The Golden Age in Transylvania Part 7

Beldi laughed good-naturedly, the two women smiled at each other and Kutschuk Pasha looked with satisfaction at his son, while the latter drew the heron's feather out of his turban, tore off the jeweled clasp which had been most pleasing to the little Aranka, and gave it to the child with generous gallantry. The little maid reached for the costly present timidly, without the slightest suspicion of either its material or moral worth; but when once the trinket was in her hand she would not have let it go for anything in the world. The parents suddenly became silent. True, their expression was a smiling one, but their eyes were serious.

CHAPTER VI

THE BATTLE OF NAGY-SZoLLoS

Meanwhile Michael Apafi a.s.sured by Ali Pasha that help would come to him in a short time, advanced on Scha.s.sburg and there awaited the change of fortune. John Kemeny came against him with a great army of German and Hungarian troops in imposing numbers, and he himself was a bold general in time of action. Michael Apafi could make but slight opposition. He had a few hundred stiff-necked Szeklers incapable of discipline, together with the blue janissaries who had stayed behind as bodyguard for him; in all not the tenth of Kemeny's force in point of strength. By the advice of Stephen Apafi the Prince determined to stay in Scha.s.sburg on the defensive until he could be joined by the auxiliaries from his Turkish patron. This decision was pleasing to the Saxon burghers, for behind the walls of their own town they knew how to defend themselves, but in open field they were never quite comfortable. With the Szeklers it was just the opposite. It was Nalaczy's mission to keep them in a warlike frame of mind. One evening he brought them to such a state of excitement at the inn that with the dawn they went noisily to the windows of the Prince and swore roundly that the gate must be opened to them for they were determined to attack Kemeny and fight it out to the death. The Prince and his advisers came down in terror and strove in every way to make them understand that Kemeny's troops were more numerous than they; that the half of his army was made up of musketeers while on their side none but the Saxons knew how to use firearms; that if they should make a sally by one gate the enemy would rush in by the other and all would be confusion. But the man who thinks he can clear a Szekler's mind of an idea once gained is much mistaken.

"We are either going to be led against the enemy or we are going home," they shouted. "We positively will not consent to stay here ten years like the Trojans, for we are needed at home. Portion out to every man the number of the enemy that falls to his share, these he shall strike down and then take his discharge. We do not wish to stay here and be besieged and starved out, and then thrown to the dogs and rats."

"If you do not wish to stay, my friends, you may go," was the final decision of Apafi, "but it would be madness for me to be drawn into an engagement."

The Szeklers said never a word but took up their knapsacks, shouldered their spears and moved out of Scha.s.sburg as if they never had been there. From this time on the Szeklers were Apafi's enemies and remained so until his death.

The next day Kemeny's forces were beneath the city walls, where Apafi had barely armed men enough to guard the gates. Wenzinger was the man who best understood the art of war. This general, true to the principles of the military art in which he had been trained, first inspected the ground, then carefully occupied any point which could be of any importance, taking care to cover the besieging forces in every direction; in short, in accordance with a systematic method he prolonged his preparations so that when at last he was ready to begin, at that very moment came the news that the Turkish auxiliaries were approaching on the double-quick. Thereupon, still in accordance with his system, he a.s.sembled the scattered troops and made ready to meet the approaching Turks. But John Kemeny was in the way. He feared that if the Turkish force proved large his forces would have to take flight, and in that case with Scha.s.sburg in the rear they would come between two fires. He preferred to wait the attack of his enemy and withdrew from the town altogether, taking up his position in Nagy-Szollos in a spot that will for some time still to come be known as an important battlefield; from that point he watched calmly the advance of Kutschuk Pasha's hors.e.m.e.n into Scha.s.sburg.

Apafi, in his anxiety over a state of affairs into which he had fallen through no fault of his own, had not eaten anything for three days, when word was brought him that the auxiliaries had come. It was already late in the evening when Kutschuk Pasha, after a forced march over rough mountain paths, entered the city. Apafi rode forward to greet the Turk, whom he looked upon as his guardian angel. Great was his astonishment when, after carefully surveying the line, he learned that they were barely equal to the fifth part of the opposing force.

"What does your Grace intend with this small force?" he asked the Pasha.

"G.o.d knows, who from above orders the fates of men," answered the Turk with characteristic fatalism; and did not take the Prince into his plans any further.

That night the Turks encamped in the public square in front of the Prince's dwelling. At last Apafi could sleep again after so many restless nights. It was such a satisfaction to him to hear the snorting of the horses under his window and the clanking of the sentinels' swords, that he fell asleep with a light heart amid these quieting sounds; then too there was the thought that with these troops he could hold out for some time, when--something might happen. Long before dawn he was wakened by the rattling on a board which called the Turkish hors.e.m.e.n to breakfast.

"They breakfast early," thought the Prince, turned over and fell asleep again. As he dozed it seemed to him that he heard dervishes singing; their song is of a kind to make a man sleep even if he felt wide awake; but soon his Excellency was roused again by the sound of trumpets. "What are they doing in the middle of the night?" he cried out with annoyance; he got up, looked from the window, and saw that the Turkish riders had already mounted, though it was still dark; and with another sound of the trumpet the entire company rode out. The noise of the hoofs on the pavement and the words of command sounded out in the night.

"What a restless fellow this Pasha is!" thought Apafi, "he does not give his army any rest even at night, and that too after so many hards.h.i.+ps," and with these thoughts he went to bed again, fell into still sweeter sleep, and woke late in the morning. The sun was high in the heavens when Apafi rang for John Cserei, at that time his factotum. His first question was,

"What is the Pasha doing?"

