Poland under the dominion of Russia

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POLAND

UNDER THE

DOMINION OF RUSSIA

POLAND

TINDER THE

DOMINION OF RUSSIA.

BY HARRO^HARRING,

LATE CADET IN THE LAKOER REGIMENT OF THE 6RAKD DUKE
CONSTANTINE's imperial RUSSIAN BODY GUARD.

FROM THE GERMAN.

'' If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil.''

John xviii, 23.

BOSTON:

PRINTED FOR I. S. SZYMANSKI.

1834.

■-r::r"^. n -JUS Te!ir I?34. by
S ?-%. ? :£«? ;f -je District

TO THC AMS3RICAN READER.

It is an exile of Poland who presents to you this work.
The storm which swept over his native land, has involved
him in the general ruin, torn him from home, and friends,
and country, and cast him a wanderer on a foreign shore.
Bred in the Polish military school, it has been his for-*
tune, before he had arrived at manhood, to turn against
his enemies the weapons they taught him to use, — to join
with the enthusiasm in the general struggle for his coun-
try's rights — to see her for a moment free — to witness the
blasting of her hopes — the slaughter of her sons — and
then to be driven out to wander on through various
parts of Europe, till he found a refuge in a land, which
he had only dreamed of as a new and distant world.

He founds his hopes of success in the present under-
taking, entirely upon the interest manifested by the Ameri-
can public, in the affairs of his unhappy country, and upon
the sympathy it feels in the sufferings of those whose mis-
fortunes arise from having loved her too well. He disguises
not the fact, that the principal object in publishing this
work is, to furnish himself the means of existence ; but
he comes not with the hesitating step of a suppliant ; he
offers you a quid pro quo ; and he does it with the certi-

A*

i

vi TO THE AMERICAN READER.

tude, that in the following pjiges you will find remuneration
for the obolum you may bestow on him. He does it too
{ with the hope that he may, in some slight degree, aid the

cause of his country, by uniting your sympathies more
strongly in her behalf. The wrongs and sufferings of
Poland are indeed well known ; — alas ! they have become
a by-word to the world ; but, still, the precise nature of
the tyranny exercised over her has been unknown : the
public has heard only of her wholesale sufferings'; — in the
following pages they are exposed in their minute detail.
The author was a German, in the Russian service ; he
had no strong predilection for Poland : he does not admire
even the Polish character ; and yet, with the hand of an
impartial limner, he has drawn a picture of Russian
I brutality, as trne to nature as it is disgusting in itself.

^ The introduction is from the pen of an American, who

r has been an eye-witness to the wrongs and the sufferings

y of the Poles. Reader, when you shall have gone half

t through with these pages, you will cease to ask, why

f the Poles were mad enough to revolt against such enorm-

r ous odds. Your own heart will tell you, that rather than

i endure such indignities, you would throw life and wealth

/ on the stake ; — aye ! and wander years in exile, as des-

titute, houseless, and friendless^ as is he who now addres-

* ses you.

\ IGNATIUS S. SZTMANSKI.

' Boatony Jipril^ 1834.

;,

I

I #
I.

t

INTRODUCTION

TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

The political history of Poland, during the last
century, has been most interesting. It has become
so, from the sufferings and the wrongs of the nation,
and its desperate but unsuccessful efforts to redress
them. The world gave to the Poles its commiser-
ation during their oppression ; it cheered them on
with its cry of admiration in their daring and dread-
ful struggle ; and it has paid its tribute of a sigh, and
a tear, over the grave of their country, where lie
buried all their political hopes.

But with all this interest in the histoiy and condi-
tion of Poland, the interior of the country has been,
and is, a terra incognita to most of the world. We
have felt our hearts glow with admiration, at the
heroic efforts, and the generous sacri6ces of the Poles,
but we knew not their real character ; we lament
their sufferings, but we know not precisely the nature
of them ; we give to them our prayers and our hopes
for their future political regeneration, but we know
not on what these hopes are founded, or how far they

VIU INTRODUCTION.

are reasonable. It must be, that with a strong sym-
pathy for the sufferings and the trials of Poland, peo-
ple of this country feel an interest in her history, and
her prospects ; it is to gratify this interest, that the
following work is presented to the public : it is the
testimony of an eye-witness — of an impartial stranger,
to the situation of the Poles under the Russians, at
a time, be it remembered, when their yoke was the
least burdensome, and when they pretended to con-
ciliate and favor the country.

With the hope of rendering the work more . useful
to the American reader, this introduction* is inserted,
containing a sketch of such parts of the history of
Poland as are least known.

The attention of the reader is invited to it, not for
its merits of style or reasoning, but on account of the
facts which it contains ; facts which will authorize the
hope and the belief that Poland will, in the course of
events, be called again to play an important part in
Europe. There is no disguising the truth, that in those
countries which once bore her name, there exist more
than ten millions of -trave and hardy men ; that they
are unfettered in their souls, and unprejudiced in their
affections, by the political arrangements which have
set them off to different powers ; that they have a
strong dislike to the governments under which they
live ; a strong inclination to rally round an old and
beloved nationality ; in fine, that nothing but force

* Part of this introduction appeared as an article in the North
American Review, for Janoary, 1833.

INTRODUCTION. IX

and fear keep them subject to governments, for which
they can feel no affection.

Now this state of things may very weU endure as
long as affairs go on in the usual train, and while the
arm of social power is strong ; but, when the bands
which bind men together are broken, and war and revo-
lution destroy all artificial political distinctions ; —
when society is reduced to its primitive elements, —
there is every probability that atom will cling to the
atom for which it has the greatest affinity, and that,
when the troubled mass shall settle, it will be in such
shapes as were intended not by man, but by nature.

Let it be borne in mind by the reader that the par-
titions of Poland have not made the Poles, Russians,
or Prussians, or Austrians; that they still preserve
their national characteristics ; that the difference of
race, of language, of religion, and of prejudices, will
prevent tliem from soon amalgamating with the Ger-
mans ; and that the burning recollection of past wrongs
and present sufferings, will be an impassable gulf be-
tween them and the Russians, who are of the same
descent, but far inferior to the Poles in every noble
and manly trait of character. The Poles indeed, are at
the head of the Sclavonic race in Europe.

There is, a dreadful struggle going on at this moment
in Europe ; it is between Poland and Russia ; it is not
for victory, but for life — for existence ; — the victim
lies bound, and bleeding, and gagged; not a shot is
fired — not a wound is given — ^not a cry is heard — but
the gripe of the monster is on the throat of his victim,

INTRODUCTION.

and the throes, and the struggles^, proclaim how strong
is the principle of life in the sufferer. Russia is strain-
ing every nerve to stifle the national spirit of Poland —
to put out the vital principle of patriotism ; not by the
bullet and the bayonet, not by the dungeon and the
scaffold — these have been tried for years, and tried in
vain ; but she would degrade her by vice — insult her
by humiliation, and trample out the last spark of nation-
ality, which has animated her people, and made them
terrible ; and which, if extinguished, would leave them
at the feet of their conqueror, a horde of human be-
ings, as brutal and as obedient, as her Cossacks or her
Caucasians.

To effect this purpose, the most revolting measures
are pursued ; vice of all kinds (except that of •disobe-
dience) is encouraged ; every honorable avenue to
personal distinction is closed, while the path of corrup-
tion and infamy is thrown wide open ; the schools are
closed— the press is broken,— the wheels of civili-
zation are rolled backward.

There is this in the policy of Russia which renders
her more dangerous to Europe, than were ever the
Turks, even when they were thundering at the gates of
Vienna, — that she knows what is due to public opinion ;
hence she has one face for the east, and another for
the west ; one appearance to hold up to Europe, anoth-
er to Asia ; she knows that her system, if seen in its na-
kedness by Europe, would shock and disgust all Chris-
tendom, — hence she wears a mask ; and while talking

IKTEOPUOTIOK. XI

of peace, and justice, and moderatioo, is perpetrating
crime, and crushing the best feelings of man.

To effect this double purpose, her government is
extraordinarily well constituted : the Autocrat need
consult nothing but appearances ; he may Jcnout the
criminal to death in a public square — but he may also
immolate the patriot and the untried victim in dungeons,
where his groans will never be heard ; or send him to
dig, and toil, and die in the mines of Siberia, a thou-
sand leagues beyond the confines of civilization. All
that he does of good or praiseworthy, he may trumpet
in every capital of Christendom ; all he plans or
executes of evil, or crime, he may conceal, even from
the inmates of his palace walls.

With regard to the present policy of Russia towards
Poland, we will not refer to the thousand proofs of its
diabolic naturq ; we will barely cite what we know
from personal knowledge : The children of many of the
exiles are taken by force from tlieir mothers, and edu-
cated in Russian military schools, and in all the princi-
ples of slavish obedience to the Russian autocrat ; and
children, too, of mothers who have ample fortunes.^

Can it enter into the imagination of man, unaided
by a demon, to devise a more iniquitous scheme than
this ? Yes ! Russians can give a still deeper hue to a
deed so dark, and add hypocrisy to guilt, by talking of
the protection extended to the deserted infants of Po-
land ! Aye ! he protects them by tearing them

• Instances of this have not been rare : many have come to
oor knowledge ; among others, we know of the lady of a Major

XU INTRODUOTIOK.

shrieking from the arms of their distracted mothers,
and educates them in his own doctrines, and in the
ranks of his own army.

This measure, if extensively pursued, in co-opera-
tion with the transplantation system, may go far to root
up and destroy the nationality of Poland ; but it seems
to be one so cruel — ^so infernal in its nature, that it
would be almost an impeachment of Providence, to
suppose it could long be unpunished. The annals of
Christian nations may be searched in vain for an anal-
agously wicked measure ; and it is only to be likened
to the method employed by the Osmanlis, to break the
stubborn spirit of some of the Albanian Greeks ; they
caused the eldest son of every, family to be taken
and circumcised, and educated as a Mahometan, de-
claring him the heir of the family ; and, thus, in two
generations, all the influential men in the district
were Turks.

In fact, Russian policy presents many instances of
unprincipled tyranny, equalling the Turkish ; with this
difference, that Russia is obliged to keep up a good
appearance to the rest of Europe. And why should
it not be so ; are there not the same inducements, the
iBtne facilities for the abuse of despotic power at St.
Petersburg, as at Constantinople ? Is there not the

Tyszkiewicz, who, learning that her son was to be taken from
her, bribed a peasant woman to exchange children with her;
the Russian commissary took the child of the peasant and placed
it in the military school, while the child of the lady passed for
that of the peasant woman.

INTRODUCTION. xiu

same single will, the same irresponsible, illimitable
power, the same temptations, and the same passions ?

Did the dynasty of Romanoff spring from a stock
less barbarous than that of Othman ? and if the one
has had its Mahomets, has not the other had its Paul's ;
has the profession of Christianity made the Czars
more christianlike in action, than the Sultan; and
has not the one, and the other, so abused power,
that the conferring of it, and the submitting to It, is the
opprobium generis humanis ?

But we have insensibly wandered from our subject,
which was to give a sketch of the history of Poland
in the periods which are least generally known : we
find then, on the map of Europe, between the Baltic
and the Euxine, and between the Dwina and the
Oder, one Immense and almost uninterrupted plain,
a great part of which formerly composed the misnamed
Republic of Poland. We may take the Dwina on
the north-east, and the Carpathian mountains on the
south-west, for the natural boundaries. Here is a low,
flat, and fertile country, called from its evenness,
Pole^ which means a plain. The severity of the
climate gives to the inhabitants their hardihood ; its
want of the vine has been the probable cause of their
intemperate use of ardent spirits. They derive their
courage, and their enterprise from their race ; their
activity and their love of liberty from the political cir-
cumstances, in which their country has been placed
during many centuries.

The Poles, as a race, are above the middling size ;

B

XIV INTRODUOTIOK*

active and athletic, rather than robust ; they are of
light clear complexion, entirely different from the Ger-
man yellow or sandy color ; their carriage is remarkably
martial, and their looks frank and open. The women
are handsome ; and there is a dignity in their manners,
which distinguishes them from the females of the sur-
rounding countries. Both sexes in the higher ranks
have an air of command and self-possession, which,
with their urbanity, and their external accomplish-
ments, has gained them the tide of the French of the
North. The upper class in Poland is indeed highly
accomplished in every thing that is showy and grace-
ful ; and, though destitute of a solid or useful educa-
tion, they add brilliancy to every society in which they
appear. Many a polish gendeman, who has no idea
of the theory of an eclipse, can nevertheless converse
as easily and elegantly in French, German, and Rus-
sian, as in his native tonguei, and can express himself
with fluency and correctness in Latin.

The early history of the country is enveloped in
obscurity, and disguised by fable; and it is not until
the year 1000, that we find the power of Poland
known and respected by^ her neighbors. Boleslas the
Brave, uniting the heretofoce dissevered provinces into
one, began the career of conquest which his succes-
sors followed up, until Poland became one of the lead-
ing States of Europe. He was the great feudal head
of the country, ruling over powerful, but obedient vas-
sal chiefs, each of whom had his castle, and reigned
over his province. The castles of the nobility served

INTRODUOTIOK. XY

as places of defence for the common people in case
of invasion ; and indeed we find that, in many parts^
all the cattle were driven by the peasantry every night
into the castle of their chief. All the inhabitants
were obliged to bear arms, and all were at the beck
of their feudal lord. In the earlier ages, all those who
were rich enough to keep a horse, and purchase the
expensive armor of a cavalier, were called nobles ;
and the title descended to such of their posterity as
had art enough to impress the people with an idea of
their superiority.

There were, at this time, no other serfs or slaves in
Poland, than the prisoners taken in war ; nor did these
remain long in servitude } for as soon as they could
cultivate waste land enough for their own use, and
establish themselves upon it, they became free.

There was at this time a mutual dependence be-
tween the noble and the peasant. If the talents and
courage of their feudal lord, in leading them against
a common enemy, were necessary to the peasantry,
and if his castle walls gave them refuge in the hour
of danger, and his granaries fed them in the season
of famine ; on the other hand, he was as much de-
pendent on them, to fill his ranks and replenish his
coffers. The time had not arrived, when the nobles
became not only useless, but oppressive to the people.
The noble indeed reaped where he had not sown, and
his children ate the fading of the people's flock ; but
then, his lance was ever in the rest ; he ever claimed
the first place in the battle as at the board, and with

XVI INTRODUOnOK

his brave sons about him, he poured out his blood, and
their blood, like water, in defence of the firesides of
his people.

The nobles were called counts, or, in the language
of the country, casiellani; and they acted also as
judges in all causes, civil and crinninal ; the king re-
serving to himself the right of pardon, in fact calling
himself chief judge* The judges acted as mediators
whenever it was possible ; yet we find even in this
age, that they were sticklers for fees ; for when (as
often happened even in criminal afl^airs) the injured
party accepted a pecuniary satisfaction from the of-
fender or criminal, the judge claimed his fee, as though
the case had come before him. They decided not
by written laws or precepts ; indeed it is doubtful
whether they eould always read, for it is positively
asserted, that their sentences were not recorded.^

The king judged between the nobles, and between
them and the people. The latter often stopped him
when riding out^ and he always paid immediate atten-
tion to the case : he often punished with death and
by torture ; and always, it seems, in an arbitrary or
whimsical manner. ' Boleslas used to invite persons
whom he judged guilty of petty offences to come to
the bath with him ; and when they were stripped, he
ordered them to be lashed.

It was a law, that any land of which the possessor
died without heir, might be taken by the first comer ;
and this was a means used by the nobility for increas-

* Lelerel.

INTRODUOTIOK. XTll

iiig their own possessions ; for they would not allow
any one else to be first comer, always standing ready
themselves, and in latter ages putting aside any trouble-
some claimant in an unceremonious manner.

Christianity was early introduced into Poland, and
we find that, in the twelfth century, the prelates began
to share with the nobles in the appropriation of this
world's goods to themselves. Property had now be-
come fixed and hereditary ; and we find the law of
inheritance construed as liberally for their own benefit
by the nobility and the clergy, in Poland, as it was in
all the other parts of Europe. Great privileges were
attached to the property which they held in this right :
they were not only free from all imposts on contribu-
tions ; but were exempt from the duty of repairing
roads and castles. Besides this, the grandees or no-
bles soon claimed the privilege of acting as judges
between themselves and the people, and discarded all
other authority than their own within their possessions.

The natural inclination of man to get power, and
increase it when obtained, led to many abuses ; and
although we do not find the people, in this age, com-
pletely gleb€d adscriptif still, in many provinces, they
held their lands only at the pleasure of the nobles.

We have thus hastily adverted to the origin of the
power of the nobility, on account of the immense in-
fluence which it has ever since exercised in the politi-
cal afiairs of Poland, an influence which was destined
to prove the ruin of Poland in a future age.

There were then, as there are now, in Poland, two

XX INTRODUOTIOK.

what is now eastern Prussia, made an attempt to seize
upon all Lithuania ; but Jagellon opposed to their
forces an army of Poles, and took the more impor-
tant step of calling the two nations together in a gen-
eral Diet, in 1413; and there conceding to the boyars
or native nobility of Lithuania, all the rights and priv-
ileges of the Polish nobility. This wise measure armed
them, heart and hand, against the knights, who were
not only defeated in their attempts upon Lithuania,
but lost all Samogitia.

The keen vision of the first Jagellon saw that the
power, and the safety even of Poland and Lithuania,
depended on their firm union ; (a maxim which is as
true to day, as it was in the fifteenth century ;) and
he was exceedingly anxious to act by it. The steps
which he took for this purpose, as well as the impor-
tant bulwark of the people's rights, which he erected
in his famous law, neminem captivabimtis nisi jure vie-
turn J aui in crimine deprehensum ; render his memory
dear to Poland.

The civilization of Poland rapidly advanced during
the fifteenth century, keeping pace with her increase
in power and extent ; the latter had become so great,
that the Jagellons reigned over nearly twenty millions of
subjects. The Diets became more frequent ; and we
find now an organized senate composed of the higher
nobles, which constituted the council of the king, and
voithout whose consent he could not declare warj or
make peace.

Until this period, the Diets had been summoned in

IKTRODUOTIOK. XXI

the name, and by the will of the king; but now,
a new system was adopted ; every district sent two
deputies to attend the Diet ; they were not to vote as
their own opinions directed them, but were obliged to
be guided entirely by the instructions they had receiv-
ed from their constituents, the dietines.

They were obliged, too, to render an account of
their mission ; and these two conditions, as the histo-
rian Lelevel correctly observes, implied the assembling
of minor Diets ; one for giving the instructions, and
the other for the formation of a Diet, or committee of
correspondence, which watched the proceedings of the
great Diet, and received the report of their representa-
tives ; * L' omnipotence parlementaire fat aisi placie
dans la masse des citoyensJ*

It is true the mass of citizens here means, in effect,
the numerous nobility ; but calculating them as high as
200,000, it is a much more efficient representation
than France had but a few months ago with her
80,000 electors.

The sixteenth century saw Poland in all her pros-
perity and glory ; her territory immense in extent, her
commerce flourishing, and her influence felt all over
Europe. The Turks ceded to her the sovereignty of
Moldavia, and the commerce of the Black Sea, and
the Teutonic knights, then masters of Prussia,- did
homage to her for their possessions. But the seeds
of evil had taken root ; and the power of the nobility
had become so great, that King Augustus dying, 1592,
without an heir in the direct line, they seized the oppor-

XXU INTRODUOTIOK.

tunity of themselves electing a successor to the throne,
which had been hereditary in the family of the Jagel-
lons. A Diet of election was summoned at Warsaw;
and on the immense plain, beyond the city, was held an
imposing assembly, which no building could have con-
tained.

The field was filled with nobles on horseback, ac-
companied by their body-guards, armed cap-^-pie, and
prepared to argue with the tongue or the sword. There,
amid the trampling and neighing of thousands of horse,
the rattling of armor, and the clang of bugles, was
to be discussed the claims of each suitor for the throne.
A magnificent tent, erected in the centre, was occupied
by the Senate, attended by the ambassadors from
every potentate of Europe. The nobles formed an
immense circle around this centre ; and when the Sen-
ate had discussed the pretensions and claims of all the
candidates, and for the crown, each senator repaired
to the nobles of his province, and communicated the
names of the prominent candidates. Then one of the
bishops, going around the circle, collected the votes ;
the majority of which appeared in favor of Henry,
Duke of Anjou.

The nobles had improved this interregnum to the
utmost, and it was resolved that certain conditions,
forming the celebrated pacta conventa^ should be pre-
sented to every king on his election ; and to which he
should be obliged to swear. A permanent council was
given him ; he was obliged to summon the Diet at
least once in two years. He could not name his sue*

INTRODUOTIOK. Xxill

cessor ; he could not marry without the consent of his
council; he could neither declare war, nor treat with
foreign powers ; and his violation of any of these arti-
cles, it was declared that every Pole was released from
the obligation of his oath of allegiance.

The Diet of Poland was at this period perhaps the
most brilliant theatre of hardy eloquence to be found
in Europe : * This tribune of the north,' says a French
historian, ^ resounded with bold harangues, flashing
with fire, and sparkling with brilliant and noble
thoughts.' The diminished power of the misnamed
king is to be seen in every act of the Diet. On
one occasion, Sigismond, a wary but able prince,
so far lost his self-cbmmand as to try to silence oppo-
sition by crying ^ enough, enough ; I demand submis-
sion and obedience,' when up sprang a young noble,
and in a voice of thunder exclaimed, ' have you for-
^ gotten, then, what kind of men you command ?

* Know that we are Poles, — we are men who would
' be as proud of overthrowing a king who tramples on
' the laws, as we are to honor one who observes them.

* Beware ! lest by breaking your oath you cancel ours 1

* The king, your father, listened to our opinion ; and

* it will be our care so to act, that in future you may
^ conform to the will of a republic, of which you are

* only the first citizen.^

To add to the ills caused by the Diet, the members
deliberated, with their sabres by their sides ; and they
too often resorted to them when other arguments
failed.

IXVt tUTAODOOTtOK.

