
+
+"What is the 'nice' phrase, gentle Cazcique?"
+
+"That you will never do us any harm, that you will leave us in peace and
+not destroy our forests."
+
+Valdivia promised the Cazcique that they would remain faithful brethren,
+and as a proof of eternal friendship they both drank water from the
+river Matocko out of a pumpkin-shell. They then broke the shell and
+divided its pieces as a token of the sealed friendship, the idea being
+that just as the pumpkin-shell could not be put together without mutual
+consent, so they themselves could not be happy the one without the
+other. They finally smoked the pipe of peace and parted company.
+Valdivia mounted his horse and his followers went away, leaving behind
+them a cask filled with the "drink of wisdom"--the phrase by which the
+Spaniards designated brandy when speaking of it to the Indians.
+
+The Indian fathers asked Bria Rocca to divide the spirit amongst them,
+in order that they might all taste it and become as wise as the white
+people--"And such slaves as the Peruvians," thought Bria Rocca, though
+he did not say so. The spirit of the great Tao-tum had blessed him with
+the art of keeping judiciously silent. He poured out the spirit into a
+large tank and placed all the curious people around it, remarking that
+when he gave the signal they should bend down and drink to their hearts'
+contents. Bria Rocca then lit a long camphor laurel switch, which burned
+with a white flame, and twirled it round his head, thereafter dipping it
+into the tank. Hardly had the burning shoot touched the tank's contents
+when, in a moment, they became ignited, and the wonderful white
+transparent liquid began to burn with a pale blue flame from every part
+of the vessel's surface. The Indians recoiled in terror from this
+strange phenomenon, but Bria Rocca thrust his switch into the flaming
+fluid, and the blazing drops were spurted over their naked bodies like a
+shower of fire-sparks. He then grasped the edge of the tank and poured
+out from it the flaming liquid, which followed the Indians as they
+retreated. Even those of them who managed to escape carried on their
+heels some flames, and a certain amount they dropped at each step they
+took. The good people asked no more to taste the wise men's spirit, and
+the Spanish calabasse did not have the same destroying charm over them
+as it did over their copper-coloured brethren.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the Tlenoch legendary lore there was a strange and ancient tradition,
+originated long before the Spaniards set foot on that soil. According to
+one legend the Queczalcot gnome had appeared hundreds and hundreds of
+years before in South America; its face was white, with a beard and
+moustache, and it taught the people what herbs to eat, also chronology,
+the use of copper, and the building of houses. The gnome remained there
+for a century, spreading happiness all over the country. Then it
+disappeared across the sea, towards the east, promising to return
+hundreds of years thereafter, when it would teach much more. Well! the
+legend has just been fulfilled. The blessed white-faced, black-bearded
+descendants of Queczalcot have come, and have brought many nice things.
+In the rich Aztec province of Tlenoch this teaching was very easy; the
+Aztec tribe were already an extremely submissive people; they knew
+already the value of gold and apparel; they had their own fashions and a
+rich capital, which overlooked on one side a salt-water, and on the
+other, a fresh-water, lake. Around the earth were built houses,
+pyramids, and sacrificial _teocallis_, where at holiday time hundreds
+and hundreds of their chosen men are sacrificed to their bloodthirsty
+gods. Gold and men's lives were of small value, but pleasures were
+expensive. No wonder, therefore, that the Spaniards taught them so
+quickly how to appreciate their imported pleasures. But in Chili the
+gold was still under the soil; the people were treading upon it, not it
+upon them. Their hatred of foreigners existed from time immemorial, and
+also the desire to preserve their ancient customs, which they
+worshipped. So the Spaniards found them very bad pupils, their alluring
+words were not appreciated by the old ones; their presents were not
+esteemed by the young; the women's eyes refused to rest upon them. These
+people could be subdued by bold and daring means only.
+
+Valdivia gave wonderful presents to Bria Rocca for the Guelen
+mountain--a fully caparisoned horse, a kingly present and one worthy of
+acceptance being amongst the number. Cazcique could not refuse such a
+gift, and after having learnt to ride was pleased to know how he looked
+on horseback. At that time the proper use of the noble horse was unknown
+to the Indians. Valdivia had calculated well. As soon as Bria Rocca
+became possessed of his horse he rode about for several weeks upon the
+Salt Plains, and employed his time in pursuing herds of musk-ox in the
+high and luxuriant prairie grass, never dreaming that the Spaniards were
+building a fort on the top of Mount Guelen. When the Morinka fête was
+about to be held, Bria Rocca, according to established custom, ordered
+every man to retire from the scene; the Morinka fête was for women only,
+and no man's eye was allowed to witness it. On such occasions the people
+would retire to the forests to hunt; in town none were left but children
+and old women; the young married women and maidens were at the Morinka
+lake, and nobody was allowed to disturb them. Let that man beware who
+would dare to set eyes on this fête! He would carry the sentence of
+death upon his face. Although he should hide in forest after forest yet
+would he be traced out and killed for presuming to invade the Morinka
+fête. The heavenly flower _morinka_ is herself goddess amongst flowers;
+a most peculiar plant is she; eleven months of the year she reposes
+under water, twelve feet beneath the surface. During this time she has
+no actual existence. When her birthday arrives, which it never fails to
+do, for it falls at that precise date when the day is longest and the
+night shortest, all of a sudden the lake gets covered with brown and
+orange-coloured bubbles a span long, which float on the surface like
+many small boats. One day later the bubbles will burst open, and the
+knotted membranes will expand, enormous cup-shaped leaves coming out,
+whose inside is painted a pale carmine colour, which glitters on the
+rich and fleshy fibres of the leaves like the inside of an autumn peach.
+Its light green netted veins turn to a bright gold as they approach the
+stamens, the leaves begin to develop with astonishing rapidity, and
+spread on the water's surface like round tables. The pale carmine enamel
+changes into a mild green colour, and the veins that from yellow and
+lily colour have become carmine in netted form divide it up into 1000
+squares. The tremendous leaves grow and extend with visible rapidity;
+some of them are a fathom in width. Thus they cover the Morinka lake
+with a wonderfully rich carpet, over which, indeed, one may walk to and
+fro. The wide leaf may bend, but it will not become filled with water
+under the tread. A man's weight is no more to it than is a butterfly's
+to an ordinary flower. Ten days afterwards the buds--their huge closed
+cups as large as a child's head--burst from under the leaf, resting
+sideways owing to its weight. The outer leaves, which are white and
+netted, are as large as melon slices; two days afterwards they have
+changed to a pink colour, and on the night of the fourth day they burst.
+The flower does not bend any more, but stands straight.
+
+As the cup bursts open many white petals appear from the light pink
+calyx. An indescribably sweet perfume spreads all over the district; and
+so intoxicatingly delicious a sensation does it produce upon those who
+have inhaled its pure and virgin fragrance that a woman forgets she is a
+woman and imagines herself a fairy. On the fifth and sixth days the
+flower opens quite, and one petal after another develops; on the seventh
+day it appears in its fullest glory.
+
+The petals have snow-white branches, coloured deep red; their centre is
+of a rich gold colour, containing thousands of thready moulds. The
+length of the calyx is then from three to four spans. The Morinka fête
+takes place on the night when the flower opens. It is held at new moon,
+under a dull sky; for so sensitive to light are the petals of our fairy
+plant that with the moon's light even they open but half-way; when the
+sun shines they shrink together again; but the stars' cold glitter is
+very dear to them, as also are those star mimics which are visible from
+afar, and whose virgin brilliancy does not affect the picturesque
+senses, I mean the fire-fly.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: By the most serious people of serious Europe, this plant
+has been named "the Queen." _Victoria Regina_ is the name by which it is
+called. It is to be found in royal collections only.]
+
+When the flowers begin to burst open millions of fire-flies appear by
+the lake--attracted perhaps, by the perfume; possibly they are born with
+the flower, so that each may be fated to take delight in the other. Now
+the tremendous calyx, with a light green colour like diamond glitter,
+bends to and fro. Nature's artistic hand has ornamented its crown with
+precious stones, for thousands of dewdrops, those stars of floral
+creation, are glittering from the petals, while the fire-flies are
+continually flitting from one leaf to another, thus forming a fairy-like
+walk; on the majestic flower glistens the sovereign fire-fly, the
+magnificent _avra_, the lenten insect, on whose glittering colours the
+petal shades are thrown. The night is moonless, but rich in stars; the
+surface of the Morinka lake is covered with a green leaf carpet, on
+which many little stars are shining as if in heaven above. The dense
+banana grove that surrounds the enchanting lake gives it the appearance
+of a temple encircled by thousands of green columns. And the surface of
+the lake forms a magnificent altar, whence, from the gigantic calyx, the
+most delicate sacrifice, the most delightful odour, rises to heaven. By
+the sides of the lake, on a grassy plot, the Indian women solemnise the
+sacrificial rites. Thousands of the most beautiful virgins and childless
+women, placed in three circles, dance about and sing praises to the
+Great Spirit who brought forward the budding season of the
+water-flowers, and who awakes the feeling of the slumbering heart.
+Whoever saw them from a distance would imagine them to be fairy circles.
+Each woman had a chain of glittering gems round her neck. These in fact
+consisted of many hundred Brazilian insects, which the Indian women
+strung upon thread and used as neck-ornaments. The colours of the
+insects were continually changing from green and marigold to a ruby hue,
+and _vice versâ_, and surpassed in brilliancy the most precious stones.
+
+In the midst of the circle stood Queen Evoeva. She was distinguished by
+her wearing three insect chains on her neck. Round her waist, too, was
+arranged a broad girdle, ornamented with many dazzling insects; their
+light was not, however, sufficiently great to allow one to see the
+shadow cast by this charming woman. In her dark hair there glittered a
+splendid "lampyris," whose moon-shaped light was thrown upon the lovely
+creature's face, to which it imparted a pale serenity.
+
+Could one have seen those women one would have imagined they were
+fairies. But who would have presumed to approach them? Would not the
+Great Spirit have been enraged at the breaking of a divine command?
+
+Indeed an Indian would not have dared to do this, even were he an enemy.
+A Spaniard, however, does it, though a friend.
+
+All of a sudden wild noises of men were heard in the banana groves; the
+women, frightened, rushed into one group. "Men, it seems," cried they,
+"have broken into the Holy Grove on the eve of the Morinka fête." It was
+Valdivia with one hundred and fifty of his comrades. When Queen Evoeva
+recognised the Spaniards she stepped forward with stately tread, and
+boldly asked Valdivia how they dared appear on the sacred ground while
+the Morinka fête was being held, and when every man was required to keep
+at a respectful distance. Valdivia's reply was to embrace the queen's
+beautiful form, and to implant a kiss upon her cheek, burning with fury.
+"Ah!" shouted the Indians, "our queen has been kissed by a strange
+man--a kiss has reached her lip on the eve of Morinka! The kiss of a
+_strange man_!" The Indian women madly attacked Valdivia and his
+comrades and began a severe struggle for her majesty. Here, then, was a
+conflict between feeble, naked women, unarmed, and strong mailed men.
+With nails and teeth did the former fight, like wild beasts, considering
+but little the wounds which they themselves received. The Spaniards were
+obliged to have recourse to arms against those enraged attacking ones,
+and before long red streams were flowing towards the Morinka
+lake--streams of women's blood. But Evoeva was freed from Valdivia's
+grasp, and one moment gave her time to jump into the lake, whose surface
+was covered with huge nymphean leaves. These clod themselves upon her
+and did not part asunder again. Hundreds upon hundreds of women followed
+the queen's example, throwing themselves into the lake to escape their
+pursuers. The Spaniards saw none rise to the surface; the nymphic leaves
+floated there as before. But the women swam under the smooth leaf-carpet
+to the river's mouth; the river emptied itself into the lake, and
+farther up formed a waterfall ten fathoms in height; across this the
+women proceeded. Those only escaped who were neither dashed by the rocks
+nor suffocated by the waterfall.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bria Rocca was until late evening pursuing a jaguar--which he contrived
+to reach and kill--on the wild plains. It was nightfall when he returned
+with his men and reached the banks of the Mapocho river, where they
+encamped.
+
+Bria Rocca led his horse to the river to drink. The noble animal had
+been moving about quickly the whole day and was very thirsty; but as
+soon as it bent its head towards the water it retreated and galloped to
+its master, shaking all over; then, tossing its mane from side to side,
+it broke into a violent snorting. The king thought that the horse had
+smelt an alligator in the stream, and conducted it to another part; but
+she manifested the old signs of aversion. "There is blood in the water,
+Bria Rocca, woman's blood; your horse dreads it, and that is why he
+refuses to drink." It was now midnight, but still a light seemed to
+shine from the forest. "Look how soon it gets light now!" said the
+Indians, awaking from their dreams. "It is not daybreak, nor is it the
+flames of a burning forest." The king's town was in flames, and beneath
+that spot where the sky seemed brightest blazed the royal palace. The
+strangers had set it on fire! Towards daybreak there was great commotion
+in the grove. At first a few crying children rushed thither and awoke
+the slumbering camp. These informed his majesty that the white strangers
+had disturbed their dreams and made fire on the roofs of their homes,
+and that those who could not run away were slain. Then came other
+messengers to Bria Rocca, and the heads of slaughtered women and
+children could be seen floating down the river. These could not speak to
+the king, but sufficient could be gathered from their silent
+communication.
+
+Bria Rocca stood on the river bank, resting on his axe and looking at
+the floating human remains. All around the following raving noise was
+heard, "It is all up with Matocka town; the dreaded of the Guelen
+mountain have by stealth broken into it and bombarded it with metal
+dragons; they have killed the children, carried away the women, and
+burnt down the king's palace."
+
+The King himself replied quickly, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria
+Rocca should bathe his feet in blood, and should warm himself at his
+town's flame, Bria Rocca is silent and refrains from shedding tears."
+
+The old people told his majesty that the white men from the Papua and
+Omagua tribes had secretly collected in force in the Guelen mountain,
+and during the Morinka fête, when all had withdrawn to the forest, had
+attacked every village of Bria Rocca and destroyed them; and that
+Valdivia was proclaimed master of the country. The King quietly
+replied, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria Rocca's people should
+leave their kingdom, Bria Rocca refrains from shedding tears."
+
+Lastly, there became visible on the Mapocko river rush-boats, on which
+the women who had escaped, with their tiny children--many of whom, that
+possibly life might again appear, were still pressed to their mother's
+breasts, dead from the strokes of the enemy--lay terror-stricken and
+furious.
+
+Now approached the king's wife, the beautiful Evoeva. Her black hair
+hung loosely over her face in order that her shame might be covered. The
+women grasped Bria Rocca's hand with great fury, pointing to Evoeva.
+
+"Look," said they, "here is your wife; her cheeks were kissed by a
+strange man."
+
+Bria Rocca's lips paled, and every vein on his temples became swollen;
+yet the war-lance did not move in his hand. He resignedly answered the
+women, "If the Great Spirit desires that I shall not behold Evoeva any
+more Bria Rocca is content and never will look at her again."
+
+Whilst saying these words he covered with a skin the wife who knelt at
+his feet, and turned away from her. The Indians seized their arms and,
+beating upon their shields, vowed vengeance upon the strangers. Bria
+Rocca approached them softly, and said:
+
+"Let your arms rest; this day we have lost, let our enemies gain it; it
+is to-day the fight of kings against beggars whose lances are weak as
+straw. Let them have happiness, splendid towns, fine women and
+children, and abundance of earthly treasure. At present they have
+nothing to give us in return for this evening's gift. Let us wait until
+they have."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ten years have elapsed since Bria Rocca's palace was burnt, and since
+then many changes have taken place in Chili. Valdivia has occupied Chili
+in the name of Pizarro; then he goes over to the king's side and helps
+to overthrow Pizarro, and as a reward receives the Viceroyalty of Chili.
+A portion of the province which he had first conquered was named
+Valdivia, and also that river from which Bria Rocca's horse refused to
+drink. The splendid city too, which was built on the site of the ancient
+bamboo town of Bria Rocca, was named Valdivia. This Valdivia gave quite
+a different appearance to the whole district. Stone-made roads,
+constructed by European adventurers, were laid, and from town to town
+people have ploughed and gathered in the earth's produce, and have
+exposed the precious metal of the mountains, just as if they were really
+quite at home. Nobody has disturbed them in their work; the
+copper-coloured persons have disappeared, not a sound of them can be
+heard in the forest, nor a trace of their footsteps observed on the
+ground--like a crowd of grasshoppers before a seven-days' rain have they
+become entirely destroyed.
+
+Perhaps they have gone up to the mountains or into the wastes of the
+interior, where the Golden Land has already sprung into existence, and
+concerning which so many wonderful stories have been related to
+adventurous Spaniards about the monks Cabeça de Vaca and Niça: where
+wild people were walking about in civilised clothing, where the towns
+were laid out with emerald and turquoise, and whose fort Cibolla was ten
+miles long.
+
+Some people who tried to find out this remarkable land, never returned
+from it. In the time of Valdivia the Spanish imagination became excited
+about this El Dorado. If any wondered how Bria Rocca's people
+disappeared, without leaving a trace behind them, they could console
+themselves with the fact that they were now very happy, and that they
+had gone in search of brethren to Cibolla town, where they were now
+wallowing in milk and honey. Although they wondered why they could not
+follow the Indians, the Spaniards now quietly settled in Chili; they
+have ceased to dig trenches round the town, and to post guards along the
+roads; they no longer teach their bloodhounds to scent out the
+two-footed wild animal; there is peace and tranquillity in the whole
+country. The merchants count out their money and the great lords
+lavishly spend it; pretty women walk about in silks, and little children
+ride on their fathers' knees. Yes, yes! the Spaniards have
+everything--riches, happiness, and splendid towns, also beautiful women
+and tiny, chattering offspring. . . . .
+
+"Let us wait until they can repay us," said Bria Rocca.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A new lake would be found, and the waterfalls would have cut for
+themselves new passages. Still, Bria Rocca's people have taken refuge
+there with their herds and flocks, whilst the eager searchers for El
+Dorado have failed to discover the way to fairyland. The Chilian volcano
+has rested for a hundred years, and only a few craters have shown from a
+distance that he too was one of those gigantic bombarders of the heavens
+who now rests conquered. But perhaps he sleeps merely--such great beings
+dream long. Whilst, then, he is thus dreaming, the Southern voluptuous
+plants have entwined themselves round about him, and every kind of grass
+and tree derives nourishment from his presence; at his foot a forest of
+red cedar has formed, and on his head tamarisk bushes live and flourish.
+From the autumn greenery which covers the mountain, dark caverns peep
+out. These are the mouths of ancient lava-streams by which one might get
+at the mountain's heart. According to the stories of the Omagua tribes,
+it was through such that the Aruacans made their way to the Cordillera
+interior. There were always a few adventurers who attempted to penetrate
+these caverns in search of the Golden Land, but they, as a rule, never
+returned, and nobody troubled about them. Once, however, two monks,
+accompanied by an Indian who understood the language, left Sant-Jago in
+search of this mysterious country. Had all three disappeared, no one
+would have made much ado; but it so happened that the Indian returned
+soon afterwards without the monks. He was interrogated on the subject,
+but he merely said that his comrades had perished--in what way he
+declined to tell. He had sworn by the great teeth of Mahu-Mahu that he
+never should divulge the secret. Valdivia had him placed on the bench of
+torture, and it appears that he felt the thumb-screwing instruments,
+and boiling oil had greater effect upon him than the big teeth of
+Mahu-Mahu, and so he promised to disclose everything. According to his
+story he and his comrades, after they had provided themselves with
+torchlights, entered the Chillon cavern, where, after proceeding a few
+hundred yards, they discovered on the moist soil the footprints of
+Aruacans. They knew them to be theirs, for they were marked by
+india-rubber heels, worn as a rule by the Aruacans to protect them from
+serpents. As they advanced further the cavern got wider in extent, and
+from its steep sides great rocks stood out. The descent, which became
+steeper and steeper as they advanced, was crossed by a stream that one
+could hear but not see from the cavern's mouth. Over this stream a
+bamboo suspension bridge become visible later on, similar to that which
+the Aruacans had erected over the Matocka river.
+
+The volcanic footpaths got more and more difficult to tread upon, and at
+times he and his companions were obliged to climb upon the rocks, as if
+they were trying to ascend a mountain.
+
+Finally the opening became so narrow that two men could hardly walk
+through it, and there they reached a spot that seemed hollowed out
+beneath. They advanced further when the earth gave way, and they all
+fell down to the cavern depths. It was a trap from which there was no
+escape. After they had for a few hours vainly endeavoured to rise from
+this pitfall, they suddenly heard sounds of voices, and--recognised the
+Aruacans. They recognised them from the wool which covered their
+bodies. The Indians pulled them up with long ropes, blindfolded them,
+and bound their hands behind their backs, driving them on between two
+tough trees. Ere long the echo from the narrow passage ceased, and the
+atmosphere revealed to them that they were in the open air. When their
+eyes were unfolded they saw they were in the Chillon crater. It was a
+dreadful smoking valley, with a funnel-like descent, whose sides were
+then just as bare as when the last eruption had taken place.
+
+All around there were red-brown stone piles, quite burnt out--dead for
+ever--on which no plant could live. Not even a piece of moss or of
+lichen was to be seen upon them.
+
+Lower down the valley got compressed, and on its sides numberless small
+holes, like wasps' nests, were visible. Neither grass nor flower could
+be observed anywhere--nothing of that kind, indeed, but a few pale green
+trees scattered about at intervals. These were upas-trees, in the poison
+of whose sap the Indians dip their spears. Every surrounding plant had
+been killed by their exhalations, so that they alone grew in the valley.
+
+On the sides of this dreadful valley a wide, hollow border was to be
+seen; it represented the last active volcano; in appearance it resembled
+the gallery of a great amphitheatre. On this gallery stood the Aruacan
+fathers with Bria Rocca. Under it was formed a sort of semicircle, where
+many large china jugs might be seen placed near one another, whose
+mouths were for the most part covered with india-rubber; some were
+open. As the captives were brought before Bria Rocca two such jugs were
+procured, and the two monks, tied to a couple of columns, were then
+killed with two long axes, similar to those with which the Aruacans cut
+the hevea-trees. Their blood poured out into the jugs; their bodies were
+thrown down the precipice. After this the Indians carried away the jugs
+with the blood and placed them near the others. Soon thereafter numerous
+serpents peeped out of holes in the walls: in appearance they were like
+cigars. A traveller who does not know this serpent might be deceived,
+and, imagining it a cigar, pick it up--which would mean death. One bite
+from this serpent is fatal. These dreaded reptiles crept in thousands
+into the jugs in which the murdered Spaniards' blood had been placed,
+and when they filled them two Indians approached and carefully put two
+india-rubber covers over them, so as to prevent their exit.
+
+They meant at first to kill the priest's dusky guide, but Bria Rocca
+said that black blood was useless, and they let him go. But he had to
+swear by the great Mahu Mahu that he should not tell a soul what he had
+seen; if he did tell, the Aruacans would come for him in tens of
+thousands, and they would not be particular as to who was white and who
+black. So they let him go through the same way as he and the monks came
+in, and he could not say how he got out of the crater.
+
+Of course, nobody believed a word of the Indian's story, and they
+believed that he himself killed the monks and invented a fable. It was
+all a tissue of lies, they thought, and the unfortunate man was pinned
+to a stake outside Sant-Jago.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Indian's story had long been forgotten in Chili. Valdivia returned
+with glory and overwhelmed with distinction from Peru, and settled down
+to live peacefully in the town which bore his name. He dispersed his
+troops amongst the various towns and settlements, and he had hardly more
+than three hundred soldiers left with him. These, moreover, got out of
+practice, as they seldom had occasion to handle the gun.
+
+All of a sudden, on a still and quiet night, a wild noise awoke the
+peaceful inhabitants of Valdivia. Frantic shouting came from the
+surrounding hills, and all around the farm-buildings were set on fire;
+the faces of hundreds of people were distinguished by the flames. "The
+Aruacans have returned!" were the words, distractedly uttered, that
+sounded through the town, and that also reached Valdivia's palace. Yes,
+the Aruacans _have_ returned--to ask for an explanation regarding the
+presumption of building a town over the graves of their ancestors; and
+Bria Rocca was there to inquire who it was that killed thousands of his
+subjects, and also who it was that kissed the cheek of Evoeva. The
+attack was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to report the
+great danger to the adjoining town; and before Valdivia had time to draw
+his sword all the hills surrounding the town were occupied by thousands
+of the Red Indians. There was only one outlet from the town through
+which the Spaniards might have escaped, and it seemed as if the Indians
+had purposely left that unguarded. The Spaniards were not, however, to
+be led into a trap, rightly thinking that it would have been folly to
+throw themselves upon thousands of wild and enraged Indians, who would
+have despatched them with their poisonous spears; they, therefore, drew
+up their guns on the fortification walls. How, possibly, can the simple
+arrows of the Indians compete with such weapons?
+
+The Indians occupied all the adjoining hills, and had they had guns in
+their possession they could very easily have fired into the town.
+
+Valdivia's men looked quietly down from the rampart walls, for they
+observed that the Indians had no storming engines with which they might
+attack the stronghold.
+
+Bria Rocca's tent was erected on a hill concealed from view by huge
+cocoa-palms, from which Valdivia's palace could be seen. At the Indian
+chief's command the brown leaves of eight trees were pulled down, and
+the trunks of the trees were cut open to the extent of several feet in
+width; then were tied to their tops long ropes of sap-wood, the other
+end of the ropes being twisted round a potter's wheel which was made to
+turn by means of long rods. Under the influence of these ropes the trees
+got quite bent and their tops touched the ground. Then the Indians
+placed some strange-looking vessels into the hollows of the trunks; the
+mouths of these vessels were covered over with india-rubber. Bria Rocca
+next pulled his axe from his belt and cut the ropes in twain. The palm
+trunks flew up with great force, and with a tremendous noise the jugs
+that had been placed in the tree-hollows shot into the market-place of
+Valdivia. Each tree discharged its dangerous bombs as did the others.
+Oh, what a curse those bombs proved! Thousands upon thousands of
+poisonous serpents escaped from the broken jugs and, maddened by white
+man's blood, rushed at the people in every direction. Guns were of no
+avail when dealing with these cursed little monsters. The bloodthirsty,
+devil-moved insects crept up the legs of the horses, and getting beneath
+the armour killed their riders. They swarmed all over the streets and
+streamed into the houses, killing the women and children and those who
+could not fly from them. In one hour's time Valdivia had more dead than
+fighting men. Valdivia himself became desperate and mounted his horse,
+and, accompanied by a hundred horsemen, proceeded towards the gate
+leading to Sant-Jago, that gate which the Indians had left unguarded. He
+heard the triumphant shouts of the Indians and saw before him the
+ancient forest shooting out flames in hundreds of directions. He was
+surrounded! The enraged Indians followed him up behind, and in front the
+burning forest cut off the means of escape. His companions rode away in
+alarm; they preferred to die fighting, not in this manner. Valdivia
+thought it best to boldly cut his way through the burning forest, and so
+effect his escape--or perish in the attempt. The Indians pursued him to
+the edge of the forest, but seeing how boldly he galloped through the
+flames they nearly all held back there. One man only attempted to
+pursue him further--namely, Bria Rocca. The Spanish horses on which both
+were mounted did not fear the fire. Burning foliage fell over them and
+little embers glowed under their feet; still the two horses wildly
+plunged forward, step for step. Valdivia did not even look back, and he
+did not, therefore, observe the Indian chief when he threw a long
+harpoon spear at him. This spear entered his body, and when it was
+pulled out the heart came away along with it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The spot on which Valdivia stood was strewn with the charred ruins of
+the burned town, and there--on that gloomy space--Bria Rocca, after ten
+years' mourning, held a feast in honour of the injured Goddess Morinka.
+He sent for his wife Evoeva, whom he had thrust away from him, and upon
+whose countenance he had not gazed for ten years; and when he had
+embraced her he presented her with a tambourine and a flute of bone, as
+well as a cup filled with native wine. Then he said: "This is a day of
+great rejoicing, Evoeva. To-day you must sing, drink and dance. Strike
+upon this tambourine, blow the flute, empty the cup--the tambourine is
+made from Valdivia's skin, the flute is his bone, the cup his head."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Up to the present day the Aruacan's country has remained unconquered.
+
+
+
+
+BIZEBAN
+
+
+Such is the name of the deaf and dumb boy who waits upon the Sultan.
+
+The art of manufacturing these _bizebans_ is very simple, and at Gozond
+there are several hundred professors of it who find it lucrative enough.
+From poor people, who possess families, they buy children, at ten or
+twenty rupees apiece--mere infants a twelvemonth old. As yet, of course,
+they cannot talk. These men begin by pouring into the ears of the little
+creatures a fluid prepared from herbs, which renders them absolutely
+deaf. Two-thirds of the children die under the process. Those which
+survive are valuable articles of commerce. Having lost their hearing
+they can, of course, no longer learn to talk, and they remain dumb, as
+well as deaf, for life. These children, as they grow up, see the world
+around them but cannot comprehend what they see. Their native
+intelligence cannot become developed: they are like human beings from
+whom the soul has been snatched. These soulless boys are very valuable
+articles in the seraglio. They are always hovering around the Sultan. In
+the most secret chambers they are in attendance; the most valuable
+documents are entrusted to their care; and beneath their eyes passes all
+the private correspondence between the Sultan and his confidential
+advisers. They do not hear a syllable of any conversation--of such a
+thing as speech they have no conception. How can they imagine what those
+peculiarly shaped letters mean which their eyes behold? There is no
+corresponding knowledge or intelligence within them which would render
+this possible; and the few things which they both see and understood,
+they could not communicate to other people.
+
+Such were the unfortunate _bizebans_. Nevertheless they were dressed in
+purple and silk robes. Long chains of pearls hung from their neck, and
+they were fed upon what overflowed from the Sultan's own table. In all
+respects they were treated with especial consideration--like monkeys or
+parrots which are kept as playthings.
+
+These creatures, deprived of soul, know how to do one or two things, but
+no more. They understand that they must remain on guard at a certain
+post and not move thence; they can carry a certain article to a certain
+place; they can cut the Sultan's nails to beautiful fine points and
+adjust his turban--such is the utmost limit of their accomplishments.
+They are indeed like dogs, taught to fetch and carry things for their
+masters in their mouth.
+
+Before Sultan Mustapha II. ascended the throne he already possessed a
+number of _bizebans_. One of these was his especial favourite--a boy who
+was quite superior to the rest and who excited more sympathy; for in
+his big, dreamy eyes so much sentiment and intelligence was visible that
+it seemed sad that he could not be taught to feel and think like a human
+being. Like other _bizebans_ he had no name. Why should a _bizeban_ have
+a name? He won't hear it even if it is addressed to him.
+
+As a rule the _bizeban_ also fulfilled the office of eunuch, and walked
+freely into the seraglio. Prince Mustapha used often, by the hand of his
+pet _bizeban_, to send to his sister, the beautiful Saliha, presents of
+a certain kind of very choice melon which only grew in the Sultan's
+garden and concerning which fruit a very sad story was told.
+
+One day, noticing that one melon was missing from the beds, the Sultan
+had all his gardeners tortured that the culprit might confess his theft.
+Then, when this experiment failed, he had seven of them cut open. To no
+purpose; but when the eighth was ripped up fragments of the melon were
+revealed, which was very fortunate, as a few hundred other servants
+would, but for this, have been treated likewise.
+
+The lovely Saliha was a very kind-hearted creature. She thought her
+brother's _bizeban_ was a very sweet and gentle little thing, and she
+did not hesitate to pet him. She tried to make him understand this and
+that, and he seemed to have a very quick intelligence. Why should he not
+one day possess a soul? This idea occurred to her as she was walking, on
+one occasion, in the shrubbery. Could she not give back to him the soul
+of which he had been deprived, could she not teach him the alphabet? If
+she showed him a certain letter and then pointed to some object with
+which he was familiar could he not by degrees be made acquainted with
+the world?
+
+Saliha made the experiment. She found it a very pleasant recreation, for
+life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.
+
+We have heard that prisoners in their dungeons have even taught spiders
+to dance at the sound of music (and the seraglio as a place of detention
+is scarcely more exhilarating than a dungeon). Why should not the deaf
+and dumb boy prove as apt as a spider? At her first essay, Saliha was
+amazed to see how the soul of the _bizeban_ began to expand. He grasped
+anything in a moment. Once shown the alphabet he could afterwards trace
+out each letter on the ground. Once shown the name of a certain article
+he never forgot it. This success encouraged Saliha to further attempts.
+Would it not be possible to speak to the _bizeban_? But how could the
+speaking be done so that no beholder comprehended it? Ah! with the
+hands! The human hand has five fingers, and their variety of motion, as
+they open and shut, is such that the entire alphabet might thereby be
+distinctly expressed. Saliha determined to teach the boy to converse
+with her by means of his fingers; and the success of her experiments
+exceeded her expectations. He quickly learned the secret signs. It was
+delightful to Saliha; and she determined to get amusement out of it too.
+She would extract from the _bizeban_ secrets concerning her brother
+which he thought no one living knew, and then she would tease this
+relative by pretending that she had discovered them through the mystic
+words of the Cabala. Who could ever dream of suspecting a _bizeban_ who
+was deaf and dumb?
+
+After the death of Osman, Prince Mustapha ascended the throne. His
+youthful gaiety now quickly fled--his shoulders began to bend beneath
+the weight of the Turkish Empire, which was then already in a tottering
+condition, with enemies on every side.
+
+At that time the country possessed a great statesman in the person of
+Raghib Pasha, whose potent hand had preserved the empire from
+destruction. It was he who crushed the forces of the rebellious Egyptian
+princes and laid the province at the feet of the Padishah. Raghib was
+not only a hero in war, he was also a famous poet and the greatest
+scholar in the land. Historians describe him, in his character of
+statesman, as a "leader of leaders," _szad rul vezir_, and in that of
+writer as the "Prince of Roumelian poets". (_Sultani suari Rum_). In his
+gigantic work entitled _Zezinet Olulum_ ("Ship of Knowledge") all the
+legends are collected which had lain scattered about the Arab plains. It
+was he who founded the splendid library which bears his name.
+
+At the time of which we now write, Saliha was in the very springtide of
+her beauty--like the lotus-flower which opens its petals before the dew
+of dawn. Sultan Mustapha could not have given Raghib Pasha a greater
+reward than by bestowing upon him the hand of his lovely sister; and as
+to whether he inspired her with real affection I need only say that he
+was fifty-nine when he married her and that she loved him so much that
+when he died her mind became deranged.
+
+Raghib Pasha ruled not only over the Mussulmans but also over the ruler
+of the Mussulmans, for he had divined the Sultan's thoughts--yes, his
+innermost thoughts.
+
+It was the Sultan's habit not to retire at night to his bedchamber until
+he had recorded, in a voluminous diary, all the events of the day and
+his impressions concerning them. This book he habitually kept in the
+secrecy of his own room, and the _bizeban_ watched over it until the
+morning. To whom would it ever have occurred that the deaf and dumb from
+birth could read, or that he could communicate the written lines to some
+one else? In the room where this diary was kept there was a little
+window which opened into the _khazoda_, the Sultan's place of worship.
+But it was so shut off from view by various corridors as to be only
+visible from the seraglio. Every evening, just as the Sultan was leaving
+his apartments in order to go and say his final prayers in this
+sanctuary, the murzims were accustomed to strike seven times with a
+hammer a bell without a tongue. Then the Imam who stood before the altar
+would say: "Ahamdu lillahi Rabbil alemum" ("Grace descends from Heaven,
+which rules over all"). Thereupon the congregation would fall on their
+faces. They remained prostrate until the Sultan reached the door; when
+the Imam would exclaim: Allehú ekber! ("The Lord is powerful"), and all
+present rose to their feet. During the period of prostration a secret
+hand would be stretched out from the little window we have mentioned,
+and would make all kinds of signs. No one noticed this hand, except
+Saliha, who carefully watched its mysterious movements whilst she was
+upon her knees. From these signs she knew everything that the Sultan had
+that day recorded in his diary; and the very same night she would
+whisper the information to her husband.
+
+Raghib Pasha was a wise man, who knew how to keep such information
+secret. He thereby learned who his enemies were and managed to clear
+them out of his way. He got to know the wishes of the Sultan and could
+long before anticipate them. Everything he did was done in the name of
+the Sultan: the pomp and glory which he himself achieved he allowed
+people to ascribe to his Sovereign, and he even made Mustapha imagine
+that he ruled; whereas the feeble-hearted monarch was a mere puppet in
+the hands of his skilful Grand Vizier.
+
+In his poems Raghib extolled the Sultan for his mighty and politic
+deeds--eulogised him for inspecting the navy and the military magazines,
+for increasing the nation's revenue by 6,000,000 piastres, and doing
+other things which Raghib himself had in fact done on his own account.
+
+Throughout Turkey, throughout Europe, it was known well enough that, not
+the Sultan, but his Minister, ruled at Stamboul; it was only Mustapha
+who did not know it.
+
+One day Raghib's enemies, Hamil Pasha, Bahir Mustapha, and Mohamed Emin,
+who were jealous of the Minister's great power, said to the Sultan:
+
+"This man only calls you Sultan in mockery. He does everything without
+you, just as if the State were his. He has just concluded, without your
+knowledge, an alliance with the ruler of one of the infidel empires--an
+alliance which, although it may prove the destruction of other
+unfaithful nations, he should never have dared to make before obtaining
+the consent of his monarch, in whose presence he is nothing but dust."
+It was Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who, believing in the
+wisdom of the distinguished Minister, had invited his alliance, and the
+documents ratifying it had already been signed. Had that alliance been
+allowed to continue, perhaps the crescent of Turkey would have risen
+again. But the heart of Mustapha had been perturbed by these malicious
+whisperings. When the traitors had left him he said nothing, but simply
+ordered his _bizeban_ to bring him his diary, wherein he proceeded to
+record his impressions of the day. Then, shutting the book and giving it
+to the _bizeban_, he went to evening prayers. On this occasion the hand
+appeared at the little window and made certain signs which Saliha
+watched intently. They said: "Escape, Raghib. The Sultan knows of your
+letter to the Prussian king. To-morrow your head will be cut off and
+your documents confiscated."
+
+The Sultan returned from his profound devotions with a lightened heart.
+No one, he said to himself, knew his secret, and to-morrow morning he
+would send his executioner to fetch him Raghib's head. Yes, he longed to
+possess that head ignominiously severed from its trunk.
+
+But when the executioner reached the Grand Vizier's residence, he found
+there his dead body, which could no longer be killed. On his table lay a
+letter addressed to the Sultan and enclosed in a velvet envelope. It was
+taken to the Sovereign with the news that the Minister had been found
+dead. The letter ran thus:
+
+      "Mustapha, the Omniscient has vouchsafed, in His
+      mysterious providence, to let me know that you wished
+      to kill me because, without your knowledge, I
+      concluded, for the benefit of your dominion, an
+      alliance with the King of Prussia. I did not run away
+      from death; I simply anticipated it. I consider I have
+      lived long enough in order to die fitly now, and long
+      enough not to be forgotten. All the documents at my
+      palace I have burned. You will see what I have done
+      for your country; the rest will be said when we meet
+      in presence of the great Prophet."
+
+The Sultan was paralysed with wonder and fear. How could that secret,
+which had been locked up only in his own heart, have been divined by
+Raghib? First he accused the _dsins_ (Christian prophets), then the
+Hindoo soothsayers, then the interpreters of dreams--then the very pen
+with which he had written. How could he dream that the deaf and dumb
+could speak?
+
+When Mustapha endeavoured to further the alliance with the King of
+Prussia, this great ruler of the infidels replied that there had until
+recently been one wise man in Turkey, but that he did not now propose
+to do business with fools. This was a bitter humiliation to the
+Sultan--to think that his late slave could have procured an alliance
+which was contemptuously refused to the King of Kings!
+
+Mustapha frequently lamented the loss of Raghib, and was constantly
+tortured by the mystery whereby the secret of his heart had been
+penetrated. After the Grand Vizier's death the _bizeban_ ceased to
+communicate to Saliha the secrets of the Sultan. He had no longer any
+motive to do so.
+
+First came Hamil, who only, however, remained Grand Vizier for six
+months, when he was executed for his negligence; and chroniclers relate
+of him that he let the empire go as it pleased, doing it neither good
+nor harm. Then followed the head of Bahir Mustapha. It was cut off for
+his barbarity. The third was Mohamed Emin, whom the Sultan beheaded for
+cowardice on the battlefield. Mustapha shed tears over the loss of his
+three Grand Viziers--but not on their personal account, for he had never
+forgotten Raghib, who was so wise, brave, and noble; and whenever he
+beheaded one of his Grand Viziers he would always think of the
+unfortunate Raghib.
+
+The _bizeban_ laughed within himself; for the deaf and dumb can laugh
+when they are alone. His secret no one ever knew.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST
+
+
+Pozdordy was one of the best known and respected farmers in the province
+of B----, and the surrounding gentry were accustomed to visit him at his
+picturesque homestead. The frequency of their visits was, however, due
+chiefly to the circumstance that he was possessed of a lovely daughter.
+This maiden, besides being enchantingly beautiful, was as proud as a
+queen.
+
+It was quite natural that the young men from round and about should be
+helplessly in love with her and willing to hazard life itself in the
+hope of winning such a prize. But many as were the rival suitors, they
+all at last had to give way to one upon whom Etelka bestowed her
+preference, and that preference could not be divided either in two or
+more parts. As a matter of fact no objection could have been made
+against her choice, for it fell upon such a man as is generally regarded
+as the ideal of a woman's dreams. He was of fine stature, tall,
+well-proportioned, no longer young, it is true, but far from his
+decline. He was a retired major, and bore himself with a faultless
+military carriage. His manners were polished, his education extensive,
+and his wit by no means inferior. He was good-hearted, patriotic, and
+keen in business matters; he did not gamble, neither did he run into
+debt--in fact, from top to toe, you could not find a fault in him.
+
+Of course the various competitors for the hand of Etelka had to bow
+before her decision, they could not help themselves; but one of them, in
+his fierce dissatisfaction, vowed inwardly that he would not yield the
+prize so easily. This rival was a young man who fancied that Etelka had
+regarded him with a degree of favour which was only second to that which
+she had bestowed on the victorious Major.
+
+But Mogyorôdy, the malcontent in question, knew that Major Duránczy was
+very handy with rapier and pistol and did not care to be trifled with.
+He therefore determined to use diplomacy. He paid a friendly sort of
+visit to the father of Etelka, and spent the evening with him. Pozdordy
+had a pretty good suspicion as to why the visitor had come.
+
+In due course the conversation turned upon Duránczy.
+
+"A very nice fellow indeed, isn't he?" said the farmer.
+
+"Oh, yes," replied Mogyorôdy, who at the same time made a grimace which
+betrayed his real opinion.
+
+The farmer, who was evidently uneasy at the young man's obvious
+jealousy, exclaimed:
+
+"But you have nothing to say against him?"
+
+"Oh, no, nothing in the world!"
+
+"But you have something on your mind. It is true he's not so youthful as
+you, but he is not yet old."
+
+"Oh, no, he's in the prime of life."
+
+"Do you wish to imply that there is anything against his past?"
+
+"No; for who amongst us has not got a past?"
+
+"Perhaps you wish to make out that he is only marrying Etelka for her
+money?"
+
+"By no means."
+
+"Do you accuse him of being a gambler?"
+
+"He never touches cards."
+
+"A spendthrift?"
+
+"He is the very reverse--stares on both sides of every halfpenny before
+he parts with it."
+
+"Do you think him lazy?"
+
+"No, a model of plodding industry."
+
+"Then what is amiss with his character?"
+
+"It is perfect--almost monotonously so; but he has one peculiarity with
+which you ought to be made acquainted if you are going to marry your
+daughter to him."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Well, if you want to know, he's a lunar somnambulist--when the moon is
+at the full he rises at night from his bed, and, with open eyes, walks
+about the house in a dream, muttering all kinds of extraordinary things.
+If swords or pistols were then within his reach he would probably wound
+or kill any one, and I shouldn't like to see your daughter murdered in
+one of these moonlight perambulations."
+
+"Oh, that is nonsense. I will believe no tale of that kind."
+
+"Do as you please. I have discharged my duty, and told you. Now,
+good-night."
+
+But after Mogyorôdy had departed, the farmer, although he had pretended
+to be unconcerned, said to himself:
+
+"This might possibly be true; I must investigate the matter further
+before the marriage takes place."
+
+His mind being very uneasy, he determined to invite Duránczy to his
+house on the next occasion, when the moon would be at its full; and when
+the night in question arrived he entertained the Major at his farm with
+all the outward demonstration of confidence and friendship.
+
+It so happened that during the evening Mogyorôdy looked in, for although
+a rejected lover, he was still a recognised visitor, owing to business
+and family connections with the farmer.
+
+Pozdordy, albeit that he was somewhat alarmed at the appearance of his
+rival, politely welcomed him, and was relieved to notice, as his two
+guests conversed together, that the old jealousy seemed to have quite
+disappeared, and that Mogyorôdy evinced towards the Major every symptom
+of good fellowship.
+
+The wine circulated freely, and the night wore pleasantly away, until
+the clock reminded Pozdordy that there was a limit to every festivity.
+He had already intended to press Duránczy to sleep with him; but, as it
+was already late, he felt he could not do less than extend the
+invitation to Mogyorôdy. Wishing, however, to have the alleged
+somnambulist under his inspection, he assigned to the Major a spare bed
+in his own dormitory, and gave Mogyorôdy a separate room.
+
+In due course, both host and guests retired. The farmer, as soon as he
+was between the sheets, lit a massive long-stemmed pipe, and began to
+smoke, keeping his eye upon Duránczy.
+
+The moonlight was streaming in upon the Major's pillow. It looked weird.
+The farmer watched Duránczy as he lay prostrate--watched and watched
+until he himself dozed off into an involuntary slumber.
+
+Presently he was awoke by a noise. In the moonlight he perceived a
+figure, robed in a night-shirt. Ah! the Major, who seemed to be gazing
+around him with an air of mysterious inquiry. Then, step by step, with
+great circumspection, he advanced towards the farmer's bedside. Pozdordy
+held his breath. "Yes," he said to himself, "this man is a lunar
+somnambulist!"
+
+Upon tiptoe the figure now went nearer and nearer to the farmer's couch.
+Pozdordy, in breathless expectation, grasped his heavy long-stemmed
+pipe--the only weapon of self-defence within arm's length--and just as
+the somnambulist was reaching towards an antique and richly inlaid
+sword, suspended high up against the wall, he dealt him a blow, so
+terrific as to produce a howl from the apparition. The farmer leaped out
+of bed, and, to protect his own life, was proceeding to half-strangle
+the sleepwalker, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it was not the
+Major.
+
+"Who are you?" he exclaimed.
+
+There was no answer. The farmer looked towards the Major's bed--there,
+in the moonlight, lay the warrior, who was just beginning to be roused
+from sleep by the noise of the scuffle, and who dreamily exclaimed,
+"What the devil?"
+
+Pozdordy released his hold of the neck of this unknown man, who hastily
+escaped from the room; and the report goes that Mogyorôdy travelled home
+at 2 A.M. in his night-shirt. Anyhow, after hiding under the Major's bed
+in order to make him out to be a somnambulist, he never again dared to
+put his nose into Pozdordy's household; and the gallant soldier is
+to-day in peaceful possession of the beautiful Etelka.
+
+
+
+
+_Printed by BALANTYNE, HANSON & CO._
+_London & Edinburgh_
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Many of the Hungarian titles listed in the
+Introduction were misspelled. "Estílapok" was changed to "Esti Lapok",
+"A Magyar Nábob" was changed to "Egy Magyar Nábob", "A Koszivü Ember
+Fiaa" was changed to "A Koszívu Ember Fiai", "A Szerelem Bolondja" was
+changed to "Szerelem Bolondjai", "A Névtelen Vár" was changed to
+"Névtelen Vár", "Bálványvárak" was changed to "Bálványosvár", "A Fekete
+Gyémántok" was changed to "Fekete Gyémántok", "A Jové Század Regéje" was
+changed to "A Jövo Század Regénye", and "Az Uj Földes Ur" was changed to
+"Az Új Földesúr".
+
+In addition, the following typographical errors in the text have been
+corrected.
+
+In "In Love With the Czarina", "she nodded to Genera Karr" was changed
+to "she nodded to General Karr".
+
+In "Tamerlan the Tartar", Chapter I, "the immovable cloud towards the
+east" was changed to "the immovable cloud towards the west", and "the
+victorious couqueror" was changed to "the victorious conqueror". In
+Chapter III, a period was changed to a comma after "the Thief of the
+Desert". In Chapter VIII, "two real hereoes" was changed to "two real
+heroes", and "Mirza Abubker's chosen horsemen" was changed to "Mirza
+Abubekr's chosen horsemen".
+
+In "Valdivia", "If you wish for the Guelin mountain" was changed to "If
+you wish for the Guelen mountain".
+
+In "Bizeban", a quotation mark was added before "This man only calls you
+Sultan".
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other
+Stories, by Mór Jókai
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories, by Mór Jókai.
