The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 1Sienkiewicz, Henryk
History
The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 1
Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Historical fiction; Poland -- History -- John II Casimir, 1648-1668 -- Fiction
The scattered Swedes then ran around, but the Lauda men rushed after
them. In some places larger groups fought, a number at a time, with
sabres and rapiers; in other places the conflict was turned into a
series of duels, and man met man, the rapier crossed the sabre, and at
times the report of a pistol burst forth. Here and there a Swedish
horseman, escaping from one sabre, ran, as if to a trap, under another.
Here and there a Swede or a Lithuanian rose from under a fallen horse
and fell that moment under the blow of a weapon awaiting him.
Through the grass-plot terrified horses rushed about riderless, with
waving mane and nostrils distended from fear; some bit one another;
others, blinded from fright, turned their tails to the groups of
fighting men and kicked them.
Pan Volodyovski, hurling down Swedes as he went, searched the whole
place with his eyes for the officer in command; at last he saw him
defending himself against two Butryms, and he sprang toward him.
"Aside!" cried he to the Butryms, "aside!"
The obedient soldiers sprang aside, the little knight rushed on and
closed with the Swede, the horses of the two stood on their haunches.
The officer wished evidently to unhorse his opponent with a thrust; but
Volodyovski, interposing the hilt of his sabre, described a half-circle
like lightning, and the rapier flew away. The officer bent to his
holsters, but, cut through the cheek at that moment, he dropped the
reins from his left hand.
"Take him alive!" shouted Volodyovski to the Butryms.
The Lauda men seized the wounded officer and held him tottering in the
saddle; the little knight pushed on and rode farther against the
Swedes, quenching them before him like candles.
But the Swedes began to yield everywhere before the nobles, who were
more adroit in fencing and single combat. Some of the Swedes, seizing
their rapier blades, extended the hilts to their opponents; others
threw their weapons at their feet; the word "Pardon!" was heard more
and more frequently on the field. But no attention was paid to the
word, for Pan Michael had commanded to spare but few. The Swedes,
seeing this, rushed anew to the struggle, and died as became soldiers
after a desperate defence, redeeming richly with blood their own death.
An hour later the last of them were cut down. The peasants ran in
crowds from the village to the grass-plot to catch the horses, kill the
wounded, and plunder the dead.
Such was the end of the first encounter of Lithuanians with Swedes.
Meanwhile Zagloba, stationed at a distance in the birch-grove with the
wagon in which lay Pan Roh, was forced to hear the bitter reproach
that, though a relative, he had treated that young man shamefully.
"Uncle, you have ruined me utterly, for not only is a bullet in the
head waiting for me at Kyedani, but eternal infamy will fall on my
name. Henceforth whoso wants to say, 'Fool,' may say, 'Roh Kovalski!'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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