actions has died away. You
shall be to be as a friend, as a brother."

This struck the Asiatic. Tears shone in his eyes. "The Russians have
conquered me," he said: "pardon me, colonel, that I thought ill of
all of you. From henceforth I am a faithful servant of the Russian
Tsar--a faithful friend to the Russians, soul and sword. My sword,
my sword!" he cried, gazing fixedly on his costly blade; "let these
tears wash from thee the Russian blood and the Tartar _naphtha_! [30]
When and how can I reward you, with my service, for liberty and life?"

[Footnote 30: The Tartars, to preserve their weapons, and to produce a
black colour on them, smoke the metal, and then rub it with naphtha.]

I am sure, my dear Maria, that you will keep me, for this, one
of your sweetest kisses. Ever, ever, when feeling or acting
generously, I console myself with the thought, "My Maria will
praise me for this!" But when is this to happen, my darling?
Fate is but a stepmother to us. Your mourning is prolonged, and
the commander-in-chief has decidedly refused me leave of absence;
nor am I much displeased, annoying as it is: my regiment is in
a bad state of discipline--indeed, as bad as can be imagined;
besides, I am charged with the construction of new barracks and
the colonization of a married company. If I were absent for a month,
every thing would go wrong. If I remain, what a sacrifice of my heart!

Here we have been at Derbend three days. Ammalat lives with me: he
is silent, sad, and savage; but his fear is interesting, nevertheless.
He speaks Russian very well, and I have commenced teaching him to read
and write. His intelligence is unusually great. In time, I hope to
make him a most charming Tartar. (_The conclusion of the letter has
no reference to our story_.)

Fragment of another letter from Colonel Verhoffsky to his _fiancee_,
written six months after the preceding.

From Derbend to Smolensk.

Your favourite Ammalat, my dearest Maria, will soon be quite
Russianized. The Tartar Beks, in general, think the first step of
civilization consists in the use of the unlawful wine and pork. I,
on the contrary, have begun by re-educating the mind of Ammalat. I
show him, I prove to him, what is bad in the customs of his nation,
and what is good in those of ours; I explain to him universal and
eternal truths. I read with him, I accustom him to write, and I
remark with pleasure that he takes the deepest interest in
composition. I may say, in