Omaha daily bee., 1886-09-18
MAZEPPA A FACT.
The Discovery ofa Portrait From Life
Recalls the story OF the
Unlucky CoSsaCk.

hcCalIS inc story Oh tiic
Unlucky CossaCk.
Philadelphia Times: A portrait of
Mazcppa painted from life has been dis.
covered Mt Kicf, in southern Russia, and
is being engraved by the Russian acad.
cmician, Dcmetry Kowkosky 1t will
surprise nearly every one who hears that
Mazeppa was real, living man who
could SIT for his portrat--he seems so
like purely mythical being, like Beller.
rophon or like one of the Am.
IONS He is associated in
our minds altogether with the
very unreal world of the circus ring,
with bareback riders and trained horses,
indeed, he may be said to resemble q
centuar, for he and the fiery steed can
hardly be thought off apart. Yet he was
n real man and cut quito figure in his
part of the world 200 years ago This
portrait probably represents not swag-
gerng youth, with curly hair and bud.
ding moustache, but n grizzled warrior
in Russian uniform and decorated with
military orders.
Cossack, VINO made successful war upon
the savage Tartars who dcsolated
Southern Russia, driving them back to
the Caspian. This so recommended him
to Peter the great that he invited the
Cossack to his court and covered him
with honors and gifts, but when Peter
sent him against the invading Swedes,
under Charles Nil, he betrayed the
Russian and went over with his followers
TO the enemy. Peter defeated them both
and drove them into Turkish territory,
where, fearing to fall into the hands of
his former relentless master. Mazcppa
killed himself. He had before this hid.
den all the treasures which he had
amasscd in his wars and the gifts
from those he had served III cayernS in
the hills around kief The portrait now
discovered was probably hidden at this
time.
The incident by which alone we know
him actually did occur. He was by birth
Cossack, but when very young he was
sent to serve us page in the court of the
Polish king. There his beauty and
bravery won him great favor, especially
with the ladies. With one of them, the
wife of a certain NOBLE, he was suspected
of too great an intimacy and the jealous
husband in revenge ordered him to be
bound naked to the back of q wild horse
that had never been ridden. Tie horse
was Tartar horse, from the steppes, and
when looscd he rushed madly back to his
native country with the unwilling rider
bound to his back. The Cossacks re-
ceived the unhappy youth when nearly
dead from exhaustion and he grew
up among them, remarkable for strength
and bravery. Byron got his story out of
worked it into his dHshing and attractive
poem. a story so dramatic was at once
seized upon for adaptation to the stage
and it was presented here ns early as
1925 by an Englishman named Hunter.
He also was very handsome man and
made great stir in the town. This was
at the circus which is now the Walnut
'hn int,, nrNfA NJ
bound to the horses back, which every
body knows so well, was painted by Hor-
ace Vernet, one OF the greatest of the
French artists. Vcrnet, of course, got
his inspiration from Byron, to whom we
all owe whatever knowledge we may
have of the brilliant Cossack rider and
soldier.
Mazeppa's real motives for betraying
Peter are not certainly known. The
Poles, who look upon him as a hero, al
ways have maintained that he had in
view the welfare of the Polish nation,
and they point to the fact that he stipu-
lated with the Swedish King for the in
dependence of Poland. If this be the
truth it gives a certain dignity to the act,
but the Russian story runs more in ac-
cord with what otherwise is known of
him. They say that he was led to 90
ment of u certain Polish princess.
This would better correspond with
the rest of his adventurous career Few
men, however. who are simply adven.
turers, get their actions recorded by
historian like Voltaire and celebrated by
a poet like Byron and painted by IA
master like Vernet and get to be known
by all school boys who speak the English
language, and all this not from any act
of doing, but one of suffering merely
A better man might find it dlsagreeable
to be personated before the public by
some of the persons who have repro,
sented Mazeppa in this city in recent
times.