Foxholme Hall Part 20

"Come, signore, we have been watched, and shall have no little difficulty in rejoining our comrades if there is any delay," said a gruff voice from out of the hair-covered mouth. "You have been here too long as it is."

The stranger, without demanding any explanation of the last remark, jumped up, shook Marco warmly by the hand, and, endeavouring to bestow a kiss on Chiarina's cheek, which she narrowly escaped, disappeared through the doorway.

"A good riddance of bad rubbis.h.!.+" thought Marco, as he muttered something between a blessing and a curse between his teeth.

Chiarina was thankful that the stranger was gone, yet she was not happy; for 'Renzo had not been to the cottage for three days, and she could not tell what had become of him. She no longer concealed from herself that she loved him very dearly.

Story 11--CHAPTER FOUR.

'Renzo was one day on his way over the mountains to visit Chiarina, when before him appeared the barrels of three or four rifles, and a voice in an authoritative tone ordered him to stop. As he knew that rifle bullets were apt to travel faster than he could run, he obeyed, and presently, found himself in the hands of a party of especially savage-looking bandits.

After proceeding for a couple of leagues or more, 'Renzo found himself in a wild rugged part of the mountains, into which, though so near his home, he had never penetrated. Here a large band of ragam.u.f.fins were collected, all armed; to the teeth, some of them being peasants whom he knew by sight. He was welcomed by name as a future comrade.

"Your comrade, indeed! I will be the comrade only of honest men," he answered boldly.

At this reply there was a laugh.

"We'll see what persuasions our brave chief, Giuseppe Greco, can employ," exclaimed one of the band.

"He our chief? What do you mean, Oca? Our chief is Ninco Nanco, and no one else," cried another.

"Then he should show himself,--he may be dead, or captured, for what we know," said a third.

"We want a clever leader, like Greco, who can at will increase the number of the band, and lay the whole country under contribution."

"Who will bring traitors among us, and make enemies on every side,"

muttered an old brigand, who had followed the craft from his earliest days.

From all he heard 'Renzo knew that there was a division in the camp of the brigands, and soon ascertained that Greco was plotting to depose his absent chief. This was satisfactory, as he hoped it might be the means of breaking up the confederacy. It did not make him the less anxious to effect his escape. In vain he watched for an opportunity all night.

The next day the band moved some leagues farther to the east. He found himself strictly guarded, but not otherwise ill-treated; while his companions used every means to impress him with the pleasures and advantages of the life they led.

"I confess I do not perceive them," he answered. "You have to live up in the mountains; often like wild beasts, hunted from spot to spot.

Your fare is coa.r.s.e, and often scanty. Every day you run a chance of being shot. If taken, you will be hung, or sent to the galleys for life; and, without scruple, you kill your fellow-creatures, if they attempt to defend their property."

"Make the fellow hold his tongue," cried a voice near them; it was that of Greco, who had approached unperceived. "We must induce you to change your mind, friend 'Renzo," he remarked. "I want a st.u.r.dy fellow like you as a lieutenant."

Greco was doing his utmost to increase the number of the band, hoping thus to overpower the adherents of Ninco Nanco. Small parties were constantly sent out, therefore, who returned either with prisoners, or recruits as they were called, or some booty and provisions. What was poor 'Renzo's grief and horror when, one day, he saw Marco Maffei, the father of his dear Chiarina, brought in a prisoner, mounted on his mule!

He looked pale and alarmed. Greco seemed highly satisfied at seeing him.

"Ah! ah!" he exclaimed, "you refused me your daughter in honourable marriage three years ago. I have waited ever since then to be revenged on you, and now I have the opportunity."

The band was at this time collected in a hollow, with rocks and trees around, effectually concealing its members from the world beyond. The only approach was by the pathway up which Marco had been led.

"Now, friend 'Renzo, the moment has arrived to decide whether you will become one of us!" exclaimed Greco, in a harsh tone. "I want yonder old man put out of the world--to you I award the task."

'Renzo's heart sank within him. He resolved, however, to make every effort to save the life of his old friend. He pleaded and argued. He might as well have talked to the surrounding rocks.

"Give him a rifle," at length exclaimed Greco, losing patience. "See that you use it as I direct."

'Renzo took the weapon, and ascertained that it was loaded properly.

The old man had been allowed to sit on his mule. 'Renzo approached him.

