followed their apparent direction, at times by a scarcely perceptible track, at others by chance, along an open meadow, and sometimes plunging into a dense wood, where there was nothing to guide their steps beyond the more open glades and least impervious parts of the forest, which they naturally selected. The ground at length became more uneven; the rivulets brawled along stony courses-more than one considerable stream had already been passed; and at length, after crowning a height so thickly wooded as to disappoint them entirely of the prospect which they expected to obtain from its crest, they descended upon a river of more than ordinary size.

The inconvenience of crossing this stream from the roughness of its banks, the rocky character of its bottom, and the uncertain depth of its waters, obliged the party to search for a practicable ford. Palovska chose the upward course, as leading more into the interior of the country; and they had pursued it with infinite difficulty, and for a considerable distance, until the imperturbable cossacks themselves were nigh beginning to murmur, and the old officer was mustering up his resolution to remonstrate against penetrating any further thus blindly into so dangerous a country, when, suddenly, they came upon a track which led to a ford obviously in common use.

This circumstance revived the spirits of the party; it also reminded them that an enemy might possibly not be far off:-a momentary halt was called; girths were tightened, accoutrements adjusted, the priming of pistols, and carbines examined; then, remounting, the whole troop dashed through the clear dimpling water of the ford and resumed the path, which, open and well-defined, now led in an upward direction along the bank. On their left-hand ran the river bordered with large oak, beech, alder, or walnut trees, and a thick underwood of box, thorns and wild plums, cherry and peach: on the right lay a dense forest of the same description, shutting out all kind of view, except of huge grey masses of rock rising occasionally from the soil, and glimpses of more elevated ground, as a natural glade or opening in the trees permitted the eye to range to the foot of the hills and see them rising, majestically wooded, far above the level of the valley.

The second day of their journey now closed in without discovering to them a vestige of man or his abodes; and they bivouacked beneath the shade of magnificent trees a little removed from the pathway, where, in an opening of the forest, a rank herbage afforded indifferent fodder for their wearied horses. They pursued their way next morning, when the path, quitting the river banks, rose among the hills on the left, and winding through a pass of no very toilsome description, carried them, about noon, to another valley of larger size and infinitely more beauty than that through which they had travelled on the preceding day. The forests were less continuous and deep, the glades more frequent, -fair meadows covered with rich vegetation, shelved from the foot of the hills to the river which rolled through the centre of the valley; swelling mountains with rocky crests showed themselves rising above the woods, and increasing in height and grandeur as the eye followed them up the glen, where they closed in, and were lost in the deep purple of clouds and distance ;even the rude cossacks could not withhold a murmur of admiration as the fair prospect opened on their view, while they bestowed abundance of hearty maledictions upon the "robbers" who held so fine a country.

A consultation was now held between Palovska and the cossack officer Dobracheff, to decide upon the further course to be pursued, and the fittest mode for securing as guides some of the inhabitants whom they did not doubt must have their abodes in so pleasant a valley; but as their bivouack of the preceding night had yielded rather scanty refreshment both to man and beast, it was deemed advisable to halt for a while where they were. A retired nook, carpetted with rich sweet grass, was chosen

for this purpose, protected from intrusion on one side by a jutting rock, and on the other by a swampy pool overgrown with trees. Two mounted cossacks were posted as sentinels close to the entrance of this little glade, under the shadow of a wooded bank; one was sent a little up the hill to keep a look-out over the valley.

The men had unbitted their horses, and were themselves enjoying, as they could, the morsel of coarse black bread and hard cheese, seasoned with a clove of garlic, when the tramp of a horse interrupted them, and one of the cossacks came galloping in from his post under the bank; but the object of his errand was anticipated by the note of a horn, which, blown at a little distance, came swelling down the valley. All were on the alert in a moment. The cossack hastily reported that he had seen the flash of arms, and the indistinct movement of men among the trees of the opposite side; and the party, instantly mounting, and forming under the dark shade of the trees, awaited their appearance in silence.

