CHAPTER FOUR
HIS MOTHER'S PROWESS AND DEATH; TOGETHER WITH SOME INSTANCES OF HIS OWNSAGACITY.
It would have been impossible for the mother of our adventurer, such asshe hath been described, to sit quietly in her tent, while such an heroicscene was acting. She was no sooner apprised of the general's intentionto attack the enemy, than she, as usual, packed up her moveables in awaggon, which she committed to the care of a peasant in theneighbourhood, and put herself in motion with the troops; big with theexpectation of re-acting that part in which she had formerly acquittedherself so much to her advantage.--Nay, she by this time looked upon herown presence as a certain omen of success to the cause which sheespoused; and, in their march to battle, actually encouraged the rankswith repeated declarations, importing, that she had been eye-witness often decisive engagements, in all of which her friends had beenvictorious, and imputing such uncommon good fortune to some supernaturalquality inherent in her person.
Whether or not this confidence contributed to the fortune of the day, byinspiring the soldiers to an uncommon pitch of courage and resolution, Ishall not pretend to determine. But, certain it is, the victory beganfrom that quarter in which she had posted herself; and no corps in thearmy behaved with such intrepidity as that which was manifested by thosewho were favoured with her admonitions and example; for she not onlyexposed her person to the enemy's fire, with the indifference anddeliberation of a veteran, but she is said to have achieved a veryconspicuous exploit by the prowess of her single arm. The extremity ofthe line to which she had attached herself, being assaulted in flank by abody of the spahis, wheeled about, in order to sustain the charge, andreceived them with such a seasonable fire, as brought a great number ofturbans to the ground; among those who fell, was one of the chiefs oragas, who had advanced before the rest, with a view to signalise hisvalour.
Our English Penthesilea no sooner saw this Turkish leader drop, than,struck with the magnificence of his own and horse's trappings, she sprungforward to seize them as her prize, and found the aga not dead, though ina good measure disabled by his misfortune, which was entirely owing tothe weight of his horse, that, having been killed by a musket-ball, layupon his leg, so that he could not disengage himself. Nevertheless,perceiving the virago approach with fell intent, he brandished hissymitar, and tried to intimidate his assailant with a most horribleexclamation; but it was not the dismal yell of a dismounted cavalier,though enforced with a hideous ferocity of countenance, and the menacinggestures with which he waited her approach, that could intimidate such anundaunted she-campaigner; she saw him writhing in the agonies of asituation from which he could not move; and, running towards him with thenimbleness and intrepidity of a Camilla, described a semicircle in theprogress of her assault, and attacking him on one side, plunged herwell-tried dagger in his throat. The shades of death encompassed him,his life-blood issued at the wound, he fell prone upon the earth, he bitthe dust, and having thrice invoked the name of Allah! straight expired.
While his destiny was thus fulfilled, his followers began to reel; theyseemed dismayed at the fate of their chief, beheld their companions droplike the leaves in autumn, and suddenly halted in the midst of theircareer. The Imperialists, observing the confusion of the enemy,redoubled their fire; and, raising a dreadful shout, advanced in order toimprove the advantage they had gained. The spahis durst not wait theshock of such an encounter; they wheeled to the right-about, and clappingspurs to their horses, fled in the utmost disorder. This was actuallythe circumstance that turned the scale of battle. The Austrians pursuedtheir good fortune with uncommon impetuosity, and in a few minutes leftthe field clear for the mother of our hero, who was such an adept in theart of stripping, that in the twinkling of an eye the bodies of the agaand his Arabian lay naked to the skin. It would have been happy for her,had she been contented with these first-fruits, reaped from the fortuneof the day, and retired with her spoils, which were not inconsiderable;but, intoxicated with the glory she had won, enticed by the glitteringcaparisons that lay scattered on the plain, and without doubt prompted bythe secret instinct of her fate, she resolved to seize opportunity by theforelock, and once for all indemnify herself for the many fatigues,hazards, and sorrows she had undergone.