"Friend, forgive me for the deed I am compelled to commit," he said aloud; then he hurriedly whispered, "I will draw off the attention of the villains, and, as I do so, dash down the mountain. Your beast is trusty, and will not fall."

Once more he retired nearer to Greco, and again pleaded earnestly for the old man's life.

"Fire!" cried Greco, stamping on the ground.

"Ay, I will!" exclaimed 'Renzo, swinging himself round so as to cover the would-be chief of the band.

At that moment a report from another quarter was beard--a bullet whistled through the air, and Greco fell, shot through the head.

"Fly, father, fly!" cried 'Renzo, springing towards Marco, and urging on his mule.

The unexpected appearance of Ninco Nanco himself, who leaped down from the rocks among them with three well-armed followers, drew off the attention of the brigands from 'Renzo's proceedings. Those who had openly sided with Greco grasped their weapons, expecting to have to fight for their lives.

"Nonsense! No fighting among friends," said Ninco Nanco. "I heard of all that fellow was doing, and have settled scores with him pretty sharply. In future you'll all follow my orders."

Loud vivas greeted this address, and it was not for some minutes that the brigands discovered that their prisoners had fled. Some proposed following them.

"No, no! To the old man I owe a debt; it were an ill way of paying it if I slew him," exclaimed Ninco Nanco. "Though I love not the other, I can afford to be generous, and so let him go also. I can trust them.

They dare not betray us."

This act of the chiefs was looked upon as the very acme of heroic generosity; and certainly nothing more worthy of praise has been recorded of Ninco Nanco, the Brigand.

Having inspired the inhabitants of the surrounding districts with a wholesome terror of his name, Ninco Nanco soon discovered that the easiest way of collecting his revenue was to write a letter to any wealthy proprietor he might fix on, demanding the sum required, or horses, or provisions, as the case might be; and he seldom, fails to obtain what he demands.

Marco and 'Renzo reached home safely, when Chiarina, who had been almost heart-broken at their absence, in the exuberance of her joy at their return, threw herself into the arms of her father, and then into those of 'Renzo, quite forgetting all rules of propriety.

The young couple married soon afterwards; and, if they are not perfectly happy, it is that they dread lest Ninco Nanco should some day pounce down on them, and insist on 'Renzo joining his band. They, therefore, very reasonably hope to hear some day that that gentleman has been shot, or hung, or sent to the galleys, or has been induced to accept a situation under the Government, or been disposed of in some no less satisfactory manner.

Story 12--CHAPTER ONE.

STORY TWELVE--THE STORY OF THE DEFENCE OF KARS.

However averse we may be to war, we must acknowledge that it is often a stern and cruel necessity: that it is calculated to draw out many of the n.o.bler qualities which exist in the human heart and mind, and that it shows more than most other callings a man in his true colours. There were many gallant deeds performed during the late war with Russia; but, taking all things into consideration, none surpa.s.s the defence of Kars, or more completely prove what can be done by courage, energy and perseverance, devotedness and unanimity, when directed by wisdom and science. All these qualities were displayed in a remarkable degree by the British officers who undertook the defence of Kars against the well-disciplined troops of Russia, with materials which ordinary men would have considered utterly useless. I feel particular pleasure in writing a short account of that heroic undertaking, from having soon afterwards met some of the British officers engaged in it in Russia itself. There, no longer enemies, but as honoured visitors, they were received by the Russians with that respect which their gallantry had won. They were visiting, as I was, the gallery in Saint Petersburg of that talented artist and persevering Siberian traveller, the late Mr Atkinson. While exhibiting his magnificent pictures, Mr Atkinson gave us a deeply interesting account of his own adventures when he was engaged in making the sketches from which he had painted them, and altogether I look back to that morning as one of the most agreeable spent during a short visit I made, soon after the war, to Russia.

