" asked the
astounded
General.
Pushkin - Daughter of the Commandant
He
has given me three days; if at the end of that time I do not become his
wife I need expect no more consideration at his hands. Oh! my father,
Petr' Andrejitch, you are my only stay. Defend me, a poor girl. Beg the
General and all your superiors to send us help as soon as possible, and
come yourself if you can.
"I remain, your submissive orphan,
"MARYA MIRONOFF. "
I almost went mad when I read this letter. I rushed to the town,
spurring without pity my poor horse. During the ride I turned over in my
mind a thousand projects for rescuing the poor girl without being able
to decide on any. Arrived in the town I went straight to the General's,
and I actually ran into his room. He was walking up and down, smoking
his meerschaum pipe. Upon seeing me he stood still; my appearance
doubtless struck him, for he questioned me with a kind of anxiety on the
cause of my abrupt entry.
"Your excellency," said I, "I come to you as I would to my poor father.
Do not reject my request; the happiness of my whole life is in
question. "
"What is all this, my father?
" asked the astounded General. "What can I
do for you? Speak. "
"Your excellency, allow me to take a battalion of soldiers and fifty
Cossacks, and go and clear out Fort Belogorsk. "
The General stared, thinking, probably, that I was out of my senses; and
he was not far wrong.
"How? What! what! Clear out Fort Belogorsk! " he said at last.
"I'll answer for success! " I rejoined, hotly. "Only let me go. "
"No, young man," he said, shaking his head; "it is so far away. The
enemy would easily block all communication with the principal strategic
point, which would quickly enable him to defeat you utterly and
decisively. A blocked communication, do you see?
has given me three days; if at the end of that time I do not become his
wife I need expect no more consideration at his hands. Oh! my father,
Petr' Andrejitch, you are my only stay. Defend me, a poor girl. Beg the
General and all your superiors to send us help as soon as possible, and
come yourself if you can.
"I remain, your submissive orphan,
"MARYA MIRONOFF. "
I almost went mad when I read this letter. I rushed to the town,
spurring without pity my poor horse. During the ride I turned over in my
mind a thousand projects for rescuing the poor girl without being able
to decide on any. Arrived in the town I went straight to the General's,
and I actually ran into his room. He was walking up and down, smoking
his meerschaum pipe. Upon seeing me he stood still; my appearance
doubtless struck him, for he questioned me with a kind of anxiety on the
cause of my abrupt entry.
"Your excellency," said I, "I come to you as I would to my poor father.
Do not reject my request; the happiness of my whole life is in
question. "
"What is all this, my father?
" asked the astounded General. "What can I
do for you? Speak. "
"Your excellency, allow me to take a battalion of soldiers and fifty
Cossacks, and go and clear out Fort Belogorsk. "
The General stared, thinking, probably, that I was out of my senses; and
he was not far wrong.
"How? What! what! Clear out Fort Belogorsk! " he said at last.
"I'll answer for success! " I rejoined, hotly. "Only let me go. "
"No, young man," he said, shaking his head; "it is so far away. The
enemy would easily block all communication with the principal strategic
point, which would quickly enable him to defeat you utterly and
decisively. A blocked communication, do you see?