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories, by Mór Jókai
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories
+
+Author: Mór Jókai
+
+Translator: Louis Felbermann
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2010 [EBook #34574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/front.jpg" width="350" height="569" alt="portrait of the author" title="J&oacute;kai M&oacute;r" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center"><i>SPECIAL AUTHORISED EDITION</i></p>
+
+<h1>IN LOVE WITH THE<br />
+CZARINA<br />
+<span class="smalltext"><i>AND OTHER STORIES</i></span></h1>
+
+<h2><span class="smalltext">BY</span><br />
+MAURICE J&Oacute;KAI</h2>
+
+<p class="center">TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN<br />
+<i>WITH THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL PERMISSION</i><br />
+BY<br />
+<span class="bigtext">LOUIS FELBERMANN</span><br />
+AUTHOR OF "HUNGARY AND ITS PEOPLE"<br />
+ETC.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 196px;">
+<img src="images/logo.png" width="196" height="180" alt="publisher's logo" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">LONDON<br />
+FREDERICK WARNE &amp; CO.<br />
+AND NEW YORK</p>
+
+<p class="center">[<i>All rights reserved</i>]</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table class="figcenter" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Table of Contents">
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname smalltext">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="chappage smalltext">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">Introduction</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">9</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">In Love with the Czarina</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#IN_LOVE_WITH_THE_CZARINA">17</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">Tamerlan the Tartar</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#TAMERLAN_THE_TARTAR">57</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">Valdivia</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#VALDIVIA">111</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">Bizeban</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#BIZEBAN">141</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="chapname">The Moonlight Somnambulist</td>
+<td class="chappage"><a href="#THE_MOONLIGHT_SOMNAMBULIST">151</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p class="center">DEDICATED TO<br />
+HUNGARY'S GREATEST WRITER<br />
+<span class="bigtext">MAURICE J&Oacute;KAI</span><br />
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN</p>
+
+
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 0em;">"<i>From him I took it; to him I give it</i>"</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-top: 0em; padding-left: 8em;">EASTERN PROVERB</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>London 1894</i></p>
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+
+
+<p>The entire Hungarian nation&mdash;king and people&mdash;have recently been
+celebrating the jubilee of Hungary's greatest writer, Maurice J&oacute;kai,
+whose pen, during half a century of literary activity, has given no less
+than 250 volumes to the world. Admired and beloved by his patriotic
+fellow-countrymen, J&oacute;kai has displayed that kind of genius which
+fascinates the learned and unlearned alike, the old and the young. He
+enchants the children of Hungary by his fairy-tales, and as they grow up
+into men and women he implants within them a passion for their native
+land and a knowledge of its splendid history such as only his poetic and
+dramatic pen could engrave upon their memory. His versatility of
+talent&mdash;for, besides being the Hungarian poet-laureate, he is a
+novelist, playwright, historian, and orator&mdash;enables the Hungarians to
+see in him their Heine, their Byron, their Walter Scott, and their
+Victor Hugo.</p>
+
+<p>J&oacute;kai began his career at a period when Hungary aspired to political
+freedom, and his powerful pen,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> in combination with that of his familiar
+friend, Alexander Pet&#337;fi, Hungary's greatest lyric poet, was mainly
+instrumental in rousing the nation to arms. In 1849, when the Hungarian
+nation had sustained a cruel defeat, it was J&oacute;kai who cheered the
+flagging spirits of the Magyars, and by the potency and skill of his
+extraordinary pen influenced that reconciliation between Sovereign and
+people which was ultimately accomplished by Hungary's greatest
+statesman, Francis De&aacute;k.</p>
+
+<p>The Hungarian language is one of the richest of Turanian tongues, and
+particularly lends itself to the didactic and romantic styles. So far
+back as the beginning of the thirteenth century we find traces of
+Hungarian literature, and, if it had been permitted to develop, Hungary
+might now have possessed a literature second to none in the modern
+world. But in consequence of political struggles the Hungarian language
+and literature had to give way, at times, either to the Latin or German
+races, so much so that as late as 1849 all scientific subjects had to be
+taught either in German or in Latin. It was then that a few patriotic
+Magyars took the matter acutely to heart, and strove to restore the
+language and literature of their country, with the happy result that
+Hungary now, in proportion to its population, comes immediately after
+Germany in the number of its universities, colleges,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> and scientific
+institutions, where all subjects are taught in the <i>Hungarian language
+only</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Maurice J&oacute;kai is not only one of those who restored Hungarian
+literature, but is the creator of a particular style of romance, which
+stamps his works as unique, and has caused them to be eagerly read, and
+translated into almost every modern language. It is no wonder,
+therefore, that the Hungarians, who are a cultured race, should delight
+in showing all honour and respect to the veteran author, who has given
+to the world over a hundred splendid works on all subjects, comprising
+250 volumes.</p>
+
+<p>J&oacute;kai is descended from a middle-class family, a fact which he is always
+proud to own, and has no ambition to rise in higher spheres of society,
+although the greatest people in the land, including the Empress-Queen
+herself, favour him with their personal friendship.</p>
+
+<p>He is a tall, fine-looking man, and carries himself well. He generally
+dresses in a black-braided costume, which is the favourite national
+Hungarian uniform of those patriots who belong to the forty-eight
+period, which marks such an epoch in the history of Hungary. In his
+younger days his beard was dark and silky, but now he is quite grey. He
+occupies a modest house, and leads a very simple life.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>To give the full history of such a great writer as Maurice J&oacute;kai, the
+titles of whose works fill nine pages of the British Museum catalogue,
+would be a task of considerable research, and would itself extend to
+volumes. I therefore only propose to touch upon a few of the salient
+points of his career.</p>
+
+<p>J&oacute;kai was born on February 19, 1825, at Kom&aacute;rom, which city, by-the-by,
+is known as the "Virgin Fortress of Hungary."</p>
+
+<p>He received his education partly in his native town and at Pozsony, the
+ancient capital of Hungary, P&aacute;pa and Kecskem&eacute;t; and in 1846 he passed an
+examination as an advocate, though he did not follow the profession
+afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year he took up his abode at Budapest, where in the
+following year he assumed the editorship of a paper called <i>&Eacute;letk&eacute;pek</i>
+(Pictures of Life).</p>
+
+<p>In 1848 he played an important part in the revolution, both in inciting
+the people by his literary writings and as a soldier. In 1849 he married
+Rose Laborfalvi, the famous actress. In the same year he followed the
+National Hungarian Government, which removed its seat to Debreczen, and
+became the editor of the <i>Esti Lapok</i> (Evening News). From that time
+activity characterised his literary and general career.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>In the political movements of 1861 he was to the front both as member of
+parliament and as newspaper editor. In 1860 he was elected member of the
+Kisfaludy Society, and in 1861 he became a member of the Hungarian
+Academy of Sciences, of which institute he is now a member of the
+executive committee. He is also the president of the Pet&#337;fi Society.</p>
+
+<p>His first novel was "A H&eacute;tk&ouml;znapok" (Days of the Week), which appeared
+in 1846, and since then hardly a year elapsed without the issue of
+several volumes from his pen.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst his novels the most celebrated are:</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Egy Magyar N&aacute;bob" (The Hungarian Nabob).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"K&aacute;rp&aacute;thy Zolt&aacute;n."</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"A K&#337;sz&iacute;v&#369; Ember Fiai" (The Sons of the Stonehearted Man).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Szerelem Bolondjai" (Love's Puppet).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"N&eacute;vtelen V&aacute;r" (The Nameless Fortress).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Erd&eacute;ly Aranykora" (The Golden Period of Transylvania).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"B&aacute;lv&aacute;nyosv&aacute;r" (Idol Fortunes).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Fekete Gy&eacute;m&aacute;ntok" (Black Diamonds).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"A J&ouml;v&#337; Sz&aacute;zad Reg&eacute;nye" (The Romance of the Future Century).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Az &Uacute;j F&ouml;ldes&uacute;r" (The New Landlord).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Nincsen &Ouml;rd&ouml;g" (There is no Devil).</p>
+
+<p class="novel">"Az Arany Ember" (The Gold Man).</p>
+
+<p class="novel"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>"A Sz&eacute;p Mikh&aacute;l" (Pretty Michael).</p>
+
+<p>Of his recent novels the most famous is the one published in 1892, in
+which Monk Gregory is the hero.</p>
+
+<p>The short stories that we are presenting in this volume belong to his
+earliest writings.</p>
+
+<p>J&oacute;kai's novels&mdash;in which his own strong personality everywhere reveals
+itself&mdash;are characterised by great imaginative power and by a light,
+humorous style which fascinates the reader. It may be said, without much
+exaggeration, that in point of wit and humour few living writers can
+compare with him. His subjects are principally drawn from history; but
+many of his works are remarkable for their vivid descriptions of
+Hungarian life, both past and present. In one word it might justly be
+said that in reading J&oacute;kai's novels one reads the history of Europe, and
+in reading J&oacute;kai's history one reads a novel drawn from actual life.</p>
+
+<p>As a poet he occupies a unique position, and stands altogether alone:
+for his lyrics, ballads, and heroic verse are even sung by the
+schoolchildren throughout Hungary. As a dramatist his fame is extensive;
+and his "K&ouml;nyves K&aacute;lm&aacute;n" (Koloman, King of Hungary, surnamed the Book
+King), "D&oacute;zsa Gy&ouml;rgy, The Martyr of Szigetv&aacute;r," "Az Arany Ember" (The
+Golden Man), and "Fekete<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> Gy&eacute;m&aacute;ntok" (Black Diamonds), have been
+incessantly performed with the greatest success.</p>
+
+<p>As a politician he has made a considerable mark, and no one who has had
+the privilege of hearing him deliver an oration will forget the music
+and sonority of his fine voice. What is less generally known is that he
+is an enthusiastic botanical student and an admirable painter.</p>
+
+<p>These are a few outlines of the life of Hungary's greatest writer, and
+in the interest of literature let it be hoped that his life may be long
+spared, and that his remaining years may be spent in the utmost
+happiness. Such is the fervent wish of all his admirers, who are drawn,
+not only from this country, but from all civilised peoples, nations, and
+languages.</p>
+
+<p class="alignright" style="padding-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 0em;"><span class="smcap">Louis Felbermann</span></p>
+<p class="alignright" style="margin-top: 0em;">(<i>Author of "Hungary and its People"</i>).</p>
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="IN_LOVE_WITH_THE_CZARINA" id="IN_LOVE_WITH_THE_CZARINA"></a>IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the time of the Czar Peter III. a secret society existed at St.
+Petersburg which bore the title of "The Nameless." Its members used to
+assemble in the house of a Russian nobleman, Jelagin by name, who alone
+knew the personality of each visitor, they being, for the most part,
+unknown to one another. Distinguished men, princes, ladies of the Court,
+officers of the Guard, Cossack soldiers, young commercial men,
+musicians, street-singers, actors and actresses, scientific men,
+clergymen and statesmen, used to meet here. Beauty and talent were alone
+qualifications for entry into the Society, the members of which were
+selected by Jelagin. Everyone addressed the other as "thee" and "thou,"
+and they only made use of Christian names such as Anne, Alexandra,
+Katharine, Olga, Peter, Alexis, and Ivan. And for what purpose did they
+assemble here? To amuse themselves at their ease. Those who, by the
+prejudices of caste and rank, were utterly severed, and who occupied the
+mutual position of master and slave, tore the chains of their barriers
+asunder, and all met here. It is quite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> possible that he with whom the
+grenadier-private is now playing chess is the very same General who
+might order him a hundred lashes to-morrow, should he take a step on
+parade without his command! And now he contends with him to make a queen
+out of a pawn!</p>
+
+<p>It is also probable that the pretty woman who is singing sportive French
+songs to the accompaniment of the instrument she strikes with her left
+hand, is one of the Court ladies of the Czarina, who, as a rule, throws
+half-roubles out of her carriage to the street-musicians! Perhaps she is
+a Princess? possibly the wife of the Lord Chamberlain? or even higher in
+grade than this? Russian society, both high and low, flower and root,
+met in Jelagin's castle, and while there enjoyed equality in the widest
+sense of the word. Strange phenomenon! That this should take place in
+Russia, where so much is thought of aristocratic rank, official garb,
+and exterior pomp; where an inferior is bound to dismount from his horse
+upon meeting a superior, where sub-officers take off their coats in
+token of salute when they meet those of higher rank, and where generals
+kiss the priests' hands and the highest aristocrats fall on their faces
+before the Czar! Here they sing and dance and joke together, make fun of
+the Government, and tell anecdotes of the High Priests, utterly
+fearless, and dispensing with salutations!</p>
+
+<p>Can this be done for love of novelty? The existence of this secret
+society was repeatedly divulged to the police, and these cannot be
+reproached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> for not having taken the necessary steps to denounce it; but
+proceedings, once begun, usually evaporated into thin air, and led to no
+results. The investigating officer either never discovered suspicious
+facts, or, if he did, matters were adjourned. Those who were arrested in
+connection with the affair were in some way set at liberty in peace and
+quietness; every document relating to the matter was either burnt or
+vanished, and whole sealed cases of writings were turned into plain
+white paper. When an influential officer took energetically in hand the
+prosecution of "The Nameless," he was generally sent to a foreign
+country on an important mission, from which he did not return for a
+considerable period. "The Nameless Society" must have had very powerful
+protectors. At the conclusion of one of these free and easy
+entertainments, a young Cossack hetman remained behind the crowd of
+departing guests, and when quite alone with the host he said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Jelagin, did you see the pretty woman with whom I danced the mazurka
+to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I saw her. Are you smitten with her, as others have been?"</p>
+
+<p>"That woman I must make my wife."</p>
+
+<p>Jelagin gave the Cossack a blow on the shoulder and looked into his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"That you will not do! You will not take her as your wife, friend
+Jemeljan."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall marry her&mdash;I have resolved to do so."</p>
+
+<p>"You will not marry her, for she will not go to you."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>"If she does not come I will carry her off against her will."</p>
+
+<p>"You can't marry her, because she has a husband."</p>
+
+<p>"If she has a husband I will carry her off in company with him!"</p>
+
+<p>"You can't carry her off, for she lives in a palace&mdash;she is guarded by
+many soldiers, and accompanied in her carriage by many outriders."</p>
+
+<p>"I will take her away with her palace, her soldiers, and her carriage. I
+swear it by St. Gregory!"</p>
+
+<p>Jelagin laughed mockingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Good Jemeljan, go home and sleep out your love&mdash;that pretty woman is
+the Czarina!"</p>
+
+<p>The hetman became pale for a moment, his breath stopped; but the next
+instant, with sparkling eyes, he said to Jelagin:</p>
+
+<p>"In spite of this, what I have said I have said."</p>
+
+<p>Jelagin showed the door to his guest. But, improbable as it may seem,
+Jemeljan was really not intoxicated, unless it were with the eyes of the
+pretty woman.</p>
+
+<p>A few years elapsed. The Society of "The Nameless" was dissolved, or
+changed into one of another form. Katharine had her husband, the Czar,
+killed, and wore the crown herself. Many people said she had him killed,
+others took her part. It was urged that she knew what was going to
+happen, but could not prevent it&mdash;that she was compelled to act as she
+did, and to affect, after a great struggle with her generous heart,
+complete ignorance of poison being administered to her husband. It was
+said that she had acted rightly,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> and that the Czar's fate was a just
+one, for he was a wicked man; and finally, it was asserted that the
+whole statement was untrue, and that no one had killed Czar Peter, who
+died from intense inflammation of the stomach. He drank too much brandy.
+The immortal Voltaire is responsible for this last assertion. Whatever
+may have happened, Czar Peter was buried, and the Czarina Katharine now
+saw that her late husband belonged to those dead who do not sleep
+quietly. They rise&mdash;rise from their graves&mdash;stretch out their hands from
+their shrouds, and touch with them those who have forgotten them. They
+turn over in their last resting-place, and the whole earth seems to
+tremble under the feet of those who walk above them!</p>
+
+<p>Amongst the numerous contradictory stories told, one, difficult to
+believe, but which the people gladly credited, and which caused much
+bloodshed before it was wiped out of their memory, was this&mdash;that Czar
+Peter died neither by his own hand, nor by the hands of others, but that
+he still lived. It was said that a common soldier, with pock-marked face
+resembling the Czar, was shown in his stead to the public on the
+death-couch at St. Petersburg, and that the Czar himself had escaped
+from prison in soldier's clothes, and would return to retake his throne,
+to vanquish his wife, and behead his enemies! Five Czar pretenders rose
+one after the other in the wastes of the Russian domains. One followed
+the other with the motto, "Revenge on the faithless!" The usurpers
+conquered sometimes a northern, sometimes a southern province,
+collected<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> forces, captured towns, drove out all officials, and put new
+ones in their places, so that it was necessary to send forces against
+them. If one was subjugated and driven away into the ice deserts, or
+captured and hung on the next tree, another Czar Peter would rise up in
+his place and cause rebellion, alarming the Court circle whilst they
+were enjoying themselves; and so things went on continually and
+continually. The murdered husband remained unburied, for to-day he might
+be put in the earth and to-morrow he would rise again one hundred miles
+off, and exclaim, "I still live!" He might be killed there, but would
+pop out his head again from the earth, saying, "Still I live." He had a
+hundred lives! When five of these Peter pretenders went the way of the
+real Czar a sixth rose, and this one was the most dreaded and most
+daring of all, whose name will perpetually be inscribed in the
+chronicles of the Russian people as a dreadful example to all who will
+not be taught wisdom, and his name is Jemeljan Pugasceff! He was born as
+an ordinary Cossack in the Don province, and took part in the Prussian
+campaign, at first as a paid soldier of Prussia, later as an adherent of
+the Czar. At the bombardment of Bender he had become a Cossack hetman.
+His extraordinary physical strength, his natural common sense and
+inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace
+which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress. He was sent
+with many discharged officers back to the Don. Let them go again and
+look after their field labours! Pugasceff's head,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> however, was full of
+other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which
+occupation he had been called ten years before. He hated the Czarina,
+and adored her! He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon
+the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who
+possessed the right to tread upon every Russian's heart! He became
+possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her
+throne, and take her afterwards into his arms. He had his plans prepared
+for this. He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live&mdash;they who
+oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the
+persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually
+extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this
+only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not
+upwards, as they do in Moscow!</p>
+
+<p>The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and
+could get a leader. Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these,
+but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was
+carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains. He might thus go on
+dreaming! Pugasceff dreamt one night that he burst the iron chains from
+his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the
+enclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled
+with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited
+plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> stitch
+of clothing! The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains
+of Uralszk&mdash;the most dreaded tribe in Russia&mdash;living in one of those
+border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with
+whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship. They change locality
+from year to year. One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the
+land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a
+Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks! Fighting is
+pleasanter work in the winter. In the summer everyone lives under the
+sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed! This people belong to the
+Roskolnik sect. Just a little while previously they had amused
+themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg,
+with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed
+to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had
+clearly proved that the Government had nothing to do with their pike!
+Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were
+dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what
+they should further do. One lovely autumn night the escaped convict,
+after a great deal of wandering in the miserable valley of Jeremina
+Kuriza, situated in the wildest part of the Ural Mountains, and in its
+yet more miserable town, Jaiczkoi, knocked at the door of the first
+Cossack habitation he saw and said that he was a refugee. He was
+received with an open heart, and got plenty of kind words and a little
+bread. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> house-owner was himself poor; the Kirgizians had driven away
+his sheep. One of his sons, a priest of the Roskolnik persuasion, had
+been carried away from him into a lead-mine; the second had been taken
+to serve as a soldier, and had died; the third was hung because he had
+been involved in a revolt. Old Kocsenikoff remained at home without sons
+or family. Pugasceff listened to the grievances of his host, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"These can be remedied."</p>
+
+<p>"Who can raise for me my dead sons?" said the old man bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"The one who rose himself in order to kill."</p>
+
+<p>"Who can that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Czar."</p>
+
+<p>"The murdered Czar?" asked the old soldier, with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"He has been killed six times, and yet he lives. On my way here,
+whenever I met with people, they all asked me, 'Is it true that the Czar
+is not dead yet, and that he has escaped from prison?' I replied to
+them, 'It is true. He has found his way here, and ere long he will make
+his appearance before you.'"</p>
+
+<p>"You say this, but how can the Czar get here?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is already here."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am he!"</p>
+
+<p>"Very well&mdash;very well," replied the old Roskolnik. "I understand what
+you want with me. I shall be on the spot if you wish it. All is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+same to me as long as I have anyone to lead me. But who will believe
+that you are the Czar? Hundreds and hundreds have seen him face to face.
+Everybody knows that the visage of the Czar was dreadfully pockmarked,
+whilst yours is smooth."</p>
+
+<p>"We can remedy that. Has not someone lately died of black-pox in this
+district?"</p>
+
+<p>"Every day this happens. Two days ago my last labourer died."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I shall lay in his bed, and I shall rise from it like Czar
+Peter."</p>
+
+<p>He did what he said. He lay in the infected bed. Two days later he got
+the black-pox, and six weeks afterwards he rose with the same wan face
+as one had seen on the unfortunate Czar.</p>
+
+<p>Kocsenikoff saw that a man who could play so recklessly with his life
+did not come here to idle away his time. This is a country where out of
+ten men nine have stored away some revenge of their own for a future
+time. Amongst the first ten people to whom Kocsenikoff communicated his
+scheme, he found nine who were ready to assist in the daring
+undertaking, even at the cost of their lives; but the tenth was a
+traitor. He disclosed the desperate plot to Colonel Simonoff, the
+commander of Jaiczkoi, and the commander immediately arrested
+Kocsenikoff; but Pugasceff escaped on the horse which had been sent out
+with the Cossack who came to arrest him, and he even carried off the
+Cossack himself! He jumped into the saddle, patted and spurred the
+horse, and made his way into the forest.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>History records for the benefit of future generations the name of the
+Cossack whom Pugasceff carried away with his horse: Csika was the name
+of this timid individual! This happened on September 15. Two days
+afterwards Pugasceff came back from the forest to the outskirts of the
+town Jaiczkoi. Then he had his horse, a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, and
+three hundred brave horsemen. As he approached the town he had trumpets
+blown, and demanded that Colonel Simonoff should surrender and should
+come and kiss the hand of his rightful master, Czar Peter III.! Simonoff
+came with 5000 horsemen and 800 Russian regular troops against the
+rebels, and Pugasceff was in one moment surrounded. At this instant he
+took a loosely sealed letter from his breast and read out his
+proclamation in a ringing voice to the opposing troops, in which he
+appealed to the faithful Cossacks of Peter III. to help him to regain
+his throne and to aid him to drive away usurpers, threatening with death
+those traitors who should oppose his command. On hearing this the
+Cossack troops appeared startled, and the exclamation went from mouth to
+mouth, "The Czar lives! This is the Czar!" The officers tried to quiet
+the soldiers, but in vain. They commenced to fight amongst themselves,
+and the uproar lasted till late at night, with the result that it was
+not Simonoff who captured Pugasceff, but the latter who captured eleven
+of his officers; and when he retreated from the field his three hundred
+men had increased to eight hundred. It was a matter of great difficulty
+to the Colonel to lead back the rest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> into the town. Pugasceff set up
+his camp outside in the garden of a Russian nobleman, and on his trees
+he hung up the eleven officers. His opponent was so much alarmed that he
+did not dare to attack him, but lay wait for him in the trenches, at the
+mouth of the cannon. Our daring friend was not quite such a lunatic as
+to go and meet him. He required greater success, more decisive battles,
+and more guns. He started against the small towns which the Government
+had built along the Jaik. The Roskolniks received the pseudo-Czar with
+wild enthusiasm. They believed that he had risen from the dead to
+humiliate the power of the Moscow priests, and that he intended to
+adopt, instead of the Court religion, that which had been persecuted. On
+the third day 1500 men accompanied him to battle. The stronghold of
+Ileczka was the first halting-place he made. It is situated about
+seventy versts from Jaiczkoi. He was welcomed with open gates and with
+acclamation, and the guard of the place went over to his side. Here he
+found guns and powder, and with these he was able to continue his
+campaign. Next followed the stronghold of Kazizna. This did not
+surrender of its own accord, but commenced heroically to defend itself,
+and Pugasceff was compelled to bombard it. In the heat of the siege the
+rebel Cossacks shouted out to those in the fort, and they actually
+turned their guns upon their own patrols. All who opposed them were
+strung up, and the Colonel was taken a prisoner to Pugasceff, who showed
+no mercy to anyone who wore his hair long, which was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> fashion at the
+time amongst the Russian officers, and for this reason the pseudo-Czar
+hung every officer who fell into his hands. Now, provided with guns, he
+made his way towards the fort of Nisn&agrave;ja Osfern&agrave;ja, which he also
+captured after a short attack. Those whom he did not kill joined him.
+Now he led 4000 men, and therefore he could dare attack the stronghold
+of Talitseva, which was defended by two heroes, Bilof and Jelagin. The
+Russian authorities took up a firm position in face of the fanatical
+rebels, and they would have repulsed Pugasceff, if the hay stores in the
+fort had not been burnt down. This fire gave assistance to the rebels.
+Bilof and Jelagin were driven out of the fort-gates, and were forced out
+into the plains, where they were slaughtered. When the pseudo-Czar
+captured the fort of Nisn&agrave;ja Osfern&agrave;ja, a marvellously beautiful woman
+came to him in the market-place and threw herself at his feet. "Mercy,
+my master!" The woman was very lovely, and was quite in the power of the
+conqueror. Her tears and excitement made her still more enchanting.</p>
+
+<p>"For whom do you want pardon?"</p>
+
+<p>"For my husband, who is wounded in fighting against you."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the name of your husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chalof, who commanded this fort."</p>
+
+<p>A noble-hearted hero no doubt would have set at liberty both husband and
+wife, let them be happy, and love one another. A base man would have
+hung the husband and kept the wife. Pugasceff<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> killed them both! He knew
+very well that there were still many living who remembered that Czar
+Peter III. was not a man who found pleasure in women's love, and he
+remained true to his adopted character even in its worst extremes.</p>
+
+<p>The rebels appeared to have wings. After the capture of Talicseva
+followed that of Csernojecsinszkaja, where the commander took flight on
+the approach of the rebel leader, and entrusted the defence of the fort
+to Captain Nilsajeff, who surrendered without firing a shot. Pugasceff,
+without saying "Thank you," had him hanged. He did not believe in
+officers who went over to the enemy. He only kept the common soldiers,
+and he had their hair cut short, so that in the event of their escaping
+he should know them again! Next morning the last stronghold in the
+country, Precsisztenszka, situated in the vicinity of the capital,
+Orenburg, surrendered to the rebels, and in the evening the mock Czar
+stood before the walls of Orenburg with thirty cannon and a
+well-equipped army! All this happened in fifteen days.</p>
+
+<p>Since the moment when he carried off the Cossack who had been sent to
+capture him, and met Kocsenikoff, he had occupied six forts, entirely
+annihilated a regiment, and created another, with which he now besieged
+the capital of the province.</p>
+
+<p>The towns of the Russian Empire are divided by great distances, and
+before things were decided at St. Petersburg, Marquis Pugasceff might
+almost have occupied half the country. It was Katharine herself who
+nicknamed Pugasceff Marquis, and she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> laughed very heartily and often in
+the Court circles about her extraordinary husband, who was preparing to
+reconquer his wife, the Czarina. The nuptial bed awaited him&mdash;it was the
+scaffold!</p>
+
+<p>On the news of Pugasceff's approach, Reinsburg, the Governor of
+Orenburg, sent, under the command of Colonel Bilof, a portion of his
+troops to attack the rebel. Bilof started on the chase, but he shared
+the fate of many lion-hunters. The pursued animal ate him up, and of his
+entire force not one man returned to Orenburg. Instead of this,
+Pugasceff's forces appeared before its gates.</p>
+
+<p>Reinsburg did not wish to await the bombardment, and he sent his most
+trusted regiment, under the command of Major Naumoff, to attack the
+rebels. The mock-Czar allowed it to approach the slopes of the mountains
+outside Orenburg, and there, with masked guns, he opened such a
+disastrous fire upon them that the Russians were compelled to retire to
+their fort utterly demoralised. Pugasceff then descended into the plains
+and pitched his camp before the town. The two opponents both began with
+the idea of tiring each other out by waiting. Pugasceff was encamped on
+the snow-fields. The plains of Russia are no longer green in October,
+and instead of tents he had huts made of branches of oak. The one force
+was attacked by frost&mdash;the other by starvation. Finally starvation
+proved the more powerful. Naumoff sallied from the fort, and turned his
+attention towards occupying those heights whence his forces had been
+fired upon a short time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> previously. He succeeded in making an onslaught
+with his infantry upon the rebel lines, but Pugasceff, all of a sudden,
+changed his plan of battle, and attacked with his Cossacks the cavalry
+of his opponent, who took to flight. The victory fell from the grasp of
+Naumoff, and he was compelled to fly with his cannon, breaking his way,
+sword in hand, through the lines of the Cossacks. Then Pugasceff
+attacked in his turn. He had forty-eight guns, with which he commenced a
+fierce bombardment of the walls, which continued until November 9th,
+when he ordered his troops to storm the town. The onslaught did not
+succeed, for the Russians bravely defended themselves. Pugasceff,
+therefore, had to make up his mind to starve out his opponents. The
+broad plains and valleys were white with snow, the forests sparkled with
+icicles, as though made of silver, and during the long nights the cold
+reflection of the moon alone brightened the desolate wastes where the
+audacious dream of a daring man kept awake the spirits of his men. The
+dream was this: That he should be the husband of the Czarina of All the
+Russias.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Katharine II. was passionately fond of playing tarok, and she
+particularly liked that variety of the game which was later on named,
+after a celebrated Russian general, "Paskevics," and required four
+players. In addition to the Czarina, Princess Daskoff, Prince Orloff,
+and General Karr sat at her table. The latter was a distinguished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+leader of troops&mdash;<i>in petto</i>&mdash;and as a tarok-player without equal. He
+rose from the table <i>semper victor</i>! No one ever saw him pay, and for
+this reason he was a particular favourite with the Czarina. She said if
+she could only once succeed in winning a rouble from Karr she would have
+a ring welded to it and wear it suspended from her neck. It is very
+likely that the mistakes of his opponents aided General Karr's continual
+success. The two noble ladies were too much occupied with Orloff's fine
+eyes to be able to fix their attention wholly upon the game, whilst
+Orloff was so lucky in love that it would have been the greatest
+injustice on earth if he had been equally successful at play. Once,
+whilst shuffling the cards, some one casually remarked that it was a
+scandalous shame that an escaped Cossack like Pugasceff should be in a
+position to conquer a fourth of Russia in Europe, to disgrace the
+Russian troops time after time, to condemn the finest Russian officers
+to a degrading death, and now even to bombard Orenburg like a real
+potentate.</p>
+
+<p>"I know the dandy, I know him very well," said Karr. "During the life of
+His Majesty I used to play cards with him at Oranienbaum. He is a stupid
+youngster. Whenever I called <i>carreau</i>, he used to give <i>c&#339;ur</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"It appears that he plays even worse now," said the Czarina; "now he
+throws <i>pique</i> after <i>c&#339;ur</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>It was the fashion at this time at the Russian Court to throw in every
+now and then a French<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> word, and <i>c&#339;ur</i> in French means heart, and
+<i>piquer</i> means to sting and prick.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, because our commanders have been inactive. Were I only there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you have the kindness to go there?" asked Orloff mockingly.</p>
+
+<p>"If Her Majesty commands me, I am ready."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! this tarok-party would suffer a too great loss in you," said
+Katharine, jokingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, your Majesty might have hunting-parties at Peterhof," he said,
+consolingly, to the Czarina.</p>
+
+<p>This was a pleasant suggestion to Katharine, for at Peterhof she had
+spent her brightest days, and there she had made the acquaintance of
+Orloff. With a smile full of grace, she nodded to General Karr.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mind, then; but in two weeks you must be back."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! what is two weeks?" returned Karr; "if your Majesty commands it, I
+will seat myself this very hour upon a sledge, and in three days and
+nights I shall be in Bugulminszka. On the fourth day I shall arrange my
+cards, and on the fifth I shall send word to this dandy that I am the
+challenger. On the sixth day I shall give '<i>Volat</i>'<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> to the rascal,
+and the seventh and eighth days I shall have him as <i>Pagato ultimo</i>,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+bound in chains, and bring him to your Majesty's feet!"</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> "<i>Volat</i>" is an expression used in tarok to denote that no
+tricks have been made by an opponent.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> This is another term in the game, when the player announces
+beforehand that he will make the last trick with the Ace of Trumps.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>The Czarina burst out laughing at the funny technical expressions used
+by the General, and entrusted Orloff to provide the celebrated
+<i>Pagato</i>-catching General with every necessity. The matter was taken
+seriously, and Orloff promulgated the imperial <i>ukase</i>, according to
+which Karr was entrusted with the control of the South Russian troops,
+and at the same time he announced to him what forces he would have at
+his command. At Bugulminszka was General Freymann with 20,000 infantry,
+2000 cavalry, and thirty-two guns, and he would be reinforced by Colonel
+Csernicseff, the Governor of Szinbirszk, who had at his command 15,000
+horsemen, and twelve guns; while on his way he would meet Colonel
+Naumann with two detachments of the Body Guard. He was in particular to
+attach the latter to him, for they were the very flower of the army.
+Karr left that night. His chief tactics in campaigning consisted in
+speediness, but it seems that he studied this point badly, for his great
+predecessors, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Hannibal, &amp;c.,
+also travelled quickly, but in company with an army, whilst Karr thought
+it quite sufficient if he went alone. He judged it impossible to travel
+faster than he did, sleighing merrily along to Bugulminszka; but it was
+possible. A Cossack horseman who started the same time as he did from
+St. Petersburg, arrived thirty-six hours before him, informed Pugasceff
+of the coming of General Karr, and acquainted him as to the position of
+his troops. Pugasceff despatched about 2000 Cossacks to fall<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> upon the
+rear of the General, and prevent his junction with the Body Guard.</p>
+
+<p>Karr did not consult any one at Bugulminszka. He pushed aside his
+colleague Freymann in order to be left alone to settle the affair. He
+said it was not a question of fighting but of chasing. He must be caught
+alive&mdash;this wild animal. Csernicseff was already on the way with 1200
+horsemen and twelve guns, as he had received instructions from Karr to
+cross the river Szakmara and prevent Pugasceff from retreating, while he
+himself should, with the pick of the regiment, attack him in front and
+thus catch him between two fires. Csernicseff thought he had to do with
+clever superiors, and as an ordinary divisional leader he did not dare
+to think his General to be so ignorant as to allow him to be attacked by
+the magnificent force of his opponent, nor did he think that Pugasceff
+would possess such want of tactics as, whilst he saw before him a strong
+force, to turn with all his troops to annihilate a small detachment.
+Both these things happened. Pugasceff quietly allowed his opponents to
+cross over the frozen river. Then he rushed upon them from both sides.
+He had the ice broken in their rear, and thus destroyed the entire
+force, capturing twelve guns. Csernicseff himself, with thirty-five
+officers, was taken prisoner, and Pugasceff had them all hanged on the
+trees along the roadway. Then, drunk with victory, he moved with his
+entire forces against Karr. He, too, was approaching hurriedly, and,
+thirty-six miles from Bugulminszka, the two forces met in a Cossack
+village. General Karr was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> quite astonished to find, instead of an
+imagined mob, a disciplined army divided into proper detachments, and
+provided with guns. Freymann advised him, as he had sent away the
+trusted squadron of Csernicseff, not to commence operations now with the
+cavalry, to take the village as the basis of his operations, and to use
+his infantry against the rebels. A series of surprises then befell Karr.
+He saw the despised rowdy crowd approaching with drawn sabres, he saw
+the coolness with which they came on in the face of the fiercest
+musketry fire. He saw the headlong desperation with which they rushed
+upon his secure position. He recognised that he had found here heroes,
+instead of thieves. But what annoyed him most was that this rabble knew
+so well how to handle their cannon; for in St. Petersburg, out of
+precaution, Cossacks are not enlisted in the artillery, in order that no
+one should teach them how to serve guns. And here this ignorant people
+handled the guns, stolen but yesterday, as though accustomed to them all
+their lifetime, and their shells had already set fire to villages in
+many different places. The General ordered his entire line to advance
+with a rush, while with the reserve he sharply attacked the enemy in
+flank, totally defeating them. His cavalry started with drawn swords
+towards the fire-spurting space. Amongst the 1500 horsemen there were
+only 300 Cossacks, and in the heat of battle these deserted to the
+enemy. Immediately General Karr saw this, he became so alarmed that he
+set his soldiers the example of flight. All discipline at an end, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+abandoned their comrades in front, and escaped as best they could.</p>
+
+<p>Pugasceff's Cossacks pursued the Russians for a distance of thirty
+miles, but did not succeed in overtaking the General. Fear lent him
+wings. Arrived at Bugulminszka, he learnt that Csernicseff's horsemen
+had been destroyed, that the Body Guard in his own rear had been taken
+prisoners, and that twenty-one guns had fallen into the hands of the
+rebels. Upon hearing this bad news he was seized with such a bad attack
+of the <i>grippe</i> that they wrapped him up in pillows and sent him home by
+sledge to St. Petersburg, where the four-handed card-party awaited him,
+and that very night he had the misfortune to lose his XXI.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>; upon
+which the Czarina made the <i>bon mot</i> that Karr allowed himself twice to
+lose his XXI. (referring to twenty-one guns), which <i>bon mot</i> caused
+great merriment at the Russian Court.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The card next to the highest in tarok.</p></div>
+
+<p>After this victory, Pugasceff's star (if a demon may be said to possess
+one) attained its meridian. Perhaps it might have risen yet higher had
+he remained faithful to his gigantic missions, and had he not forgotten
+the two passions which had led him on with such astonishing
+rapidity&mdash;the one being to make the Czarina his wife, the other, to
+crush the Russian aristocracy. Which of these two ideas was the boldest?
+He was only separated from their realisation by a transparent film.</p>
+
+<p>After Karr's defeat he had an open road to Moscow, where his appearance
+was awaited by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> 100,000 serfs burning to shake off the yoke of the
+aristocracy, and form a new Russian empire. Forty million helots awaited
+their liberator in the rebel leader. Then, of a sudden, he cast away
+from him the common sense he had possessed until now&mdash;for the sake of a
+pair of beautiful eyes!</p>
+
+<p>After the victory of Bugulminszka a large number of <i>envoy&eacute;s</i> from the
+leaders of the Baskirs appeared before him, and brought him, together
+with their allegiance, a pretty girl to be his wife.</p>
+
+<p>The name of the maiden was Ulijanka, and she stole the heart of
+Pugasceff from the Czarina. At that time the adventurer believed so
+fully in his star that he did not behave with his usual severity.
+Ulijanka became his favourite, and the adventurous chief appointed
+Salavatk&eacute;, her father, to be the ruling Prince of Baskirk. Then he
+commenced to surround himself with Counts and Princes. Out of the booty
+of plundered castles he clothed himself in magnificent Court costumes,
+and loaded his companions with decorations taken from the heroic Russian
+officers. He nominated them Generals, Colonels, Counts, and Princes. The
+Cossack, Csika, his first soldier, was appointed <i>Generalissimus</i>, and
+to him he entrusted half his army. He also issued roubles with his
+portrait under the name of Czar Peter III., and sent out a circular note
+with the words, "<i>Redevivus et ultor</i>." As he had no silver mines, he
+struck the roubles out of copper, of which there was plenty about. This
+good example was also followed by the Russians, who issued roubles to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+the amount of millions and millions, and made payments with them
+generously. Pugasceff now turned the romance of the insurrection into
+the parody of a reign. Instead of advancing against the unprotected
+cities of the Russian Empire, he attacked the defended strongholds, and,
+in the place of pursuing the fairy picture of his dreams which had led
+him thus far, he laid himself down in the mud by the side of a common
+woman!</p>
+
+<p>Generalissimus Csika was instructed to occupy the fort Ufa, with the
+troops who were entrusted to his care. The time was January, 1774, and
+it was so terribly cold that nothing like it had been recorded in
+Russian chronicles. The trees of the forest split with a noise as though
+a battle were proceeding, and the wild fowl fell to the ground along the
+roads.</p>
+
+<p>To carry on a siege under such circumstances was impossible. The
+hardened earth would not permit the digging of trenches, and it was
+impossible to camp on the frozen ground.</p>
+
+<p>The two rebel chiefs occupied the neighbouring towns, and so cut off all
+supplies from the neighbouring forests. In Orenburg they had already
+eaten up the horses belonging to the garrison, and a certain Kicskoff,
+the commissary, invented the idea of boiling the skins of the
+slaughtered animals, cutting them into small slices and mixing them with
+paste, which food was distributed amongst the soldiers, and gave rise to
+the breaking out of a scorbutic disease in the fort which rendered half
+the garrison incapable of work. On January the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> 13th, Colonel
+Vallenstierna tried to break his way through the rebel lines with 2500
+men, but he returned with hardly seventy. The remainder, about 2000 men,
+remained on the field. At any rate, they no longer asked for food! A few
+hundred hussars, however, cut their way through and carried to St.
+Petersburg the news of what Czar Peter III. (who had now risen for the
+seventh time from his grave) was doing! The Czarina commenced to get
+tired of her adorer's conquests, so she called together her faithful
+generals, and asked which of them thought it possible to undertake a
+campaign in the depth of the Russian winter into the interior of the
+Russian snow deserts. This did not mean playing at war, nor a triumphal
+procession. It meant a battle with a furious people who, in forty years'
+time, would trample upon the most powerful European troops. There were
+four who replied that in Russia everything was possible which ought to
+be done. The names of these four gentlemen were: Prince Galiczin,
+General Bibikoff, Colonel Larionoff, and Michelson, a Swedish officer.
+Their number, however, was soon reduced to two at the very commencement.
+Larionoff returned home after the first battle of Bozal, where the
+rebels proved victorious, whilst Bibikoff died from the hardships of the
+winter campaign.</p>
+
+<p>Galiczin and Michelson alone remained. The Swede had already gained fame
+in the Turkish campaign from his swift and daring deeds, and when he
+started from the Fort of Bozal against the rebels his sole troops
+consisted of 400 hussars and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> 600 infantry, with four guns. With this
+small force he started to the relief of the Fort of Ufa. Quickly as he
+proceeded, Csika's spies were quicker still, and the rebel leader was
+informed of the approach of the small body of the enemy. As he expected
+that they only intended to reinforce the garrison of Ufa, he merely sent
+against them 3000 men, with nine guns, to occupy the mountain passes
+through which they would march on their way to Ufa. But Michelson did
+not go to Ufa as was expected. He seated his men on sledges, and flew
+along the plains to Csika's splendid camp. So unexpected, so daring, so
+little to be credited was this move of his, that when he fell on Csika's
+vanguard at one o'clock one morning nobody opposed him. The alarmed
+rebels hurried headlong to the camp, and left two guns in the hands of
+Michelson. The Swedish hero knew well enough that the 3000 men of the
+enemy who occupied the mountain pass would at once appear in answer to
+the sound of the guns, and that he would thus be caught between two
+fires; so he hastily directed his men to entrench themselves beneath
+their sledges in the road, and left two hundred infantry with two guns
+to defend them, whilst with the remaining troops he made his way towards
+the town of Csernakuka, whither Csika's troops had fled. Michelson saw
+that he had no time to lose. He placed himself at the head of his
+hussars, sounded the charge, and attacked the bulk of his opponents. For
+this they were not prepared. The bold attack caused confusion amongst
+them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> and in a few moments the centre of the camp was cut through, and
+the first battery captured. He then immediately turned his attention to
+the two wings of the camp. After this, flight became general, and
+Csika's troops were dispersed like a cloud of mosquitos, leaving behind
+them forty-eight cannon and eight small guns. The victor now returned
+with his small body of troops to the sledges they had left behind, and
+he then entirely surrounded the 3000 rebels. Those who were not
+slaughtered were captured. The victorious hero sent word to the
+commander of the Ufa garrison that the road was clear, and that the
+cannon taken from his opponents should be drawn thither. A hundred and
+twenty versts from Ufa he reached the flying Csika. The Generalissimus
+then had only forty-two officers, whilst his privates had disappeared in
+every direction of the wind. Michelson got hold of them all, and if he
+did not hang them it was only because on the six days' desert march not
+a single tree was to be found. In the meantime, Prince Galiczin, whose
+troops consisted of 6000 men, went in pursuit of Pugasceff. On this
+miserable route he did not encounter the mock Czar until the beginning
+of March. Pugasceff waited for his opponent in the forest of Taticseva.
+This so-called stronghold had only wooden walls, a kind of ancient
+fencing. It was good enough to protect the sheep from the pillaging
+Baskirs, but it was not suitable for war. The genius of the rebel leader
+did not desert him, and he was well able to look after himself. Round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+the fences he dug trenches, where he piled up the snow, on which he
+poured water. This, after being frozen, turned almost into stone, and
+was, at the same time, so slippery that no one could climb over it. Here
+he awaited Galiczin with a portion of his troops, while the remainder
+occupied Orenburg. The Russian general approached the hiding-place of
+the mock Czar cautiously. The thick fog was of service to him, and the
+two opponents only perceived one another when they were standing at
+firing distance. A furious hand-to-hand fight ensued. The best of the
+rebel troops were there. Pugasceff was always in the front and where the
+danger was greatest, but finally the Russians climbed the ice-bulwarks,
+captured his guns, and drove him out of the forest. This victory cost
+the life of 1000 heroic Russians, but it was a complete one! Pugasceff
+abandoned the field with 4000 men and seven guns; but what was a greater
+loss still than his army and his guns, was that of the superstitious
+glamour which had surrounded him until now. The belief in his
+incapability of defeat, that was lost too! The revengeful Czar who had
+but yesterday commenced his campaign, now had to fly to the desert,
+which promised him no refuge. It was only then that the real horrors of
+the campaign commenced. It was a war such as can be imagined in Russia
+only, where in the thousands and thousands of square miles of borderless
+desert scantily distributed hordes wander about, all hating Russian
+supremacy, and all born gun in hand. Pugasceff took refuge amongst these
+people. Once<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> again he turned on Galiczin at Kargozki. He was again
+defeated, and lost his last gun. His sweetheart, Ulijanka, was also
+taken captive&mdash;that is, if she did not betray him! From here he escaped
+precipitately with his cavalry across the river Mjaes.</p>
+
+<p>Here Siberia commences, and here Russia has no longer villages, but only
+military settlements which are divided from each other by a day's march,
+across plains and the ancient forests, along the ranges of the Ural
+Mountains&mdash;the so-called factories.</p>
+
+<p>The Woszkrezenszki factory, situated one day's walk into the desert, is
+divided by uncut forests from the Szimszki factory, in both of which
+cinnamon and tin paints are made, and here are to be seen the powder
+factory of Usiska and the bomb factory of Szatkin, where the exiled
+Russian convicts work. At the meeting of the rivers are the small towns
+of Stepn&agrave;ja, Troiczka Uszt, Magitn&agrave;ja, Petrolusk&agrave;ja, Kojelga, guarded by
+native Cossacks, whilst others are garrisoned by disgraced battalions.
+Hither came Pugasceff with the remnants of his army. Galiczin pursued
+him for some time, but finally came to the conclusion that in this
+uninhabited country, where the solitary road is only indicated by
+snow-covered trenches, he could not, with his regular troops, reach an
+opponent whose tactics were to run away, as far and as fast as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Pugasceff rallied to him all the tribes along the Ural district, who
+deserted their homesteads and followed him.</p>
+
+<p>The winter suddenly disappeared, and those mild,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> short April days
+commenced which one can only realise in Siberia, when at night the water
+freezes, while in the daytime the melting snow covers the expanse of
+waste, every mountain stream becomes a torrent, and the traveller finds
+in the place of every brook a vast sea. The runaway might still proceed
+by sledge, but the pursuer would only find before him fathomless
+morasses. Only one leader had the courage to pursue Pugasceff even into
+this land&mdash;this was Michelson. Just as the Siberian wolf who has tasted
+the blood of the wild boar does not swerve from the track, but pursues
+him even amongst reeds and morasses, so the daring leader chased his
+opponent from plain to plain. He never had more than 1000 men, cavalry,
+artillery, and gunners all told. Every one had to carry provisions for
+two weeks, and 100 cartridges. The cavalry had guns as well as sabres,
+so that they might also fight on foot, and the artillery were supplied
+with axes, so that, if necessary, they might serve as carpenters, and
+all prepared to swim should the necessity arise. With this small force
+Michelson followed Pugasceff amid the horde of insurrectionary tribes,
+surrounded on every side by people upon whose mercy he could not count,
+whose language he did not understand, and whose motto was death. Yet he
+went amongst them in cold blood, as the sailor braves the terrors of the
+ocean. On the 7th of May he was attacked by the father of the pretty
+Ulijanka, near the Szimszki factory, with 2000 Baskirs, who were about
+to join Pugasceff. Michelson dispersed them, captured their guns, and
+dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>covered from the Baskir captives that Beloborodoff, one of the dukes
+created by Pugasceff, was approaching with a large force of renegade
+Russian soldiers. Michelson caught up with them near the Jeresen stream,
+and drove them into the Szatkin factory. Riding all by himself, so close
+to them that his voice could be heard, he commenced by admonishing them
+to rejoin the standard of the Czarina. He was fired at more than 2000
+times from the windows of the factory, but when they saw that he was
+invulnerable they suddenly threw open the gates and joined his forces.
+From them he discovered the whereabouts of the mock Czar, who had at the
+time once more recovered himself, had captured three strongholds,
+Magitn&agrave;ja, Stepn&agrave;ja, and Petrolusk&agrave;ja, and was just then besieging
+Troiczka. This place he took before the arrival of Michelson, who found
+in lieu of a stronghold nothing but ruins, dead bodies, and Russian
+officers hanging from the trees. Pugasceff heard of the approach of his
+opponent, and, with savage cunning, laid a snare to capture the daring
+pursuer. He dressed his soldiers in the uniforms of the dead Russian
+soldiers, and sent messengers to Michelson in the name of Colonel Colon
+that he should join him beyond Varlamora. Michelson only perceived the
+trick when his vanguard was attacked and two of his guns captured.</p>
+
+<p>Although surrounded, he immediately fell upon the flower of Pugasceff's
+guard, and cut his way through just where the enemy was strongest. The
+net was torn asunder. It was not strong enough.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> Pugasceff fled before
+Michelson, and, with a few hundred followers, escaped into the interior
+of Siberia, near the lake of Arga. All of a sudden Michelson found
+Szalavatka at his rear with Baskir troops who had already captured the
+Szatkin factory, and put to the sword men, women, and children.
+Michelson turned back suddenly, and found the Baskir camp strongly
+intrenched near the river Aj. The enemy had destroyed the bridges over
+the river, and confidently awaited the Imperial troops. At daybreak
+Michelson ordered up forty horsemen and placed a rifleman behind the
+saddle of each, telling them to swim the river and defend themselves
+until the remainder of the troops joined them. His commands were carried
+out to the letter amidst the most furious firing of the enemy, and the
+Russians gained the other side of the river without a bridge, drawing
+with them their cannon bound to trees. The Baskirs were dispersed and
+fled, but whilst Michelson was pursuing them with his cavalry he
+received news that his artillery was attacked by a fresh force, and he
+had to return to their aid. Pugasceff himself, who again was the
+aggressor, stood with a regular army on the plains. The battle lasted
+till late at night in the forest. Finally the rebels retreated, and
+Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the
+Fort of Ufa. He speedily cut his way through the forest, and when
+Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
+him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
+clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
+charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
+appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
+the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
+from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
+pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
+Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
+other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
+away before him, and he burnt before their very eyes the town of Birszk.
+With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he acquired
+guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before Kazan,
+which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the seat of
+an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian Czars use
+at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar. If he
+could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it on his
+head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals Brand and
+Banner had but 1500 musketry for the defence of Kazan, but the citizens
+of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from within their
+ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General Potemkin,
+accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The Imperialists had
+as many generals and colonels in their camp as Pugasceff had corporals
+who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> deserted their colours, yet the horde led by the rebel stormed
+the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the first to scale the
+wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took refuge in the
+citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni Novgorod did not
+once look back.</p>
+
+<p>Pugasceff captured the town of Kazan, and gave it up to pillage. The
+Archbishop of Kazan received him before the cathedral, bestowed upon him
+gold to the value of half-a-million roubles, and promised that he would
+place the crown on his head immediately he procured it; it being in the
+citadel. Pugasceff set fire to the town in all directions, as he wanted
+to effect the surrender of the citadel garrison by that means. Just at
+this moment Michelson was on his way. The heroic General hardly allowed
+his troops time for rest, but again started in pursuit of Pugasceff. No
+news of him was heard, his footsteps alone could be traced. At Burnova
+he was attacked by a gang of rebels, whom he dispersed, but they were
+not the troops of Pugasceff. At Brajevana he came upon a detachment, but
+this also was not the one he was looking for. He then turned towards the
+Fort of Ossa, where he found a group of Baskir horsemen, whom he
+dispersed, capturing many others, from whom he learnt that Pugasceff had
+crossed the river Kuma; and he knew that he would find the rebel at
+Kazan. He hastened after him, meeting right and left with camps and
+troops belonging to his adventurous opponent. He found no boats on the
+river Kuma, so he swam it. Two other rivers lay in his way,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> but neither
+of these prevented his progress, and when he arrived at Arksz he heard
+firing in the direction of Kazan. Allowing but one hour's repose to his
+troops, he marched through the night, and at daybreak the thick dark
+smoke on the horizon told him that Kazan was in flames. Pugasceff's
+patrols communicated to their leader that Michelson was again at hand.
+The mock Czar cursed upon hearing the news. Was it a devil who was again
+at his heels, when he believed him 300 miles off? He decided that this
+must not be known to the garrison, who had been forced into the citadel.
+He collected from his troops those whom he could spare, and stationed
+them in the town of Taziczin, seven miles from Kazan, to prevent the
+advance of the dreaded enemy. Just as he was proclaiming himself Czar
+Peter III. in the market-place of Taziczin, a miserable-looking woman
+rushed in, and fell at his feet, embracing him, and covering him with
+kisses. This woman was Pugasceff's wife, who thought her husband lost
+long ago. They had been married very young, and Pugasceff himself
+believed her no longer living, but the poor woman recognised him by his
+voice. Pugasceff did not lose his presence of mind, but, gently lifting
+the woman up, he said to his officers:&mdash;"Look after this woman; her
+husband was a great friend of mine and I owe him much." But every one
+knew that the sham-Czar was no other than the husband of Marianka, and
+no doubt the appearance of the peasant woman told on the spirits of the
+insurgent troops. The most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> bitter and decisive battle of the
+insurrection awaited them. The night divided the two armies, and it was
+only in the morning that Michelson could force his way into the town,
+whence he sent word to the people of Kazan to come to his assistance.