They had not long to wait: the sentinel on the height, who probably had till then been asleep, now came running down to tell that a train of thirty or forty persons, many of them armed and mounted, had crossed the river, and were advancing towards the position: and in a few moments after, they made their appearance, headed by a person, obviously a chief of no small consequence from the splendour of his arms and the number of well-appointed persons who attended him. The fearless and unguarded manner in which these people made their approach, sufficiently proclaimed their ignorance of any enemy being at hand, and Palovska had sufficient opportunity for making his observations.

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Among the horsemen he could distinguish some who bore behind them burdens, which it was not difficult to recognise as females; and his heart leapt as he detected others, on foot, marching alongside of the mounted men, whose disordered garb, unsteady gait, and hampered arms too clearly indicated them as prisoners. "Holy Virgin," exclaimed the young Pole," it is them-the vile dogs are carrying them off-Hurrah !~~ charge!" But Dobracheff respectfully arrested this movement. pleased, Sir, to have patience; these can hardly be the men we seekthey are going the wrong way; their present direction would lead them towards those they must dread; and, as to bringing their captives for ransom, depend upon it, those who did the deed will never think of putting their heads in such risk.-Let them approach, we shall then see how we may best secure them."

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As Dobracheff spoke, the horn sounded again, and the chief and his people halted, and gazed about them as men at fault, or in search of something. "Now, now!" cried Palovska impatiently; and twenty of the cossacks, as eager as their officer, spurring their horses and couching their spears, dashed at the halting natives. But lightning is not more rapid than were their movements when they took the alarm. No sooner did they spy the dark green uniforms and caps of the cossacks, than with one shrill yell the whole party scattered different ways. flight of arrows and a dropping shot or two were discharged at the Russians, who returned it with equal uncertainty: one of the natives dropped dead from his horse-two more, who made short speed, were spitted right through the body by the cossacks' spears: one of the cossacks sprang up from his horse, and fell with a wild cry, shot through the heart by an arrow-two more were slightly wounded. Such were the casualties which occurred in this hasty skirmish, before the natives, acquainted with every inch of the ground, disappeared, as if the earth had swallowed them up, among the thick underwood. In another moment they were heard plunging into the stream to the brink of which the cossacks in vain pursued them-one, incautiously riding towards a thicket, received a bullet in his brain, and left his startled horse to find its way back to its comrades. The shout of their officer recalled his men, who withdrew into an

open space out of harm's way, while some went to inspect the fallen, and collect what information they could glean from such as might retain some life.

As the native horsemen galloped off, such of them as had prisoners under their charge endeavoured to drag them along by the thong which bound their arms, or which thrown round their necks secured them to the saddles of their guards-one of these prisoners, in struggling to get free, received from his keeper a sabre-cut which clove his head in twain, and the horseman, disencumbered, rode off; another, being thrown on the ground by a violent jerk, which broke the thong that bound him, lay as if dead on the spot where he fell, while the rapid approach of the cossacks prevented the coup de grace, which probably would have changed appearances into reality. The rest, including the females, were fairly carried off by those who had them in charge. Of all the victims of the day, there was not one who evinced any sign of animation, except the captive last-mentioned, and his plight was bad enough. With an unfeeling barbarity common to these savages, a large piece of wood had been thrust across his mouth, as a gag, both ends of which were secured by cords bound so tight round his head that they had sunk deep into each swelled and lacerated cheek. To one part of this cord was fastened the thong which secured him to the saddle of his guard, and his arms were bound behind his back so tight, that the ligatures had almost cut to the quick ;-no wonder that so severe a jerk should have reduced him nearly to the same condition as that of those who lay around.

