The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  That evening after the banquet, Pan Andrei wished absolutely to see theprince, but he was told that the prince was occupied in a secretinterview with Pan Suhanyets.

  He went therefore early next morning, and was admitted at once.

  "Your highness," said he "I have come with a prayer."

  "What do you wish me to do for you?"

  "I am not able to live here longer. Each day increases my torment.There is nothing for me here in Kyedani. Let your highness find someoffice for me, send me whithersoever it please you. I have heard thatregiments are to move against Zolotarenko; I will go with them."

  "Zolotarenko would be glad to have an uproar with us, but he cannot getat us in any way, for Swedish protection is here already, and we cannotgo against him without the Swedes. Count Magnus advances with terribledilatoriness because he does not trust me. But is it so ill for youhere in Kyedani at our side?"

  "Your highness is gracious to me, and still my suffering is so keenthat I cannot describe it. To tell the truth, I thought everythingwould take another course,--I thought that we should fight, that weshould live in fire and smoke, day and night in the saddle. God createdme for that. But to sit here, listen to quarrels and disputes, rot ininactivity, or hunt down my own people instead of the enemy,--I cannotendure it, simply I am unable. I prefer death a hundred times. As Godis dear to me, this is pure torture!"

  "I know whence that despair comes. From love,--nothing more. Whenolder, you will learn to laugh at these torments. I saw yesterday thatyou and that maiden were more and more angry with each other."

  "I am nothing to her, nor she to me. What has been is ended."

  "But what, did she fall ill yesterday?"

  "She did."

  The prince was silent for a while, then said: "I have advised youalready, and I advise once more, if you care for her take her. I willgive command to have the marriage performed. There will be a littlescreaming and crying,--that's nothing! After the marriage take her toyour quarters; and if next day she still cries, that will be the most."

  "I beg, your highness, for some office in the army, not for marriage,"said Kmita, roughly.

  "Then you do not want her?"

  "I do not. Neither I her, nor she me. Though it were to tear the soulwithin me, I will not ask her for anything. I only wish to be as faraway as possible, to forget everything before my mind is lost. Herethere is nothing to do; and inactivity is the worst of all, for troublegnaws a man like sickness. Remember, your highness, how grievous it wasfor you yesterday till good news came. So it is with me to-day, and soit will be. What have I to do? Seize my head, lest bitter thoughtssplit it, and sit down? What can I wait for? God knows what kind oftimes these are, God knows what kind of war this is, which I cannotunderstand nor grasp with my mind,--which causes me still more grief.Now, as God is dear to me, if your highness will not use me in someway, I will flee, collect a party, and fight."

  "Whom?" asked the prince.

  "Whom? I will go to Vilna, and attack as I did Hovanski. Let yourhighness permit my squadron to go with me, and war will begin."

  "I need your squadron here against internal enemies."

  "That is the pain, that is the torment, to watch in Kyedani with foldedarms, or chase after some Volodyovski whom I would rather have as acomrade by my side."

  "I have an office for you," said the prince. "I will not let you go toVilna, nor will I give you a squadron; and if you go against my will,collect a squadron and fight, know that by this you cease to serve me."

  "But I shall serve the country."

  "He serves the country who serves me,--I have convinced you of thatalready. Remember also that you have taken an oath to me. Finally, ifyou go as a volunteer you will go also from under my jurisdiction, andthe courts are waiting for you with sentences. In your own interest youshould not do this."

  "What power have courts now?"

  "Beyond Kovno none; but here, where the country is still quiet, theyhave not ceased to act. It is true you may not appear, but decisionswill be given and will weigh upon you until times of peace. Whom theyhave once declared they will remember even in ten years, and the noblesof Lauda will see that you are not forgotten."

  "To tell the truth to your highness, when it comes to atonement I willyield. Formerly I was ready to war with the whole Commonwealth, and towin for myself as many sentences as the late Pan Lashch, who had acloak lined with them. But now a kind of galled spot has come out on myconscience. A man fears to wade farther than he wished, and mentaldisquiet touching everything gnaws him."