The extravagant thirst of the nobles for power was
never more fully shown than in the establishment of
the famous veto ; a gower by which any one member
of the Diet could arrest or annul all proceedings by
his single disapproval. It required, indeed, a b<dd
spunt, to stand forth alone amid that fiery host of arm-
ed nobles, and to throw one's self across their headlong
path ; for when nme tenths of the assembly were im*
patient for the passing of a measure, and found them-
selves suddenly thwarted by the obstinacy, or wicked-
ness, or patriotism of a single member; they were
strongly tempted, in their rage, to sweep him, and his
veto from their path. There always were, however,
in that country, men whose iron nerve flinched not from
the sabre's edge ; and it has happened, that such have
sealed their veto with their blood ; others, however,
prepared to escape the storm which they saw they
should raise, and we sometimes find that a nuncio, be-
fore uttering his veto, would first edge himself close
to the door, and gather up his pelisse, then crying
with a loud voice, * JVie pozwalamj* * I consent not^^
he would run for his life.

Meantime the power of Poland was great and res-
pected ; we find that the Ukraine was subjected to
her sway, and that she carried her triumphant arms to
the very heart of the Russian empire, and shook its
just expanding power with a force that nearly crushed
it. The arms of the republic had triumphed over
Sweden ; the Turks were crushed, and their horse-tails
driven back toward Asia ; when, to crown the glory of

IKTRODUOTIOK. XXV

Poland, the illustrious Zolkiewski with bis hardy fd-
lowers, marched boldly into the heart of Russia, took
the city of Moscow, and put ai^ end at once to the
campaign, and the civil wars Lq that <;ountry. The
Russians, of their own accord, chose the son of the
king of Poland for their Czar, and Zolkiewski coming
back in triumph, laid before the Diet an account of
his expedition, and presented to it his illustrious pris-
oner, the deposed Czar of the Russtas. Here was
one of those ' tides in the affairs of men, which, taken
at the flood,' may lead to immense consequences;
there was every apparent facility for uniting the Rus-
sian and the Polish nations under one strong and per-
manent government.

But a sterile glory was the only result of these bril-
liant successes ; the tree presented, indeed, a gorgeous
and rank vegetation, it spread out its vast branches
seemingly strong and vigorous, while all was hollow
and rotten at the core ; and we shall see it as rapidly
shrivelling up and decaying during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, as it had spread and grown in
the preceding one.

Lelevel correctly calls this period that of the
democracie nobiliiiare ; the kings were chosen by the
nobility from among the difierent rc^al families of
Europe ; a great number of candidates presented
themselves every time the throne became vacant, and
supported their claims by intrigue, by money, and
often by arms; and even when the poor puppet was
placed in his seat, his every action was liable to excite

c

XXTl INTRODUOTIOir.

a civil war. Thus we find that when Sigismond, in
1605, exercised resolution enough to marry the wo-
man of his choice, the sister of his first wife, an hun-
dred thousand nobles mounted their steeds, and drew
their swords and took to the field ; and sixty thousand
of them signed the convention at Sandomir, pledging
themselves to dethrone him«

This served as a precedent for those conventions of
the nobles which have so distracted Poland ever since ;
and of which, an English historian has well observed,
^ that they were conspiracies ; but instead of being

* conducted secretly, as in other countries, they were

* published from the conception of them.' This differ-
ence arises from the character of the Poles, and the
institutions of the country ; for when a noble supposed
the acts of the king to be prejudicial to the gen<^
eral good, or the good of his order, or to his own
interest, he went not about plotting treason, but he
mounted his horse, and summoned his vassals, and,
riding through the forest to the castles of his brother
nobles, he ascertained whether they were of his mind,
and if they were, then they openly and boldly drew
the sword, and called on all of their order to join
them. There was no internal police to-prevent this
movement ; no standing army cantoned in every town
and every village to check it, as is now the case in
the improved despotisms of Europe.

The condition of the peasantry had become such
as to make the nobles still more independent of the
crown ; these were not to be sure exactly slaves ; the

INTRODUCTION. XXfli

noble had no right to kill them, nor to sell them ; but
he could prevent their leaving his land, and could
convey them away like his cattle to any purchaser of
bis estates. The landlord could inflict common pun-
ishment, and the peasant could appeal for justice only
in extraordinary cases : they had the right, however, to
transmit their lands and goods to their children ; nor
could the tax paid to the noble, or the number of days
work lie was entitled to, ever be augmented.

The election of kings from foreign royal families,
paved the way for the complete ruin of the independ-
ence of Poland. Sometimes he was a man who knew
ootliing of the language or the manners of the people ;
and he was always used for supporting that fatal inter-
est, which foreign states began to claim the right to
take in the internal affairs of the country.

Auotiier and equally fatal influence was at work in
Poland, causing civil wars, and calling in foreign in-
fluence, viz. that of the Jesuits; to whose coun-
cils some of the monarchs were completely subser-
vient ; and who were continually embroiled by them
in war with some class of their subjects. Among these
was Jean Kasimir, the last of that dynasty of the
Jagellons, so dear to Poland, who sat upon her throne.
He was a valiant, patriotic, and virtuous prince ; but
bis religious bigotry caused him so many struggles
with his patriotic valor, that he resolved to resign a
crown which was to him one of thorns.

The following Diet, still aflfected by the parting
and the loss of the direct line of the Jagellons, or-

dained that in foture, no king should be allowed to oB^
dicate. They refused to put the Due d'^ Eugheim of
Franee on the tiekets for election ^ for even then,.
Poland was the scene of the intrigues of foreign pow-
'ers, and they were disgusted with the conduct of tbe
French party. They suddenly and unexpectedly
piftched upon Michael, a young noble of the Ukraine^
who had indeed the blood of the Jagelkxis in hh
veins, but whose possessions were so overrun by tbe
Cossacks, that he was living in poverty. Great must
have been his astonishment while contriving how, witb
his beggarly revenues, he could get attendants enough-
to follow him to the Diet, to find he was elected to
that throne, for which princes and nobles were b^tsefy
intriguing,, and lavishing millions of money.

At the death of Michael, the crown of Poland be-
came again,, as usual, the prize for which a crowd of
princes, and great or rich nobfes,^ rushed forward in
tbe race of inti-igue, corruption, and magnificent dis-
play ; but virtue had not yet gone out of the land,
tnd thai gallant sddier, the terror of the TuTks, the
buckler of Christianity, John Sobieski, was almost
unanimously elected king. He would not^ however,
put ofF his helmet long enough to be crowned ; but,
with his sceptre in one hand, and his sabre in tbe
other, he led on his gallant Poles against the Mussul-
men, who were then almost in the heart of Europe.
The world knows how he saved Vienna, and rolled
back tbe flood of barbarian invasion that might have

IKTRODUOTION. XXIX

quenched the light of Christianity ; it knows too, how
Austria has repaid her debt of gratitude to Poland.

The origin of the late revolutionary movements
must of course be sought in that extraordinary trans-
action, — on many accounts perhaps the most remark-
able in the whole course of modern history, — the par*
tition of Poland.

It was towards the middle of the last century that
a knowledge of the real causes of the troubles, which
bad a^v long distracted the kingdom, began to be dif-
fused among men of education, and that many patriots
set themselves seriously about the work of regenera-
tion. They attempted to break the power of the two
hundred thousand nobles, who constituted the govern-
ment ; to divide this power between the nobles, the
king, and the pedple ; to abolish the fatal Kierum veto ;
and to put an end to confederations, and the pacta
conventa. But they were too late : Russia, Austria
and Prussia had already marked Poland for their prey,
and resolved to prevent any remedy being applied to
the evils, which were rapidly bringing her within their
grasp. A lawless and violent interference had already
taken place; for when the Diet, in 1733, had elected
the virtuous and unfortunate Leszczynski to the throne,
Russia declared that he should not remain upon it.
He had married the daughter of Louis XV. of France ;
and Russia feared the introduction of French influence
in Poland. The usual intrigues were set on foot ; a
few unprincipled nobles and venal bishops were invited
to confederate, to protest against the election of Lesz-

c*

JLX% INTRODtrCTIOir.

czynski, to proclaim Augustus IIL> a Saiton Prince,
and to call m the Russka army to support them.
They did so ; and the Russians, who were standing
tip-toe on the frontier, swept over the country, foreed
Leszczynski to fly,^ and established Augustus.

The next election was managed in the same way ^
but stern and devoted patriots were found at the Diet,
who, hoping that the ill-omened veto might for once at
least be useful to their country, boldly threw thera-^
selves forward,, and, by their disapproval, rendoMd null
the proposals. The Marshal, or Speaker of the Diet,
dissolved it by his own authority. But the veto seem-
ed a spirit hanging over Poland for evil only, and not
for good : the Russian party disregarded it ; they caused
a commission i& be formed of the factious nobles ^
and, calling it the government; they caused several
dreadful blows, to be given to the itite rests of Poland;
the elector orrBi^ndenbarg was recognized as king of
Prussia, and the Czar of Moscow as emperor of all
the Russias.

But the more darkly the clouds lowered over Po-
land, the more numerous and energetic dfd her true
patriots appear. It was resolved to place a real Pole-
upon the throne j and at the next election they chose
Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski for their kfng. It is
true that he was sustained both by Russia and Prussia,
and that he had been one of the favorites of the Em-
press Catherine ; but it was hoped that bis patriotism
would revive. It did so, indeed, for a time ; that
weak-radnded prince seemed to set himself seriously to

INTRODUCTIOK. xxxi

work to prop the falliog fortunes of Poland. He pro-
posed and effected a reform of the liberum veto, ap-
plying it only to certain political questions ; a system
of duties was established for goods imported, there
having been none exacted I^efore but by individual
nobles on the frontier ; a corps of cadets was formed
at Warsaw, and many other useful steps were taken,
before Russia was startled by the defection of her
protege. At the opening of the Diet of 1766, the
bpng proposed to abolish the liberum veto entirely ;
and to increase the revenues, and consequently the
power of the throne. But Russia was there ; and
ber ambassador bad the audacity to declare, that his
mistress never would consent to such measures* By
the influence of Czartoryski and some others of the
high nobility, the confederation of the Diet was dis-
solved ; consequently the liberum veto came into force,
and with it came anarchy. The confederation of the
Diet has been misunderstood, and generally confound-
ed with non-official confederations, which were entirely
different. When the Diet was summoned for the pur-
pose of any public exigency, it could confederate itself
by unanimous consent; and when so confederated^
the power of the veto was lost, and all questions were
decided by a majority of voices.

There was then no hope for the patriots but in open
resistance ; the king had begged pardon of Russia
for his momentary patriotism ; they abandoned iiim,
and formed the celebrated confederation of Bar^ so
named, because it w«» at the village of Bar that many

XXXll INTRODUOTION.

of the most illustrious aod most devoted patriots of
Poland leagued together, and swore to redeem their
country before she had become entirely a prey to her
rapacious neighbors. It was necessary for the confed-
erates to make some appeal, which would come home
to the hearts of the lower classes ; and it was that of
the restoration of their ancient religion, and the exclu-
sion of protestant influence in the Government : hence
this confederation has been stigmatized as an associa-
tion of bigots, animated only by religious fury. Never
was a calumny more completely refuted by the result ;
tlie patriots in every part of Poland answered enthu-
siastically to the call of the confederates of Bar, and
a desperate struggle ensued with the armies of Rus-
sia, which marched into Poland, and acted with
Poniatowski and his few troops. The confederation
was supported by Turkey, who marched upon Russia
on one side ; and by France, whose cabinet, under
the guidance of the able Choiseul, saw the necessity
pf checking the power of Russia. Thus encouraged
from without, and supported by the enthusiasm of the
people, success seemed crowning the confederates.
They declared the throne vacant, and were beating
back the Russians, step by step, when Turkey was
forced to a peace ; the Choiseul ministry fell into dis-
grace in France ; several of the leading chiefs of the
confederation died or were slain ; and the Austrian
army on one side, and the Prussian on the other, en-
tered the territories of Poland. There was now but
one resource left for the confederates ; by a bold stroke

IKTRQDirOTION. XXXIU

they seized upon the person of the king, and attempt-
ed to induce him to head the national partj ; but he
basely deserted them in the night, and fled to the Rus-
sians. These deyoted men, after protesting solemnly
against this invasion of their soil by foreign nations,
were obliged to disperse; and the invading powers
proceeded to the first partition of Poland.

Then it was that the miserable Poniatowski saw the
abyss into which he had plunged his country, and ral-
lied courage enough to issue bis solemn protest against
the partition.

He was obliged, however, by the ministers of the
three powers to convoke a Diet ; * that memorable

viee and virtue, between patriotism and treason.' Then
there went up to Warsaw, from the provinces of Po-
land, nobles who forgot all their own interests, all their
own passfons^ resolved to sacrifice every thing on the
altar of patriotism. Many a young man, as he mount-
ed his horse and sallied out, surrounded by his chosen
followers, from those turreted walls where his ancestors
had held feudal sway for ages, heard the blessing of
his father, mingled with words like those of the aged
Korsak to his^son : ^ Adieu, my brave boy,' said he,
'I send with you to Warsaw my oldest and most faith-
ful servants, and I pray God they may bring you back
a corpse, rather than come with the news that you
have not iinthstood with all your might whatever may
be proposed, that is disadvantageous to your country.'*

* Tableau de la Pologne, p. 107.

XXXiv IKTRO0UOTION.

And bravely and obstinately did Korsak, and Za-
remba, and Tymoski, and many others, struggle for
the liberties of Poland ; but what could they do against
intrigue, and treason, and brute force ? No one can
have forgotten how their legal resistance was overcome
by violence ; how armed soldiers were placed in the
hall of deliberation ; how Reyten, the Cato of Poland,
in defiance of danger, and in a state of exhaustion,
continued to occupy his post, and to protest from the
tribune ; or how, to get rid of him, the Diet was held
without the hall ; and how he lay thirty-six hours in a
state of insensibility, ere he was removed from the
place on which he had fallen, and where he had so
long struggled for the indepehdenci* of hlo. oo uuu/ .
His 'firmness was such, that a Prussian general who
was present could not but grasp his hand, and cry with
enthusiasm, optime vir, gratidor Hbi : optime rem tuam
egisti.

Such was the enthusiastic patriotism of Reyten, that
his heart was broken, and his brain was turned, when
he found that all his efforts were useless ; he went rav-
ing mad, and seizing in his frenzy a drinking glass, be
crushed it with his teeth, swallowed the fragments, and
died with the name of Poland on his lips.

After such a violent struggle, what remained of Po-
land sunk into the quiet of exhaustion for some time ;
but this quiet was political and jihysical, not moral ;
for we find that an immense advance was made in the
education of the people, and in the dissemination of
rational ideas of liberty. Each Diet enacted wise

INTROOUOTION. XXXV

and prudent laws, conformable to the spirit of the age ;
and in 1791 was issued that excellent constitution,
which seemed to guaranty to Poland, shorn as she was
of territory, a long, peaceable, and happy political ex-
istence, as a . second rate power. The liberum veto
and the confederacies were abolished ; the middling
class were admitted to a participation of power, and
measures were taken for the education of the peas-
antry. The throne was made hereditary in the house
of Saxony ; and a tenth of the revenues was voted to
the government, with an authorization to augment the
army to one hundred thousand men. Complete reli-
gious toleration was proclaimed ; the peasantry were
freed from the odious condition which bound tliem to
the land which they cuhivated ; the burgesses or mid-
dling class, were permitted to buy the lands of tbe
nobility, and every foreigner entering Poland was de-
clared to be a freeman. In fine, it was a constitution
of which Burke said, ' it benefits all classes and injures
none ; ' and of which Kant added, * nisi scirem opus
humanum esse^ divinum crederim.^

Political circumstances prevented any union of Rus-
sia and Prussia at that moment ; and indeed the latter
charged her ambassador to congratulate Poland on her
happy and wise revolution, which had given her such
an excellent constitution.

Let it be observed that this revolution was entirely
in favor of monarchical institutions, and destructive of
the democratic power. How false, then, how absurd the
hypocrisy of the three governments, which asserted

XXXVi INTRODUOTIOK.

that their interference in the affairs of Poland was
necessary, to prevent the propagation of French Jaco-
binical principles ! The manner of the adoption of
this constitution spoke volumes for Poland; for the
Diet, having voted it first by acclamation, again recon-
sidered and approved it, and then submitted it to the
electoral bodies, in every part of Poland, by which it
was every where accepted with enthusiasm.

But the three powerful nations who surrounded her
had already planned a second partition ; and measures
were already taken by them to put it into execution.

There has been but one voice among -men on the
subject of the partition of Poland ; — it has been that of
Ipud, and decided condemnation ; but their opinions
respecting the cause have becsn various ; and although
the generally received one, that territorial acquisition
was the principal motive, has much apparent reason,
there were doubtless other powerful ones in action.
We would fain not think so meanly of human nature,
as to suppose that Maria Theresa, hypocrite as she
was, could have been actuated merely by cupidity, or
that this motive alone should have induced the king of
Prussia to violate the treaties on which his signature
was hardly yet dry, and break the word of honor
which had just escaped his lips ; nor was it the inter-
est of Russia, to risk the unity of her empire and the
homogeneity of her people, for the mere acquisition of
acres, of which she had millions on millions to spare.
It is apparent, in fact, from the correspondence of
Catherine, that her eagle eye saw into futurity ; and

iKTRODUOTIOir.. ZXXfU

that she wished to put far ojS* the evil day, which she
felt must come to institutions like hers. She saw that
Poland was so rapidly idaproving in her political insti-
tutions, that they would very soon present a dangerous
contrast with those of Russia ; and that the increasing
civilization and liberality of Poland must make her the
friend and ally of France, in case of war. Catherine
saw too, the spread of constitutional principles in the
South, and she resolved, if possible, to league the
North against it. Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and
perhaps England, were to form a coalition, of which
Russia was to be the real head, against the liberties of
the South and West of Europe.

There is every reason to suppose, that Prussia and
Austria at times sincerely disapproved of the plan of the
partition, which Catherine conceived, and so steadily
persevered in. They had and have, an instinctive dread
of the preponderance of Russia; and as often as theyi
have been parties to measures that increased it, it has
been from some momentary urgency, or some extraor-
dinary temptation : and even as lately as the Congress
of Vienna, this feeling acted strongly in favor of Poland.
The allied powers would never have signed the treaty
which Russia held out to them, had not the news of the
landing of Napoleon from Elba, come like a thunderbolt
among them, and made them hastily gather up their
parchments, to handle their swords.

The second partition of Poland, in 1 793, was effect-
ed by the same fraud and force as the first ; the much
talked of confederation at Targowice, of Polish nobles^

XXXViii IKTRODUOTIOK.

was a mere pretence to cover the entry of the Russian
troops ; and their efforts, being seconded by Stanis-
laus, were soon successful. The Russians, acting ap-
parently under the directions of the Targowician no-
bles, preceded to call a Diet at Grodno, composed as
much as possible of men without courage or principle ;
they there proposed the partition, but were unable, even
by introducing armed soldiers into the hall, to keep
down the indignant protestations of many of the mem-
bers.

These, however, were of little avail; the partition
was made. Prussia took Dantzic and Thorn ; Russia
seized upon half of Volhynia and Lithuania; and the
act was published, with a solemn guaranty to Poland
of the inviolability of the rest of her territory. The
mask was now torn off. Poland saw, in all their de-
formity, her spoilers who had come in the name of al-
lies, and, with a general cry of indignation, she flew to
arms. The result of that struggle is known.

But though the name of the kingdom was erased
from the map of Europe, the features of the country
were not changed ; the inhabitants continued to be, and
to feel that they were Poles, and every revolving year
has but added to the desire of national emancipation,
and consequently to the weight of oppression which has
kept it down. If we except a part of the Prussian spoil,
no other change has been effected in Poland, than in
the form of the political institutions, and the persons who
administer them ; and we have seen that discontent and
revolt have been continually attesting the presence and

IKTRODUOTION. XXZiz

pressure of that nationality, which makes a people pre-
fer independence with less physical well-being, to pros-
perity under a foreign yoke. Poland has never con-
sented to her political annihilation. On the contrary,
her solemn protestations, her bloody struggles, and her
renewed revolts at every glimmer of hope, have freed
her from any possibility of the charge of falsehood or
treachery, should she at any time rise upon her oppres-
sors with the dagger of the midnight conspirator.

From the last partition of Poland, until the recent fall
of Warsaw, her history is one loud protest against the
wrongs done to her ; and the violent measures taken to
ensure the tame endurance of the yoke were as ineffec-
tual, as the one now in operation to ensure the future
tranquillity of the country. After the fall of Kosciuszko
and the blight of Poland'* hopes, there went forth from
her soil, thousands and tens of thousands of her patriotic
sons: seme were dragged io Siberia; some were shut
up in the fortresses of Prussia and Austria, while others
went voluntary exiles tp France, to Sweden, and to Tur-
key. But while the cities of Poland were kept quiet by
the cannon with its ever-lighted match, and the villages
were the bivouacs of the cavalry and infantry from
Russia, Austria, and Prussia, the exiled children of
Poland forgot not their country, but eagerly enlisted in
the service of France, and fought in freedom's foremost
rank, hoping to extend her sway to their own benighted
land. The Polish legions under Dombrowski, amount-
ing to several thousand men, covered themselves with
glory; and, by a singular turn of fortune, these homeless

Xl IKTEODUCTXOV.

wanderers entered in triumph tlie walls of imperial
Rome, once the mistress of the world, — then the head
quarters of a victorious band of exiled patriots.

Dombrowski concluded an arrangement, bj which
he agreed to give the service of his fellow-soldiers to
the new Italian republic. They were to receive the
pay and privileges of the Italians ; they continued to
wear their own costume, to command in their own Ian*
guage, and assumed the tri-colored cockade.

The ultimate object of the Polish patriots was to keep
np the spirits of their countrymen, and to have an arm-
ed representation of Poland, as there was a difdoma*
tic one at Paris, semi-officially recognized by the
French government. When Dombrowski and his fel-
low-exiles had made this arrangement, he issu^ fxroc*
lamations, and sent them to Poland, calling on his
countrymen to rally round the banner of freedom, the
only banner under which they could hope to do aught
for Poland. It was a magnificent thought, — an heroic
undertaking, worthy of the great mind of Dombrow-
ski, — that of eventually freeing his own country, by es-
tablishing freedom all over £urope ; and fully did his
countrymen appreciate his motives, and nobly did they
answer his call ; for within a month after he had issued
his proclamation, nearly two thousand of them joined
his banner.