The thongs around his head being cut at the officer's command, with no very gentle action, the captive now stood erect among his deliverers ; and, in spite of the wretchedness of his plight, presented an exterior which commanded no small degree of admiration. His only clothing being a pair of loose and ragged trowsers, the proportions of his singularly muscular and active form were fully displayed to view, as far as the waist. His person, though rising but little above the middle height, possessed that easy grace and dignity which we remark in the finest Grecian models, and which gives to its possessors the advantages, without the awkwardness, of superior stature. Even his countenance, though swelled and disfigured by the treatment it had received, bore undeniable traces of beauty. Dark brown locks curled closely round his head; and no one could doubt that the black deep-set eyes, which now gazed heavily and listlessly on those around him, could, on fitting occasions, be lit up with abundance of vivacity. At this time, however, the unfortunate youth appeared too much exhausted to make suitable replies to the questions which poured upon him from all sides. The cossacks, who hate all the tribes of the Caucasus, were disposed to make use of harsh means for awakening his intelligence, but Palovska restrained them, and directing the captive to be placed upon one of the horses which had lost its rider, and to be mildly treated, though carefully guarded, remitted a stricter examination until a more convenient season. The dead were drawn to one side, until time and opportunity should permit the rites of sepulture to be decently performed; and the rest of the party, crossing the stream, pursued the path by which the natives who had just fled had approached, and which was a continuation of that by which the Russians had entered the valley.

They now redoubled the caution with which they advanced: a vidette was thrown out far a-head; on each flank and behind rode an experienced old cossack to prevent surprise. They had not gone many miles in this way, when the vidette in advance gave notice that he saw smoke issuing from a wood upon an eminence to the left." It is a village undoubtedly, Sir," observed the cossack officer; "it may contain those who have escaped us; or the inhabitants may not yet have taken alarm— if we could secure one for a guide-" "We may try, at least," replied December, 1831.—VOL, II. NO. VIII.

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Palovska; and see, here is a path which undoubtedly leads to the village.-Michel and Yarlousk and I, with four or five men, will move on a-head, and endeavour to steal upon the people, while you may advance more slowly, and, if possible, surround the place so as to prevent escape." The path was intricate, winding up the steep rocky projection of a hill, among large trees intermingled with underwood of box and thorns too thick for the eye to penetrate further than a few yards on either hand. But after a short progress the scene altered: an open space appeared, and a spot of cultivated ground, the first they had observed, hung in rude terraces upon the steep slope. The smoke now rose near the advance of the party;-the thatch of a hut could be detected among the foliage; and, upon bursting through some bushes which fringed a sort of brow above them, they found themselves upon a small platform, on which, among some fruit-trees, were scattered a few poor hovels, chiefly constructed of wood and grass. The slight noise which they could not avoid making in their approach, attracted to the door of one of these huts a wild figure of a woman and some children, who, uttering a piercing cry which swelled into a shrill shout, disappeared behind their dwelling before the cossacks could come up: but a man, clad in the sheep-skin dress which the peasants of the country wear, was less fortunate he fell into their hands so unexpectedly, as it appeared, that although he stared and looked bewildered he neither struggled nor sought to fly.

Shouting aloud to the rest of their comrades, the cossacks now spread to the right and left; but although they saw several other houses, not one of them was tenanted, nor did they contain any thing worth plundering the alarm had probably been given, and the people had removed with their slender property. "We must content ourselves with this shaggy creature," said Palovska; "he looks wild enough for a beast of the forest, but seems willing to submit to his fate-but how are we to talk to him? Here Georgeen, thou knowest something of these mountain caitiffs' tongue-see if thou canst get him to speak." Georgeen the servant of Palovska, a native of Georgia, and for many years in habits of intercourse with the various tribes of the Caucasus, now came forward. For some time he endeavoured in vain to make himself understood; and it was only by the exertion of considerable patience, that he at length succeeded in getting the Circassian to comprehend,-first, what they were in search of,-then, that fidelity and successful guidance would meet with reward-the slightest attempt at treachery, or double dealing, with summary death. The rapid smile which played over his wild but acute features, as he listened to the first of these conditions, testified that it was perfectly understood and appreciated, nor did the significant action with which, laying one hand on his own head, he drew the other across his throat, and gabbled with unintelligible rapidity, afford a less convincing proof that the second was as clearly comprehended.