  "Are you so squeamish? But a truce to this! I will tell you, if 'tisyour wish to go hence, I have an office for you and a very honorableone. Ganhoff is creeping into my eyes for this office, and talks of itevery day. I have been thinking to give it to him. Still 'tisimpossible to do so, for I must have a man of note, not with a triflingname, not a foreigner, but a Pole, who by his very person will bearwitness that not all men have left me, that there are still weightycitizens on my side. You are just the man; you have so much gooddaring, are more willing to make others bend than to bow downyourself."

  "What is the task?"

  "To go on a long journey."

  "I am ready to-day!"

  "And at your own cost, since I am straitened for money. Some of myrevenues the enemy have taken; others, our own people are ravaging, andno part comes in season; besides, all the army which I have here, hasfallen to my expense. Of a certainty the treasurer, whom I have nowbehind a locked door, does not give me a copper,--first, because he hasnot the wish to do so; second; because he has not the coin. Whateverpublic money there is, I take without asking; but is there much? Fromthe Swedes you will get anything sooner than money, for their handstremble at sight of a farthing."

  "Your highness need not explain. If I go, it will be at my ownexpense."

  "But it will be necessary to appear with distinction, without sparing."

  "I will spare nothing."

  The hetman's face brightened; for in truth he had no ready money,though he had plundered Vilna not long before, and, besides, he wasgreedy by nature. It was also true that the revenues from his immenseestates, extending from Livonia to Kieff and from Smolensk to Mazovia,had really ceased to flow in, and the cost of the army increased everyday.

  "That suits me," said he; "Ganhoff would begin at once to knock on mycoffers, but you are another kind of man. Hear, then, yourinstructions."

  "I am listening with care."

  "First, you will go to Podlyasye. The road is perilous; for theconfederates, who left the camp, are there and acting against me. Howyou will escape them is your own affair. Yakub Kmita might spare you;but beware of Horotkyevich, Jyromski, and especially of Volodyovskiwith his Lauda men."

  "I have been in their hands already, and no evil has happened to me."

  "That is well. You will go to Zabludovo, where Pan Harasimovich lives;you will order him to collect what money he can from my revenues, thepublic taxes and whencesoever it is possible, and send it to me,--notto this place, however, but to Tyltsa, where there are effects of minealready. What goods or property he can pawn, let him pawn; what he canget from the Jews, let him take. Secondly, let him think how to ruinthe confederates. But that is not your mission; I will send himinstructions under my own hand. You will give him the letter and movestraight to Tykotsin, to Prince Boguslav--"

  Here the hetman stopped and began to breathe heavily, for continuousspeaking tortured him greatly. Kmita looked eagerly at Radzivill, forhis own soul was chafing to go, and he felt that the journey, full ofexpected adventures, would be balsam to his grief.

  After a while the hetman continued: "I am astonished that Boguslav isloitering still in Podlyasye. As God is true, he may ruin both me andhimself. Pay diligent attention to what he says; for though you willgive him my letters, you should supplement them with living speech, andexplain that which may not be written. Now understand that yesterday'sintelligence was good, but not
so good as I told the nobles,--not sogood, in fact, as I myself thought at first. The Swedes have the upperhand, it is true; they have occupied Great Poland, Mazovia, Warsaw; theprovince of Syeradz has yielded to them, they are pursuing Yan Kazimirto Cracow, and as God is in heaven, they will besiege the place.Charnyetski is to defend it. He is a newly baked senator, but, I mustconfess, a good soldier. Who can foresee what will happen? The Swedes,of course, know how to take fortresses, and there was no time tofortify Cracow. Still, that spotted little castellan[22] (Charnyetski)may hold out there a month, two, three. Such wonders take place attimes, as we all remember in the case of Zbaraj. If he will standobstinately, the devil may turn everything around. Learn now politicalsecrets. Know first that in Vienna they will not look with willing eyeon the growing power of Sweden, and may give aid. The Tartars, too, Iknow this well, are inclined to assist Yan Kazimir, and to move againstthe Cossacks and Moscow with all force; and then the armies in theCrimea under Pototski would assist. Yan Kazimir is in despair, buttomorrow his fortune may be preponderant."

  Here the prince was forced to give rest again to his wearied breast,and Pan Andrei experienced a wonderful feeling which he could nothimself account for at once. Behold, he, an adherent of Radzivill andSweden, felt as it were a great joy at the thought that fortune mightturn from the Swedes!