'It was then that thousands of patriots abandoned at
^ his call their families, and their firesides ; the rich for-
' got their riches, the young their pleasures ; and the
' women, forgetful of their dependence, exhorted their

INTEODUOTIOK. xll

^ brothers, their husbands, and their sons to take up
^arms for their country. In defiance of the confisca-

* tion of their goods, braving even the risk of death

* upon the scafibld, the Poles were seen thronging every
^ road that led to Italy, to join the banner of their na-

* tion. The traveller met them every where, from the
'Borysthenes to the Appenines, pennyless indeed, and

* ignorant of the language of the country they were

* traversing, yet hastening on, full of enthusiasm, where

* the cause of their country called them.' ' Those who

* had been forcibly enrolled in the Austrian army aban-
< doned their ranks and joined Dombrowski, who soon
^ found himself in sufficient force to attempt to penetrate
^through Lusatia and Hungary into Poland, and there

* display the old banner of independence.' — Tableau dt
laPologne^voL IL p. 144.

This bold plan of Dombrowski was as well grounded
as it was hardily conceived. Gallicia was, is, and long
will be ready to rise upon the Austrians, the moment
any -rational prospect is held out of the recovery of her
ancient liberties. Hungary, ever discontented, — ever
influenced by undefined, yet instinctive longings for in-
dependence,-^would have favored his march, and prob-
ably have done more to assist him, as she did Poland
in her last struggle, by the hearty cooperation of many
of her sons. The state of Europe seemed to favor the
idea. France was ready to march toward Poland ;
Napoleon and the Directory encouraged the plan, and
it was ripe for execution, when the treaty of Leoben,
establishing the peace, rendered it impracticable. Na-

Xlii XNTftODVOTXOir.

poIeoD, doubtless favorable in his heart to Poland, cmrid
only say to Dombrowski, in answer to his prayers for
his country, that * the wishes of every friend of liberty
and the rights of man must be in favor of the brave
Poles 5 but it was only time and the progress of events,
that could re-establish them in .their independence.' An
opinion given with his usual sagacity and foresight, and
which is as true now, as when he pronounced it.

The Polish legions in Italy were however still in the
front of every battle, and exposed to every hardship ;
in the dreadful fight at Trebbia, where less than four
thousand of tbem were engaged, one thousand were
killed on die field, and a proportional number wounded.
The dying lamentation of the brave Greneral Rymkie-
wicz, as he lay on the field, weltering in his gore,

* Why — oh ! why was it not my lot to pour oat my
blood on the bosom of my mother country ? ' was doubt-
less the prayer of many an exiled soldier of Poland, as
be breathed his last on the soil of the stranger, and i^
the stranger's cause,

' At this period the soldier of Poland braved death
^ with the more eagerness, the more fury, that he bad
' before him the two sworn enemies of his country ; that
' he fought against the same Survaroff, and the same

* Russians, who had stained their hands with the horri-
' ble carnage of Praga. To avenge on their murderers
' the death of their brethren, and to crush th^ united

* troops of the tyrants of their country, were the great
' objects of the Polish legions.' *

* Histoire des Legions Polonaises dn.IUlie.

INTB&D'VOTXON. xlui

But these corps of exiled patriots were almost entirely
annihilated little by little; other legions were formed ,
called those of the Danube, and it was intended that
they should have penetrated into Poland ; but this was
always prevented by some political arrangement be-
tween France and her enemies, in which Poland was
never remembered.

These legions, too, suffered very severely; but Po-
land had wanderers enough to supply the places of
such as perished, and we find that, on Napoleon's call-
ing them together in 1801, they mustered fifteen thou-
sand strong. The conduct of the Polish legions in the
French service forms an affecting episode in the his-
tory of Poland. If they watered in vain with their
blood every battle-field of Europe, and in vain left
their bones to bleach on the shores of Italy, Spain,
and St. Domingo, at least they added one more to the
thousand proofs of the devoted patriotism and strongly
marked nationality, which distinguish their country-
men. For they were not all necessarily exiles ; Prus-
sia, at least, used every means, to induce the Poles to
remain content upon her soil; and provided only they
would cease to be Poles, and act as Germans, they
were protected and encouraged. But their attachment
to the independence of their country made them neg-
lect every personal consideration ; and on this feel-
ing, still existing in the mind of almost every Pole, is
founded the hope that they will recover the rank and
the rights of their nttioo.

rTbe re^a^pearance of Poland upon the political

Zlif INTRODUOfXOK.

arena in 1807, and the rapid improvement that was
perceptible in her moral and intellectual condition, as
seen in her political institutions, were proofs enough,
if any were wanting, of the continuance of her ruh
tionality : but there were still more important indica-
tions manifested. It soon appeared that Gallicia had
lost none of her attachment to the cause of Poland,
and that its inhabitants still regarded her as their moth-
er country; and also that Lithuania cherished the
same feeling, and wished only for an opportunity of
combining with her against the common enemy. Po-
land fell, indeed, with the fall of Napoleon ; but it
was not without hesitation and misgivings on the part
of the Allies, that they renounced the opportunity of
raising a barrier against Russia, by recalling Poland to
political life. England and Austria were strenuous
opposers of the plans of Russia, and would have re-
sisted them. Had Napoleon allowed them time, they
might have succeeded.

The Congress of Vienna proclaimed the kingdom
of Poland, and guarantied to it many valuable privi-
leges; and while acting under the wholesome influence
of fear, the Allies promised to her, as the)r did to
Germany, the enjoyment of a constitutional govern-
ment with equal representation, of the liberty of the
press, and of education. Nor is there any doubt, that
the Allies sincerely intended to do what they promis-
ed ; or that the solemn assurances which Alexander
gave to the Poles, of his intentions in favor of their
country, were -made in good faith; because, io both

INTKODUOTIOK. xlf

cases, the parties making the promises saw no proba-
bility of their ever being able to break them. ^ Have
confidence in t/te/ said Alexander, ' in my principhi^
in my characterj and your hopes tuiU not be deceived ;
you vnll see how dear to me are the interests of Po-
land ; as to forms, the most liberal are those which I
have always preferred / ' But the Congress of Carls-
bad retracted the promises, and violated the pledges
given, at Vienna ; and it is from that epoch, that the
reign of despotism began in Poland, and that every
chartered right was trampled down. We shall not
allude, however, to the numerous acts by which Rus-*
sia violated her solemn promises to Poland, and there*
by freed the Poles from their obligations to keep the
peace. Let him who has any doubts on the subject,
examine the state of the kingdom of Poland, even
before the death of Alexander ; let him compare the
spirit of his promises made in 1815, with the decree
of the I4th September, 1824, in which he condemned
to perpetual banishment all those who attempted to
spread the doctrine of ' Finsensee nationalite Polonaise
dam Us provinces de la Pologne Russe ! '

Poland had so long been the sport of fortune, the
blossom of her hopes had so often been ripened into
fruit full of ashes and bitterness, that the arrangement
of 1815, by which liberty and nationality were sol-
emnly guarantied to four millions of her people, was
pleasing to every patriot. The venerable Kosciuszko,
who was then living in Paris, wrote to Alexander, that
if these conditions should be fulfilled, ^ he would come

xWi INTRODUOTIOK.

among the first to throw himself at his majesty's feet^
to thank him, and render him homage as his sovereign/
This was then the general feeling ; but so lawless bad
been the despotic sway of the Russians, especially
since 1825, that it was changed to one of indignation,
and stern resolve to throw off the yoke at all hazards.

There was in Poland one wide-spreading, deep-seat-
ed detestation of Russian sway, arising principally from
its abuses, and not from any hatred to the Russians as a
nation; this feeling enters not the minds of the Poles,
descended as they are from the same race, and par-
taking, as they do, more of the habits and customs of
Russia, than of the rest of Europe ;* nor did it arise
from commercial or agricultural distress, or from finan-
cial impositions.

It cannot be denied, that during the Russian admin-
istration in Poland, many important improvements were
effected ; nor that the physical, commercial, and agricul-
tural state of the country was prosperous. But the Poles
had higher motives than mere pecuniary advantages ;
they saw that the national character, the national exist-
ence of their country, were to be obliterated ; and that
patriotism, which animates even their rude serfs, bade
them prefer to live poor, rather than not live Poles. We

* In their late manifesto or declaration of independence, the Poles
said, ' We have been influenced by no hatred against Russia, whose
race and our own have a common origin. There was a time when
we consoled ourselves for the loss of our independence in the reflec-
tion, that though an union under the same sceptre might be injuri-
ous to our particular interest, it would be the means of extending to
a population of forty millions, the enjoyment of free institutions.

INTRODUCTION. zlvH

rejpeat it, the great incentive to the late struggle, the in-
centive which still exists, and must continue to exist, was
the determination of the people to preserve their national
existence, and not the immediate pressure of physical or
political distress : a principle which may clearly be seea
operating in every movement of Poland for the last forty
years ; a principle, on which she founds her hopes of fu-
ture independence.

We shall now hastily glance at the leading character-
istics of the late struggle. They prove, not so much the
talents of Polish generals, or the courage of Polish sol-
diers, for these have passed into a proverb ; as the extent
to which the people of Poland have preserved those
feelings which constituted nation, de facto^ whether it
be independent, or in bondage. The leading points to
whicli we propose to invite the reader's attention, are
briefly these :-^

1 . The revolt, though sudden, had been foreseen by
the Poles as inevitable ; and though it burst forth before
it was fully matured, more than four millions, who were
burning with impatience for its appearance, hailed it with
rapture ; and nearly ten millions would have been roused
to action, had it eventually triumphed.

2. The cause was lost by the credulity and political
inability of the chiefs, and by the dishonorable and un-
justifiable interference of foreign powers, rather than
crushed by the battalions of Russia.

3. Jliere is still a hope left for Poland, — there is
yet a probability^ that she may one day hold a high and
respectMe rank among the nations of the earth.

3dviii IVTEOPUOTIOV.

1. That the reyolt was foreseen, and that prepara-
tions had been making for it during several years, is
evident from the internal politics of Poland ; from the
open secession of every man of patriotism from the
Russian party; from the courageous efforts to maintain
the constitution ; and from the formation of patriotic so-
cieties, with the avowed purpose of restoring the inde*
pendence of Poland. The words of the illustrious
Dorabrowski, when near his end, appear to have caus-
ed the first associations. The veteran had conceived
some hopes from the fair promises of Alexander ; but
he had buried them, and was mourning over their loss
in 1818, when he said to the war-worn veterans who
composed his household, ' Is it not possible to kindle a
flame from the hidden fire which burns in the bosom of
every patriot? Can we not arouse our countrymen to
a sense that, to become independent and powerful as
their ancestors, they have only to be confident in them-
selves, to unite and to assert their independence?' The
society of franc-mafonnerie nalionale^ and the Societc
des Faucheurs were formed immediately afterwards,
and had extensive ramifications ; still more had been
done by the Societe patriotique nationale^ the object
of which was to defend the liberty and nationality of
Poland, and to reunite in one body those portions of
it which are divided among foreign governments.

In 1821, we find the Russians actively engaged in
putting down the secret societies ; and in 1825, notwith-
standing the denial of Polish writers, it is evident that
the patriotic associations were affiliated with the con*

INTRODUCTION. xlix

spirators in Russia ; and that, from Petersburgh to War-
saw, there was a secret chord which, if struck at one
end, would vibrate to the other. That conspiracy, so
extensive in its ramifications, and numbering, as it did,
so nfany officers of the Russian army among its mem-
bers, shows how precarious must be at this day the seat
of a despot, whose dominions are accessible to the light
of reason ; for, at the very fountain-head of absolute
power, and among the satellites of despotism, was form-
ed an extensive plan for its overthrow, and the estab-
lishment of a republic.

The secret patriotic society not only extended its
influence through the kingdom of Poland and Lithua-
nia, but had numerous members in Volhynia, Podolia,
and even in the Ukraine ;— old provinces of Poland,
which were supposed to have lost all attachment to
her. The oath of initiation ran thus : —

^ I swear, before my God and my country, and I

< pledge my sacred honor, that I will exert all my
^ powers for the re-establishment of my beloved native

* land ; and that, if necessary, I will sacrifice for her
( independence, my fortune and my life. Reckless of
'personal consequences, I will spare not the blood
' either of a traitor, or of any one who shall be in action

< against the good of my country. If I violate these
' engagements, may the death of a dog and a traitor be
' my lot ! may my name pass accursed, from mouth

* to mouth, till the latest posterity, and may my body
^ be abandoned to the beasts of the forest ! — I call on
' God to witness my sincerity, and strengthen rriy reso-

£

1 IHTRODUOTIOH.

' lutions. Illustrious shades of Zolkiewski, Czarniecki,
' Poniatowski, and Kosciuszko, inspire me with your

* sentiments, and watch over my actions ! '

Such was the oath of the patriots of Poland, who
were obliged to meet at midnight^ and to skulk thi6ugh
the streets to the place of rendezvous, disguised as
peasants, or Jews, or laborers, in order to escape the
argus eyes of the Russian police ;* whose oath of office
may here be placed side by side with the one just
quoted. It ran thus: —

' I swear by the Almighty, in Trinity one and indi*

* visible, by the holy Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord
' and Saviour Jesus Qhrist, before all the saints, and
^ particularly my patron saint, that I will fulfil this pub-
^ lie service with all zeal, and in the strict observance
^ of all the articles of instruction which shall be read or
^ committed to me. I swear that I will at the same
^ time observe the most profound secresy about that
^ which shall be confided or commanded by the royal
' authority; that I will reveal nothing of it to my rela«-
^ tions, nor to other individuals of the police, nor to
^ the heads of the police.

^ In case I should be removed from the police, or
^ from my present section, I swear never to reveal to
^ any one that which shall have been confided to me
' by my chiefs, or my government ; and above ally I
' swear never to disclose to any one that this oath eocists,

* nor that I have taken oneJ

Lithuania, too, had her patriptic societies, formed
with the express view of throwing off the Russian

INTRODUOTIOK. li

yoke. That of the RayonnanSf planned by the heroic
Zan, and that of the Philareies^ both formed at Wilna,
had an immense effect in spreading the flame of patriot-
ism through Russian Poland ; from all the provinces
of which, the young nobles and sons of .Polish gentle-
men resorted to the then flourishing university ; where
some of the professors' chairs, in spite of Russian influ-
ence, were filled by such men as Joachim Lelewel,
^ the idol of the Lithuanians, and one of those who
have most adorned science and imagination by a happy
application of them in their writings, and their eloquent
lectures.'

Let it be recollected, that these associations or con-
spiracies were formed before the death of Alexander,
on whose natural goodness of heart, and decided par-
tiality for individual Poles, many patriots fondly count-
ed ; that the accession of Nicholas, and the atrocious
administration of Constantino, shut out every hope of
the regeneration of Poland by any means but the edge
of the sword; that thousands and tens of thousands of
Poles had imbibed the most liberal sentiments during
their sojourn in France and Italy ; and that a vast
diflusion of knowledge had taken place all over the
country, giving a good tendency to the never-failing
patriotism of the nation. In fine, let it be recollected,
that Nicholas was driven by fear to grant the assem-
bling of the Diet in 1830 ; that the utmost efforts of
the Russians were unable to prevent the election of
many known patriots, and that, though the Emperor
came to Warsaw in person to open the assembly, he

Hi INTRODUCTION.

could not awe the opposition, or prevent it from pre-
paring the impeachment of the ministers, for numerous
violations of the charter. So liberal and so national a
Diet was too dangerous to be tolerated, and it was
closed on the 28th of June. Then, at three hours
after midnight, and after a stormy debate, the Diet-
ines dispersed, but not until there had been many
fiery bursts of patriotic feeling.

Just one month after this, the inhabitants of Paris
struck that glorious blow, which rang like a death-knell
in the ear of tyrants, and which sounded the reveille of
freedom to enthralled Europe. Poland caught the
sound, as it came swelling with the battle cry of Bel-
gium and Brunswick, and shook her chains with aa
impatience which made her friends and enemtcrs alike
tremble ; the first for her hopes, the second for their
own safety. From that moment, the explosion became
inevitable ; and cool-headed patriots endeavored only
to put it off as long as possible, that greater prepara-
tions might be made to render it general. A universal
uneasiness and agitation pervaded the country, which
the secret societies, and the most hot-headed of the
youth could not conceal from the agents of the police,
who swarmed to such a degree in Warsaw, and over
the country, that no man was sure even of his own
domestics. Strong measures were taken to keep the
students of the University and the military schools
from communicating with the citizens, but in vain.
Secret meetings were held, and several periods were
fixed on for ringing the alarum } but they were alter-

IVTRODUOTIOK. liu

ed, for various reasons, uDtil it was definitively decided,
on the 28tb of November, 1830, that a rising sliould
take place the next day. It did so. The conspira-
tors set fire to some houses in the evening, and rushed
into the streets, crying * To arms ! to arms ! Poland
is up ! God, for our country ! ' A band of fifteen
daring youths dashed headlong over every obstacle,
and burst into the palace of Constantine. The ordi-
nary guard was sixty men; but the conspirators count-
ed not the cost ; they threw down every man they
met, penetrated to the sleeping chamber of the Grand
Duke, and almost grasped his night clothes, as he fled
by a secret stairway.

It was a dreadfully interesting and a spirit-stirring
night, that of the 29th of November, at Warsaw. The
blaze of the burning buildings showed the conspira-
tors, the students, and the cadets, running up and down
the streets, shouting ^ To arms ! to arms ! hurrah for
old Poland ! down with the tyrants ! ' The most zeal-
ous of the inhabitants poured out of their houses, to
fall upon and disarm the surprised Russians. By the
dawn of day, they were driven from post to post, and
beaten almosit out of the city. In the words of Mr.
Hordynski, — ^who relates with accuracy the commence-
ment of ttie revolt,—' crowds flocked in from all sides
to the public places. It was a scene never equalled.
The whole papulation assembled without distinction of
age, rank, or sex. Old men, who were past the use
of swords, brandished their sticks and crutches, and
recalled the days of Kosciuszko. C^rgymen, civil

liv INTRODUCTIOK.

officers, foreigners, Jews, and even women and chil-
dren, armed with pistols, mingled in the ranks.'

It is important, for the establishment of our first
point, to show the unanimous acclamation with which
the signahfor revolt was hailed by the population, not
only the four millions of the kingdom of Poland, but
that of the old provinces. Major Hordynski, — whose
work is excellent rather as memoirs for the history of
the campaign, than as a history in itself, — says, that
in three days after the Russians were driven firom
Warsaw,

^ A regiment of chasseurs arrived from Plock ; at
' the same time arrived Col. Sierawski from Serock,

* with his regiment. They were received with great
^ enthusiasm. New detachments from the provinces

* marched into Warsaw every day. A truly affecting
' sight it was, to see more than a thousand peasants,
^ and about fifty peasant girls, marching into the city
^ with clubs, scythes and weapons of every descrip-

* tion.*

Constantine stood trembling on the opposite bank of
the Vistula ; he had with him a highly disciplined
force of 5000 foot, 2500 artillery, and twenty-four
pieces of cannon. Warsaw was all confusion ; a few
bombs or hot shot might have set it in a blaze, yet so
universal was the rising around, and behind him, that
he was happy to accept the magnanimous offer of the
Poles^ to let him retire unmolested to the frontier.

' The fourth, fifth and sixth days of December were
< remarkable days in the history of our revolutioo.

IMTRODUOTloy. Iv

* Soldiers and peasants flocked in from all sides, from
< all quarters of the country. In a short time, more
' than five thousand peasants, armed with scythes,
^ axes, and other weapons, were counted. Among
' them were more than two hundred peasant girls with

* sickles.'*

In the distant provinces of Russian Poland, the
inhabitants felt the warmest enthusiasm in favor of their
brethren in the kingdom of Poland, which was dis-
played by tumults and revolts.

' The insurrection in Lithuania and Samogitia was
' propagated with rapidity through all the departments.
' What deserves especially to be noticed is, that in
' Lithuania it was the peasants and the priests, togeth-

* er with the youth of the academies, who first began

* the revolt, and who were the most zealous defenders
*' of the common cause. From that moment the flames

* spread to the departments of Wilna, Wilkomierz,

* Rosseyny and Szawla. In a few^ weeks, more than

* twelve towns were taken by storm, and the Russian
' garrisons driven out and dispersed.'

When we consider this rapid difiusion of the revolt
in the old Polish provinces, and the unhesitating zeal
with which thousands left their homes, and their in-
terests, and came pouring in from Russian, Prussian,
and Austrian Poland, we cannot but conclude that the
labors of the patriotic societies had gone far to prepare
the whole people for a revolution.

2. Poland wcls lost, rather by the credulity and f<H

* Hordjnaki, p. 54.

Ivi IVTEOBUOTION.

Utical inabiUty of her chiefs^ and by the diehonarabh
and unjustifiabk interference of Prtissia and ^ustriOf
than crushed by the battalions of Rxissia.

The appearances of discord between the two great
parties in Poland were manifested within forty-eight
hours after the Russians were driven from Warsaw ;
the aristocracy and the republicans of the country
exhibited their opposing interests almost immediately*

The aristocracy was represented by men of un-
doubted patriotism, but who were sticklers for the
honors, the privileges,, and what they called the rights
of their order ; men, whose age and whose secure
possession of rank and riches made them unwilling to
incur any risks. The republicans, whose representa-
tive was the Patriotic Society, were young and fiery,
but sincerely patriotic ; many were loose members of
society, without much to risk ; and those who had
titles and estates were eager to stake them add their
own blood upon one desperate throw for the liberty
of their country. Improbable as it would appear from
the character ^of the parties, the measures proposed
by the latter, the clubbists^ as they were called, were
the only ones which could have saved Poland.