+Pugasceff again attacked him with embittered fury, and as he could not
+dislodge him he withdrew the remainder of his troops from Kazan and
+encamped on the plain. The third day of the battle, fortune turned to
+the side of Pugasceff. They fought for four hours, and Michelson was
+already surrounded, when the hero put himself at the head of his small
+army and made a desperate rush upon Pugasceff.</p>
+
+<p>The insurrectionary forces were broken asunder. They left 3000 men on
+the battlefield, and 5000 captives fell into the hands of the victors.</p>
+
+<p>Kazan was free, but the Russian empire was not so yet.</p>
+
+<p>Pugasceff, trodden a hundred times to the ground, rose once more. After
+his defeat at Kazan, he fled, not towards the interior of Siberia, but
+straight towards the heart of the Russian empire&mdash;towards Moscow. Out of
+his army which was split asunder at Kazan he formed 100 battalions, and
+with a small number of these, crossed the Volga. Immediately he appeared
+on the opposite banks of the river, the entire province was enkindled:
+the peasantry rose in revolt against the aristocracy. Within a district
+of 100 miles every castle was destroyed, and one town after the other
+opened its gates to the mock Czar. The further he advanced the more his
+army increased and the faster his insurrectionary red flag<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> travelled
+towards the gates of Moscow. On their way the rebels occupied forts,
+pillaged and destroyed the towns, and the troops which were sent against
+them were captured. Before the Fort of Zariczin an Imperial force
+challenged their advance. In the ensuing battle, every Russian officer
+fell, and the entire force was captured. Again Pugasceff had 25,000 men
+and a large number of guns, and his road would have been clear to Moscow
+if the ubiquitous Michelson had not been at his back! This wonderful
+hero did not dread his opponents, however numerous, and like the panther
+which drives before him the herd of buffaloes, so he drove with his
+small body Pugasceff's tremendous army. The rebel felt that this man had
+a magic power over him, and that he was in league with fate. Finally, he
+found a convenient place outside Sarepta, and here he awaited his
+opponent. It is a height which a steep mountain footpath divides, and
+this path is intersected by another. Pugasceff placed a portion of his
+best troops on the ascending path, whilst to the riff-raff he entrusted
+his two wings. If Michelson had caught the bull by the horns with his
+ordinary tactics, he ought to have cut through the little footpath
+leading to the steep road, and if he had succeeded then, the troops
+which were at the point of intersection would have fallen between two
+fires, from which they could not have escaped. But Michelson changed his
+system of attack. Whilst the bombardment was going on, he, together with
+Colonel Melin, rushed upon the wings of the opposing forces. Pugasceff
+saw himself fall into the pit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> he had dug for others. The rebel army,
+terror-struck, rushed towards his camp. The forces that flew to his
+rescue fell at the mouth of his guns, and he had to cut his way through
+his own troops in order to escape from the trap. This was his last
+battle! He escaped with sixty men, crossed the Volga, and hid amongst
+the bushes of an uninhabited plain.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian troops surrounded the plain, whence Pugasceff and his men
+could not escape. And yet he still dreamt of future glory! Amidst the
+great desert his old ambition came back to him&mdash;he pictured the golden
+dome of the Kremlin, and the conquered Czarina. And with these dreams he
+suffered the tortures of hunger. For days and days he had no nourishment
+but horse-flesh roasted on the reeds, which was made palatable by
+meadow-grass in place of salt. One night, as he was sitting over the
+fire and roasting his meagre dinner on a wooden spit, one of the three
+Cossacks who formed his body-guard said to him, "You have played your
+comedy long enough, Pugasceff!" The adventurer sprang up from his place.</p>
+
+<p>"Slave, I am your Czar!" and whilst saying this he slew the speaker. The
+two others made a rush at him, struck him to the ground, bound him, tied
+him to a horse, and thus took him to Ural Sorodok and delivered him to
+General Szuvarof. It was the very same Ural Sorodok whence he had
+started upon his bold undertaking. From here he was taken to Moscow. The
+sentence passed upon him was that he should be cut up alive into small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+pieces. The Czarina confirmed the sentence, though her beautiful eyes
+had had great share of responsibility for the sinner's fate. The hangman
+was more merciful. It was not specified in the sentence where he should
+commence the work of slaughter, so he began at once with the head, and
+for this oversight he was sent to Siberia! Katharine about this time
+changed her favourite. Instead of Orloff, Potemkin, a fine fellow, was
+chosen.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="TAMERLAN_THE_TARTAR" id="TAMERLAN_THE_TARTAR"></a>TAMERLAN THE TARTAR</h2>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h3>
+
+
+<p>All around, as far as eye could range, not a palm, nor a plant, nor a
+blade of grass was to be seen. From one end of the horizon to the other,
+nothing on which the rising sun could cast a shadow! There was only a
+small hillock in the centre of this desert, and against this a man was
+resting, spreading out his hands upon the square stone which stood upon
+it. He had either just risen from sleep or from the recital of prayer,
+and, kneeling, he greeted the rising sun. His dress was similar to that
+of an Eastern mendicant, for he was covered with a long woollen cloak,
+and one could see through his wide-hanging sleeves the wounds on his
+arms which had been scorched by the sun. He was short, and lame with a
+crippled foot, and, although his hair and beard were already white, his
+face, which was ruddy and youthful, belied his age, for on his forehead
+no wrinkles were to be seen, and his eyes were bright and sparkling. The
+expression of his face was as grave and gentle as that of a philosopher
+or a pilgrim.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>To the eastern horizon of the desert, along the stony plain of Szivasz,
+a red pyramid arrested the sun's rays, and appeared through the morning
+mists like a red shadow, whilst westward, a long black streak of cloud
+seemed to hover, which the morning breeze was powerless to agitate and
+the light of dawn could not kindle into colour. Throughout the whole
+extent of the plains not a human voice was to be heard, but in the
+melancholy quietude some continuous and dismal sounds attracted the ear,
+proceeding apparently from the interior of the earth. Far and wide as
+the waste extended were these heartrending and distressing noises to be
+heard. It seemed as though the earth were sobbing, or as though one
+could recognise the sighs and groans ascending from lost souls in
+purgatory, numbed into faint echoes in their transit from the depths
+below. Or even as though the air were filled with the loud screams of
+evil spirits, coming and going one knew not whence or whither. On the
+face of the lonely wanderer no expression of fear was visible. He did
+not shrink shudderingly from the phantom of the plain, nor from the
+desolate picture spread before him. If he could pass the night alone
+amidst these ghostly surroundings, was it likely that he would be afraid
+in the sunlight?</p>
+
+<p>He knelt once again upon the hillock, touching the stone with his
+forehead, speaking in low murmurs as though into the sand:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Wisdom beyond all wisdoms! grant to me to acquire thy knowledge
+that I may wander<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> throughout the world, and accomplish what Thou hast
+left unfinished."</p>
+
+<p>Whilst saying this he rose, and, with dignified mien, gazed around the
+expanse of plain. These plains were the blessed soil of Ir&aacute;n. But
+yesterday it was the fourth paradise of Asia, while to-day it is a
+desert.</p>
+
+<p>The little hillock was the sepulchre of Abu Mozlim who killed half a
+million of people in his fierce and continuous fights.</p>
+
+<p>The philosopher, wanderer, and mendicant who rested upon it was Timur
+(the man of the iron sword), nicknamed also Timur Lenk (the lame), who
+in the language of flatterers was called Gurgan (the high and mighty
+lord), Szabil Kir&aacute;n (the master of all time), or Djeihangir (the
+conqueror of the world)&mdash;one of the greatest of all conquerors. On his
+head rested the crowns of twenty-seven countries, and from the Indus to
+the Volga twenty-seven nationalities groaned under his yoke.</p>
+
+<p>It was he himself, the dreaded Tamerlan. The red pyramid to the east was
+a pyramid of skulls, which had been piled up from the heads of 90,000
+soldiers captured during the war, whilst the immovable cloud towards the
+west was the smoke rising from Szivasz, which only two days ago was
+inhabited by 100,000 people and to-day held as many graves!</p>
+
+<p>The hollow murmuring from the centre of the earth was caused by the
+cries of 4000 Armenians, whom the victorious conqueror had caused to be
+buried alive in one vast timber-lined grave, so that their screams could
+be heard for some time. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> was their moans which came from beneath the
+earth, whilst the cripple rested on his club, made from the horn of the
+buffalo, and gazed with a satisfied air around the desert wastes which,
+yesterday a paradise, had been battered down by his horses' hoofs into a
+dismal plain. What he saw and heard was delight to his heart. The air of
+the desert mourned, and the earth moaned in concert.</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h3>
+
+
+<p>Timur's camp was always full of learned men, poets, and lute singers.
+When he devastated a country or uprooted a town, there was never a
+living soul left behind his track&mdash;not the sound of a child's cry, the
+bark of a dog, or the crow of a cock&mdash;everything was destroyed!</p>
+
+<p>But he spared learned men and poets. On the day of destruction his camp
+was a place of refuge to them, and they were guarded by his soldiers in
+order that no evil might befall them; and when he moved onwards he
+carried with him not only the treasures of the dead&mdash;silver, gold, and
+jewels, but also those of the living&mdash;art and science. His camp was
+swarming with astronomers, magicians, singers, poets, painters,
+gymnasts, engineers, doctors, conjurers, monkey-trainers, and such like.
+Timur caused them to be elegantly dressed and well fed, and paid them
+handsomely. He carried them about everywhere with him, in order that
+they might amuse all but himself. Why should he trouble his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> head with
+astronomy when he knew no star so sparkling as himself? Why should he
+learn history, when he was the one to make it; or listen to verses which
+were sung in praise of love, when he distributed captive maidens to his
+soldiers as a portion of their pay? If he had scientific men in his camp
+it was in order that they should exert their power over his people. Let
+them hear the poet's stories, and the recital of heroic deeds, and let
+the chroniclers write on their parchment what he dictated. Let comedians
+amuse the crowd, so long as it was acknowledged that all the amusement
+was owing to him.</p>
+
+<p>It was 830 in the Hedjir year, and the countries of two great conquerors
+adjoined one another. One was Timur, another was Bajazet, whose surname
+was Djildirim (the lightning). This latter name is also inscribed in
+letters of blood in the chronicles of other unfortunate nations, and a
+people who yet cannot fail to remember his name are still called
+Magyars. Bajazet was the victorious hero of Nicapol. Where two
+sword-blades touch there is sure to be fighting, and how could two
+conquerors of the world find room close to one another? Bajazet
+conquered three provinces which were in vassalage to Timur, and drove
+away the Khans of Taherten, Szarnchan and Aidin. The last he took
+captive, together with his wife. Timur, with whom the Khan of Aidin was
+a favourite, sent envoys to the Sultan, asking him to restore their
+provinces to his <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;s</i>, and to set the Khan of Aidin and his wife
+at liberty. The Sultan was inclined to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> slay these envoys, but was
+dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, who said, "Timur, the son of
+the desert, never causes the envoys sent by his opponents to be killed."
+However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with
+camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent
+word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin
+he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his
+troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.</p>
+
+<p>One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in
+thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes
+to appear before you."</p>
+
+<p>"For what purpose? If he wants money he can have it without seeing me."</p>
+
+<p>"He does not want money; he only asks to be received into your favour."</p>
+
+<p>"If he does not gain that, then, he will have stolen my time, and time
+is life; therefore, he will have deprived me of life, and will have to
+be considered a regicide!"</p>
+
+<p>Such thoughts as those were frequent utterances from Timur's lips, and
+it is a fact that he often had people killed for a mere trifle, and
+spared their lives as a sort of good joke.</p>
+
+<p>Shacheddin did not relinquish his request, and a few minutes afterwards
+Timur's guards hastened to bring the magician before their master. It
+was a mark of respect that all should enter hurriedly into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> the presence
+of this mighty man, and that they should throw themselves upon their
+faces on the ground. To walk slowly was considered a mark of haughty
+conduct by him.</p>
+
+<p>The magician was attired in grey robes, and on his head he wore a tall,
+silk cap. His beard was painted yellow, and his eyebrows blue, whilst on
+his face were inscribed Tallic words in green and red.</p>
+
+<p>"Magician," said Timur, with mocking condescension, "where have you
+learnt your art? Amongst the idiots of Almanzor, or in the company of
+Chinese clowns? Do you understand how to charm people back to this
+country from another, or <i>vice vers&acirc;</i>? Say, do you understand that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand that," answered the magician, bowing down to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"If, indeed, you understand that, then command that in one moment my
+beloved servant, the Khan of Aidin, shall stand before me; and, if you
+cannot do this, perhaps you will manage to transplant yourself at least
+a thousand miles from me, for my hands can reach even to that extent,
+and may possibly cause your death!"</p>
+
+<p>"It shall be as you command," said the magician. "Will you please to
+order your slaves to bring a vat of water before me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Shacheddin has tried that," said Timur, with cold irony. "Bring water
+to the magician!"</p>
+
+<p>A vat filled with water was placed before the magician, and he jumped
+into it, still wearing his clothes.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>Timur gazed upon him with doubting condescension, thinking to himself at
+the same time what kind of death he should bestow upon this deceitful
+mortal. All at once the water was divided and in place of the magician a
+fine, tall young man, with hanging locks, stood before him.</p>
+
+<p>It was the Khan of Aidin himself!</p>
+
+<p>Timur rose hastily from his seat, and flew to him as a lioness who
+discovers her lost cubs. He embraced the young fellow and carried him in
+his arms to a panther skin, where he told him to be seated before him.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you get here?"</p>
+
+<p>"As an acrobat," replied the Khan of Aidin, with a smile. "I escaped
+disguised as a rope-dancer from your enemy's country!"</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h3>
+
+
+<p>A Prince as an acrobat! Could there be a greater humiliation? Could
+there be anything in existence calling for more bitter revenge?</p>
+
+<p>"Which way did you come, and what towns did you touch?" asked Timur of
+the Khan, who was seated at his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"From Smyrna I escaped as a running footman. The people praised my
+running to such an extent that I felt compelled to prove how far I could
+go by running away altogether! In Aleppo I was a monkey-trainer! In
+Bagdad I turned somersaults! In Damascus I climbed by a rope to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>
+Tower of Minarch! At Angora I put sharp swords into my throat; whilst in
+Szivasz I swallowed burning coals before the son of the Sultan!"</p>
+
+<p>Timur Lenk counted on his fingers the names of the towns as the Khan of
+Aidin recapitulated them; Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Bagdad, Angora,
+Szivasz&mdash;not one stone of them should remain! And the people who had
+been so amused by the acrobatic performances of a prince should bitterly
+deplore this! Little time should be given them to lament!</p>
+
+<p>"And your children?" asked Timur of his <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The Khan gave a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"They are kissing the whips of Bajazet's slaves."</p>
+
+<p>"They shall not do so long!"</p>
+
+<p>Timur called Shacheddin before him, and had another letter written to
+the Sultan, taking care that every time his name was mentioned it should
+appear in a line with his in quite as large-sized letters, and not in
+different ink; whilst, in accordance with his usual custom, he signed
+his name at the top, not the bottom, of the page. The contents of the
+missive were not couched in angry terms, though they were written in a
+haughty manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not know that the greater portion of Asia is submissive to my
+sword and my laws? Do you not know that my army reaches from one sea to
+another, and that the world's rulers stand humbly at my doors imploring
+to be heard! What is your boast to me? A victory over the Christians?
+You have been victorious over them because the swords<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> of the
+prophet&mdash;blessed be Allah!&mdash;were in your hands. But who will defend you
+against me? Your only protector is the Koran, whose commands I obey as
+you do. Be wise! Do not despise your opponent because he was once
+insignificant. When the locust grows up, and its wings become red, it
+attacks the very birds who wished to consume it before!"</p>
+
+<p>Timur's envoys carried the message to Bajazet as quickly as Arab horses
+could gallop. In it he once more demanded that the captured towns of the
+Khan of Aidin should be restored to him in peace and quietness, and that
+his wife and children should be set at liberty, and he suggested that
+the joint armies of the Sultan and himself should afterwards start
+together and branch off in different directions, one east, the other
+west&mdash;one to destroy the Pagans, the other the Christians. Timur's
+messengers returned to his camp with Bajazet's reply, also as swiftly as
+Arab horses could gallop. Hardly had he opened the letter when Timur's
+face became flushed with anger. Bajazet's name was written in a
+different line to his, and was at least an inch larger, whilst Timur's
+name was similar in size to the rest of the lettering, and was in black
+ink! The name of the Sultan was in historic characters ornamented with
+gold. Nor were the contents of the letter couched in mild form. Timur
+saw here no flattering terms. He was not styled Gurgan, or Djeihangir,
+but "the Spoiler of Countries," "the Thief of the Desert," "the Worm,"
+"the Crippled Man," &amp;c.; and he had to read how his fame was disparaged,
+his guns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> ridiculed, his requests mocked at, and his threats ignored.</p>
+
+<p>"What I have conquered belongs to me, quite as much as does my own
+country. Those whom I have captured are my slaves. If you want them,
+come for them! Come, and bring with you your million soldiers with their
+miserable arrows, who will be quickly scattered by my heroes as chaff
+before the wind! Come, and find me face to face! Come! If not, may you
+be thrice separated from your wife!"</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h3>
+
+
+<p>"May you be thrice separated from your wife if you do not appear before
+me!" Every Eastern chronicler notes these words with shuddering horror!</p>
+
+<p>Ibu Shimah, Arabshah, Sherefeddin, and the Persian Khandemir all record
+them with the greatest loathing, and Christian historians, such as
+Phranzas and Chalcondylas, admit that a greater curse could not befall a
+Mussulman! "May you be thrice separated from your wife!"</p>
+
+<p>He who loves, nay adores, and respects his faithful wife, the mother of
+his children, who is to him a queen of the world as well as the queen of
+his heart, and he who knows that in accordance with the Alkoran it is
+easy to be separated from a wife, but should remarriage be desired, she
+must live with another man first, and only when he has thrust her aside
+can she again marry her first husband&mdash;he it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> who will understand
+what a frightful curse is this to a Mussulman!</p>
+
+<p>"May you be thrice separated from your wife!"</p>
+
+<p>It is a greater insult than to slap the face; it is far worse than to
+break in two your opponent's sword! Nay, it is even more than to have
+the graves of one's ancestors uprooted, and is a deadly offence to all
+Mussulmans. And when this Mussulman is a Monarch! and this Monarch,
+Timur!</p>
+
+<p>Timur Lenk did not appear to be furious. He did not howl with rage. He
+stood up, speechless, and held the letter towards heaven as though he
+would say, "Here is this letter; read it!" His sons and generals and the
+vassal princes were horrified to see him as he stood there in his camp,
+apparently speaking, though none could hear him nor understand him, save
+those who are unseen, for his lips remained closed. He folded the letter
+slowly and placed it in his breast in order that he might carry it there
+until he could revenge himself for the insult. After this, anger was no
+longer visible on his countenance. He did not put the envoys in chains,
+though Bajazet had so treated those sent by him; he did not have their
+noses and ears cut off. On the contrary, he gave them presents of golden
+caps and richly embroidered coats, and had them mounted on horseback and
+escorted through his camp, in order that they might count his standards
+and number his troops. He had the fighting elephants brought before
+them; he let them know that his cavalry wore armour beneath their
+uniforms, in order that they might go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> back to their master and tell him
+that Timur was quite prepared and would soon meet him, or should he
+decide to come himself, that he would await him. The Sultan was not to
+hurry! He would do well to prepare himself in a befitting manner to meet
+his enemy! Meantime Timur would bombard the Fort of Szivasz, the
+Sultan's most important stronghold!</p>
+
+<p>Timur Lenk looked down from the Taurus Mountains into the Valley of
+Anadot. A new Paradise stretched before his feet. He saw hundreds and
+hundreds of places amidst the green meadows, and as far as eye could
+reach his troops were to be seen; and before him, in the mouth of the
+valley, lay Szivasz, surrounded on either side by massive citadels and
+canals, quite unapproachable, owing to morasses. There was but one route
+by which the gates could be reached, and this was defended by triple
+walls and high watch-towers.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>The woeful news was brought to Bajazet that Timur had started his
+expedition against him. He had received tidings of this beforehand, and
+therefore had time to prepare himself. Szivasz had 100,000 inhabitants,
+amongst whom were 20,000 military. The Sultan reinforced them by sending
+10,000 Armenians, the pick of his regiments, who were commanded by his
+second son, Ertogrul. The fort, which was called the "Unconquerable,"
+was provided with ammunition for one year. One year's ammunition! Within
+that space of time barley<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> was being reaped in its courtyard after its
+capture by Timur!</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Timur's followers were divided into a camp of twenty-seven sections.
+Tartars and Persians formed the cavalry; Manchou miners made the
+subterranean ways, whilst the supple Hindoos scaled the walls. These men
+were all veritable magicians! They climbed the enemy's ramparts like
+snakes, they were quite nude, with ropes round their shoulders, and they
+carried sharp iron prongs in their hands, and in their teeth yataghans.
+They clung partly to the bricks, partly to the smooth surface of the
+walls, and resting on the shoulders of their comrades beneath them, they
+reached the summit. Whilst this living ladder, man on man, made its way
+up the giddy heights and attained the foot of the citadel, those beneath
+were being continuously dragged up after them. Had they swerved or
+fallen they would have been dashed to pieces. Those who first reached
+the citadel, crept slowly, like so many panthers, to the unsuspecting
+guards, and stretched themselves along the ground as their backs were
+turned, then threw the ropes suddenly over their necks and pulled them
+down to the earth. Thus they died without making a sound. When one or
+two thousand Hindoos had reached the citadel, they flew down to the
+watch-towers, strangled the guard, and cut the chains of the bridges.
+Then Timur's iron men, with swords in both hands, made a rush to
+slaughter the whole population. They had been frequently successful in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+these cunning attacks upon the walled towns. Strong forts which had been
+prepared to resist an attack of a year's duration had often fallen
+suddenly in one night into the hands of the conqueror.</p>
+
+<p>This fate awaited Szivasz! The gates and trenches had been well seen to
+by spies, but yet Timur was ignorant of one fact&mdash;viz., that the
+Sultan's son, Ertogrul (called the "nightbird," as he only slept in
+daytime), guarded the walls at night, like an owl.</p>
+
+<p>Timur and his men waited before the gates with drawn swords until
+midnight, and, indeed, until daybreak, to receive the expected signal
+for the onslaught to be made. The Polar Star and the Morning Star
+appeared in the skies, yet no sound was to be heard in the fort. When it
+was daylight, Timur caused twenty-four huge machines, used for flinging
+blocks of stone, to be brought into operation. With the bullets which
+were returned in answer, came back to him the heads of his own soldiers!
+From early in the morning till late at night the heads of his bravest
+men were thrown at him! Timur saw them coming in tens and twenties from
+the heights above him! They had been all selected athletes and clever
+mechanics who had completed their studies at Delhi, and had silently
+slidden down on ropes from the precipitous rocks of Georgia to surprise
+and slaughter the enemy. Until late at night these gory balls fell at
+Timur's feet. He could have added to the large collection he already
+possessed, but these were cherished heads,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> belonging to his own men!
+Ertogrul had indeed lashed the lion!</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Timur put into work 8000 miners! The wall of the fort was only
+to be got at on one side, and under this he made a subterranean way,
+walled it with timber, and filled it up with sulphur and resin, which he
+caused to be ignited. After the seventeen days' bombardment, the
+watchmen of Szivasz perceived a suffocating smell in the air, which
+seemed to settle heavily down upon them, and took away their courage.
+The earth beneath them became burning hot, the grass in the woods around
+the citadels dried up, and the walls could be heard to split and crack
+from top to basement. The heat became unbearable, the iron railings
+assumed a fiery red hue, whilst the grain stored away in the citadel was
+burnt as black as soot, and the wine-casks exploded. This was on the
+seventeenth day. On the eighteenth the walls of the citadel, together
+with the iron gates, fell down all together into a veritably burning
+hell! Then could be heard the Tartar cry of enthusiasm "S&uuml;r&uuml;n!"</p>
+
+<p>Thus were forced open the gates of the Ottoman Empire, and the enemy
+slaughtered the whole population of the town. Not a man, woman or child
+was spared on the day of the capture of Szivasz.</p>
+
+<p>The lives of four thousand Armenians were alone preserved. Timur was
+merciful enough to promise Ertogrul that he would spare their lives, and
+that he would not kill the young prince himself until he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> should himself
+desire it, and he kept his word. He caused the four thousand soldiers to
+be buried alive in a huge vault, whilst Ertogrul was handed over to his
+slaves in order that he might be paraded about the camp with a crown on
+his head and golden circlets about him, and thus shown to the people as
+some curious monster. Three days later the Sultan's son himself prayed
+to be killed, and Timur acceded to his request.</p>
+
+<p>On the very day that this happened, Timur absented himself from the camp
+and went to the grave of Abu Mozlim the Cruel, on the burying-ground
+where he could yet hear the curses and cries of despair which came from
+those whom he had caused to be buried alive. He gazed with admiration on
+the wilderness which his people had created, and passed a whole night
+there.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak his leaders came to him, bringing the copper gates of
+Szivasz, on which he rested his feet. These gates he caused to be
+afterwards sent to Samarcand, the capital of his empire, where were
+stored all the gates of those towns which he had captured or destroyed,
+making a terrible museum. They were placed at the base of an enormously
+high jasper monument raised to the god of the Delhi Brahmins, and were
+put along the roadway in order that every follower of the faithful might
+tread upon the emblems of Christianity with which they were adorned.</p>
+
+<p>After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the
+venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolp&aacute;n (the Morning
+Star), his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied
+the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these
+revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and
+caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur
+proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold
+and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men.
+Shacheddin, the historian, then pulled out his parchment, and read aloud
+his record of an event which he had described, in order that it might be
+handed down to posterity in the following terms:</p>
+
+<p>"In the year 830 of the Hedjir&mdash;the day after the death of the Prophet
+Omar&mdash;at the mere glance of the never-to-be-opposed Djeihangir, the
+world-renowned conqueror, the impregnable walls of Szivasz, built up by
+the Alaeddin to an enormous height, fell to the ground. A hundred
+thousand armed men who defended this fort fell down on their faces, and
+surrendered at the word of the mighty Szabil Kir&aacute;n. The gracious Gurgan,
+who has ever been merciful, gave his gracious pardon to those who were
+left alive, and forbade that their blood should be shed. May honour and
+glory attend his footsteps!"</p>
+
+<p>Timur Lenk praised this description, and, after bestowing gifts upon the
+chronicler, shouldered his club and proceeded to further shatter the
+gates of the town. The desert plain continued to wail and groan after
+this, and who knows when it ceased to do so?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h3>
+
+
+<p>I wonder at what hour commence the reveries of a heart which has not yet
+been opened fully into the light of life? What are the dreams which
+woman's soul creates whilst she remains yet between childhood and
+womanhood, whilst she is yet half a slave, half a queen, partly a
+careless being, partly an angel of light!</p>
+
+<p>On the day of the birth of Maria, the daughter of Ele&aacute;z&aacute;r, the King of
+Bulgaria, the horoscope which was cast for her by the soothsayers
+foretold that this woman would be the cause of a great monarch's death.
+King Ele&aacute;z&aacute;r naturally thought that this mighty monarch must mean
+himself, and on the day of her christening he left her in the convent
+where the ceremony had been performed, fully intending that she should
+never leave the place.</p>
+
+<p>Just about this time the Osman Emperors commenced to overrun Europe, and
+Ele&aacute;z&aacute;r was vanquished by them, and, in order to save himself from
+slavery, he offered his daughter as wife to the notorious enemy, in
+accordance with a custom then prevalent. At this time the Sultans had
+their own lawful wives, and it happened that Maria became the last
+Sultana upon the Ottoman throne. Those who followed her were merely
+favourites, and sat on footstools at the steps of the throne.</p>
+
+<p>Maria was just sixteen when she exchanged the walls of the nunnery for
+those of the Seraglio.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>One is as closely guarded as the other.</p>
+
+<p>In this abode of innocent virgins she was taught that the world is
+divided into three parts. The portion above is Paradise, which is
+inhabited by angels; that below is Hades, where the devils abide; and
+between these comes the earth, where dwell women, and heartless beings,
+alien to animals, and nothing more! The inhabitants of the upper and
+lower worlds are continually fighting one against the other, and it is
+the duty of the women who live on earth to pray incessantly and to
+glorify and honour the angels.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan sent his chariot to fetch Maria away, and she only descended
+from this at the door of the Emerald Room of the palace, where she was
+greeted by three hundred maidens.</p>
+
+<p>She now learnt to know that there was such a thing as a man in the
+world, and that he was the Sultan Bajazet! She believed in the existence
+of one man alone. The others she thought were all <i>Dzsins</i>
+(Christians)&mdash;that is to say, good and evil spirits, who continually
+fight against one another. She imagined Bajazet to be the chief of the
+good <i>Dzsins</i>, whom he led into battle against the bad.</p>
+
+<p>Maria was just sixteen, and she did not know that there was more than
+one man in the world, and that was her husband, the Emperor Bajazet,
+whom she loved, revered, and adored, and for whom she forgot everything,
+even all that she had been taught by the sainted, marble-faced sisters
+in the convent, concerning the paradise which is lit up by the rays of
+the stars.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>She was happy, and she made others happy. Both in the Seraglio and in
+the convent she saw none but women's faces. The only difference was that
+<i>here</i> were glitter and pomp, and nothing but cheerfulness and
+merriment, whilst <i>there</i> all was coldness and severe simplicity. <i>Here</i>
+she had a variety of enjoyments, whilst <i>there</i> she had to renounce all
+pleasure. <i>Here</i> her idol was a living man with a smiling countenance,
+who heaped love and flattery upon her, whilst <i>there</i> it was an unhappy
+Saviour who wore a crown of thorns, and whose pale face looked down upon
+her from the cross.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet reposed in the society of Maria after his victories, and it
+gratified him to recount to her how many of his opponents he had slain
+in one day, whilst she caressed his snowy beard, and kissed his wrinkled
+forehead, being glad to know that there were so many <i>Dzsins</i> the less
+in the world.</p>
+
+<p>Little did she know that those very <i>Dzsins</i> were of her own creed, and
+that they were having their last desperate fight for existence with him.</p>
+
+<p>The Odalisc (women of the harem) sang of the Sultan's glories in
+something like the following strain, in which Maria delighted: "The
+unbelievers disappear as a flock before a hailstorm, and as tow in the
+flames. They are burned in their own cities!" Maria applauded this
+singing, little knowing that amongst the <i>Dzsins</i> fell her own brothers!</p>
+
+<p>"Should you kill the King of the <i>Dzsins</i> bring me his eyes," she said
+one day to the Sultan.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet was a tender husband and a cunning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> inventor of tales. The next
+day he made her a present of two diamonds as large as a man's eyes, and
+he said they had come from the forehead of the King of the <i>Dzsins</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of other spirits were made, said Bajazet, of opals, emeralds,
+and rubies, and he, after each of his victories, heaped these precious
+stones upon her, and pearls, which he made her believe were the teeth of
+fallen <i>Dzsins</i>, were so heavy as to weigh down her bodice!</p>
+
+<p>"When will you start again on a fresh campaign? And what will you bring
+me back? I have myself plaited your whip and I have embroidered the
+saddle which your horse is to wear when it carries you into battle."</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Bajazet was at this time just starting on an expedition against the
+Greek Emperor, whose empire was then limited to the extent of the walls
+of Constantinople, which were being bombarded by his adversary.</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h3>
+
+
+<p>One morning the Sultan was awakened by what seemed to him to be the
+voice of a nightingale, and, looking up, he saw Maria near him kneeling
+down, with bent head and arms crossed. The Sultan gazed long upon the
+childish figure. He could not understand what she was doing.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>Finally he interrupted her. "Morning Star, what are you doing?"</p>
+
+<p>The girl started. "I am praying!"</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet had never seen anything like this before.</p>
+
+<p>"To whom do you pray?" he questioned her, with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"To God!"</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan shook his head, for amongst Mussulmans it is not customary
+for women to pray.</p>
+
+<p>"And why are you praying?"</p>
+
+<p>"That God may be with you when you start for battle, and that He may
+grant you victory!"</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan was overcome with joy at the idea that Maria should pray to
+her own God when her husband started for battle&mdash;a battle which was to
+cause the destruction of her God's own altars. This idea was sweeter to
+him than the thought of the blood to be shed.</p>
+
+<p>"Pray for me. Pray fervently, with all the orthodox prayers to which you
+are accustomed. I do not understand them, but your prophets will know
+how they can persuade the ruler of good and evil to act differently to
+what he had intended, perhaps, a million years before. Tell me about
+your prayers. I find delight in them. I do not believe in them, but you
+do, and that is pleasurable to me. And I swear to you by the name of my
+own prophet Allah, and in the name of your God, that when I return from
+the battle, concerning which you pray, you shall have whatever your
+heart desires. In the meantime think of some desire which is as yet
+unfulfilled&mdash;a de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>sire which is yet hardly existent&mdash;which may be only a
+fancy&mdash;waken it into life, demand it, and I will fulfil it!"</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Soon afterwards he left to bombard Byzantium.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan was right in his belief that the world's history does not
+depend on the tears of women. It was decided a million years ago that
+this rotten country was to fall to pieces, but no one man was empowered
+to hasten the destruction before the allotted day and year. Just when
+the siege was completed the frightful news reached Bajazet that the
+avenging Timur had accepted his challenge. Impregnable Szivasz had
+fallen, and his greatest hero, his son, had been killed by the enemy!
+Bajazet at once suspended the bombardment of Byzantium. He had neither
+time nor desire to attack the Christian Churches when an enemy, mightier
+than himself, approached. Byzantium, therefore, had for a short time to
+be spared the fate of having its name changed to Stamboul, just as, 450
+years later, it was spared from being rechanged to Byzantium, though the
+change was already looming in the distance.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet was quite certain that he would take Byzantium. It was a dream
+from which he could not free himself until it was fulfilled. Every one
+was against the war. The soothsayers prophesied evil to come. His
+leaders warned him not to commence the bombardment until he had finished
+with Tamerlan. But he would not be dissuaded. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> soothsayer who
+advised him to start against Timur before proceeding to Byzantium was
+dismissed from his presence.</p>
+
+<p>When Timur approached towards Szivasz the Sultan's advisers again
+implored him.</p>
+
+<p>"Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"</p>
+
+<p>When he was tired of hearing this he had a few of them killed, but the
+warning did not die with them. Though his advisers could no longer speak
+to him, a sad and moaning song was heard amongst the soldiers, the
+refrain of which was, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+The Sultan had to listen to this nightly from his tent, and when he
+forbade it to be sung in his camp, it was passed on to the shepherds in
+the Izmid mountains. In the silent night, and in the far distance, the
+wailing of the shepherds' horn was heard from the Pontus as far as the
+Sultan's tent, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet had the shepherds driven into the mountains, or killed, in order
+that he could no longer hear the cursed song! But he heard afterwards
+what he little wanted to believe, that both Szivasz and his hero had
+fallen, and had been destroyed by the hands of his enemy. Bajazet
+strewed ashes on his head! This was his own fault.</p>
+
+<p>He no longer attacked the gates of Byzantium. He left the subways in the
+midst of their construction, crossed the Pontus with his army, collected
+his generals and all his war-utensils, and was ready to start on his big
+and revengeful expedition. As he anchored near the Izmid mountain, a
+shepherd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> was seen close by, resting on his crook. Bajazid exclaimed to
+him: "Now blow with your horn that song to me: 'Do not let Szivasz fall,
+or your son be lost!'" The shepherd obeyed his commands and blew the sad
+and melancholy sounds, which were re-echoed in the mountains. They found
+an echo in the heart of the Sultan, who cried out, with grief and
+despair, that he had let his bravest son die; and from that moment the
+trumpeters were ordered to constantly play the melancholy song during
+the expedition to Szivasz.</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h3>
+
+
+<p>Timur Lenk did not hasten. He had time to look through the towns in
+which the Khan of Aidin had been made to turn somersaults. He also had a
+little account to settle with the Sultan of Egypt. It was a short and
+gory one. He only took with him the metal gates of the towns&mdash;the others
+he left behind amongst the ruins. He did not leave one stone upon
+another, but he piled up the heads of the inhabitants in heaps.</p>
+
+<p>This was his style of architecture!</p>
+
+<p>When Damascus was burnt down, the tops of the burning cypresses and
+cedars and the smoking resin perfumed the plain with their odour ten
+miles around. Of the holy town, only one minaret was left standing. It
+was that of the altar of the Ommiads, which was covered with lead, and
+the metal from it streamed down into the street. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> top being of wood,
+remained standing. It was this tower which the Khan of Aidin had
+ascended by means of ropes, and, according to the Turkish saying, when
+the day of resurrection comes, it will be here that the Lord will
+descend and give judgment as to life and death.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Bajazet was collecting his lightning forces, Tamerlan had time to
+destroy the three Iron provinces, and as many regiments, together with
+the Egyptian Mameluks. The heroic Syrians could not bar his way, and he
+made them fly like a cloud of mosquitos or a flock of swallows. Kings
+disappeared before him. The only one who escaped&mdash;and that by mere
+chance&mdash;was <i>Ferndzs</i>. In token of homage he sent gifts to the great
+Shah, nine, in number, of every kind, according to the religious system
+of counting in vogue with the Tartars: nine horses, nine camels, nine
+female slaves, and eight men slaves. Timur understood by this that it
+was intended to represent the sender himself as a ninth fraction, and
+for this reason he showed him mercy. Drunk with victory, thirsting for
+revenge, and loaded with treasure, Timur left Syria to meet his
+mightiest opponent, to whom he had now given time for preparation; and
+in the 804th year of the Hedjir, on a bright summer's day, he crossed
+the Araxes river!</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet, the "lightning," dreamt a waking dream of revenge as he sat by
+Maria's side, and caused his forces to be collected together to await
+his opponent's arrival on to the battlefield which was to decide the
+fate of the world. Under such a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> roof of sweet delight no one could talk
+of battles. Here even the Sultan did not deplore his lost son; Maria did
+not even know that he was the father of sons&mdash;men like himself, but
+minus grey beards! The Sultana found in her returned husband a return of
+all her happiness, and at this joyful moment she remembered the promise
+he had made to her before his departure, "Whatever your desire may be,
+it shall be fulfilled." And when her husband asked of her "What do you
+desire?" she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! my dear Djildirim, when will you next start against the <i>Dzsins</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"This year, perhaps this very month."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how I should like to see a living <i>Dzsin</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"That is impossible. A <i>Dzsin</i> is not a doll, my darling. Do you not
+know, from the tales your women tell you daily, that if you tread upon a
+talisman you will force a spirit to appear who will be always at your
+bidding, but who will rend you asunder if you do not keep him
+continually employed?"</p>
+
+<p>But she was so delighted with this new idea that she would not allow
+herself to forget it for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>Next day she said to Bajazet, "Bring me a <i>Dzsin</i>, and be here to order
+him about for me!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is impossible. <i>Dzsins</i> do not tolerate the presence of another man
+near a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"What idiots the <i>Dzsins</i> must be!"</p>
+
+<p>The third day she said to Bajazet: "My<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> lightning, my love, I have a
+desire which I want you to fulfil."</p>
+
+<p>"It is already fulfilled, if you really desire it."</p>
+
+<p>"What I wish is this, that when you next start against the <i>Dzsins</i> you
+will take me with you."</p>
+
+<p>Oh! tempting heart of woman!</p>
+
+<p>"My morning star, my darling, what would you do in the midst of battle?
+It is a cruel tempest, where lightning rages. The glittering stars have
+no place there. The thoughts of your heart are alluring songs heard
+amidst the thunder and tempest of the battle. There is no room there for
+your sweet soul. If you pass a mown meadow, you weep over every flower
+which has been trampled under foot. The battle blood flows from the
+cut-down human flowers. How could you see this? You would die at the
+sight of it."</p>
+
+<p>But women do not give way.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to see how thousands of Dzsins melt away at your glance; to note
+how they fall to the ground when you only look at them. Does not the
+song say this? 'They are numerous and come in great numbers. Their
+noise, like thunder, makes heaven tremble. My Djildirim steps forward,
+and they fall to the ground, and their voices fill hell.' Does not the
+song say, 'The opponents' leader is a metal idol, but Bajazet is the
+lightning, and the lightning melts the metal.' Does not the song tell
+the truth?"</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet had to admit that all was true which the women of the harem sang
+about him.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish to see you," urged Maria, "I wish to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> see you in the blaze of
+your glory. I wish to see you as Djildirim, as the lightning which
+pursues the enemy! I want to admire you in the height of your glory! I
+want to applaud at and delight in your glory! I want to be on the spot,
+so that I may weave the wreath, and place it upon your brow, so that,
+dazzled by the light of victory upon your face, I may fall at your feet!
+Will you not take me with you, my Djildirim?"</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan said, "Let it be so!"</p>
+
+<p>He was excited at the idea of fighting in the presence of his wife, and
+of proving to her, who believed him to be an earthly god, that he was
+one indeed. The desire being roused in his heart, he was now doubly
+thirsty for revenge and also for glory! His wife's eyes would watch his
+deeds; therefore they must be magnificent!</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h3>
+
+
+<p>In the year 1446, according to the Christian era, an enormous comet
+appeared upon the horizon. The golden tint of this phenomenon of the
+heavens was observed for six months amongst the stars, and when it was
+closest to earth two-fourths of the sky was covered by the dreaded
+spectre. When the sun set and the gigantic marvel made its appearance,
+the pale phosphor head drawing its tail after it, everything was lit up
+by its wonderful light. Forests, mountains, people's faces, appeared
+ghastly by its illumination,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> and all around amongst the mountains was
+to be seen a glow which appeared like a distant fire lighting up the
+sky. Only the reflection of the light was not red, but green; and when
+the moon made her appearance, with her silver-tipped crescent, the two
+heavenly wanderers followed after one another with curious wonder. Once
+it happened that the moon went into the vaporous element of the comet,
+and astronomers then calculated how many million miles it covered and
+how long it would take before it would touch the moon with its head in
+place of its tail. Then both would shoot down from heaven, and the Day
+of Judgment would arrive. Religious folk went on pilgrimages and awaited
+the <i>Dies Ir&aelig;</i>; whose herald was this Lampadias, the name given it by
+Greek astronomers. Under the fearful glitter of this heavenly
+phenomenon, which wandered over the horizon and lit up the entire
+surface of the earth, compelling the inhabitants to breathe its deadly
+poison, the two most dreaded men in the Mussulman world prepared to
+fight against one another in a life and death struggle. Sultan Bajazet
+had 420,000 men; Timur Lenk had 780,000. One million two hundred
+thousand fighting men, therefore, had to seek a suitable place amidst
+the Asiatic wastes, which would afford sufficient space for the blood
+required to be shed.</p>
+
+<p>The two conquerors of the world were not alarmed by the sign from
+Heaven. They not only divided between them the stars which led them, but
+they also cut the comet asunder! The head of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> Lampadias bent towards
+the west, and the thinner end of its long mane hung to the east. Bajazet
+said it was a sword which the Prophet had sent to him, and that with its
+aid he should kill the heretic Shit&aacute;&aacute;. Tamerlan, however, gave out that
+this was the same club which the Prophet had given into his hands, and
+that the head was turned towards the heretic Szunnita. The stars at the
+end of the tail he held to be the head of the club, with which he would
+lay him low! And so, the two greatest generals of the period started in
+search of one another with two enormous forces, and as quickly as they
+neared one another, so quickly did the dreaded star approach the earth!
+The two conquerors debated to themselves which of them would first grasp
+the comet by its tail!</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h3>
+
+
+<p>Both Bajazet and Timur Lenk did what no conqueror of the world ever did
+before or after them. They each carried their favourite wives with them
+to view the decisive battle of the world! It was as though they were to
+witness a dramatic spectacle, in which one million armed men took part,
+and by which the government of a portion of the world would be decided
+either to the right or to the left. Such a spectacle was surely never
+before presented by a general to his wife!</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet's wife was in the camp in an elevated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> tent made of muleskin.
+One thousand women riders went before, and one thousand after her, to
+keep from her gaze the face of every man. These were masculine women,
+accustomed to sword-handling, and to cutting off heads, women for whom
+men can feel but horror, and of whom it is difficult to form an idea.
+Bajazet headed this woman's camp with 10,000 veteran Janesars and old
+soldiers scarred with wounds. They were picked out from amongst the
+Nicapol victors. Every one of them was a hero, and their attacks on the
+enemy were always made simultaneously. To the right of Maria were 15,000
+Christians, mounted and mailed, and under the leadership of Stephen
+Lazaruvich, the Servian Waidwode. These were the most faithful adherents
+of the Sultan. The remainder of the troops were led by the Sultan's
+sons. Suleiman, the eldest, was in the centre of the camp; whilst the
+two wings, consisting of Turcomans and Tartars, were commanded by Is&aacute;
+and M&uacute;za. Amongst these troops were the people of the Khan of Aidin.
+Mustafa, another of the sons of the Sultan, led the heroic Arab troops;
+and Mohammed, yet another, was in command of the reserve. Timur Lenk's
+sons, Mir&aacute;n Shah, Chalit Shah, and Mirza Mohammed, were also in the
+camp. Fathers fought against fathers, sons against sons, and women
+against women! Mirza Mohammed Khan led his own troops, and each
+detachment was dressed in different colours&mdash;some, for instance, in red
+uniform and red bucklers, with red standards, red saddles, &amp;c., others
+in blue or yellow, white or black. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> they moved in square, it seemed
+as though figures were moving on a chess-board!</p>
+
+<p>The name of the place where the two opposing forces met was Csibuk Abad.
+It is an historic spot. Here Pompey and Mithridates fought a decisive
+battle! At the back stand the celebrated Stetta cedar-forests, and
+facing it are the endless plains where the tall oriental reeds grow in
+line from which the people cut stalks to make the stems of pipes,
+calling them from the place, Csibuk.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the eastern horizon the towers of the citadels of Angora were to
+be seen, whence Timur might be observed approaching. He was engaged in
+bombarding this place against the Bey Yakab, when the approach of his
+opponent caused him to raise the siege.</p>
+
+<p>Between the two forces was only one well (Miral) which supplied the
+district abundantly with water. The inhabitants were, therefore, right
+to call it the Sainted Well. Bajazet hastened to seize this before his
+enemy. He knew very well that he who secured it would have the advantage
+of tiring out his opponents, who would be forced out into the desert.
+Sheik Trzlan, an old Dervish, at one time an adherent of Timur Lenk, was
+the guardian of the well. As a follower of Shi he possessed magic power
+over the people.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet rode to this Sainted Well, and asked the Dervish for a drink of
+water out of it. He filled the jug, and gave it over to the Padishah
+with the usual blessing, "Glory be to Him who created clouds and
+wells!"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>The Sultan threw a golden piece to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked up
+the money and looked at the portrait. Then he returned it, saying, "Oh!
+my Lord, of what use is this money to me, when Timur Lenk's head is
+engraved here?"</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan dragged the coin out of the Dervish's hand and threw it with
+horror into the air, wondering how his enemy's money could possibly have
+found its way into his camp. Then he took out another gold piece, upon
+which he first looked earnestly; then, seeing his own likeness engraved
+upon the coin, he threw it to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked it up,
+and then, with marks of the greatest respect and reverence, he handed it
+back to him again.</p>
+
+<p>"Why here, my master, on this piece also is engraved Timur's portrait!"</p>
+
+<p>And so indeed it was.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet, who was now furious, took out a third coin, which he threw to
+the Sheik, who, on picking it up, showed him that again it bore the same
+superscription.</p>
+
+<p>"You scoundrelly magician!" shouted Bajazet in despair, "it is your
+delusive magic!" and he slashed the Dervish across the face and breast
+with his whip.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you for your gracious kindness, mighty lord," said the Dervish,
+putting his blood-stained face into the dust.</p>
+
+<p>Timur Lenk would not have acted like this. He allowed blood to flow in
+streams, but never in his life did he hurt a scholar or a Dervish.
+Afterwards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> when the infuriated Sheik ran bleeding from the breast
+through the streets of Chorazan, Timur Lenk, looking at him, smiled and
+said: "This is a sign that Chorazan itself, which is the breast of Asia,
+will fly to me voluntarily."</p>
+
+<p>And so indeed it came to pass.</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet was so certain of having obtained possession of the Miril well,
+that the next day he organised a hunting expedition to the ancient
+forest of Stetta for Maria's amusement. Whilst half of his troops were
+pursuing the stag or shooting game, and he himself was shooting wild
+peacocks, the enemy, at a distance of trumpet-call, commenced to pull
+down the stakes of his camp. In the evening, when the party returned,
+tired out, from the chase, Bajazet's son, Suleiman, who had been left
+behind with the rest of the forces, came to him in a furious state, and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow we shall have to face the enemy."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?" asked the Sultan, with surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Because we have no water!"</p>
+
+<p>"Surely the well has not dried up in one night?"</p>
+
+<p>"It has not dried up, but it is contaminated. The Dervish whose face you
+struck yesterday hung heavy stones round his neck last night and jumped
+into the well, where this morning he was found drowned. You know that
+when a man has been found dead in a well no one will touch its waters
+until the new moon. So the camp has been parched with thirst throughout
+the whole day!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! cursed Dervish!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! the Dervishes were all devoted to Timur.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> Beware, for he who was
+capable of killing himself might yet kill you! And now you had best
+decide whether you will retreat or make an advance to-morrow, for in
+this place it is impossible for us to remain longer."</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet angrily pointed to the watch-fires of Timur Lenk, and exclaimed,
+in hot fury, "Advance!"</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h3>
+
+
+<p>It is quite natural that two loving hearts should think and dream alike,
+but it happens often, too, that the hearts of two opponents who bitterly
+hate one another think in concord. That night neither Bajazet nor Timur
+shut his eyes. Both of them were tortured by the conjecture as to which
+of the two should lead the morrow's attack, prove victor, and destroy
+his adversary. They both anxiously awaited the break of day, for each
+longed to be first upon the battle-field.</p>
+
+<p>It was yet dark when the priests completed their morning prayer in
+Bajazet's camp, and as the Sultan stepped out from his tent, the 10,000
+Janesars, who stood ready for attack, commenced to sing the
+blood-curdling song which thus concludes:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Do not let your son be lost!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This was the Sultan's daily greeting, and he now stood face to face with
+his son's murderer! At the other end of the camp the dreaded signal of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+the <i>gurgach</i>, twice repeated, responded to the strains of the song, and
+this was accompanied by the screaming and clacking of the <i>kernai
+reveill&eacute;</i>. The <i>gurgach</i> was a big drum and the <i>kernai</i> a trumpet, and
+these signals announced that the attack had commenced. When the sun
+peeped out from behind the lilac-coloured mountains of Karadegh both
+camps were in marching order. The standards and the horses' tails used
+as banners were flying aloft in the centre, and the tails of two horses
+dyed red let it be known that two sovereigns were fighting face to face.
