The rapier from behind stretched after him,
Waved its long black extremity around,
Unto each side. And like a wounded lynx
The Klucznik seemed, that from a tree will spring
Into the hunter’s eyes; it puffs itself
Up in a ball; it growls, its bloodshot eyes
In sparkles kindles, moves its whiskers, lashes
Its tail. “Rembajlo,” said the friar, “no more
The wrath of man affrights me, for I am
Already under God’s hand. I conjure
Thee in the name of Him who saved the world,
And on the cross did bless His murderers,
And did accept the thief’s entreaty, that
Thou wilt be pacified, and all that I
Shall say wilt listen patiently. I have
Confessed now whom I am, and for relief
Of conscience I must seek, and must at least
For pardon pray. Thou listen my confession;
Then after do thou what thou wilt with me.”
And here his hands he folded, as in prayer.
The Klucznik, deep in thought, moved backward, smote
His forehead, and his shoulders moved. The priest
Began the story to relate of his
Familiar friendship with Horeszko, how
He loved his daughter; from this cause proceeded
His quarrel with the Pantler. But he spoke
With little order, mingling oft complaints
And lamentations in his story; often
His speech broke off, as though he had ended it.
And then again began. The Klucznik, knowing
Most perfectly the annals of Horeszko,
Though tangled in disorder all this tale,
In memory could range, and fill it out;
But many things the Judge nought understood.
Both listened diligently, with bowed heads,
And Jacek ever spoke with freer words,
And oft broke off.237
“Indeed, thou knowest too well, Gervasy, how
The Pantler oft invited me to banquets,
And would propose my health; not seldom cried,
Lifting his glass on high, he had no friend
Above Soplica. How he then embraced me!
All who saw this would think he shared with me
His very soul. A friend he! well he knew
What at that time was passing in my soul!
“Meanwhile the neighbourhood already whispered,
And such a one said to me: ‘Ah! Soplica!
In vain wouldst thou compete, the threshold of
A dignitary is too high for Jacek
Podczaszyc’ feet.’ I laughed, pretending I
Laughed at the magnates, and their daughters too,
And cared not for the aristocracy;
That if I oft consorted with them, ’twas
From friendship; I would only take for wife
One of my own condition. Ne’ertheless
These jestings cut me to the quick. Young then,
Courageous, all the world to me was open.
In this land, where, as well you know, a noble
By birth may for the throne be candidate
With highest lords—in truth Tenczynski once
Did ask a daughter of a royal house,238
And a king gave her to him without shame—
Were not Soplica’s honours equal with
Tenczynski’s, both by blood, and crest, and service
To the Republic? “Ah! how easily
A man may ruin another’s happiness,
In one short moment, and may not repair it
In all a long life! One word from the Pantler,
How happy we had been! who knows, maybe
We both had lived till now. Maybe, even he,
Beside his darling child, his lovely Eva,
Beside his grateful son-in-law, had reached
A peaceful old age, and his grandchildren
Perhaps had rocked. Now what has passed? He ruined
Both of us, and himself!-That murderous deed,
And all the followings of that crime, and all
My woes and sins!—I have no right to complain,
I was his murderer!—I have no right
To make complaint!—I from my very heart
Do pardon him; but even he—
“If one time merely he had openly
Refused me! For he well knew what we felt.
If he had not received my visitings—
Who knoweth how?—I maybe had departed,
Been angry, railed against him, in the end
Neglected him. But he in cunning proud
Thought of a new idea; he made pretence
That such a thing had entered ne’er his head
That I could ever seek for such alliance.
But I was needful to him; I had weight
Among the nobles, and the peasants all
Loved me! As though he ne’er perceived my love,
He welcomed me as erst, insisted ev’n
That I should come more often. And as oft
As we two were alone together, seeing
Mine eyes o’erclouded, and my breast o’ercharged,
And ready to break forth, the old man, cunning,
Would presently throw out indifferent words
Of lawsuits, diets, hunts—
“Ah! o’er our cups, not seldom, when he thus
Would melt, when thus he pressed me, and assured
Me of his friendship, having need of my
Sabre, or vote in Diet—when I must
Press him in turn affectionately, then
Such anger boiled in me, that I turned o’er
The spittle in my mouth, and then my hand
Would grasp my sabre’s hilt;—I longed to spit
Upon this friendship, and to draw my sword.
But Eva, looking on my glance and posture,
Could guess, I know not how, what in me passed.
She gazed imploringly, her cheeks grew pale;
And such a lovely dove, so gentle she—
And such a sweet look had she—so serene!
So angel-like! I know not even how,
I had no heart to anger her, to grieve her;
And I was silent!—I, the brawler famous
Throughout all Litva!—I, who lived no day
Without a fight, who never would submit
To wrong, not merely at the Pantler’s hands,
But even at the king’s; whom slightest cross
Drove into madness. I, though evil-minded
And drunken, was as dumb as a young lamb,
As though I saw the Holiest—
“How many times I longed to ope my heart,
And even to prayer before him humble me!
But gazing in his eyes I met a look
Cold as a stone. Ashamed of my emotion
I was; I hastened once again, quite coldly
Of lawsuits, diets, to discourse, and even
To jest! True, all from pride, not to debase
The name of the Soplicas, not degrade
Myself before a lord by useless prayers,
Nor earn refusal. For what would be said
Among the nobles, if they knew that I
I, Jacek—
“That the Horeszkos had refused
A maiden to Soplica, and to me,
Jacek, had offered the black broth!239 “At last,
Not knowing how to act, I thought to gather
A slender regiment of the nobles, and
To leave for aye the district and my country;
Somewhere in Muscovy or Tartary
To go, and war begin. I rode to take
Leave of the Pantler, in the hope that
