do

some unheard-of deed, impossible to any other man. “Who says that the Ukraine is my country? Who
gave it to me for my country? Our country is the one our soul longs for, the one which is dearest of all to
us. My country is — you! That is my native land, and I bear that country in my heart. I will bear it there all
my life, and I will see whether any of the Cossacks can tear it thence. And I will give everything, barter
everything, I will destroy myself, for that country!”
Astounded, she gazed in his eyes for a space, like a beautiful statue, and then suddenly burst out
sobbing; and with the wonderful feminine impetuosity which only grand-souled, uncalculating women,
created for fine impulses of the heart, are capable of, threw herself upon his neck, encircling it with her
wondrous snowy arms, and wept. At that moment indistinct shouts rang through the street, accompanied by
the sound of trumpets and kettledrums; but he heard them not. He was only conscious of the beauteous
mouth bathing him with its warm, sweet breath, of the tears streaming down his face, and of her long,
unbound perfumed hair, veiling him completely in its dark and shining silk.
At that moment the Tatar ran in with a cry of joy. “Saved, saved!” she cried, beside herself. “Our
troops have entered the city. They have brought corn, millet, flour, and Zaporozhtzi in chains!” But no one
heard that “our troops” had arrived in the city, or what they had brought with them, or how they had bound
the Zaporozhtzi. Filled with feelings untasted as yet upon earth, Andrii kissed the sweet mouth which
pressed his cheek, and the sweet mouth did not remain unresponsive. In this union of kisses they
experienced that which it is given to a man to feel but once on earth.
And the Cossack was ruined. He was lost to Cossack chivalry. Never again will Zaporozhe, nor his
father’s house, nor the Church of God, behold him. The Ukraine will never more see the bravest of the
children who have undertaken to defend her. Old Taras may tear the grey hair from his scalp-lock, and
curse the day and hour in which such a son was born to dishonour him.
 CHAPTER VII
Noise and movement were rife in the Zaporozhian camp. At first, no one could account for the relieving
army having made its way into the city; but it afterwards appeared that the Pereyaslavsky kuren, encamped
before the wide gate of the town, had been dead drunk. It was no wonder that half had been killed, and the
other half bound, before they knew what it was all about. Meantime the neighbouring kurens, aroused by
the tumult, succeeded in grasping their weapons; but the relieving force had already passed through the
gate, and its rear ranks fired upon the sleepy and only half-sober Zaporozhtzi who were pressing in
disorder upon them, and kept them back.
The Koschevoi ordered a general assembly; and when all stood in a ring and had removed their caps
and became quiet, he said: “See what happened last night, brother gentles! See what drunkenness has led
to! See what shame the enemy has put upon us! It is evident that, if your allowances are kindly doubled,
then you are ready to stretch out at full length, and the enemies of Christ can not only take your very
trousers off you, but sneeze in your faces without your hearing them!”
The Cossacks all stood with drooping heads, knowing that they were guilty; only Kukubenko, the
hetman of the Nezamisky kuren, answered back. “Stop, father!” said he; “although it is not lawful to make
a retort when the Koschevoi speaks before the whole army, yet it is necessary to say that that was not the
state of the case. You have not been quite just in your reprimand. The Cossacks would have been guilty,
and deserving of death, had they got drunk on the march, or when engaged on heavy toilsome labour
during war; but we have been sitting here unoccupied, loitering in vain before the city. There was no fast
or other Christian restraint; how then could it be otherwise than that a man should get drunk in idleness?
There is no sin in that. But we had better show them what it is to attack innocent people. They first beat us
well, and now we will beat them so that not half a dozen of them will ever see home again.”
The speech of the hetman of the kuren pleased the Cossacks. They raised their drooping heads upright
and many nodded approvingly, muttering, “Kukubenko has spoken well!” And Taras Bulba, who stood not
far from the Koschevoi, said: “How now, Koschevoi? Kukubenko has spoken truth. What have you to say
to this?”
“What have I to say? I say, Blessed be the father of such a son! It does not need much wisdom to utter
words of reproof; but much wisdom is needed to find such words as do not embitter a man’s misfortune,
but encourage him, restore to him his spirit, put spurs to the horse of his soul, refreshed by water. I meant
myself to speak words of comfort to you, but Kukubenko has forestalled me.”
“The Koschevoi has also spoken well!” rang through the ranks of the Zaporozhtzi. “His words are
good,” repeated others. And even the greyheads, who stood there like dark blue doves, nodded their
heads and, twitching their grey moustaches, muttered softly, “That was well said.”
“Listen now, gentles,” continued the Koschevoi. “To take the city, by scaling its walls, or undermining
them as the foreign engineers do, is not proper, not Cossack fashion. But, judging from appearances, the
enemy entered the city without many provisions; they had not many waggons with them. The people in the
city are hungry; they will all eat heartily, and the horses will soon devour the hay. I don’t know whether
their saints will fling them down anything from heaven with hayforks; God only knows that though there
are a great many Catholic priests among them. By one means or another the people will seek to leave the
city. Divide yourselves, therefore, into three divisions, and take up your posts before the three gates; five
kurens before the principal gate, and three kurens before each of the others. Let the Dadikivsky and
Korsunsky kurens go into ambush and Taras and his men into ambush too. The Titarevsky and
Timoschevsky kurens are to guard the baggage train on the right flank, the Scherbinovsky and Steblikivsky
on the left, and to select from their ranks the most daring young men to face the foe. The Lyakhs are of a
restless nature and cannot endure a siege, and perhaps this very day they will sally forth from the gates.