+Here were Bajazet's Janesars, while there were Timur Lenk's brave
+Samarcand troops, and between them two rows of fighting and mailed
+elephants were placed to form barriers. Skilful armed throwers of Greek
+fire were placed in towers with orders not to waste their arrows on
+other heads but those of princes. Timur, who was resting upon the bare
+earth, was greeted in turn by his officers, who stood with their horses'
+bridles in their hands, exclaiming:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Raszti ruszti!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>These were historical words by which leave was taken, and they signified
+"Justice" and "Aid." Amongst the rows of elephants stood a white one,
+the largest of all. This Timur had brought from the Court of the Prince
+of Burmah, where it used to be worshipped as a holy animal. On the back
+of this curious beast a tower had been erected, where the two favourite
+wives of the Khan, Tumanaga and Csolp&aacute;n, were seated. The one was the
+mother of his children, the other his latest favourite.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> Timur rode up
+to them before the commencement of the battle, greeted them lovingly,
+and unsheathed his sword before them. Raising it towards Heaven he
+exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Now may it be decided which of us is to be thrice separated from his
+wife!"</p>
+
+<p>Sheriff Said then knelt down upon the ground at Timur's feet, filled his
+hands with grass, and as a symbol of cursing and destruction, he threw
+this towards Bajazet's camp. Then turning towards Timur, with a
+trembling voice he murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"Go, and be thou victor!"</p>
+
+<p>To these words the trumpeters in camp responded.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side Bajazet had raised a high wooden tower for his
+wives, from whence they inspected as from an amphitheatre-box the
+magnificent and dreadfully dramatic spectacle which was being enacted
+before them by two real heroes. It could not indeed have been other than
+a truly novel spectacle to Maria. What a fearful array of <i>Dszins</i> she
+saw clad in iron and copper armour! Such garb surely could only be worn
+by inhabitants from another world! What tremendous camps! Surely only
+evil spirits who fly, constantly following one another through the air,
+could come in such large flocks! Likerbuli, the favourite songstress,
+was seated at Maria's feet when the attack commenced, and the strains of
+her lute seemed to bring the spectators into line to watch the battle
+which was proceeding before them.</p>
+
+<p>"Look how they come towards us, the cursed enemy! Seven detachments in
+seven colours like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> the rainbow! The leader&mdash;Timur Lenk's son&mdash;the devil
+whose name is Mirza Abubekr, rides before them. His armour is made
+entirely of rubies. How it sparkles in the sun! He who faces him, clad
+in dark armour, and seated on a black horse, is our hero, Lazaruvich. He
+can be recognised by his standards, which bear crosses. Hearken! how the
+earth trembles beneath the tramp of their horses. Listen! how the skies
+ring with the tumult of the battle!"</p>
+
+<p>"'S&uuml;r&uuml;n! S&uuml;r&uuml;n!' exclaim the cruel enemy. 'Allah! Allah!' scream our
+troops. 'Jesus! Jesus!' shout the men of Lazaruvich, but Allah listens
+also to these!"</p>
+
+<p>Maria secretly crossed herself, and prayed to Jesus.</p>
+
+<p>"Look, they have just come into collision. The clashing of the swords
+and axes upon their shields can be heard up here. Look, Timur's
+seven-hued troops become disordered. Lazaruvich sweeps them away before
+him as a whirlwind tosses the mown grass, or as the waves of the sea
+sweeps the shells towards the shore. Ha! Mirza Abubekr's chosen horsemen
+no longer keep to their own colours. White is mixed with red, and green
+has yellow patches like china fragments trodden under foot! Lazaruvich
+is the first hero amongst our troops!"</p>
+
+<p>Maria herself bent forward from her balcony, and applauded this
+wonderful spectacle, which was soon, however, obliterated from the sight
+of all in the reedy forest by the clouds of dust which were uplifted.
+Lazaruvich now commenced to pursue the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> despised Tartar horsemen who
+were fleeing towards Angora. Maria, intoxicated with joy, tore the lute
+out of Likerbuli's hands, and began to sing herself the song glorifying
+Bajazet and his hero "Korona" (Lazaruvich).</p>
+
+<p>The wild madness of the battle seemed to enter into her soul, and she,
+too, cursed the drunken enthusiasm of these demons who were always the
+cause of glory or trouble to her own people.</p>
+
+<p>In the dust-cloud of the battle, Khan Mohammed Mirza noticed his
+brother's flight, and rushed to his aid, with his crack Samarcand
+regiment. In the midst of the Csibukabad reeds he reached one of the
+wings of Lazaruvich, whilst Shah Miron, and Chalid with his archers
+threw themselves upon the troops of Prince Mustafa just where a gap had
+been caused owing to Lazaruvich having made a rush from thence upon the
+enemy. Mohammed, the Sultan's son, was there with reserve troops, but he
+had orders from Bajazet not to move until ordered to do so by him, for
+the deceitful enemy might make a circuit, and then there would be need
+for this reserve. Bajazet, in order to relieve his two sons, ordered
+Suleiman, who commanded the left wing, to throw himself upon Timur with
+his entire force.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h3>
+
+
+<p>Suleiman had 15,000 Tartars amongst his troops, principally inhabitants
+of Aidin and Saruch&aacute;n, who were led by Bey Illisz. These Tartar hordes
+were suddenly let loose in one body, being sheltered on either side by
+the Anatol troops. Timur's opposing force advanced slowly towards the
+rushing enemy. At its head was the Khan of Aidin who, on that day, wore
+neither armour nor helmet, and did not even draw out his sword from its
+scabbard, though he made straight for Illisz.</p>
+
+<p>The Bey of Illisz was twirling his pike, and turned it towards the Khan.
+As he nearly reached him and was within throw, the Bey exclaimed,
+"Defend yourself," and threw the pike at him.</p>
+
+<p>The Khan of Aidin smiled. Had he earned his bread for a whole year as a
+magician in vain that he should be frightened by a pike?</p>
+
+<p>"You had better defend yourself," he replied to Illisz, as the pike
+hissed towards him. He grasped it in its flight, and threw it back to
+the Bey, and the iron penetrated his cheek-bone. In this state his
+terrified charger ran away with him. Then the Khan of Aidin rose in his
+saddle and straightened himself on his horse's back, whilst with ringing
+voice he cried out to the Tartars, "I am your Khan! Return to me, and
+aid me against the enemy!" In a moment the entire Tartar force turned
+round to him and threw clouds of arrows<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> upon the Turkish horsemen
+behind them, and thus cut open a space in the left wing for the advance
+of Timur's troops.</p>
+
+<p>This move decided the fate of the battle. Bajazet could not believe that
+his Tartar soldiers would desert him at the sight and by the command of
+their late master. Those whom he believed to be his own followers had
+now actually gone over to the enemy! The Sultan's son Suleiman upon this
+stroke of ill-fate turned his horse's head, struck spurs into him, and
+was the first to leave the battle-field.</p>
+
+<p>Another son, Mohammed, commenced a fight with the reserve, but no
+success attended their efforts. The day was lost to Bajazet. The
+"lightning" was vanquished, and the iron sword prevailed; but Bajazet
+still could have escaped with the rest of his troops, and might have
+overcome his enemy from his European forts, could he have reconciled
+himself to the notion of flight. All round was heard the tumult of the
+tempestuous war. It was impossible to see, owing to the clouds of dust,
+and the women away yonder in the velvet tower no longer sang of victory,
+but trembling awaited the close of the day. Once during the afternoon a
+ray of hope sprang up, when Timur's force made an advance, and the
+Waiwode Lazaruvich cut his way through the Csibukabad reeds across
+Mohammed Mirza, and joined Bajazet in correct battle order. The Sultan
+stood motionless amidst his unconquered veterans. Lazaruvich, with his
+fagged out and wounded troops, who were blackened by dust and covered
+with the blood of the enemy, with broken<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> pikes and torn standards,
+suddenly appeared before the Sultan.</p>
+
+<p>Lazaruvich hardly recognised him.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it you, my faithful friend?" the Sultan asked, with emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"It is I, father. Escape; the battle is lost!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then let me perish," replied the Sultan. "You had best return. You have
+wife and children, and have yet a long life to live."</p>
+
+<p>"God can alone bring help," answered Lazaruvich, and quitted the
+battle-field.</p>
+
+<p>It was already twilight. The escaping forces were seen in all
+directions. Only 10,000 Janesars stood steadfast round Bajazet. Since
+the morning they had been thirsting for water: now they thirsted for
+blood! They could have had plenty of time and opportunity for escape,
+for Timur did not attack them until later on. The night came on; the sun
+disappeared, and the comet&mdash;the dread of heaven and earth&mdash;shone out on
+the sky. By the aid of its demoniacal glitter Bajazet could see the
+opponent's army. He was not frightened, either by the star or by Timur's
+victory, and motionless he stood with his ten thousand men on the spot
+where half a million men had already perished. Then Timur raised his
+hand to heaven, as though he would grasp the flaming club, and with it
+strike his enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, so be it," he said, and with this he gave the signal to start his
+troops of mailed men, the Dzsagata horsemen and the rows of fighting
+elephants, against Bajazet's Janesars. Maria heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> tremblingly from her
+tower the bellowing of the elephants. "Ah! the <i>Dzsins</i>, the <i>Dzsins</i>!
+But Bajazet will pursue them and rout them asunder, for he is the
+'lightning.'"</p>
+
+<p>The flying Greek fire opened the attack. From the elephants' towers the
+blinding sparks came in clouds, and created dazzling colours in this
+night battle, whilst arrows shot at the same instant from all sides. The
+Janesars fought and died speechless, as though they were not men, but
+spectres. The two forces fought without a word. Only the clanking of
+their swords spoke. Oh! the <i>Dzsins</i>, the <i>Dzsins</i>!</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly one of the flaming arrows cut its way through the ranks of the
+Janesars, and flew to the women's tower, igniting a velvet curtain, and
+so setting the whole place on fire. The women, terror stricken, rushed
+down from the burning amphitheatre, which, in a few moments, was as a
+burning torch in the midst of the camp, lighting up the spectacle of
+slaughter. Immediately Bajazet saw this his heart gave way, and he
+turned back with his suit of horsemen, and, leaving behind him the
+fighting Janesars, he galloped towards the women. Maria was then lying
+on the earth, her face covered with dust.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, the <i>Dzsins</i>&mdash;the <i>Dzsins</i>! "To horse quickly, by my side, away to
+the mountains!" exclaimed the defeated "lightning," lifting his wife
+from the dust, and with these words he escaped from the field. One
+thousand brave horsemen and two thousand fighting Amazons accompanied
+them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> Mahmud Khan saw the Sultan's flight, and rushed after him with
+4000 Dzsagata horsemen. Until midnight he pursued him up to the foot of
+the mountain. The soldiers left behind fought with Timur's men whilst
+the Sultan got away.</p>
+
+<p>The Khan of Dzsagat did not relax his search after Bajazet, whose
+horsemen and horses fell to the right and left, and by daybreak only
+forty men remained. The Sultan was, therefore, left almost alone with
+his women. He then stopped and awaited his pursuers. He was clad in
+impenetrable armour, and held a good Damascus blade in his hand, for he
+had to defend his beloved harem. Ten of his pursuers fell before their
+swords could touch him, but finally becoming dazzled by the frequent
+strokes of his sword, he fell down from his horse at Maria's feet, where
+he was captured. Maria had to see the face of her demigod become pale
+and besmirched with dust. His eyes were heavy, and from his lips issued
+impotent curses.</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h3>
+
+
+<p>Timur Lenk was playing chess with his favourite son. The young prince
+was commonly known as Schach Roch (castleing). He had been called this
+because it was he who had invented the chessmove where the king changes
+places with a castle. Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to
+Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood
+the captured<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne
+for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!</p>
+
+<p>Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent,
+leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made
+you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is
+ready. You will not be watched by any one. You will find there your wife
+and your son Muza, who have been taken prisoners, and they will remain
+with you. I only ask you one thing. That is, your solemn promise not to
+attempt to escape from me by trickery whilst I remain fighting your
+sons. If we can conclude peace, then you can return quietly to your
+country, for Allah does not permit two faithful Sultans to humiliate one
+another! Therefore you had best give me your solemn word of honour."</p>
+
+<p>Bajazet was moved by his opponent's generosity, so he gave his solemn
+word, accompanied by a grasp of the hand, that he would not attempt to
+escape from Timur Lenk's camp. After this he was led to a pompous tent,
+where his wife and son awaited him. The tent was magnificent, and those
+whom he loved were there, yet it was a tower in place of a kingly
+throne. Schach Roch!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h3>
+
+
+<p>"So long as you keep your sovereign word to me you will be regarded as a
+Sovereign in my camp." This was Timur Lenk's promise to his opponent.
+Whichever direction Bajazet took, he was received with the honours paid
+to a Sovereign, and imperial pomp surrounded his tent. Overnight, whilst
+the captive Sultan was walking in front of his camp, he found a screw of
+parchment lying before him, on which the following words were written:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">My Sultan</span>,&mdash;Your sons are coming with fresh forces
+against Tamerlan; Jacob Bey will break upon Angora.
+The Waiwode is returning with reinforcements. Be
+prepared. We are making a subterranean way from the
+Bakery which will lead into your tent. To-night all
+will be ready. Be ready yourself also. At daybreak
+disguise yourselves as bakers, and you can escape with
+your wife and sons into the open, where you will find
+your horses awaiting you. Be ready!</p>
+
+<p class="alignright">"<span class="smcap">Your Friends!</span>"</p></div>
+
+<p>This letter was too tempting for Bajazet, and he eagerly seized the
+opportunity offered. It was indeed a fact that a subterranean way was
+made to his tent, but it was Tamerlan's workmen who constructed it! At
+midnight the hammering of the subterranean poleaxes let the Sultan know
+that his rescuing body of moles were coming! The earth gave way under
+his feet, and from a narrow passage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> human heads rose up from the earth
+before him. "Come!" whispered the head which ascended from the earth's
+depths. "Come!" And the Sultan followed the enticer, taking with him
+Maria and his son Muza. They could only proceed in bent form along the
+footpath, holding one another's hands. Finally the neck of the cavernous
+way became visible. The extreme end was the Bakery oven. When Bajazet
+was going to step out from the low opening, some one put out a hand to
+assist him, and when he emerged he who had given him a helping hand did
+not release his own. The Sultan looked at him. Timur Lenk stood before
+him!</p>
+
+<p>"What! Is this your sovereign word?" he softly demanded of the terrified
+Bajazet.</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan saw that he was trapped. Timur threw away his hand from him:</p>
+
+<p>"This is not the hand of a Sovereign. It is the hand of a slave."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he turned away and left him to himself. Bajazet saw only the
+executioners before him, carrying chains and iron rods in their hands!</p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="newchapter"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h3>
+
+
+<p>Timur was not an ordinarily cruel man&mdash;satisfied to be able to bathe
+himself in the blood and break the limbs of his opponents. He was a
+veritable poet and artist in mercilessness! He required poisoned arrows
+by which to strike his foes. He did not want to kill Bajazet, but he
+wanted to drive him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> mad. After this attempt at escape he had a cage
+made for him out of iron rods, wherein he caused him to be imprisoned,
+and he placed the cage on a car and had it drawn about the camp. A crier
+preceded this, pointing out with his pike this spectacle to the curious
+multitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is a captive Sultan; a celebrated wild animal whose name is
+Bajazet, the King of Kings, the Padishah, the Master of the Seas and
+Earth, a crowned king who has got four hundred thousand soldiers, foot
+and horsemen. Look at the conqueror of the Round World! who is the only
+Master from East to West! He is in the cage!"</p>
+
+<p>Ha! ha! ha! laughed the armed crowd gathered together. Bajazet sat mute
+and motionless inside the iron bars as though nothing could hurt his
+feelings. The crowd threw jibes and curses after him, and the youth
+threw oranges and walnuts into his cage as it is customary to do to
+monkeys. But Bajazet's face did not change. The crier now formed the
+idea of playing on the drum and cornet an air which evidently amused
+him, and which ended in the refrain "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your
+son be lost!" If anything could fill the captive's heart with bitter
+sorrow it was this song! Oh, had he only listened in time to this! Oh,
+if he had not in the days of his pride forbidden it to be blown by the
+shepherds of Izmid! Had he but only hastened in time to the rescue of
+his son Ertogrul, he would not then have had to listen to it from the
+cornet of this bear-dancer and buffoon,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> who now paraded a King in place
+of strange animals!</p>
+
+<p>The fellow carried him away in his cage up to the hills where the heads
+of his heroes were piled up. On the summit of these piles were placed
+here and there the heads of leaders, whose turbans fluttered in the
+wind! Bajazet knew these faces too well! They were the heads of his most
+trusted veterans. He had frequently distinguished them for their
+services, and kissed their faces after victorious battles! Now they
+stared at him with glassy eyes from the top of these piles raised from
+the heads of his troops! After this buffoon had carried the Sovereign
+captive about the camp, he returned with him to Tamerlan. The Khan, his
+sons, and the vassal princes, the Khan's wives, and the slaves of the
+Court were taking part in a <i>f&ecirc;te</i>, and at the height of its amusement
+the gilded iron cage arrived with its sad captive. A vanquished Sultan
+brought thus before drunken slaves!</p>
+
+<p>Mockery and shouts of laughter greeted the appearance of the conquered
+lion from his intoxicated victors, and still Bajazet's face remained
+unchanged! Timur Lenk himself was drunk. Wine, victory, and
+revenge&mdash;this triple inebriety filled his veins.</p>
+
+<p>"This glass I raise to the health of the master of half of this world,"
+exclaimed the conqueror, and threw the contents upon his opponent's face
+in the cage.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Bajazet's face remained unchanged!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>"Bring fresh wine&mdash;more women slaves," said Timur Lenk, thumping with
+his hand, and Bajazet saw the figure of an elegant slender woman walking
+totteringly forward. On her head rested a floral wreath. Her hair hung
+loosely and carelessly around her. Her silken mantle was rent from top
+to bottom in accordance with Tartar fashion. This woman tottered, for
+she was herself intoxicated. She went forward to fill the Khan's glass,
+and in her Bajazet recognised Maria! This was the final blow to the
+captive Sultan when he saw his wife so humbled and tottering towards the
+Khan's footstool. Then he sprang up from his seat and grasped the iron
+bars of the cage, and burst out ravingly, "Oh, you demoniacal beast,
+Timur! You crippled dog, who have buried your soul's better part in your
+useless foot, and remain here living in this world, half of you a demon!
+You are no vanquisher of men! You have never wholly been a man. You can
+only revenge yourself on women. You grave-worm, who chew treacherously
+what a greater hero than you has let fall! Detestation rest upon your
+filthy name! Every woman will execrate you as a coward, and will throw
+your image on the ground to be played with and broken by her children.
+Disgrace be upon you and ignominy rest upon your belongings&mdash;you, who
+were hatched by a slave and will be buried by the executioner! You were
+born to drive camels, you wretch, and your father, who died on a
+dust-heap, was a better man than you! Faugh! I spit upon you! This will
+be the best<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> spot in your filthy glory! Curses be upon you and upon your
+offshoots! Your soul to hell, and your bones to the dogs! Your name to
+derision! I shall await you, where both of us are to meet!"</p>
+
+<p>With these words he struck his head with such force against the iron
+railings that he fell down dead.</p>
+
+<p>Tamerlan could no longer joy in his opponent's impotent fury.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Timur Lenk arranged a pompous funeral for Bajazet. His entire troops
+came out to accompany the body. On his tombstone he caused to be
+engraved a recital of his glorious deeds, and he commanded the Sultan's
+women to wail and mourn for him. As he returned from the funeral
+ceremony his historian, Shacheddin, came before him, to read out what he
+had written down concerning the event, for the benefit of future
+generations. It was as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"When Timur Djeihangir defeated his enemy and captured him, he treated
+him as a brother. He placed him next to him at table, calling him
+friend, and treated him with the distinction due to a Sovereign. When
+Bajazet, following fate's decree, departed to his ancestors, he had him
+buried like a King, and raised a royal mausoleum over his ashes. Glory
+be to Him who sees everything!"</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>The Comet disappeared, and did not destroy the Earth after all!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="VALDIVIA" id="VALDIVIA"></a>VALDIVIA</h2>
+
+
+<p>Valdivia is the name of a Chilian province; also of the river which
+there pours down from the mountains into the plains: and likewise of a
+city which is remarkable for its architecturally constructed
+bamboo-bridge, and for the fact that every man you meet in the street is
+called Rocca, and prides himself on his ancestors having been the
+ancient rulers of Chili and walked about there barefooted. Now the
+inhabitants have degenerated into wearing boots and they talk Spanish.
+Even, however, after centuries of blood-mixture by intermarriage, the
+men of the nation are still peculiar for a certain kind of beard which
+grows very thin, whilst the women still possess somewhat bronzed
+complexions and a love of ornamenting their hair with long feathers and
+snake-skins. Although the male population retain a traditional fondness
+for slaughtering an enemy when they get fairly hold of him, they no
+longer, like their fathers, hunt the wild boar; this unfortunate animal,
+indeed, having long since been hunted out of existence. The noble
+Roccas, no longer occupied with the chase or war, have become merchants.
+One, Bria Rocca, is a great sugar-planter; another, Marco Rocca, owns a
+huge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> coal-mine; and a third, Alvarez Rocca, does a nice little business
+in the slave trade.</p>
+
+<p>The Rocca is a fine, powerfully built man, six feet in height, whom one
+would not care to meet in a lonely road. The native woman is a handsome
+creature with beautiful eyes, whom one would be charmed to meet in a
+lonely road were it not that she is a little too quick in slapping one's
+face.</p>
+
+<p>Descendants of a long kingly lineage, these people to-day go about the
+streets and along the banks of the river selling Spanish onions and
+little trinkets.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Valdivia, situated on the river, had a widely different
+aspect three hundred years ago. At that time stood there the bamboo
+palace of Bria Rocca, whose fa&ccedil;ade rested upon two mighty bamboos
+resembling, in appearance, a couple of polished marble columns. The
+whole palace was built of this same wood. Its walls were curiously
+carved, and, but for its majestic dimensions, it might have reminded you
+of the toy palaces you build in childhood. Its doors and windows were
+made of interwoven tree branches, whilst its roof was thatched with
+agave leaves. In front of the palace was a balcony where Bria Rocca was
+accustomed to hold councils with the sages of his nation, and from this
+balcony two doors opened into the interior. One of them led into the
+apartment of Bria Rocca. It was an immense lofty room, and the ceilings
+were lined with jaguar skins, while the walls were covered with the
+skins of the black buffalo. Here and there hung axes and hatchets,
+arrows, specimens of the dreaded tomahawk, sundry warlike weapons of
+stone, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> deadly globe which, furnished with sharp teeth and
+hurled at an enemy, would not leave his body until it had torn out his
+heart. Finally, in a row, were ranged various trophies of victory,
+including a blood-stained helmet which the king had worn.</p>
+
+<p>The other door led into the queen's apartment. It was finely painted
+with the dye obtained from the native indigo trees, whilst its ceilings
+were covered with curiously woven mats. There were two magnificent
+bedsteads in the room, remarkable for the beauty of their coverlets and
+still more for that of the curtains with which they were hung; for had
+not Queen Evoeva spun them with her own hand? It was no wonder that Bria
+Rocca had chosen her to be his wife; for what woman in the land could
+weave such gorgeous tapestry as she, or prepare such delicious cheese?
+It was said of her, moreover, that in the whole dominions there was no
+woman of such entrancing beauty, her eyes being ablaze with all the
+colours of the finest opal; and if she only threw one momentary glance
+through her long, dark eyelashes she could tame the fiercest tiger&mdash;and
+even man himself. Her figure was exceedingly beautiful, and when she
+danced before her husband she would gracefully curve her head backwards
+and downwards until she could kiss her own heel. Yet she was wonderfully
+powerful, and if she was suddenly attacked by a jaguar she would press
+the beast to her bosom until she had crushed it to death. One might,
+therefore, easily imagine how highly her embraces would be prized by a
+man whom she was really in love with, and what pleasures would lurk in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+one kiss from her sweet lips. Once, when the king had been poisoned in
+the shoulder by an arrow, she herself sucked the poison out. She was,
+consequently, very ill for a year afterwards, and the king, of course,
+thenceforward loved her more passionately than ever.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>In the happy land of Chili the trees never cast their beautiful green
+leaves and the flowers never hide their heads in consequence of the
+cold. The bears do not betake themselves to slumber during the winter
+season; and the singing birds do not periodically fly away to a warmer
+climate. Summer, in this region, is only distinguished from winter by
+the fresh budding of the flowers, by the falling of cocoa-nuts from the
+trees; by a glittering appearance assumed by the stem of the <i>hevea</i>
+tree, which then sheds its juice in abundance; by the strewing of the
+ground with the nuts of the urcur tree, and by the flowers of the <i>pao</i>
+tree casting off their wool. There is no difference between the seasons
+but these, except that winter means a six weeks' spell of rain.</p>
+
+<p>About that time a great f&ecirc;te is held in honour of the gods of the
+<i>hevea</i>, the <i>urcur</i>, and the <i>pao</i>, who have provided their chosen
+people with so many good things. On this occasion the inhabitants would
+cut open the bark of the hevea tree, from which would flow a white fluid
+which, when boiled by the fire of the urcur nut, was changed into a
+leathery solid, from which they manufactured all kinds of fancy articles
+in order to sell them to the surrounding countries, who, not knowing the
+secret of manufac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>ture, were ready purchasers. On the day of the
+festival the male inhabitants would wash their skin with the sticky
+juice of the hevea, and then cover their bodies with the beautiful white
+wool which comes from the pao-tree, whereupon they painted themselves
+with gorgeous colours, and the whole covering looks as if it grew to
+their flesh. The women were not, however, permitted to practise this
+custom; they had to content themselves with ornamenting their necks with
+rows of coral, their ears with snake-pendants, and their waist with a
+girdle of long feathers.</p>
+
+<p>When the flowers are beginning to open afresh, and the beautiful roses
+for which this land has so long been famous commence to re-expand, then
+the summer is approaching, and a f&ecirc;te is held in honour of the goddess
+Morinka. The <i>morinka</i> is a gigantic flower which, growing from the
+bottom of the lake, expands the petals of its flower on the surface. So
+huge is it that one single petal would suffice for the cradle of a
+child, while a single flower will perfume the entire neighbourhood far
+and wide.</p>
+
+<p>At the time when the morinka commences to spread forth its beauty the
+inhabitants bring sacrifices to the goddess, who, if in a good temper
+and auspicious, causes the flower to expand freely and with great
+beauty. In this case there will be a splendid harvest; but if the flower
+is scanty and reluctant to open, then the goddess is angry&mdash;there will
+be dearth, drought, and plague, and a foreign foe will invade the land.</p>
+
+<p>The home of the Aruacans was indeed a happy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> land. The gigantic walls of
+the Andes mountains surrounded it like a fortification, and the steep
+mountain clefts cut it off from its neighbours, whose curiosity, desire
+of conquest, and thirst for treasures made them long to explore its
+unknown regions. It would have been useless for them to build bridges
+across the tremendous waterfalls that tore up the mountain peaks; in
+vain would they have made tunnels through the massive mountains; in vain
+would they have constructed winding pathways over the ridges; a December
+rain would have destroyed all man's labour. If that were not sufficient
+to protect the country from invasion, the Andes mountains had four
+mighty forts in addition&mdash;whose names were Maypo, Peteroa, Chollan, and
+Antuco. They were volcanic mountains. If only one of these strongholds
+would have started the campaign against the conquerors there would have
+been an end to all toils of theirs; the roads would have been replaced
+by precipices, while the valleys would be covered with lava and
+icebergs; the plains would be concealed by avalanches dotted over them
+like soap-bubbles; the entire district, with its cliffs and waterfalls,
+would appear in a different light, as though in a huge kaleidoscope:
+towering hills would have taken the place of running waters in the
+mountain basin.</p>
+
+<p>One day two hundred strangers appeared before Bria Rocca's town;
+peculiar looking people&mdash;such indeed as the good inhabitants had never
+yet beheld in their country. Straight to the Palace of Bria Rocca did
+the two hundred horsemen ride along, in presence of curious crowds and
+with sound of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> trumpet. Then the leader placed his soldiers in line, and
+a respectful message that he should allow them to pay him their respects
+was sent to the Cazcique. The leader's name was Valdivia, now for the
+first time pronounced in that territory. Did not the land of Chili
+tremble when she heard this name for the first time? Did not the river
+swell? Did not the volcanic mountains which had lain dormant for a long
+time burst out into violent eruption? No, oh no! They are deceived who
+imagine that the soil is mother of her people and that she feels and
+grieves over her sons' dangers. The soil is a coquette who delights in
+strangers, reveals her bosom to them, and to them as to others gives her
+bloom; she makes love to a new-comer and protects him from hostile
+attacks; on the graves of her old admirers does she grow him flowers.</p>
+
+<p>Why should she not in the present instance? Were not the Spaniards
+stately men, superior to the ancient inhabitants? Their whole apparel
+was bright, and sparkled; the sun could see himself in their glittering
+buckles, the breeze found an attraction in their fluttering ribbons. And
+how much more intellectual were they than the old inhabitants! Why, they
+could actually hold communication by means of signs, and towards
+whatever direction they desired could shoot out fire by means of metal
+tubes; they could travel by ocean, and they knew those who lived beyond
+it; they could build high-towered palaces from stones, and from small
+threads they made delightful raiment; from seeds they prepared such
+savoury dishes! Why should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> not the land prefer them to her old
+inhabitants! Bria Rocca has already heard of the fame of those white
+fairies&mdash;rumour travels unaided&mdash;for now Pizarro had long conquered
+Peru, which is divided from Chili only by the snow-peaked Cordillera
+mountains. He accorded a warm reception to Valdivia; he conducted him to
+his palace, asked him to be seated on his finest bear-skin, and placed
+before him the best coca drinks in cocoa-nut shells. And no one could
+prepare them so well as Evoeva! Then Valdivia could talk the language of
+the Redskins; he acquired their tongue and primitive phrases and could
+talk as well as if he had been an Inca.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentle Cazcique," he said to Bria Rocca, "brethren never come to visit
+you with strong and friendly arms. In one hand they hold glittering
+pearls and jewellery, which would gracefully adorn your women's necks,
+also fire-concealing liquor which exhilarates the sad ones and
+strengthens the feeble; it cools in hot weather, warms in cold. The
+other hand contains sharp iron which would cut your shields, and
+fire-throwing implements which aim from a distance! You can choose which
+one you please. We do not ask much of you, only give us that little hill
+you call Guelen, that we may build ourselves a shelter there, near the
+Matocko river. Consider your reply to my proposal."</p>
+
+<p>Bria Rocca puffed thrice from his hookah, and while looking through its
+smoke, pondered what he should say.</p>
+
+<p>"You remarked that you are white brethren and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> that you come with full
+arms; in the one hand carry presents, in the other guns. We are
+accustomed to catch monkeys in a similar manner; in one hand we hold
+fruit, in the other spears, and when the animal approaches for the fruit
+we hurl the spear at it. We desire not your presents&mdash;neither those from
+the right hand nor those from the left. Our women are pretty enough
+without your pearls, we are in good spirits without your liquors, and if
+you have more effective guns we have stronger arms; and if you present
+fire, we throw poison, which also brings death. If you wish for the
+Guelen mountain in exchange for your pearls and liquors you will not get
+it; if you ask it in return for sharp swords and fiery arrows, once
+more, you will not get it; but if you ask it nicely, you can have it
+gratis."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the 'nice' phrase, gentle Cazcique?"</p>
+
+<p>"That you will never do us any harm, that you will leave us in peace and
+not destroy our forests."</p>
+
+<p>Valdivia promised the Cazcique that they would remain faithful brethren,
+and as a proof of eternal friendship they both drank water from the
+river Matocko out of a pumpkin-shell. They then broke the shell and
+divided its pieces as a token of the sealed friendship, the idea being
+that just as the pumpkin-shell could not be put together without mutual
+consent, so they themselves could not be happy the one without the
+other. They finally smoked the pipe of peace and parted company.
+Valdivia mounted his horse and his followers went away, leaving behind
+them a cask filled with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> "drink of wisdom"&mdash;the phrase by which the
+Spaniards designated brandy when speaking of it to the Indians.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian fathers asked Bria Rocca to divide the spirit amongst them,
+in order that they might all taste it and become as wise as the white
+people&mdash;"And such slaves as the Peruvians," thought Bria Rocca, though
+he did not say so. The spirit of the great Tao-tum had blessed him with
+the art of keeping judiciously silent. He poured out the spirit into a
+large tank and placed all the curious people around it, remarking that
+when he gave the signal they should bend down and drink to their hearts'
+contents. Bria Rocca then lit a long camphor laurel switch, which burned
+with a white flame, and twirled it round his head, thereafter dipping it
+into the tank. Hardly had the burning shoot touched the tank's contents
+when, in a moment, they became ignited, and the wonderful white
+transparent liquid began to burn with a pale blue flame from every part
+of the vessel's surface. The Indians recoiled in terror from this
+strange phenomenon, but Bria Rocca thrust his switch into the flaming
+fluid, and the blazing drops were spurted over their naked bodies like a
+shower of fire-sparks. He then grasped the edge of the tank and poured
+out from it the flaming liquid, which followed the Indians as they
+retreated. Even those of them who managed to escape carried on their
+heels some flames, and a certain amount they dropped at each step they
+took. The good people asked no more to taste the wise men's spirit, and
+the Spanish calabasse did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> have the same destroying charm over them
+as it did over their copper-coloured brethren.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>In the Tlenoch legendary lore there was a strange and ancient tradition,
+originated long before the Spaniards set foot on that soil. According to
+one legend the Queczalcot gnome had appeared hundreds and hundreds of
+years before in South America; its face was white, with a beard and
+moustache, and it taught the people what herbs to eat, also chronology,
+the use of copper, and the building of houses. The gnome remained there
+for a century, spreading happiness all over the country. Then it
+disappeared across the sea, towards the east, promising to return
+hundreds of years thereafter, when it would teach much more. Well! the
+legend has just been fulfilled. The blessed white-faced, black-bearded
+descendants of Queczalcot have come, and have brought many nice things.
+In the rich Aztec province of Tlenoch this teaching was very easy; the
+Aztec tribe were already an extremely submissive people; they knew
+already the value of gold and apparel; they had their own fashions and a
+rich capital, which overlooked on one side a salt-water, and on the
+other, a fresh-water, lake. Around the earth were built houses,
+pyramids, and sacrificial <i>teocallis</i>, where at holiday time hundreds
+and hundreds of their chosen men are sacrificed to their bloodthirsty
+gods. Gold and men's lives were of small value, but pleasures were
+expensive. No wonder, therefore, that the Spaniards taught them so
+quickly how to appreciate their imported pleasures. But in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> Chili the
+gold was still under the soil; the people were treading upon it, not it
+upon them. Their hatred of foreigners existed from time immemorial, and
+also the desire to preserve their ancient customs, which they
+worshipped. So the Spaniards found them very bad pupils, their alluring
+words were not appreciated by the old ones; their presents were not
+esteemed by the young; the women's eyes refused to rest upon them. These
+people could be subdued by bold and daring means only.</p>
+
+<p>Valdivia gave wonderful presents to Bria Rocca for the Guelen
+mountain&mdash;a fully caparisoned horse, a kingly present and one worthy of
+acceptance being amongst the number. Cazcique could not refuse such a
+gift, and after having learnt to ride was pleased to know how he looked
+on horseback. At that time the proper use of the noble horse was unknown
+to the Indians. Valdivia had calculated well. As soon as Bria Rocca
+became possessed of his horse he rode about for several weeks upon the
+Salt Plains, and employed his time in pursuing herds of musk-ox in the
+high and luxuriant prairie grass, never dreaming that the Spaniards were
+building a fort on the top of Mount Guelen. When the Morinka f&ecirc;te was
+about to be held, Bria Rocca, according to established custom, ordered
+every man to retire from the scene; the Morinka f&ecirc;te was for women only,
+and no man's eye was allowed to witness it. On such occasions the people
+would retire to the forests to hunt; in town none were left but children
+and old women; the young married women and maidens were at the Morinka
+lake, and nobody was allowed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> to disturb them. Let that man beware who
+would dare to set eyes on this f&ecirc;te! He would carry the sentence of
+death upon his face. Although he should hide in forest after forest yet
+would he be traced out and killed for presuming to invade the Morinka
+f&ecirc;te. The heavenly flower <i>morinka</i> is herself goddess amongst flowers;
+a most peculiar plant is she; eleven months of the year she reposes
+under water, twelve feet beneath the surface. During this time she has
+no actual existence. When her birthday arrives, which it never fails to
+do, for it falls at that precise date when the day is longest and the
+night shortest, all of a sudden the lake gets covered with brown and
+orange-coloured bubbles a span long, which float on the surface like
+many small boats. One day later the bubbles will burst open, and the
+knotted membranes will expand, enormous cup-shaped leaves coming out,
+whose inside is painted a pale carmine colour, which glitters on the
+rich and fleshy fibres of the leaves like the inside of an autumn peach.
+Its light green netted veins turn to a bright gold as they approach the
+stamens, the leaves begin to develop with astonishing rapidity, and
+spread on the water's surface like round tables. The pale carmine enamel
+changes into a mild green colour, and the veins that from yellow and
+lily colour have become carmine in netted form divide it up into 1000
+squares. The tremendous leaves grow and extend with visible rapidity;
+some of them are a fathom in width. Thus they cover the Morinka lake
+with a wonderfully rich carpet, over which, indeed, one may walk to and
+fro. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> wide leaf may bend, but it will not become filled with water
+under the tread. A man's weight is no more to it than is a butterfly's
+to an ordinary flower. Ten days afterwards the buds&mdash;their huge closed
+cups as large as a child's head&mdash;burst from under the leaf, resting
+sideways owing to its weight. The outer leaves, which are white and
+netted, are as large as melon slices; two days afterwards they have
+changed to a pink colour, and on the night of the fourth day they burst.
+The flower does not bend any more, but stands straight.</p>
+
+<p>As the cup bursts open many white petals appear from the light pink
+calyx. An indescribably sweet perfume spreads all over the district; and
+so intoxicatingly delicious a sensation does it produce upon those who
+have inhaled its pure and virgin fragrance that a woman forgets she is a
+woman and imagines herself a fairy. On the fifth and sixth days the
+flower opens quite, and one petal after another develops; on the seventh
+day it appears in its fullest glory.</p>
+
+<p>The petals have snow-white branches, coloured deep red; their centre is
+of a rich gold colour, containing thousands of thready moulds. The
+length of the calyx is then from three to four spans. The Morinka f&ecirc;te
+takes place on the night when the flower opens. It is held at new moon,
+under a dull sky; for so sensitive to light are the petals of our fairy
+plant that with the moon's light even they open but half-way; when the
+sun shines they shrink together again; but the stars' cold glitter is
+very dear to them, as also are those star mimics<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> which are visible from
+afar, and whose virgin brilliancy does not affect the picturesque
+senses, I mean the fire-fly.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> By the most serious people of serious Europe, this plant
+has been named "the Queen." <i>Victoria Regina</i> is the name by which it is
+called. It is to be found in royal collections only.</p></div>
+
+<p>When the flowers begin to burst open millions of fire-flies appear by
+the lake&mdash;attracted perhaps, by the perfume; possibly they are born with
+the flower, so that each may be fated to take delight in the other. Now
+the tremendous calyx, with a light green colour like diamond glitter,
+bends to and fro. Nature's artistic hand has ornamented its crown with
+precious stones, for thousands of dewdrops, those stars of floral
+creation, are glittering from the petals, while the fire-flies are
+continually flitting from one leaf to another, thus forming a fairy-like
+walk; on the majestic flower glistens the sovereign fire-fly, the
+magnificent <i>avra</i>, the lenten insect, on whose glittering colours the
+petal shades are thrown. The night is moonless, but rich in stars; the
+surface of the Morinka lake is covered with a green leaf carpet, on
+which many little stars are shining as if in heaven above. The dense
+banana grove that surrounds the enchanting lake gives it the appearance
+of a temple encircled by thousands of green columns. And the surface of
+the lake forms a magnificent altar, whence, from the gigantic calyx, the
+most delicate sacrifice, the most delightful odour, rises to heaven. By
+the sides of the lake, on a grassy plot, the Indian women solemnise the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+sacrificial rites. Thousands of the most beautiful virgins and childless
+women, placed in three circles, dance about and sing praises to the
+Great Spirit who brought forward the budding season of the
+water-flowers, and who awakes the feeling of the slumbering heart.
+Whoever saw them from a distance would imagine them to be fairy circles.
+Each woman had a chain of glittering gems round her neck. These in fact
+consisted of many hundred Brazilian insects, which the Indian women
+strung upon thread and used as neck-ornaments. The colours of the
+insects were continually changing from green and marigold to a ruby hue,
+and <i>vice vers&acirc;</i>, and surpassed in brilliancy the most precious stones.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of the circle stood Queen Evoeva. She was distinguished by
+her wearing three insect chains on her neck. Round her waist, too, was
+arranged a broad girdle, ornamented with many dazzling insects; their
+light was not, however, sufficiently great to allow one to see the
+shadow cast by this charming woman. In her dark hair there glittered a
+splendid "lampyris," whose moon-shaped light was thrown upon the lovely
+creature's face, to which it imparted a pale serenity.</p>
+
+<p>Could one have seen those women one would have imagined they were
+fairies. But who would have presumed to approach them? Would not the
+Great Spirit have been enraged at the breaking of a divine command?</p>
+
+<p>Indeed an Indian would not have dared to do this, even were he an enemy.
+A Spaniard, however, does it, though a friend.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>All of a sudden wild noises of men were heard in the banana groves; the
+women, frightened, rushed into one group. "Men, it seems," cried they,
+"have broken into the Holy Grove on the eve of the Morinka f&ecirc;te." It was
+Valdivia with one hundred and fifty of his comrades. When Queen Evoeva
+recognised the Spaniards she stepped forward with stately tread, and
+boldly asked Valdivia how they dared appear on the sacred ground while
+the Morinka f&ecirc;te was being held, and when every man was required to keep
+at a respectful distance. Valdivia's reply was to embrace the queen's
+beautiful form, and to implant a kiss upon her cheek, burning with fury.
+"Ah!" shouted the Indians, "our queen has been kissed by a strange
+man&mdash;a kiss has reached her lip on the eve of Morinka! The kiss of a
+<i>strange man</i>!" The Indian women madly attacked Valdivia and his
+comrades and began a severe struggle for her majesty. Here, then, was a
+conflict between feeble, naked women, unarmed, and strong mailed men.
+With nails and teeth did the former fight, like wild beasts, considering
+but little the wounds which they themselves received. The Spaniards were
+obliged to have recourse to arms against those enraged attacking ones,
+and before long red streams were flowing towards the Morinka
+lake&mdash;streams of women's blood. But Evoeva was freed from Valdivia's
+grasp, and one moment gave her time to jump into the lake, whose surface
+was covered with huge nymphean leaves. These clod themselves upon her
+and did not part asunder again. Hundreds upon hundreds of women followed
+the queen's example, throwing themselves into the lake<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> to escape their
+pursuers. The Spaniards saw none rise to the surface; the nymphic leaves
+floated there as before. But the women swam under the smooth leaf-carpet
+to the river's mouth; the river emptied itself into the lake, and
+farther up formed a waterfall ten fathoms in height; across this the
+women proceeded. Those only escaped who were neither dashed by the rocks
+nor suffocated by the waterfall.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Bria Rocca was until late evening pursuing a jaguar&mdash;which he contrived
+to reach and kill&mdash;on the wild plains. It was nightfall when he returned
+with his men and reached the banks of the Mapocho river, where they
+encamped.</p>
+
+<p>Bria Rocca led his horse to the river to drink. The noble animal had
+been moving about quickly the whole day and was very thirsty; but as
+soon as it bent its head towards the water it retreated and galloped to
+its master, shaking all over; then, tossing its mane from side to side,
+it broke into a violent snorting. The king thought that the horse had
+smelt an alligator in the stream, and conducted it to another part; but
+she manifested the old signs of aversion. "There is blood in the water,
+Bria Rocca, woman's blood; your horse dreads it, and that is why he
+refuses to drink." It was now midnight, but still a light seemed to
+shine from the forest. "Look how soon it gets light now!" said the
+Indians, awaking from their dreams. "It is not daybreak, nor is it the
+flames of a burning forest." The king's town was in flames, and beneath
+that spot where the sky seemed brightest blazed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> royal palace. The
+strangers had set it on fire! Towards daybreak there was great commotion
+in the grove. At first a few crying children rushed thither and awoke
+the slumbering camp. These informed his majesty that the white strangers
+had disturbed their dreams and made fire on the roofs of their homes,
+and that those who could not run away were slain. Then came other
+messengers to Bria Rocca, and the heads of slaughtered women and
+children could be seen floating down the river. These could not speak to
+the king, but sufficient could be gathered from their silent
+communication.</p>
+
+<p>Bria Rocca stood on the river bank, resting on his axe and looking at
+the floating human remains. All around the following raving noise was
+heard, "It is all up with Matocka town; the dreaded of the Guelen
+mountain have by stealth broken into it and bombarded it with metal
+dragons; they have killed the children, carried away the women, and
+burnt down the king's palace."</p>
+
+<p>The King himself replied quickly, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria
+Rocca should bathe his feet in blood, and should warm himself at his
+town's flame, Bria Rocca is silent and refrains from shedding tears."</p>
+
+<p>The old people told his majesty that the white men from the Papua and
+Omagua tribes had secretly collected in force in the Guelen mountain,
+and during the Morinka f&ecirc;te, when all had withdrawn to the forest, had
+attacked every village of Bria Rocca and destroyed them; and that
+Valdivia was proclaimed master of the country. The King quietly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
+replied, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria Rocca's people should
+leave their kingdom, Bria Rocca refrains from shedding tears."</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, there became visible on the Mapocko river rush-boats, on which
+the women who had escaped, with their tiny children&mdash;many of whom, that
+possibly life might again appear, were still pressed to their mother's
+breasts, dead from the strokes of the enemy&mdash;lay terror-stricken and
+furious.</p>
+
+<p>Now approached the king's wife, the beautiful Evoeva. Her black hair
+hung loosely over her face in order that her shame might be covered. The
+women grasped Bria Rocca's hand with great fury, pointing to Evoeva.</p>
+
+<p>"Look," said they, "here is your wife; her cheeks were kissed by a
+strange man."</p>
+
+<p>Bria Rocca's lips paled, and every vein on his temples became swollen;
+yet the war-lance did not move in his hand. He resignedly answered the
+women, "If the Great Spirit desires that I shall not behold Evoeva any
+more Bria Rocca is content and never will look at her again."</p>
+
+<p>Whilst saying these words he covered with a skin the wife who knelt at
+his feet, and turned away from her. The Indians seized their arms and,
+beating upon their shields, vowed vengeance upon the strangers. Bria
+Rocca approached them softly, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Let your arms rest; this day we have lost, let our enemies gain it; it
+is to-day the fight of kings against beggars whose lances are weak as
+straw. Let them have happiness, splendid towns, fine women<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> and
+children, and abundance of earthly treasure. At present they have
+nothing to give us in return for this evening's gift. Let us wait until
+they have."</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Ten years have elapsed since Bria Rocca's palace was burnt, and since
+then many changes have taken place in Chili. Valdivia has occupied Chili
+in the name of Pizarro; then he goes over to the king's side and helps
+to overthrow Pizarro, and as a reward receives the Viceroyalty of Chili.
+A portion of the province which he had first conquered was named
+Valdivia, and also that river from which Bria Rocca's horse refused to
+drink. The splendid city too, which was built on the site of the ancient
+bamboo town of Bria Rocca, was named Valdivia. This Valdivia gave quite
+a different appearance to the whole district. Stone-made roads,
+constructed by European adventurers, were laid, and from town to town
+people have ploughed and gathered in the earth's produce, and have
+exposed the precious metal of the mountains, just as if they were really
+quite at home. Nobody has disturbed them in their work; the
+copper-coloured persons have disappeared, not a sound of them can be
+heard in the forest, nor a trace of their footsteps observed on the
+ground&mdash;like a crowd of grasshoppers before a seven-days' rain have they
+become entirely destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps they have gone up to the mountains or into the wastes of the
+interior, where the Golden Land has already sprung into existence, and
+concerning which so many wonderful stories have been related to
+adventurous Spaniards about the monks Cabe&ccedil;a de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> Vaca and Ni&ccedil;a: where
+wild people were walking about in civilised clothing, where the towns
+were laid out with emerald and turquoise, and whose fort Cibolla was ten
+miles long.</p>
+
+<p>Some people who tried to find out this remarkable land, never returned
+from it. In the time of Valdivia the Spanish imagination became excited
+about this El Dorado. If any wondered how Bria Rocca's people
+disappeared, without leaving a trace behind them, they could console
+themselves with the fact that they were now very happy, and that they
+had gone in search of brethren to Cibolla town, where they were now
+wallowing in milk and honey. Although they wondered why they could not
+follow the Indians, the Spaniards now quietly settled in Chili; they
+have ceased to dig trenches round the town, and to post guards along the
+roads; they no longer teach their bloodhounds to scent out the
+two-footed wild animal; there is peace and tranquillity in the whole
+country. The merchants count out their money and the great lords
+lavishly spend it; pretty women walk about in silks, and little children
+ride on their fathers' knees. Yes, yes! the Spaniards have
+everything&mdash;riches, happiness, and splendid towns, also beautiful women
+and tiny, chattering offspring. .&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us wait until they can repay us," said Bria Rocca.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>A new lake would be found, and the waterfalls would have cut for
+themselves new passages. Still, Bria Rocca's people have taken refuge
+there with their herds and flocks, whilst the eager searchers for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> El
+Dorado have failed to discover the way to fairyland. The Chilian volcano
+has rested for a hundred years, and only a few craters have shown from a
+distance that he too was one of those gigantic bombarders of the heavens
+who now rests conquered. But perhaps he sleeps merely&mdash;such great beings
+dream long. Whilst, then, he is thus dreaming, the Southern voluptuous
+plants have entwined themselves round about him, and every kind of grass
+and tree derives nourishment from his presence; at his foot a forest of
+red cedar has formed, and on his head tamarisk bushes live and flourish.
