Their heads away from where the lovers stood,
So that they might not trouble their discourse.
But those two old men drank their mead, and from
A snuff-box made of bark regaled each other,
And talked. “Yes, yes, dear old Protasy,” said
Gervasy, Klucznik.—“Yes, dear old Gervasy,”
Protasy, Wozny, said.—“Yes, yes, just so,”
They in accord repeated many times,
Nodding their heads thereto. At length the Wozny:
“That wondrously this suit has ended I
Do not deny, yet there are precedents;
I can remember lawsuits during which
Far worse excesses happened than in ours,
But intermarriage ended all the evil.
Lopot to the Borzdobohaci
Was reconciled, the Krepsztuls to the house
Of Kupsc, and to Pikturna Putrament;
Mackiewicz to the Odyniec family,
And Turno unto the Kwileckis. But
What say I? Why, the Poles were used to have
With Litva disagreements worse by far
Than those of the Horeszkos and Soplica;
But Queen Jadwiga, when she counsel took,
Did quickly end that feud without the courts.
’Tis well when parties have a maid or widow
To give in marriage, thus a compromise
Is always ready. Lawsuits always last
The longest with the clergy, or with kindred
Too near related, for the action then
May never be with marriage brought to end.
Thence come the unending feuds of Poles and Russians,
Since they proceed from Lech and Russ, own brothers;254
Thence were so many Lithuanian suits
With the Crusaders, till Jagellon won.
Thence, to conclude, pendebat long before
The acts, that famous lawsuit of the Rymszas
With the Dominicans, whence rose the proverb,
‘The Lord is greater than Pan Rymsza.’ But
I’ll warrant, mead is better than the Penknife.”
This saying, he clinked his goblet with the Klucznik’s.
“True, true,” replied Gervasy, greatly moved;
“Wondrous have been the fortunes of our Crown,
And of our Litva! Truly, like two consorts,
Heaven did unite them, and the devil part.
To Heaven his own, and to the devil his.
Ah! brother dear, Protasy, that our eyes
Should see this! that these dwellers of the Crown
Salute us! I served with them years ago,
I well remember they were brave Confederates.
If but the Pantler, my late master, had
Lived to behold this day! O Jacek! Jacek!
But why should we lament? This very day
Our Litva once more joineth with the Crown,
That too is reconciled, is blotted out.”
“And this a wonder is,” Protasy said,
“Concerning this Sophia, for whose hand
Our Thaddeus now entreats—a year ago
There was an omen, like a sign from Heaven.”
“Lady Sophia!” broke the Klucznik in,
“We now must call her, since she is grown up;
She is not a little girl; besides, she is
Of dignitary blood, the Pantler’s grandchild.
However,” did Protasy end, “there was
A sign prophetic of her destiny.
I saw the sign with mine own eyes. A year
Ago, our household on a holiday
Did sit here, drinking mead; but as we looked,
Down from the gable fell two sparrows fighting.
Both were old cock-birds; one, the younger, had
A patch of grey beneath the throat, the other
A black one; they went scuffling through the court,
Still turning somersaults, until they rolled
Deep in the dust. We looked on, and meanwhile
The servants whispered to each other, ‘Let
The black one be Horeszko, and the other
Soplica;’ so as often as the grey
Was uppermost, they cried, ‘Long live Soplica!’
‘Fie! fie! Horeszko coward!’ and when he fell,
They cried, Up, up, Soplica! give not in
Unto the magnate; shame ’twere for a noble!’
Thus jesting did we wait to see who conquered.
But just then little Sophy, moved with pity
For those two birds, ran up, and covered o’er
Both heroes with her little hand; they fought
Together in her hand, until their plumage
Flew wide, such rage was in those little devils!
The old women whispered, looking on Sophia,
That it was surely the girl’s destiny
To reconcile two houses long at feud.
And now I see, to-day has rendered true
The old women’s omen, though in truth they then
Were thinking of the Count, and not of Thaddeus.”
Thereto the Klucznik answered: “Wonderful
Events are in this world; who all can fathom?
I’ll also tell you something; although not
So wondrous as that omen, yet ’tis hard
Of understanding. Thou dost know, that once
I had been glad to drown the family
Of the Soplicas in a spoon of water;255
But yet this little fellow Thaddeus
I was extremely fond of from a child.
I saw that when he fought with other boys,
He always beat them; so as oft as he
Ran to the castle, I would put him up
To some hard undertaking; he did all.
Were it to get down pigeons from the tower,
Or pluck the mistletoe from off the oak,
Or plunder crows’ nests from the highest pines,
He did it all! I said unto myself—
‘This lad is born beneath a lucky star;
A pity ’tis that he is a Soplica!’
But who had guessed the castle should in him
Welcome its heir, the husband of my lady
Sophia, my most gracious mistress?” Here
The old men left off their discourse, and drank,
Deep thinking; only now and then were heard
These few short words—“Yes, yes, master Gervasy;”
“Yes, yes, master Protasy.” The green bank
Touched close upon the kitchen, whereof stood
The window open, and the steam burst forth,
As from a conflagration; till from out
The wreaths of steam, like to a white dove, gleamed
The chief cook’s white cap; through the kitchen window
The Wojski o’er the old men’s heads his own
Put forth, in silence listening their discourse;
And offered them a saucer full of biscuits,
Saying, “Eat these with your mead, and I meanwhile
Will tell to you a curious history
Of a dispute that well-nigh ended in
A bloody fight, when, hunting in the depths
Of Naliboko’s forests, Rejtan played
A trick to Prince Denassau. This same trick
He well-nigh paid for with his own life. I
Composed the quarrel of these gentlemen,
As I will now relate to you.”256 But here
The cooks broke off the Wojski’s story, asking
Whom he had charged to arrange the centre-piece.
The Wojski went away, and having emptied
Their mead, the old men, in deep thought, their eyes
Turned to the garden depths, where held discourse
That
