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Updated: June 18, 2025
Natalie asked neither whether he was a magician, a millionaire, or a nabob; she only thought she was to see him, and be allowed to thank him nothing further. "Will he come now?" she constantly asked of the humble and slavishly devoted Joseph Ribas; "will he come now that his house is prepared for his reception?" "It is adorned only for you, princess," humbly replied Ribas.
But out of that fabulous world she sometimes longed to be, out of the ideal into the real; she yearned for truth and actuality. Then she would call Joseph Ribas to her side and bid him relate to her of that unknown lord, his master. He told her of his battles and his heroic deeds, of his wonderful acts of bravery, and the young maiden tremblingly and shudderingly listened to him.
As to you," she then said to Joseph Ribas, "we have reason to be satisfied with you, and you shall not go without your reward. Moreover, our beloved Alexis Orloff has especially recommended you to us, and spoken very highly of your information and talents. Afterward, upon the recommendation of Betzkoi, he was made the tutor of Bobrinsky, one of the sons of the empress by Gregory Orloff.
"Oh, sir," said Natalie, turning to him her tearful face, "if you are an honorable man, have compassion for an abandoned and unprotected maiden, and command these soldiers, who seem to obey you, to let me and my companion go forth unhindered." The Russian officer, Joseph Ribas, bowed low and respectfully to her.
"How if his brother should win him from us?" "Have no anxiety; this Carlo Ribas is so virtuous that he hates no one so much as his brother Joseph, merely because he passed some years in the galleys for forgery. He is now free, and has secretly come here. As he was aware that I knew his brother, he came to beg me for my countenance and support. I will send him to you."
Nevertheless, he did obtain a few more men, and these he sent to Valencia under Ribas, following shortly in order to take personal command of the army in the battle. The contending armies met on a plain called Carabobo, the royalists with many more men than there were patriots. Desertions from the forces of the Republicans were frequent.
The French armies seemed to conquer all opposition in Spain, and the Junta Central had been forced to take refuge in Cadiz. Rumors were circulated that Cadiz had fallen into the hands of the French. Then the patriots decided to wait no longer, and Bolivar, Ribas and other friends planned to take immediate steps.
Joseph Ribas stared at him with astonishment. "That is certainly an immense honor and a great good fortune," said he, "only I should like to know if the Russian marine engages in sea-fights, and if the officers are obliged to stand under fire?" "Yes, indeed," cried Orloff, laughing, "but in such cases you can conceal yourself behind the cannon until the fight is over!"
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