  "Suhanyets told me," said the prince, "how it was at Vidava and Jarnov.There in the first onset our advance guard--I mean the Polish--groundthe Swedes into the dust. They were not general militia, and the Swedeslost courage greatly."

  "Still victory was with the Swedes, was it not?"

  "It was, for the squadrons mutinied against Yan Kazimir, and the noblesdeclared that they would stand in line, but would not fight. Still itwas shown that the Swedes are no better in the field than the quartersoldiers. Only let there be one or two victories and their courage maychange. Let money come to Yan Kazimir to pay wages, and the troops willnot mutiny. Pototski has not many men, but they are sternly disciplinedand as resolute as hornets. The Tartars will come with Pototski, butthe elector will not move with his reinforcement."

  "How is that?"

  "Boguslav and I concluded that he would enter at once into a leaguewith the Swedes and with us, for we know how to measure his love forthe Commonwealth. He is too cautious, however, and thinks only of hisown interest. He is waiting to see what will happen; meanwhile he isentering into a league, but with the Prussian towns, which remainfaithful to Yan Kazimir. I think that in this there will be treason ofsome kind, unless the elector is not himself, or doubts Swedish successaltogether. But until all this is explained, the league stands againstSweden; and let the Swedes stumble in Little Poland, Great Poland andMazovia will rise, the Prussians will go with them, and it may come topass--" Here the prince shuddered as if terrified at his supposition.

  "What may come to pass?" asked Kmita.

  "That not a Swedish foot will go out of the Commonwealth," answered theprince, gloomily.

  Kmita frowned and was silent.

  "Then," continued the hetman, in a low voice, "our fortune will havefallen as low as before it was high."

  Pan Andrei, springing from his seat, cried with sparkling eyes andflushed face: "What is this? Why did your highness say not long agothat the Commonwealth was lost,--that only in league with the Swedes,through the person and future reign of your highness, could it possiblybe saved? What have I to believe,--what I heard then, or what I hearnow? If what your highness says to-day is true, why do we hold with theSwedes, instead of beating them?--and the soul laughs at the thought ofthis."

  Radzivill looked sternly at Kmita. "You are over bold!" said he.

  But Kmita was careering on his own enthusiasm as on a horse. "Speaklater of what kind of man I am; but now answer my question, yourhighness."

  "I will give this answer," said Radzivill, with emphasis: "if thingstake the turn that I mention, we will fall to beating the Swedes."

  Pan Andrei ceased distending his nostrils, slapped his forehead withhis palm, and cried, "I am a fool! I am a fool!"

  "I do not deny that," answered the prince. "I will say more: you exceedthe measure of insolence. Know then that I send you to note the turnsof fortune. I desire the good of the country, nothing else. I havementioned to you suppositions which may not, which certainly will not,come true. But there is need to be cautious. Whoso wishes that watershould not bear him away must know how to swim, and whoso goes througha pathless forest must stop often to note the direction in which heshould travel. Do you understand?"

  "As clearly as sunshine."

  "We are free to draw back, and we are bound to do so if it will bebetter for the country; but we shall not be able if Prince Boguslavstays longer in Podlyasye. Has he lost his head, or what? If he staysthere, he must declare for one side or the other,--either for theSwedes or Yan Kazimir,--and that is just what would be worst of all."

  "I am dull, your highness, for again I do not understand."

  "Podlyasye is near Mazovia; and either the Swedes will occupy it orreinforcements will come from the Prussian towns against the Swedes.Then it will be necessary to choose."

  "But why does not Prince Boguslav choose?"

  "Until he chooses, the Swedes will seek us greatly and must win ourfavor; the same is true of the elector. If it comes to retreating andturning against the Swedes, he is to be the link between me and YanKazimir. He is to ease my return, which he could not do if previouslyhe had taken the side of the Swedes. But since he will be forced tomake a final choice if he remains in Podlyasye, let him go to Prussia,to Tyltsa, and wait there for events. The elector stays in Brandenburg.Boguslav will be of greater importance in Prussia; he may take thePrussians in hand altogether, increase his army, and stand at the headof a considerable force. And then both the Swedes and Yan Kazimir willgive what we ask in order to win us both; and our house will not onlynot fall, but will rise higher, and that is the main thing."

  "Your highness said that the good of the country was the main thing."