The first great error was the appointment of Chlo-
picki to the Dictatorship. Although he was as brave
as his sword, and devoted to Poland, he had declared
from the first that he did not believe in the possible
success of the revolt ; and this should have kept him
from the place. ^ Bon GSneraly excellent soldat^
Chhpicki 6tait fait le moins du monde pour une dic"

INTRODUOTION. Ivil

tature. 11 ne comprenait ni la politiqiUy ni la diplo^
matie ; il n^entendait rien non plus d une revolution
socials; aussij au lieu de marcher avec la nation^
d^entrer dans le mouvement^ il se jetta dans la resis'
tance comme si la moderation pouvait servir avec des
barbares ! Cette dictature^ dont il s'etait empari par
suite d'une coterie aristocratique^ perdait la Pologne
d son dehut.^* Chlopicki was appointed General in
Chief on the first of December ; four days before
the Provisional Government created him Dictator.
His first measures were marked by the spirit of the
party he represented. His first great error, that of
believing in the possibility of compromising honorably
for Poland with the Emperor, led him into the second,
that of allowing Constantine and his troops to retire,
when it was at his option to have captured them.

It is indisputable, that Constantino was entirely in
the power of the Poles. Chlopicki should have de-
tained him as a prisoner and hostage ; and not, in the
vain hope of softening Russia by a display of gener-
ous magnanimity, have lost the immense advantage to
Poland, of having a brother of the Czar, and several
thousand of his troops, within the walls of Warsaw.

The same belief in the possibility of negotiating,
without terrifying Russia, caused Chlopicki to issue
his almost traitorous order, that whoever should cross
the frontier of the kingdom^ and attempt to raise the
old provinces, should be punished with death! He
might indeed have issued such an order^as it respected

* Fayot, Tol. III. p. 128.

Ix INTRODUCTION.

he shrunk indeed from the responsibility of the Dicta*

torship, but he bared his bosom to the bayonets of the

enemy, and fought in the ranks, to prove his devotion
to his country.

Mr. Hordynski observes, with great correctness^ —

^ The Dictatorship had exercised a most unpropi-

* tious influence upon our affairs. Every movement

* had been retarded, and the most invaiudble time lost.

* Instead of the offensive^ the defensive was necessarily
^ taken. We waited for the enemy on our own soil,
< and exposed that to his insults and his outrages.
^ Even on this point, the patriots called on the gov-

* ernment to take the offensive, but it was too late.

* It was soon seen that Chlopicki, by assuming a duty
^ to which he was unequal, gave the first blow to the
^ rising fortunes of his country. Two months passed

* away, the inevitable moment of the conflict arrived,

* and the nation was obliged to march to the fight tvith

* half the force which, under an energetie administro'

* tion, it would have vnelded,^

The Polish army amounted to nearly 50,000 men,
exceedingly well organized and provided ; that of
Diebitsch exceeded 200,000, all told ; and, as Mr.
Hordynski remarks, —

' If the very thought of commencing a war with

* such disproportionate means, against such an over-

* whelming force, should seem to the reader little bet-
'ter than madness, he will appreciate the energy and

* courage with which it was supported, when he learns,
*that in twenty days, from the 10th of February to

XNTRODUOTIOlf. Ixi

* the 2d of March, more than thirteen sanguinary bat-
^ ties were fought with the enemy, besides twice that
^ number of skirmishes, in which, as we shall see,

* the enemy was uniformly defeated, and a full third
^ part of his ibrce annihilated.'

The influence of the higher aristocracy bad been
exercised in the choice of the successor to Chlopicki
in the command of the army, which fell upon Prince
Radzivil, — a man whose patriotism and whose weak-
ness, whose courage and whose incapacity, were alike
notorious, and alike undisputed. He himself protest-
ed that he felt himself incompetent to the task, and
never mounted his horse without Chlopicki by his side.
The rapid and brilliant victories gained by the Poles
^ were not the result of any general system ; they
were victories of detail, executed with energy and
rapidity, and for which we were indebted to the gen-
erals of divisions and brigades, and the colonels of
regiments.' *

The dreadful batde of Grokow, which was fought
within sight of Warsaw, and where 40,000 Poles
withstood and defeated the whole Russian army of
more than 150,000 men, was gained, as the Poles
say, ' no one knew how,' — ^and yet, it was gained.
Nearly 1 5,000 Russians lay weltering on that plain,
which has since borne the name of the ' forest of the
dead ;' several thousand prisoners were taken by the
Poles, and the astounded Diebitsch was obliged to

Isii INTRODUCTION.

draw off his forces in confusion to the forest of Mi-
losna. That was one of those critical moments, when
fortune's flood may be turned by a straw ; and if Po-
land had had a man of talent at her head, at this pe-
riod of her rising fortunes, the star of Russia might
have paled before her. Military men are agreed in
the opinion, that Radzivil should have followed up his
advantages ; even. Chlopicki would probably have told
him to do so ; but he had been severely wounded,
and carried senseless from the field, and the com-
mander in chief dared not to think for himself.
^ Nothing was wanting, but a skilful commander, to
ensure the entire destruction of the Russian army.'

The 25th of February was a day, when, on the plains
of Grokow, as on a sort of theatre, there was a brilliant
representation of Polish courage and Polish devotion ;
but the next day presented a more touching spectacle
of religious gratitude, of female devotion, and manly
virtue. The city of Warsaw was one wide temple,
whose walls could not contain the cries of thanksgiving
and praise, which went up to the throne of God ; where
the soldier, who the day before had heard unflinching
the arrows of death whistling by his ears, now sunk
down upon his knees in prayer ; where the females tore
their robes to bind the wounds of their defenders, and
the chiefs of the Government and the officers of the
army, assembled to deliberate, displayed the most sub-
lime disinterestedness and devotion. Radzivil came
forward, and insisted upon giving up the command, to
which he found his abilities entirely inadequate. A

IMTRODUOTIOK. IxiU

council was held upon the course to be pursued in the
military movements; and then it was that John Skrzy-
necki, who but three months before was serving as a
colonel, proposed a plan of campaign, which he illus-
trated with suth force and perspicuity, as to convince
the council that he possessed great military abilities.
As he had covered himself with glory in many actions,
and gained the love of the army, he was instantly
chosen commander in chief of all the forces.

The promotion of so young an officer to this high
post was not, however, without some political view.
The aristocracy^ in a moment of enthusiasm, yieli}od
to the party of the mouvement; but they renewed their
efforts, and tried to gain the new commander. In the
bosom of one. man, the shame of being superseded,'
and envy of another's elevation, rankled till it changed
him to a fiend : ICrukowiecki, the second in command
to Chlopicki, from that moment meditated the treason
which he afterwards committed*

Had Skrzynecki been allowed to follow the im-
pulse of his own heart, it would have been better for
Poland, but he was soon entangled in the meshes of
party. His first fault was an attempt to open a nego-
tiation with Diebitsch, for settling the afi[airs of Poland
without further efiusion of blood; for both the Russians
and the Poles construed it into a sign of fear. Die-
bitsch haughtily repelled his advances; and Skrzynecki,
hastily drawing his sword, thus addressed his army : —

* Soldiers ! prepare yourselves for the fight ! there
< remains now no other resource but to conquer, or die

htit INTKODUOTXOir.

« honorably for our country. Soldiers! it may be that

< we shall Gonquer,-*it may be that we shall die ; but

* if the decree has gone forth on high, that the Poles
'must perishi dien the enemy of humanity, trampling
^ over our graves, will advance to the heart of Europe,
' the phantom of despotism will wither, with his gorgon

< look, all civilization, and mock at those governments

< and at those people, who are now so indifferent to our

* cause, and sit vegetating behind us in selfish inaction^'

A French writer forcibly remarks, —

^ Tant que Skrzynecki restera fideie k cet engage*
^ment il sera glorieux et vainqueur, mais des qu^
^ voudra negocier ou se laisser diriger par la diplomatie
^ du centre de PEkiropey cl^s quMl ne poursuivra pktt
' sur tous les points Pennemi, il cessera d'etre rbMnnKl

< essentiel aux Polonais, il ouvrira la porte a Tintrigue
' et ^ la trahison, et la Potogne tombera.'

Let those who cry out upon the folly and madness
of the Polish revolt, only look at the change which took
place between the time of Skrzynecki 's election, and
the defeat of the Russians at Igani on the 9th of April,
and they will cease their clamor^ They will find that
again and again had Poland crossed swords with Rus-
sia, and come off conqueror;, the divisions of General
Rosen had been broken up, that of Oeismar defeated,
and Diebitsch himself, with the main army, had been
obliged to fall back rapidly from before Warsaw, baf-
fled in his attempts on that city, and seriously alarmed
for his own safety. The provinces were all in com-
motion ; there was a burst of indignant reproof heard

INTRODUCTION. IxV

even in the centre of Russia, and the old Ukraine re-
sounded with the cry, * To arras ! to arms ! '

But Skrzynecki neglected to take advantage of these
circumstances : a good soldieri but nothing more than
a soldier, he only thought of organizing his forces so
as to meet the Russians in the field ; while his true pol-
icy would have been to avoid general engagements,
to organize the revolt in the provinces and through all
old Poland, by calling in the serfs, and the bourgeoisicy
to a participation of all the privileges of citizens. He
attempted, indeed, to retrieve his error when it was too
late, by dispatching Chlapowski with a body of men to
aid the Lithuanians, and he effected his object by a
master stroke of military tactics ; the rest of the expe-
dition, however, was miserably managed, and in conse-
quence entirely failed. Gielgud and Chlapowski re-
treated across the Prussian frontier, and laid down
their arms ; while the hardy Dembinski, by a retreat
which deserves to be ranked with that of the ten thou-
sand^ reached Warsaw in safety. But all the courage
and all the successes of the Polish army were rendered
unavailing by the timidity or the inability of the gov-
ernment, composed, as we have seen, of members of
the old aristocracy. We would fain hope that the de-
]a3's, the half measures, and the want of vigorous ac-
tion on the part of Skrzynecki, arose from the tram-
mels of party, and not alone from his fatal hope of the
intercession of foreign powers to arrange the affairs of
Poland.

Be that as it may, some or all of these causes were

Ixvi IKTRODUOTIOK.

acting most deleteriously on the interests of the coun-
try. Paskewitch, assuming the command, immedi-
ately began to act on the offensive : he advanced
towards Warsaw, at the moment when the news of
the failure of the Lithuanian expedition had spread
gloom over that city. There were load cries of dis-
content at the indecision and weakness of govern-
ment ; the character of Skrzynecki was assailed, and
men began to see that the country was in peril from
the faults of its head ; when, to crown all, a plot was
discovered for the delivery of the city to the Russians,
in which several men of note Were engaged. Then
was apparent the culpable neglect of government in
allowing the Russian prisoners, and other dangerous
persons, such liberty to corrupt the disafiected Poles.
Krukowiecki, the Judas who had been plotting to be-
tray his country, ever since he was superseded by
Skryznecki, now renewed all his intrigues, and excited
the mob to deeds of violence. They seized upon the
persons accused of treason, and in their fury hung
them in the streets : they furiously demanded a change
in the government, and in the person of the command-
er in chief; and they obtained it. Krukowiecki, who
was on the spot, who had his agents at every corner,
and who had somehow obtained the character of being
a man of stern resolution, and of daring courage, and,
though without great knowledge or judgment, of Ro-
man virtue, was appointed to fill the post of General-
issimo. He instantly look measures to deliver War-
saw to the advancing Russians. He sent the main

IHTftODUOTIO'N. IzWi

body of tbe troops to the right bank of the Vistala.
When Paskewitch was thundering at the gates of the
devoted city, defended so gallantly by the National
6uard alone, Krukowiecfci made every effinrt to induce
the Diet to demand an amnesty ; but that body, which
sat deliberating amid bursting bombs, and burning
houses, repelled his proposals with indignation ; nor
could the wild roar of war silence the voices of the
now suspicious deputies, who cried * Rather will we die
here in our places, than stain the honor of our coun-
try.' At midnight the traitor was deposed, a new gov-
ernor of the city was named, and new vigcnr given to
the fainting defenders of the walls.

^ Avant minuit le nouveau gouverneur entra en
* fonctions ; un combat sanglant, dignement soutenu
'par la valeur seule des Pc^nais, durait encore.
' L'ombre de Pimmortd general Sowinski planait sur
'les trente mille Moscovites tombes devant Varsovie.'

But Warsaw fell, and the government and the most
distinguished of the citizens retired with the main
body of the army under the new generalissimo Rybin-
ski. Instead, however, of instantly concentrating the
army, and presenting, as might have been done, a
force of 50,000 men, it was kept ih three divisions ;
each of which, after offering a vain resistance to the
masses of Russians which followed them, were obliged
to cross the frontiers into the Prussian or Austrian
dominions, and lay down their arms. It ought to be
remarked that the first corps was prevented from join-
ing the main body, by a reliance on a solemn pledge,

IXTlli INTRODUOTIOV.

given by Paskeuoitch at the capitulatiany thai they
should be permitted to do so; and that Romarino,
who commanded the second division, refused to obey
the order of the commander in chief for a junction.

So much for the incapacity, the indecision, and the
treason which marked the conduct of the chiefs during
the late struggle. We have now to allude to the
policy of the cabinets of Prussia, Austria, and France ;
and we shall see, that while their conduct explains
much of the otherr/ise apparent folly and weakness of
the Polish government, and especially of the conduct
of Skrzynecki, it had an immense influence in procur-
ing the fall of Poland.

Prussia, we know, endeavored by every possible
means to prevent any supplies, even of provisions,
from reaching the Poles through her territories ; she
imprisoned all those foreigners or others, whom she
could seize on their journey towards Poland ; and yet
the Russian armies drew directly from Prussia those
supplies, without which they would have been reduc-
ed to great distress. The world knows the critical
situation to which the army of Diebitsch was reduced,
a few weeks before his death. Military men, suppos-
ing that Prussia would be neutral, pronounced his
retreat to be inevitable. Diebitsch was not the man
to lie still, and Major Hordynski, among others,
remarks, —

' If then the Russian army undertook nothing, it
^ was in consequence of their critical situation. We
* can in fact assume, that it was their intention to evac-

' uate the country ; for, to have obtained supplies by
^ their own means was almost impracticable. When

* therefore this army remained there, it was only be-
^ cause it was fed by Prussia, who did not scruple
' openly to aid them in their perilous position, by send-
< ing enormous transports by the roads of Neyden-
^ burg and Mlawa. It was these transports which
^ saved the Russian army from the utmost extremity.

* I leave to the reader then to judge, whether it was
^ with one enemy alone that the Poles had to contend.'

Many instances occurred, in which bodies of Rus-
sian troops were forced by the Poles across the fron-
tier of Prussia. These were allowed to return with
their arms ; while the Poles, in similar cases, were
always kept prisoners. Austria was guilty of a more
fAitragt;uiiio «u>t In thft capture of the army of Dwer-
nicki, * the cannon provider.' He was resisting the
attack of a superior Russian force, with one of his
wings resting on the Austrian frontier : the Russians,
in order to outflank him, crossed the line of neutral
ground. Dwernicki, with a half backward wheel,
drew his wing fiirther into the interior, and the fight-
ing continued there, when the Austrian forces marched
up to preserve the neutrality of their territory. Dwer-
nicki was obliged to surrender his army to the Aus-
trians as prisoners, while the BMssians were allowed to
withdraw !

We shall content ourselves with citing these two
from among the numerous' acts in violation of neutral-
ity, by the neighbormg powers ; and shall now allude

IXX IMTRODUOTION.

to what it is more difficult to support by tangible evi-
dence, viz. the manner in which Poland was cajoled
by the different cabinets of Europe. The policy of
Prussia and Austria was openly and avowedly hostile
to the cause of Poland, while that of France and
England tended indirectly, but as certainly^ to ruin it.
There are undeniable proofs before the world, that
the French cabinet persuaded the Polish Government
to check the energy of its people ; and pledged their
national honor that, in case it were done, an interven-
tion should save Poland from Russia. Louis Phil-
ippe, from his royal throne, and as the august organ
of the French people, assured the chamber of Depu-
ties, ' that the independence of. Poland should be se-
cured ; ' la nationalite de la Pologne ne perira pas !
and the Deputies shouted back aii..enihiifti&fitio assent,
and a hearty Amen.

The President of the National Government, the
venerable Prince Czartoryski, than whom a more
honorable and honest man lives not on earth, says in
his correspondence with Lafayette, —

^ But we relied on the magnanimity and wisdom of
' the cabinets : trusting to them, we have not availed

* ourselves of all the resources which were at our co»-

* mand, both exterior and interior. To secure the

* approbation of the cabinets, to deserve their coofi-
' dence, and to obtain their support, we never depart*
^ ed from the strictest moderation ; by which modera-
^ tion we paralyzed many o^ the efforts, which might
'have saved us in these latter days. But for the

IKTRODUOTIo'if. \xxi

* promises of the cabinets^ we should have been able to

* strike a blow^ which perhaps would have been de-

* cisive.^

Did our limits allow it, we could cite many facts of
similar tendency to the above, all going to prove that
from the very outset of the struggle, the Polish Pro^
visional Government was induced to restrain the ardor
of the people^ and to prevent the revolt of the old
Provinces^ merely by the hope of conciliating the other
cabinets^ and of obtaining the fulfilment of the prom-
^ises they had made to secure the independence of Po'
land, France incurred the ihost signal disgrace and
obloquy, on account of the violation of her pledges ;
yet she was not acting merely from her own impulse,
and we believe that when the diplomacy of the day
shall be given over to history, it will be seen that Eng-
land prevented France from interfering in favor of
Poland. But we trust we have said enough to prove
our second statement, viz. that in the last struggle^
Poland was lost by the credulity , the misconduct^ and
the political inability of her chiefs^ and by the dis-
honorable and criminal interference of foreign poioers^
rather than crushed by the battalions of Russia.

3. There is still a hope left for Poland : there is yet
a probability, that she may hold a high and respect^
able rank among the nations of the earth.

We are aware that this may sound strangely in the
ears of those, who consider only the status quo^ but
when we reflect on the eternal and immutable law of
nature, — ^bythe effect of which men of the same

Ixxii IXTKODUOTXOX.

descent, the same language, the same religion and
customs, living in one neighborhood, must have a coa-
tinual tendency to unite, in spite of the artificial and
temporary distinctions which may have ranged them
in different classes ; — ^whcn we consider that this great
tendency is continually surging, and swelling, and
beating against the partition walb which divide Europe,
-*-we cannot but prophesy that it must finally sweep
them away; and when we try to penetrate futurity,
and divine the state of Europe after the coming strug-
gle, between the two great principles which now agitate
it shall be finished, in the only way in which it can beT
finished, we cannot but hope for Poland a full share in
the benefits of the change. The time is rapidly ap->
preaching, when the treaty of Vienna shall be of no
more politicar weight than a papyrus from Pompeii;
and it is to the great struggle which shall rend that and
all other compacts of the kings against the people^
that Poland is to look for the only chance of her
regeneration.

It is alike important and difficult to ascertain to what
extent Poland really exists at this day, and how large
a population may be said to be truly Polish. It is
not, as the Poles themselves tell us, the same as when
Zolkiewski thundered at the gates of Moscow ; the
twenty millions, which Poland then possessed, have
been much diminished ; but not down to the four
millions who formed the Russian Province, misnamed
jtbe kingdom of Poland.

Part of Prussian Polapd is irrecoverably lost ; for it

iVTftODUOTioN. Ixxiii

has become Oermanised; its feelings and sympathies
with the common mother-land have been supplanted
by other ties. The same is true of a small part of
what Austria seized upon ; — and although scarcely
any of the inhabitants of Russian Poland have become
Russianised, yet, from certain local circumstances,
they no longer consider the cause of Poland as pecu-
liarly interesting to them. Still there remain from
ten to twelve millions of inhabitants, who affectionately
regard Poland as ' their own, their native land.'

The late struggle, which is - still so fresh in our
memories, sufficiently proves the feelings of the four
millions of Poles who engaged in it. The revolts in
the old provinces attest their impatience of Russian
bondage ; but Russia holds, besides these, eight mil-
lions of Polish subjects, not all of whom can be count-
ed upon as interested in the question. Lithuania
proper is undoubtedly so ; and we shall find the feeling
of patriotism growing fainter as the degree of civiliza-
tion decreases. In old Samogitia, the nobles or gen-
tlemen are patriotic to a high degree, but the people
are so deeply plunged in ignorance and superstition,
as to be deaf to the calls of country ; and the same
is the case in the Ukraine. We have seen with what
enthusiasm the Lithuanians received the news of the
revolution at Warsaw, and how, in spite of the unac-
countable conduct of the Polish Government, it spread
through the whole province. —

^ That heroic people commenced the revolution
' without any ammunition, or any arms but their

o

Ixxir IMTRODUOTXOV.

^ implements of husbaDdry. Provided, in most casesi
' with clubs alone, they abandoned all, to unite in our
' aid, and fought with courage and success for nearly
' two months against the different Russian corps, be-
' fore the corps of Gielgud and Chlapowski arrived.
' These, instead of succoring them, by the misconduct
' of their generals, sacrificed the Lithuanians as well
'as themselves, and gave tlie first downward impulse
' to our cause.'

Lithuania then, in spite of the oppression of the
Russians, and their inhuman attempts to trample down
all patriotism, may be still counted on securely as
Polish, and as ready to form with Poland one people.

As to the Prussian provinces, we have observed
that they are mostly lost to Poland, unless 4n the case
of the dissolution of the Prussian power. Prussia
has managed her share of Poland much better than
the other two spoilers : she has done much toward
amalgamating the people with her own: she hasnear^
ly accomplished that, against which Jean Jacques
Rousseau cautioned- the Poles, when he said, ^ If you
cannot prevent your enemies from swallowing you, at
least do not allow them to digest you J Prussia has near-
ly digested her portion, while the enormous one gorged
by Russia has given her many an hour of nightmare, un-
easiness, and torment. There still exists, however, in
some parts of Prussian Poland, and particularly in the
Grand Duchy of Posen, an enthusiastic attachment
to old Poland, which displayed itself during the last
war, by the great contributions raised, and the efiectual

INTRODUOTIOM luCV

succor sent across the frontier, ia men, horses, and am-
munition. Poland may count upon part of the country
bordering on the Baltic, and may there obtain what
will be necessary for her as an independent nation, a free
communication with the ocean.*

'The better to e&ct her project o( ^Germanising

* Poland,' says a Polish writer, * Prussia made use of
^ one infernal method ; taking advantage of the distress

* caused by the war of partition, the government offer-
'ed to loan money to the nobles at usurious interest:
< the latter, being lavish in expenses, accepted the offer,

* and the government thus had the means of getting
' possession of their lands, and rendering them home^

* less.'