+From the autumn greenery which covers the mountain, dark caverns peep
+out. These are the mouths of ancient lava-streams by which one might get
+at the mountain's heart. According to the stories of the Omagua tribes,
+it was through such that the Aruacans made their way to the Cordillera
+interior. There were always a few adventurers who attempted to penetrate
+these caverns in search of the Golden Land, but they, as a rule, never
+returned, and nobody troubled about them. Once, however, two monks,
+accompanied by an Indian who understood the language, left Sant-Jago in
+search of this mysterious country. Had all three disappeared, no one
+would have made much ado; but it so happened that the Indian returned
+soon afterwards without the monks. He was interrogated on the subject,
+but he merely said that his comrades had perished&mdash;in what way he
+declined to tell. He had sworn by the great teeth of Mahu-Mahu that he
+never should divulge the secret. Valdivia had him placed on the bench of
+torture,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> and it appears that he felt the thumb-screwing instruments,
+and boiling oil had greater effect upon him than the big teeth of
+Mahu-Mahu, and so he promised to disclose everything. According to his
+story he and his comrades, after they had provided themselves with
+torchlights, entered the Chillon cavern, where, after proceeding a few
+hundred yards, they discovered on the moist soil the footprints of
+Aruacans. They knew them to be theirs, for they were marked by
+india-rubber heels, worn as a rule by the Aruacans to protect them from
+serpents. As they advanced further the cavern got wider in extent, and
+from its steep sides great rocks stood out. The descent, which became
+steeper and steeper as they advanced, was crossed by a stream that one
+could hear but not see from the cavern's mouth. Over this stream a
+bamboo suspension bridge become visible later on, similar to that which
+the Aruacans had erected over the Matocka river.</p>
+
+<p>The volcanic footpaths got more and more difficult to tread upon, and at
+times he and his companions were obliged to climb upon the rocks, as if
+they were trying to ascend a mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Finally the opening became so narrow that two men could hardly walk
+through it, and there they reached a spot that seemed hollowed out
+beneath. They advanced further when the earth gave way, and they all
+fell down to the cavern depths. It was a trap from which there was no
+escape. After they had for a few hours vainly endeavoured to rise from
+this pitfall, they suddenly heard sounds of voices, and&mdash;recognised the
+Aruacans. They recognised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> them from the wool which covered their
+bodies. The Indians pulled them up with long ropes, blindfolded them,
+and bound their hands behind their backs, driving them on between two
+tough trees. Ere long the echo from the narrow passage ceased, and the
+atmosphere revealed to them that they were in the open air. When their
+eyes were unfolded they saw they were in the Chillon crater. It was a
+dreadful smoking valley, with a funnel-like descent, whose sides were
+then just as bare as when the last eruption had taken place.</p>
+
+<p>All around there were red-brown stone piles, quite burnt out&mdash;dead for
+ever&mdash;on which no plant could live. Not even a piece of moss or of
+lichen was to be seen upon them.</p>
+
+<p>Lower down the valley got compressed, and on its sides numberless small
+holes, like wasps' nests, were visible. Neither grass nor flower could
+be observed anywhere&mdash;nothing of that kind, indeed, but a few pale green
+trees scattered about at intervals. These were upas-trees, in the poison
+of whose sap the Indians dip their spears. Every surrounding plant had
+been killed by their exhalations, so that they alone grew in the valley.</p>
+
+<p>On the sides of this dreadful valley a wide, hollow border was to be
+seen; it represented the last active volcano; in appearance it resembled
+the gallery of a great amphitheatre. On this gallery stood the Aruacan
+fathers with Bria Rocca. Under it was formed a sort of semicircle, where
+many large china jugs might be seen placed near one another, whose
+mouths were for the most part covered with india-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>rubber; some were
+open. As the captives were brought before Bria Rocca two such jugs were
+procured, and the two monks, tied to a couple of columns, were then
+killed with two long axes, similar to those with which the Aruacans cut
+the hevea-trees. Their blood poured out into the jugs; their bodies were
+thrown down the precipice. After this the Indians carried away the jugs
+with the blood and placed them near the others. Soon thereafter numerous
+serpents peeped out of holes in the walls: in appearance they were like
+cigars. A traveller who does not know this serpent might be deceived,
+and, imagining it a cigar, pick it up&mdash;which would mean death. One bite
+from this serpent is fatal. These dreaded reptiles crept in thousands
+into the jugs in which the murdered Spaniards' blood had been placed,
+and when they filled them two Indians approached and carefully put two
+india-rubber covers over them, so as to prevent their exit.</p>
+
+<p>They meant at first to kill the priest's dusky guide, but Bria Rocca
+said that black blood was useless, and they let him go. But he had to
+swear by the great Mahu Mahu that he should not tell a soul what he had
+seen; if he did tell, the Aruacans would come for him in tens of
+thousands, and they would not be particular as to who was white and who
+black. So they let him go through the same way as he and the monks came
+in, and he could not say how he got out of the crater.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, nobody believed a word of the Indian's story, and they
+believed that he himself killed the monks and invented a fable. It was
+all a tissue of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> lies, they thought, and the unfortunate man was pinned
+to a stake outside Sant-Jago.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>The Indian's story had long been forgotten in Chili. Valdivia returned
+with glory and overwhelmed with distinction from Peru, and settled down
+to live peacefully in the town which bore his name. He dispersed his
+troops amongst the various towns and settlements, and he had hardly more
+than three hundred soldiers left with him. These, moreover, got out of
+practice, as they seldom had occasion to handle the gun.</p>
+
+<p>All of a sudden, on a still and quiet night, a wild noise awoke the
+peaceful inhabitants of Valdivia. Frantic shouting came from the
+surrounding hills, and all around the farm-buildings were set on fire;
+the faces of hundreds of people were distinguished by the flames. "The
+Aruacans have returned!" were the words, distractedly uttered, that
+sounded through the town, and that also reached Valdivia's palace. Yes,
+the Aruacans <i>have</i> returned&mdash;to ask for an explanation regarding the
+presumption of building a town over the graves of their ancestors; and
+Bria Rocca was there to inquire who it was that killed thousands of his
+subjects, and also who it was that kissed the cheek of Evoeva. The
+attack was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to report the
+great danger to the adjoining town; and before Valdivia had time to draw
+his sword all the hills surrounding the town were occupied by thousands
+of the Red Indians. There was only one outlet from the town through
+which the Spaniards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> might have escaped, and it seemed as if the Indians
+had purposely left that unguarded. The Spaniards were not, however, to
+be led into a trap, rightly thinking that it would have been folly to
+throw themselves upon thousands of wild and enraged Indians, who would
+have despatched them with their poisonous spears; they, therefore, drew
+up their guns on the fortification walls. How, possibly, can the simple
+arrows of the Indians compete with such weapons?</p>
+
+<p>The Indians occupied all the adjoining hills, and had they had guns in
+their possession they could very easily have fired into the town.</p>
+
+<p>Valdivia's men looked quietly down from the rampart walls, for they
+observed that the Indians had no storming engines with which they might
+attack the stronghold.</p>
+
+<p>Bria Rocca's tent was erected on a hill concealed from view by huge
+cocoa-palms, from which Valdivia's palace could be seen. At the Indian
+chief's command the brown leaves of eight trees were pulled down, and
+the trunks of the trees were cut open to the extent of several feet in
+width; then were tied to their tops long ropes of sap-wood, the other
+end of the ropes being twisted round a potter's wheel which was made to
+turn by means of long rods. Under the influence of these ropes the trees
+got quite bent and their tops touched the ground. Then the Indians
+placed some strange-looking vessels into the hollows of the trunks; the
+mouths of these vessels were covered over with india-rubber. Bria Rocca
+next pulled his axe from his belt and cut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> the ropes in twain. The palm
+trunks flew up with great force, and with a tremendous noise the jugs
+that had been placed in the tree-hollows shot into the market-place of
+Valdivia. Each tree discharged its dangerous bombs as did the others.
+Oh, what a curse those bombs proved! Thousands upon thousands of
+poisonous serpents escaped from the broken jugs and, maddened by white
+man's blood, rushed at the people in every direction. Guns were of no
+avail when dealing with these cursed little monsters. The bloodthirsty,
+devil-moved insects crept up the legs of the horses, and getting beneath
+the armour killed their riders. They swarmed all over the streets and
+streamed into the houses, killing the women and children and those who
+could not fly from them. In one hour's time Valdivia had more dead than
+fighting men. Valdivia himself became desperate and mounted his horse,
+and, accompanied by a hundred horsemen, proceeded towards the gate
+leading to Sant-Jago, that gate which the Indians had left unguarded. He
+heard the triumphant shouts of the Indians and saw before him the
+ancient forest shooting out flames in hundreds of directions. He was
+surrounded! The enraged Indians followed him up behind, and in front the
+burning forest cut off the means of escape. His companions rode away in
+alarm; they preferred to die fighting, not in this manner. Valdivia
+thought it best to boldly cut his way through the burning forest, and so
+effect his escape&mdash;or perish in the attempt. The Indians pursued him to
+the edge of the forest, but seeing how boldly he galloped through the
+flames they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> nearly all held back there. One man only attempted to
+pursue him further&mdash;namely, Bria Rocca. The Spanish horses on which both
+were mounted did not fear the fire. Burning foliage fell over them and
+little embers glowed under their feet; still the two horses wildly
+plunged forward, step for step. Valdivia did not even look back, and he
+did not, therefore, observe the Indian chief when he threw a long
+harpoon spear at him. This spear entered his body, and when it was
+pulled out the heart came away along with it.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>The spot on which Valdivia stood was strewn with the charred ruins of
+the burned town, and there&mdash;on that gloomy space&mdash;Bria Rocca, after ten
+years' mourning, held a feast in honour of the injured Goddess Morinka.
+He sent for his wife Evoeva, whom he had thrust away from him, and upon
+whose countenance he had not gazed for ten years; and when he had
+embraced her he presented her with a tambourine and a flute of bone, as
+well as a cup filled with native wine. Then he said: "This is a day of
+great rejoicing, Evoeva. To-day you must sing, drink and dance. Strike
+upon this tambourine, blow the flute, empty the cup&mdash;the tambourine is
+made from Valdivia's skin, the flute is his bone, the cup his head."</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p>Up to the present day the Aruacan's country has remained unconquered.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="BIZEBAN" id="BIZEBAN"></a>BIZEBAN</h2>
+
+
+<p>Such is the name of the deaf and dumb boy who waits upon the Sultan.</p>
+
+<p>The art of manufacturing these <i>bizebans</i> is very simple, and at Gozond
+there are several hundred professors of it who find it lucrative enough.
+From poor people, who possess families, they buy children, at ten or
+twenty rupees apiece&mdash;mere infants a twelvemonth old. As yet, of course,
+they cannot talk. These men begin by pouring into the ears of the little
+creatures a fluid prepared from herbs, which renders them absolutely
+deaf. Two-thirds of the children die under the process. Those which
+survive are valuable articles of commerce. Having lost their hearing
+they can, of course, no longer learn to talk, and they remain dumb, as
+well as deaf, for life. These children, as they grow up, see the world
+around them but cannot comprehend what they see. Their native
+intelligence cannot become developed: they are like human beings from
+whom the soul has been snatched. These soulless boys are very valuable
+articles in the seraglio. They are always hovering around the Sultan. In
+the most secret chambers they are in attendance; the most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> valuable
+documents are entrusted to their care; and beneath their eyes passes all
+the private correspondence between the Sultan and his confidential
+advisers. They do not hear a syllable of any conversation&mdash;of such a
+thing as speech they have no conception. How can they imagine what those
+peculiarly shaped letters mean which their eyes behold? There is no
+corresponding knowledge or intelligence within them which would render
+this possible; and the few things which they both see and understood,
+they could not communicate to other people.</p>
+
+<p>Such were the unfortunate <i>bizebans</i>. Nevertheless they were dressed in
+purple and silk robes. Long chains of pearls hung from their neck, and
+they were fed upon what overflowed from the Sultan's own table. In all
+respects they were treated with especial consideration&mdash;like monkeys or
+parrots which are kept as playthings.</p>
+
+<p>These creatures, deprived of soul, know how to do one or two things, but
+no more. They understand that they must remain on guard at a certain
+post and not move thence; they can carry a certain article to a certain
+place; they can cut the Sultan's nails to beautiful fine points and
+adjust his turban&mdash;such is the utmost limit of their accomplishments.
+They are indeed like dogs, taught to fetch and carry things for their
+masters in their mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Before Sultan Mustapha II. ascended the throne he already possessed a
+number of <i>bizebans</i>. One of these was his especial favourite&mdash;a boy who
+was quite superior to the rest and who excited more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> sympathy; for in
+his big, dreamy eyes so much sentiment and intelligence was visible that
+it seemed sad that he could not be taught to feel and think like a human
+being. Like other <i>bizebans</i> he had no name. Why should a <i>bizeban</i> have
+a name? He won't hear it even if it is addressed to him.</p>
+
+<p>As a rule the <i>bizeban</i> also fulfilled the office of eunuch, and walked
+freely into the seraglio. Prince Mustapha used often, by the hand of his
+pet <i>bizeban</i>, to send to his sister, the beautiful Saliha, presents of
+a certain kind of very choice melon which only grew in the Sultan's
+garden and concerning which fruit a very sad story was told.</p>
+
+<p>One day, noticing that one melon was missing from the beds, the Sultan
+had all his gardeners tortured that the culprit might confess his theft.
+Then, when this experiment failed, he had seven of them cut open. To no
+purpose; but when the eighth was ripped up fragments of the melon were
+revealed, which was very fortunate, as a few hundred other servants
+would, but for this, have been treated likewise.</p>
+
+<p>The lovely Saliha was a very kind-hearted creature. She thought her
+brother's <i>bizeban</i> was a very sweet and gentle little thing, and she
+did not hesitate to pet him. She tried to make him understand this and
+that, and he seemed to have a very quick intelligence. Why should he not
+one day possess a soul? This idea occurred to her as she was walking, on
+one occasion, in the shrubbery. Could she not give back to him the soul
+of which he had been deprived, could she not teach him the alphabet? If
+she showed him a certain letter and then pointed to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> some object with
+which he was familiar could he not by degrees be made acquainted with
+the world?</p>
+
+<p>Saliha made the experiment. She found it a very pleasant recreation, for
+life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.</p>
+
+<p>We have heard that prisoners in their dungeons have even taught spiders
+to dance at the sound of music (and the seraglio as a place of detention
+is scarcely more exhilarating than a dungeon). Why should not the deaf
+and dumb boy prove as apt as a spider? At her first essay, Saliha was
+amazed to see how the soul of the <i>bizeban</i> began to expand. He grasped
+anything in a moment. Once shown the alphabet he could afterwards trace
+out each letter on the ground. Once shown the name of a certain article
+he never forgot it. This success encouraged Saliha to further attempts.
+Would it not be possible to speak to the <i>bizeban</i>? But how could the
+speaking be done so that no beholder comprehended it? Ah! with the
+hands! The human hand has five fingers, and their variety of motion, as
+they open and shut, is such that the entire alphabet might thereby be
+distinctly expressed. Saliha determined to teach the boy to converse
+with her by means of his fingers; and the success of her experiments
+exceeded her expectations. He quickly learned the secret signs. It was
+delightful to Saliha; and she determined to get amusement out of it too.
+She would extract from the <i>bizeban</i> secrets concerning her brother
+which he thought no one living knew, and then she would tease this
+relative by pretending that she had discovered them through the mystic
+words of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> the Cabala. Who could ever dream of suspecting a <i>bizeban</i> who
+was deaf and dumb?</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Osman, Prince Mustapha ascended the throne. His
+youthful gaiety now quickly fled&mdash;his shoulders began to bend beneath
+the weight of the Turkish Empire, which was then already in a tottering
+condition, with enemies on every side.</p>
+
+<p>At that time the country possessed a great statesman in the person of
+Raghib Pasha, whose potent hand had preserved the empire from
+destruction. It was he who crushed the forces of the rebellious Egyptian
+princes and laid the province at the feet of the Padishah. Raghib was
+not only a hero in war, he was also a famous poet and the greatest
+scholar in the land. Historians describe him, in his character of
+statesman, as a "leader of leaders," <i>szad rul vezir</i>, and in that of
+writer as the "Prince of Roumelian poets". (<i>Sultani suari Rum</i>). In his
+gigantic work entitled <i>Zezinet Olulum</i> ("Ship of Knowledge") all the
+legends are collected which had lain scattered about the Arab plains. It
+was he who founded the splendid library which bears his name.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of which we now write, Saliha was in the very springtide of
+her beauty&mdash;like the lotus-flower which opens its petals before the dew
+of dawn. Sultan Mustapha could not have given Raghib Pasha a greater
+reward than by bestowing upon him the hand of his lovely sister; and as
+to whether he inspired her with real affection I need only say that he
+was fifty-nine when he married her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> and that she loved him so much that
+when he died her mind became deranged.</p>
+
+<p>Raghib Pasha ruled not only over the Mussulmans but also over the ruler
+of the Mussulmans, for he had divined the Sultan's thoughts&mdash;yes, his
+innermost thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>It was the Sultan's habit not to retire at night to his bedchamber until
+he had recorded, in a voluminous diary, all the events of the day and
+his impressions concerning them. This book he habitually kept in the
+secrecy of his own room, and the <i>bizeban</i> watched over it until the
+morning. To whom would it ever have occurred that the deaf and dumb from
+birth could read, or that he could communicate the written lines to some
+one else? In the room where this diary was kept there was a little
+window which opened into the <i>khazoda</i>, the Sultan's place of worship.
+But it was so shut off from view by various corridors as to be only
+visible from the seraglio. Every evening, just as the Sultan was leaving
+his apartments in order to go and say his final prayers in this
+sanctuary, the murzims were accustomed to strike seven times with a
+hammer a bell without a tongue. Then the Imam who stood before the altar
+would say: "Ahamdu lillahi Rabbil alemum" ("Grace descends from Heaven,
+which rules over all"). Thereupon the congregation would fall on their
+faces. They remained prostrate until the Sultan reached the door; when
+the Imam would exclaim: Alleh&uacute; ekber! ("The Lord is powerful"), and all
+present rose to their feet. During the period of prostration a secret
+hand would be stretched out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> from the little window we have mentioned,
+and would make all kinds of signs. No one noticed this hand, except
+Saliha, who carefully watched its mysterious movements whilst she was
+upon her knees. From these signs she knew everything that the Sultan had
+that day recorded in his diary; and the very same night she would
+whisper the information to her husband.</p>
+
+<p>Raghib Pasha was a wise man, who knew how to keep such information
+secret. He thereby learned who his enemies were and managed to clear
+them out of his way. He got to know the wishes of the Sultan and could
+long before anticipate them. Everything he did was done in the name of
+the Sultan: the pomp and glory which he himself achieved he allowed
+people to ascribe to his Sovereign, and he even made Mustapha imagine
+that he ruled; whereas the feeble-hearted monarch was a mere puppet in
+the hands of his skilful Grand Vizier.</p>
+
+<p>In his poems Raghib extolled the Sultan for his mighty and politic
+deeds&mdash;eulogised him for inspecting the navy and the military magazines,
+for increasing the nation's revenue by 6,000,000 piastres, and doing
+other things which Raghib himself had in fact done on his own account.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout Turkey, throughout Europe, it was known well enough that, not
+the Sultan, but his Minister, ruled at Stamboul; it was only Mustapha
+who did not know it.</p>
+
+<p>One day Raghib's enemies, Hamil Pasha, Bahir Mustapha, and Mohamed Emin,
+who were jealous of the Minister's great power, said to the Sultan:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>"This man only calls you Sultan in mockery. He does everything without
+you, just as if the State were his. He has just concluded, without your
+knowledge, an alliance with the ruler of one of the infidel empires&mdash;an
+alliance which, although it may prove the destruction of other
+unfaithful nations, he should never have dared to make before obtaining
+the consent of his monarch, in whose presence he is nothing but dust."
+It was Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who, believing in the
+wisdom of the distinguished Minister, had invited his alliance, and the
+documents ratifying it had already been signed. Had that alliance been
+allowed to continue, perhaps the crescent of Turkey would have risen
+again. But the heart of Mustapha had been perturbed by these malicious
+whisperings. When the traitors had left him he said nothing, but simply
+ordered his <i>bizeban</i> to bring him his diary, wherein he proceeded to
+record his impressions of the day. Then, shutting the book and giving it
+to the <i>bizeban</i>, he went to evening prayers. On this occasion the hand
+appeared at the little window and made certain signs which Saliha
+watched intently. They said: "Escape, Raghib. The Sultan knows of your
+letter to the Prussian king. To-morrow your head will be cut off and
+your documents confiscated."</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan returned from his profound devotions with a lightened heart.
+No one, he said to himself, knew his secret, and to-morrow morning he
+would send his executioner to fetch him Raghib's head. Yes, he longed to
+possess that head ignominiously severed from its trunk.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>But when the executioner reached the Grand Vizier's residence, he found
+there his dead body, which could no longer be killed. On his table lay a
+letter addressed to the Sultan and enclosed in a velvet envelope. It was
+taken to the Sovereign with the news that the Minister had been found
+dead. The letter ran thus:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mustapha, the Omniscient has vouchsafed, in His
+mysterious providence, to let me know that you wished
+to kill me because, without your knowledge, I
+concluded, for the benefit of your dominion, an
+alliance with the King of Prussia. I did not run away
+from death; I simply anticipated it. I consider I have
+lived long enough in order to die fitly now, and long
+enough not to be forgotten. All the documents at my
+palace I have burned. You will see what I have done
+for your country; the rest will be said when we meet
+in presence of the great Prophet."</p></div>
+
+<p>The Sultan was paralysed with wonder and fear. How could that secret,
+which had been locked up only in his own heart, have been divined by
+Raghib? First he accused the <i>dsins</i> (Christian prophets), then the
+Hindoo soothsayers, then the interpreters of dreams&mdash;then the very pen
+with which he had written. How could he dream that the deaf and dumb
+could speak?</p>
+
+<p>When Mustapha endeavoured to further the alliance with the King of
+Prussia, this great ruler of the infidels replied that there had until
+recently been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> one wise man in Turkey, but that he did not now propose
+to do business with fools. This was a bitter humiliation to the
+Sultan&mdash;to think that his late slave could have procured an alliance
+which was contemptuously refused to the King of Kings!</p>
+
+<p>Mustapha frequently lamented the loss of Raghib, and was constantly
+tortured by the mystery whereby the secret of his heart had been
+penetrated. After the Grand Vizier's death the <i>bizeban</i> ceased to
+communicate to Saliha the secrets of the Sultan. He had no longer any
+motive to do so.</p>
+
+<p>First came Hamil, who only, however, remained Grand Vizier for six
+months, when he was executed for his negligence; and chroniclers relate
+of him that he let the empire go as it pleased, doing it neither good
+nor harm. Then followed the head of Bahir Mustapha. It was cut off for
+his barbarity. The third was Mohamed Emin, whom the Sultan beheaded for
+cowardice on the battlefield. Mustapha shed tears over the loss of his
+three Grand Viziers&mdash;but not on their personal account, for he had never
+forgotten Raghib, who was so wise, brave, and noble; and whenever he
+beheaded one of his Grand Viziers he would always think of the
+unfortunate Raghib.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>bizeban</i> laughed within himself; for the deaf and dumb can laugh
+when they are alone. His secret no one ever knew.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MOONLIGHT_SOMNAMBULIST" id="THE_MOONLIGHT_SOMNAMBULIST"></a>THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST</h2>
+
+
+<p>Pozdordy was one of the best known and respected farmers in the province
+of B&mdash;&mdash;, and the surrounding gentry were accustomed to visit him at his
+picturesque homestead. The frequency of their visits was, however, due
+chiefly to the circumstance that he was possessed of a lovely daughter.
+This maiden, besides being enchantingly beautiful, was as proud as a
+queen.</p>
+
+<p>It was quite natural that the young men from round and about should be
+helplessly in love with her and willing to hazard life itself in the
+hope of winning such a prize. But many as were the rival suitors, they
+all at last had to give way to one upon whom Etelka bestowed her
+preference, and that preference could not be divided either in two or
+more parts. As a matter of fact no objection could have been made
+against her choice, for it fell upon such a man as is generally regarded
+as the ideal of a woman's dreams. He was of fine stature, tall,
+well-proportioned, no longer young, it is true, but far from his
+decline. He was a retired major, and bore himself with a faultless
+military carriage. His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> manners were polished, his education extensive,
+and his wit by no means inferior. He was good-hearted, patriotic, and
+keen in business matters; he did not gamble, neither did he run into
+debt&mdash;in fact, from top to toe, you could not find a fault in him.</p>
+
+<p>Of course the various competitors for the hand of Etelka had to bow
+before her decision, they could not help themselves; but one of them, in
+his fierce dissatisfaction, vowed inwardly that he would not yield the
+prize so easily. This rival was a young man who fancied that Etelka had
+regarded him with a degree of favour which was only second to that which
+she had bestowed on the victorious Major.</p>
+
+<p>But Mogyor&ocirc;dy, the malcontent in question, knew that Major Dur&aacute;nczy was
+very handy with rapier and pistol and did not care to be trifled with.
+He therefore determined to use diplomacy. He paid a friendly sort of
+visit to the father of Etelka, and spent the evening with him. Pozdordy
+had a pretty good suspicion as to why the visitor had come.</p>
+
+<p>In due course the conversation turned upon Dur&aacute;nczy.</p>
+
+<p>"A very nice fellow indeed, isn't he?" said the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," replied Mogyor&ocirc;dy, who at the same time made a grimace which
+betrayed his real opinion.</p>
+
+<p>The farmer, who was evidently uneasy at the young man's obvious
+jealousy, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"But you have nothing to say against him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, nothing in the world!"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>"But you have something on your mind. It is true he's not so youthful as
+you, but he is not yet old."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, he's in the prime of life."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish to imply that there is anything against his past?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; for who amongst us has not got a past?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you wish to make out that he is only marrying Etelka for her
+money?"</p>
+
+<p>"By no means."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you accuse him of being a gambler?"</p>
+
+<p>"He never touches cards."</p>
+
+<p>"A spendthrift?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is the very reverse&mdash;stares on both sides of every halfpenny before
+he parts with it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think him lazy?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, a model of plodding industry."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what is amiss with his character?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is perfect&mdash;almost monotonously so; but he has one peculiarity with
+which you ought to be made acquainted if you are going to marry your
+daughter to him."</p>
+
+<p>"What is that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if you want to know, he's a lunar somnambulist&mdash;when the moon is
+at the full he rises at night from his bed, and, with open eyes, walks
+about the house in a dream, muttering all kinds of extraordinary things.
+If swords or pistols were then within his reach he would probably wound
+or kill any one, and I shouldn't like to see your daughter murdered in
+one of these moonlight perambulations."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>"Oh, that is nonsense. I will believe no tale of that kind."</p>
+
+<p>"Do as you please. I have discharged my duty, and told you. Now,
+good-night."</p>
+
+<p>But after Mogyor&ocirc;dy had departed, the farmer, although he had pretended
+to be unconcerned, said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"This might possibly be true; I must investigate the matter further
+before the marriage takes place."</p>
+
+<p>His mind being very uneasy, he determined to invite Dur&aacute;nczy to his
+house on the next occasion, when the moon would be at its full; and when
+the night in question arrived he entertained the Major at his farm with
+all the outward demonstration of confidence and friendship.</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that during the evening Mogyor&ocirc;dy looked in, for although
+a rejected lover, he was still a recognised visitor, owing to business
+and family connections with the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>Pozdordy, albeit that he was somewhat alarmed at the appearance of his
+rival, politely welcomed him, and was relieved to notice, as his two
+guests conversed together, that the old jealousy seemed to have quite
+disappeared, and that Mogyor&ocirc;dy evinced towards the Major every symptom
+of good fellowship.</p>
+
+<p>The wine circulated freely, and the night wore pleasantly away, until
+the clock reminded Pozdordy that there was a limit to every festivity.
+He had already intended to press Dur&aacute;nczy to sleep with him; but, as it
+was already late, he felt he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> not do less than extend the
+invitation to Mogyor&ocirc;dy. Wishing, however, to have the alleged
+somnambulist under his inspection, he assigned to the Major a spare bed
+in his own dormitory, and gave Mogyor&ocirc;dy a separate room.</p>
+
+<p>In due course, both host and guests retired. The farmer, as soon as he
+was between the sheets, lit a massive long-stemmed pipe, and began to
+smoke, keeping his eye upon Dur&aacute;nczy.</p>
+
+<p>The moonlight was streaming in upon the Major's pillow. It looked weird.
+The farmer watched Dur&aacute;nczy as he lay prostrate&mdash;watched and watched
+until he himself dozed off into an involuntary slumber.</p>
+
+<p>Presently he was awoke by a noise. In the moonlight he perceived a
+figure, robed in a night-shirt. Ah! the Major, who seemed to be gazing
+around him with an air of mysterious inquiry. Then, step by step, with
+great circumspection, he advanced towards the farmer's bedside. Pozdordy
+held his breath. "Yes," he said to himself, "this man is a lunar
+somnambulist!"</p>
+
+<p>Upon tiptoe the figure now went nearer and nearer to the farmer's couch.
+Pozdordy, in breathless expectation, grasped his heavy long-stemmed
+pipe&mdash;the only weapon of self-defence within arm's length&mdash;and just as
+the somnambulist was reaching towards an antique and richly inlaid
+sword, suspended high up against the wall, he dealt him a blow, so
+terrific as to produce a howl from the apparition. The farmer leaped out
+of bed, and, to protect his own life, was proceeding to half-strangle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
+the sleepwalker, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it was not the
+Major.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you?" he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>There was no answer. The farmer looked towards the Major's bed&mdash;there,
+in the moonlight, lay the warrior, who was just beginning to be roused
+from sleep by the noise of the scuffle, and who dreamily exclaimed,
+"What the devil?"</p>
+
+<p>Pozdordy released his hold of the neck of this unknown man, who hastily
+escaped from the room; and the report goes that Mogyor&ocirc;dy travelled home
+at 2 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> in his night-shirt. Anyhow, after hiding under the Major's bed
+in order to make him out to be a somnambulist, he never again dared to
+put his nose into Pozdordy's household; and the gallant soldier is
+to-day in peaceful possession of the beautiful Etelka.</p>
+
+<p class="center newchapter"><i>Printed by <span class="smcap">Balantyne, Hanson &amp; Co.</span></i><br />
+<i>London &amp; Edinburgh</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="wide" />
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>Transcriber's Note: Many of the Hungarian titles listed in the
+Introduction were misspelled. "Est&iacute;lapok" was changed to "Esti Lapok",
+"A Magyar N&aacute;bob" was changed to "Egy Magyar N&aacute;bob", "A K&#337;sziv&uuml; Ember
+Fiaa" was changed to "A K&#337;sz&iacute;v&#369; Ember Fiai", "A Szerelem Bolondja" was
+changed to "Szerelem Bolondjai", "A N&eacute;vtelen V&aacute;r" was changed to
+"N&eacute;vtelen V&aacute;r", "B&aacute;lv&aacute;nyv&aacute;rak" was changed to "B&aacute;lv&aacute;nyosv&aacute;r", "A Fekete
+Gy&eacute;m&aacute;ntok" was changed to "Fekete Gy&eacute;m&aacute;ntok", "A J&#337;v&eacute; Sz&aacute;zad Reg&eacute;je" was
+changed to "A J&ouml;v&#337; Sz&aacute;zad Reg&eacute;nye", and "Az Uj F&ouml;ldes Ur" was changed to
+"Az &Uacute;j F&ouml;ldes&uacute;r".</p>
+
+<p>In addition, the following typographical errors in the text have been
+corrected.</p>
+
+<p>In "In Love With the Czarina", "she nodded to Genera Karr" was changed
+to "she nodded to General Karr".</p>
+
+<p>In "Tamerlan the Tartar", Chapter I, "the immovable cloud towards the
+east" was changed to "the immovable cloud towards the west", and "the
+victorious couqueror" was changed to "the victorious conqueror". In
+Chapter III, a period was changed to a comma after "the Thief of the
+Desert". In Chapter VIII, "two real hereoes" was changed to "two real
+heroes", and "Mirza Abubker's chosen horsemen" was changed to "Mirza
+Abubekr's chosen horsemen".</p>
+
+<p>In "Valdivia", "If you wish for the Guelin mountain" was changed to "If
+you wish for the Guelen mountain".</p>
+
+<p>In "Bizeban", a quotation mark was added before "This man only calls you
+Sultan".</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other
+Stories, by Mór Jókai
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+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg's In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories, by Mor Jokai
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories
+
+Author: Mor Jokai
+
+Translator: Louis Felbermann
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2010 [EBook #34574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Jokai Mor]
+
+
+
+
+_SPECIAL AUTHORISED EDITION_
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+_AND OTHER STORIES_
+
+BY MAURICE JOKAI
+
+TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN
+
+_WITH THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL PERMISSION_
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+AUTHOR OF "HUNGARY AND ITS PEOPLE" ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LONDON
+FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
+AND NEW YORK
+
+[_All rights reserved_]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                PAGE
+INTRODUCTION                       9
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA          17
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR               57
+VALDIVIA                         111
+BIZEBAN                          141
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST       151
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATED TO
+HUNGARY'S GREATEST WRITER
+
+MAURICE JOKAI
+
+BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+"From him I took it; to him I give it"
+      EASTERN PROVERB
+
+_London 1894_
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The entire Hungarian nation--king and people--have recently been
+celebrating the jubilee of Hungary's greatest writer, Maurice Jokai,
+whose pen, during half a century of literary activity, has given no less
+than 250 volumes to the world. Admired and beloved by his patriotic
+fellow-countrymen, Jokai has displayed that kind of genius which
+fascinates the learned and unlearned alike, the old and the young. He
+enchants the children of Hungary by his fairy-tales, and as they grow up
+into men and women he implants within them a passion for their native
+land and a knowledge of its splendid history such as only his poetic and
+dramatic pen could engrave upon their memory. His versatility of
+talent--for, besides being the Hungarian poet-laureate, he is a
+novelist, playwright, historian, and orator--enables the Hungarians to
+see in him their Heine, their Byron, their Walter Scott, and their
+Victor Hugo.
+
+Jokai began his career at a period when Hungary aspired to political
+freedom, and his powerful pen, in combination with that of his familiar
+friend, Alexander Petofi, Hungary's greatest lyric poet, was mainly
+instrumental in rousing the nation to arms. In 1849, when the Hungarian
+nation had sustained a cruel defeat, it was Jokai who cheered the
+flagging spirits of the Magyars, and by the potency and skill of his
+extraordinary pen influenced that reconciliation between Sovereign and
+people which was ultimately accomplished by Hungary's greatest
+statesman, Francis Deak.
+
+The Hungarian language is one of the richest of Turanian tongues, and
+particularly lends itself to the didactic and romantic styles. So far
+back as the beginning of the thirteenth century we find traces of
+Hungarian literature, and, if it had been permitted to develop, Hungary
+might now have possessed a literature second to none in the modern
+world. But in consequence of political struggles the Hungarian language
+and literature had to give way, at times, either to the Latin or German
+races, so much so that as late as 1849 all scientific subjects had to be
+taught either in German or in Latin. It was then that a few patriotic
+Magyars took the matter acutely to heart, and strove to restore the
+language and literature of their country, with the happy result that
+Hungary now, in proportion to its population, comes immediately after
+Germany in the number of its universities, colleges, and scientific
+institutions, where all subjects are taught in the _Hungarian language
+only_.
+
+Maurice Jokai is not only one of those who restored Hungarian
+literature, but is the creator of a particular style of romance, which
+stamps his works as unique, and has caused them to be eagerly read, and
+translated into almost every modern language. It is no wonder,
+therefore, that the Hungarians, who are a cultured race, should delight
+in showing all honour and respect to the veteran author, who has given
+to the world over a hundred splendid works on all subjects, comprising
+250 volumes.
+
+Jokai is descended from a middle-class family, a fact which he is always
+proud to own, and has no ambition to rise in higher spheres of society,
+although the greatest people in the land, including the Empress-Queen
+herself, favour him with their personal friendship.
+
+He is a tall, fine-looking man, and carries himself well. He generally
+dresses in a black-braided costume, which is the favourite national
+Hungarian uniform of those patriots who belong to the forty-eight
+period, which marks such an epoch in the history of Hungary. In his
+younger days his beard was dark and silky, but now he is quite grey. He
+occupies a modest house, and leads a very simple life.
+
+To give the full history of such a great writer as Maurice Jokai, the
+titles of whose works fill nine pages of the British Museum catalogue,
+would be a task of considerable research, and would itself extend to
+volumes. I therefore only propose to touch upon a few of the salient
+points of his career.
+
+Jokai was born on February 19, 1825, at Komarom, which city, by-the-by,
+is known as the "Virgin Fortress of Hungary."
+
+He received his education partly in his native town and at Pozsony, the
+ancient capital of Hungary, Papa and Kecskemet; and in 1846 he passed an
+examination as an advocate, though he did not follow the profession
+afterwards.
+
+In the same year he took up his abode at Budapest, where in the
+following year he assumed the editorship of a paper called _Eletkepek_
+(Pictures of Life).
+
+In 1848 he played an important part in the revolution, both in inciting
+the people by his literary writings and as a soldier. In 1849 he married
+Rose Laborfalvi, the famous actress. In the same year he followed the
+National Hungarian Government, which removed its seat to Debreczen, and
+became the editor of the _Esti Lapok_ (Evening News). From that time
+activity characterised his literary and general career.
+
+In the political movements of 1861 he was to the front both as member of
+parliament and as newspaper editor. In 1860 he was elected member of the
+Kisfaludy Society, and in 1861 he became a member of the Hungarian
+Academy of Sciences, of which institute he is now a member of the
+executive committee. He is also the president of the Petofi Society.
+
+His first novel was "A Hetkoeznapok" (Days of the Week), which appeared
+in 1846, and since then hardly a year elapsed without the issue of
+several volumes from his pen.
+
+Amongst his novels the most celebrated are:
+
+"Egy Magyar Nabob" (The Hungarian Nabob).
+
+"Karpathy Zoltan."
+
+"A Koszivu Ember Fiai" (The Sons of the Stonehearted Man).
+
+"Szerelem Bolondjai" (Love's Puppet).
+
+"Nevtelen Var" (The Nameless Fortress).
+
+"Erdely Aranykora" (The Golden Period of Transylvania).
+
+"Balvanyosvar" (Idol Fortunes).
+
+"Fekete Gyemantok" (Black Diamonds).
+
+"A Joevo Szazad Regenye" (The Romance of the Future Century).
+
+"Az Uj Foeldesur" (The New Landlord).
+
+"Nincsen Oerdoeg" (There is no Devil).
+
+"Az Arany Ember" (The Gold Man).
+
+"A Szep Mikhal" (Pretty Michael).
+
+Of his recent novels the most famous is the one published in 1892, in
+which Monk Gregory is the hero.
+
+The short stories that we are presenting in this volume belong to his
+earliest writings.
+
+Jokai's novels--in which his own strong personality everywhere reveals
+itself--are characterised by great imaginative power and by a light,
+humorous style which fascinates the reader. It may be said, without much
+exaggeration, that in point of wit and humour few living writers can
+compare with him. His subjects are principally drawn from history; but
+many of his works are remarkable for their vivid descriptions of
+Hungarian life, both past and present. In one word it might justly be
+said that in reading Jokai's novels one reads the history of Europe, and
+in reading Jokai's history one reads a novel drawn from actual life.
+
+As a poet he occupies a unique position, and stands altogether alone:
+for his lyrics, ballads, and heroic verse are even sung by the
+schoolchildren throughout Hungary. As a dramatist his fame is extensive;
+and his "Koenyves Kalman" (Koloman, King of Hungary, surnamed the Book
+King), "Dozsa Gyoergy, The Martyr of Szigetvar," "Az Arany Ember" (The
+Golden Man), and "Fekete Gyemantok" (Black Diamonds), have been
+incessantly performed with the greatest success.
+
+As a politician he has made a considerable mark, and no one who has had
+the privilege of hearing him deliver an oration will forget the music
+and sonority of his fine voice. What is less generally known is that he
+is an enthusiastic botanical student and an admirable painter.
+
+These are a few outlines of the life of Hungary's greatest writer, and
+in the interest of literature let it be hoped that his life may be long
+spared, and that his remaining years may be spent in the utmost
+happiness. Such is the fervent wish of all his admirers, who are drawn,
+not only from this country, but from all civilised peoples, nations, and
+languages.
+
+LOUIS FELBERMANN
+
+(_Author of "Hungary and its People"_).
+
+
+
+
+IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
+
+
+In the time of the Czar Peter III. a secret society existed at St.
+Petersburg which bore the title of "The Nameless." Its members used to
+assemble in the house of a Russian nobleman, Jelagin by name, who alone
+knew the personality of each visitor, they being, for the most part,
+unknown to one another. Distinguished men, princes, ladies of the Court,
+officers of the Guard, Cossack soldiers, young commercial men,
+musicians, street-singers, actors and actresses, scientific men,
+clergymen and statesmen, used to meet here. Beauty and talent were alone
+qualifications for entry into the Society, the members of which were
+selected by Jelagin. Everyone addressed the other as "thee" and "thou,"
+and they only made use of Christian names such as Anne, Alexandra,
+Katharine, Olga, Peter, Alexis, and Ivan. And for what purpose did they
+assemble here? To amuse themselves at their ease. Those who, by the
+prejudices of caste and rank, were utterly severed, and who occupied the
+mutual position of master and slave, tore the chains of their barriers
+asunder, and all met here. It is quite possible that he with whom the
+grenadier-private is now playing chess is the very same General who
+might order him a hundred lashes to-morrow, should he take a step on
+parade without his command! And now he contends with him to make a queen
+out of a pawn!
+
+It is also probable that the pretty woman who is singing sportive French
+songs to the accompaniment of the instrument she strikes with her left
+hand, is one of the Court ladies of the Czarina, who, as a rule, throws
+half-roubles out of her carriage to the street-musicians! Perhaps she is
+a Princess? possibly the wife of the Lord Chamberlain? or even higher in
+grade than this? Russian society, both high and low, flower and root,
+met in Jelagin's castle, and while there enjoyed equality in the widest
+sense of the word. Strange phenomenon! That this should take place in
+Russia, where so much is thought of aristocratic rank, official garb,
+and exterior pomp; where an inferior is bound to dismount from his horse
+upon meeting a superior, where sub-officers take off their coats in
+token of salute when they meet those of higher rank, and where generals
+kiss the priests' hands and the highest aristocrats fall on their faces
+before the Czar! Here they sing and dance and joke together, make fun of
+the Government, and tell anecdotes of the High Priests, utterly
+fearless, and dispensing with salutations!
+
+Can this be done for love of novelty? The existence of this secret
+society was repeatedly divulged to the police, and these cannot be
+reproached for not having taken the necessary steps to denounce it; but
+proceedings, once begun, usually evaporated into thin air, and led to no
+results. The investigating officer either never discovered suspicious
+facts, or, if he did, matters were adjourned. Those who were arrested in
+connection with the affair were in some way set at liberty in peace and
+quietness; every document relating to the matter was either burnt or
+vanished, and whole sealed cases of writings were turned into plain
+white paper. When an influential officer took energetically in hand the
+prosecution of "The Nameless," he was generally sent to a foreign
+country on an important mission, from which he did not return for a
+considerable period. "The Nameless Society" must have had very powerful
+protectors. At the conclusion of one of these free and easy
+entertainments, a young Cossack hetman remained behind the crowd of
+departing guests, and when quite alone with the host he said to him:
+
+"Jelagin, did you see the pretty woman with whom I danced the mazurka
+to-night?"
+
+"Yes, I saw her. Are you smitten with her, as others have been?"
+
+"That woman I must make my wife."
+
+Jelagin gave the Cossack a blow on the shoulder and looked into his
+eyes.
+
+"That you will not do! You will not take her as your wife, friend
+Jemeljan."
+
+"I shall marry her--I have resolved to do so."
+
+"You will not marry her, for she will not go to you."
+
+"If she does not come I will carry her off against her will."
+
+"You can't marry her, because she has a husband."
+
+"If she has a husband I will carry her off in company with him!"
+
+"You can't carry her off, for she lives in a palace--she is guarded by
+many soldiers, and accompanied in her carriage by many outriders."
+
+"I will take her away with her palace, her soldiers, and her carriage. I
+swear it by St. Gregory!"
+
+Jelagin laughed mockingly.
+
+"Good Jemeljan, go home and sleep out your love--that pretty woman is
+the Czarina!"
+
+The hetman became pale for a moment, his breath stopped; but the next
+instant, with sparkling eyes, he said to Jelagin:
+
+"In spite of this, what I have said I have said."
+
+Jelagin showed the door to his guest. But, improbable as it may seem,
+Jemeljan was really not intoxicated, unless it were with the eyes of the
+pretty woman.
+
+A few years elapsed. The Society of "The Nameless" was dissolved, or
+changed into one of another form. Katharine had her husband, the Czar,
+killed, and wore the crown herself. Many people said she had him killed,
+others took her part. It was urged that she knew what was going to
+happen, but could not prevent it--that she was compelled to act as she
+did, and to affect, after a great struggle with her generous heart,
+complete ignorance of poison being administered to her husband. It was
+said that she had acted rightly, and that the Czar's fate was a just
+one, for he was a wicked man; and finally, it was asserted that the
+whole statement was untrue, and that no one had killed Czar Peter, who
+died from intense inflammation of the stomach. He drank too much brandy.
+The immortal Voltaire is responsible for this last assertion. Whatever
+may have happened, Czar Peter was buried, and the Czarina Katharine now
+saw that her late husband belonged to those dead who do not sleep
+quietly. They rise--rise from their graves--stretch out their hands from
+their shrouds, and touch with them those who have forgotten them. They
+turn over in their last resting-place, and the whole earth seems to
+tremble under the feet of those who walk above them!
+
+Amongst the numerous contradictory stories told, one, difficult to
+believe, but which the people gladly credited, and which caused much
+bloodshed before it was wiped out of their memory, was this--that Czar
+Peter died neither by his own hand, nor by the hands of others, but that
+he still lived. It was said that a common soldier, with pock-marked face
+resembling the Czar, was shown in his stead to the public on the
+death-couch at St. Petersburg, and that the Czar himself had escaped
+from prison in soldier's clothes, and would return to retake his throne,
+to vanquish his wife, and behead his enemies! Five Czar pretenders rose
+one after the other in the wastes of the Russian domains. One followed
+the other with the motto, "Revenge on the faithless!" The usurpers
+conquered sometimes a northern, sometimes a southern province,
+collected forces, captured towns, drove out all officials, and put new
+ones in their places, so that it was necessary to send forces against
+them. If one was subjugated and driven away into the ice deserts, or
+captured and hung on the next tree, another Czar Peter would rise up in
+his place and cause rebellion, alarming the Court circle whilst they
+were enjoying themselves; and so things went on continually and
+continually. The murdered husband remained unburied, for to-day he might
+be put in the earth and to-morrow he would rise again one hundred miles
+off, and exclaim, "I still live!" He might be killed there, but would
+pop out his head again from the earth, saying, "Still I live." He had a
+hundred lives! When five of these Peter pretenders went the way of the
+real Czar a sixth rose, and this one was the most dreaded and most
+daring of all, whose name will perpetually be inscribed in the
+chronicles of the Russian people as a dreadful example to all who will
+not be taught wisdom, and his name is Jemeljan Pugasceff! He was born as
+an ordinary Cossack in the Don province, and took part in the Prussian
+campaign, at first as a paid soldier of Prussia, later as an adherent of
+the Czar. At the bombardment of Bender he had become a Cossack hetman.
+His extraordinary physical strength, his natural common sense and
+inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace
+which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress. He was sent
+with many discharged officers back to the Don. Let them go again and
+look after their field labours! Pugasceff's head, however, was full of
+other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which
+occupation he had been called ten years before. He hated the Czarina,
+and adored her! He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon
+the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who
+possessed the right to tread upon every Russian's heart! He became
+possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her
+throne, and take her afterwards into his arms. He had his plans prepared
+for this. He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live--they who
+oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the
+persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually
+extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this
+only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not
+upwards, as they do in Moscow!
+
+The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and
+could get a leader. Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these,
+but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was
+carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains. He might thus go on
+dreaming! Pugasceff dreamt one night that he burst the iron chains from
+his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the
+enclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled
+with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited
+plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent stitch
+of clothing! The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains
+of Uralszk--the most dreaded tribe in Russia--living in one of those
+border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with
+whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship. They change locality
+from year to year. One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the
+land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a
+Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks! Fighting is
+pleasanter work in the winter. In the summer everyone lives under the
+sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed! This people belong to the
+Roskolnik sect. Just a little while previously they had amused
+themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg,
+with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed
+to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had
+clearly proved that the Government had nothing to do with their pike!
+Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were
+dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what
+they should further do. One lovely autumn night the escaped convict,
+after a great deal of wandering in the miserable valley of Jeremina
+Kuriza, situated in the wildest part of the Ural Mountains, and in its
+yet more miserable town, Jaiczkoi, knocked at the door of the first
+Cossack habitation he saw and said that he was a refugee. He was
+received with an open heart, and got plenty of kind words and a little
+bread. The house-owner was himself poor; the Kirgizians had driven away
+his sheep. One of his sons, a priest of the Roskolnik persuasion, had
+been carried away from him into a lead-mine; the second had been taken
+to serve as a soldier, and had died; the third was hung because he had
+been involved in a revolt. Old Kocsenikoff remained at home without sons
+or family. Pugasceff listened to the grievances of his host, and said:
+
+"These can be remedied."
+
+"Who can raise for me my dead sons?" said the old man bitterly.
+
+"The one who rose himself in order to kill."
+
+"Who can that be?"
+
+"The Czar."
+
+"The murdered Czar?" asked the old soldier, with astonishment.
+
+"He has been killed six times, and yet he lives. On my way here,
+whenever I met with people, they all asked me, 'Is it true that the Czar
+is not dead yet, and that he has escaped from prison?' I replied to
+them, 'It is true. He has found his way here, and ere long he will make
+his appearance before you.'"
+
+"You say this, but how can the Czar get here?"
+
+"He is already here."
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"I am he!"
+
+"Very well--very well," replied the old Roskolnik. "I understand what
+you want with me. I shall be on the spot if you wish it. All is the
+same to me as long as I have anyone to lead me. But who will believe
+that you are the Czar? Hundreds and hundreds have seen him face to face.
+Everybody knows that the visage of the Czar was dreadfully pockmarked,
+whilst yours is smooth."
+
+"We can remedy that. Has not someone lately died of black-pox in this
+district?"
+
+"Every day this happens. Two days ago my last labourer died."
+
+"Well, I shall lay in his bed, and I shall rise from it like Czar
+Peter."
+
+He did what he said. He lay in the infected bed. Two days later he got
+the black-pox, and six weeks afterwards he rose with the same wan face
+as one had seen on the unfortunate Czar.
+
+Kocsenikoff saw that a man who could play so recklessly with his life
+did not come here to idle away his time. This is a country where out of
+ten men nine have stored away some revenge of their own for a future
+time. Amongst the first ten people to whom Kocsenikoff communicated his
+scheme, he found nine who were ready to assist in the daring
+undertaking, even at the cost of their lives; but the tenth was a
+traitor. He disclosed the desperate plot to Colonel Simonoff, the
+commander of Jaiczkoi, and the commander immediately arrested
+Kocsenikoff; but Pugasceff escaped on the horse which had been sent out
+with the Cossack who came to arrest him, and he even carried off the
+Cossack himself! He jumped into the saddle, patted and spurred the
+horse, and made his way into the forest.
+
+History records for the benefit of future generations the name of the
+Cossack whom Pugasceff carried away with his horse: Csika was the name
+of this timid individual! This happened on September 15. Two days
+afterwards Pugasceff came back from the forest to the outskirts of the
+town Jaiczkoi. Then he had his horse, a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, and
+three hundred brave horsemen. As he approached the town he had trumpets
+blown, and demanded that Colonel Simonoff should surrender and should
+come and kiss the hand of his rightful master, Czar Peter III.! Simonoff
+came with 5000 horsemen and 800 Russian regular troops against the
+rebels, and Pugasceff was in one moment surrounded. At this instant he
+took a loosely sealed letter from his breast and read out his
+proclamation in a ringing voice to the opposing troops, in which he
+appealed to the faithful Cossacks of Peter III. to help him to regain
+his throne and to aid him to drive away usurpers, threatening with death
+those traitors who should oppose his command. On hearing this the
+Cossack troops appeared startled, and the exclamation went from mouth to
+mouth, "The Czar lives! This is the Czar!" The officers tried to quiet
+the soldiers, but in vain. They commenced to fight amongst themselves,
+and the uproar lasted till late at night, with the result that it was
+not Simonoff who captured Pugasceff, but the latter who captured eleven
+of his officers; and when he retreated from the field his three hundred
+men had increased to eight hundred. It was a matter of great difficulty
+to the Colonel to lead back the rest into the town. Pugasceff set up
+his camp outside in the garden of a Russian nobleman, and on his trees
+he hung up the eleven officers. His opponent was so much alarmed that he
+did not dare to attack him, but lay wait for him in the trenches, at the
+mouth of the cannon. Our daring friend was not quite such a lunatic as
+to go and meet him. He required greater success, more decisive battles,
+and more guns. He started against the small towns which the Government
+had built along the Jaik. The Roskolniks received the pseudo-Czar with
+wild enthusiasm. They believed that he had risen from the dead to
+humiliate the power of the Moscow priests, and that he intended to
+adopt, instead of the Court religion, that which had been persecuted. On
+the third day 1500 men accompanied him to battle. The stronghold of
+Ileczka was the first halting-place he made. It is situated about
+seventy versts from Jaiczkoi. He was welcomed with open gates and with
+acclamation, and the guard of the place went over to his side. Here he
+found guns and powder, and with these he was able to continue his
+campaign. Next followed the stronghold of Kazizna. This did not
+surrender of its own accord, but commenced heroically to defend itself,
+and Pugasceff was compelled to bombard it. In the heat of the siege the
+rebel Cossacks shouted out to those in the fort, and they actually
+turned their guns upon their own patrols. All who opposed them were
+strung up, and the Colonel was taken a prisoner to Pugasceff, who showed
+no mercy to anyone who wore his hair long, which was the fashion at the
+time amongst the Russian officers, and for this reason the pseudo-Czar
+hung every officer who fell into his hands. Now, provided with guns, he
+made his way towards the fort of Nisnaja Osfernaja, which he also
+captured after a short attack. Those whom he did not kill joined him.
+Now he led 4000 men, and therefore he could dare attack the stronghold
+of Talitseva, which was defended by two heroes, Bilof and Jelagin. The
+Russian authorities took up a firm position in face of the fanatical
+rebels, and they would have repulsed Pugasceff, if the hay stores in the
+fort had not been burnt down. This fire gave assistance to the rebels.
+Bilof and Jelagin were driven out of the fort-gates, and were forced out
+into the plains, where they were slaughtered. When the pseudo-Czar
+captured the fort of Nisnaja Osfernaja, a marvellously beautiful woman
+came to him in the market-place and threw herself at his feet. "Mercy,
+my master!" The woman was very lovely, and was quite in the power of the
+conqueror. Her tears and excitement made her still more enchanting.
+
+"For whom do you want pardon?"
+
+"For my husband, who is wounded in fighting against you."
+
+"What is the name of your husband?"
+
+"Captain Chalof, who commanded this fort."
+
+A noble-hearted hero no doubt would have set at liberty both husband and
+wife, let them be happy, and love one another. A base man would have
+hung the husband and kept the wife. Pugasceff killed them both! He knew
+very well that there were still many living who remembered that Czar
+Peter III. was not a man who found pleasure in women's love, and he
+remained true to his adopted character even in its worst extremes.