"He withdrew from the town during the night and sent back a messenger who has been waiting since dawn."

"Let him enter," said Apafi, and began to dress in haste.

With Kutschuk's messenger entered Stephen Apafi, Nalaczy and Daczo.

They too had been waiting two hours for the Prince to awaken, and besides this they were eager for the Pasha's message.

"What news? Speak quickly," called Apafi to the messenger.

The latter stood with arms crossed, bowed to the ground, and began,

"Excellent Prince, my lord, Kutschuk Pasha, sends you the following message through me, 'Stay quietly in Scha.s.sburg and keep good hope; with the troops under your command guard the walls and gates.'

Meantime my lord Kutschuk Pasha will advance against John Kemeny and enter into an engagement with him wherever he finds him. It will be a struggle unto death, even if he should perish with his entire host."

This announcement so confounded the Prince that he could find no word of reply. Kutschuk Pasha in point of numbers was equal to the fifth of Kemeny's force; besides, his troops were worn out with forced marches.

The man who could hope for victory at such a time must believe in miracles.

"Let us prepare for the worst," said Stephen Apafi, "and put our trust in G.o.d."

That was the most sensible speech to be made under the circ.u.mstances.

Michael Apafi let affairs take their course, any man who chose might guard the walls. The guards left their soldiers to look out for themselves and the soldiers did not trouble themselves much about the walls. The fate of the land lay in G.o.d's hand, literally speaking, for the hand of man was withdrawn. The Prince did no more than to order old Cserei to keep watch in the church tower and let them know when he saw the troops moving.

Meanwhile John Kemeny had halted in Nagy-Szollos, which was a few hours distant from Scha.s.sburg. He made his headquarters in the little parsonage, and the little room is still shown where he rested for the last time, and the round hill in the garden on which stood a summerhouse where the Prince had begun his last meal but had not finished it.

The Hungarian forces consulted for a long time with Wenzinger and the Prince about the course of action. Some advised taking the town by storm and others maintained that they should besiege it and starve the people to submission. Wenzinger shook his head.

"Permit me, my lord," said the experienced German, "to express my opinion. I am an old soldier, have been through all kinds of campaigns, know the value of superior forces in war and also of good positions, and know how to balance the two. I have learned by experience that often a hundred men under favorable circ.u.mstances are more difficult to displace than a thousand. I also know what a difference the spirit of an army makes. I know too the importance of taking into account the different kinds of weapons, and the importance of nationality. We have ten thousand men and there are barely three thousand drawn up against us. But we must take into consideration that the greater part of our Hungarian force consists of hors.e.m.e.n, and that it is impossible to storm a city with hors.e.m.e.n--still less possible to compel a Hungarian on a horse to dismount and fight on foot; furthermore I would remark that the Hungarian is a brave fighter when drawn up against foreigners, but whenever I have seen him against his own people,--and I have frequently had the opportunity, he has been so lazy and indifferent that it seemed as if he could hardly wait to turn his back on the battlefield. We have a force of men that are very good on the defensive, and if we had them behind the walls of that town we could hold out against a force of ten times that number; but except behind fortifications they are of no use. They are strong enough to defend a bastion but too weak to storm one. Then we have no cannon for storming so we must send to Temesvar for cannon, and before they can arrive over those roads--and it is a great question too whether the commander will send us any--Ali Pasha may return with fresh forces, while we shall have spent the time here to no purpose. So I maintain that we had better wait here no longer. We are in no condition to take the enemy within the walls by force or siege. We cannot suppose him so mad as to be drawn into an open engagement. The wisest thing for us under these circ.u.mstances is to go without delay to Hungary, there get troops and cannon, and then make it our object to force the enemy into a field engagement."

Kemeny, who was not accustomed to listen for any length of time to words of reason, could hardly wait for Wenzinger to come to a pause; as if the plan of action was of the most trifling importance to him, he interrupted with frivolous impatience,

"Let's put it off until afternoon. General, after dinner everything looks different."

"No, indeed, not after dinner," said the German; "there is no time to be lost. We are in the midst of war where every hour is precious and not in the Diet where an affair can be dragged out for years."

At this. .h.i.t the Hungarians laughed loudly, seized Wenzinger by the arm, and dragged him with jests to the table, saying,

"You know we have plenty of time after dinner."

"Many such soldiers whom no one can command would quite meet my views," said Wenzinger, half in jest and half in vexation, and then he spoke no more during the meal, but drank the harder.

During the dinner John Uzdi, captain of the scouts, entered the extemporized banquet-hall with terror in his face. In his extreme haste speech almost failed him.

"Majesty--I saw great clouds of dust in the direction of Scha.s.sburg, and coming this way."

The Prince turned his head with humorous nonchalance toward the messenger; "If it is any pleasure to you to inspect those clouds of dust, why keep on looking at them."

Wenzinger sprang up from his place.

"I too must see them," he said, and ordered his horse brought forward at once. "Evidently the enemy has come out to draw us nearer."

The rest did not allow themselves to be disturbed but went on with their pleasures. After a few minutes Wenzinger came hurrying back; on his features could be read that secret joy which a soldier always feels when his plan nears success.

"Victory," he cried, as he entered, "the enemy is moving off, bag and baggage; provided only he is not doing it for appearances, and is not avoiding a battle, all's won."

At this news some of the men rose and began to buckle on their swords, but the Prince did not leave his place.

"Are they still far away?" he asked the general, calmly.

"Half an hour distant," answered the other with glowing countenance.

"Then let them come nearer, and meantime sit down beside me."

"The Devil I will!" said the general, angrily, "I have hardly time to a.s.sign the army their positions."