“Oh, Sir, you know not the happiness your words cause in my breast,” answered Conrin. “With you I shall laugh at all dangers and difficulties, and fear nothing that can happen to me.”
“I know your regard, my good boy. Now, leave me to myself. I would be alone, to meditate on my undertaking. A few days more will carry us to those shores whence I wish never to return.”
As the page withdrew, he cast a glance of affection at his master, and Ivan sunk again into the train of thought from which he had been aroused.
At length he rose, and wandered forth by himself, not feeling inclined for the company even of his faithful attendants. He climbed to the summit of the half ruined citadel of the town, and looked forth anxiously on the broad expanse of ocean which lay calm and unruffled at his feet, longing eagerly for a breeze, to fill the sails of the bark which was to carry him and his fortunes to death or victory. But not a breath fanned his cheeks as he waited, long watching, till he saw the sun descend over the land of his destination, in a broad flame of glory, tinging the whole sea with a yellow glow.
On every side, the fortifications were in a state of ruin and dilapidation, owing to the severe and protracted siege the town had sustained from the Russians, till it was traitorously delivered into their hands by that execrable monster, Usef Pacha. (Vide Spenser.)
Rousing himself, he returned to the cafeneh, where he found young Conrin anxiously awaiting his arrival. The boy looked sad and melancholy, till he saw his master’s countenance wearing a more serene expression than before, when his features were lit up with pleasure, and he followed him into the house, where they found the Hadji, the captain of the zebeque, and the rest of his passengers.
The Hadji, on first glancing towards Ivan, as he entered in his national costume, scarcely knew him, but no sooner did he recognise him, than he rushed forward with outstretched arms to embrace him.
“Ah, my son,” he cried, “I now recognise in you a true scion of the noble race of the Attèghèi; (the name the Circassians call themselves) and welcome shall you be to join, with your youthful arm, in our struggle for independence. Bismillah! with a few hundred such youths as you at my back, I would take every cursed Russian fort on our coast, may the Evil One possess them! You, perchance, have no father; I will be to you as one, and you shall be to me as a son. I will protect you from all who shall dare to oppose you, so fear not.”
“I would wish for no more valiant protector, noble Hadji,” replied Ivan, “and gladly, in all things, will I follow your advice, and profit by your experience. Under your guidance, I trust soon to gain that renown after which I thirst, and to shew myself no unworthy child of the Attèghèi.”
“You speak well, young man,” replied the Hadji; “I have grown too old not to boast a little; and you need have no fear of not gaining credit under my standard. Bismillah! the fana Moscov well know the sight of it. I will shew you what fighting is in a few days, with the blessing of Allah!”