toward the Ottoman Army camp, accompanied by two
Russian officers.//
İzzet Fuat returned toward the Ottoman Army camp near
Ruschuk from the west, by following the Lom River, which
can be seen running north-south vis-a-vis Ruschuk.
Our commander Mehmed Ali Paşa was very brave and knowledgeable
but his determination was lacking and, with a couple of exceptions, his
staff was quite weak. As a result, the attack he launched went for nil
and many soldiers' lives were lost needlessly. The Russian cavalry
executed their covering duty very well and, at one point, seeing that
we would win the battle they withdrew. But when they noticed that they
weren't being pursued, with laudatory nimbleness they returned and, in
the end, there was not much of a change in the state of the battlefield.
But let's get back to our story. We dismounted near a house in a
Bulgarian village at a point overlooking the Lom valley. When Haşim
Bey untied my blindfold he said to me "You'll find an old friend here."
I thought he meant my friend Hacı but, instead, it was my beautiful
horse Demir. Like all thoroughbreds, he recognized my voice and
turned his lovely blue eyes toward me. In turn, I kissed him lavishly,
as if I was kissing the soil of my homeland. But there was no word from
anyone about Hacı from here all the way up to Sardogâh.
The (Rusenski) Lom River runs into the Danube from south of
Ruschuk.
General Prohorov, whom I had first encountered at the forward outpost
(see Part II of this series), was residing in the house where Demir was
hitched. Now, prior to returning to our side, I was obliged to meet with
him. But without even greeting me properly, he began to scold me,
saying "Look! Look at what you've done!" He was pointing to the
village of Pot, which could be seen through the left window of the
house.
In response, I said "what's happened?" The general then launched into
a criticism, saying "What do you mean what happened?! You fired on
that village and set it aflame! What barbarians you are!" Countering
this, I said "General, I protest the language you are using. I am neither
a prisoner nor a vagabond. Rather, I am the envoy of a great nation.
Secondly, our military would have no reason to burn down that village
because I know this Pot village and it is on the Lom River. Consequently,
if our side had burned this village you wouldn't have stopped here since
the village is along your front line. I'm a young officer but I have been
taught well in my country about these things. You should know better
than I who deserves the word 'barbarian', which you just spoke to me."
Returning to my horse, I thanked Haşim Bey for all he done for me and
said good-bye to him. Mounting Demir, I was finally free from those
rough Cossack horses. With me still blindfolded, we descended toward
the Lom valley. Ahead of me was a cavalryman with a trumpet and a
white flag. There were two Russian officers accompanying me - one
a colonel who was quite well-bred and a fluent French speaker and the
other a cavalry officer who knew neither French nor Turkish.
Upon reaching the valley plain, I said to them "we're in the neutral zone
now so please take off my blindfold." They made me promise to not
look back toward the Russian side, which I did, and they undid that
loathsome rag. Like the colonel I'd met in Byala two days before, this
colonel had also spent quite a bit of time in Paris so we had a lot to
talk about. A bit later our tents came into view. What joy! What
indescribable happiness!
//END of PART X//
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