At last, when the marks were quite loaded with arrows, the master of the youths, who was an aged, and grey haired man, taking the marks in his hand, first held them up as high as he could, then threw them down to the ground. Upon which his scholars showered down their lances and arrows upon them, as if they had been putting an end to the lives of their wounded enemies, and then went prancing up and down by way of triumph. Among these young men there were three, who fell from their horses; one of whom expiring as soon as he fell, lest a formal funeral might disorder the rest, was immediately carried off and buried. The other two being almost dead, were likewise carried off for fear of marring the show. The rest of these horsemen, that they might put an end to the games, taking their lances in their hands, and putting spurs to their horses, rode up to the marks that were still remaining, and pierced them with their points like trophies. It was a fine sight to behold these tall young men, handsomely clothed and armed, with a wonderful address, performing those exercises on the back of a horse at his full speed, which others could hardly do standing on firm ground; and which were equally strange to see, and hard to be believed.” [Illustration] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration] CHAPTER VIII BELA—A STORY OF THE CAUCASUS. HAVING followed the Circassians in their transformed appearance as Egyptian Mamelukes, we now return from this digression, to their mountain homes. There is a tale by Lermontof, a young Russian author, who died prematurely about four years ago, in which the character and habit of the mountaineers are illustrated with great dramatic force. As the story, which is full of human interest, turns also in a great degree on the fortunes of a horse, it comes fairly within the scope of the present work; we shall therefore present it here in a condensed form. In the original it takes the shape of a conversation between the author, and the commandant of a Russian fort, on the Terek, a rough unlettered soldier, but a man of excellent heart. We shall distinguish the two speakers in the dialogue, by their initials L. and M. THE CAPTAIN’S STORY.