Thus determined, she reconnoitred the field, and practised her address sosuccessfully, that in less than half an hour she was loaded with ermineand embroidery, and disposed to retreat with her burden, when her regardswere solicited by a splendid bundle, which she descried at some distancelying on the ground. This was no other than an unhappy officer ofhussars; who, after having the good fortune to take a Turkish standard,was desperately wounded in the thigh, and obliged to quit his horse;finding himself in such a helpless condition, he had wrapped hisacquisition round his body, that whatever might happen, he and his gloryshould not be parted; and thus shrouded, among the dying and the dead, hehad observed the progress of our heroine, who stalked about the field,like another Atropos, finishing, wherever she came, the work of death.He did not at all doubt, that he himself would be visited in the courseof her peregrinations, and therefore provided for her reception, with apistol ready cocked in his hand, while he lay perdue beneath his covert,in all appearance bereft of life. He was not deceived in his prognostic;she no sooner eyed the golden crescent than, inflamed with curiosity orcupidity, she directed thitherward her steps, and discerning the carcaseof a man, from which, she thought, there would be a necessity fordisengaging it, she lifted up her weapon, in order to make sure of herpurchase; and in the very instant of discharging her blow, received abrace of bullets in her brain.
Thus ended the mortal pilgrimage of this modern Amazon; who, in point ofcourage, was not inferior to Semiramis, Tomyris, Zenobia, Thalestris, orany boasted heroine of ancient times. It cannot be supposed that thiscatastrophe made a very deep impression upon the mind of young Ferdinand,who had just then attained the ninth year of his age, and been for aconsiderable time weaned from her maternal caresses; especially as hefelt no wants nor grievances in the family of the Count, who favoured himwith a particular share of indulgence, because he perceived in him aspirit of docility, insinuation, and sagacity, far above his years. Hedid not, however, fail to lament the untimely fate of his mother, withsuch filial expressions of sorrow, as still more intimately recommendedhim to his patron; who, being himself a man of extraordinary benevolence,looked upon the boy as a prodigy of natural affection, and foresaw in hisfuture services a fund of gratitude and attachment, that could not failto render him a valuable acquisition to his family.
In his own country, he had often seen connexions of that sort, whichhaving been planted in the infancy of the adherent, had grown up to asurprising pitch of fidelity and friendship, that no temptation couldbias, and no danger dissolve. He therefore rejoiced in the hope ofseeing his own son accommodated with such a faithful attendant, in theperson of young Fathom, on whom he resolved to bestow the same educationhe had planned for the other, though conveyed in such a manner as shouldbe suitable to the sphere in which he was ordained to move. Inconsequence of these determinations, our young adventurer led a very easylife, in quality of page to the Count, in whose tent he lay upon apallet, close to his field-bed, and often diverted him with his childishprattle in the English tongue, which the more seldom his master hadoccasion to speak, he the more delighted to hear. In the exercise of hisfunction, the boy was incredibly assiduous and alert; far from neglectingthe little particulars of his duty, and embarking in the mischievousamusements of the children belonging to the camp, he was always diligent,sedate, agreeably officious and anticipating; and in the whole of hisbehaviour seemed to express the most vigilant sense of his patron'sgoodness and generosity; nay, to such a degree had these sentiments, inall appearance, operated upon his reflection, that one morning, while hesupposed the Count asleep, he crept softly to his bedside, and gentlykissing his hand, which happened to be uncovered, pronounced, in a lowvoice, a most fervent prayer in his behalf, beseeching Heaven to showerdown blessings upo
n him, as the widow's friend and the orphan's father.This benediction was not lost upon the Count, who chanced to be awake,and heard it with admiration; but what riveted Ferdinand in his goodgraces, was a discovery that our youth made, while his master was uponduty in the trenches before Belgrade.
Two foot soldiers, standing sentry near the door of the tent, werecaptivated with the sight of some valuable moveables belonging to it; andsupposing, in their great wisdom, that the city of Belgrade was too wellfortified to be taken during that campaign, they came to a resolution ofwithdrawing themselves from the severe service of the trenches, bydeserting to the enemy, after they should have rifled Count Melvil's tentof the furniture by which they were so powerfully allured. Theparticulars of this plan were concerted in the French language, which,they imagined, would screen them from all risk of being detected, in casethey should be overheard, though, as there was no living creature insight, they had no reason to believe that any person was privy to theirconversation. Nevertheless, they were mistaken in both theseconjectures. The conference reached the ears of Fathom, who was at theother end of the tent, and had perceived the eager looks with which theyconsidered some parts of the furniture. He had penetration enough tosuspect their desire, and, alarmed by that suspicion, listenedattentively to their discourse; which, from a slender knowledge in theFrench tongue, he had the good fortune partly to understand.
This important piece of intelligence he communicated to the Count at hisreturn, and measures were immediately taken to defeat the design, andmake an example of the authors, who being permitted to load themselveswith the booty, were apprehended in their retreat, and punished withdeath according to their demerits.