  "But do not break in at every word, since I told you at first that thetwo are one; and listen farther. I know well that Prince Boguslav,though he signed the act of union with Sweden here in Kyedani, does notpass as an adherent of theirs. Though the report will be baseless, doyou declare along the road that I forced him to sign it against hisheart. People will believe this readily, for it happens frequently thateven full brothers belong to different parties. In this way he will beable to gain the confidence of the confederates, invite the leaders tohis camp as if for negotiations, and then seize and take them toPrussia. That will be a good method, and salutary for the country,which those men will ruin completely unless they are stopped."

  "Is this all that I have to do?" asked Kmita, with a certaindisillusion.

  "This is merely a part, and not the most important. From PrinceBoguslav you will go with my letters to Karl Gustav himself. I cannotcome to harmony with Count Magnus from the time of that battle atKlavany. He looks at me askance, and does not cease from supposing thatif the Swedes were to stumble, if the Tartars were to rush at the otherenemy, I would turn against the Swedes."

  "By what your highness has said just now, his supposition is correct."

  "Correct or not, I do not wish it held, or wish him to see what trumpsI have in my hand. Besides, he is ill-disposed toward me personally.Surely he has written more than once against me to the king, and beyonda doubt one of two things,--either that I am weak, or that I am notreliable. This must be remedied. You will give my letter to the king.If he asks about the Klavany affair, tell the truth, neither adding nortaking away. You may confess that I condemned those officers to death,and you obtained their pardon. That will cost you nothing, but thesincerity may please him. You will not complain against Count Magnusdirectly in presence of the king, for he is his brother-in-law. But ifthe king should ask, so, in passing, what people here think, say thatthey are sorry because Count Magnus does not repay the hetmansufficiently, in view of his sincere friendship for the Swedes; t
hatthe prince himself (that is I) grieves greatly over this. If he asks ifit is true that all the quota troops have left me, say that 'tis nottrue; and as proof offer yourself. Tell him that you are colonel; foryou are. Say that the partisans of Pan Gosyevski brought the troops tomutiny, but add that there is a mortal enmity between us. Say that ifCount Magnus had sent me cannon and cavalry I should have crushed theconfederates long ago,--that this is the general opinion. Finally, takenote of everything, give ear to what they are saying near the person ofthe king, and report, not to me, but, if occasion offers, to PrinceBoguslav in Prussia. You may do so even through the elector's men,should you meet them. Perhaps you know German?"

  "I had an officer, a noble of Courland, a certain Zend, whom the Laudamen slew; from him I learned German not badly. I have also been oftenin Livonia."

  "That is well."

  "But, your highness, where shall I find the King of Sweden?"

  "You will find him where he will be. In time of war he may be hereto-day and there to-morrow. Should you find him at Cracow, it would bebetter, for you will take letters to other persons who live in thoseparts."

  "Then I am to go to others?"

  "Yes. You must make your way to the marshal of the kingdom. PanLyubomirski. It is of great moment to me that he come to our views. Heis a powerful man, and in Little Poland much depends on him. Should hedeclare sincerely for the Swedes, Yan Kazimir would have no place inthe Commonwealth. Conceal not from the King of Sweden that you aregoing from me to Lyubomirski to win him for the Swedes. Do not boast ofthis directly, but speak as it were inadvertently. That will influencehim greatly in my favor. God grant that Lyubomirski declare for us. Hewill hesitate, that I know; still I hope that my letters will turn thescale, for there is a reason why he must care greatly for my good will.I will tell you the whole affair, that you may know how to act. You seePan Lyubomirski has been coming around me for a long time, as men goaround a bear in a thicket, and trying from afar to see if I would givemy only daughter to his son Heraclius. They are children yet, but thecontract might be made,--which is very important for the marshal, morethan for me, since there is not another such heiress in theCommonwealth, and if the two fortunes were united, there would not beanother such in the world. That is a well-buttered toast! But if themarshal were to conceive the hope that his son might receive the crownof the Grand Principality as the dower of my daughter! Rouse that hopein him and he will be tempted, as God is in heaven, for he thinks moreof his house than he does of the Commonwealth."

  "What have I to tell him?"