+
+The rebels appeared to have wings. After the capture of Talicseva
+followed that of Csernojecsinszkaja, where the commander took flight on
+the approach of the rebel leader, and entrusted the defence of the fort
+to Captain Nilsajeff, who surrendered without firing a shot. Pugasceff,
+without saying "Thank you," had him hanged. He did not believe in
+officers who went over to the enemy. He only kept the common soldiers,
+and he had their hair cut short, so that in the event of their escaping
+he should know them again! Next morning the last stronghold in the
+country, Precsisztenszka, situated in the vicinity of the capital,
+Orenburg, surrendered to the rebels, and in the evening the mock Czar
+stood before the walls of Orenburg with thirty cannon and a
+well-equipped army! All this happened in fifteen days.
+
+Since the moment when he carried off the Cossack who had been sent to
+capture him, and met Kocsenikoff, he had occupied six forts, entirely
+annihilated a regiment, and created another, with which he now besieged
+the capital of the province.
+
+The towns of the Russian Empire are divided by great distances, and
+before things were decided at St. Petersburg, Marquis Pugasceff might
+almost have occupied half the country. It was Katharine herself who
+nicknamed Pugasceff Marquis, and she laughed very heartily and often in
+the Court circles about her extraordinary husband, who was preparing to
+reconquer his wife, the Czarina. The nuptial bed awaited him--it was the
+scaffold!
+
+On the news of Pugasceff's approach, Reinsburg, the Governor of
+Orenburg, sent, under the command of Colonel Bilof, a portion of his
+troops to attack the rebel. Bilof started on the chase, but he shared
+the fate of many lion-hunters. The pursued animal ate him up, and of his
+entire force not one man returned to Orenburg. Instead of this,
+Pugasceff's forces appeared before its gates.
+
+Reinsburg did not wish to await the bombardment, and he sent his most
+trusted regiment, under the command of Major Naumoff, to attack the
+rebels. The mock-Czar allowed it to approach the slopes of the mountains
+outside Orenburg, and there, with masked guns, he opened such a
+disastrous fire upon them that the Russians were compelled to retire to
+their fort utterly demoralised. Pugasceff then descended into the plains
+and pitched his camp before the town. The two opponents both began with
+the idea of tiring each other out by waiting. Pugasceff was encamped on
+the snow-fields. The plains of Russia are no longer green in October,
+and instead of tents he had huts made of branches of oak. The one force
+was attacked by frost--the other by starvation. Finally starvation
+proved the more powerful. Naumoff sallied from the fort, and turned his
+attention towards occupying those heights whence his forces had been
+fired upon a short time previously. He succeeded in making an onslaught
+with his infantry upon the rebel lines, but Pugasceff, all of a sudden,
+changed his plan of battle, and attacked with his Cossacks the cavalry
+of his opponent, who took to flight. The victory fell from the grasp of
+Naumoff, and he was compelled to fly with his cannon, breaking his way,
+sword in hand, through the lines of the Cossacks. Then Pugasceff
+attacked in his turn. He had forty-eight guns, with which he commenced a
+fierce bombardment of the walls, which continued until November 9th,
+when he ordered his troops to storm the town. The onslaught did not
+succeed, for the Russians bravely defended themselves. Pugasceff,
+therefore, had to make up his mind to starve out his opponents. The
+broad plains and valleys were white with snow, the forests sparkled with
+icicles, as though made of silver, and during the long nights the cold
+reflection of the moon alone brightened the desolate wastes where the
+audacious dream of a daring man kept awake the spirits of his men. The
+dream was this: That he should be the husband of the Czarina of All the
+Russias.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Katharine II. was passionately fond of playing tarok, and she
+particularly liked that variety of the game which was later on named,
+after a celebrated Russian general, "Paskevics," and required four
+players. In addition to the Czarina, Princess Daskoff, Prince Orloff,
+and General Karr sat at her table. The latter was a distinguished
+leader of troops--_in petto_--and as a tarok-player without equal. He
+rose from the table _semper victor_! No one ever saw him pay, and for
+this reason he was a particular favourite with the Czarina. She said if
+she could only once succeed in winning a rouble from Karr she would have
+a ring welded to it and wear it suspended from her neck. It is very
+likely that the mistakes of his opponents aided General Karr's continual
+success. The two noble ladies were too much occupied with Orloff's fine
+eyes to be able to fix their attention wholly upon the game, whilst
+Orloff was so lucky in love that it would have been the greatest
+injustice on earth if he had been equally successful at play. Once,
+whilst shuffling the cards, some one casually remarked that it was a
+scandalous shame that an escaped Cossack like Pugasceff should be in a
+position to conquer a fourth of Russia in Europe, to disgrace the
+Russian troops time after time, to condemn the finest Russian officers
+to a degrading death, and now even to bombard Orenburg like a real
+potentate.
+
+"I know the dandy, I know him very well," said Karr. "During the life of
+His Majesty I used to play cards with him at Oranienbaum. He is a stupid
+youngster. Whenever I called _carreau_, he used to give _coeur_."
+
+"It appears that he plays even worse now," said the Czarina; "now he
+throws _pique_ after _coeur_!"
+
+It was the fashion at this time at the Russian Court to throw in every
+now and then a French word, and _coeur_ in French means heart, and
+_piquer_ means to sting and prick.
+
+"Yes, because our commanders have been inactive. Were I only there!"
+
+"Won't you have the kindness to go there?" asked Orloff mockingly.
+
+"If Her Majesty commands me, I am ready."
+
+"Ah! this tarok-party would suffer a too great loss in you," said
+Katharine, jokingly.
+
+"Well, your Majesty might have hunting-parties at Peterhof," he said,
+consolingly, to the Czarina.
+
+This was a pleasant suggestion to Katharine, for at Peterhof she had
+spent her brightest days, and there she had made the acquaintance of
+Orloff. With a smile full of grace, she nodded to General Karr.
+
+"I don't mind, then; but in two weeks you must be back."
+
+"Ah! what is two weeks?" returned Karr; "if your Majesty commands it, I
+will seat myself this very hour upon a sledge, and in three days and
+nights I shall be in Bugulminszka. On the fourth day I shall arrange my
+cards, and on the fifth I shall send word to this dandy that I am the
+challenger. On the sixth day I shall give '_Volat_'[1] to the rascal,
+and the seventh and eighth days I shall have him as _Pagato ultimo_,[2]
+bound in chains, and bring him to your Majesty's feet!"
+
+[Footnote 1: "_Volat_" is an expression used in tarok to denote that no
+tricks have been made by an opponent.]
+
+[Footnote 2: This is another term in the game, when the player announces
+beforehand that he will make the last trick with the Ace of Trumps.]
+
+The Czarina burst out laughing at the funny technical expressions used
+by the General, and entrusted Orloff to provide the celebrated
+_Pagato_-catching General with every necessity. The matter was taken
+seriously, and Orloff promulgated the imperial _ukase_, according to
+which Karr was entrusted with the control of the South Russian troops,
+and at the same time he announced to him what forces he would have at
+his command. At Bugulminszka was General Freymann with 20,000 infantry,
+2000 cavalry, and thirty-two guns, and he would be reinforced by Colonel
+Csernicseff, the Governor of Szinbirszk, who had at his command 15,000
+horsemen, and twelve guns; while on his way he would meet Colonel
+Naumann with two detachments of the Body Guard. He was in particular to
+attach the latter to him, for they were the very flower of the army.
+Karr left that night. His chief tactics in campaigning consisted in
+speediness, but it seems that he studied this point badly, for his great
+predecessors, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Hannibal, &c.,
+also travelled quickly, but in company with an army, whilst Karr thought
+it quite sufficient if he went alone. He judged it impossible to travel
+faster than he did, sleighing merrily along to Bugulminszka; but it was
+possible. A Cossack horseman who started the same time as he did from
+St. Petersburg, arrived thirty-six hours before him, informed Pugasceff
+of the coming of General Karr, and acquainted him as to the position of
+his troops. Pugasceff despatched about 2000 Cossacks to fall upon the
+rear of the General, and prevent his junction with the Body Guard.
+
+Karr did not consult any one at Bugulminszka. He pushed aside his
+colleague Freymann in order to be left alone to settle the affair. He
+said it was not a question of fighting but of chasing. He must be caught
+alive--this wild animal. Csernicseff was already on the way with 1200
+horsemen and twelve guns, as he had received instructions from Karr to
+cross the river Szakmara and prevent Pugasceff from retreating, while he
+himself should, with the pick of the regiment, attack him in front and
+thus catch him between two fires. Csernicseff thought he had to do with
+clever superiors, and as an ordinary divisional leader he did not dare
+to think his General to be so ignorant as to allow him to be attacked by
+the magnificent force of his opponent, nor did he think that Pugasceff
+would possess such want of tactics as, whilst he saw before him a strong
+force, to turn with all his troops to annihilate a small detachment.
+Both these things happened. Pugasceff quietly allowed his opponents to
+cross over the frozen river. Then he rushed upon them from both sides.
+He had the ice broken in their rear, and thus destroyed the entire
+force, capturing twelve guns. Csernicseff himself, with thirty-five
+officers, was taken prisoner, and Pugasceff had them all hanged on the
+trees along the roadway. Then, drunk with victory, he moved with his
+entire forces against Karr. He, too, was approaching hurriedly, and,
+thirty-six miles from Bugulminszka, the two forces met in a Cossack
+village. General Karr was quite astonished to find, instead of an
+imagined mob, a disciplined army divided into proper detachments, and
+provided with guns. Freymann advised him, as he had sent away the
+trusted squadron of Csernicseff, not to commence operations now with the
+cavalry, to take the village as the basis of his operations, and to use
+his infantry against the rebels. A series of surprises then befell Karr.
+He saw the despised rowdy crowd approaching with drawn sabres, he saw
+the coolness with which they came on in the face of the fiercest
+musketry fire. He saw the headlong desperation with which they rushed
+upon his secure position. He recognised that he had found here heroes,
+instead of thieves. But what annoyed him most was that this rabble knew
+so well how to handle their cannon; for in St. Petersburg, out of
+precaution, Cossacks are not enlisted in the artillery, in order that no
+one should teach them how to serve guns. And here this ignorant people
+handled the guns, stolen but yesterday, as though accustomed to them all
+their lifetime, and their shells had already set fire to villages in
+many different places. The General ordered his entire line to advance
+with a rush, while with the reserve he sharply attacked the enemy in
+flank, totally defeating them. His cavalry started with drawn swords
+towards the fire-spurting space. Amongst the 1500 horsemen there were
+only 300 Cossacks, and in the heat of battle these deserted to the
+enemy. Immediately General Karr saw this, he became so alarmed that he
+set his soldiers the example of flight. All discipline at an end, they
+abandoned their comrades in front, and escaped as best they could.
+
+Pugasceff's Cossacks pursued the Russians for a distance of thirty
+miles, but did not succeed in overtaking the General. Fear lent him
+wings. Arrived at Bugulminszka, he learnt that Csernicseff's horsemen
+had been destroyed, that the Body Guard in his own rear had been taken
+prisoners, and that twenty-one guns had fallen into the hands of the
+rebels. Upon hearing this bad news he was seized with such a bad attack
+of the _grippe_ that they wrapped him up in pillows and sent him home by
+sledge to St. Petersburg, where the four-handed card-party awaited him,
+and that very night he had the misfortune to lose his XXI.[3]; upon
+which the Czarina made the _bon mot_ that Karr allowed himself twice to
+lose his XXI. (referring to twenty-one guns), which _bon mot_ caused
+great merriment at the Russian Court.
+
+[Footnote 3: The card next to the highest in tarok.]
+
+After this victory, Pugasceff's star (if a demon may be said to possess
+one) attained its meridian. Perhaps it might have risen yet higher had
+he remained faithful to his gigantic missions, and had he not forgotten
+the two passions which had led him on with such astonishing
+rapidity--the one being to make the Czarina his wife, the other, to
+crush the Russian aristocracy. Which of these two ideas was the boldest?
+He was only separated from their realisation by a transparent film.
+
+After Karr's defeat he had an open road to Moscow, where his appearance
+was awaited by 100,000 serfs burning to shake off the yoke of the
+aristocracy, and form a new Russian empire. Forty million helots awaited
+their liberator in the rebel leader. Then, of a sudden, he cast away
+from him the common sense he had possessed until now--for the sake of a
+pair of beautiful eyes!
+
+After the victory of Bugulminszka a large number of _envoyes_ from the
+leaders of the Baskirs appeared before him, and brought him, together
+with their allegiance, a pretty girl to be his wife.
+
+The name of the maiden was Ulijanka, and she stole the heart of
+Pugasceff from the Czarina. At that time the adventurer believed so
+fully in his star that he did not behave with his usual severity.
+Ulijanka became his favourite, and the adventurous chief appointed
+Salavatke, her father, to be the ruling Prince of Baskirk. Then he
+commenced to surround himself with Counts and Princes. Out of the booty
+of plundered castles he clothed himself in magnificent Court costumes,
+and loaded his companions with decorations taken from the heroic Russian
+officers. He nominated them Generals, Colonels, Counts, and Princes. The
+Cossack, Csika, his first soldier, was appointed _Generalissimus_, and
+to him he entrusted half his army. He also issued roubles with his
+portrait under the name of Czar Peter III., and sent out a circular note
+with the words, "_Redevivus et ultor_." As he had no silver mines, he
+struck the roubles out of copper, of which there was plenty about. This
+good example was also followed by the Russians, who issued roubles to
+the amount of millions and millions, and made payments with them
+generously. Pugasceff now turned the romance of the insurrection into
+the parody of a reign. Instead of advancing against the unprotected
+cities of the Russian Empire, he attacked the defended strongholds, and,
+in the place of pursuing the fairy picture of his dreams which had led
+him thus far, he laid himself down in the mud by the side of a common
+woman!
+
+Generalissimus Csika was instructed to occupy the fort Ufa, with the
+troops who were entrusted to his care. The time was January, 1774, and
+it was so terribly cold that nothing like it had been recorded in
+Russian chronicles. The trees of the forest split with a noise as though
+a battle were proceeding, and the wild fowl fell to the ground along the
+roads.
+
+To carry on a siege under such circumstances was impossible. The
+hardened earth would not permit the digging of trenches, and it was
+impossible to camp on the frozen ground.
+
+The two rebel chiefs occupied the neighbouring towns, and so cut off all
+supplies from the neighbouring forests. In Orenburg they had already
+eaten up the horses belonging to the garrison, and a certain Kicskoff,
+the commissary, invented the idea of boiling the skins of the
+slaughtered animals, cutting them into small slices and mixing them with
+paste, which food was distributed amongst the soldiers, and gave rise to
+the breaking out of a scorbutic disease in the fort which rendered half
+the garrison incapable of work. On January the 13th, Colonel
+Vallenstierna tried to break his way through the rebel lines with 2500
+men, but he returned with hardly seventy. The remainder, about 2000 men,
+remained on the field. At any rate, they no longer asked for food! A few
+hundred hussars, however, cut their way through and carried to St.
+Petersburg the news of what Czar Peter III. (who had now risen for the
+seventh time from his grave) was doing! The Czarina commenced to get
+tired of her adorer's conquests, so she called together her faithful
+generals, and asked which of them thought it possible to undertake a
+campaign in the depth of the Russian winter into the interior of the
+Russian snow deserts. This did not mean playing at war, nor a triumphal
+procession. It meant a battle with a furious people who, in forty years'
+time, would trample upon the most powerful European troops. There were
+four who replied that in Russia everything was possible which ought to
+be done. The names of these four gentlemen were: Prince Galiczin,
+General Bibikoff, Colonel Larionoff, and Michelson, a Swedish officer.
+Their number, however, was soon reduced to two at the very commencement.
+Larionoff returned home after the first battle of Bozal, where the
+rebels proved victorious, whilst Bibikoff died from the hardships of the
+winter campaign.
+
+Galiczin and Michelson alone remained. The Swede had already gained fame
+in the Turkish campaign from his swift and daring deeds, and when he
+started from the Fort of Bozal against the rebels his sole troops
+consisted of 400 hussars and 600 infantry, with four guns. With this
+small force he started to the relief of the Fort of Ufa. Quickly as he
+proceeded, Csika's spies were quicker still, and the rebel leader was
+informed of the approach of the small body of the enemy. As he expected
+that they only intended to reinforce the garrison of Ufa, he merely sent
+against them 3000 men, with nine guns, to occupy the mountain passes
+through which they would march on their way to Ufa. But Michelson did
+not go to Ufa as was expected. He seated his men on sledges, and flew
+along the plains to Csika's splendid camp. So unexpected, so daring, so
+little to be credited was this move of his, that when he fell on Csika's
+vanguard at one o'clock one morning nobody opposed him. The alarmed
+rebels hurried headlong to the camp, and left two guns in the hands of
+Michelson. The Swedish hero knew well enough that the 3000 men of the
+enemy who occupied the mountain pass would at once appear in answer to
+the sound of the guns, and that he would thus be caught between two
+fires; so he hastily directed his men to entrench themselves beneath
+their sledges in the road, and left two hundred infantry with two guns
+to defend them, whilst with the remaining troops he made his way towards
+the town of Csernakuka, whither Csika's troops had fled. Michelson saw
+that he had no time to lose. He placed himself at the head of his
+hussars, sounded the charge, and attacked the bulk of his opponents. For
+this they were not prepared. The bold attack caused confusion amongst
+them, and in a few moments the centre of the camp was cut through, and
+the first battery captured. He then immediately turned his attention to
+the two wings of the camp. After this, flight became general, and
+Csika's troops were dispersed like a cloud of mosquitos, leaving behind
+them forty-eight cannon and eight small guns. The victor now returned
+with his small body of troops to the sledges they had left behind, and
+he then entirely surrounded the 3000 rebels. Those who were not
+slaughtered were captured. The victorious hero sent word to the
+commander of the Ufa garrison that the road was clear, and that the
+cannon taken from his opponents should be drawn thither. A hundred and
+twenty versts from Ufa he reached the flying Csika. The Generalissimus
+then had only forty-two officers, whilst his privates had disappeared in
+every direction of the wind. Michelson got hold of them all, and if he
+did not hang them it was only because on the six days' desert march not
+a single tree was to be found. In the meantime, Prince Galiczin, whose
+troops consisted of 6000 men, went in pursuit of Pugasceff. On this
+miserable route he did not encounter the mock Czar until the beginning
+of March. Pugasceff waited for his opponent in the forest of Taticseva.
+This so-called stronghold had only wooden walls, a kind of ancient
+fencing. It was good enough to protect the sheep from the pillaging
+Baskirs, but it was not suitable for war. The genius of the rebel leader
+did not desert him, and he was well able to look after himself. Round
+the fences he dug trenches, where he piled up the snow, on which he
+poured water. This, after being frozen, turned almost into stone, and
+was, at the same time, so slippery that no one could climb over it. Here
+he awaited Galiczin with a portion of his troops, while the remainder
+occupied Orenburg. The Russian general approached the hiding-place of
+the mock Czar cautiously. The thick fog was of service to him, and the
+two opponents only perceived one another when they were standing at
+firing distance. A furious hand-to-hand fight ensued. The best of the
+rebel troops were there. Pugasceff was always in the front and where the
+danger was greatest, but finally the Russians climbed the ice-bulwarks,
+captured his guns, and drove him out of the forest. This victory cost
+the life of 1000 heroic Russians, but it was a complete one! Pugasceff
+abandoned the field with 4000 men and seven guns; but what was a greater
+loss still than his army and his guns, was that of the superstitious
+glamour which had surrounded him until now. The belief in his
+incapability of defeat, that was lost too! The revengeful Czar who had
+but yesterday commenced his campaign, now had to fly to the desert,
+which promised him no refuge. It was only then that the real horrors of
+the campaign commenced. It was a war such as can be imagined in Russia
+only, where in the thousands and thousands of square miles of borderless
+desert scantily distributed hordes wander about, all hating Russian
+supremacy, and all born gun in hand. Pugasceff took refuge amongst these
+people. Once again he turned on Galiczin at Kargozki. He was again
+defeated, and lost his last gun. His sweetheart, Ulijanka, was also
+taken captive--that is, if she did not betray him! From here he escaped
+precipitately with his cavalry across the river Mjaes.
+
+Here Siberia commences, and here Russia has no longer villages, but only
+military settlements which are divided from each other by a day's march,
+across plains and the ancient forests, along the ranges of the Ural
+Mountains--the so-called factories.
+
+The Woszkrezenszki factory, situated one day's walk into the desert, is
+divided by uncut forests from the Szimszki factory, in both of which
+cinnamon and tin paints are made, and here are to be seen the powder
+factory of Usiska and the bomb factory of Szatkin, where the exiled
+Russian convicts work. At the meeting of the rivers are the small towns
+of Stepnaja, Troiczka Uszt, Magitnaja, Petroluskaja, Kojelga, guarded by
+native Cossacks, whilst others are garrisoned by disgraced battalions.
+Hither came Pugasceff with the remnants of his army. Galiczin pursued
+him for some time, but finally came to the conclusion that in this
+uninhabited country, where the solitary road is only indicated by
+snow-covered trenches, he could not, with his regular troops, reach an
+opponent whose tactics were to run away, as far and as fast as possible.
+
+Pugasceff rallied to him all the tribes along the Ural district, who
+deserted their homesteads and followed him.
+
+The winter suddenly disappeared, and those mild, short April days
+commenced which one can only realise in Siberia, when at night the water
+freezes, while in the daytime the melting snow covers the expanse of
+waste, every mountain stream becomes a torrent, and the traveller finds
+in the place of every brook a vast sea. The runaway might still proceed
+by sledge, but the pursuer would only find before him fathomless
+morasses. Only one leader had the courage to pursue Pugasceff even into
+this land--this was Michelson. Just as the Siberian wolf who has tasted
+the blood of the wild boar does not swerve from the track, but pursues
+him even amongst reeds and morasses, so the daring leader chased his
+opponent from plain to plain. He never had more than 1000 men, cavalry,
+artillery, and gunners all told. Every one had to carry provisions for
+two weeks, and 100 cartridges. The cavalry had guns as well as sabres,
+so that they might also fight on foot, and the artillery were supplied
+with axes, so that, if necessary, they might serve as carpenters, and
+all prepared to swim should the necessity arise. With this small force
+Michelson followed Pugasceff amid the horde of insurrectionary tribes,
+surrounded on every side by people upon whose mercy he could not count,
+whose language he did not understand, and whose motto was death. Yet he
+went amongst them in cold blood, as the sailor braves the terrors of the
+ocean. On the 7th of May he was attacked by the father of the pretty
+Ulijanka, near the Szimszki factory, with 2000 Baskirs, who were about
+to join Pugasceff. Michelson dispersed them, captured their guns, and
+discovered from the Baskir captives that Beloborodoff, one of the dukes
+created by Pugasceff, was approaching with a large force of renegade
+Russian soldiers. Michelson caught up with them near the Jeresen stream,
+and drove them into the Szatkin factory. Riding all by himself, so close
+to them that his voice could be heard, he commenced by admonishing them
+to rejoin the standard of the Czarina. He was fired at more than 2000
+times from the windows of the factory, but when they saw that he was
+invulnerable they suddenly threw open the gates and joined his forces.
+From them he discovered the whereabouts of the mock Czar, who had at the
+time once more recovered himself, had captured three strongholds,
+Magitnaja, Stepnaja, and Petroluskaja, and was just then besieging
+Troiczka. This place he took before the arrival of Michelson, who found
+in lieu of a stronghold nothing but ruins, dead bodies, and Russian
+officers hanging from the trees. Pugasceff heard of the approach of his
+opponent, and, with savage cunning, laid a snare to capture the daring
+pursuer. He dressed his soldiers in the uniforms of the dead Russian
+soldiers, and sent messengers to Michelson in the name of Colonel Colon
+that he should join him beyond Varlamora. Michelson only perceived the
+trick when his vanguard was attacked and two of his guns captured.
+
+Although surrounded, he immediately fell upon the flower of Pugasceff's
+guard, and cut his way through just where the enemy was strongest. The
+net was torn asunder. It was not strong enough. Pugasceff fled before
+Michelson, and, with a few hundred followers, escaped into the interior
+of Siberia, near the lake of Arga. All of a sudden Michelson found
+Szalavatka at his rear with Baskir troops who had already captured the
+Szatkin factory, and put to the sword men, women, and children.
+Michelson turned back suddenly, and found the Baskir camp strongly
+intrenched near the river Aj. The enemy had destroyed the bridges over
+the river, and confidently awaited the Imperial troops. At daybreak
+Michelson ordered up forty horsemen and placed a rifleman behind the
+saddle of each, telling them to swim the river and defend themselves
+until the remainder of the troops joined them. His commands were carried
+out to the letter amidst the most furious firing of the enemy, and the
+Russians gained the other side of the river without a bridge, drawing
+with them their cannon bound to trees. The Baskirs were dispersed and
+fled, but whilst Michelson was pursuing them with his cavalry he
+received news that his artillery was attacked by a fresh force, and he
+had to return to their aid. Pugasceff himself, who again was the
+aggressor, stood with a regular army on the plains. The battle lasted
+till late at night in the forest. Finally the rebels retreated, and
+Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the
+Fort of Ufa. He speedily cut his way through the forest, and when
+Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
+him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again
+victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
+clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
+charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
+appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
+the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
+from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
+pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
+Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
+other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
+away before him, and he burnt before their very eyes the town of Birszk.
+With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he acquired
+guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before Kazan,
+which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the seat of
+an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian Czars use
+at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar. If he
+could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it on his
+head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals Brand and
+Banner had but 1500 musketry for the defence of Kazan, but the citizens
+of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from within their
+ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General Potemkin,
+accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The Imperialists had
+as many generals and colonels in their camp as Pugasceff had corporals
+who had deserted their colours, yet the horde led by the rebel stormed
+the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the first to scale the
+wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took refuge in the
+citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni Novgorod did not
+once look back.
+
+Pugasceff captured the town of Kazan, and gave it up to pillage. The
+Archbishop of Kazan received him before the cathedral, bestowed upon him
+gold to the value of half-a-million roubles, and promised that he would
+place the crown on his head immediately he procured it; it being in the
+citadel. Pugasceff set fire to the town in all directions, as he wanted
+to effect the surrender of the citadel garrison by that means. Just at
+this moment Michelson was on his way. The heroic General hardly allowed
+his troops time for rest, but again started in pursuit of Pugasceff. No
+news of him was heard, his footsteps alone could be traced. At Burnova
+he was attacked by a gang of rebels, whom he dispersed, but they were
+not the troops of Pugasceff. At Brajevana he came upon a detachment, but
+this also was not the one he was looking for. He then turned towards the
+Fort of Ossa, where he found a group of Baskir horsemen, whom he
+dispersed, capturing many others, from whom he learnt that Pugasceff had
+crossed the river Kuma; and he knew that he would find the rebel at
+Kazan. He hastened after him, meeting right and left with camps and
+troops belonging to his adventurous opponent. He found no boats on the
+river Kuma, so he swam it. Two other rivers lay in his way, but neither
+of these prevented his progress, and when he arrived at Arksz he heard
+firing in the direction of Kazan. Allowing but one hour's repose to his
+troops, he marched through the night, and at daybreak the thick dark
+smoke on the horizon told him that Kazan was in flames. Pugasceff's
+patrols communicated to their leader that Michelson was again at hand.
+The mock Czar cursed upon hearing the news. Was it a devil who was again
+at his heels, when he believed him 300 miles off? He decided that this
+must not be known to the garrison, who had been forced into the citadel.
+He collected from his troops those whom he could spare, and stationed
+them in the town of Taziczin, seven miles from Kazan, to prevent the
+advance of the dreaded enemy. Just as he was proclaiming himself Czar
+Peter III. in the market-place of Taziczin, a miserable-looking woman
+rushed in, and fell at his feet, embracing him, and covering him with
+kisses. This woman was Pugasceff's wife, who thought her husband lost
+long ago. They had been married very young, and Pugasceff himself
+believed her no longer living, but the poor woman recognised him by his
+voice. Pugasceff did not lose his presence of mind, but, gently lifting
+the woman up, he said to his officers:--"Look after this woman; her
+husband was a great friend of mine and I owe him much." But every one
+knew that the sham-Czar was no other than the husband of Marianka, and
+no doubt the appearance of the peasant woman told on the spirits of the
+insurgent troops. The most bitter and decisive battle of the
+insurrection awaited them. The night divided the two armies, and it was
+only in the morning that Michelson could force his way into the town,
+whence he sent word to the people of Kazan to come to his assistance.
+Pugasceff again attacked him with embittered fury, and as he could not
+dislodge him he withdrew the remainder of his troops from Kazan and
+encamped on the plain. The third day of the battle, fortune turned to
+the side of Pugasceff. They fought for four hours, and Michelson was
+already surrounded, when the hero put himself at the head of his small
+army and made a desperate rush upon Pugasceff.
+
+The insurrectionary forces were broken asunder. They left 3000 men on
+the battlefield, and 5000 captives fell into the hands of the victors.
+
+Kazan was free, but the Russian empire was not so yet.
+
+Pugasceff, trodden a hundred times to the ground, rose once more. After
+his defeat at Kazan, he fled, not towards the interior of Siberia, but
+straight towards the heart of the Russian empire--towards Moscow. Out of
+his army which was split asunder at Kazan he formed 100 battalions, and
+with a small number of these, crossed the Volga. Immediately he appeared
+on the opposite banks of the river, the entire province was enkindled:
+the peasantry rose in revolt against the aristocracy. Within a district
+of 100 miles every castle was destroyed, and one town after the other
+opened its gates to the mock Czar. The further he advanced the more his
+army increased and the faster his insurrectionary red flag travelled
+towards the gates of Moscow. On their way the rebels occupied forts,
+pillaged and destroyed the towns, and the troops which were sent against
+them were captured. Before the Fort of Zariczin an Imperial force
+challenged their advance. In the ensuing battle, every Russian officer
+fell, and the entire force was captured. Again Pugasceff had 25,000 men
+and a large number of guns, and his road would have been clear to Moscow
+if the ubiquitous Michelson had not been at his back! This wonderful
+hero did not dread his opponents, however numerous, and like the panther
+which drives before him the herd of buffaloes, so he drove with his
+small body Pugasceff's tremendous army. The rebel felt that this man had
+a magic power over him, and that he was in league with fate. Finally, he
+found a convenient place outside Sarepta, and here he awaited his
+opponent. It is a height which a steep mountain footpath divides, and
+this path is intersected by another. Pugasceff placed a portion of his
+best troops on the ascending path, whilst to the riff-raff he entrusted
+his two wings. If Michelson had caught the bull by the horns with his
+ordinary tactics, he ought to have cut through the little footpath
+leading to the steep road, and if he had succeeded then, the troops
+which were at the point of intersection would have fallen between two
+fires, from which they could not have escaped. But Michelson changed his
+system of attack. Whilst the bombardment was going on, he, together with
+Colonel Melin, rushed upon the wings of the opposing forces. Pugasceff
+saw himself fall into the pit he had dug for others. The rebel army,
+terror-struck, rushed towards his camp. The forces that flew to his
+rescue fell at the mouth of his guns, and he had to cut his way through
+his own troops in order to escape from the trap. This was his last
+battle! He escaped with sixty men, crossed the Volga, and hid amongst
+the bushes of an uninhabited plain.
+
+The Russian troops surrounded the plain, whence Pugasceff and his men
+could not escape. And yet he still dreamt of future glory! Amidst the
+great desert his old ambition came back to him--he pictured the golden
+dome of the Kremlin, and the conquered Czarina. And with these dreams he
+suffered the tortures of hunger. For days and days he had no nourishment
+but horse-flesh roasted on the reeds, which was made palatable by
+meadow-grass in place of salt. One night, as he was sitting over the
+fire and roasting his meagre dinner on a wooden spit, one of the three
+Cossacks who formed his body-guard said to him, "You have played your
+comedy long enough, Pugasceff!" The adventurer sprang up from his place.
+
+"Slave, I am your Czar!" and whilst saying this he slew the speaker. The
+two others made a rush at him, struck him to the ground, bound him, tied
+him to a horse, and thus took him to Ural Sorodok and delivered him to
+General Szuvarof. It was the very same Ural Sorodok whence he had
+started upon his bold undertaking. From here he was taken to Moscow. The
+sentence passed upon him was that he should be cut up alive into small
+pieces. The Czarina confirmed the sentence, though her beautiful eyes
+had had great share of responsibility for the sinner's fate. The hangman
+was more merciful. It was not specified in the sentence where he should
+commence the work of slaughter, so he began at once with the head, and
+for this oversight he was sent to Siberia! Katharine about this time
+changed her favourite. Instead of Orloff, Potemkin, a fine fellow, was
+chosen.
+
+
+
+
+TAMERLAN THE TARTAR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+All around, as far as eye could range, not a palm, nor a plant, nor a
+blade of grass was to be seen. From one end of the horizon to the other,
+nothing on which the rising sun could cast a shadow! There was only a
+small hillock in the centre of this desert, and against this a man was
+resting, spreading out his hands upon the square stone which stood upon
+it. He had either just risen from sleep or from the recital of prayer,
+and, kneeling, he greeted the rising sun. His dress was similar to that
+of an Eastern mendicant, for he was covered with a long woollen cloak,
+and one could see through his wide-hanging sleeves the wounds on his
+arms which had been scorched by the sun. He was short, and lame with a
+crippled foot, and, although his hair and beard were already white, his
+face, which was ruddy and youthful, belied his age, for on his forehead
+no wrinkles were to be seen, and his eyes were bright and sparkling. The
+expression of his face was as grave and gentle as that of a philosopher
+or a pilgrim.
+
+To the eastern horizon of the desert, along the stony plain of Szivasz,
+a red pyramid arrested the sun's rays, and appeared through the morning
+mists like a red shadow, whilst westward, a long black streak of cloud
+seemed to hover, which the morning breeze was powerless to agitate and
+the light of dawn could not kindle into colour. Throughout the whole
+extent of the plains not a human voice was to be heard, but in the
+melancholy quietude some continuous and dismal sounds attracted the ear,
+proceeding apparently from the interior of the earth. Far and wide as
+the waste extended were these heartrending and distressing noises to be
+heard. It seemed as though the earth were sobbing, or as though one
+could recognise the sighs and groans ascending from lost souls in
+purgatory, numbed into faint echoes in their transit from the depths
+below. Or even as though the air were filled with the loud screams of
+evil spirits, coming and going one knew not whence or whither. On the
+face of the lonely wanderer no expression of fear was visible. He did
+not shrink shudderingly from the phantom of the plain, nor from the
+desolate picture spread before him. If he could pass the night alone
+amidst these ghostly surroundings, was it likely that he would be afraid
+in the sunlight?
+
+He knelt once again upon the hillock, touching the stone with his
+forehead, speaking in low murmurs as though into the sand:
+
+"Oh! Wisdom beyond all wisdoms! grant to me to acquire thy knowledge
+that I may wander throughout the world, and accomplish what Thou hast
+left unfinished."
+
+Whilst saying this he rose, and, with dignified mien, gazed around the
+expanse of plain. These plains were the blessed soil of Iran. But
+yesterday it was the fourth paradise of Asia, while to-day it is a
+desert.
+
+The little hillock was the sepulchre of Abu Mozlim who killed half a
+million of people in his fierce and continuous fights.
+
+The philosopher, wanderer, and mendicant who rested upon it was Timur
+(the man of the iron sword), nicknamed also Timur Lenk (the lame), who
+in the language of flatterers was called Gurgan (the high and mighty
+lord), Szabil Kiran (the master of all time), or Djeihangir (the
+conqueror of the world)--one of the greatest of all conquerors. On his
+head rested the crowns of twenty-seven countries, and from the Indus to
+the Volga twenty-seven nationalities groaned under his yoke.
+
+It was he himself, the dreaded Tamerlan. The red pyramid to the east was
+a pyramid of skulls, which had been piled up from the heads of 90,000
+soldiers captured during the war, whilst the immovable cloud towards the
+west was the smoke rising from Szivasz, which only two days ago was
+inhabited by 100,000 people and to-day held as many graves!
+
+The hollow murmuring from the centre of the earth was caused by the
+cries of 4000 Armenians, whom the victorious conqueror had caused to be
+buried alive in one vast timber-lined grave, so that their screams could
+be heard for some time. It was their moans which came from beneath the
+earth, whilst the cripple rested on his club, made from the horn of the
+buffalo, and gazed with a satisfied air around the desert wastes which,
+yesterday a paradise, had been battered down by his horses' hoofs into a
+dismal plain. What he saw and heard was delight to his heart. The air of
+the desert mourned, and the earth moaned in concert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Timur's camp was always full of learned men, poets, and lute singers.
+When he devastated a country or uprooted a town, there was never a
+living soul left behind his track--not the sound of a child's cry, the
+bark of a dog, or the crow of a cock--everything was destroyed!
+
+But he spared learned men and poets. On the day of destruction his camp
+was a place of refuge to them, and they were guarded by his soldiers in
+order that no evil might befall them; and when he moved onwards he
+carried with him not only the treasures of the dead--silver, gold, and
+jewels, but also those of the living--art and science. His camp was
+swarming with astronomers, magicians, singers, poets, painters,
+gymnasts, engineers, doctors, conjurers, monkey-trainers, and such like.
+Timur caused them to be elegantly dressed and well fed, and paid them
+handsomely. He carried them about everywhere with him, in order that
+they might amuse all but himself. Why should he trouble his head with
+astronomy when he knew no star so sparkling as himself? Why should he
+learn history, when he was the one to make it; or listen to verses which
+were sung in praise of love, when he distributed captive maidens to his
+soldiers as a portion of their pay? If he had scientific men in his camp
+it was in order that they should exert their power over his people. Let
+them hear the poet's stories, and the recital of heroic deeds, and let
+the chroniclers write on their parchment what he dictated. Let comedians
+amuse the crowd, so long as it was acknowledged that all the amusement
+was owing to him.
+
+It was 830 in the Hedjir year, and the countries of two great conquerors
+adjoined one another. One was Timur, another was Bajazet, whose surname
+was Djildirim (the lightning). This latter name is also inscribed in
+letters of blood in the chronicles of other unfortunate nations, and a
+people who yet cannot fail to remember his name are still called
+Magyars. Bajazet was the victorious hero of Nicapol. Where two
+sword-blades touch there is sure to be fighting, and how could two
+conquerors of the world find room close to one another? Bajazet
+conquered three provinces which were in vassalage to Timur, and drove
+away the Khans of Taherten, Szarnchan and Aidin. The last he took
+captive, together with his wife. Timur, with whom the Khan of Aidin was
+a favourite, sent envoys to the Sultan, asking him to restore their
+provinces to his _proteges_, and to set the Khan of Aidin and his wife
+at liberty. The Sultan was inclined to slay these envoys, but was
+dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, who said, "Timur, the son of
+the desert, never causes the envoys sent by his opponents to be killed."
+However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with
+camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent
+word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin
+he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.
+
+Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his
+troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.
+
+One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in
+thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes
+to appear before you."
+
+"For what purpose? If he wants money he can have it without seeing me."
+
+"He does not want money; he only asks to be received into your favour."
+
+"If he does not gain that, then, he will have stolen my time, and time
+is life; therefore, he will have deprived me of life, and will have to
+be considered a regicide!"
+
+Such thoughts as those were frequent utterances from Timur's lips, and
+it is a fact that he often had people killed for a mere trifle, and
+spared their lives as a sort of good joke.
+
+Shacheddin did not relinquish his request, and a few minutes afterwards
+Timur's guards hastened to bring the magician before their master. It
+was a mark of respect that all should enter hurriedly into the presence
+of this mighty man, and that they should throw themselves upon their
+faces on the ground. To walk slowly was considered a mark of haughty
+conduct by him.
+
+The magician was attired in grey robes, and on his head he wore a tall,
+silk cap. His beard was painted yellow, and his eyebrows blue, whilst on
+his face were inscribed Tallic words in green and red.
+
+"Magician," said Timur, with mocking condescension, "where have you
+learnt your art? Amongst the idiots of Almanzor, or in the company of
+Chinese clowns? Do you understand how to charm people back to this
+country from another, or _vice versa_? Say, do you understand that?"
+
+"I understand that," answered the magician, bowing down to the ground.
+
+"If, indeed, you understand that, then command that in one moment my
+beloved servant, the Khan of Aidin, shall stand before me; and, if you
+cannot do this, perhaps you will manage to transplant yourself at least
+a thousand miles from me, for my hands can reach even to that extent,
+and may possibly cause your death!"
+
+"It shall be as you command," said the magician. "Will you please to
+order your slaves to bring a vat of water before me?"
+
+"Shacheddin has tried that," said Timur, with cold irony. "Bring water
+to the magician!"
+
+A vat filled with water was placed before the magician, and he jumped
+into it, still wearing his clothes.
+
+Timur gazed upon him with doubting condescension, thinking to himself at
+the same time what kind of death he should bestow upon this deceitful
+mortal. All at once the water was divided and in place of the magician a
+fine, tall young man, with hanging locks, stood before him.
+
+It was the Khan of Aidin himself!
+
+Timur rose hastily from his seat, and flew to him as a lioness who
+discovers her lost cubs. He embraced the young fellow and carried him in
+his arms to a panther skin, where he told him to be seated before him.
+
+"How did you get here?"
+
+"As an acrobat," replied the Khan of Aidin, with a smile. "I escaped
+disguised as a rope-dancer from your enemy's country!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+A Prince as an acrobat! Could there be a greater humiliation? Could
+there be anything in existence calling for more bitter revenge?
+
+"Which way did you come, and what towns did you touch?" asked Timur of
+the Khan, who was seated at his feet.
+
+"From Smyrna I escaped as a running footman. The people praised my
+running to such an extent that I felt compelled to prove how far I could
+go by running away altogether! In Aleppo I was a monkey-trainer! In
+Bagdad I turned somersaults! In Damascus I climbed by a rope to the
+Tower of Minarch! At Angora I put sharp swords into my throat; whilst in
+Szivasz I swallowed burning coals before the son of the Sultan!"
+
+Timur Lenk counted on his fingers the names of the towns as the Khan of
+Aidin recapitulated them; Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Bagdad, Angora,
+Szivasz--not one stone of them should remain! And the people who had
+been so amused by the acrobatic performances of a prince should bitterly
+deplore this! Little time should be given them to lament!
+
+"And your children?" asked Timur of his _protege_.
+
+The Khan gave a sigh.
+
+"They are kissing the whips of Bajazet's slaves."
+
+"They shall not do so long!"
+
+Timur called Shacheddin before him, and had another letter written to
+the Sultan, taking care that every time his name was mentioned it should
+appear in a line with his in quite as large-sized letters, and not in
+different ink; whilst, in accordance with his usual custom, he signed
+his name at the top, not the bottom, of the page. The contents of the
+missive were not couched in angry terms, though they were written in a
+haughty manner.
+
+"Do you not know that the greater portion of Asia is submissive to my
+sword and my laws? Do you not know that my army reaches from one sea to
+another, and that the world's rulers stand humbly at my doors imploring
+to be heard! What is your boast to me? A victory over the Christians?
+You have been victorious over them because the swords of the
+prophet--blessed be Allah!--were in your hands. But who will defend you
+against me? Your only protector is the Koran, whose commands I obey as
+you do. Be wise! Do not despise your opponent because he was once
+insignificant. When the locust grows up, and its wings become red, it
+attacks the very birds who wished to consume it before!"
+
+Timur's envoys carried the message to Bajazet as quickly as Arab horses
+could gallop. In it he once more demanded that the captured towns of the
+Khan of Aidin should be restored to him in peace and quietness, and that
+his wife and children should be set at liberty, and he suggested that
+the joint armies of the Sultan and himself should afterwards start
+together and branch off in different directions, one east, the other
+west--one to destroy the Pagans, the other the Christians. Timur's
+messengers returned to his camp with Bajazet's reply, also as swiftly as
+Arab horses could gallop. Hardly had he opened the letter when Timur's
+face became flushed with anger. Bajazet's name was written in a
+different line to his, and was at least an inch larger, whilst Timur's
+name was similar in size to the rest of the lettering, and was in black
+ink! The name of the Sultan was in historic characters ornamented with
+gold. Nor were the contents of the letter couched in mild form. Timur
+saw here no flattering terms. He was not styled Gurgan, or Djeihangir,
+but "the Spoiler of Countries," "the Thief of the Desert," "the Worm,"
+"the Crippled Man," &c.; and he had to read how his fame was disparaged,
+his guns ridiculed, his requests mocked at, and his threats ignored.
+
+"What I have conquered belongs to me, quite as much as does my own
+country. Those whom I have captured are my slaves. If you want them,
+come for them! Come, and bring with you your million soldiers with their
+miserable arrows, who will be quickly scattered by my heroes as chaff
+before the wind! Come, and find me face to face! Come! If not, may you
+be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife if you do not appear before
+me!" Every Eastern chronicler notes these words with shuddering horror!
+
+Ibu Shimah, Arabshah, Sherefeddin, and the Persian Khandemir all record
+them with the greatest loathing, and Christian historians, such as
+Phranzas and Chalcondylas, admit that a greater curse could not befall a
+Mussulman! "May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+He who loves, nay adores, and respects his faithful wife, the mother of
+his children, who is to him a queen of the world as well as the queen of
+his heart, and he who knows that in accordance with the Alkoran it is
+easy to be separated from a wife, but should remarriage be desired, she
+must live with another man first, and only when he has thrust her aside
+can she again marry her first husband--he it is who will understand
+what a frightful curse is this to a Mussulman!
+
+"May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
+
+It is a greater insult than to slap the face; it is far worse than to
+break in two your opponent's sword! Nay, it is even more than to have
+the graves of one's ancestors uprooted, and is a deadly offence to all
+Mussulmans. And when this Mussulman is a Monarch! and this Monarch,
+Timur!
+
+Timur Lenk did not appear to be furious. He did not howl with rage. He
+stood up, speechless, and held the letter towards heaven as though he
+would say, "Here is this letter; read it!" His sons and generals and the
+vassal princes were horrified to see him as he stood there in his camp,
+apparently speaking, though none could hear him nor understand him, save
+those who are unseen, for his lips remained closed. He folded the letter
+slowly and placed it in his breast in order that he might carry it there
+until he could revenge himself for the insult. After this, anger was no
+longer visible on his countenance. He did not put the envoys in chains,
+though Bajazet had so treated those sent by him; he did not have their
+noses and ears cut off. On the contrary, he gave them presents of golden
+caps and richly embroidered coats, and had them mounted on horseback and
+escorted through his camp, in order that they might count his standards
+and number his troops. He had the fighting elephants brought before
+them; he let them know that his cavalry wore armour beneath their
+uniforms, in order that they might go back to their master and tell him
+that Timur was quite prepared and would soon meet him, or should he
+decide to come himself, that he would await him. The Sultan was not to
+hurry! He would do well to prepare himself in a befitting manner to meet
+his enemy! Meantime Timur would bombard the Fort of Szivasz, the
+Sultan's most important stronghold!
+
+Timur Lenk looked down from the Taurus Mountains into the Valley of
+Anadot. A new Paradise stretched before his feet. He saw hundreds and
+hundreds of places amidst the green meadows, and as far as eye could
+reach his troops were to be seen; and before him, in the mouth of the
+valley, lay Szivasz, surrounded on either side by massive citadels and
+canals, quite unapproachable, owing to morasses. There was but one route
+by which the gates could be reached, and this was defended by triple
+walls and high watch-towers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The woeful news was brought to Bajazet that Timur had started his
+expedition against him. He had received tidings of this beforehand, and
+therefore had time to prepare himself. Szivasz had 100,000 inhabitants,
+amongst whom were 20,000 military. The Sultan reinforced them by sending
+10,000 Armenians, the pick of his regiments, who were commanded by his
+second son, Ertogrul. The fort, which was called the "Unconquerable,"
+was provided with ammunition for one year. One year's ammunition! Within
+that space of time barley was being reaped in its courtyard after its
+capture by Timur!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Timur's followers were divided into a camp of twenty-seven sections.
+Tartars and Persians formed the cavalry; Manchou miners made the
+subterranean ways, whilst the supple Hindoos scaled the walls. These men
+were all veritable magicians! They climbed the enemy's ramparts like
+snakes, they were quite nude, with ropes round their shoulders, and they
+carried sharp iron prongs in their hands, and in their teeth yataghans.
+They clung partly to the bricks, partly to the smooth surface of the
+walls, and resting on the shoulders of their comrades beneath them, they
+reached the summit. Whilst this living ladder, man on man, made its way
+up the giddy heights and attained the foot of the citadel, those beneath
+were being continuously dragged up after them. Had they swerved or
+fallen they would have been dashed to pieces. Those who first reached
+the citadel, crept slowly, like so many panthers, to the unsuspecting
+guards, and stretched themselves along the ground as their backs were
+turned, then threw the ropes suddenly over their necks and pulled them
+down to the earth. Thus they died without making a sound. When one or
+two thousand Hindoos had reached the citadel, they flew down to the
+watch-towers, strangled the guard, and cut the chains of the bridges.
+Then Timur's iron men, with swords in both hands, made a rush to
+slaughter the whole population. They had been frequently successful in
+these cunning attacks upon the walled towns. Strong forts which had been
+prepared to resist an attack of a year's duration had often fallen
+suddenly in one night into the hands of the conqueror.
+
+This fate awaited Szivasz! The gates and trenches had been well seen to
+by spies, but yet Timur was ignorant of one fact--viz., that the
+Sultan's son, Ertogrul (called the "nightbird," as he only slept in
+daytime), guarded the walls at night, like an owl.
+
+Timur and his men waited before the gates with drawn swords until
+midnight, and, indeed, until daybreak, to receive the expected signal
+for the onslaught to be made. The Polar Star and the Morning Star
+appeared in the skies, yet no sound was to be heard in the fort. When it
+was daylight, Timur caused twenty-four huge machines, used for flinging
+blocks of stone, to be brought into operation. With the bullets which
+were returned in answer, came back to him the heads of his own soldiers!
+From early in the morning till late at night the heads of his bravest
+men were thrown at him! Timur saw them coming in tens and twenties from
+the heights above him! They had been all selected athletes and clever
+mechanics who had completed their studies at Delhi, and had silently
+slidden down on ropes from the precipitous rocks of Georgia to surprise
+and slaughter the enemy. Until late at night these gory balls fell at
+Timur's feet. He could have added to the large collection he already
+possessed, but these were cherished heads, belonging to his own men!
+Ertogrul had indeed lashed the lion!
+
+Suddenly Timur put into work 8000 miners! The wall of the fort was only
+to be got at on one side, and under this he made a subterranean way,
+walled it with timber, and filled it up with sulphur and resin, which he
+caused to be ignited. After the seventeen days' bombardment, the
+watchmen of Szivasz perceived a suffocating smell in the air, which
+seemed to settle heavily down upon them, and took away their courage.
+The earth beneath them became burning hot, the grass in the woods around
+the citadels dried up, and the walls could be heard to split and crack
+from top to basement. The heat became unbearable, the iron railings
+assumed a fiery red hue, whilst the grain stored away in the citadel was
+burnt as black as soot, and the wine-casks exploded. This was on the
+seventeenth day. On the eighteenth the walls of the citadel, together
+with the iron gates, fell down all together into a veritably burning
+hell! Then could be heard the Tartar cry of enthusiasm "Sueruen!"
+
+Thus were forced open the gates of the Ottoman Empire, and the enemy
+slaughtered the whole population of the town. Not a man, woman or child
+was spared on the day of the capture of Szivasz.
+
+The lives of four thousand Armenians were alone preserved. Timur was
+merciful enough to promise Ertogrul that he would spare their lives, and
+that he would not kill the young prince himself until he should himself
+desire it, and he kept his word. He caused the four thousand soldiers to
+be buried alive in a huge vault, whilst Ertogrul was handed over to his
+slaves in order that he might be paraded about the camp with a crown on
+his head and golden circlets about him, and thus shown to the people as
+some curious monster. Three days later the Sultan's son himself prayed
+to be killed, and Timur acceded to his request.
+
+On the very day that this happened, Timur absented himself from the camp
+and went to the grave of Abu Mozlim the Cruel, on the burying-ground
+where he could yet hear the curses and cries of despair which came from
+those whom he had caused to be buried alive. He gazed with admiration on
+the wilderness which his people had created, and passed a whole night
+there.
