Taras Bulba

Zaporozhtzi thoroughly, said at first, "Oaths cannot be violated by any means"; but after a pause added, "No matter, it can be done. We will not violate them, but let us devise somethi

At length, in one quarter and another, it began to be rumoured about, "Behold, the Cossack strength is being vainly wasted: there is no war! Behold, our leaders have become as marmots, every one; their eyes swim in fat! Plainly, there is no justice in the

o

eir brethren, so that now they have not an atom of credit. Again, touching the matter in question, there are many young fellows who have no idea of what

well," th

by God's mercy the Setch has stood, but up to this day even the holy pictures have no adornments. No one has even thought of making them a silver frame; they have only received what some Cossacks have left them in their wills; and these gifts were poor, since they ha

ngs up like that for?"

cording to my poor opinion, we might, I think, send out a few young men in boats

crowd on all sides. "We are ready

l Zaporozhe; a breach of the truce appeared to him on this occ

Cossacks; "you can

Sultan will not permit that which delights our young men to go unpunished. We should be prepared at such a time, and our forces should be fresh, and then we should fear no one. But during their absence the Tatars may assemble fresh forces; the dogs do not show themselves in sight and

the matter, and the hetmans of the kurens to take counsel togethe

red with axes in their hands. Old, weatherbeaten, broad-shouldered, strong-legged Zaporozhtzi, with black or silvered moustaches, rolled up their trousers, waded up to their knees in water, and dragged the boats on to the shore with stout ropes; others brought seasoned timber and all sorts of wood. The boats were freshly planked, turned bottom upwards, caulked and tarred, and

nothing but their shirts, with a short pipe in their mouths, showed that they had either escaped from some disaster or had caroused to such an extent that they had drunk up all they had on their bodies. A short, broad-shoulde

ed the shore. All the workers paused in their labours, an

une!" shouted t

m wh

le Zaporozhtzi,

pe

prefer to asse

we are a

pressed toget

g of what has been going on

quired one of th

s have plastered up your ears

what has been g

of which no man born or chr

a dog!" shouted one of the cro

a pass that our holy chu

not o

ws. If the Jew is not first

re you

sign with his unclean hand over the hol

ot be that an unclean Jew puts his

e harnessed to them. Listen! I have not yet told all. They say that the Jewesses are making themselves petticoats out of our popes' vestments. Such are the deeds that are taking place in the Uk

Greek Church. The P

er yielded to their first impulse, but kept silence, and meanwhile concentrated inwardly all the power of their indignation. "Stop! I also have a word to say.

were fifty thousand of the Lyakhs[2] alone; yes, and it is a shame not to be co

opprobrious nam

nd your leaders, w

from such deeds as o

w s

heads and hands of our leaders are being carried to all the fai

ned all along the shore, like that which precedes a tempest;

l quarters. The Zaporozhtzi were moved, and knew their power. It was not the excitement of a giddy-minded folk. All who were thus agitated were strong, firm characters, not easily aroused, but, once aroused, preserving their inward heat long and obstinately. "Hang all the Jews!" rang through the crowd. "They shall not make petticoa

courageous, hid themselves in empty brandy-casks, in ovens, and even crawled und

terror, from among a group of his comrades, "gracious nobles! suffer us to say a word, only one word. We

who always liked to hear wha

h fear. "How was it possible that we should think any evil of the Zaporozhtzi? Those men are not of us at all, those who have taken pledges in the Ukraine. By heavens, they are not of us! They

oma and Schmul, from among the crowd,

with your enemies, and we will have nothing to do with Catholics; may the

me one in the crowd. "Don't wait! the cursed Jews! Into t

ockings, struggling in the air. The poor orator who had called down destruction upon himself jumped out of the caftan, by which they had seized him, and in his scant parti-coloured under waistcoat clasped Bulba's legs, and cried,

y brother?"

w him. He was a ma

t is you

nke

s and spoke as follows: "There will always be plenty of time to ha

d his Cossacks. "Crawl under the waggon; lie down, and do

tion of the whole Zaporozhtzian army, to march straight to Poland, to avenge the injury and disgrace to their faith and to Cossack renown, to seize booty from the cities, to burn villages and grain, and spread their glory far over the steppe. All at once girded and armed themselves. The Koschevoi grew a whole foot taller. He was no longer the timid executor of the restless wishes of a free people, but their untrammelled master. He was

are some among you whom God has made so greedy that they would like to tear up silk and velvet for foot-cloths. Leave off such devilish habits; reject all garments as plunder, and take only weapons: though if valuables offer themselves, ducats or silver, they are useful in any case. I tell you this beforehand, gentles, if any one gets drunk on the expedition, he will have a short shrift: I will have him dragged by the neck like a dog behind the baggage waggons, no matter who he may be, even were he the most heroic Cossack in the whole army; he shall be shot on the spot like a dog,

ave their axles smeared w

or leaded them with arms; others again drove up the horses and oxen. On all sides resounded the tramp of horses' hoofs, test-shots from the guns, the clank of swords, the lowing of oxen, the screech of rolling waggons, talking, sharp cries and urging-on of cattle. Soon the Cossack force spread far over all the plain; and he who might have undertaken to run from its van to

selling flint, screwdrivers, powder, and all sorts of military stores needed on the road, even to rolls and bread. "What devils t

ilence and say nothing to any one. Among the Cossack waggons is a waggon of mine. I am carrying all sorts of needful stores for the Cossacks, and o

n amazement at the Jewish nature, an