But to our story about Kars. While the British, French, and Sardinian troops were before Sebastopol, the Russians hoped, by sending a powerful army by way of the Caucasus, to attack the Turkish dominions in Asia on the east, and to compel the Allies to despatch some of their forces to the a.s.sistance of the Sultan. The English Government had foreseen that the Russians would do this, and had accordingly sent out General Williams, then holding the rank of Colonel, and other officers, to put the frontier Turkish fortresses in a state of defence. On the confines of the Turkish dominions in Armenia, and to the south-east of the Black Sea, stands the town of Kars. It is situated under a precipitous and rocky range of hills, running east and west, and in most parts impa.s.sable for artillery. This range of hills is bisected by a deep gorge, through which flows the river Karschai, over which are thrown four or five bridges. On the south side of Kars a fine level plain stretches away for many miles till it meets a range of easy-sloping heights. Kars has a picturesque old feudal-looking castle, built on the summit of a craggy rock, rising out of the gully, with the brawling river at its base, and commanding the whole of the city. The streets of the town are narrow and dirty, and there are very few even tolerably good houses, while the appearance of the population is sordid in the extreme. Besides the castle, there were no fortifications of any consideration. This was the place which, early in 1855, General Williams, Colonel Lake, Major Teesdale, Captain Thompson, and other English officers were sent to defend, with a disorganised Turkish force under them, against a well-equipped Russian army, commanded by General Mouravieff. General Williams had received the rank of Ferik or Lieutenant-General in the Turkish army, with the t.i.tle of Williams Pasha. He and the gallant men with him had numberless difficulties to contend with. The Turkish officers were generally utterly worthless-- the neighbouring tribes of Kurdistan broke into revolt--the troops were ill clothed, and ill fed, and unpaid, and the whole _morale_ of the army was at the lowest state, while the town itself was to be placed in a defensible condition, to withstand the a.s.saults of the powerful army advancing towards it. The soldiers were upwards of two years in arrears of pay--their shoes were worn out, their uniforms were in tatters, and a large number were suffering from scurvy, caused by unwholesome food and their long confinement in the ill-ventilated huts of Kars. General Williams and his companions were first engaged in fortifying the town of Erzeroum, which will be found on the map some distance to the west or rear of Kars, and from thence they proceeded to the defence of the latter place itself. The Russians were at that time a.s.sembling an army at Gumri, and were evidently meditating a speedy attack on Kars. As no time was to be lost in preparing for it, the English officers set manfully to work to overcome all obstacles, and to put the place in a proper state of defence. All vied with each other in zeal. In all weathers, at all times of the day and night, in the saddle or on foot, they were to be found labouring with head and hand, sometimes in the trenches with spade or mattock, sometimes drilling troops, receiving chiefs, settling disputes, encouraging the wavering, and organising various departments of the service. Here is a description of General Williams when the enemy had arrived before the town:--"We are all in the saddle at half-past three a.m., and ride round the works; the troops are certainly full of enthusiasm, and Williams Pasha or Ingleez Pasha is already a great favourite. They see him everywhere; he is with the sentries at the menaced point ere the morning has dawned, anon he is tasting the soldiers' soup, or examining the bread, and, if anything is wrong here, his wrath is terrible. His eyes are everywhere, and he himself is ubiquitous. Each soldier feels that he is something more than a neglected part of a rusty machine: he knows that he is cared for, and he is encouraged, and confident of being well led." To Colonel Lake, however, belongs the credit of having formed the chief fortifications round Kars, as he was there while General Williams was still at Erzeroum. They were of considerable extent. The chief battery was on the summit of a semicircular range of hills, to the west and north-west, and at the distance of two miles or more from the town.

This was Major Teesdale's position, and here General Kmety had his camp.

To the north again was a line of fortifications known as the English Redoubts, where Colonel Lake commanded. The river flowed between the town and the above-mentioned batteries. To the east, at a distance of a mile from the town, was Captain Thompson's position--the Karsdagh Battery, and from thence a line of batteries circled round to the south, till they joined the river on the west. Thompson's and Lake's positions were connected by a bridge thrown across the river by the latter. The strongest position was a closed work, constructed by Colonel Lake, on a height overlooking the city to the west, and known as Veli Pasha Tabia, or Fort Lake. It was armed with four heavy and several lighter guns, and was the key of the whole northern position. Day and night, officers and men were employed in strengthening this extensive line of fortifications, the whole northern part being on a succession of rugged heights, commanding the surrounding country. No one worked harder or was more enthusiastic than the gallant Teesdale, and there also was the brave Thompson with Dr Sandwith, the chief of the medical staff, who gives a most graphic account of the first attack of the Russians. It was the 16th of June, the Feast of the Bairam, when the Turks generally deliver themselves up to idleness and rejoicing, and all duty is neglected. But the vicinity of danger kept the garrison of Kars on the alert, and early in the morning news was brought that the enemy were advancing on the town. The alarm was quickly raised, and all the citizens rushed to the batteries. Every one was in gayest apparel--the gallant Karslis slung on their scimitars, buckled on their cartridge-pouches, and shouldered their rifles, and in groups by the dozen, with hearts beating high and glistening eyes, scaled the rocky heights above the city. Here is a picture:--"The women crowd the house-tops, and cry to each pa.s.sing warrior, `G.o.d sharpen your swords!

