Page:Taras Bulba. A Tale of the Cossacks. 1916.djvu/197

Rh his side in the circle of kazáks, listening to the tale of every occurrence on the kazák marches. He never joined in the conversation, but merely listened, and with his finger pressed the ashes down in the short pipe which never left his mouth; and then he would sit long, with his eyes half open, and the kazáks never knew whether he were asleep or still listening. He always stayed at home during their expeditions, but on this occasion, the whim to take part had seized upon the old man. He waved his hand, in kazák fashion, and said, "So be it! I'm going also; perhaps I may be of some service to the kazák nation." All the kazáks fell silent when he now stepped forward before the assembly, for it was long since any speech from him had been heard. Each man wanted to know what Bovdyug had to say.

"It's my turn to speak a word, brother nobles," he began: "listen, my lads, to an old man. The Koshevói spoke wisely, and as the head of the Kazák army, and bound to protect it; and regretting the treasures of the army, he could have said nothing wiser. That's a fact I That's my first speech. And now harken to my second—and this is my second speech: Colonel Taras has spoken even more truly, God grant him many years, and that such colonels as he may be plentiful in the Ukralna! The first duty and the first honour of