* So completely hare the political relationfl of Poland changed,
that to talk of a Polish fleet would seem as strange, as to hear of a
troop of cavalry in Venice > nevertheless, at one time the mer-
chants of Poland traded in their own ships with Holland, and
England, and Spain. There was also a naval force kept up by the
government, which was so active in the war with Swedes, that
we find Elizabeth of England writing in great wrath to llie king
of Poland, to complain of her merchant vessels, which were in the
service of Sweden, being captured by the admiral Szerpink.
Dantzig was the principal naval dep6t ; the situation of which
place, at the mouth of the Vistula, renders it a most important port
for Prussia : but it would be doubly valuable to a nation like Po-
land, postessing the immense and fertile valley of that river, which
can rQll down whole forests of timber, and countless cargoes of
grain. Poland is now completely cut off from the sea; but in the
event of a regeneration, she must extend her frontier to it, and we
may see in Dantzig or Memel important arsenals, whence the
white eagle of Poland shaU stretch his flight over the Baltic, and
the ocean.

IZXTI INTR0DU0TI09.

Of the four millions of subjects which Austria counts
in her Gallician territories, nearly two millions are
Poles, who preserve, to a great degree, all their na-
tional feelings, and are ardent lovers of their old and
common country.

It is rather remarkable that Austria, who was the
least criminal of the three partitioning powers, and who
seemed forced by the other two to partake of the spoil,
should have been the one to exercise the greatest op-
pression upon the country which fell to her share.
While Prussia endeavored to incorporate her part with
the rest of her territory by the ties of common interest, —
and Russia for a time tried ta improve the wealth and
prosperity of hers, in order to render it more valuable
to herself, — Austria pursued an opposite policy. She
destroyed the University of Cracow, and thb superior
schools through the country : she drained Gallicia of
her men and her produce, and impoverished the coun-
try by her outrageous exactions. ' Ainsi la noblesse de
cette province, une des plus riches de la Pologne, n'a-
t-elle pu encore se relever de la liiis^re ou I'ont plong^e
les exactions du gouvernement.' Her Polish posses-
sions have been, and are a constant subject of uneasi-
ness to Austria : she was glad to consent to their being
annexed to Poland proper, which arrangement made a
secret article of her treaty with Napoleon before he
set off for Moscow ; and she was to have had an offset
in Illyria. During the last struggle, Gallicia was kept
quiet only by the greatest efibrts on the part of Austria ;
but all her efforts availed not to prevent the young and
daring from crossing the frontier. Those who could

IHTRODUOTION. IXTfU

not go themselves, sent aid in money, and whole regi-
ments were equipped and supported by the Poles of
Austria.

A most interesting document, which has lately ap-
peared in Gallicia, will show us the state of feeling
there, at the same time that it sets forth the kind of
treatment the Poles are at this moment receiving from
Russia. Austria allows a sort of provincial government
to Gallicia, which is administered by a body called the
Deputation of the States of Gallicia, but which is so
limited in power, that it is but a mockery to call it a
representation of the people. However, it has lately
been so far aroused by the cruelties of the Russians to
their brethren since the last revolution, that it address-
ed a remonstrance to the emperor of Austria, in which
it says, —

'You have deigned. Sire, to afford an asylum to those

of our countrymen^ who sought refuge in this Prov-

, ince : you have felt pity for their sufierings : your in-

^ tercession with the Emperor of Russia in their behalf,

'obtained for them a full amnesty.

' Promises of peace and forgiveness were sent unto
'them. Proclaimed by your commissioners, these

* promises were believed by the unfortunate refugees.

* But scarcely had they begun to regain their devas-
' tated homes, and to collect their scattered families, —
' a special deputation had scarcely carried to St. Peters-
' burgh thanks extorted by terror, when an ukase, dated
'on the first of May, was suddenly issued, compelling
'all those who were pardoned, to enter the Russian

o*

IxXViii IMTRODUOTION.

military service, if tbe name of service can be given
to an exile worse than death. Hidden during fifteen
years in the steppes of Asia, confounded in Siberia
in the ranks of a barbarous soldiery, — separated from
all that can attach them to life, — exposed to the most
humiliating punishments, — these unhappy men will
never again see their country, nor even Europe. Tbe
groans of our expiring brethren will be lost among the
rocks of Caucasus, and in the deserts of Tartary, —
groans of despair, at witnessing your Majesty's
humane intentions, and generous wishes^ so cruelly
disappointed.

' But it is not enough, that, under pretext of crime,
there has been torn from some, more than death itself
could rob them of; that they are deprived of their
names, and numbered as cattle ; that their heads are
shaved, and that they are chained to long iron bars,
in order to be conducted to the pestiferous mines of
Siberia, or to the icy regions of Kamtschatka. It is not
enough, that, in contempt of the amnesty granted, —
in contempt of the solemn promises given to the
Poles, that they should never be carried beyond the
frontiers of Europe, — they wore shamefully trans-
ported in whole masses into Asia, under pretext of
Russian military service. It is not enough, that a
complete annihilation awaits the whole of the present
race : an implacable spirit of vengeance, exercised
even against the youngest of the rising generation,
aims at its total extermination. Infants, requiring all
the tender pare of their mothers, are, under a pre*

INTRODVOTION. IXXIZ

' tended solicitude, torn from their arms, and carried
' away far to the North, there to be brought up in a
' new language, and under a foreign religion and for-

* eign customs. Human nature recoils at these de-
^ tails, which have been proved by incontestible evi-

* dence. Mothers, too, driven to desperation by the atro-
' cities they have witnessed, have been seen to plunge
'poniards into the bosoms of their own children.'

Were space left us, we might show that Volhynia
and Podolia partake largely with Lithuania and
Gallicia in their patriotic attachment to Old Poland.
We shall content ourselves with quoting the words of
a generous Volhynian, who writes thus: —

' L'insurrection de la Volhynie, de la Podolie, et de
I'Ukraine, sera peu celebre dans les annales de la
strategic ; mais elle sera certainement consacree dans
Phistoire de I'humanite. Des obstacles nombreux et
presque insurmontables semblai^nt devoir s'opposer k
cette revolution. Cependant malgr6 un esclavage de
tant d'annees; malgre les tentatives faites pour exci-
ter les laboreurs k separer leur cause de celle des
proprietaires ; malgre la precaution qu'on avait prise
d'enlever aux citoyens leurs armes, il fut impossible
de comprimer I'elan de I'indignation genereuse, de
I'amour d'affranchissement, qui embrasait rapidement
les coeurs Polonaises. A la nouvelle que I'aigle blanc
venait de reprendre son vol sur la Vistule, la jeunesse
s'empressa de rompre ses etudes, les laboreurs d'aban-
donner leurs travaux; tous les habitans saisirent le

IXZX IHTftODVOnOH.

* glaive, lequel, serre jasqu'alors, attendait Pheure de
^ la vengeance et de la liberty.'

Who, that reflects on the warmth of this feeling,
and on the sacrifices wliich it has induced Poles in all
- ages tomake, can believe that they would hesitate a
moment about making common cause against their
spoilers, were there a rational hope of success ; and
who that knows Europe can deny, that there is every
appearance of a general breaking up of the present
system ? If this be so*, we have proved our third posi-
tion, that there is yet a hope left far Poland; there is
yet a probahility, that she may erne day hold a high
and respectable rank among the nations qfthe^arth.

Long and tedious as we fear we have made this ar-
ticle, we cannot close it without touching on the un-
happy state of those Poles who were chriven fW>m their
country, on account of their participation in the late
struggle. We allude not to those who languish in
Russian dungeons, — ^nor to those who aoe driven in
hordes, with shaven heads and fettered arms, towards
the mines of Siberia ; — for it makes the heart sick to'
think that our fellow-men can be guilty of such atroci-
ties, and that their victims are far beyond human aid,
or even the reach of human sympathy ; — but we al-
lude to those of Poland's bravest and best, who are
living, unhappy and persecuted exiles, m the different
countries of Christian Europe.

We have stated, that after the fall of Warsaw, most
of the distinguished patriots of Poland followed the
army to the frontier, and went into voluntary exile.

IKTRODUOTIOM. IrXXl

They dispersed themselves in Prussia, Austria, and
the German States ; and more than five thousand of
them wandered as far as France. They are now
mourning there over the loss of their country, their
homes, their wives, and their children ; and though
they have the sympathy of the French people, they
are most shamefully persecuted hy the government.
Their situation has become so irksome, — France has
so far demeaned herself in order to please the Holy
Allies, as to alarm the exiles for their future situation,
and make them think seriously of leaving Europe for-
ever. Their Committee, who may be considered as
the representatives of Poland, have addressed them-
selves to the President of the United States, to know
how far our government would favor their removal to
this country, en masse; and no notice having been
taken of the application, they have lately addressed
the inhabitants of the country at large, demanding
whether there is a corner in our wide land, where
the broken soldier and the worn-out patriot may toil
in peace for their daily bread. We blush for our
country to say, that not only no notice has been taken
of these appeals to our humanity, but that they have
not been generally republished in the newspapers.
This ought not so to be ; — this would not be, we are
certain, if the people were aware of the unhappy
situation of these applicants. Unfortunately, an im-
pression prevails that we can do nothing for Poland,
and the subject is laid aside. But we have our duties
to God, and to ourselves ; and we ought to make an

ilsxxii IHTRODUOTiaH.

effort to fulfil them, be the prospect of their utility
ever so faint. If the people would but speak out their
will, if the government would act in a manly and Chris-
tian, and not in a diplomatic mranner, it would do
something for the honor of the age, for the character
of the human race, by proclaiming its detestation of
the atrocities of another government towards suffering
millions. It would record in the page of history,
its solemn protest against them, by stretching out a
helping hand to the persecuted victim of despotism, and
receiving the homeless exile. There are times and
cases, when the ordinary rules of diplomacy and inter-
national courtesy should be disregarded, and when all
H>ther considerations should yield to the claims of out-
raged humanity. ,..

But, at least, let not the people of this country be
outdone by those of England, in efforts for the Poles.
The friends of humanity in London have formed
themselves into a society, called the ' Literary Associa-
tion of the Friends of Poland ; the object of which is,
to keep up the public interest in the fate of that coun-
try, and add to that force of public opinion, which is
every day becoming more and more formidable to
despots. The good effects of this society, which is
presided over by the generous Campbell, have already
become evident. We have before us the first number
of a monthly periodical, published by them, under
the title of ' Polonia, or Monthly Report on Polish
Affairs ; ' which, while it alniiost freezes us with hor-
ror at the detail of the barbarities now committed in

xxTRODUOTiiON. Ixuiii

Poland, says, nevertheless, one extenuating word for
human nature, by announcing the rbing feeling of
indignation among the British public, and the forma-
tion of branch societies in the counti^.

To the people of England, the Pples have made no
direct appeal ; to the people of this country they have.
They looked to America with confident expectation
of sympathy ; because the little aid sent from this coun-
try to them during their struggle, having been applied
immediately to the people, and not to the govern-
ment, had the effect of making them give us ten times
the credit we deserve ; and a prool of the kindred
feeling with which they regard us may be seen in the
fact, that in the arms of their National Committee,
they have intertwined our flag w|tK tlkt of France

and Poland. -A 4.- >

Shall we do nothing to merit this feelkig.Qff partial-
ity ? The Poles ask not of us bread^-^thej^ ask not
money, — though God knows that from our full coffers,
and overflowing granaries, a little might be spared to
the starving exile ; but they ask us to unite our voices
to the cry of indignant England, and add our mite
to that force of public opinion, which is their sole hope
for the moment. Shall we refuse them this ? — nay,
shall we not grant them more ? Shall we not say to the
persecuted patriots, ' Come here, and ye shall find
rest ; — we have lands rich as your own plains, and
rivjrrs as broad as your own Vistula, on whose bank
you may build a new Warsaw, which the sword of no
Suvaroff shall ever reach?' Such language, though

IxZXir , IHTEODUOTIOK.

perhaps at variance with the forms of diplomacy,
would be generous, manly, and christian. It would
be language, in which the free and generous people of
America ought to protest to posterity, that they had
no part nor lot in the iniquitous and inhuman policy
of Europe.

P. S. Hundreds of these exiles have now landed on
our shores; — they say they were forced to leave Europe ;
and we believe them, for we have ourselves seen them
there subjected to treatment disgraceful to Christians
and to human beings. We have seen the Polish soldiers
near the frontiers of Russia, after resisting every attempt
to persuade them to cross the lines — subjected to cold
and hunger and want; and when they resisted all
this, they were fired upon by the regular troops of
Prussia ! Yes f the war-worn, shivering, starving sol-
diers of Poland (who, under a solemn pledge of pro-
tection had laid down their arms to the Prussians,)
were fired upon, because they would not return to
their country ; and their blood, poured out at Dir-
chan and Marienburg, must ever rest a foul stain
on the escutcheon of Prussia. We were with these
men in their day of trial ; — we saw their sufferings, and
heard their groans, — and while we deplored the fell
spirit of the policy which animated their persecutors,
we could not but be proud of human nature, when we
witnessed the spirit manifested by the sufierers. Unde-
pressed by misfortune, unmoved by the dark prospect
before them, cut off from communication with their
officers, and without a single source of consolation,
they retired to the forests, armed themselves with clubs,
and determined to die rather than cross the frontier,
and be forced to serve in the Russian ranks. We had.
beard and read much of devoted patriotism, but never

INTRODUOTIOM. IxZXT

seen such a striking exemplification of its force, as in
these poor exiled soldiers of Poland ; for even those
who had been wounded in the afiairs with the Prus-
sians, seemed to regret only that they could not have
poured out their blood on their native soil, and in strife
with the hated enemies of their country*

It is the strength of this feeling, it is the stem reso-
lution never to live under the Russian yoke, that has
brought these wanderers to our shores. The Austrian
government gave them their choice between returning
to Poland, and being transported to America ; and
they did not hesitate : they had heard of this country,
as the far off home of liberty : they had heard of
Americans, as a prosperous^ intelligent, and generous
people ; the cheering cry of sympathy and approba-
tion, which we sent across the Atlantic, reached and
cheered them in the dark hour of their country's ago-
ny; and diey said, * Among such a people we cannot
suffer ; on their shores we can rest awhile from our
toils, and find a temporary home, while watching for
the summons from Poland to recommence that strug-
gle for liberty, which will never cease while Poles
exist.'

And God grant that they be not bitterly disappoint-
ed ; God grant that, in the fullness of our prosper-
ity, we may not forget the sad and destitute condi-
tion of these exiles of Poland, these martyrs in the
cause of liberty. Indeed, what can be more wretched
than their present situation ? they walk sadly about our
streets, ignorant of our language and our manners ; they
address themselves to those they meet, but a cold shake
of the head tells them no one can understand their wants ;
they try to muster a few words of French or German,
but, alas ! few can answer them ; they see the scanty
sum they brought dwindling day by day, and they can

IxXXTi INTRODUOTIOK.

find no employment whereby to gain more ; diey go
to their lonely lodgings, and think of their country, but
there is no hope diere; — their native viUage and pa-
ternal mansion — alas ! the Russian cannon are planted
in the streets, the Cossack has quartered himself by
their firesides; their wives and children— =-ah ! there
must be horror at the thought of what may be their
fate ; and the poor Pole, unable to commune with
others, dreading to commune with his own thoughts,—-
without money, without firiends, without hope, must
go to his lonely bed, with the desperate feeling of one
who cares not whether another morning sun shall
rise upon hisr desolation or not.

If not for any nobler or higher motives, at least for
the credit of our country, for the credit of humanity,
let something be done for these unfortunate men who
are thrown upon our shores ; and for whom, hospi-
tality, sympathy, honor, every generous feeling ought
to plead most strongly. We have made a parade of
our sympathy for Poland ; our press was loud and
hidignant about their sufiTerings; we cheered them
on in their late struggle ; we held" meetings and ap-
pointed committees — and talked of Polish legions and
Polish standards, and now, that we have it in our pow-
er to do something for Poland, do not let it appear
that it was all vox et praeterea nihil.

&. O. H.
April, l&U.

INTRODUCTION

OF THE GERMAN AUTHOR.

The reader, who may 'consider this little volume
vvorthjr hie porucal, will pefceive that it comes to him
with the authority of the author's name. Though that
name is not one to which celebrity is attached, it is,
nevertheless, nor altogether unknown in the literary
circles of Germany. The present publication forms
the twenty-third volume of my writings.

As an author, I hope I have sometimes merited the
respect of the better portion of the German public ;
and it shall always be my endeavor to deserve the
confidence and kindness, which, as a private individual,
I have experienced wherever fate has conducted me
in the course of a wide and varied career.

On the breaking out of the war between Russia and
the Porte, 1 determined to serve in the campaign of
Turkey, with the view of augmenting, the information

IxXXViii IlTTRODUOTIOir.

I had acquired during a previous journey in the east,
and a short residence in the Morea.

I will candidly confess that another coilsideration
contributed to influence this resolutioa. •■ What is fre-
quently denominated * the dearest object in life,' I im-
agined I had found in a country whence I was banished
in consequence of an imprudent step taken for the ser-
vice of a friend.

I could not willingly submit to the fate which I had
brought upon myself; and I resolved, under the protec-
tion of a foreign uniform, either to pass the frontier,
which separated me from the object of my wishes, or
to seek an honorable death in the field of battle.

False newspaper intelligence, which described the
Polish army as already on its march to the Porte, to-
gether with the limited choice of trsi^vi^Hmg »auw«y ^x^A
my wish to continue my military career among the gal-
lant Poles, induced me to proceed to Warsaw, where
I hoped to be received into the Polish service, after
my qualifications should be duly examined and ap-
proved.

On my arrival in Breslaw, I became acquainted with
a Pole, who informed me that I should find it diflicult
to enter the Polish service, and that in all probability
1 should be obliged to enter the Russian army as soon
as I arrived in Warsaw.

All happened as my friend foretold. An emissary
of the Grand Duke Constantine, of whose vocation I
had no suspicion when I was introdqced to him in

INTEODUOTION. Ixxxix

Germany, met me accidentally on the first day of my
arrival in Warsaw. He gave me a friendly greeting,
and conducted me to the house of Baron von Sass,
where I experienced a very kind reception. I was
speedily given to understand, that to avoid any thing
disagreeable, it would be advisable not to hint to any
one the real object of my journey, but to declare to
the Grand Duke, when I should be summoned to his
presence, that 1 had come to Warsaw for the express
purpose of entering the Russian service. I was as-
sured that if I did not attend to these instructions I
might get into difficulty.

I had no alternative left 5 for 1 did not wish to re-
turn to Germany, and probably if I had, I should not
have been permitted.

I was, in appearance at least, graciously received by
the Grand Duke, and under the pretence of possessing
the privilege of foreign nobility, (though, as a Fries-
lander, I could not enjoy hereditary nobility) I was
permitted to enter the service. My audience with the
Grand Duke took place at four o'clock in the morning,
and the same day at noon 1 was made a cadet in the
Czarewitsh lancer regiment of the Imperial Russian
body-guard.

The details of my two years' service would be out
of place in these sheets, which are devoted to matters
of greater importance than those which personally
concern myself.

A fall from my horse having injured my health to

H*

XC INTRODUOTION.

such a degree as to render me unfit for longer service,
my discharge was determined on, though I did not
immediately receive it. I lingered for some time in
the most miserable situation imaginable ; I had relin*
quished all hope of ever recovering my personal free-
dom, when, on the Emperor's arrival in Warsaw, for
the convocation of the Diet in 1830, I unexpectedly
obtained my liberation.

A circumstantial account of the particulars which
attended my departure from Poland would be super-
fluous in the present volume, which merely exhibits
the fruits of my two years' service. ' It is poisoned
fruit, and I am well aware that its effects may operate
to ray own injury.

The present volume is divided into several parts,
of which the largest and most important is entitled
* Sketches of Warsaw.' The ' Journey to Wareaw,'
which was written previous to the breaking out of the
Polish Insurrection, is only important inasmuch as it
affords an idea of the state of Poland before the peo-
ple rose for the recovery of their rights.

The want of information respecting Poland must be
regarded by many as a matter of surprise, consider-
ing that the journals of the day manifest no deficiency
of correspondence from all corners of the world.

This want of intelligence respecting a country,
which tyranny has banished from the circle of states,
in which it was once gloriously and honorably distin-
guished, perhaps depends on circumstances on which

IHTEODUOTION. XCi

very unjust and false ideas may frequently be formed
in foreign countries.

The question, — ^Who should write from Poland, and
about Poland ? may be more difficult to answer than a
newspaper reader imagines. Few are perhaps aware,
that in Poland, and especially in Warsaw, every word,
1 may say, every thought is watched, and every seal
broken ; — in short, that all channels of communication
are stopped ; and if any one should be found bold
enough to venture on speaking or writing, the next
hour may doom him to captivity.

None but men who are free and independent can
be expected to speak the truth openly and fearlessly.
Now in Poland no man is free and independent — for
no roan, except the all-powerful Grand Duke, be his
rank what it may, is secure of his personal freedom
for a single hour. Indeed no man who has acquired
a knowledge of facts by personal experience in Po-
land, can be said to be free, even in a foreign country.
Wheresoever he may wind his way, he will be watched
by the Argus eyes of the hirelings of the Russian gov-
ernment. Even in the peaceful city of Dresden, a
(rerraan (Lieutenant Martens, of Hanover,) who was
formerly in the Russian service, suddenly disappeared,
leaving no clue whereby he could be traced. I have
been assured, by credible persons who knew the fact,
that he was kidnapped in consequence of a volume
which he wrote under a fictitious name.*

* This publication wab entitled, Ru9sland in der neuesten Zeit,
von C, PadeZ— 1829, An, En.

^Cii INTRODUOTION.

Many will regard this fact as impossible; and
perhaps, on perusing the following pages, will be
inclined to doubt the truth of a great portion of their
contents.

