The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-12-19
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10, 1883.
THE TRUE STORY OF MAzEPPA.


Leading Facts in the Life of the Rider
Celebrated In Poem, Painting and the
Drama.
A portrait OF Mazeppa, painted from
life has been discovered at Kief in South
ern Russia, and is being engraved by the
Russian academician, Demery Kow-
kosky.
It will surprise nearly everyone who
hears that Mazeppa was real, living
man who could sit for his portrait--he
seems SO like purely mythical being,
like Bellerophon or like one of the Anna
IONS. Yet he was real man and cut
quite a figure In his part OF the world 200
years ago.
John Stephanovitch Mazeppa was
Cossaek, who made a successful war
upon the savage Tartars who desolated
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 XII 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 for
mer relentless master, Mazeppa killed
himself.
He had before this hidden all the
treasures which he had amassed in
his wars and through gifts from those
he had served, in cavern5 in the hills
around Kief. The portrait now discov-
cred was probably hidden at this
time.
The incident by which we know him
actually did occur.
He was by birth a Cossack, but when
very young he was sent to serve as q
page in the court of the Polish King.
There his beauty and bravery won him
great favor, especially with the Ia
dies.
With one OF them, the wife OF a
certain noble, he was suspected of too
great an intimacy and the jealous hus-
band in revenge ordered him to be bound
naked to the back OF wild horse, that
had never been ridden. The horse was
a Tartar horse, from the Steppes, and
when loosed he rushed madly back TO
his native country with the unwilling
rider bound to his back.
The Cossacks received the unhappy
youth when nearly dead from exhaus-
ton, and he grew up among them, re-
markable for strength and bravery.
Byron got his story out Of Voltaire's
Life OF Charles XII," and worked it
up into his dashing and attractive
poem.
A story so dramatic was at once seized
upon for adaptation to the stage and 1t
was presented here as early as 1875 by
an Englishman named Hunter. lie also
was a very handsome man and made
great stir In the town. This was at the
circus which Is now the Walnut Street
Theatre.
The picture of Mazeppa bound to the
horses back, which everybody knows 50
well, was painted by Horace Vernet, one
OF the greatest Of French artists. Yernet,
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 betraylng
Peter are not certainly known. Inc
Poles, who look upon him as q nero,
always have maintained that he had IN
view the welfare OF the Polish nation,
and they point to the fact that he stip-
ulated with the Swedish King for rno
independence OF Poland.
III this he the truth, ii gives certain
dignity to the act, but the Russian stol y
runs more in accord with what other
wise 5 known OF him. They say that he
was led to go over to the en- my 10y the
Establishments OF a certain Polish prin-
cess. This would better cor, espond with
the est of his adventurous career
Few men, however, who are simply
adventures get their actions recorded
by his, orian like Vollaiie, and cele-
brated by poet like Byron, and painted
by master like V rnet 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. - Philadelphia Times.