Remember us--we are praying for you--go, fight the infidels--G.o.d speed you!' In a short time each man is at his post, where, by those looking down from the batteries, were to be seen the dark ma.s.ses of the enemy steadily advancing over the broad plain of rich meadow land, covered with brilliant yellow flowers. As they advance, a beautiful living panorama is before the spectators--the enemy throw out their Cossacks and Georgian skirmishers of irregular cavalry; these are met by the Bas.h.i.+-Bazouks, and a series of tournaments occur in the enamelled gra.s.sy s.p.a.ce intervening between the stern ma.s.ses of advancing troops and the breastworks of Kars. Two or three regiments of cavalry now advance from the Russian lines, and, after a trot of a mile or two, charge the retreating squadrons of Turkish cavalry. The rout of the latter is complete, but the Bas.h.i.+-Bazouks, under a gallant native chief from Damascus, Ali Bey, fight well while retreating. Suddenly puffs of dense white smoke issue from the Karsdagh and Hafiz Pasha batteries, and the screaming b.a.l.l.s are seen to plough through the dense Russian ma.s.ses.

The enemy's artillery is now brought up, but their b.a.l.l.s glance harmlessly from the dense earthworks. The hors.e.m.e.n from both sides are mingled, and rush for the entrance; but the Cossacks fall under the deadly fire of the batteries, while those on whom our guns cannot play are singled out by the Turkish riflemen, who line the rocky sides of Karsdagh. The attempt to rush into the works has failed; after less than an hour's cannonading the enemy retires, while this repulse raises the spirits of the garrison to the height of enthusiasm. The Turkish loss has been trifling, perhaps twenty, while that of the enemy must have been considerably more." So the fighting went on: sometimes the enemy approached the entrenchments and retired without making an attack--at other times they attempted to storm the place, but were were driven back with slaughter. The British officers did not cease to strengthen their position; but they had soon to contend with a more terrible enemy than the Russians within their own entrenchments.

All their supplies had been cut off--their provisions fell short, and fierce famine made its appearance. Discontent among the troops--the irregulars chiefly--naturally followed; the town was closely beset by Cossack hors.e.m.e.n on every side. Still the war was carried on in a civilised manner, and, from the first, the Russian General Mouravieff showed himself a truly chivalric and humane man. It was felt that, should Erzeroum be taken, a vast number of siege-guns would be brought against Kars, and its doom be sealed.

Another attack was made by the Russians on the 7th of August, but they were driven back with considerable slaughter. But it is with the English officers we have to do:--"No sign of despondency clouded the honest face of General Williams. His `Good morning' salutation was as cheerful as on the morrow of the first little victory. He was thin--he could not well be thinner: no wonder, for he never seemed to sleep.

Long ere daylight he was with the sentries of Major Teesdale's battery, the point nearest the Russians, and his gla.s.s learned every movement; anon he was encouraging the Bas.h.i.+-Bazouks and settling their differences, or arranging some plan for feeding the townspeople; and in his confidential conversation with his officers on the state of affairs, he would impress on them the duty of maintaining a bright and hopeful bearing, since all the garrison looked up to them for encouragement, Thompson lived altogether on the Karsdagh, and his gla.s.s ranged the horizon from early morning until night; nor did he then go to a quiet couch; for, though he turned in, yet, after an hour's light slumber, he would visit each sentry round the whole works, and no part of the position was as well guarded as that where this Argus had taken up his quarters. Teesdale lived with the gallant Hungarian, Kmety, and acted as chief of his staff. Besides his graver duties, he was constantly hara.s.sing the Cossacks with parties of riflemen, or menacing and attacking the Russian cavalry with a company of rifles and a couple of guns." Thus day after day skirmis.h.i.+ng went on, but provisions became more and more scarce; scurvy, the cholera, and fever broke out; numbers died, but the courage of the brave leaders never flagged. There was no longer provender for the horses, and some of the cavalry, with a fearful loss, cut their way through the enemy and escaped.