This I cannot help. I say with Seume, ' You may
confidently rely on my laying nothing before you to
which I have not been an eye-witness, or for which
I cannot adduce the best authority.'*

Those who doubt the fact of the kidnapping of Mar-
tens will probably say, — * We live in the nineteenth cen-
tury, and in Germany, unconcerned about the intrigues
of foreign powers, and independent by the just admin-
istration of our own laws. Our authorities are not,
like those of Italy and some other countries, secredy
leagued with vagabonds and criminals. It is impossi-
ble to believe that in Germany, where a handkerchief
can scarcely be stolen without discovery, a living man
should be secretly carried off.' All this may be said
— but I fear it not.

In every conflict, spirit is the best and surest
weapon. Whoever possesses sufficient spirit publicly
to defend the rights of man by his pen, will be able to
employ another weapon, when those rights are threat-
ened in his own person.

I see foreign spies about me, pursuing their voca-
tion undisturbed — but that awes me not.

The spirit of the age is aroused. The traitors are

* Seume'fl ^Accounts of the Events of Poland in the year 1794.

XHTEODUOTION. Xciii

no longer secure against the vengeance of an indignant
nation. I live too in an age in which truth is heard,
and with the confidence inspired by a clear con-
science, I rely on the just administration of the laws.

Xe^i OONTZKTI.

CHAPTER VI. . '***'

Belvedere, under the Grand Duke Constantine — Scenes be-
fore the levee — Officers of the Horse Guards on duty — The
Hussar-Adjutant — Orderlies — General Strandtman. 31

CHAPTER Vn.

Omniscience of the Grand Duke — Supervision of forei|pi-
ers — ^The Grand Duke's carria^^e — ^His daily excursions. . 37

CHAPTER Vin.

The chiefs of the secret police — General Gendre — ^The sa-
loons of Warsaw. • . . 42

CHAPTER IX.

Novosilcov — His chancery — His library — ^The minister and
the wench. . - . 46

CHAPTER X.

Duty for the day— The monkey of the Belvedere, and Mah-
mud Hassan of Varna. ... 51

CHAPTER XI.

The Saxon Square— Parallel between Warsaw and, Rome. . 57

CHAPTER XII.
The Parade, and the Guard-Houses. . • . 61

CHAPTER XIII.
.The Parade continued. .... , .66

CHAPTER XIV.

The officer of the lancer guard, and the pycamid of bay-
onets. . .... 78

OOHTBMTS. MfU

CHAPTER XV.

A eitiien of Wanaw condemned to horl a wheelbarrow on
the Parade. . . 75

CHAPT£R XVL

Reetriotioni impoeed on officen and priyate aoldien — ^The
Grand Duke and the Inn-keeper. • . . 78

CHAPTER XVII.
Another example of the wheelbarrow poniahment. 88

CHAPTER XVm.

The military aehool at Wanaw — Balancin|p and Preaenting —
EqaiKbrinm of Europe. .84

CHAPTER XIX.
The military aehool at Wanaw continued. • . . 90

CHAPTER XX.
RoinaB elaaaification of tanks. . . 95

CHAPTER XXI.

aenrice — ^The Ruiaians in Wanaw — National feeling
among the Polea. ... 101

CHAPTER XXU.
NoracoTitah — Conatitation and Monopoly. . 105

CHAPTER XXIII.
General sympathy in the fiite of Poland — ^The cauae. 109

CHAPTER XXIV.

The eity of Wanaw— Palacea of the Magnatea— The King's

I

XCviii OONTEKTS.

palace — The library — Dr. Linde — ^llie protestant ehureli —
Pastor Tetzner and the Grand Duke 112

CHAPTER XXV.

The Saxon garden — The promenade — ^The Roaaian hoasar
and the Banker's wife. ..... 117

CHAPTER XXVI.
The Kraczinski garden — ^The Franciscan street — The Jews, 123

CHAPTER XXVII.

Alleys of trees — ^The Polish Prelate and the statue of Coper-
nicus — Poniatowski's statue — The Lyceum — ^The Univer-
sity — Dangerous fixed ideas — Literature and bookselling. 128

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The Russian post-office — All letters regularly opened^For-
eign spies — Liberty destroyed by the spy system. . 134

CHAPTER XXIX.
Cruel treatment of a Jew, by a Russian officer. . 138

CHAPTER XXX.
A Polish florin's worth of Russian beating. 143

CHAPTER XXXI.
Russian mode of settling with a Droski-driver. . 146

CHAPTER XXXII.
Population of Poland. . • • 151

CHAPTER XXXIII.
Form of GroTemment. ...... 155

CONTENTS. XCix

CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Poludi CowititatioB 160

CHAPTER XXXV.

General AdmmistratioB. 167

CHAPTER XXXVI.

The Body Politic in Russia, (inserted here for the sake of
comparison.) ...... 168

CHAPTER XXXVIi.
Civic Aghts in Poland .174

CHAPTER XXXVIIL
Internal €k>vernment of Poland — ^Administration of justice. 177

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Thoughts on the dedication of this work — Lafayette — Chlop-
icki— Count Fotocki— The ladies of Poland. . . 183

CHAPTER XL.
A glance at the Revolution of Warsaw. 187

Views in regard to the Coart of St Petersburg andite Policy. 193

.M

PART I.

JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

CHAPTER I.

Prussian Poland — Descriptions of a Polish Village — The Rus-
sian Frontiers.

Reader, should you ever undertake a journey to
Poland, and happen to direct your course by the way
of Breslau to Kalish, fail not to bestow a lingering
look on the stately oaks in the neighborhood of Mi-
litsh ; feast your eye on their rich green foliage, or, if
it be winter, on their hoar covered branches ; open
your heart at sight of them, and bid farewell to Ger-
many. But having done this, close your heart as
securely as your portmanteau ; have a care of your
words as of your purse ; for you are approaching
Poland.

When first I travelled that road, had I known that

the oaks, whose luxuriant foliage rustled around me,

were the last I should see, I would have greeted them

fondly and sorrowfully ; but I forgot for the moment

1

2 JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

the proud boast of ' the land of oaks,' nor did I feel
its force until the stately fornas and murmuring rustle
of the trees were no longer seen or heard.

In journeying by the course above-mentioned, the
traveller will observe the scenery of Germany, by a
gradual transition, superseded by Polish scenery, until
he reaches the point where Poland Proper begins.

The road from Breslau to Kalish is one of the
worst 1 ever travelled through ; I may properly say
travelled through^ for a considerable part of it is inter-
sected by a deep marsh.

The vehicle in which I rode was quite as bad as the
road, that is to say, when I passed the first station
beyond Breslau, where the civilizing influence of that
fine provincial town ceased.

With the comfortable anticipation of a broken arm
or leg, or perhaps something even worse, I stepped
into the chaise, which was got ready at the third
station, firmly resolved to save my life by a desperate
leap, in the event of the overturn with which I was
momentarily threatened.

But besides the risk of being overturned, there was
the danger of the vehicle being shattered to pieces, a
calamity which it appeared nothing but a miracle
could avert.

Irritated at being required to pay for this convey-
ance, I thrust my head out of the window and vented
some imprecations against the crazy machine.
, ' Bless me, sir, it is no fault of mine,* said the
postillion,/ I have often told my master that the old

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 3

rumbliog thing would tumble to pieces ; but to no
purpose, — I am obliged to harness it over and over
again. I suppose I must continue to drive it until it
breaks down on the road. My master will have it
so : — but I am only a postillion, and it is no business
of mine.' So saying he whipped his horses, and I
had no alternative but to resign myself passively to
my fate.

Reader can you form any idea of how the earth
looked before it was formed? Perhaps you cannot,
but I can, — for I have travelled through Prussian Po-
land. Among the many pictures which are constantly
present in my recollection, the aspect of that country
is the most remarkable : it is a compound of sand,
mnrsh, cla}*", straw, and dung. A prominent point in
\he picture is a village : — to give it this denomination
is perhaps an insult to all other miserable villages on
the face of the earth , but nevertheless, it is a village.

In this picture the two principal objects are Heaven
and Chaos ; for the earth, as I have before observed,
seems to be yet unformed. Here and there above
the sand arise some shattered roofs,- broken mud
walls, and filthy dung-hills, which seemed to totter as
the wheels of our carriage rolled past them. — This
was the whole.

I was thirsty and I ordered the postillion to stop at
the village inn that I might get a glass of water.
Without saying a word the fellow drove up to a mis-
erable hovel, the thatched roof of which had sunk
down between the rotten mud walls.

JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

♦

I alighted and asked for somethiog to drink, for I
coqld not venture to infringe the rights of inn-keepers
so far as to ask for merely a glass of water.

A woman, to describe whom would be a violation
of the laws of taste, after a pause, which led me to
suspect she was dumb, replied : ^ You can have some
schnapps.' ^ Schnapps V I repeated, and perhaps
some wine .... and .... for my tongue and lips are
parched .... a glass of water.'

The woman beckoned me to follow her, and con-
ducting me through filth and mire, into the yard ad-
joining the hovel, she said : ^ There is the well.'

I beheld a hole, filled with dirty discolored water,
and surrounded by filth and fungi.— ^Ms this the well,
good woman ?' I enquired, shocked at the picture of
bUman misery which here presented itself. — 'Yes,
that is the well, she replied, and yonder lies the buck-
et ; but the pole is broken, so if you want water, we
must send to my lord's for it.' — ' My lord's !'* I ex-
claimed with surprise, ' where is that?'. ... for I had
seen nothing in the place which indicated the prox-
imity of a nobleman's abode. — ^Tbe woman led me to
the door and pointing to a thatched roof which rose a
litde above the rest, she told me that that was ' My
lord's.' ' And does his lordship really reside there ?'
said 1 — * Yes, sir, in summer,' replied the woman.
An elegant Polish summer palace thought L«n^< But is
there no clean water to be got nearer tluiDthat ? ' I

* The reader will bear in mind thaf it is of Prussian Poland, and
not of Poland Proper that the author writes. — American Editor.

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 5

asked. — * Our well, and ihat at my lord's, are the
only ones in the place,' was the answer. — Without
waiting for any further information, I hastily brushed
past a groupe of half-naked children, who were play-
ing in the sand, and threw myself into the miserable
chaise that was waiting at the door.

I now resumed my dreary journey, and while I sur-
veyed the scene around me, I felt convinced that ex-
cept Poland, no country on the face of the earth
could offer such a prospect. As far as the eye could
reach, nothing was visible but empty space — space so
extensive, that it seemed as though a whole world
might easily be created within its limits. In utter de-
spair I drew out my travelling flask, and took a dram.
Having filled my pipe, 1 began to reflect on the hap-
piness of nations, and on the remark of the French
guards, who, as they marched through these parts,
exclaimed : — ' Is this what the poles call their coun-
try?' Night drew in while I was absorbed in this
reverie.

Next morning, when I awoke in the chaise at the
last post, I labored under a frightful depression of spir-
its. I felt as if approaching the end of the world. It
was the dawn of a cold spring morning .... but in
these desolate regions there was no indication of
spring.

Here the four seasons appear to be engaged in
a criminal process respecting the death of nature.
There are only three elements and a half; namely,
air, earth, marsh, and just enough fire to light a pipe.

1*

6 JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

At length I observed on the left of the road, a
stone building ; this was the Prussian Custom-house,
or whatever it might be called.

The postillion presented his ticket, and the toll
gate flew open. It closed again with a loud crash,
which thrilled every nerve within me.

I was now formally separated from the land of
oaks, which, however, I had in reality left at the dis-
tance of twenty German miles behind me.

My heart beat heavily. I was now, properly speak-
ing, in no country, for between the last gate with the
black and white eagle, and the barrier with the double
red and white eagle, there is a distance of two, or
two and a half wersts. What a constrast do the
Prussian and Russian frontiers present ! — At the for-
mer there is neither guard nor sentry y-^Bt the latter
nothing but Cossacks, inspecting-officers, frontier-
yagers, arms, and coats of arms.*

* It has been the constant aim of the Prussian government to
crush the national spirit of that part of the Polish population,
which fell to its share by the iniquitous partition The tendency
of all government measures has been to Germanise, or rather to
Prussianise its Polish subjects : with this view in the schools,
every thing is taught in the German language ; the edicts, laws,'
proclamations, &c. are all published in Geinian. — Amer. Editor.

JOURNEY TO WAB8AW,

CHAPTER II.

£xamination of passports — ^The Cossifek officer — Kalish — The
Hotel de Pologne — Beauty of the Polish women.

How shall I describe the moment, when approach-
ing nearer and nearer to the Russian barrier, I des-
cried in the distance the first cossack : — he was stand-
ing motionless, and watching the approach of the
coach in which I was seated. '

The barrier was thrown open, — the coach rattled
past it, and I was in the Russian govefhment, — in
Poland.

My travelling companion had come from Paris.
We alighted, and were conducted into an office on
the right side of the road, Where we were first ex-
amined by a Polish inspector.

Beside him lay three huge volutnes, containing lists
of free masons and carbonari, and of suspected per-
sons, whose names had been collected by the activity
of Russian spies abroad.

He slowly took up each volume, glanced over the
alphabetic list, noted down his observations, and com-
pared our persons with our passports.

While he was gravely turning over the leaves of
one of the secret volumes, my companion made me a
sign by stealth. The page on the^opposite leaf ena-

8 JOUENET TO WARSAW.

bled me to guess when he had arrived at the letter of
my name. I changed my place unobserved, and
obtained a sly peep at the book.

The officer asked no question. He examined our
passports, and the guard that escorted us, which con-
sisted of a cossackj^and a frontier-yager, and took us
to the house of the cossack officer, on the opposite
side of the road.

We were ushered into a neat room, whose open
windows freely admitted the fresh morning breeze.
The walls, after the oriental fashion, were hung with
arms. Divan and table were covered with rich car-
pets, long Turkish pipes were in each corner of the
room, and enveloped in a loose kaftan, the tall hand-
some figure of the cossack officer stood before us.

His high open forehead was shaded by a profusion
of dark curly hair, his countenance was handsoine
and intelligent, and his deportment and behavior were
distinguished by natural grace and good breeding.

He received us with a good humored smile, re-
quested that we would be seated on the divan, or
on chairs, and he himself sat down at the writing
table, near the window.

Having examined and registered our passports, he
folded them up, and rising from his chair, presented
them to us with a bow. He then pressed our hands,
and pronounced his national greeting : ' Welcome to
Russia.'

My companion and I had each a silver rouble ready
in our hands, and when we offered tbem for bis

JOURNKT TO WAKSAW. 9

acceptance, be said, ' Pardon me. You do not know
the customs of our country.' I am an officer. If you
like to give my clerk a little present, he may take
it.' Whether or not the wordiy cossack might have
been persuaded to accept the rouble, I will not pre-
tend to determine.

A frontier-yager, in a green and white uniform,
now mounted the coach-box, and we started for Ka-
lish. We learned that the diligence was to leave
Kalish for Warsaw, exactly at noon, whicli was very
lucky for us, as travelling by post in Poland is ex-
ceedingly expensive.

We soon reached Kalish. The surrounding coun-
try is not bad, and in some parts is even agreeable.
The town presents an aspect of cultivation, and except
Warsaw, is the- finest I saw throughout Russian Po-
land. Some manufactories of cloth, and some good
sheep pasture in the neighborhood, add considerably
to its comfoit and prosperity.

We were recommended to the Hotel-de-Pologne,
which is the best house of the kind in Kalish. It
well deserves its name, considering that it is distin-
guished for that negligence which is the peculiar
characteristic of Polish inns and inn-keepers.*

* Had the auUior alighted at the smaller inns in Poland, where
almost all stage-coach passengers put up, he would not have had
cause to complain of negligence. It is the invariable custom of
gentlemen in Poland to travel with their own servants ; and to be
waited upon by them at the hotels : when they arrive at an inn,
their horses are put up by the ostler, and all their other wants
are supplied by their private servants. A traveller, unattended

10 JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

Although it was nearly half-past seven in the morn-
ing, there was not a servant to be found who could
show us to a chamber. — I rang the bell as if all Kalish
had been in flames ; but no one appeared. At length
a ragged maid-servant showed herself, and asked us
what we wanted. — We told her we wished to be
shown to an apartment where we 'might dress, and
that we afterwards wanted to breakfast. The girl
went away to prepare for. our accommodation, and
we seated ourselves on a bench, at the entrance of the
inn. A Jew stepped up to us, and with a low bow,
muttered something which I did not distinctly under-
stand. ' Are you the agent or charge d^ affaires
here?' I inquired. 'If so, I wish you would pro-
cure us some sort of accommodation.' The Israelite
screwed his ugly face into a grimace, and 4n(^mg
nearer to me than was quite agreeable, spoke out
more distinctly, at the same time handing to me the
address of a Madame Hurtig. * Good Heavens ! ' I
exclaimed, * do you think we have nothing more im-
portant to attend to now than this Madame Hurtig.'
My companion, who knew the country better than I
did, laughed, and observed that it was all quite regu-
lar, and in Poland, under the government of the
Grand Duke, every thing must be according to regu-
lation.

by a servant, would be thought * little worth ' by a publican in a
land where a valet may be had for thirty dollars per annum. In
travelling, a Polish gentleman allows his servant a florin per day,
(about 12j| cts.) with which they find themselves. — Amer. £p.

JOURNEY TO. WARSAW. *11

One of the waiters appeared, and haying sent the
Jew about his business, ushered us into some large
and half empty rooms on the first floor. Here we
found bedsteads without beds, dirty water in cracked
wash-hand basins, and other articles of shattered fur-
niture.

Fresh air is a pleasant thing ; so I threw open the
windows. We ordered breakfast, and set about ar-
ranging our disordered dress.

The coffee was served. It was not so bad as the
inn ; on the contrary, I found it tolerably good, for I
had recently tasted the coffee of Saxony and Prussia.

In Poland the traveller cannot fail to remark the
tinge of orientalism which pervades every thing
around him : he sees Jews, Turkish pipes, dark eyes,
voluptuous expression, a disposition to debauchery,
and despotism, which cannot be more arbitrary even
in Turkey. — In Kalish our coffee had an oriental
flavor.

We proceeded to the post-ofSce to go through the
required ceremonies. Our trunks had already been
searched on our arrival, and they had been full half
an hour under inspection, before we went to the
hotel. My books now became the subjects of exami-
nation ; and when the inspector informed me that
they must be sealed up and forwarded to Warsaw, I
produced a list of their titles, and declared myself the
author of the * Student of Salamanca ;' of the ' Main-
oties :' * the Bliztoni,' and the * Psariot'.'

' The Student of Salam .... Mainot Bliz ....

12* JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

Ps • . • . Psariot • . • •' mumbled the inspector, while
be scanned me from head to foot. ' I will be person-
ally responsible for the contents of these books,' said
I, ' I am the author, and will present myself to the
Censor at Warsaw.' * Hem ! ' replied the inspector,
' if you are the author, it is of very litde use to send
the books forward alone .... But what are the books
about?'. . . .^ Oh ! they contain essays on whist and
boston, flying machines, and Bavarian puddings,' said
If and the iiispeotor turned to another trunk.

After we had secured our places in the diligence,
my companion and I went to take a look through the
town.

It was ten o'clock, and fair female faces were visi-
ble at the open windows in the principal streets. I
buttoned my coat up to the throat, thinking it advis*
i^ble to defend my heart.

The Polish women are beautiful . • • . but that isniot
all. . • . They are exquisitely beautifuL I am almost
convinced that Eve must have been a Pole.

I was now wandering through the streets of Kalish.
I have wandered as a stranger through many towns,
and whoever has ^pne the same will acknowledge
how readily a man, under such circumstances, yields
to the impressions of the moment. A lovely face at a
window is, to him, a valuable picture, which he views
in a gallery, and which, in another hour, may be clos-
ed from his sight for ever. ... All tinder does not
catch fire at the first touch ; spark after spark may fall

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 13

upon it without effect. . . . With some, on the other
hand, it immediately ignites and is as soon extin-
guished.

Alas ! how many mortals have ashes, mere ashes in
their bosoms instead of hearts .... Let these travel to
Poland, and they may yet learn to love.

My travelling companion told me of a gentleman
who, after losing his heart in Germany, his soul in
France, his understanding in Italy, was made bank-
rupt of all his senses in Poland ; and when thus re-
duced to the condition of a moral skeleton, he retired,
for the enjoyment of matrimonial happiness, to Russia.

14 JOURHEY TO WAK8AW.

CHAPTER III.

Poli«h roads-^Werst-posts — Road-aide barrack87-*Natlonal

character of the Poles.

After we had spent a few hours in Kalish, the
diligence was got ready, and we prepared to continue
our journey.

The landlord presented us with the bill. It inclu-
ded the charge for breakfast and the use of two
rooms, and the whole sum amounted to about the
same as we should have paid in the Oberland of
Berne, where we might have oonteraplated the mag-
nificent scenery of nature into the bargain.

We had now made our entrv into Poland. At the
time to which I here refer, there were not yet estab-
lished in Poland any of those public conveyances in
which I have subsequently performed the same jour-
ney conveniently, cheaply, and expeditiously. The
diligence in which I first travelled from Kalish, was a
coach intended for four persons, but six were packed
into it.

Ever since the day when I first passed along the
high road leading from Kalish, two ideas have been
inseparably connected in my mind : viz. Poland, and
a straight line.

I have sometimes thought that Poland resembles a

XOURNET TO WARSAW. 15

mouse-trap ; it is very easy to slip in, but the diffi-
culty is to get out.

The traveller may possibly imagine himself ia a
highly cultivated country, when on his first entrance
into Poland, he sees before him a fine road extending
in a straight line as far as the eye can reach. ]f it
now and then diverges a little to the right or left, it
soon resumes its even course, which seems to termi*
nate only with the boundary of the horizon.

To judge of the cultivation of the country by the
appearance of the roads, and by this rule to compare
Silesia with Poland, would lead to very erroneous
conclusions. Silesia would be estimated at a very
low rate, while Poland would hold a very high rank in
the tidvancement of industry and art. Yet the real
condition of each of the two countries is precisely the
reverse of this.

The unbroken uniformity of the straight road, com-
bined with the picture of poverty and barrenness
which presents itself right and left, before and behind,
would render the journey very wearisome, were it not
that the werst-posts afford a source of amusement to
the traveller.