+
+At daybreak his leaders came to him, bringing the copper gates of
+Szivasz, on which he rested his feet. These gates he caused to be
+afterwards sent to Samarcand, the capital of his empire, where were
+stored all the gates of those towns which he had captured or destroyed,
+making a terrible museum. They were placed at the base of an enormously
+high jasper monument raised to the god of the Delhi Brahmins, and were
+put along the roadway in order that every follower of the faithful might
+tread upon the emblems of Christianity with which they were adorned.
+
+After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the
+venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolpan (the Morning
+Star), his youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied
+the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these
+revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and
+caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur
+proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold
+and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men.
+Shacheddin, the historian, then pulled out his parchment, and read aloud
+his record of an event which he had described, in order that it might be
+handed down to posterity in the following terms:
+
+"In the year 830 of the Hedjir--the day after the death of the Prophet
+Omar--at the mere glance of the never-to-be-opposed Djeihangir, the
+world-renowned conqueror, the impregnable walls of Szivasz, built up by
+the Alaeddin to an enormous height, fell to the ground. A hundred
+thousand armed men who defended this fort fell down on their faces, and
+surrendered at the word of the mighty Szabil Kiran. The gracious Gurgan,
+who has ever been merciful, gave his gracious pardon to those who were
+left alive, and forbade that their blood should be shed. May honour and
+glory attend his footsteps!"
+
+Timur Lenk praised this description, and, after bestowing gifts upon the
+chronicler, shouldered his club and proceeded to further shatter the
+gates of the town. The desert plain continued to wail and groan after
+this, and who knows when it ceased to do so?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+I wonder at what hour commence the reveries of a heart which has not yet
+been opened fully into the light of life? What are the dreams which
+woman's soul creates whilst she remains yet between childhood and
+womanhood, whilst she is yet half a slave, half a queen, partly a
+careless being, partly an angel of light!
+
+On the day of the birth of Maria, the daughter of Eleazar, the King of
+Bulgaria, the horoscope which was cast for her by the soothsayers
+foretold that this woman would be the cause of a great monarch's death.
+King Eleazar naturally thought that this mighty monarch must mean
+himself, and on the day of her christening he left her in the convent
+where the ceremony had been performed, fully intending that she should
+never leave the place.
+
+Just about this time the Osman Emperors commenced to overrun Europe, and
+Eleazar was vanquished by them, and, in order to save himself from
+slavery, he offered his daughter as wife to the notorious enemy, in
+accordance with a custom then prevalent. At this time the Sultans had
+their own lawful wives, and it happened that Maria became the last
+Sultana upon the Ottoman throne. Those who followed her were merely
+favourites, and sat on footstools at the steps of the throne.
+
+Maria was just sixteen when she exchanged the walls of the nunnery for
+those of the Seraglio.
+
+One is as closely guarded as the other.
+
+In this abode of innocent virgins she was taught that the world is
+divided into three parts. The portion above is Paradise, which is
+inhabited by angels; that below is Hades, where the devils abide; and
+between these comes the earth, where dwell women, and heartless beings,
+alien to animals, and nothing more! The inhabitants of the upper and
+lower worlds are continually fighting one against the other, and it is
+the duty of the women who live on earth to pray incessantly and to
+glorify and honour the angels.
+
+The Sultan sent his chariot to fetch Maria away, and she only descended
+from this at the door of the Emerald Room of the palace, where she was
+greeted by three hundred maidens.
+
+She now learnt to know that there was such a thing as a man in the
+world, and that he was the Sultan Bajazet! She believed in the existence
+of one man alone. The others she thought were all _Dzsins_
+(Christians)--that is to say, good and evil spirits, who continually
+fight against one another. She imagined Bajazet to be the chief of the
+good _Dzsins_, whom he led into battle against the bad.
+
+Maria was just sixteen, and she did not know that there was more than
+one man in the world, and that was her husband, the Emperor Bajazet,
+whom she loved, revered, and adored, and for whom she forgot everything,
+even all that she had been taught by the sainted, marble-faced sisters
+in the convent, concerning the paradise which is lit up by the rays of
+the stars.
+
+She was happy, and she made others happy. Both in the Seraglio and in
+the convent she saw none but women's faces. The only difference was that
+_here_ were glitter and pomp, and nothing but cheerfulness and
+merriment, whilst _there_ all was coldness and severe simplicity. _Here_
+she had a variety of enjoyments, whilst _there_ she had to renounce all
+pleasure. _Here_ her idol was a living man with a smiling countenance,
+who heaped love and flattery upon her, whilst _there_ it was an unhappy
+Saviour who wore a crown of thorns, and whose pale face looked down upon
+her from the cross.
+
+Bajazet reposed in the society of Maria after his victories, and it
+gratified him to recount to her how many of his opponents he had slain
+in one day, whilst she caressed his snowy beard, and kissed his wrinkled
+forehead, being glad to know that there were so many _Dzsins_ the less
+in the world.
+
+Little did she know that those very _Dzsins_ were of her own creed, and
+that they were having their last desperate fight for existence with him.
+
+The Odalisc (women of the harem) sang of the Sultan's glories in
+something like the following strain, in which Maria delighted: "The
+unbelievers disappear as a flock before a hailstorm, and as tow in the
+flames. They are burned in their own cities!" Maria applauded this
+singing, little knowing that amongst the _Dzsins_ fell her own brothers!
+
+"Should you kill the King of the _Dzsins_ bring me his eyes," she said
+one day to the Sultan.
+
+Bajazet was a tender husband and a cunning inventor of tales. The next
+day he made her a present of two diamonds as large as a man's eyes, and
+he said they had come from the forehead of the King of the _Dzsins_.
+
+The eyes of other spirits were made, said Bajazet, of opals, emeralds,
+and rubies, and he, after each of his victories, heaped these precious
+stones upon her, and pearls, which he made her believe were the teeth of
+fallen _Dzsins_, were so heavy as to weigh down her bodice!
+
+"When will you start again on a fresh campaign? And what will you bring
+me back? I have myself plaited your whip and I have embroidered the
+saddle which your horse is to wear when it carries you into battle."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bajazet was at this time just starting on an expedition against the
+Greek Emperor, whose empire was then limited to the extent of the walls
+of Constantinople, which were being bombarded by his adversary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+One morning the Sultan was awakened by what seemed to him to be the
+voice of a nightingale, and, looking up, he saw Maria near him kneeling
+down, with bent head and arms crossed. The Sultan gazed long upon the
+childish figure. He could not understand what she was doing.
+
+Finally he interrupted her. "Morning Star, what are you doing?"
+
+The girl started. "I am praying!"
+
+Bajazet had never seen anything like this before.
+
+"To whom do you pray?" he questioned her, with astonishment.
+
+"To God!"
+
+The Sultan shook his head, for amongst Mussulmans it is not customary
+for women to pray.
+
+"And why are you praying?"
+
+"That God may be with you when you start for battle, and that He may
+grant you victory!"
+
+The Sultan was overcome with joy at the idea that Maria should pray to
+her own God when her husband started for battle--a battle which was to
+cause the destruction of her God's own altars. This idea was sweeter to
+him than the thought of the blood to be shed.
+
+"Pray for me. Pray fervently, with all the orthodox prayers to which you
+are accustomed. I do not understand them, but your prophets will know
+how they can persuade the ruler of good and evil to act differently to
+what he had intended, perhaps, a million years before. Tell me about
+your prayers. I find delight in them. I do not believe in them, but you
+do, and that is pleasurable to me. And I swear to you by the name of my
+own prophet Allah, and in the name of your God, that when I return from
+the battle, concerning which you pray, you shall have whatever your
+heart desires. In the meantime think of some desire which is as yet
+unfulfilled--a desire which is yet hardly existent--which may be only a
+fancy--waken it into life, demand it, and I will fulfil it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Soon afterwards he left to bombard Byzantium.
+
+The Sultan was right in his belief that the world's history does not
+depend on the tears of women. It was decided a million years ago that
+this rotten country was to fall to pieces, but no one man was empowered
+to hasten the destruction before the allotted day and year. Just when
+the siege was completed the frightful news reached Bajazet that the
+avenging Timur had accepted his challenge. Impregnable Szivasz had
+fallen, and his greatest hero, his son, had been killed by the enemy!
+Bajazet at once suspended the bombardment of Byzantium. He had neither
+time nor desire to attack the Christian Churches when an enemy, mightier
+than himself, approached. Byzantium, therefore, had for a short time to
+be spared the fate of having its name changed to Stamboul, just as, 450
+years later, it was spared from being rechanged to Byzantium, though the
+change was already looming in the distance.
+
+Bajazet was quite certain that he would take Byzantium. It was a dream
+from which he could not free himself until it was fulfilled. Every one
+was against the war. The soothsayers prophesied evil to come. His
+leaders warned him not to commence the bombardment until he had finished
+with Tamerlan. But he would not be dissuaded. The soothsayer who
+advised him to start against Timur before proceeding to Byzantium was
+dismissed from his presence.
+
+When Timur approached towards Szivasz the Sultan's advisers again
+implored him.
+
+"Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+When he was tired of hearing this he had a few of them killed, but the
+warning did not die with them. Though his advisers could no longer speak
+to him, a sad and moaning song was heard amongst the soldiers, the
+refrain of which was, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+The Sultan had to listen to this nightly from his tent, and when he
+forbade it to be sung in his camp, it was passed on to the shepherds in
+the Izmid mountains. In the silent night, and in the far distance, the
+wailing of the shepherds' horn was heard from the Pontus as far as the
+Sultan's tent, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
+
+Bajazet had the shepherds driven into the mountains, or killed, in order
+that he could no longer hear the cursed song! But he heard afterwards
+what he little wanted to believe, that both Szivasz and his hero had
+fallen, and had been destroyed by the hands of his enemy. Bajazet
+strewed ashes on his head! This was his own fault.
+
+He no longer attacked the gates of Byzantium. He left the subways in the
+midst of their construction, crossed the Pontus with his army, collected
+his generals and all his war-utensils, and was ready to start on his big
+and revengeful expedition. As he anchored near the Izmid mountain, a
+shepherd was seen close by, resting on his crook. Bajazid exclaimed to
+him: "Now blow with your horn that song to me: 'Do not let Szivasz fall,
+or your son be lost!'" The shepherd obeyed his commands and blew the sad
+and melancholy sounds, which were re-echoed in the mountains. They found
+an echo in the heart of the Sultan, who cried out, with grief and
+despair, that he had let his bravest son die; and from that moment the
+trumpeters were ordered to constantly play the melancholy song during
+the expedition to Szivasz.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+Timur Lenk did not hasten. He had time to look through the towns in
+which the Khan of Aidin had been made to turn somersaults. He also had a
+little account to settle with the Sultan of Egypt. It was a short and
+gory one. He only took with him the metal gates of the towns--the others
+he left behind amongst the ruins. He did not leave one stone upon
+another, but he piled up the heads of the inhabitants in heaps.
+
+This was his style of architecture!
+
+When Damascus was burnt down, the tops of the burning cypresses and
+cedars and the smoking resin perfumed the plain with their odour ten
+miles around. Of the holy town, only one minaret was left standing. It
+was that of the altar of the Ommiads, which was covered with lead, and
+the metal from it streamed down into the street. The top being of wood,
+remained standing. It was this tower which the Khan of Aidin had
+ascended by means of ropes, and, according to the Turkish saying, when
+the day of resurrection comes, it will be here that the Lord will
+descend and give judgment as to life and death.
+
+Whilst Bajazet was collecting his lightning forces, Tamerlan had time to
+destroy the three Iron provinces, and as many regiments, together with
+the Egyptian Mameluks. The heroic Syrians could not bar his way, and he
+made them fly like a cloud of mosquitos or a flock of swallows. Kings
+disappeared before him. The only one who escaped--and that by mere
+chance--was _Ferndzs_. In token of homage he sent gifts to the great
+Shah, nine, in number, of every kind, according to the religious system
+of counting in vogue with the Tartars: nine horses, nine camels, nine
+female slaves, and eight men slaves. Timur understood by this that it
+was intended to represent the sender himself as a ninth fraction, and
+for this reason he showed him mercy. Drunk with victory, thirsting for
+revenge, and loaded with treasure, Timur left Syria to meet his
+mightiest opponent, to whom he had now given time for preparation; and
+in the 804th year of the Hedjir, on a bright summer's day, he crossed
+the Araxes river!
+
+Bajazet, the "lightning," dreamt a waking dream of revenge as he sat by
+Maria's side, and caused his forces to be collected together to await
+his opponent's arrival on to the battlefield which was to decide the
+fate of the world. Under such a roof of sweet delight no one could talk
+of battles. Here even the Sultan did not deplore his lost son; Maria did
+not even know that he was the father of sons--men like himself, but
+minus grey beards! The Sultana found in her returned husband a return of
+all her happiness, and at this joyful moment she remembered the promise
+he had made to her before his departure, "Whatever your desire may be,
+it shall be fulfilled." And when her husband asked of her "What do you
+desire?" she replied:
+
+"Oh! my dear Djildirim, when will you next start against the _Dzsins_?"
+
+"This year, perhaps this very month."
+
+"Oh! how I should like to see a living _Dzsin_."
+
+"That is impossible. A _Dzsin_ is not a doll, my darling. Do you not
+know, from the tales your women tell you daily, that if you tread upon a
+talisman you will force a spirit to appear who will be always at your
+bidding, but who will rend you asunder if you do not keep him
+continually employed?"
+
+But she was so delighted with this new idea that she would not allow
+herself to forget it for a moment.
+
+Next day she said to Bajazet, "Bring me a _Dzsin_, and be here to order
+him about for me!"
+
+"It is impossible. _Dzsins_ do not tolerate the presence of another man
+near a woman."
+
+"What idiots the _Dzsins_ must be!"
+
+The third day she said to Bajazet: "My lightning, my love, I have a
+desire which I want you to fulfil."
+
+"It is already fulfilled, if you really desire it."
+
+"What I wish is this, that when you next start against the _Dzsins_ you
+will take me with you."
+
+Oh! tempting heart of woman!
+
+"My morning star, my darling, what would you do in the midst of battle?
+It is a cruel tempest, where lightning rages. The glittering stars have
+no place there. The thoughts of your heart are alluring songs heard
+amidst the thunder and tempest of the battle. There is no room there for
+your sweet soul. If you pass a mown meadow, you weep over every flower
+which has been trampled under foot. The battle blood flows from the
+cut-down human flowers. How could you see this? You would die at the
+sight of it."
+
+But women do not give way.
+
+"I want to see how thousands of Dzsins melt away at your glance; to note
+how they fall to the ground when you only look at them. Does not the
+song say this? 'They are numerous and come in great numbers. Their
+noise, like thunder, makes heaven tremble. My Djildirim steps forward,
+and they fall to the ground, and their voices fill hell.' Does not the
+song say, 'The opponents' leader is a metal idol, but Bajazet is the
+lightning, and the lightning melts the metal.' Does not the song tell
+the truth?"
+
+Bajazet had to admit that all was true which the women of the harem sang
+about him.
+
+"I wish to see you," urged Maria, "I wish to see you in the blaze of
+your glory. I wish to see you as Djildirim, as the lightning which
+pursues the enemy! I want to admire you in the height of your glory! I
+want to applaud at and delight in your glory! I want to be on the spot,
+so that I may weave the wreath, and place it upon your brow, so that,
+dazzled by the light of victory upon your face, I may fall at your feet!
+Will you not take me with you, my Djildirim?"
+
+The Sultan said, "Let it be so!"
+
+He was excited at the idea of fighting in the presence of his wife, and
+of proving to her, who believed him to be an earthly god, that he was
+one indeed. The desire being roused in his heart, he was now doubly
+thirsty for revenge and also for glory! His wife's eyes would watch his
+deeds; therefore they must be magnificent!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+In the year 1446, according to the Christian era, an enormous comet
+appeared upon the horizon. The golden tint of this phenomenon of the
+heavens was observed for six months amongst the stars, and when it was
+closest to earth two-fourths of the sky was covered by the dreaded
+spectre. When the sun set and the gigantic marvel made its appearance,
+the pale phosphor head drawing its tail after it, everything was lit up
+by its wonderful light. Forests, mountains, people's faces, appeared
+ghastly by its illumination, and all around amongst the mountains was
+to be seen a glow which appeared like a distant fire lighting up the
+sky. Only the reflection of the light was not red, but green; and when
+the moon made her appearance, with her silver-tipped crescent, the two
+heavenly wanderers followed after one another with curious wonder. Once
+it happened that the moon went into the vaporous element of the comet,
+and astronomers then calculated how many million miles it covered and
+how long it would take before it would touch the moon with its head in
+place of its tail. Then both would shoot down from heaven, and the Day
+of Judgment would arrive. Religious folk went on pilgrimages and awaited
+the _Dies Irae_; whose herald was this Lampadias, the name given it by
+Greek astronomers. Under the fearful glitter of this heavenly
+phenomenon, which wandered over the horizon and lit up the entire
+surface of the earth, compelling the inhabitants to breathe its deadly
+poison, the two most dreaded men in the Mussulman world prepared to
+fight against one another in a life and death struggle. Sultan Bajazet
+had 420,000 men; Timur Lenk had 780,000. One million two hundred
+thousand fighting men, therefore, had to seek a suitable place amidst
+the Asiatic wastes, which would afford sufficient space for the blood
+required to be shed.
+
+The two conquerors of the world were not alarmed by the sign from
+Heaven. They not only divided between them the stars which led them, but
+they also cut the comet asunder! The head of the Lampadias bent towards
+the west, and the thinner end of its long mane hung to the east. Bajazet
+said it was a sword which the Prophet had sent to him, and that with its
+aid he should kill the heretic Shitaa. Tamerlan, however, gave out that
+this was the same club which the Prophet had given into his hands, and
+that the head was turned towards the heretic Szunnita. The stars at the
+end of the tail he held to be the head of the club, with which he would
+lay him low! And so, the two greatest generals of the period started in
+search of one another with two enormous forces, and as quickly as they
+neared one another, so quickly did the dreaded star approach the earth!
+The two conquerors debated to themselves which of them would first grasp
+the comet by its tail!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Both Bajazet and Timur Lenk did what no conqueror of the world ever did
+before or after them. They each carried their favourite wives with them
+to view the decisive battle of the world! It was as though they were to
+witness a dramatic spectacle, in which one million armed men took part,
+and by which the government of a portion of the world would be decided
+either to the right or to the left. Such a spectacle was surely never
+before presented by a general to his wife!
+
+Bajazet's wife was in the camp in an elevated tent made of muleskin.
+One thousand women riders went before, and one thousand after her, to
+keep from her gaze the face of every man. These were masculine women,
+accustomed to sword-handling, and to cutting off heads, women for whom
+men can feel but horror, and of whom it is difficult to form an idea.
+Bajazet headed this woman's camp with 10,000 veteran Janesars and old
+soldiers scarred with wounds. They were picked out from amongst the
+Nicapol victors. Every one of them was a hero, and their attacks on the
+enemy were always made simultaneously. To the right of Maria were 15,000
+Christians, mounted and mailed, and under the leadership of Stephen
+Lazaruvich, the Servian Waidwode. These were the most faithful adherents
+of the Sultan. The remainder of the troops were led by the Sultan's
+sons. Suleiman, the eldest, was in the centre of the camp; whilst the
+two wings, consisting of Turcomans and Tartars, were commanded by Isa
+and Muza. Amongst these troops were the people of the Khan of Aidin.
+Mustafa, another of the sons of the Sultan, led the heroic Arab troops;
+and Mohammed, yet another, was in command of the reserve. Timur Lenk's
+sons, Miran Shah, Chalit Shah, and Mirza Mohammed, were also in the
+camp. Fathers fought against fathers, sons against sons, and women
+against women! Mirza Mohammed Khan led his own troops, and each
+detachment was dressed in different colours--some, for instance, in red
+uniform and red bucklers, with red standards, red saddles, &c., others
+in blue or yellow, white or black. When they moved in square, it seemed
+as though figures were moving on a chess-board!
+
+The name of the place where the two opposing forces met was Csibuk Abad.
+It is an historic spot. Here Pompey and Mithridates fought a decisive
+battle! At the back stand the celebrated Stetta cedar-forests, and
+facing it are the endless plains where the tall oriental reeds grow in
+line from which the people cut stalks to make the stems of pipes,
+calling them from the place, Csibuk.
+
+Towards the eastern horizon the towers of the citadels of Angora were to
+be seen, whence Timur might be observed approaching. He was engaged in
+bombarding this place against the Bey Yakab, when the approach of his
+opponent caused him to raise the siege.
+
+Between the two forces was only one well (Miral) which supplied the
+district abundantly with water. The inhabitants were, therefore, right
+to call it the Sainted Well. Bajazet hastened to seize this before his
+enemy. He knew very well that he who secured it would have the advantage
+of tiring out his opponents, who would be forced out into the desert.
+Sheik Trzlan, an old Dervish, at one time an adherent of Timur Lenk, was
+the guardian of the well. As a follower of Shi he possessed magic power
+over the people.
+
+Bajazet rode to this Sainted Well, and asked the Dervish for a drink of
+water out of it. He filled the jug, and gave it over to the Padishah
+with the usual blessing, "Glory be to Him who created clouds and
+wells!"
+
+The Sultan threw a golden piece to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked up
+the money and looked at the portrait. Then he returned it, saying, "Oh!
+my Lord, of what use is this money to me, when Timur Lenk's head is
+engraved here?"
+
+The Sultan dragged the coin out of the Dervish's hand and threw it with
+horror into the air, wondering how his enemy's money could possibly have
+found its way into his camp. Then he took out another gold piece, upon
+which he first looked earnestly; then, seeing his own likeness engraved
+upon the coin, he threw it to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked it up,
+and then, with marks of the greatest respect and reverence, he handed it
+back to him again.
+
+"Why here, my master, on this piece also is engraved Timur's portrait!"
+
+And so indeed it was.
+
+Bajazet, who was now furious, took out a third coin, which he threw to
+the Sheik, who, on picking it up, showed him that again it bore the same
+superscription.
+
+"You scoundrelly magician!" shouted Bajazet in despair, "it is your
+delusive magic!" and he slashed the Dervish across the face and breast
+with his whip.
+
+"Thank you for your gracious kindness, mighty lord," said the Dervish,
+putting his blood-stained face into the dust.
+
+Timur Lenk would not have acted like this. He allowed blood to flow in
+streams, but never in his life did he hurt a scholar or a Dervish.
+Afterwards when the infuriated Sheik ran bleeding from the breast
+through the streets of Chorazan, Timur Lenk, looking at him, smiled and
+said: "This is a sign that Chorazan itself, which is the breast of Asia,
+will fly to me voluntarily."
+
+And so indeed it came to pass.
+
+Bajazet was so certain of having obtained possession of the Miril well,
+that the next day he organised a hunting expedition to the ancient
+forest of Stetta for Maria's amusement. Whilst half of his troops were
+pursuing the stag or shooting game, and he himself was shooting wild
+peacocks, the enemy, at a distance of trumpet-call, commenced to pull
+down the stakes of his camp. In the evening, when the party returned,
+tired out, from the chase, Bajazet's son, Suleiman, who had been left
+behind with the rest of the forces, came to him in a furious state, and
+said:
+
+"To-morrow we shall have to face the enemy."
+
+"Why?" asked the Sultan, with surprise.
+
+"Because we have no water!"
+
+"Surely the well has not dried up in one night?"
+
+"It has not dried up, but it is contaminated. The Dervish whose face you
+struck yesterday hung heavy stones round his neck last night and jumped
+into the well, where this morning he was found drowned. You know that
+when a man has been found dead in a well no one will touch its waters
+until the new moon. So the camp has been parched with thirst throughout
+the whole day!"
+
+"Oh! cursed Dervish!"
+
+"Ah! the Dervishes were all devoted to Timur. Beware, for he who was
+capable of killing himself might yet kill you! And now you had best
+decide whether you will retreat or make an advance to-morrow, for in
+this place it is impossible for us to remain longer."
+
+Bajazet angrily pointed to the watch-fires of Timur Lenk, and exclaimed,
+in hot fury, "Advance!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+It is quite natural that two loving hearts should think and dream alike,
+but it happens often, too, that the hearts of two opponents who bitterly
+hate one another think in concord. That night neither Bajazet nor Timur
+shut his eyes. Both of them were tortured by the conjecture as to which
+of the two should lead the morrow's attack, prove victor, and destroy
+his adversary. They both anxiously awaited the break of day, for each
+longed to be first upon the battle-field.
+
+It was yet dark when the priests completed their morning prayer in
+Bajazet's camp, and as the Sultan stepped out from his tent, the 10,000
+Janesars, who stood ready for attack, commenced to sing the
+blood-curdling song which thus concludes:
+
+    Do not let your son be lost!
+
+This was the Sultan's daily greeting, and he now stood face to face with
+his son's murderer! At the other end of the camp the dreaded signal of
+the _gurgach_, twice repeated, responded to the strains of the song, and
+this was accompanied by the screaming and clacking of the _kernai
+reveille_. The _gurgach_ was a big drum and the _kernai_ a trumpet, and
+these signals announced that the attack had commenced. When the sun
+peeped out from behind the lilac-coloured mountains of Karadegh both
+camps were in marching order. The standards and the horses' tails used
+as banners were flying aloft in the centre, and the tails of two horses
+dyed red let it be known that two sovereigns were fighting face to face.
+Here were Bajazet's Janesars, while there were Timur Lenk's brave
+Samarcand troops, and between them two rows of fighting and mailed
+elephants were placed to form barriers. Skilful armed throwers of Greek
+fire were placed in towers with orders not to waste their arrows on
+other heads but those of princes. Timur, who was resting upon the bare
+earth, was greeted in turn by his officers, who stood with their horses'
+bridles in their hands, exclaiming:
+
+"_Raszti ruszti!_"
+
+These were historical words by which leave was taken, and they signified
+"Justice" and "Aid." Amongst the rows of elephants stood a white one,
+the largest of all. This Timur had brought from the Court of the Prince
+of Burmah, where it used to be worshipped as a holy animal. On the back
+of this curious beast a tower had been erected, where the two favourite
+wives of the Khan, Tumanaga and Csolpan, were seated. The one was the
+mother of his children, the other his latest favourite. Timur rode up
+to them before the commencement of the battle, greeted them lovingly,
+and unsheathed his sword before them. Raising it towards Heaven he
+exclaimed:
+
+"Now may it be decided which of us is to be thrice separated from his
+wife!"
+
+Sheriff Said then knelt down upon the ground at Timur's feet, filled his
+hands with grass, and as a symbol of cursing and destruction, he threw
+this towards Bajazet's camp. Then turning towards Timur, with a
+trembling voice he murmured:
+
+"Go, and be thou victor!"
+
+To these words the trumpeters in camp responded.
+
+On the opposite side Bajazet had raised a high wooden tower for his
+wives, from whence they inspected as from an amphitheatre-box the
+magnificent and dreadfully dramatic spectacle which was being enacted
+before them by two real heroes. It could not indeed have been other than
+a truly novel spectacle to Maria. What a fearful array of _Dszins_ she
+saw clad in iron and copper armour! Such garb surely could only be worn
+by inhabitants from another world! What tremendous camps! Surely only
+evil spirits who fly, constantly following one another through the air,
+could come in such large flocks! Likerbuli, the favourite songstress,
+was seated at Maria's feet when the attack commenced, and the strains of
+her lute seemed to bring the spectators into line to watch the battle
+which was proceeding before them.
+
+"Look how they come towards us, the cursed enemy! Seven detachments in
+seven colours like the rainbow! The leader--Timur Lenk's son--the devil
+whose name is Mirza Abubekr, rides before them. His armour is made
+entirely of rubies. How it sparkles in the sun! He who faces him, clad
+in dark armour, and seated on a black horse, is our hero, Lazaruvich. He
+can be recognised by his standards, which bear crosses. Hearken! how the
+earth trembles beneath the tramp of their horses. Listen! how the skies
+ring with the tumult of the battle!"
+
+"'Sueruen! Sueruen!' exclaim the cruel enemy. 'Allah! Allah!' scream our
+troops. 'Jesus! Jesus!' shout the men of Lazaruvich, but Allah listens
+also to these!"
+
+Maria secretly crossed herself, and prayed to Jesus.
+
+"Look, they have just come into collision. The clashing of the swords
+and axes upon their shields can be heard up here. Look, Timur's
+seven-hued troops become disordered. Lazaruvich sweeps them away before
+him as a whirlwind tosses the mown grass, or as the waves of the sea
+sweeps the shells towards the shore. Ha! Mirza Abubekr's chosen horsemen
+no longer keep to their own colours. White is mixed with red, and green
+has yellow patches like china fragments trodden under foot! Lazaruvich
+is the first hero amongst our troops!"
+
+Maria herself bent forward from her balcony, and applauded this
+wonderful spectacle, which was soon, however, obliterated from the sight
+of all in the reedy forest by the clouds of dust which were uplifted.
+Lazaruvich now commenced to pursue the despised Tartar horsemen who
+were fleeing towards Angora. Maria, intoxicated with joy, tore the lute
+out of Likerbuli's hands, and began to sing herself the song glorifying
+Bajazet and his hero "Korona" (Lazaruvich).
+
+The wild madness of the battle seemed to enter into her soul, and she,
+too, cursed the drunken enthusiasm of these demons who were always the
+cause of glory or trouble to her own people.
+
+In the dust-cloud of the battle, Khan Mohammed Mirza noticed his
+brother's flight, and rushed to his aid, with his crack Samarcand
+regiment. In the midst of the Csibukabad reeds he reached one of the
+wings of Lazaruvich, whilst Shah Miron, and Chalid with his archers
+threw themselves upon the troops of Prince Mustafa just where a gap had
+been caused owing to Lazaruvich having made a rush from thence upon the
+enemy. Mohammed, the Sultan's son, was there with reserve troops, but he
+had orders from Bajazet not to move until ordered to do so by him, for
+the deceitful enemy might make a circuit, and then there would be need
+for this reserve. Bajazet, in order to relieve his two sons, ordered
+Suleiman, who commanded the left wing, to throw himself upon Timur with
+his entire force.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Suleiman had 15,000 Tartars amongst his troops, principally inhabitants
+of Aidin and Saruchan, who were led by Bey Illisz. These Tartar hordes
+were suddenly let loose in one body, being sheltered on either side by
+the Anatol troops. Timur's opposing force advanced slowly towards the
+rushing enemy. At its head was the Khan of Aidin who, on that day, wore
+neither armour nor helmet, and did not even draw out his sword from its
+scabbard, though he made straight for Illisz.
+
+The Bey of Illisz was twirling his pike, and turned it towards the Khan.
+As he nearly reached him and was within throw, the Bey exclaimed,
+"Defend yourself," and threw the pike at him.
+
+The Khan of Aidin smiled. Had he earned his bread for a whole year as a
+magician in vain that he should be frightened by a pike?
+
+"You had better defend yourself," he replied to Illisz, as the pike
+hissed towards him. He grasped it in its flight, and threw it back to
+the Bey, and the iron penetrated his cheek-bone. In this state his
+terrified charger ran away with him. Then the Khan of Aidin rose in his
+saddle and straightened himself on his horse's back, whilst with ringing
+voice he cried out to the Tartars, "I am your Khan! Return to me, and
+aid me against the enemy!" In a moment the entire Tartar force turned
+round to him and threw clouds of arrows upon the Turkish horsemen
+behind them, and thus cut open a space in the left wing for the advance
+of Timur's troops.
+
+This move decided the fate of the battle. Bajazet could not believe that
+his Tartar soldiers would desert him at the sight and by the command of
+their late master. Those whom he believed to be his own followers had
+now actually gone over to the enemy! The Sultan's son Suleiman upon this
+stroke of ill-fate turned his horse's head, struck spurs into him, and
+was the first to leave the battle-field.
+
+Another son, Mohammed, commenced a fight with the reserve, but no
+success attended their efforts. The day was lost to Bajazet. The
+"lightning" was vanquished, and the iron sword prevailed; but Bajazet
+still could have escaped with the rest of his troops, and might have
+overcome his enemy from his European forts, could he have reconciled
+himself to the notion of flight. All round was heard the tumult of the
+tempestuous war. It was impossible to see, owing to the clouds of dust,
+and the women away yonder in the velvet tower no longer sang of victory,
+but trembling awaited the close of the day. Once during the afternoon a
+ray of hope sprang up, when Timur's force made an advance, and the
+Waiwode Lazaruvich cut his way through the Csibukabad reeds across
+Mohammed Mirza, and joined Bajazet in correct battle order. The Sultan
+stood motionless amidst his unconquered veterans. Lazaruvich, with his
+fagged out and wounded troops, who were blackened by dust and covered
+with the blood of the enemy, with broken pikes and torn standards,
+suddenly appeared before the Sultan.
+
+Lazaruvich hardly recognised him.
+
+"Is it you, my faithful friend?" the Sultan asked, with emotion.
+
+"It is I, father. Escape; the battle is lost!"
+
+"Then let me perish," replied the Sultan. "You had best return. You have
+wife and children, and have yet a long life to live."
+
+"God can alone bring help," answered Lazaruvich, and quitted the
+battle-field.
+
+It was already twilight. The escaping forces were seen in all
+directions. Only 10,000 Janesars stood steadfast round Bajazet. Since
+the morning they had been thirsting for water: now they thirsted for
+blood! They could have had plenty of time and opportunity for escape,
+for Timur did not attack them until later on. The night came on; the sun
+disappeared, and the comet--the dread of heaven and earth--shone out on
+the sky. By the aid of its demoniacal glitter Bajazet could see the
+opponent's army. He was not frightened, either by the star or by Timur's
+victory, and motionless he stood with his ten thousand men on the spot
+where half a million men had already perished. Then Timur raised his
+hand to heaven, as though he would grasp the flaming club, and with it
+strike his enemy.
+
+"Well, so be it," he said, and with this he gave the signal to start his
+troops of mailed men, the Dzsagata horsemen and the rows of fighting
+elephants, against Bajazet's Janesars. Maria heard tremblingly from her
+tower the bellowing of the elephants. "Ah! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+But Bajazet will pursue them and rout them asunder, for he is the
+'lightning.'"
+
+The flying Greek fire opened the attack. From the elephants' towers the
+blinding sparks came in clouds, and created dazzling colours in this
+night battle, whilst arrows shot at the same instant from all sides. The
+Janesars fought and died speechless, as though they were not men, but
+spectres. The two forces fought without a word. Only the clanking of
+their swords spoke. Oh! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
+
+Suddenly one of the flaming arrows cut its way through the ranks of the
+Janesars, and flew to the women's tower, igniting a velvet curtain, and
+so setting the whole place on fire. The women, terror stricken, rushed
+down from the burning amphitheatre, which, in a few moments, was as a
+burning torch in the midst of the camp, lighting up the spectacle of
+slaughter. Immediately Bajazet saw this his heart gave way, and he
+turned back with his suit of horsemen, and, leaving behind him the
+fighting Janesars, he galloped towards the women. Maria was then lying
+on the earth, her face covered with dust.
+
+Oh, the _Dzsins_--the _Dzsins_! "To horse quickly, by my side, away to
+the mountains!" exclaimed the defeated "lightning," lifting his wife
+from the dust, and with these words he escaped from the field. One
+thousand brave horsemen and two thousand fighting Amazons accompanied
+them. Mahmud Khan saw the Sultan's flight, and rushed after him with
+4000 Dzsagata horsemen. Until midnight he pursued him up to the foot of
+the mountain. The soldiers left behind fought with Timur's men whilst
+the Sultan got away.
+
+The Khan of Dzsagat did not relax his search after Bajazet, whose
+horsemen and horses fell to the right and left, and by daybreak only
+forty men remained. The Sultan was, therefore, left almost alone with
+his women. He then stopped and awaited his pursuers. He was clad in
+impenetrable armour, and held a good Damascus blade in his hand, for he
+had to defend his beloved harem. Ten of his pursuers fell before their
+swords could touch him, but finally becoming dazzled by the frequent
+strokes of his sword, he fell down from his horse at Maria's feet, where
+he was captured. Maria had to see the face of her demigod become pale
+and besmirched with dust. His eyes were heavy, and from his lips issued
+impotent curses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Timur Lenk was playing chess with his favourite son. The young prince
+was commonly known as Schach Roch (castleing). He had been called this
+because it was he who had invented the chessmove where the king changes
+places with a castle. Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to
+Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood
+the captured Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne
+for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!
+
+Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent,
+leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.
+
+"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made
+you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is
+ready. You will not be watched by any one. You will find there your wife
+and your son Muza, who have been taken prisoners, and they will remain
+with you. I only ask you one thing. That is, your solemn promise not to
+attempt to escape from me by trickery whilst I remain fighting your
+sons. If we can conclude peace, then you can return quietly to your
+country, for Allah does not permit two faithful Sultans to humiliate one
+another! Therefore you had best give me your solemn word of honour."
+
+Bajazet was moved by his opponent's generosity, so he gave his solemn
+word, accompanied by a grasp of the hand, that he would not attempt to
+escape from Timur Lenk's camp. After this he was led to a pompous tent,
+where his wife and son awaited him. The tent was magnificent, and those
+whom he loved were there, yet it was a tower in place of a kingly
+throne. Schach Roch!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+"So long as you keep your sovereign word to me you will be regarded as a
+Sovereign in my camp." This was Timur Lenk's promise to his opponent.
+Whichever direction Bajazet took, he was received with the honours paid
+to a Sovereign, and imperial pomp surrounded his tent. Overnight, whilst
+the captive Sultan was walking in front of his camp, he found a screw of
+parchment lying before him, on which the following words were written:
+
+      "MY SULTAN,--Your sons are coming with fresh forces
+      against Tamerlan; Jacob Bey will break upon Angora.
+      The Waiwode is returning with reinforcements. Be
+      prepared. We are making a subterranean way from the
+      Bakery which will lead into your tent. To-night all
+      will be ready. Be ready yourself also. At daybreak
+      disguise yourselves as bakers, and you can escape with
+      your wife and sons into the open, where you will find
+      your horses awaiting you. Be ready!
+
+      "YOUR FRIENDS!"
+
+This letter was too tempting for Bajazet, and he eagerly seized the
+opportunity offered. It was indeed a fact that a subterranean way was
+made to his tent, but it was Tamerlan's workmen who constructed it! At
+midnight the hammering of the subterranean poleaxes let the Sultan know
+that his rescuing body of moles were coming! The earth gave way under
+his feet, and from a narrow passage human heads rose up from the earth
+before him. "Come!" whispered the head which ascended from the earth's
+depths. "Come!" And the Sultan followed the enticer, taking with him
+Maria and his son Muza. They could only proceed in bent form along the
+footpath, holding one another's hands. Finally the neck of the cavernous
+way became visible. The extreme end was the Bakery oven. When Bajazet
+was going to step out from the low opening, some one put out a hand to
+assist him, and when he emerged he who had given him a helping hand did
+not release his own. The Sultan looked at him. Timur Lenk stood before
+him!
+
+"What! Is this your sovereign word?" he softly demanded of the terrified
+Bajazet.
+
+The Sultan saw that he was trapped. Timur threw away his hand from him:
+
+"This is not the hand of a Sovereign. It is the hand of a slave."
+
+So saying, he turned away and left him to himself. Bajazet saw only the
+executioners before him, carrying chains and iron rods in their hands!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Timur was not an ordinarily cruel man--satisfied to be able to bathe
+himself in the blood and break the limbs of his opponents. He was a
+veritable poet and artist in mercilessness! He required poisoned arrows
+by which to strike his foes. He did not want to kill Bajazet, but he
+wanted to drive him mad. After this attempt at escape he had a cage
+made for him out of iron rods, wherein he caused him to be imprisoned,
+and he placed the cage on a car and had it drawn about the camp. A crier
+preceded this, pointing out with his pike this spectacle to the curious
+multitude.
+
+"Here is a captive Sultan; a celebrated wild animal whose name is
+Bajazet, the King of Kings, the Padishah, the Master of the Seas and
+Earth, a crowned king who has got four hundred thousand soldiers, foot
+and horsemen. Look at the conqueror of the Round World! who is the only
+Master from East to West! He is in the cage!"
+
+Ha! ha! ha! laughed the armed crowd gathered together. Bajazet sat mute
+and motionless inside the iron bars as though nothing could hurt his
+feelings. The crowd threw jibes and curses after him, and the youth
+threw oranges and walnuts into his cage as it is customary to do to
+monkeys. But Bajazet's face did not change. The crier now formed the
+idea of playing on the drum and cornet an air which evidently amused
+him, and which ended in the refrain "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your
+son be lost!" If anything could fill the captive's heart with bitter
+sorrow it was this song! Oh, had he only listened in time to this! Oh,
+if he had not in the days of his pride forbidden it to be blown by the
+shepherds of Izmid! Had he but only hastened in time to the rescue of
+his son Ertogrul, he would not then have had to listen to it from the
+cornet of this bear-dancer and buffoon, who now paraded a King in place
+of strange animals!
+
+The fellow carried him away in his cage up to the hills where the heads
+of his heroes were piled up. On the summit of these piles were placed
+here and there the heads of leaders, whose turbans fluttered in the
+wind! Bajazet knew these faces too well! They were the heads of his most
+trusted veterans. He had frequently distinguished them for their
+services, and kissed their faces after victorious battles! Now they
+stared at him with glassy eyes from the top of these piles raised from
+the heads of his troops! After this buffoon had carried the Sovereign
+captive about the camp, he returned with him to Tamerlan. The Khan, his
+sons, and the vassal princes, the Khan's wives, and the slaves of the
+Court were taking part in a _fete_, and at the height of its amusement
+the gilded iron cage arrived with its sad captive. A vanquished Sultan
+brought thus before drunken slaves!
+
+Mockery and shouts of laughter greeted the appearance of the conquered
+lion from his intoxicated victors, and still Bajazet's face remained
+unchanged! Timur Lenk himself was drunk. Wine, victory, and
+revenge--this triple inebriety filled his veins.
+
+"This glass I raise to the health of the master of half of this world,"
+exclaimed the conqueror, and threw the contents upon his opponent's face
+in the cage.
+
+Yet Bajazet's face remained unchanged!
+
+"Bring fresh wine--more women slaves," said Timur Lenk, thumping with
+his hand, and Bajazet saw the figure of an elegant slender woman walking
+totteringly forward. On her head rested a floral wreath. Her hair hung
+loosely and carelessly around her. Her silken mantle was rent from top
+to bottom in accordance with Tartar fashion. This woman tottered, for
+she was herself intoxicated. She went forward to fill the Khan's glass,
+and in her Bajazet recognised Maria! This was the final blow to the
+captive Sultan when he saw his wife so humbled and tottering towards the
+Khan's footstool. Then he sprang up from his seat and grasped the iron
+bars of the cage, and burst out ravingly, "Oh, you demoniacal beast,
+Timur! You crippled dog, who have buried your soul's better part in your
+useless foot, and remain here living in this world, half of you a demon!
+You are no vanquisher of men! You have never wholly been a man. You can
+only revenge yourself on women. You grave-worm, who chew treacherously
+what a greater hero than you has let fall! Detestation rest upon your
+filthy name! Every woman will execrate you as a coward, and will throw
+your image on the ground to be played with and broken by her children.
+Disgrace be upon you and ignominy rest upon your belongings--you, who
+were hatched by a slave and will be buried by the executioner! You were
+born to drive camels, you wretch, and your father, who died on a
+dust-heap, was a better man than you! Faugh! I spit upon you! This will
+be the best spot in your filthy glory! Curses be upon you and upon your
+offshoots! Your soul to hell, and your bones to the dogs! Your name to
+derision! I shall await you, where both of us are to meet!"
+
+With these words he struck his head with such force against the iron
+railings that he fell down dead.
+
+Tamerlan could no longer joy in his opponent's impotent fury.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Timur Lenk arranged a pompous funeral for Bajazet. His entire troops
+came out to accompany the body. On his tombstone he caused to be
+engraved a recital of his glorious deeds, and he commanded the Sultan's
+women to wail and mourn for him. As he returned from the funeral
+ceremony his historian, Shacheddin, came before him, to read out what he
+had written down concerning the event, for the benefit of future
+generations. It was as follows:
+
+"When Timur Djeihangir defeated his enemy and captured him, he treated
+him as a brother. He placed him next to him at table, calling him
+friend, and treated him with the distinction due to a Sovereign. When
+Bajazet, following fate's decree, departed to his ancestors, he had him
+buried like a King, and raised a royal mausoleum over his ashes. Glory
+be to Him who sees everything!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Comet disappeared, and did not destroy the Earth after all!
+
+
+
+
+VALDIVIA
+
+
+Valdivia is the name of a Chilian province; also of the river which
+there pours down from the mountains into the plains: and likewise of a
+city which is remarkable for its architecturally constructed
+bamboo-bridge, and for the fact that every man you meet in the street is
+called Rocca, and prides himself on his ancestors having been the
+ancient rulers of Chili and walked about there barefooted. Now the
+inhabitants have degenerated into wearing boots and they talk Spanish.
+Even, however, after centuries of blood-mixture by intermarriage, the
+men of the nation are still peculiar for a certain kind of beard which
+grows very thin, whilst the women still possess somewhat bronzed
+complexions and a love of ornamenting their hair with long feathers and
+snake-skins. Although the male population retain a traditional fondness
+for slaughtering an enemy when they get fairly hold of him, they no
+longer, like their fathers, hunt the wild boar; this unfortunate animal,
+indeed, having long since been hunted out of existence. The noble
+Roccas, no longer occupied with the chase or war, have become merchants.
+One, Bria Rocca, is a great sugar-planter; another, Marco Rocca, owns a
+huge coal-mine; and a third, Alvarez Rocca, does a nice little business
+in the slave trade.
+
+The Rocca is a fine, powerfully built man, six feet in height, whom one
+would not care to meet in a lonely road. The native woman is a handsome
+creature with beautiful eyes, whom one would be charmed to meet in a
+lonely road were it not that she is a little too quick in slapping one's
+face.
+
+Descendants of a long kingly lineage, these people to-day go about the
+streets and along the banks of the river selling Spanish onions and
+little trinkets.
+
+The town of Valdivia, situated on the river, had a widely different
+aspect three hundred years ago. At that time stood there the bamboo
+palace of Bria Rocca, whose facade rested upon two mighty bamboos
+resembling, in appearance, a couple of polished marble columns. The
+whole palace was built of this same wood. Its walls were curiously
+carved, and, but for its majestic dimensions, it might have reminded you
+of the toy palaces you build in childhood. Its doors and windows were
+made of interwoven tree branches, whilst its roof was thatched with
+agave leaves. In front of the palace was a balcony where Bria Rocca was
+accustomed to hold councils with the sages of his nation, and from this
+balcony two doors opened into the interior. One of them led into the
+apartment of Bria Rocca. It was an immense lofty room, and the ceilings
+were lined with jaguar skins, while the walls were covered with the
+skins of the black buffalo. Here and there hung axes and hatchets,
+arrows, specimens of the dreaded tomahawk, sundry warlike weapons of
+stone, and the deadly globe which, furnished with sharp teeth and
+hurled at an enemy, would not leave his body until it had torn out his
+heart. Finally, in a row, were ranged various trophies of victory,
+including a blood-stained helmet which the king had worn.
+
+The other door led into the queen's apartment. It was finely painted
+with the dye obtained from the native indigo trees, whilst its ceilings
+were covered with curiously woven mats. There were two magnificent
+bedsteads in the room, remarkable for the beauty of their coverlets and
+still more for that of the curtains with which they were hung; for had
+not Queen Evoeva spun them with her own hand? It was no wonder that Bria
+Rocca had chosen her to be his wife; for what woman in the land could
+weave such gorgeous tapestry as she, or prepare such delicious cheese?
+It was said of her, moreover, that in the whole dominions there was no
+woman of such entrancing beauty, her eyes being ablaze with all the
+colours of the finest opal; and if she only threw one momentary glance
+through her long, dark eyelashes she could tame the fiercest tiger--and
+even man himself. Her figure was exceedingly beautiful, and when she
+danced before her husband she would gracefully curve her head backwards
+and downwards until she could kiss her own heel. Yet she was wonderfully
+powerful, and if she was suddenly attacked by a jaguar she would press
+the beast to her bosom until she had crushed it to death. One might,
+therefore, easily imagine how highly her embraces would be prized by a
+man whom she was really in love with, and what pleasures would lurk in
+one kiss from her sweet lips. Once, when the king had been poisoned in
+the shoulder by an arrow, she herself sucked the poison out. She was,
+consequently, very ill for a year afterwards, and the king, of course,
+thenceforward loved her more passionately than ever.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the happy land of Chili the trees never cast their beautiful green
+leaves and the flowers never hide their heads in consequence of the
+cold. The bears do not betake themselves to slumber during the winter
+season; and the singing birds do not periodically fly away to a warmer
+climate. Summer, in this region, is only distinguished from winter by
+the fresh budding of the flowers, by the falling of cocoa-nuts from the
+trees; by a glittering appearance assumed by the stem of the _hevea_
+tree, which then sheds its juice in abundance; by the strewing of the
+ground with the nuts of the urcur tree, and by the flowers of the _pao_
+tree casting off their wool. There is no difference between the seasons
+but these, except that winter means a six weeks' spell of rain.
+
+About that time a great fete is held in honour of the gods of the
+_hevea_, the _urcur_, and the _pao_, who have provided their chosen
+people with so many good things. On this occasion the inhabitants would
+cut open the bark of the hevea tree, from which would flow a white fluid
+which, when boiled by the fire of the urcur nut, was changed into a
+leathery solid, from which they manufactured all kinds of fancy articles
+in order to sell them to the surrounding countries, who, not knowing the
+secret of manufacture, were ready purchasers. On the day of the
+festival the male inhabitants would wash their skin with the sticky
+juice of the hevea, and then cover their bodies with the beautiful white
+wool which comes from the pao-tree, whereupon they painted themselves
+with gorgeous colours, and the whole covering looks as if it grew to
+their flesh. The women were not, however, permitted to practise this
+custom; they had to content themselves with ornamenting their necks with
+rows of coral, their ears with snake-pendants, and their waist with a
+girdle of long feathers.
+
+When the flowers are beginning to open afresh, and the beautiful roses
+for which this land has so long been famous commence to re-expand, then
+the summer is approaching, and a fete is held in honour of the goddess
+Morinka. The _morinka_ is a gigantic flower which, growing from the
+bottom of the lake, expands the petals of its flower on the surface. So
+huge is it that one single petal would suffice for the cradle of a
+child, while a single flower will perfume the entire neighbourhood far
+and wide.
+
+At the time when the morinka commences to spread forth its beauty the
+inhabitants bring sacrifices to the goddess, who, if in a good temper
+and auspicious, causes the flower to expand freely and with great
+beauty. In this case there will be a splendid harvest; but if the flower
+is scanty and reluctant to open, then the goddess is angry--there will
+be dearth, drought, and plague, and a foreign foe will invade the land.
+
+The home of the Aruacans was indeed a happy land. The gigantic walls of
+the Andes mountains surrounded it like a fortification, and the steep
+mountain clefts cut it off from its neighbours, whose curiosity, desire
+of conquest, and thirst for treasures made them long to explore its
+unknown regions. It would have been useless for them to build bridges
+across the tremendous waterfalls that tore up the mountain peaks; in
+vain would they have made tunnels through the massive mountains; in vain
+would they have constructed winding pathways over the ridges; a December
+rain would have destroyed all man's labour. If that were not sufficient
+to protect the country from invasion, the Andes mountains had four
+mighty forts in addition--whose names were Maypo, Peteroa, Chollan, and
+Antuco. They were volcanic mountains. If only one of these strongholds
+would have started the campaign against the conquerors there would have
+been an end to all toils of theirs; the roads would have been replaced
+by precipices, while the valleys would be covered with lava and
+icebergs; the plains would be concealed by avalanches dotted over them
+like soap-bubbles; the entire district, with its cliffs and waterfalls,
+would appear in a different light, as though in a huge kaleidoscope:
+towering hills would have taken the place of running waters in the
+mountain basin.