  "That which I cannot write. But it must be placed before him withskill. God preserve you from disclosing that you have heard from me howI desire the crown,--it is too early for that yet,--but say, 'All thenobles in Lauda and Lithuania talk of crowning Radzivill, and rejoiceover it; the Swedes themselves mention it, I have heard it near theperson of the king.' You will observe who of his courtiers is themarshal's confidant, and suggest to that courtier the followingthought: 'Let Lyubomirski join the Swedes and ask in return themarriage of Heraclius and Radzivill's daughter, then let him supportRadzivill as Grand Prince. Heraclius will be Radzivill's heir.' That isnot enough; suggest also that once Heraclius has the Lithuanian crownhe will be elected in time to the throne of Poland, and so the twocrowns may be united again in these two families. If they do not graspat this idea with both hands, they will show themselves petty people.Whoso does not aim high and fears great plans, should be content with alittle baton, with a small castellanship; let him serve, bend his neck,gain favor through chamber attendants, for he deserves nothing better!God has created me for something else, and therefore I dare to stretchmy hands to everything which it is in the power of man to reach, and togo to those limits which God alone has placed to human effort."

  Here the prince stretched his hands, as if wishing to seize some unseencrown, and gleamed up altogether, like a torch; from emotion the breathfailed in his throat again.

  After a while he calmed himself and said with a broken voice,--

  "Behold--where my soul flies--as if to the sun--Disease utters itswarning--let it work its will--I would rather death found me on thethrone--than in the antechamber of a king."

  "Shall the physician be called?" asked Kmita.

  Radzivill waved his hand.

  "No need of him--I feel better now--That is all I had to say--Inaddition keep your eyes open, your ears open--See also what thePototskis will do. They hold together, are true to the Vazas (that is,to Yan Kazimir)--and they are powerful--It is not known either how theKonyetspolskis and Sobyeskis will turn--Observe and learn--Now thesuffocation is gone. Have you understood everything clearly?"

  "Yes. If I err, it will be my own fault."

  "I have letters written already; only a few remain. When do you wish tostart?"

  "To-day! As soon as possible."

  "Have you no request to make?"

  "Your highness," began Kmita, and stopped suddenly. The words came fromhis mouth with difficulty, and on his face constraint and confusionwere depicted.

  "Speak boldly," said the hetman.

  "I pray," said Kmita, "that Billevich and she--suffer no harm whilehere."

  "Be certain of that. But I see that you love the girl yet."

  "Impossible," answered Kmita. "Do I know! An hour I love her,an hour I hate her. The devil alone knows! All is over, as I havesaid,--suffering only is left. I do not want her, but I do not wantanother to take her. Your highness, pardon me, I know not myself what Isay. I must go,--go with all haste! Pay no heed to my words, God willgive back my mind the moment I have gone through the gate."

  "I understand that, because till love has grown cold with time, thoughnot wanting her yourself, the thought that another might take her burnsyou. But be at rest on that point, for I will let no man come here, andas to going away they will not go. Soon it will be full of foreignsoldiers all around, and unsafe. Better, I will send her to Tanrogi,near Tyltsa, where my daughter is. Be at rest, Yendrek. Go, prepare forthe road, and come to me to dine."

  Kmita bowed and withdrew, and Radzivill began to draw deep breaths. Hewas glad of the departure of Kmita. He left him his squadron and hisname as an adherent; for his person the prince cared less.

  But Kmita in going might render him notable services; in Kyedani he hadlong since grown irksome to the hetman, who was surer of him at adistance than near at hand. The wild courage and temper of Kmita mightat any instant bring an outburst in Kyedani and a rupture verydangerous for both. The departure put danger aside.

  "Go, incarnate devil, and serve!" muttered the prince, looking at thedoor through which the banneret of Orsha had passed. Then he called apage and summoned Ganhoff.

  "You will take Kmita's squadron," said the prince to him, "and commandover all the cavalry. Kmita is going on a journey."

  Over the cold face of Ganhoff there passed as it were a ray of joy. Themission had missed him, but a higher military office had come. He bowedin silence, and said,--

  "I will pay for the favor of your highness with faithful service." Thenhe stood erect and waited.

  "And what will you say further?" asked the prince.

  "Your highness, a noble from Vilkomir came this morning with news thatPan Sapyeha is marching with troops against your highness."

  Radzivill quivered, but in the twinkle of an eye he mastered hisexpression.

  "You may go," said he to Ganhoff.

  Then he fell into deep thought.