These werst-posts are erected along the left side of
the road, and at certain intervals between each station.
They are painted red and white, and the distance of
the station which the traveller has passed, and that to
which he is approaching, are accurately marked on
both sides of the posts. Seven wersts make a Ger-
man mile, and as coaches run much faster in Poland

16 JOURNEY TO W4RBAW.

and Russia, thaa in Germany, the traveller, as he ad-
vances from werst to werst, finds some amusement in
calculating the distances, even though, following the
advice of Jean Paul Ritcher, he should count himself
to sleep.

Besides the werst-posts, the road-side barracks, as
they are termed, afford occasional relief to the eye of
the traveller. These barracks are erected at the dis-
tance of every half mile, and like the werst-posts,
they are all on the left side of the road. They are
built in a very tasteful style in the form of pavillions,
and they afford a place of shelter for the invalids
whose business it is to keep the roads in repair. On
either side of the road heaps of gravel and stones are
piled up iQ Jhe most uniform, order. The red and
white barriers in the vicinity of the barracks some-
times extend to the distance of a werst through groves
of fir trees. Here and there may be descried a
church, a , tipiiserable village, and finally, the Jewish
town of the station. These are the objects which
greet the eye of .the tcaveller on his first entrance into
Poland,

The very name of these road-side barracks is char-
acteristic of their Russian origb. In Russia every
thing seems to resolve itself into one fixed and ruling
idea, and that is a barrack. Indeed the happiness of
the state depends solely on barracks, for they afibrd
the only security against popular commotion. If the
word barrack be of less frequent occurrence in Poland
than in Russia, the idea is no less paramount. In Po-

JOURNST TO WARSAW. 17

land even the universities are regahted on the plan of
barracks, and the students are subject to the discipline
and the punishment of common soldiers.

Some of the little villages on the road are not so
poor and miserable as might be expected. Those
places nearest to Warsaw are not unfrequently very
neat and clean, and io some of the public houses kept
by the Jews, the traveller often meets with accommo-
di^n which he might look for in vain among Polish
Christians.

The Pole ceitainly has no natural taste for cleanli-
ness and order. This peculiar feature m the national
dliaracter is continually exemplified in every gradation
of rank, from the prince to the beggar.^

Far be it from me to cherish any feeling of prejudice
against the PoFish nation, where I had the happiness
of becoming acquainted with many brave and estima-
ble men ; but the peculiarity to which I have above
alluded, cannot be denied, and its origin may be
traced to the melancholy fate which has so long hung
over that unfortunate country. A people whose na-
tional feeling is suppressed, may be said to have lost
all that is most precious. An enslaved and a free
nation cannot be characterized by the same qualities.
Just indignation against the despotic yoke which they

■

* The Poles are too fond of show and parade to neglect external
appearance ; in no nation do the higher ranks appear to more
advantage than in Poland. But the author is correct in his conclu-
sion if he refers to their domestic relations, for the interior of their
houses is generally disorderly and dirty. — Am. Ed.

2*

J8 JOURNBT TO WAESAW.

have not power to shake off, regret and despair, caused
by the retrospect of past glory, prey upon the wounded
hearts of the people, and unavoidably exercise a bane-*
ful influence on their moral character. Like the vic-
tims languishing within the walls of a prison, they
gradually conceive a hatred of mankind, which too
often begets jealousy, distrust, falsehood and dissimu-
lation.

The character of the Poles is^r^ected in their his-
tory. In the time of their kingdom they showed
themselves intolerant, intriguing and deflcient in firm-
ness and decision. On the other hand, they never
forfeited their reputation for courage, and their love of
freedom has never been extinguished, even when most
opposed by the bonds of slavery.

The Poles seem to be bom for war. They are
animated by ardent imaginations and a thirst of fame.
The former quality enables them to bear up under
every misfortune — even the misery of subjugation;
for by a happy illusion they see the past and the future
in the present. A golden dream fortifies and consoles
them, even under the Jcnout.

The spirit of their national poetry is quite in unison
with this feeling. TJiey have several celebrated poets,
among whom Niemciewitz, and AUezkiewitss, afe the
most distinguished. Though these are writers of
whom any nation might justly be proud, yet it cannot
be denied that the Poles, generally speaking, entertain
a very exaggerated idea of the merits of their own
literature.

JOURNET TO WARSAW. 19

The reader will perhaps think that I have travelled
too far out of my road ; but I hope this digression will
be the more readily pardoned^ since, excepting what
has already been described, nothing has occurred on
the journey worthy of remark.

90 JOVKHIX TO WABBAW.

CHAPTER iV.

Jewesses — Their national dress, and personal beauty — ^The inn
at Lowicz — Polish Chasseurs — ^The five classes of spies at
Warsaw.

I continued my journey along the straight road I
have already described. I travelled two hundred and
fifty wersts, with nothing to diversify the scene but
.an endless succession of werst-posts and barracks.
As the monotony of this part of my journey presents
nothing worthy of recording, I may here say a few
words about the fair daughters of Israel, whom I saw
at Kalish, decked in ornaments and rich apparel in
honor of the Sabbath.

The pearl bands, worn as head ornaments by the
Polish Jewesses, are so peculiar that it is almost im-
possible to convey a correct idea of them by mere de-
scription. These bands are seen only in Poland, and
their form obviously denotes their ancient and oriental
origin. They consist of strings of pearls intermingled
with gold, forming altogether an elaborate piece of
architecture, whose construction it is not easy to de-
scribe without the aid of a plan or sketch.

A Jewess of the higher class, adorned with her
pearl hair band and gold neck chain, (from which is
frequently suspended an ancient gold coin,) is an

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 21

object of no common interest, especially if she be as
beautiful as I have often seen Jewesses in Poland, and
above all, in Warsaw.

I have already alluded to the charms of the Polish
women ; and I think it may very justly be questioned
whether there is not more of personal beauty among
the Jewesses than among the christians. In making
this comparison, the proportional numbers of each reli-
gion must of course be taken into account ; the chris-
tians by far predominate.

I have seen thousands of Polish christians who have
charmed me by a certain voluptuous grace of form and
feature. But the beauty of the Jewesses is of a more
exalted character. The events of thousands of years
seem to be recorded in their soul-beaming counte-
nances, where a spirit testiGes more for the divinity,
than do Moses and the prophets. It is worth all the mis-
ery of a journey to Poland to behold such faces; they
deserve to be stored in the memory as a portion of the
pure, beautiful .and sublime of this world.

The beauty qf the Polish Jewesses has a character
quite the reverse of that which constitutes the charm
of the christian females. Dignity, feeling, tender
melancholy, and not unfrequently deep seated sorrow
is expressed in the features of the fair daughters of
Israel, whose notions of virtue and decorum, are as
rigid as the laws of their forefathers. But of course
this rule, like every other, has its exceptions.

Few will deny that beauty consists less in the form
than in the expression of the features ; and many

^ JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

wora^Dcwho are prooovinced beautiful, produce but
little,, -or perhaps eveo . an unfavorable impressiou,
merely from the want of intellectual spirit. The ut-
most beauty of form, combined with expression, leaves
nothing to be wished for. This will be acknowledged
by all wh9 have beheld the Jewesses of Poland.

Their faithful adherence to their national costume
serves to heighten their natural attractions. Wherever
the French fashions prevail, they generally have a per-
nicious influence on the female mind. French fashion
introduces French coquetry, French corruption, and
all its baneful consequences

We left Kalish on the Jewish Sabbath, and on
Sunday at noon we arrived in Lowicz, where we stop-
ped an hour and a half. We halted at an inn where
a party of Polish chasseurs (officers of the garrison,)
had assembled.

We could scarcely find a chair to sit on, much less
procure any thing to eat. The waiters were running
about in confusion, and the maid servants were flirting
with the soldiers.

Among these whiskered chasseurs, there were sev-
eral very handsome men, and the warlike spirit, which
is the natural inheritance of the Poles, was conspicu-
ous in their looks and bearing.

When the military party had gradually dispersed^
and some degree of tranquillity prevailed in the inn, a
young man in plain clothes stepped up to me and my
travelling companions, and with a busy, officious air,
enquired respecting some person at Berlin

JOURKET TO WARSAW. 3S

In PoUnd the needy are not left unprovided for.
There are five classes of spies :

1st. The spies of the Grand Duke, who are either
men of high birth, or men who have been raised to
high rank bj his Highness's favOjr.

2nd. Spies^ in the service of this first class, rogues
of all conditions, who supply their masters with inteUi*
gence for a daily salary varying from two ducats to
two Polish florins.

3rd. Spies of the Russian authorities. These are
noblemen, who insinuate themselves every where.
They travel abroad and visit the fashionable bathing
places. They difier from the first class only in the
nature of their employment.

4th. Spies of the Russian secret military police, at
the bead of which is Colonel Baron von Sass, a man
who is by far too good for his office. His assistants,
among whom the most distinguished are an old Pole
and bis four daughters, have in their turn their assist-
ants. These latter are low wretches, who frequent the
coffee bouses in search of suspected persons.

6th. The spies of the city police, employed by the
president and vice-president. These are a set of ruf-
fians, most of whom have been arrested for crimes, and
have purchased their freedom on certain conditions.
These, like the hirelings of the Russian spies (class 2,)
kesp a watchful eye on the universities. They seek
all sorts of pretences for visiting the students in their
lodgings, and become panders in order to obtain the
more ready access to them. This class includes vari-

24 JODRMEI TO WARSAW.

rious ranks and condiuons, front the fashionable beau,
down to ilie pedlar.

The youQg man who accosted us in Lowicz, and
who pretended to be an inspector of the stables from
Warsaw, was probably a member of class two or five.
He had apparently received orders to give a welcome
reception to the Pole, who, as he informed us, was
expected from Berlin. Though he conversed about
the Brandenburgh Gate, and Mademoiselle Soniag, and
spoke in high admiration of the Prussian officers, yet
he maiotained his disguise but very clumsily. He
addressed to us several questions concerning our jour-
ney and its object, but finding he could elicit no satis-
factory information, he hummed a few bars of the
Tag-er-CAor, and then entered into conversation with
our bustling and good humored hostess. Having ac-
companied us half way through the town, he wished
us good day, and with a very amiable smile took his

At Kolo, where the passengers of the Posen mail
had been transferred to our diligence, a young man
took his place opposite to me. He had come from Italy
by the way of Berlin, and was going to his relations in
Warsaw, whom he had not seen for some years.

Our rencontre with the spy led him to break the
silence which he had previously observed. He in-
formed me in a whisper that he had that morning
received a letter from his relations by a private courier
whom he met at Krosniewice. In this letter bis friends
advised him to stop at the distance of a few stations

I.

JOUBNET TO WARSAW. 25

from Warsaw, because some bad news, received from
Turkey, had excited a great deal of ill-humor at the
Belvedere. However, the young man himself con-
ceived that stopping would only tend to excite sus-
picion, and might have an unfavorable influence on his
reception when he arrived.

26 JOURNEY TO WAnSAW.

CHAPTER V.

Distress of a young Pole on returning to his country — A dan-
gerous tune — Arrival in Warsaw.

The guarded end circumspect way in which I con-
versed, won the confidence of my new acquaintance
in the diligence ; and, bending towards me, so as not
,to be overheard by the other passengers, he" disclosed
to me the cause of the depression of spirits under
which I had observed him to labor.

' You are perhaps aware,' said he, ' that the Grand
Duke peremptorily requires to see, on their arrival in
Warsaw, all persons who have visited Italy or France.
Under certain circumstances, all persons coming from
any foreign country are required to present themselves
to the Duke, and the moment of presentation fre-
quently decides the fate of an individual, which de-
.pipnds entirely on his Highness's caprice and humor.'
' :,^ J^he young man who addressed these words to me,
lj.i(^.; ;;;'/. teifl every appearance of having stepped into the dili-
;.^v ''/lt* gence with as innocent a conscience as ever a trav-
eller brought home from a foreign tour. But that was
no guarantee for his safety.

The young Pole was aware of this, and felt much
chagrined at the idea of postponing the happiness of
rejoining his family ; for he had intended to proceed

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 27

to Warsaw that very night, in company with some
friends who wererko meet him at Blouie or Sochaczew.

The mortificatiori of finding himself, as it were, a
prisoner in a diligence on his return to his native
country, distressed him more than I ^lould have ex-
pected, judging from his apparently placid disposition.

He would fain have travelled by an extraordinary
mail from Lowicz, and so have joined his friends in a
few hours ; but this would have excited a suspicion
that he wished to evade the ceremony of the presen-
tation.

The spy at Lowicz had fully confirmed the correct-
ness of all our previous anticipations, which to ray
young companion were rendered the more gloomy,
when he was informed of the ill humor which pre-
vuiied at the Belvedere.

We threw ourselves back in the corners of the dil-
igence, and joined in a sort of sighing duet, which was
suddenly interrupted by-one of our fellow passengers,
who commenced humming a favorite French air, well
known in Poland and in Germany for bringing to rec-
ollection Kosciusko's campaigns.

The other passengers in the diligence, who had
nearly fallen to sleep, started as if the coach had over-
turned, and looked about with surprise and consterna-
tion.

' For Heaven's sake, if you have any regard for
your own safety or for ours, do not sing that air,' ex-
claimed the young gentleman opposite to me. * The

28 JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

driver may inform against us, and we shall be sent
God knows where.'

All this astonished me as much as it did the poor
man, whose singing had been so suddenly cut short.
But we were speedily informed that the song had
been translated into Polish, and made to apply to the
events of the day. Having been once sung at a con-
cert, it had excited great displeasure, and was in
consequence so strictly prohibited, that to sing it was
an offence punishable by imprisonment.

After this explanation, a profound silence prevailed
in the diligence, until a Swiss, who was one of the
passengers, after looking at his watch and taking a
pinch of snuff, commenced in a faint treble voice, his
national song : * Herz^ myn Herz ! warum so trurig I *

Evening approached. The landscape, which I saw
through the frame of the coach window, was tinged
with the hues of a beautiful sunset. The shades of
twilight gradually gathered round, and from a sky of
cloudless blue, myriads of stars shed their light on the
straight road before us..

As the coach rolled onward, the conversation in the
diligence gradually died away. I alighted from the
coach for a few minutes at Blouie, and when we again
started, I crept into my old corner in the diligence and
fell asleep.

After a time I was roused by one of ray fellow pas-
sengers, who, shaking me rather roughly, exclaimed :
* Baron, we are at the barrier !' at the same time apol-
ogizing for disturbing me. *No offence,' replied I,

\

JOURNEY TO WARSAW. 29

rubbing my eyes, and almost forgetting where I was.
I drew out my passport, the sight of which imme-
diately restored my recollection. ' At the barrier of
Warsaw, you 6nd yourself on the road to Yassi.'
This was precisely what I felt when I handed my
passport to an invalid, who, stretching his arm into
the coach, returned it, apparently without looking
at it.

How often in imagination had I pictured Warsaw,
as a fine ancient city, in whose balconied squares and
streets venerable old Poles might be seen, in their na-
tional eastern-like costume, viz: the Persian shawl, the
karabella*, the yellow boots, and, in winter, the costly
furs.

But how did I find Warsaw ? A city of immense
extent f except Rome, the largest 1 ever saw, sur-
rounded by walls, or, what is much the same, by bar-
riers. Of its antiquity no trace remained. Wooden
huts next to modern palaces, and a high street or road
(chaussee) on either side of which I ^beheld nothing
but barracks and unfurnished houses.

Wearing a Polish kurlka is an offence punishable
by arrest. It may therefore readily be supposed that
none of the inhabitants of Warsaw venture to show
themselves in the old national dress.

It was four o'olock in the morning when I arrived
in the Polish capital ; yet at that early hour all was

* The harabella is the sword, which used formerly to be worn by
Polish noblemen.

3*

30 * JOURNEY TO WARSAW.

bustle, and the streets were thronged with gay uni-
forms.

The Grand Duke Constantine rises between three
and four o'clock, as so of course do all the individuals
who are to be employed on duty for the day.

My attention was first attracted by the Cossack
guards in their red uniforms ; they were, for the most
part, fine looking men, with that expression of counte-
nance peculiar to the inhabitants of the Caucassus.
Ulans,* cuirassiers, hussars, chasseurs, musketeers,
yagerSjf artillery-men, sappers, and various other kinds
of warriors on the peace establishment, crowded the
streets, as I proceeded from the barrier to the post-
office.

In the camp, which is without the city, there are
thirty thousand Polish infantry, besides two regiments
of Russian grenadier guards ; and the Russian garri-
son of Warsaw, which, when I arrived, was all in
motion for the parade, contains three thousand horse-
guards, a Polish regiment of chasseur-guards and other
troops.

At Warsaw all is on a military footing, and we
accordingly experienced a military reception. An
invalid seated himself on the coach-box beside the
driver, and one of my fellow travellers observed to
me, ' He will accompany us in a droski to the Belve-
dere.'

He did so ; but the Grand Duke was engaged in
attending to some military manoeuvres, and my pre-
sentation was postponed till another occasion.

* L&ncen. \ Chasseurs k pied. — Am. Ed.

)i

i

■X

PART II.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW,

SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER VI.

Bel vedere, under the Grand Duke Conitantine — Scenes before the
levee — Officers of the Horse Guards on duty — The Hussar-
Adjutant — Orderlies — General Strandtmann.

The Belvedere Palace is a modest looking country
house, situated within the southern barrier of Warsaw,
not far from the Mokatowska Rogatka.* It is a plain
edifice, built in the modern style, with side wings, and
fronted by a high semi-circular iron railing. The ex-
terior is covered with a kind of pale red plaster, and
the interior resembles the dwelling of a private man,
rather than the palace of a prince. The upper apart-
ments command a tolerably extensive prospect over
the adjoining park, (which is laid out in the English
style,) the botanical gardens, Lazinka, the horse-guard
barracks, and a part of the town. The iron gate is

^ Rogatki {Chevaux defrise) are employed for turnpikes.

32 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

guarded by invalids,* and no civilian, without a mil-
itary escort, is permitted to pass it. From the house,
various paths diverge, some leading to the city, and
others to different places in the neighborhood. Around
the Belvedere unbroken stillness prevails. No pedes-
trian ventures to approach it ; even carriages avoid the
principal paths, or turn back when they arrive within
some distance of the house* In the park, the nightin-
gale seems to sing softly and fearfully, and the frogs
croak, as it were, by stealth, for — the Grand Duke
Constantine dwells in the Belvedere.

I speak of things as they were. — ^The first accounts
of the Polish insurrection informed us that all was
changed at the Belvedere. Be that' as it may 5 we
will take a view of the past, and detain the reader at
the palace, until we bring the Grand Duke himself on
the scene.

It is four o'clock on a summer's morning ; and the
infantry are encamped beyond the opposite barrier of
the city. The droskis and chaises of the generals are
collected on the outside of the gate. Gendre is al-
ready up, and in the anti-chamber salutations are
interchanged between the officers on duty for the day,
consisting of a captain of each of the three regiments
of horse-guards, a subaltern officer of each squadron,
and also a subaltern officer for day duty at the great
Lazaretto of Uyazdow.

Jokes are passed in Polish, Russian, German, and
French ; Chambertin, Chateau-Lafitte, the favorite of

*01d or wounded soldiers, unfit for active service. — Am. Ed.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 33

the day, Markebronner, Louis WolfePs champaign, the
French restaurateur at the castle, whose name is a
matter of no importance, even though liis culinary art
were greater than it is, and the ladies' boarding-schools
in the Cracow suburb, alternately become the subjects
of conversation ; — ^The 'old gentleman,' 'Ensign Gun-
powder,' and the 'Bavarian Prince,'^ deliberate on
the important question, who shall furnish the Rude-
sheimer for the mess-supper. No one evinces any
eagerness to anticipate the generosity of his comrades.
The 'old gentleman' with a smile, twirls his Spanish
brown mustachios, and goes off to mount guard with
his Bucephalus, a noble beast, with whose merits none
are so well acquainted as his master. A slender hus-
sar-adjutant enters with long strides, sticks the^report
in his feathered cap, shrugs his shoulders, and accom-
panies by the clanking of his spurs the da capo of his
anti-chamber ennui. An ironical French hon mot is
at his tongue's enfl ; he addresses it to the * Bavarian
Prince,' and then leaves the room, as he has to exam-
ine the orderlies, who are ranged like puppets in the
adjoining apartment. For two hours past an old sol-
dier has been engaged in lacing and dressing the sub-
officers and recruits, who are to appear before the
Grand Duke in optima forma. All start when the
adjutant suddenly opens the door, and turn their faces
towards him; but the dreaded visitor makes a sign to
the old soldier to continue his occupation.

The adjutant at first gives vent to a few oaths ; but

* Nicknames given to some of the officers of the horse-guards.

34 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

when the cartridge boxes are placed in their proper
position on the shoulders, he murmurs Charoscho !
(good.)

The old. soldier's attendant, a miserable looking
being, carefully blackens and polishes the boots in
dreadful anxiety lest they should soil tlie red ornaments,
in which case he would not only have to encounter the
thunderbolts of the adjutant's fury, but a new whip
would be provided for him by the staff of the regi-
ment.

The inspector of the body squadron of lancer-guards
steps in. He feels himself quite at home ; for it is
his duty to dance attendance in this room only three
hundred and sixty-five times a year. He is in high
spirits, and g^ives hini§elf an ^iir of importance; the
reason is this: — though he has not been ten years a
sub-officer, and served altogether twenty years, yet he
is raised to the rank of an officer, though it be only
for parade.

He is on friendly terms with the inspectors of the
life-cuirassiers and hussars. They mutually offer each
other the use of the pocket-mirrors and hair brushes
which they have brought in their shakos, and all three
lament not having tasted a drop of vodka ; for when
the Grand Duke is out of humor, he will not suffer a
man whose breath smells of vodka, to continue in the
service. A few other officers enter, and hastily throw
aside their cloaks. After pulling each other's hair, and
making a noise, they withdraw to the anti-room.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 35

General Strandtmann enters, and asks the adjutant
some frivolous questions.

