Narrative and Miscellaneous PapersDe Quincey, Thomas
General
Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; English fiction
other hand, to return to the camp was to endanger the chances of
accomplishing the escape. The Khan also was apparently revolving
all this in his mind, for at length he broke silence, and said--'I
comprehend your situation; and, under other circumstances, I might feel
it my duty to detain your companions. But it would ill become me to do
so after the important service you have just rendered me. Let us turn a
little to the left. There, where you see the watchfire, is an outpost.
Attend me so far. I am then safe. You may turn and pursue your
enterprise; for the circumstances under which you will appear, as my
escort, are sufficient to shield you from all suspicion for the present.
I regret having no better means at my disposal for testifying my
gratitude. But tell me, before we part, was it accident only which led
you to my rescue? Or had you acquired any knowledge of the plot by which
I was decoyed into this snare?' Weseloff answered very candidly that
mere accident had brought him to the spot at which he heard the
uproar, but that _having_ heard it, and connecting it with the Khan's
communication of the morning, he had then designedly gone after the
sound in a way which he certainly should not have done at so critical
a moment, unless in the expectation of finding the Khan assaulted by
assassins. A few minutes after they reached the outpost at which it
became safe to leave the Tartar chieftain; and immediately the four
fugitives commenced a flight which is perhaps without a parallel in the
annals of travelling. Each of them led six or seven horses besides the
one he rode; and by shifting from one to the other (like the ancient
_Desultors_ of the Roman circus,) so as never to burden the same horse
for more than half an hour at a time, they continued to advance at
the rate of two hundred miles in the twenty-four hours for three days
consecutively. After that time, considering themselves beyond pursuit,
they proceeded less rapidly; though still with a velocity which
staggered the belief of Weseloff's friends in after years. He was,
however, a man of high principle, and always adhered firmly to the
details of his printed report. One of the circumstances there stated is,
that they continued to pursue the route by which the Kalmucks had
fled, never for an instant finding any difficulty in tracing it by the
skeletons and other memorials of their calamities. In particular, he
mentions vast heaps of money as part of the valuable property which
it had been necessary to sacrifice. These heaps were found lying still
untouched in the deserts. From these, Weseloff and his companions took
as much as they could conveniently carry; and this it was, with the
price of their beautiful horses, which they afterwards sold at one of
the Russian military settlements for about £15 a-piece, which eventually
enabled them to pursue their journey in Russia. This journey, as
regarded Weseloff in particular, was closed by a tragical catastrophe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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