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第16章

some reminiscences-第16章

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instrument。  Polish peasantry (not serfs) served in the ranks by



enlistment; and the officers belonged mainly to the smaller



nobility。  Mr。 Nicholas B。; with his Napoleonic record; had no



difficulty in obtaining a lieutenancy; but the promotion in the



Polish Army was slow; because; being a separate organisation; it



took no part in the wars of the Russian Empire against Persia or



Turkey。  Its first campaign; against Russia itself; was to be its



last。  In 1831; on the outbreak of the Revolution; Mr。 Nicholas



B。 was the senior captain of his regiment。  Some time before he



had been made head of the remount establishment quartered outside



the kingdom in our southern provinces; whence almost all the



horses for the Polish cavalry were drawn。  For the first time



since he went away from home at the age of eighteen to begin his



military life by the battle of Friedland; Mr。 Nicholas B。



breathed the air of the 〃Border;〃 his native air。  Unkind fate



was lying in wait for him amongst the scenes of his youth。  At



the first news of the rising in Warsaw all the remount



establishment; officers; vets。; and the very troopers; were put



promptly under arrest and hurried off in a body beyond the



Dnieper to the nearest town in Russia proper。  From there they



were dispersed to the distant parts of the Empire。  On this



occasion poor Mr。 Nicholas B。 penetrated into Russia much farther



than he ever did in the times of Napoleonic invasion; if much



less willingly。  Astrakhan was his destination。  He remained



there three years; allowed to live at large in the town but



having to report himself every day at noon to the military



commandant; who used to detain him frequently for a pipe and a



chat。  It is difficult to form a just idea of what a chat with



Mr。 Nicholas B。 could have been like。  There must have been much



compressed rage under his taciturnity; for the commandant



communicated to him the news from the theatre of war and this



news was such as it could be; that is; very bad for the Poles。



Mr。 Nicholas B。 received these communications with outward



phlegm; but the Russian showed a warm sympathy for his prisoner。



〃As a soldier myself I understand your feelings。  You; of course;



would like to be in the thick of it。  By heavens! I am fond of



you。  If it were not for the terms of the military oath I would



let you go on my own responsibility。  What difference could it



make to us; one more or less of you?〃







At other times he wondered with simplicity。







〃Tell me; Nicholas Stepanovitch〃(my great…grandfather's name



was Stephen and the commandant used the Russian form of polite



address)〃tell me why is it that you Poles are always looking



for trouble?  What else could you expect from running up against



Russia?〃







He was capable; too; of philosophical reflections。







〃Look at your Napoleon now。  A great man。  There is no denying it



that he was a great man as long as he was content to thrash those



Germans and Austrians and all those nations。  But no!  He must go



to Russia looking for trouble; and what's the consequence?  Such



as you see me; I have rattled this sabre of mine on the pavements



of Paris。〃







After his return to Poland Mr。 Nicholas B。 described him as a



〃worthy man but stupid;〃 whenever he could be induced to speak of



the conditions of his exile。  Declining the option offered him to



enter the Russian Army he was retired with only half the pension



of his rank。  His nephew (my uncle and guardian) told me that the



first lasting impression on his memory as a child of four was the



glad excitement reigning in his parents' house on the day when



Mr。 Nicholas B。 arrived home from his detention in Russia。







Every generation has its memories。  The first memories of Mr。



Nicholas B。 might have been shaped by the events of the last



partition of Poland; and he lived long enough to suffer from the



last armed rising in 1863; an event which affected the future of



all my generation and has coloured my earliest impressions。  His



brother; in whose house he had sheltered for some seventeen years



his misanthropical timidity before the commonest problems of



life; having died in the early fifties; Mr。 Nicholas B。 had to



screw his courage up to the sticking…point and come to some



decision as to the future。  After a long and agonising hesitation



he was persuaded at last to become the tenant of some fifteen



hundred acres out of the estate of a friend in the neighbourhood。



The terms of the lease were very advantageous; but the retired



situation of the village and a plain comfortable house in good



repair were; I fancy; the greatest inducements。 He lived there



quietly for about ten years; seeing very few people and taking no



part in the public life of the province; such as it could be



under an arbitrary bureaucratic tyranny。  His character and his



patriotism were above suspicion; but the organisers of the rising



in their frequent journeys up and down the province scrupulously



avoided coming near his house。  It was generally felt that the



repose of the old man's last years ought not to be disturbed。



Even such intimates as my paternal grandfather; a comrade…in…arms



during Napoleon's Moscow campaign and later on a fellow…officer



in the Polish Army; refrained from visiting his crony as the date



of the outbreak approached。  My paternal grandfather's two sons



and his only daughter were all deeply involved in the



revolutionary work; he himself was of that type of Polish squire



whose only ideal of patriotic action was to 〃get into the saddle



and drive them out。〃  But even he agreed that 〃dear Nicholas must



not be worried。〃  All this considerate caution on the part of



friends; both conspirators and others; did not prevent Mr。



Nicholas B。 being made to feel the misfortunes of that ill…omened



year。







Less than forty…eight hours after the beginning of the rebellion



in that part of the country; a squadron of scouting Cossacks



passed through the village and invaded the homestead。  Most of



them remained formed between the house and the stables; while



several; dismounting; ransacked the various outbuildings。  The



officer in command; accompanied by two men; walked up to the



front door。  All the blinds on that side were down。  The officer



told the servant who received him that he wanted to see his



master。  He was answered that the master was away from home;



which was perfectly true。







I follow here the tale as told afterwards by the servant to my



grand…uncle's friends and relatives; and as I have heard it



repeated。







On receiving this answer the Cossack officer; who had been



standing in the porch; stepped into the house。







〃Where is the master gone; then?〃







〃Our master went to J〃 (the government town some fifty miles



off); 〃the day before yesterday。〃







〃There are only two horses in the stables。  Where are the



others?〃







〃Our master always travels with his own horses〃 (meaning:  not by



post)。  〃He will be away a week or more。  He was pleased to



mention to me that he had to attend to some business in the Civil



Court。〃







While the servant was speaking the officer looked about the hall。



There was a door facing him; a door to the right and a door to



the left。  The officer chose to enter the room on the left and



ordered the blinds to be pulled up。  It was Mr。 Nicholas B。's



study with a couple of tall bookcases; some pictures on the



walls; and so on。  Besides the big centre table; with bo

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