Page:Taras Bulba. A Tale of the Cossacks. 1916.djvu/177

Rh stood another Colonel, a small, dried-up man; but his little, piercing eyes gleamed sharply from under his thick and shaggily overgrown brows, and he turned quickly on all sides, gesticulating energetically with his thin, withered hand, and distributing his commands. It was evident that, in spite of his tiny body, he understood the art of war thoroughly. Not far from him stood a very tall Cornet, with thick moustaches, and he did not seem to lack colour in his face: the noble lord was fond of strong mead and hearty revelry. And behind these were visible many noblemen of all degrees, who had equipped themselves, some with their own ducats, some at the expense of the royal treasury, some with money from the Jews, by pawning everything they had in their ancestral castles. Many, also, were the senatorial parasites, whom the Senators took with them to dinners, to make a fine show, and who stole silver cups from the table and the sideboard, and, after the day's show was over, mounted some gentleman's coach-box and drove his horses. There were many of all sorts there. In some cases they had not enough money to pay for a drink, yet they were all fitted out for war.

The kazák ranks stood quietly in front of the walls. There was no gold about any of them, except here and there, perhaps, a glint of it on the