The amount of information obtained from this man regarding the captives of whom the party was in search, was as follows: Certain prisoners, Russians, like those he saw before him, had been carried through the village towards a place at a considerable distance, among the hills to the southward. The name of a chief, as it seemed, although the sound conveyed no meaning to his hearers, was frequently repeated, and they took it for granted that he must be the man into whose power their comrades had fallen. The cossack officer Dobracheff, who had attentively observed the countenance of the villager while under his examination, remonstrated respectfully, yet strongly, against plunging yet deeper into so impracticable and hostile a country upon such vague information; but Palovska, resisting all his arguments, resolved to proceed. The new guide being directed to accompany them, girt up his loins with apparent alacrity, like a man already prepared for a journey; threw his sheepskin cloak over his shoulders, thrust his cummeh, or long two-edged

dagger, into his girdle, and signified his readiness to attend their commands. It was afterwards remembered, though but little attended to at the moment, that when the villager observed the captive, he started and cast a suspicious look around; while the glance of the other was more marked by hatred than surprise, and the indignant flash of his eye restored to his countenance somewhat of the intelligence which seemed naturally to belong to it.

The villager led them by a path of very various character-sometimes expanding to a broad and open way, at others diminishing to an almost imperceptible and very intricate track. It wound over irregular and often precipitous ground, until, about evening, they reached an open space, where a few trees, insulated in a pleasant meadow, afforded such temptations of security and plenty for their cattle, that the leaders of the party resolved to make it their resting-place for the night. Against this their guide remonstrated with a pertinacity which first occasioned surprise, and then a shade of suspicion, in the minds of both Palovska and Dobracheff. A strong injunction of vigilance was given to the trustiest men, who were appointed to the duty of sentinels; the guide was placed under strict surveillance, while the captive, who was less an object of suspicion, remained less rigidly guarded; nor did the young Pole deem it expedient to make any attempt at breaking through the silence of ignorance or obstinacy which he had hitherto maintained, until his frame should have been refreshed and his mind soothed by rest and food,—the more particularly as he believed that all the information to be obtained upon the subject had already been elicited from the guide.

Under these circumstances the party went to rest, and Palovska, wearied with three days' continued exertion, was just falling into a doze, when the voice of a sentinel challenging, the report of a pistol, and the rush of several persons towards the place from whence these sounds had issued, made him start up and follow them with the utmost promptitude. The cause was soon discovered. He reached a knot of the cossacks barely in time to save the life of the captive, whom they were pommeling and kicking, and, as it seemed, were about to put to death with their spears just as their commander came up. Seizing one by the collar, and dashing to the ground another, while his voice called aloud upon all to desist, Palovska soon released their unlucky victim, whom he raised with great tenderness, and soothed as he led him back to his own post. The appearance of this young native had greatly interested the Polish officer, and he was highly displeased at a treatment which was calculated rather to exasperate his disgust than to win his confidence. He caressed the young man, spoke to him in soothing accents, set before him a portion of his own pittance of provisions, and made him take a little of the spirits which he had put up for his own use. All this was received by the captive with sullen indifference, nor for a while did he even appear disposed to avail himself of the proffered kindness. It was not until after some time that the frank benevolence of Palovska seemed to dissipate a little of the gloomy reserve with which he had fenced himself; he raised his eyes, and fixed them upon the countenance of his new friend with a mingled expression of surprise and mistrustthe latter emotion gave way by degrees, and he did at length unbend so far as to accept the food and refreshment which had been placed before him.

On the morrow, Palovska attended still further to the comfort of his protegé. Not only did he share with him his own refreshments, but furnished him with decent covering from the slender supply he had along with him; he bathed and fomented his wounds and swollen limbs, and had them bound up from the air, and, setting him on horseback, made him ride next to himself under watchful attendance but no personal restraint. A visible change in the manners of the captive was the result