+
+One day two hundred strangers appeared before Bria Rocca's town;
+peculiar looking people--such indeed as the good inhabitants had never
+yet beheld in their country. Straight to the Palace of Bria Rocca did
+the two hundred horsemen ride along, in presence of curious crowds and
+with sound of trumpet. Then the leader placed his soldiers in line, and
+a respectful message that he should allow them to pay him their respects
+was sent to the Cazcique. The leader's name was Valdivia, now for the
+first time pronounced in that territory. Did not the land of Chili
+tremble when she heard this name for the first time? Did not the river
+swell? Did not the volcanic mountains which had lain dormant for a long
+time burst out into violent eruption? No, oh no! They are deceived who
+imagine that the soil is mother of her people and that she feels and
+grieves over her sons' dangers. The soil is a coquette who delights in
+strangers, reveals her bosom to them, and to them as to others gives her
+bloom; she makes love to a new-comer and protects him from hostile
+attacks; on the graves of her old admirers does she grow him flowers.
+
+Why should she not in the present instance? Were not the Spaniards
+stately men, superior to the ancient inhabitants? Their whole apparel
+was bright, and sparkled; the sun could see himself in their glittering
+buckles, the breeze found an attraction in their fluttering ribbons. And
+how much more intellectual were they than the old inhabitants! Why, they
+could actually hold communication by means of signs, and towards
+whatever direction they desired could shoot out fire by means of metal
+tubes; they could travel by ocean, and they knew those who lived beyond
+it; they could build high-towered palaces from stones, and from small
+threads they made delightful raiment; from seeds they prepared such
+savoury dishes! Why should not the land prefer them to her old
+inhabitants! Bria Rocca has already heard of the fame of those white
+fairies--rumour travels unaided--for now Pizarro had long conquered
+Peru, which is divided from Chili only by the snow-peaked Cordillera
+mountains. He accorded a warm reception to Valdivia; he conducted him to
+his palace, asked him to be seated on his finest bear-skin, and placed
+before him the best coca drinks in cocoa-nut shells. And no one could
+prepare them so well as Evoeva! Then Valdivia could talk the language of
+the Redskins; he acquired their tongue and primitive phrases and could
+talk as well as if he had been an Inca.
+
+"Gentle Cazcique," he said to Bria Rocca, "brethren never come to visit
+you with strong and friendly arms. In one hand they hold glittering
+pearls and jewellery, which would gracefully adorn your women's necks,
+also fire-concealing liquor which exhilarates the sad ones and
+strengthens the feeble; it cools in hot weather, warms in cold. The
+other hand contains sharp iron which would cut your shields, and
+fire-throwing implements which aim from a distance! You can choose which
+one you please. We do not ask much of you, only give us that little hill
+you call Guelen, that we may build ourselves a shelter there, near the
+Matocko river. Consider your reply to my proposal."
+
+Bria Rocca puffed thrice from his hookah, and while looking through its
+smoke, pondered what he should say.
+
+"You remarked that you are white brethren and that you come with full
+arms; in the one hand carry presents, in the other guns. We are
+accustomed to catch monkeys in a similar manner; in one hand we hold
+fruit, in the other spears, and when the animal approaches for the fruit
+we hurl the spear at it. We desire not your presents--neither those from
+the right hand nor those from the left. Our women are pretty enough
+without your pearls, we are in good spirits without your liquors, and if
+you have more effective guns we have stronger arms; and if you present
+fire, we throw poison, which also brings death. If you wish for the
+Guelen mountain in exchange for your pearls and liquors you will not get
+it; if you ask it in return for sharp swords and fiery arrows, once
+more, you will not get it; but if you ask it nicely, you can have it
+gratis."
+
+"What is the 'nice' phrase, gentle Cazcique?"
+
+"That you will never do us any harm, that you will leave us in peace and
+not destroy our forests."
+
+Valdivia promised the Cazcique that they would remain faithful brethren,
+and as a proof of eternal friendship they both drank water from the
+river Matocko out of a pumpkin-shell. They then broke the shell and
+divided its pieces as a token of the sealed friendship, the idea being
+that just as the pumpkin-shell could not be put together without mutual
+consent, so they themselves could not be happy the one without the
+other. They finally smoked the pipe of peace and parted company.
+Valdivia mounted his horse and his followers went away, leaving behind
+them a cask filled with the "drink of wisdom"--the phrase by which the
+Spaniards designated brandy when speaking of it to the Indians.
+
+The Indian fathers asked Bria Rocca to divide the spirit amongst them,
+in order that they might all taste it and become as wise as the white
+people--"And such slaves as the Peruvians," thought Bria Rocca, though
+he did not say so. The spirit of the great Tao-tum had blessed him with
+the art of keeping judiciously silent. He poured out the spirit into a
+large tank and placed all the curious people around it, remarking that
+when he gave the signal they should bend down and drink to their hearts'
+contents. Bria Rocca then lit a long camphor laurel switch, which burned
+with a white flame, and twirled it round his head, thereafter dipping it
+into the tank. Hardly had the burning shoot touched the tank's contents
+when, in a moment, they became ignited, and the wonderful white
+transparent liquid began to burn with a pale blue flame from every part
+of the vessel's surface. The Indians recoiled in terror from this
+strange phenomenon, but Bria Rocca thrust his switch into the flaming
+fluid, and the blazing drops were spurted over their naked bodies like a
+shower of fire-sparks. He then grasped the edge of the tank and poured
+out from it the flaming liquid, which followed the Indians as they
+retreated. Even those of them who managed to escape carried on their
+heels some flames, and a certain amount they dropped at each step they
+took. The good people asked no more to taste the wise men's spirit, and
+the Spanish calabasse did not have the same destroying charm over them
+as it did over their copper-coloured brethren.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the Tlenoch legendary lore there was a strange and ancient tradition,
+originated long before the Spaniards set foot on that soil. According to
+one legend the Queczalcot gnome had appeared hundreds and hundreds of
+years before in South America; its face was white, with a beard and
+moustache, and it taught the people what herbs to eat, also chronology,
+the use of copper, and the building of houses. The gnome remained there
+for a century, spreading happiness all over the country. Then it
+disappeared across the sea, towards the east, promising to return
+hundreds of years thereafter, when it would teach much more. Well! the
+legend has just been fulfilled. The blessed white-faced, black-bearded
+descendants of Queczalcot have come, and have brought many nice things.
+In the rich Aztec province of Tlenoch this teaching was very easy; the
+Aztec tribe were already an extremely submissive people; they knew
+already the value of gold and apparel; they had their own fashions and a
+rich capital, which overlooked on one side a salt-water, and on the
+other, a fresh-water, lake. Around the earth were built houses,
+pyramids, and sacrificial _teocallis_, where at holiday time hundreds
+and hundreds of their chosen men are sacrificed to their bloodthirsty
+gods. Gold and men's lives were of small value, but pleasures were
+expensive. No wonder, therefore, that the Spaniards taught them so
+quickly how to appreciate their imported pleasures. But in Chili the
+gold was still under the soil; the people were treading upon it, not it
+upon them. Their hatred of foreigners existed from time immemorial, and
+also the desire to preserve their ancient customs, which they
+worshipped. So the Spaniards found them very bad pupils, their alluring
+words were not appreciated by the old ones; their presents were not
+esteemed by the young; the women's eyes refused to rest upon them. These
+people could be subdued by bold and daring means only.
+
+Valdivia gave wonderful presents to Bria Rocca for the Guelen
+mountain--a fully caparisoned horse, a kingly present and one worthy of
+acceptance being amongst the number. Cazcique could not refuse such a
+gift, and after having learnt to ride was pleased to know how he looked
+on horseback. At that time the proper use of the noble horse was unknown
+to the Indians. Valdivia had calculated well. As soon as Bria Rocca
+became possessed of his horse he rode about for several weeks upon the
+Salt Plains, and employed his time in pursuing herds of musk-ox in the
+high and luxuriant prairie grass, never dreaming that the Spaniards were
+building a fort on the top of Mount Guelen. When the Morinka fete was
+about to be held, Bria Rocca, according to established custom, ordered
+every man to retire from the scene; the Morinka fete was for women only,
+and no man's eye was allowed to witness it. On such occasions the people
+would retire to the forests to hunt; in town none were left but children
+and old women; the young married women and maidens were at the Morinka
+lake, and nobody was allowed to disturb them. Let that man beware who
+would dare to set eyes on this fete! He would carry the sentence of
+death upon his face. Although he should hide in forest after forest yet
+would he be traced out and killed for presuming to invade the Morinka
+fete. The heavenly flower _morinka_ is herself goddess amongst flowers;
+a most peculiar plant is she; eleven months of the year she reposes
+under water, twelve feet beneath the surface. During this time she has
+no actual existence. When her birthday arrives, which it never fails to
+do, for it falls at that precise date when the day is longest and the
+night shortest, all of a sudden the lake gets covered with brown and
+orange-coloured bubbles a span long, which float on the surface like
+many small boats. One day later the bubbles will burst open, and the
+knotted membranes will expand, enormous cup-shaped leaves coming out,
+whose inside is painted a pale carmine colour, which glitters on the
+rich and fleshy fibres of the leaves like the inside of an autumn peach.
+Its light green netted veins turn to a bright gold as they approach the
+stamens, the leaves begin to develop with astonishing rapidity, and
+spread on the water's surface like round tables. The pale carmine enamel
+changes into a mild green colour, and the veins that from yellow and
+lily colour have become carmine in netted form divide it up into 1000
+squares. The tremendous leaves grow and extend with visible rapidity;
+some of them are a fathom in width. Thus they cover the Morinka lake
+with a wonderfully rich carpet, over which, indeed, one may walk to and
+fro. The wide leaf may bend, but it will not become filled with water
+under the tread. A man's weight is no more to it than is a butterfly's
+to an ordinary flower. Ten days afterwards the buds--their huge closed
+cups as large as a child's head--burst from under the leaf, resting
+sideways owing to its weight. The outer leaves, which are white and
+netted, are as large as melon slices; two days afterwards they have
+changed to a pink colour, and on the night of the fourth day they burst.
+The flower does not bend any more, but stands straight.
+
+As the cup bursts open many white petals appear from the light pink
+calyx. An indescribably sweet perfume spreads all over the district; and
+so intoxicatingly delicious a sensation does it produce upon those who
+have inhaled its pure and virgin fragrance that a woman forgets she is a
+woman and imagines herself a fairy. On the fifth and sixth days the
+flower opens quite, and one petal after another develops; on the seventh
+day it appears in its fullest glory.
+
+The petals have snow-white branches, coloured deep red; their centre is
+of a rich gold colour, containing thousands of thready moulds. The
+length of the calyx is then from three to four spans. The Morinka fete
+takes place on the night when the flower opens. It is held at new moon,
+under a dull sky; for so sensitive to light are the petals of our fairy
+plant that with the moon's light even they open but half-way; when the
+sun shines they shrink together again; but the stars' cold glitter is
+very dear to them, as also are those star mimics which are visible from
+afar, and whose virgin brilliancy does not affect the picturesque
+senses, I mean the fire-fly.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: By the most serious people of serious Europe, this plant
+has been named "the Queen." _Victoria Regina_ is the name by which it is
+called. It is to be found in royal collections only.]
+
+When the flowers begin to burst open millions of fire-flies appear by
+the lake--attracted perhaps, by the perfume; possibly they are born with
+the flower, so that each may be fated to take delight in the other. Now
+the tremendous calyx, with a light green colour like diamond glitter,
+bends to and fro. Nature's artistic hand has ornamented its crown with
+precious stones, for thousands of dewdrops, those stars of floral
+creation, are glittering from the petals, while the fire-flies are
+continually flitting from one leaf to another, thus forming a fairy-like
+walk; on the majestic flower glistens the sovereign fire-fly, the
+magnificent _avra_, the lenten insect, on whose glittering colours the
+petal shades are thrown. The night is moonless, but rich in stars; the
+surface of the Morinka lake is covered with a green leaf carpet, on
+which many little stars are shining as if in heaven above. The dense
+banana grove that surrounds the enchanting lake gives it the appearance
+of a temple encircled by thousands of green columns. And the surface of
+the lake forms a magnificent altar, whence, from the gigantic calyx, the
+most delicate sacrifice, the most delightful odour, rises to heaven. By
+the sides of the lake, on a grassy plot, the Indian women solemnise the
+sacrificial rites. Thousands of the most beautiful virgins and childless
+women, placed in three circles, dance about and sing praises to the
+Great Spirit who brought forward the budding season of the
+water-flowers, and who awakes the feeling of the slumbering heart.
+Whoever saw them from a distance would imagine them to be fairy circles.
+Each woman had a chain of glittering gems round her neck. These in fact
+consisted of many hundred Brazilian insects, which the Indian women
+strung upon thread and used as neck-ornaments. The colours of the
+insects were continually changing from green and marigold to a ruby hue,
+and _vice versa_, and surpassed in brilliancy the most precious stones.
+
+In the midst of the circle stood Queen Evoeva. She was distinguished by
+her wearing three insect chains on her neck. Round her waist, too, was
+arranged a broad girdle, ornamented with many dazzling insects; their
+light was not, however, sufficiently great to allow one to see the
+shadow cast by this charming woman. In her dark hair there glittered a
+splendid "lampyris," whose moon-shaped light was thrown upon the lovely
+creature's face, to which it imparted a pale serenity.
+
+Could one have seen those women one would have imagined they were
+fairies. But who would have presumed to approach them? Would not the
+Great Spirit have been enraged at the breaking of a divine command?
+
+Indeed an Indian would not have dared to do this, even were he an enemy.
+A Spaniard, however, does it, though a friend.
+
+All of a sudden wild noises of men were heard in the banana groves; the
+women, frightened, rushed into one group. "Men, it seems," cried they,
+"have broken into the Holy Grove on the eve of the Morinka fete." It was
+Valdivia with one hundred and fifty of his comrades. When Queen Evoeva
+recognised the Spaniards she stepped forward with stately tread, and
+boldly asked Valdivia how they dared appear on the sacred ground while
+the Morinka fete was being held, and when every man was required to keep
+at a respectful distance. Valdivia's reply was to embrace the queen's
+beautiful form, and to implant a kiss upon her cheek, burning with fury.
+"Ah!" shouted the Indians, "our queen has been kissed by a strange
+man--a kiss has reached her lip on the eve of Morinka! The kiss of a
+_strange man_!" The Indian women madly attacked Valdivia and his
+comrades and began a severe struggle for her majesty. Here, then, was a
+conflict between feeble, naked women, unarmed, and strong mailed men.
+With nails and teeth did the former fight, like wild beasts, considering
+but little the wounds which they themselves received. The Spaniards were
+obliged to have recourse to arms against those enraged attacking ones,
+and before long red streams were flowing towards the Morinka
+lake--streams of women's blood. But Evoeva was freed from Valdivia's
+grasp, and one moment gave her time to jump into the lake, whose surface
+was covered with huge nymphean leaves. These clod themselves upon her
+and did not part asunder again. Hundreds upon hundreds of women followed
+the queen's example, throwing themselves into the lake to escape their
+pursuers. The Spaniards saw none rise to the surface; the nymphic leaves
+floated there as before. But the women swam under the smooth leaf-carpet
+to the river's mouth; the river emptied itself into the lake, and
+farther up formed a waterfall ten fathoms in height; across this the
+women proceeded. Those only escaped who were neither dashed by the rocks
+nor suffocated by the waterfall.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bria Rocca was until late evening pursuing a jaguar--which he contrived
+to reach and kill--on the wild plains. It was nightfall when he returned
+with his men and reached the banks of the Mapocho river, where they
+encamped.
+
+Bria Rocca led his horse to the river to drink. The noble animal had
+been moving about quickly the whole day and was very thirsty; but as
+soon as it bent its head towards the water it retreated and galloped to
+its master, shaking all over; then, tossing its mane from side to side,
+it broke into a violent snorting. The king thought that the horse had
+smelt an alligator in the stream, and conducted it to another part; but
+she manifested the old signs of aversion. "There is blood in the water,
+Bria Rocca, woman's blood; your horse dreads it, and that is why he
+refuses to drink." It was now midnight, but still a light seemed to
+shine from the forest. "Look how soon it gets light now!" said the
+Indians, awaking from their dreams. "It is not daybreak, nor is it the
+flames of a burning forest." The king's town was in flames, and beneath
+that spot where the sky seemed brightest blazed the royal palace. The
+strangers had set it on fire! Towards daybreak there was great commotion
+in the grove. At first a few crying children rushed thither and awoke
+the slumbering camp. These informed his majesty that the white strangers
+had disturbed their dreams and made fire on the roofs of their homes,
+and that those who could not run away were slain. Then came other
+messengers to Bria Rocca, and the heads of slaughtered women and
+children could be seen floating down the river. These could not speak to
+the king, but sufficient could be gathered from their silent
+communication.
+
+Bria Rocca stood on the river bank, resting on his axe and looking at
+the floating human remains. All around the following raving noise was
+heard, "It is all up with Matocka town; the dreaded of the Guelen
+mountain have by stealth broken into it and bombarded it with metal
+dragons; they have killed the children, carried away the women, and
+burnt down the king's palace."
+
+The King himself replied quickly, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria
+Rocca should bathe his feet in blood, and should warm himself at his
+town's flame, Bria Rocca is silent and refrains from shedding tears."
+
+The old people told his majesty that the white men from the Papua and
+Omagua tribes had secretly collected in force in the Guelen mountain,
+and during the Morinka fete, when all had withdrawn to the forest, had
+attacked every village of Bria Rocca and destroyed them; and that
+Valdivia was proclaimed master of the country. The King quietly
+replied, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria Rocca's people should
+leave their kingdom, Bria Rocca refrains from shedding tears."
+
+Lastly, there became visible on the Mapocko river rush-boats, on which
+the women who had escaped, with their tiny children--many of whom, that
+possibly life might again appear, were still pressed to their mother's
+breasts, dead from the strokes of the enemy--lay terror-stricken and
+furious.
+
+Now approached the king's wife, the beautiful Evoeva. Her black hair
+hung loosely over her face in order that her shame might be covered. The
+women grasped Bria Rocca's hand with great fury, pointing to Evoeva.
+
+"Look," said they, "here is your wife; her cheeks were kissed by a
+strange man."
+
+Bria Rocca's lips paled, and every vein on his temples became swollen;
+yet the war-lance did not move in his hand. He resignedly answered the
+women, "If the Great Spirit desires that I shall not behold Evoeva any
+more Bria Rocca is content and never will look at her again."
+
+Whilst saying these words he covered with a skin the wife who knelt at
+his feet, and turned away from her. The Indians seized their arms and,
+beating upon their shields, vowed vengeance upon the strangers. Bria
+Rocca approached them softly, and said:
+
+"Let your arms rest; this day we have lost, let our enemies gain it; it
+is to-day the fight of kings against beggars whose lances are weak as
+straw. Let them have happiness, splendid towns, fine women and
+children, and abundance of earthly treasure. At present they have
+nothing to give us in return for this evening's gift. Let us wait until
+they have."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ten years have elapsed since Bria Rocca's palace was burnt, and since
+then many changes have taken place in Chili. Valdivia has occupied Chili
+in the name of Pizarro; then he goes over to the king's side and helps
+to overthrow Pizarro, and as a reward receives the Viceroyalty of Chili.
+A portion of the province which he had first conquered was named
+Valdivia, and also that river from which Bria Rocca's horse refused to
+drink. The splendid city too, which was built on the site of the ancient
+bamboo town of Bria Rocca, was named Valdivia. This Valdivia gave quite
+a different appearance to the whole district. Stone-made roads,
+constructed by European adventurers, were laid, and from town to town
+people have ploughed and gathered in the earth's produce, and have
+exposed the precious metal of the mountains, just as if they were really
+quite at home. Nobody has disturbed them in their work; the
+copper-coloured persons have disappeared, not a sound of them can be
+heard in the forest, nor a trace of their footsteps observed on the
+ground--like a crowd of grasshoppers before a seven-days' rain have they
+become entirely destroyed.
+
+Perhaps they have gone up to the mountains or into the wastes of the
+interior, where the Golden Land has already sprung into existence, and
+concerning which so many wonderful stories have been related to
+adventurous Spaniards about the monks Cabeca de Vaca and Nica: where
+wild people were walking about in civilised clothing, where the towns
+were laid out with emerald and turquoise, and whose fort Cibolla was ten
+miles long.
+
+Some people who tried to find out this remarkable land, never returned
+from it. In the time of Valdivia the Spanish imagination became excited
+about this El Dorado. If any wondered how Bria Rocca's people
+disappeared, without leaving a trace behind them, they could console
+themselves with the fact that they were now very happy, and that they
+had gone in search of brethren to Cibolla town, where they were now
+wallowing in milk and honey. Although they wondered why they could not
+follow the Indians, the Spaniards now quietly settled in Chili; they
+have ceased to dig trenches round the town, and to post guards along the
+roads; they no longer teach their bloodhounds to scent out the
+two-footed wild animal; there is peace and tranquillity in the whole
+country. The merchants count out their money and the great lords
+lavishly spend it; pretty women walk about in silks, and little children
+ride on their fathers' knees. Yes, yes! the Spaniards have
+everything--riches, happiness, and splendid towns, also beautiful women
+and tiny, chattering offspring. . . . .
+
+"Let us wait until they can repay us," said Bria Rocca.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A new lake would be found, and the waterfalls would have cut for
+themselves new passages. Still, Bria Rocca's people have taken refuge
+there with their herds and flocks, whilst the eager searchers for El
+Dorado have failed to discover the way to fairyland. The Chilian volcano
+has rested for a hundred years, and only a few craters have shown from a
+distance that he too was one of those gigantic bombarders of the heavens
+who now rests conquered. But perhaps he sleeps merely--such great beings
+dream long. Whilst, then, he is thus dreaming, the Southern voluptuous
+plants have entwined themselves round about him, and every kind of grass
+and tree derives nourishment from his presence; at his foot a forest of
+red cedar has formed, and on his head tamarisk bushes live and flourish.
+From the autumn greenery which covers the mountain, dark caverns peep
+out. These are the mouths of ancient lava-streams by which one might get
+at the mountain's heart. According to the stories of the Omagua tribes,
+it was through such that the Aruacans made their way to the Cordillera
+interior. There were always a few adventurers who attempted to penetrate
+these caverns in search of the Golden Land, but they, as a rule, never
+returned, and nobody troubled about them. Once, however, two monks,
+accompanied by an Indian who understood the language, left Sant-Jago in
+search of this mysterious country. Had all three disappeared, no one
+would have made much ado; but it so happened that the Indian returned
+soon afterwards without the monks. He was interrogated on the subject,
+but he merely said that his comrades had perished--in what way he
+declined to tell. He had sworn by the great teeth of Mahu-Mahu that he
+never should divulge the secret. Valdivia had him placed on the bench of
+torture, and it appears that he felt the thumb-screwing instruments,
+and boiling oil had greater effect upon him than the big teeth of
+Mahu-Mahu, and so he promised to disclose everything. According to his
+story he and his comrades, after they had provided themselves with
+torchlights, entered the Chillon cavern, where, after proceeding a few
+hundred yards, they discovered on the moist soil the footprints of
+Aruacans. They knew them to be theirs, for they were marked by
+india-rubber heels, worn as a rule by the Aruacans to protect them from
+serpents. As they advanced further the cavern got wider in extent, and
+from its steep sides great rocks stood out. The descent, which became
+steeper and steeper as they advanced, was crossed by a stream that one
+could hear but not see from the cavern's mouth. Over this stream a
+bamboo suspension bridge become visible later on, similar to that which
+the Aruacans had erected over the Matocka river.
+
+The volcanic footpaths got more and more difficult to tread upon, and at
+times he and his companions were obliged to climb upon the rocks, as if
+they were trying to ascend a mountain.
+
+Finally the opening became so narrow that two men could hardly walk
+through it, and there they reached a spot that seemed hollowed out
+beneath. They advanced further when the earth gave way, and they all
+fell down to the cavern depths. It was a trap from which there was no
+escape. After they had for a few hours vainly endeavoured to rise from
+this pitfall, they suddenly heard sounds of voices, and--recognised the
+Aruacans. They recognised them from the wool which covered their
+bodies. The Indians pulled them up with long ropes, blindfolded them,
+and bound their hands behind their backs, driving them on between two
+tough trees. Ere long the echo from the narrow passage ceased, and the
+atmosphere revealed to them that they were in the open air. When their
+eyes were unfolded they saw they were in the Chillon crater. It was a
+dreadful smoking valley, with a funnel-like descent, whose sides were
+then just as bare as when the last eruption had taken place.
+
+All around there were red-brown stone piles, quite burnt out--dead for
+ever--on which no plant could live. Not even a piece of moss or of
+lichen was to be seen upon them.
+
+Lower down the valley got compressed, and on its sides numberless small
+holes, like wasps' nests, were visible. Neither grass nor flower could
+be observed anywhere--nothing of that kind, indeed, but a few pale green
+trees scattered about at intervals. These were upas-trees, in the poison
+of whose sap the Indians dip their spears. Every surrounding plant had
+been killed by their exhalations, so that they alone grew in the valley.
+
+On the sides of this dreadful valley a wide, hollow border was to be
+seen; it represented the last active volcano; in appearance it resembled
+the gallery of a great amphitheatre. On this gallery stood the Aruacan
+fathers with Bria Rocca. Under it was formed a sort of semicircle, where
+many large china jugs might be seen placed near one another, whose
+mouths were for the most part covered with india-rubber; some were
+open. As the captives were brought before Bria Rocca two such jugs were
+procured, and the two monks, tied to a couple of columns, were then
+killed with two long axes, similar to those with which the Aruacans cut
+the hevea-trees. Their blood poured out into the jugs; their bodies were
+thrown down the precipice. After this the Indians carried away the jugs
+with the blood and placed them near the others. Soon thereafter numerous
+serpents peeped out of holes in the walls: in appearance they were like
+cigars. A traveller who does not know this serpent might be deceived,
+and, imagining it a cigar, pick it up--which would mean death. One bite
+from this serpent is fatal. These dreaded reptiles crept in thousands
+into the jugs in which the murdered Spaniards' blood had been placed,
+and when they filled them two Indians approached and carefully put two
+india-rubber covers over them, so as to prevent their exit.
+
+They meant at first to kill the priest's dusky guide, but Bria Rocca
+said that black blood was useless, and they let him go. But he had to
+swear by the great Mahu Mahu that he should not tell a soul what he had
+seen; if he did tell, the Aruacans would come for him in tens of
+thousands, and they would not be particular as to who was white and who
+black. So they let him go through the same way as he and the monks came
+in, and he could not say how he got out of the crater.
+
+Of course, nobody believed a word of the Indian's story, and they
+believed that he himself killed the monks and invented a fable. It was
+all a tissue of lies, they thought, and the unfortunate man was pinned
+to a stake outside Sant-Jago.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Indian's story had long been forgotten in Chili. Valdivia returned
+with glory and overwhelmed with distinction from Peru, and settled down
+to live peacefully in the town which bore his name. He dispersed his
+troops amongst the various towns and settlements, and he had hardly more
+than three hundred soldiers left with him. These, moreover, got out of
+practice, as they seldom had occasion to handle the gun.
+
+All of a sudden, on a still and quiet night, a wild noise awoke the
+peaceful inhabitants of Valdivia. Frantic shouting came from the
+surrounding hills, and all around the farm-buildings were set on fire;
+the faces of hundreds of people were distinguished by the flames. "The
+Aruacans have returned!" were the words, distractedly uttered, that
+sounded through the town, and that also reached Valdivia's palace. Yes,
+the Aruacans _have_ returned--to ask for an explanation regarding the
+presumption of building a town over the graves of their ancestors; and
+Bria Rocca was there to inquire who it was that killed thousands of his
+subjects, and also who it was that kissed the cheek of Evoeva. The
+attack was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to report the
+great danger to the adjoining town; and before Valdivia had time to draw
+his sword all the hills surrounding the town were occupied by thousands
+of the Red Indians. There was only one outlet from the town through
+which the Spaniards might have escaped, and it seemed as if the Indians
+had purposely left that unguarded. The Spaniards were not, however, to
+be led into a trap, rightly thinking that it would have been folly to
+throw themselves upon thousands of wild and enraged Indians, who would
+have despatched them with their poisonous spears; they, therefore, drew
+up their guns on the fortification walls. How, possibly, can the simple
+arrows of the Indians compete with such weapons?
+
+The Indians occupied all the adjoining hills, and had they had guns in
+their possession they could very easily have fired into the town.
+
+Valdivia's men looked quietly down from the rampart walls, for they
+observed that the Indians had no storming engines with which they might
+attack the stronghold.
+
+Bria Rocca's tent was erected on a hill concealed from view by huge
+cocoa-palms, from which Valdivia's palace could be seen. At the Indian
+chief's command the brown leaves of eight trees were pulled down, and
+the trunks of the trees were cut open to the extent of several feet in
+width; then were tied to their tops long ropes of sap-wood, the other
+end of the ropes being twisted round a potter's wheel which was made to
+turn by means of long rods. Under the influence of these ropes the trees
+got quite bent and their tops touched the ground. Then the Indians
+placed some strange-looking vessels into the hollows of the trunks; the
+mouths of these vessels were covered over with india-rubber. Bria Rocca
+next pulled his axe from his belt and cut the ropes in twain. The palm
+trunks flew up with great force, and with a tremendous noise the jugs
+that had been placed in the tree-hollows shot into the market-place of
+Valdivia. Each tree discharged its dangerous bombs as did the others.
+Oh, what a curse those bombs proved! Thousands upon thousands of
+poisonous serpents escaped from the broken jugs and, maddened by white
+man's blood, rushed at the people in every direction. Guns were of no
+avail when dealing with these cursed little monsters. The bloodthirsty,
+devil-moved insects crept up the legs of the horses, and getting beneath
+the armour killed their riders. They swarmed all over the streets and
+streamed into the houses, killing the women and children and those who
+could not fly from them. In one hour's time Valdivia had more dead than
+fighting men. Valdivia himself became desperate and mounted his horse,
+and, accompanied by a hundred horsemen, proceeded towards the gate
+leading to Sant-Jago, that gate which the Indians had left unguarded. He
+heard the triumphant shouts of the Indians and saw before him the
+ancient forest shooting out flames in hundreds of directions. He was
+surrounded! The enraged Indians followed him up behind, and in front the
+burning forest cut off the means of escape. His companions rode away in
+alarm; they preferred to die fighting, not in this manner. Valdivia
+thought it best to boldly cut his way through the burning forest, and so
+effect his escape--or perish in the attempt. The Indians pursued him to
+the edge of the forest, but seeing how boldly he galloped through the
+flames they nearly all held back there. One man only attempted to
+pursue him further--namely, Bria Rocca. The Spanish horses on which both
+were mounted did not fear the fire. Burning foliage fell over them and
+little embers glowed under their feet; still the two horses wildly
+plunged forward, step for step. Valdivia did not even look back, and he
+did not, therefore, observe the Indian chief when he threw a long
+harpoon spear at him. This spear entered his body, and when it was
+pulled out the heart came away along with it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The spot on which Valdivia stood was strewn with the charred ruins of
+the burned town, and there--on that gloomy space--Bria Rocca, after ten
+years' mourning, held a feast in honour of the injured Goddess Morinka.
+He sent for his wife Evoeva, whom he had thrust away from him, and upon
+whose countenance he had not gazed for ten years; and when he had
+embraced her he presented her with a tambourine and a flute of bone, as
+well as a cup filled with native wine. Then he said: "This is a day of
+great rejoicing, Evoeva. To-day you must sing, drink and dance. Strike
+upon this tambourine, blow the flute, empty the cup--the tambourine is
+made from Valdivia's skin, the flute is his bone, the cup his head."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Up to the present day the Aruacan's country has remained unconquered.
+
+
+
+
+BIZEBAN
+
+
+Such is the name of the deaf and dumb boy who waits upon the Sultan.
+
+The art of manufacturing these _bizebans_ is very simple, and at Gozond
+there are several hundred professors of it who find it lucrative enough.
+From poor people, who possess families, they buy children, at ten or
+twenty rupees apiece--mere infants a twelvemonth old. As yet, of course,
+they cannot talk. These men begin by pouring into the ears of the little
+creatures a fluid prepared from herbs, which renders them absolutely
+deaf. Two-thirds of the children die under the process. Those which
+survive are valuable articles of commerce. Having lost their hearing
+they can, of course, no longer learn to talk, and they remain dumb, as
+well as deaf, for life. These children, as they grow up, see the world
+around them but cannot comprehend what they see. Their native
+intelligence cannot become developed: they are like human beings from
+whom the soul has been snatched. These soulless boys are very valuable
+articles in the seraglio. They are always hovering around the Sultan. In
+the most secret chambers they are in attendance; the most valuable
+documents are entrusted to their care; and beneath their eyes passes all
+the private correspondence between the Sultan and his confidential
+advisers. They do not hear a syllable of any conversation--of such a
+thing as speech they have no conception. How can they imagine what those
+peculiarly shaped letters mean which their eyes behold? There is no
+corresponding knowledge or intelligence within them which would render
+this possible; and the few things which they both see and understood,
+they could not communicate to other people.
+
+Such were the unfortunate _bizebans_. Nevertheless they were dressed in
+purple and silk robes. Long chains of pearls hung from their neck, and
+they were fed upon what overflowed from the Sultan's own table. In all
+respects they were treated with especial consideration--like monkeys or
+parrots which are kept as playthings.
+
+These creatures, deprived of soul, know how to do one or two things, but
+no more. They understand that they must remain on guard at a certain
+post and not move thence; they can carry a certain article to a certain
+place; they can cut the Sultan's nails to beautiful fine points and
+adjust his turban--such is the utmost limit of their accomplishments.
+They are indeed like dogs, taught to fetch and carry things for their
+masters in their mouth.
+
+Before Sultan Mustapha II. ascended the throne he already possessed a
+number of _bizebans_. One of these was his especial favourite--a boy who
+was quite superior to the rest and who excited more sympathy; for in
+his big, dreamy eyes so much sentiment and intelligence was visible that
+it seemed sad that he could not be taught to feel and think like a human
+being. Like other _bizebans_ he had no name. Why should a _bizeban_ have
+a name? He won't hear it even if it is addressed to him.
+
+As a rule the _bizeban_ also fulfilled the office of eunuch, and walked
+freely into the seraglio. Prince Mustapha used often, by the hand of his
+pet _bizeban_, to send to his sister, the beautiful Saliha, presents of
+a certain kind of very choice melon which only grew in the Sultan's
+garden and concerning which fruit a very sad story was told.
+
+One day, noticing that one melon was missing from the beds, the Sultan
+had all his gardeners tortured that the culprit might confess his theft.
+Then, when this experiment failed, he had seven of them cut open. To no
+purpose; but when the eighth was ripped up fragments of the melon were
+revealed, which was very fortunate, as a few hundred other servants
+would, but for this, have been treated likewise.
+
+The lovely Saliha was a very kind-hearted creature. She thought her
+brother's _bizeban_ was a very sweet and gentle little thing, and she
+did not hesitate to pet him. She tried to make him understand this and
+that, and he seemed to have a very quick intelligence. Why should he not
+one day possess a soul? This idea occurred to her as she was walking, on
+one occasion, in the shrubbery. Could she not give back to him the soul
+of which he had been deprived, could she not teach him the alphabet? If
+she showed him a certain letter and then pointed to some object with
+which he was familiar could he not by degrees be made acquainted with
+the world?
+
+Saliha made the experiment. She found it a very pleasant recreation, for
+life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.
+
+We have heard that prisoners in their dungeons have even taught spiders
+to dance at the sound of music (and the seraglio as a place of detention
+is scarcely more exhilarating than a dungeon). Why should not the deaf
+and dumb boy prove as apt as a spider? At her first essay, Saliha was
+amazed to see how the soul of the _bizeban_ began to expand. He grasped
+anything in a moment. Once shown the alphabet he could afterwards trace
+out each letter on the ground. Once shown the name of a certain article
+he never forgot it. This success encouraged Saliha to further attempts.
+Would it not be possible to speak to the _bizeban_? But how could the
+speaking be done so that no beholder comprehended it? Ah! with the
+hands! The human hand has five fingers, and their variety of motion, as
+they open and shut, is such that the entire alphabet might thereby be
+distinctly expressed. Saliha determined to teach the boy to converse
+with her by means of his fingers; and the success of her experiments
+exceeded her expectations. He quickly learned the secret signs. It was
+delightful to Saliha; and she determined to get amusement out of it too.
+She would extract from the _bizeban_ secrets concerning her brother
+which he thought no one living knew, and then she would tease this
+relative by pretending that she had discovered them through the mystic
+words of the Cabala. Who could ever dream of suspecting a _bizeban_ who
+was deaf and dumb?
+
+After the death of Osman, Prince Mustapha ascended the throne. His
+youthful gaiety now quickly fled--his shoulders began to bend beneath
+the weight of the Turkish Empire, which was then already in a tottering
+condition, with enemies on every side.
+
+At that time the country possessed a great statesman in the person of
+Raghib Pasha, whose potent hand had preserved the empire from
+destruction. It was he who crushed the forces of the rebellious Egyptian
+princes and laid the province at the feet of the Padishah. Raghib was
+not only a hero in war, he was also a famous poet and the greatest
+scholar in the land. Historians describe him, in his character of
+statesman, as a "leader of leaders," _szad rul vezir_, and in that of
+writer as the "Prince of Roumelian poets". (_Sultani suari Rum_). In his
+gigantic work entitled _Zezinet Olulum_ ("Ship of Knowledge") all the
+legends are collected which had lain scattered about the Arab plains. It
+was he who founded the splendid library which bears his name.
+
+At the time of which we now write, Saliha was in the very springtide of
+her beauty--like the lotus-flower which opens its petals before the dew
+of dawn. Sultan Mustapha could not have given Raghib Pasha a greater
+reward than by bestowing upon him the hand of his lovely sister; and as
+to whether he inspired her with real affection I need only say that he
+was fifty-nine when he married her and that she loved him so much that
+when he died her mind became deranged.
+
+Raghib Pasha ruled not only over the Mussulmans but also over the ruler
+of the Mussulmans, for he had divined the Sultan's thoughts--yes, his
+innermost thoughts.
+
+It was the Sultan's habit not to retire at night to his bedchamber until
+he had recorded, in a voluminous diary, all the events of the day and
+his impressions concerning them. This book he habitually kept in the
+secrecy of his own room, and the _bizeban_ watched over it until the
+morning. To whom would it ever have occurred that the deaf and dumb from
+birth could read, or that he could communicate the written lines to some
+one else? In the room where this diary was kept there was a little
+window which opened into the _khazoda_, the Sultan's place of worship.
+But it was so shut off from view by various corridors as to be only
+visible from the seraglio. Every evening, just as the Sultan was leaving
+his apartments in order to go and say his final prayers in this
+sanctuary, the murzims were accustomed to strike seven times with a
+hammer a bell without a tongue. Then the Imam who stood before the altar
+would say: "Ahamdu lillahi Rabbil alemum" ("Grace descends from Heaven,
+which rules over all"). Thereupon the congregation would fall on their
+faces. They remained prostrate until the Sultan reached the door; when
+the Imam would exclaim: Allehu ekber! ("The Lord is powerful"), and all
+present rose to their feet. During the period of prostration a secret
+hand would be stretched out from the little window we have mentioned,
+and would make all kinds of signs. No one noticed this hand, except
+Saliha, who carefully watched its mysterious movements whilst she was
+upon her knees. From these signs she knew everything that the Sultan had
+that day recorded in his diary; and the very same night she would
+whisper the information to her husband.
+
+Raghib Pasha was a wise man, who knew how to keep such information
+secret. He thereby learned who his enemies were and managed to clear
+them out of his way. He got to know the wishes of the Sultan and could
+long before anticipate them. Everything he did was done in the name of
+the Sultan: the pomp and glory which he himself achieved he allowed
+people to ascribe to his Sovereign, and he even made Mustapha imagine
+that he ruled; whereas the feeble-hearted monarch was a mere puppet in
+the hands of his skilful Grand Vizier.
+
+In his poems Raghib extolled the Sultan for his mighty and politic
+deeds--eulogised him for inspecting the navy and the military magazines,
+for increasing the nation's revenue by 6,000,000 piastres, and doing
+other things which Raghib himself had in fact done on his own account.
+
+Throughout Turkey, throughout Europe, it was known well enough that, not
+the Sultan, but his Minister, ruled at Stamboul; it was only Mustapha
+who did not know it.
+
+One day Raghib's enemies, Hamil Pasha, Bahir Mustapha, and Mohamed Emin,
+who were jealous of the Minister's great power, said to the Sultan:
+
+"This man only calls you Sultan in mockery. He does everything without
+you, just as if the State were his. He has just concluded, without your
+knowledge, an alliance with the ruler of one of the infidel empires--an
+alliance which, although it may prove the destruction of other
+unfaithful nations, he should never have dared to make before obtaining
+the consent of his monarch, in whose presence he is nothing but dust."
+It was Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who, believing in the
+wisdom of the distinguished Minister, had invited his alliance, and the
+documents ratifying it had already been signed. Had that alliance been
+allowed to continue, perhaps the crescent of Turkey would have risen
+again. But the heart of Mustapha had been perturbed by these malicious
+whisperings. When the traitors had left him he said nothing, but simply
+ordered his _bizeban_ to bring him his diary, wherein he proceeded to
+record his impressions of the day. Then, shutting the book and giving it
+to the _bizeban_, he went to evening prayers. On this occasion the hand
+appeared at the little window and made certain signs which Saliha
+watched intently. They said: "Escape, Raghib. The Sultan knows of your
+letter to the Prussian king. To-morrow your head will be cut off and
+your documents confiscated."
+
+The Sultan returned from his profound devotions with a lightened heart.
+No one, he said to himself, knew his secret, and to-morrow morning he
+would send his executioner to fetch him Raghib's head. Yes, he longed to
+possess that head ignominiously severed from its trunk.
+
+But when the executioner reached the Grand Vizier's residence, he found
+there his dead body, which could no longer be killed. On his table lay a
+letter addressed to the Sultan and enclosed in a velvet envelope. It was
+taken to the Sovereign with the news that the Minister had been found
+dead. The letter ran thus:
+
+      "Mustapha, the Omniscient has vouchsafed, in His
+      mysterious providence, to let me know that you wished
+      to kill me because, without your knowledge, I
+      concluded, for the benefit of your dominion, an
+      alliance with the King of Prussia. I did not run away
+      from death; I simply anticipated it. I consider I have
+      lived long enough in order to die fitly now, and long
+      enough not to be forgotten. All the documents at my
+      palace I have burned. You will see what I have done
+      for your country; the rest will be said when we meet
+      in presence of the great Prophet."
+
+The Sultan was paralysed with wonder and fear. How could that secret,
+which had been locked up only in his own heart, have been divined by
+Raghib? First he accused the _dsins_ (Christian prophets), then the
+Hindoo soothsayers, then the interpreters of dreams--then the very pen
+with which he had written. How could he dream that the deaf and dumb
+could speak?
+
+When Mustapha endeavoured to further the alliance with the King of
+Prussia, this great ruler of the infidels replied that there had until
+recently been one wise man in Turkey, but that he did not now propose
+to do business with fools. This was a bitter humiliation to the
+Sultan--to think that his late slave could have procured an alliance
+which was contemptuously refused to the King of Kings!
+
+Mustapha frequently lamented the loss of Raghib, and was constantly
+tortured by the mystery whereby the secret of his heart had been
+penetrated. After the Grand Vizier's death the _bizeban_ ceased to
+communicate to Saliha the secrets of the Sultan. He had no longer any
+motive to do so.
+
+First came Hamil, who only, however, remained Grand Vizier for six
+months, when he was executed for his negligence; and chroniclers relate
+of him that he let the empire go as it pleased, doing it neither good
+nor harm. Then followed the head of Bahir Mustapha. It was cut off for
+his barbarity. The third was Mohamed Emin, whom the Sultan beheaded for
+cowardice on the battlefield. Mustapha shed tears over the loss of his
+three Grand Viziers--but not on their personal account, for he had never
+forgotten Raghib, who was so wise, brave, and noble; and whenever he
+beheaded one of his Grand Viziers he would always think of the
+unfortunate Raghib.
+
+The _bizeban_ laughed within himself; for the deaf and dumb can laugh
+when they are alone. His secret no one ever knew.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST
+
+
+Pozdordy was one of the best known and respected farmers in the province
+of B----, and the surrounding gentry were accustomed to visit him at his
+picturesque homestead. The frequency of their visits was, however, due
+chiefly to the circumstance that he was possessed of a lovely daughter.
+This maiden, besides being enchantingly beautiful, was as proud as a
+queen.
+
+It was quite natural that the young men from round and about should be
+helplessly in love with her and willing to hazard life itself in the
+hope of winning such a prize. But many as were the rival suitors, they
+all at last had to give way to one upon whom Etelka bestowed her
+preference, and that preference could not be divided either in two or
+more parts. As a matter of fact no objection could have been made
+against her choice, for it fell upon such a man as is generally regarded
+as the ideal of a woman's dreams. He was of fine stature, tall,
+well-proportioned, no longer young, it is true, but far from his
+decline. He was a retired major, and bore himself with a faultless
+military carriage. His manners were polished, his education extensive,
+and his wit by no means inferior. He was good-hearted, patriotic, and
+keen in business matters; he did not gamble, neither did he run into
+debt--in fact, from top to toe, you could not find a fault in him.
+
+Of course the various competitors for the hand of Etelka had to bow
+before her decision, they could not help themselves; but one of them, in
+his fierce dissatisfaction, vowed inwardly that he would not yield the
+prize so easily. This rival was a young man who fancied that Etelka had
+regarded him with a degree of favour which was only second to that which
+she had bestowed on the victorious Major.
+
+But Mogyorody, the malcontent in question, knew that Major Duranczy was
+very handy with rapier and pistol and did not care to be trifled with.
+He therefore determined to use diplomacy. He paid a friendly sort of
+visit to the father of Etelka, and spent the evening with him. Pozdordy
+had a pretty good suspicion as to why the visitor had come.
+
+In due course the conversation turned upon Duranczy.
+
+"A very nice fellow indeed, isn't he?" said the farmer.
+
+"Oh, yes," replied Mogyorody, who at the same time made a grimace which
+betrayed his real opinion.
+
+The farmer, who was evidently uneasy at the young man's obvious
+jealousy, exclaimed:
+
+"But you have nothing to say against him?"
+
+"Oh, no, nothing in the world!"
+
+"But you have something on your mind. It is true he's not so youthful as
+you, but he is not yet old."
+
+"Oh, no, he's in the prime of life."
+
+"Do you wish to imply that there is anything against his past?"
+
+"No; for who amongst us has not got a past?"
+
+"Perhaps you wish to make out that he is only marrying Etelka for her
+money?"
+
+"By no means."
+
+"Do you accuse him of being a gambler?"
+
+"He never touches cards."
+
+"A spendthrift?"
+
+"He is the very reverse--stares on both sides of every halfpenny before
+he parts with it."
+
+"Do you think him lazy?"
+
+"No, a model of plodding industry."
+
+"Then what is amiss with his character?"
+
+"It is perfect--almost monotonously so; but he has one peculiarity with
+which you ought to be made acquainted if you are going to marry your
+daughter to him."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Well, if you want to know, he's a lunar somnambulist--when the moon is
+at the full he rises at night from his bed, and, with open eyes, walks
+about the house in a dream, muttering all kinds of extraordinary things.
+If swords or pistols were then within his reach he would probably wound
+or kill any one, and I shouldn't like to see your daughter murdered in
+one of these moonlight perambulations."
+
+"Oh, that is nonsense. I will believe no tale of that kind."
+
+"Do as you please. I have discharged my duty, and told you. Now,
+good-night."
+
+But after Mogyorody had departed, the farmer, although he had pretended
+to be unconcerned, said to himself:
+
+"This might possibly be true; I must investigate the matter further
+before the marriage takes place."
+
+His mind being very uneasy, he determined to invite Duranczy to his
+house on the next occasion, when the moon would be at its full; and when
+the night in question arrived he entertained the Major at his farm with
+all the outward demonstration of confidence and friendship.
+
+It so happened that during the evening Mogyorody looked in, for although
+a rejected lover, he was still a recognised visitor, owing to business
+and family connections with the farmer.
+
+Pozdordy, albeit that he was somewhat alarmed at the appearance of his
+rival, politely welcomed him, and was relieved to notice, as his two
+guests conversed together, that the old jealousy seemed to have quite
+disappeared, and that Mogyorody evinced towards the Major every symptom
+of good fellowship.
+
+The wine circulated freely, and the night wore pleasantly away, until
+the clock reminded Pozdordy that there was a limit to every festivity.
+He had already intended to press Duranczy to sleep with him; but, as it
+was already late, he felt he could not do less than extend the
+invitation to Mogyorody. Wishing, however, to have the alleged
+somnambulist under his inspection, he assigned to the Major a spare bed
+in his own dormitory, and gave Mogyorody a separate room.
+
+In due course, both host and guests retired. The farmer, as soon as he
+was between the sheets, lit a massive long-stemmed pipe, and began to
+smoke, keeping his eye upon Duranczy.
+
+The moonlight was streaming in upon the Major's pillow. It looked weird.
+The farmer watched Duranczy as he lay prostrate--watched and watched
+until he himself dozed off into an involuntary slumber.
+
+Presently he was awoke by a noise. In the moonlight he perceived a
+figure, robed in a night-shirt. Ah! the Major, who seemed to be gazing
+around him with an air of mysterious inquiry. Then, step by step, with
+great circumspection, he advanced towards the farmer's bedside. Pozdordy
+held his breath. "Yes," he said to himself, "this man is a lunar
+somnambulist!"
+
+Upon tiptoe the figure now went nearer and nearer to the farmer's couch.
+Pozdordy, in breathless expectation, grasped his heavy long-stemmed
+pipe--the only weapon of self-defence within arm's length--and just as
+the somnambulist was reaching towards an antique and richly inlaid
+sword, suspended high up against the wall, he dealt him a blow, so
+terrific as to produce a howl from the apparition. The farmer leaped out
+of bed, and, to protect his own life, was proceeding to half-strangle
+the sleepwalker, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it was not the
+Major.
+
+"Who are you?" he exclaimed.
+
+There was no answer. The farmer looked towards the Major's bed--there,
+in the moonlight, lay the warrior, who was just beginning to be roused
+from sleep by the noise of the scuffle, and who dreamily exclaimed,
+"What the devil?"
+
+Pozdordy released his hold of the neck of this unknown man, who hastily
+escaped from the room; and the report goes that Mogyorody travelled home
+at 2 A.M. in his night-shirt. Anyhow, after hiding under the Major's bed
+in order to make him out to be a somnambulist, he never again dared to
+put his nose into Pozdordy's household; and the gallant soldier is
+to-day in peaceful possession of the beautiful Etelka.
+
+
+
+
+_Printed by BALANTYNE, HANSON & CO._
+_London & Edinburgh_
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Many of the Hungarian titles listed in the
+Introduction were misspelled. "Estilapok" was changed to "Esti Lapok",
+"A Magyar Nabob" was changed to "Egy Magyar Nabob", "A Koszivue Ember
+Fiaa" was changed to "A Koszivu Ember Fiai", "A Szerelem Bolondja" was
+changed to "Szerelem Bolondjai", "A Nevtelen Var" was changed to
+"Nevtelen Var", "Balvanyvarak" was changed to "Balvanyosvar", "A Fekete
+Gyemantok" was changed to "Fekete Gyemantok", "A Jove Szazad Regeje" was
+changed to "A Joevo Szazad Regenye", and "Az Uj Foeldes Ur" was changed to
+"Az Uj Foeldesur".
+
+In addition, the following typographical errors in the text have been
+corrected.
+
+In "In Love With the Czarina", "she nodded to Genera Karr" was changed
+to "she nodded to General Karr".
+
+In "Tamerlan the Tartar", Chapter I, "the immovable cloud towards the
+east" was changed to "the immovable cloud towards the west", and "the
+victorious couqueror" was changed to "the victorious conqueror". In
+Chapter III, a period was changed to a comma after "the Thief of the
+Desert". In Chapter VIII, "two real hereoes" was changed to "two real
+heroes", and "Mirza Abubker's chosen horsemen" was changed to "Mirza
+Abubekr's chosen horsemen".
+
+In "Valdivia", "If you wish for the Guelin mountain" was changed to "If
+you wish for the Guelen mountain".
+
+In "Bizeban", a quotation mark was added before "This man only calls you
+Sultan".
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other
+Stories, by Mor Jokai
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