CHAPTER III.

LIFE OF SMITH CONTINUED-SIEGE OF REGALL-HE KILLS THREE TURKS IN SINGLE COMBAT-THE TOWN TAKEN-BATTLE OF ROTENTONSMITH A SLAVE-SENT TO TARTARY-CRUELLY TREATED

KILLS HIS MASTER AND ESCAPES-SAILS FOR AFRICA

SEA FIGHT-RETURNS TO ENGLAND.

IN the mountains of Transylvania, in an almost impregnable situation, was a strong town called Regall, to which Prince Moyses and Earl Meldritch, with seventeen thousand men, laid close siege. It was defended by a strong garrison of "Turks, Tartars, Bandittoes, Rennegadoes, and such like," and, from the strength of its position, long bade defiance to the Christian arms. At this siege, our friend Smith performed one of the most brilliant and notable feats of arms ever recorded of so young a champion. He tells the story with such a quaint modesty, that his own language could ill be altered or abbreviated.

The besiegers, he says, "spent neere a month in entrenching themselves, and raising their mounts to plant their batteries; which slow proceedings the Turkes oft derided, that their Ordnance was at pawne, and how they grew fat for want of exercise, and fearing lest they should depart ere they could assault their Citie, sent this Challenge to any Captaine in the Armie:

"That to delight the Ladies, who did long to see some courtlike pastime, the Lord Turbashaw did defie any Captaine that had the command of a Company, who durst combate with him for his head;' The Matter being discussed, it was accepted, but so many questions grew for the undertaking, it was decided by lots, which fell upon Captaine Smith, before spoken of.

"Truce being made for that time, the Rampiers all beset with faire Dames, and Men in arms, the Christians in Battalio; Turbashaw, with a noise of Howboyes, entred the field, well mounted and armed; on his shoulders were fixed a paire of great wings, compacted of Eagles feathers within a ridge of

silver, richly garnished with gold and precious stones, a Iunizary before him, bearing his lance, on each side another leading his horse; where long hee stayed not, ere Smith, with a noise of Trumpets, only a page bearing his lance, passing by him with a courteous salute, tooke his ground with such goode successe, that at the sound of the charge, he passed the Turke thorow the sight of his Beaver, face, head and all, that he fell dead to the ground, where, alighting and unbracing his Helmet, cut off his head, and the Turkes tooke his body; and so returned without any hurt at all. The head hee presented to the Lord Moyses, the Generall, who kindly accepted it, and with joy to the whole armie he was generally welcomed.

"The death of this Captaine so swelled in the heart of one Grualgro, his vowed friend, as rather inraged with madnesse than choller, he directed a particular Challenge to the Conquerour, to regaine his friends head or lose his owne, with his horse and Armour for advantage, which according to his desire was the next day undertaken; as before, upon the sound of the Trumpets, their lances flew in peeces upon a cleare passage, but the Turke was neere unhorsed. Their Pistolls was the next, which marked Smith upon the placard; but the next shot, the Turke was so wounded in the left arme, that being not able to rule his horse and defend himselfe, he was throwne to the ground, and so bruised with the fall, that he lost his head, as his friend before him; with his horse and Armour; but his body and his rich apparell was sent backe to the Towne.

"Every day the Turkes made some sallies, but few skir mishes would they endure to any purpose. Our workes and approaches being not yet advanced to that height and effect which was of necessitie to be performed; to delude time, Smith, with many incontradictable perswading reasons, ob tained leave that the Ladies might know he was not so much enamoured of their servants heads, but if any Turke of their ranke would come to the place of combate to redeeme them, should have his also upon the like conditions, if he coulde winne it.

"The challenge presently was accepted by Bonny Mulgro. The next day, both of the Champions entring the field as before, each discharging their Pistoll, having no Lances, but such martiall weapons as the Defendant appointed, no hurt was done; their Battle-axes was the next; whose piercing bils made sometime the one, sometime the other to have scarce sense to keepe their saddles, specially the Christian received such a blow that he lost his Battle-axe, and failed not much to have fallen after it, whereat the supposed conquering Turke had a great shout from the Rampiers. The Turke prosecuted his advantage to the uttermost of his power; yet the other, what by the readinesse of his horse, and his judgment and dexteritie in such a businesse, beyond all mens expectation, by God's assistance, not onely avoided the Turkes violence, but having drawne his Faulchion, pierced the Turke so under the Culets, thorow backe and body, that, although he alighted from his horse, he stood not long ere hee lost his head, as the rest had done.

