Chapters 1 - 4 Pan Gideon and his ward, Panna Anulka, are travelling by coach and are rescued from a wolf attack in the forest by Stanislav Tsyprianovitch and his companions – the Bukoyemski brothers.
They are invited back by the latter to Yedlinka – a forest farm – and are welcomed by Pan Serafin, Stanislaw’s father and a wealthy retired merchant.
Pan Yatsek Tachevski, a young impoverished noble, is discovered to have been in a pine tree all night thinking about Anulka, his childhood sweetheart.
Over mead the latter suggests that Pan Gideon marry his ward in order to pass on his estates and avoid family squabbles.
Voynovski worries how he will be able to finance his expedition but Pan Serafin loans him money as a mortgage on Vyrambki, Tachevski’s property.
Pan Gideon meets his old friend, the prelate Tvorkovski, in whom he confides that he wishes to marry Anulka and asks him to put his case to her.
Pan Krepetski and his son, Martsian, nicknamed 'Pniak' (stump), a relative whom Gideon previously threw out of his house for making eyes at Anulka.
Floreant!’ Chapters 25 – 28 Lodgings are found in Kraków and Stanislav resolves that Yatsek and Anulka should have some time together after their marriage before he joins the campaign.
Standing on a hill, the troops march in splendour past their valiant king and Pani Tachevski sees her husband for the last time, 'all in iron and winged armour, the ear pieces of his helmet hid his cheeks altogether ... Yatsek turned his iron-covered head toward his wife and moved his lips as if whispering ... he was giving her the last "Fare thee well!”.
The prince bishop of Kraków blesses the troops holding the cross and relics above his head and twenty thousand men raise their anthem to God.
As he states in his introduction, 'Through this great host of enemies and allies, and their own special character, came that incisive dramatic career which at last met a failure so crushingly manifest', (a probable reference here to the eventual dividing of Poland into the three partitions).
Battle of Vienna Sobieski was in joint command of Polish, Austrian and German troops, against the invading Turks under Kara Mustafa.
At about five o'clock in the afternoon, after observing the infantry battle from the hilltop, Sobieski led Polish husaria cavalry along with Austrians and Germans into a massive charge down the hillside.
On the Field of Glory, Henryk Sienkiewicz, authorised and unabridged translation from the Polish original by Jeremiah Curtin, Little, Brown and Company, Boston (copyright 1906).