I will begin my story from the moment when, at the age of sixteen, my destiny first came more directly in touch with that of Mazeppa, my cousin in the third degree and my compatriot. My father was Chelminsky, a captain under the renowned Hmelnisky, a great and honoured name among Cossacks; for under his leadership our tribes threw off the yoke of the Polish King and became once more independent, as Cossacks should for ever be. Mazeppa’s father and mine were relatives, rivals, and near neighbours. The same may be said of Mazeppa and myself, for together we entered service as pages at the Court of John Casimir of Poland, and together we left it. Also, as I shall presently show, we were in aft…
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