"This good successe gave such great encouragement to the whole Armie, that with a guard of six thousand, three spare horses, before each a Turkes head upon a lance, he was conducted to the Generall's Pavillion with his Presents. Moyses received both him and them with as much respect as the occasion deserved, embracing him in his arms, gave him a faire Horse richly furnished, a Semitere" (scimitar) "and belt worth three hundred ducats; and Meldritch made him Sergeantmajor of his Regiment."

last taken by

"The Earle

all the Ordall he found

The town, despite a desperate defence, was at storm, and the Turks took refuge in the Castle. remembering his father's death, battered it with nance in the Towne, and the next day took it; could beare Armes he put to the sword, and set their heads upon stakes round about the walles, in the same manner as they had used the Christians when they tooke it." This and other notable victories being achieved, Sigismund of Transyl vania came to congratulate his successful generals; and in ac

knowledgment of the exploits of Smith, "with great honour hee gave him three Turkes heads in a Shield for his Armes, by Patent, under his hand and Seale, with an Oath ever to weare them in his Colours, his Picture in Gould, and three hundred Ducats yeerely for a Pension." This patent was admitted and recorded in the Heralds' College in England, and the heathenish device of the three Turks' heads, in quaint and grisly portraiture, figures conspicuously in the narrative of his exploits

In the desperate battle of Rotenton, where the army of Meldritch, "environed by a hellish number" of Turks and Tartars, was mostly cut to pieces, the cause of the Christians received an almost fatal shock. At the end of that terrible day, says our author, "in this bloudy field, neere 30,000 lay, some headlesse, armelesse, and leglesse, all cut and mangled; where, breathing their last, they gaue this knowledge to the world, that for the liues of so few, the Crym-Tartar neuer paid dearer." Among the victims of that fatal day were a number of Englishmen, duly commemorated by our author, who all "did what men could doe, and when they could doe no more, left there their bodies in testimonie of their mindes. * * * But Smith among the slaughtered dead bodies, and many a gasping soule, with toile and woundes lay groaning among the rest." Here the pillagers found him half alive, and, being cured of his wounds, he was sold, with many others, as a slave, at Axopolis.

His purchaser, the Bashaw Bogall, sent him to Constantinople, as a present to his young mistress, Charatza Tragabigzanda, with the assurance that he was a Bohemian lord, captured, with many others, by the prowess of her lover in the wars. This kindly young creature, it would seem, took a warm interest in his fortunes, and, lest her mother should sell him, sent him off to her brother, Timour, the Bashaw of Nalbritz, in Tartary, near the sea of Azof. In her letter to this brother, she imprudently betrayed her feelings, and the exas perated Bashaw, "within an houre after his arrivall, caused his Drub-man to strip him naked, and shave his head and

beard so bare as his hand, a great ring of iron, with a long stalke bowed like a sickle, rivetted about his neck, and a coat made of Vlgries haire, guarded about with a peece of an undrest skinne." Here the unfortunate Smith, with many others, underwent a slavery "so bad, a dog could hardly have lived to endure, and yet for all their paines and labours no more regarded than a beast."

During this miserable captivity, he observed (and has recorded in his narrative) many curious and valuable particulars concerning the Crym Tartars and their country; indeed, whatever his situation, the shrewd and observant traveller is ever uppermost. His final escape from this detestable bondage, due, as usual, to his own courage and sagacity, may be best delivered in his own curt and forcible language.

"All the hope he ever had to be delivered from this thraldome, was only the love of Tragabigzanda, who surely was ignorant of his bad usage; for although he had often debated the matter with some Christians, that had beene there a long time slaves, they coulde not finde how to make an escape, by any reason or possibility; but God, beyonde mans expectation or imagination, helpeth his servants, when they least thinke of helpe, as it hapned to him. So long he lived in this miserable. estate, as he became a thresher at a grange in a great field, more than a league from the Tymours house; the Bashaw, as he used often to visit his granges, visited him, and tooke occasion so to beat, spurne, and revile him, that forgetting all reason, he beat out the Tymours braines with his threshing bat, for they have no flailes; and seeing his estate could be no worse than it was, clothed himself in his clothes, hid his body under the straw, filled his knapsacke with corne, mounted his horse, and ranne into the desart at all adventure."

For several days he wandered in this desolate region, dreading to meet a human being. At length, by great good fortune, he lighted on the main road which leads from Tartary to Rus sia, and after a most perilous and fatiguing journey of sixteen days, passed "in fear and torment," arrived at Epolis, a Rus

6.