The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 2Sienkiewicz, Henryk
History
The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 2
Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Historical fiction; Poland -- History -- John II Casimir, 1648-1668 -- Fiction
But he lay a certain time motionless; then he opened his eyes. At that
time one of the soldiers poured a little gorailka into his mouth;
others raised him by the armpits.
Now the king, to whose hearing the cry repeated by several voices had
come, rode up in haste. The soldiers drew into his presence Pan Andrei,
who was hanging on them and slipping from their hands to the ground.
Still, at sight of the king consciousness returned to him for a moment,
a smile almost childlike lighted his face, and his pale lips whispered
clearly,—
“My lord, my king, is alive—is free.” And tears shone on his eyelashes.
“Babinich, Babinich! with what can I reward you?” cried the king.
“I am not Babinich; I am Kmita!” whispered the knight.
When he had said this he hung like a corpse in the arms of the
soldiers.
CHAPTER XI.
Since the mountaineers gave sure information that on the road to
Chorshtyn there was nothing to be heard of other Swedish parties, the
retinue of the king turned toward the castle, and soon found themselves
on the highway, along which the journey was easiest and least tiresome.
They rode on amid songs of the mountaineers and shouts, “The king is
coming! The king is coming!” and along the road new crowds of men
joined them, armed with flails, scythes, forks, and guns, so that Yan
Kazimir was soon at the head of a considerable division of men, not
trained, it is true, but ready at any moment to go with him even to
Cracow and spill their blood for their sovereign. Near Chorshtyn more
than a thousand “householders” and half-wild shepherds surrounded the
king.
Then nobles from Novy Sanch and Stary Sanch began to come in. They said
that a Polish regiment, under command of Voynillovich, had defeated,
that morning, just before the town of Novy Sanch, a considerable
detachment of Swedes, of which almost all the men were either slain, or
drowned in the Kamyenna or Dunayets.
This turned out to be really the fact, when soon after on the road
banners began to gleam, and Voynillovich himself came up with the
regiment of the voevoda of Bratslav.
The king greeted with joy a celebrated and to him well-known knight,
and amidst the universal enthusiasm of the people and the army, he rode
on toward Spij. Meanwhile men on horseback rushed with all breath to
forewarn the marshal that the king was approaching, and to be ready to
receive him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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