The Deluge. Vol. 1

A young monk heard these words, – a boy of seventeen years, who had just entered his novitiate. He was the first always to bring balls for loading, and he did not leave his place though every vein in him was trembling from fear, for he saw war for the first time. Kmita made an indescribable impression on him by his calmness, and hearing his words he took refuge near him with an involuntary movement as if wishing to seek protection and safety under the wings of that strength.

"Can they reach us from that side?" asked he.

"Why not?" answered Kmita. "And why, my dear brother, are you afraid?"

"I thought," answered the trembling youth, "that war was terrible; but I did not think it was so terrible."

"Not every bullet kills, or there would not be men in the world, there would not be mothers enough to give birth to them."

"I have the greatest fear of those fiery balls, those bombs. Why do they burst with such noise? Mother of God, save us! and they wound people so terribly."

"I will explain to you, and you will discover by experience, young father. That ball is iron, and inside it is loaded with powder. In one place there is an opening rather small, in which is a fuse of paper or sometimes of wood."

"Jesus of Nazareth! is there a fuse in it?"

"There is; and in the fuse some tow steeped in sulphur, which catches fire when the gun is discharged. Then the ball should fall with the fuse toward the ground, so as to drive it into the middle; then the fire reaches the powder and the ball bursts. But many balls do not fall on the fuse; that does not matter, however, for when the fire burns to the end, the explosion comes."

On a sudden Kmita stretched out his hand and cried, "See, see! you have an experiment."

"Jesus! Mary! Joseph!" cried the young brother, at sight of the coming bomb.

The bomb fell on the square that moment, and snarling and rushing along began to bound on the pavement, dragging behind a small blue smoke, turned once more, and rolling to the foot of the wall on which they were sitting, fell into a pile of wet sand, which it scattered high to the battlement, and losing its power altogether, remained without motion.

Luckily it had fallen with the fuse up; but the sulphur was not quenched, for the smoke rose at once.

"To the ground! on your faces!" frightened voices began to shout. "To the ground, to the ground!"

But Kmita at the same moment sprang to the pile of sand, with a lightning movement of his hand caught the fuse, plucked it, pulled it out, and raising his hand with the burning sulphur cried, -

"Rise up! It is just as if you had pulled the teeth out of a dog! It could not kill a fly now."

When he had said this, he kicked the bomb, those present grew numb at sight of this deed, which surpassed human daring, and for a certain time no one made bold to speak; at last Charnyetski exclaimed, -

"You are a madman! If that had burst, it would have turned you into powder!"

Pan Andrei laughed so heartily that his teeth glittered.

"But do we not need powder? You could have loaded a gun with me, and after my death I could have done harm to the Swedes."

"May the bullets strike you! Where is your fear?"

The young monk placed his hands together and looked with mute homage on Kmita. But the deed was also seen by Kordotski, who was approaching on that side. He came up, took Pan Andrei with his hands by the head, and then made the sign of the cross on him.

"Such men as you will not surrender Yasna Gora; but I forbid exposing a needful life to danger. When the firing is over and the enemy leave the field, take that bomb, pour the powder out of it, and bear it to the Most Holy Lady. That gift will be dearer to Her than those pearls and bright stones which you offered Her."

"Father," answered Kmita, deeply moved, "what is there great in that? For the Most Holy Lady I would-Oh! words do not rise in my mouth-I would go to torments, to death. I know not what I would not do to serve Her."

Tears glistened in the eyes of Pan Andrei, and the prior said, -

"Go to Her with those tears before they dry. Her favor will flow to thee, calm thee, comfort thee, adorn thee with glory and honor."

When he had said this he took him by the arm and led him to the church. Pan Charnyetski looked after them for a time. At last he said, -

"I have seen many daring men in my life, who counted no danger to themselves; but this Lithuanian is either the D-"

Here Charnyetski closed his mouth with his hand, so not to speak a foul name in the holy place.

END OF VOL. I

notes

1

Means "On the sea."

2

Pereyaslav will be remembered by the readers of FIRE AND SWORD as the place where the Polish commissioners with Adam Kisel brought the baton and banner from the king to Hmelnitski.

3

"Two-bridges." the Bipont of page 523, Vol. II.

4

This word means technically "villages inhabited by petty nobles: " etymologically it means "behind walls," – hence, "beyond or outside the walls," as above.

5

This war was carried on by the Tsar Alexis, father of Peter the Great and son of Michael Romanoff. Set Introduction.

6

The speech of the main body of the people in Jmud is Lithuanian to this day.

7

Lithuanian forms, with nominative ending in s and as.

8

The diminutive or more familiar form for Aleksandra. It is used frequently in this book.

9

The diminutive of Andrei.

10