All are now' drawn up in a line, and the general, in
his own self-important person, inspects his orderlies.
* How .... how .... what is this,' he says, addressing
the sub-officer. ' What sort of a beard have you got ? . .
You look like a peasant following the plough ! . . . .
Away with all that hair at the angles of your mouth !'
Then turning to the adjutant, he roars out : — ' Let all
this stubble be shaved off. And how has he dressed
his mustachios ? What does he do with so much
shoe-blacking under his nose. What a storm we
should have from the Grand Duke, if the fellow were
to present himself in this way. . . . Quick . . quick . .
get him shaved.' Then casting a significant glance at
the motionless hussar puppets, he hastens to the inner
temple.

' Bring a razor ! ' exclaims the adjutant, accompany-
ing the order by a few oaths. The old soldier trem-
bles, for he has brought needles and thread in his
furaska, but no razor. In this dilemma the adjutant's
presence of mind befriends him. He seizes a large
knife, and speedily whets the edge on the English cast
iron stove. Blacking supplies the place of Windsor .
soap. ' Stand still, my good fellow, and I'll soon
shave you,' says the" adjutant to the poor sub-officer, •
who passively resigns himself to his fate. At the
moment Hadshi enters, and on witnessing this comical
scene, bursts into a fit of laughter. ' Ah Hadshi !
you see I am turned barber.' Big tears rolled down

36 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

the cheeks of the poor devil under the operation.
' Hadshi,' continues the adjutant, ' this scene will be a
subject for your satirical pen. You must describe it.'
^ I will,' replied Hadshi, and at this moment a confused
murmur at the outside of the door announces the ap-
proach of the Grand Duke.

SKETOHES OF WARSAW. 37

CHAPTER VII.

Omniscience of the Grand Duke — Saper vision of foreigners —
The Grand Duke's carriage — His daily excursions.

The Grand Duke has received the reports of his
generals, has learned from the commandant of the city
and the president of the police every thing that hap- /
pened yesterday ; he has examined the cards left at
the gates of the palace ; made inquiries about the arri-
vals, and determined on what conditions those on the
list of intended departures shall obtain their passports ;
signed a few decrees for degrading officers from their
rank, and dispatched orders to the commander of the
fortress of Zamocz, respecting the treatment of per-
sons condemned or suspected.

His Highness has discussed with Gendre and Fen-
shaw all the latest news, foreign and domestic, re-
newed his rigid orders against popular movements, and
has obtained from Kuruta and Sass circumstantial
details of every thing concerning the military.

He knows, for example, that General Richter, on
the preceding evening took a turn through the New
World,* in his cloak and furaska, and he is overjoyed
at the thought of giving a proof of his omniscience.

* A street in Warsaw.

38 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

Accordingly, the general no sooner enters the saloon
than he whispers in his ear, ^ The next time you take
a private walk into the New World, you had better
wear your hat.'

The Grand Duke has moreover learned that several
officers are taking lessons in the English language.
He orders them to relinquish that dangerous study, and
in its stead to employ themselves in learning the regu-
lations of the service. He has been informed that
some of the officers of the Lithuanian regiment of
grenadier guards daily dine together, and that their
conversation occasionally turns on forbidden topics.
He accordingly issues orders that these meetings shall
cease, as each officer can as well dine in his own
quarters. He observes on the sick list an officer
whose name does not appear on the list of invalids at
Uyazdow ; and he orders his physician Kuczkowski
to visit him personally, and if he be really ill, to re-
move him immediately to the Lazaretto, as no officer
under the rank of captain can be permitted to be ill in
his own quarters. Having dispatched these and vari-
ous other orders of a similar kind, he salutes the
officers on duty in the manner described in the last
chapter.

If he should happen to see a foreigner newly arrived
from Paris, he scans him narrowly, and then addresses
to him a few questions concerning passing events.
Every foreigner who comes either to make a stay in
Warsaw, or merely to pass through it, is closely ques-
tioned concerning his previous places of abode, and is

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 30

very particularly asked whether be has attended any
of the German universities, and which of them.
Should the unsuspecting foreigner answer Jena or
Wurzburgh, the bushy eye-brows of the Grand Duke
are drawn down over his nose. The order for watch-
ing slriclly, which has already been privately given, is
then repeated openly ; or perhaps the foreigner re-
ceives notice to quit Warsaw in twenty-four hours.

If the foreigner happen to be a person of any im-
portance, or a young man of good family, he is, with-
out further ceremony, required to enter the military
service ; and the gold lace trappings of his uniform
are the strongest and surest chains that ever were
forged. The prisoner perhaps never recovers his
liberty, or if he does, it is only when, after years of
cr.ptiviiy, ill health renders him un6t for longer ser-
vice, and his conduct has been such as to cause no
objection to his liberation. If it should be thought that
he is any way dangerous, he is allowed to take leave
of his regiment, and is to appearance, dismissed with-
out being allowed to depart, so that he is kept from
month to month and from year to year in hopeless
uncertainty.*

Native subjects of Russia, who, on their return
from the German universities visit Warsaw, are never
permitted to proceed home. They must enter the ser-
vice, are planted in the military school, and are kept
prisoners for six or eight years, though they can be
legally detained only four years. Indeed, an imperial

* The author refers, probably, to Pole* from the other Proyineei.

Am. Ed-

40 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

ukase, published in 1829, declares that native Russians
are required to serve only three years. But this ukase
is locked up in the cabinet of the Grand Duke, to-
gether with mapy others, which are not brought into
operation, because they are not in accordance with his

wiU.

The morning audience being ended, the all-powerful
Constantino prepares to take a drive, and his droski,
to which four sorrels are harnessed in the Russian
style, is in waiting within the iron gate of the park.
He steps into the carriage, and the adjutant on duty
seats himself on his right ; a precautionary arrange-
ment, the object of which is to enable the adjutant to
have his right arm at liberty, so that he may draw his
sword in case of need. The favorite carriage of the
Grand Duke is a vehicle of such heavy construction,
that it rolls along with the noise of a peal of thunder,
so that His Highnesses approach can never be mis-
taken by those who. have once beard it.

The Duke's usual drive is through one of the roads
leading from the Belvedere to the Foundling Hospital,
through Trumpet Street, and across Saxon Square to
the camp, where the infantry go through their exercise
to-day as they did yesterday and the day before, and,
in short, as they have done every day during the last
year.

Between nine and ten o'clock, the Grand Duke re-
turns to the Belvedere, takes his second breakfast, and
sleeps for an hour. On rising, he perhaps reads the
Gonstitutionnel and some other newspapers, or, if in-
clined to take another drive, be visits some of the bar-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 41

racks, the Lazaretto of Uyazdow, or any other place
which he taajr think it necessary to inspect.

All the officers, except the lancers, wear cocked
hats, called stunners. These hats must, ' according to
regulation,' be worn square ; that is to say, the two
corners must be above the shoulders of the wearer.
This mode of wearing the hat is very uncomfortable ;
but to have the corners before and behind, is contrary
to orders. If the well-known roll of the ducal car-
riage be heard at a distance by the officers, as they are
lounging through the streets, all mechanically raise
their hands to their hats, and take care to square them,
according to * regulation,' before they are observed by
the falcon eye of the Grand Duke. All turn round
and salute his Highness as he passes. Should any
departure from the prescribed regulations for military
dress be observed, the carriage instantly stops, and the
offender is ordered to the nearest guard-house.

A great coat buttoned over on the left side instead
of the right, a button that has slipped out of a button
hole, or a cavalry officer who may step across the
street to visit a comrade without putting on his spurs,
are causes sufficient to excite the wrath of the * regu-
lation' Duke. He continues for several days out of
humor ; but indeed he is seldom otherwise, and officers
and privates are alike the objects of punishment.

After dinner, the Grand Duke again takes a nap of a
few hours duration, and he finally retires to rest at ten
o'clock. In summer, his day's work begins at three,
and in winter at five o'clock. His bed-chamber is like
an armory.

4*

42 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Chiefs of the secret Police — General Gendr*— The saloons of

Warsaw.

The spy system in Warsaw early led to the discov-
ery of the first measures which brought about the
insurrection of the 29th of November, on the com-
mencement of which the chiefs of the secret police
were put to death. The names of the generals who
fell in the Belvedere plainly show that the insurgents
knew their men ; for the individuals on whom they
wreaked their vengeance, were those who exercised
almost unlimited power, and who at the beck of their
tyrannical master, were always ready to execute any
command that might be uttered in a transitory ebulli-
tion of fury.

Next in authority to the Grand Duke Constantine,
is General Gendre, whose wife is a sister of the de-
ceased Lieutenant-General Albrecht, commander of
the body-guard Uhlans, and a general of division of
the horse-guards in Warsaw. Owing to the relation-
ship of his lady widi the Imperial family of Russia,
Gendre found a protector in the Grand Duke, when,
having fallen into disgrace, he was dismissed and cash-
iered by the Emperor. He then came to Warsaw,

8KET0HES OF WARSAW. 43

where he got the command of a brigade of the foot-
guards.

He has been judged not only by the ^ voice,' but by
the ^ hand of the people ;' and his odious conduct,
which was long notorious, may well justify the deed of
desperation to which, relying on the authority of his
rank, he provoked the oppressed and injured nation.
It is a well-known fact, that during the last French
war, Gendre, who was appointed to remount the active
Russian cavalry, received for that purpose many mil-
lions, which he appropriated to his own private benefit.
Officers of respectability, who served in that campaign,
unanimously declai*e, that the horses sent by the. gen-
eral from Russia for remounting the cavalry were, for
the most part, suffering from a disease which must
have been obvious to any judge of horses. They
were in consequence unfit for service, and exposed the
healthy horses to the danger of infection.

I recollect a circumstance of a nature similar to the
above, which came to my knowledge at a subsequent
period in Warsaw : I will relate it as I heard it.

The Grand Duke observed a horse belonging to a
Polish gentleman, which pleased him exceedingly;
for he is a great admirer of fine horses. He immedi-
ately directed General Gendre to ascertain whether
the owner-would part with his horse, as he would wil-
lingly give any price for it. The Pole was flattered
by the Grand Duke's admiration of his horse, and
declared that he should be happy to send the animal
as a present to his Highness, but, as that would be

44 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

contrary to etiquette, he was willing to sell the horse
for a very small sum, which, at Gendre's request, he
immediately specified. Gendre informed the Grand
Duke that though the Pole was very reluctant to part
with his horse, yet he was not insensible to the honor
conferred on him by his Imperial Highness, and there-
fore consented to sell the horse for three hundred
gold ducats. The general immediately received an
order on the private treasury, and the horse was sent
to the Belvedere.

After the lapse of some time the Polish gentleman
requested one of the Grand Duke's adjutants to take
an opportunity of mentioning to his Highness the
afiair of the horse, which he had agreed to sell for the
sum of one hundred ducats, but that owing to some
mistake or negligence he had never received the
money, though the Grand Duke was remarkable for
punctuality in his payments. The adjutant conceived
himself in duty bound to mention the afiair in one of
his reports, and the Grand Duke, thunderstruck with
astonishment, summoned Gendre to his presence, and
in furious terms expressed his indignation at his con-
duct. The favorite, with true Russian servility, threw
himself on his knees before his master, who, in the
presence of the adjutants, inflicted on him a summary
punishment of kicks and imprecations. But, notwith-
standing all this. Brigadier General Gendre was such
an indispensable person in the court of the Belvedere,
that after a few days he was invited to the taWe of the
Grand .Duke, and the dishonest transaction was no
longer thought of.

BKETOHES OF WARSAW. 45

Gendre was a tall^ stout mafD, of dignified appear-
ance, and decorated with orders of the first class. His
spacious residence contained one of the most brilliant
saloons in Warsaw, and his patronage was sought for
by those wliose rank and fortune entided them on their
part to exercise the highest patronage.

It may be remarked that at his evening parties, his
visitors were offered no other refreshment than a single
cup of tea. This custom, which is prevalent among
the higher classes in Warsaw, has been ridiculed by
Staberle, in his Travelling Adventures. At Gendre's
parties the general, with his tooth-pick in his hand,
used to sit with his guests round an empty table, while
the jingling of decanters and glasses was heard in the
adjoining room.

In a conversation with a colonel of the guards res-
pecting the state of society in the Polish capital, Gen-
eral Gendre once declared, that there was not a fash-
ionable family in Warsaw, at whose house a man like
himself could enjoy the society of his equals. This
was probably the only truth that had for years es-
caped his lips.

46 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER IX.

Novosilzov — His chancery — His library — The minister and the

wench.

The Imperial Commissary-General, Novosilzov,
held the highest rank next to the Grand Duke Con-
stantino. Besides being a minister and senator, he
was curator of the University of Wilna. The latter
post he perhaps still fills, if indeed he survived the 1st
of December, 1830, which would be nothing short of
a miracle.

In Warsaw the name of Novosilzov was whispered
as fearfully as was the dreaded name of Dyonisius in
Syracuse. Of the Emperor's famous commissioner
there was biK one opinion.

In the year 1825, one half of the University of
Wilna, besides numerous youths and young men from
distant governments of the Empire were, by Novosil-
zov's decision, condemned, some to be sent to Sibe-
ria, some to serve as common soldiers, some to suffer
the punishment of the knout, and some to imprison-
ment ; and all this because a boy chalked on a wall
the words * Live the constitution of 1791,' thus afford-
ing evidence of an existing conspiracy.

I was an eye-witness to the misery and affliction
with which thousands of families were then visited.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 47

The overwhelming sentence fell on the most distin-
guished families of the land, far and near.

It is a curious fact, that in his youth Novosilzov was
a zealous promoter and supporter of the constitution of
1791. This is proved by the testimony of many of
his early friends.

The secret chaocery in Warsaw exercised control
over every thing connected with literature, education,
&;c., in Russia and Poland ; and its unlimited power
seemed to be more than sufficient to check all intel-
lectual growth in the bud. To those, therefore, who
are acquainted with the restrictions imposed on indi-
vidual freedom in Poland, it must have appeared in-
credible that an insurrection could ever have broken
out in Warsaw, which was watched by the vigilant eyes
of Novosilzov as well as those of Constantine.

All persons wishing to travel from Warsaw to Rus-
sia must be provided with passports from Novosilzov.
These passports are delivered only to those respecting
whom the most minute inquiries have been made in
secret. Novosilzov has the gift of all ecclesiastical
and scholastic offices, and he may also displace the
persons holding such offices, at his pleasure.

Poles, as well as Russians, avoid with a secret dread
every clerk of Novosilzov ; and this never-failing sign
of the approach of these worthy civilians was suffi-
cient to put an end to the most innocent conversation.

Novosilzov's library contains all new foreign publi-
cations; a very vigilant regard being paid to those
writers who do not go the length of recommending

48 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

despotism quite unconditionally. — I even found an
intellectual sacrifice to the knout, in the person of the
Freeslander Rognhar Yarr,* who bad arrived in War-
saw before me. " ''^■

As I was, while yet a stranger in Warsaw, sitting at
a window in the residence of an acquaintance not far
from St. Alexander's Church, I observed in the street
an elderly man in familiar conversation with a female
"'of a certain description. The loud laughter and in-
decorous behavior of this couple sufficiently^ proved
that at lea^ one kind of freedom was fully tolerated in
Warsaw.

* Do you know who that man is ? ' inquired I of
Baron Von P — . ' That is the Imperial Commissary-
General, the minister Novosilzov,' he replied; 'the
most inveterate foe to democrats in all the Russian
dominions.' — ' How ! ' exclaimed I, with astonishment,
* that man yonder in the dark frock coat .... the stout
man who is talking to that wench, and familiarly play-
ing with the string of her hat ! • . • . Surely that can
not be Novosilzov ? ' — ' It is no other,' answered the
baron ; ' only §tay a minute, and I wager you will see
the woman turn to the left, down the Czerniekowska-
Ulica, which leads to his Excellency's villa.' — * Is not
Novosilzov curator of the University of Wilna ? ' In
my simplicity I inquired, ' what would the academic
youth say if they saw his Excellency as we now see
him ? ' — ' They would do their best to follow his exam-
ple, and the minister of public insti'uction would be

* A work by the aathor of these Memoirs.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 49

very well pleased. Profligate habits are a sure anti-
dote to democratic ideas.' — * Your are right,' baron,
said I ' where moral depravity has free scope, the prin-
ciples which Novosilzov holds in such horror will
never take root. I wonder that a University brothel,
under the superintendence of the curator, has not
been established in Warsaw or Wilna, though there is
certainly no scarcity of similar institutions in either of
the two places.'

As the baron had predicted, the woman soon turned
down the Czerniekowska Ulica, and the minister
slowly followed her.

What, is the consequence to be inferred from this
scene ? Is it not that a commissary-general of the
Emperor of all the Russians (and of some millions of
Poles besides) has no scruple about violating decorum
in the public streets, and in broad daylight ?

But before whose eyes should he restrain him-
self? — Not surely before the eyes of the Grand Duke,
who was ready enough to set many such examples
of toleration himself! — and, his Imperial Highness
excepted, there was not a man in all Warsaw who
might not, by a stroke of his Excellency's pen, be
incarcerated in solitary confinement or sent to Siberia.

Decency is not in unison with the system of abso-
lute monarchy. Moral depravity* is, as it were, the

* The policy of Russia as also of Austria, is to encourage all
kinds of immorality, which tend to tarn the attention of men
from political subjects. In Vienna, it may be said with truth,
the government allows a high premium on vice and immorali-
ty. — Am. Ed.

6

50 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

pummel of the sword of despotism, and it must be
early fostered, in order to blight the dangerous bud
which expands into the triad flower of freedom, truth,
and love.

But justice is my motto, and I will be just even to
some individuals in Novosilzov's circle, whose pure
and exalted humanity commanded my highest respect.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 61

CHAPTER X.

Duty for the day — The monkey of the Delvedere, and Mahmud

Hassan of Varna.

Haying, according to the Russian order of rank,
paid our respects to the Emperor's Commissary-
General, we will return to the Belvedere, where there
is much that is worthy of observation.

As within the horizon of the Grand Duke, every
thing must be maintained on a military footing, and
Ffrictly conformable to 'regulation,' so all in his ser-
vice, fic:n the general to the shoe-black, are on duty
for the day.

This day duly, or, as it is termed, service du jour^
is not confined to men or to creatures like men, but
extends to horses and carriages, saddles and har-
nesses. Particular droskis and chaises are daily pre-
pared for the service dujourj and particular riding
horses are kept saddled and bridled, like cavalry
horses on picket guard. Officers of the household,
chamberlains and lackeys are du jour in the military
style. Even the cook and confectioner are daily
changed, and the Belvedere is lighted by a lamp-
lighter du jour.

Besides the eminent individuals whom we have,
already noticed at the court of the Belvedere, there

52 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

are two important personages, to whom the reader has
not yet been introduced. These are his Imperial
Highness's monkey, and Mahmud Hassan, a deserter
from Varna.

The monkey is the favorite of the Grand Duke, and
the companion of his idle hours. He is an accom-
plished virtuoso in the art of grimace, and his society
is indispensable to his master.

- Yet a monkey may be dangerous, and an event took
place at the Belvedere, which proves that even the
most petted favorite is not to be trusted.

One day Constantino was busy writing in his own
apartment, while his favorite monkey was as usual ca-
pering about, playing all sorts of tricks, and meddling
with every thing. At length he fixed his eyes on a
loaded gun, and snatching it up unperceived, he delib-
erately took aim at his master, and was on the point of
pulling the trigger. At this moment the Grand Duke
happened to raise his eyes from his desk, and though
almost petrified with alarm, uttered a loud cry, upon
which the monkey averted the weapon, and discharged
its contents in another direction.

The report caused a dreadful consternation in the
palace. The individuals in attendance hurried to the
apartment of his Highness, and found him, though
still agitated by the eflTects of the fright, caressing the
monkey, who had thrown the musket on the ground,
and was apologizing for his misdemeanor by his very
best grimaces.

The forbearance which was evinced towards the

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 53

monkey, who, if he had had the ill luck to be a liian,
would at least have been sent to end his days in the
lead works of Siberia, is at least a proof of the Grand
Duke's humanity ;^ and as such deserves to be borne
in mind.

The only punishment the monkey received was to
be banished for a time from the apartment of his
master. He was removed to new quarters, and trans-
ferred to the friendly care of Mahmud Hassan. He
was, however, frequently visited by his master, whom
be continued to divert by his tricks and grimaces.

In the castle of Uyazdov, the military Lazaretto,
which usually contains between 1000 and ISOO pa-
tients, there are several chambers assigned to the use
of the household officers of the Grand Duke. These
apartments are roomy, well furnished, and most of
them look into the garden. Admission to one of these
chambers is a great mark of distinction, as well as a
benefit conferred on an invalid, and it is only obtained
by an especial order from the Belvedere,

In the beginning of the year 1829, I was taked
dangerously ill in Warsaw, and I was not a little aston-
ished at receiving an order for admission to one of the
chambers above described.

In the adjoining room to me lay Mahmud Hassan,
a favorite of the Grand Duk^ atid of G^oeral Kq-
ruta ; and, being near neighbors and fellow-sufierers,
we soon got acquainted with each Other.

Mahmud Hassan was an exceeduigly intelligent and

* Query : Mankeyanity.

6*

54 SKETOHES OF WARSAW.

well-informed young man, about nineteen years of age,
and possessing cunning enough for a dozen Greeks. I
found him a very pleasant companion. We conversed
together through the medium of a jargon, compounded
of Russian, Polish, Turkish, and modern Greek ; and
when we could not make ourselves mutually intelligible
by the tongue, we had recourse to signs.

I continued bedridden after he was convalescent and
able to move about. He used, therefore, to come and
sit beside me for hours together, describing to me the
particulars of the siege of Varna, of which none of
the public papers had given a faithful account. In-
deed, he made me acquainted with many details which
were but little known beyond the boundaries of the
Russian dominions.

Mahmud possessed a talent for drawing ; and as he
observed many sketches in my apartment, he pro-
fessed a great regard for me, — evidently not without
an interested view. He made a very clever sketch of
Varna, and the fortifications of the Russians, whea
describing to me the manner in which be effected his
escape.

Love of life suggested to the patriotic Moslem the
idea of finding his way 'to the enemy's trenches, and
offering himself as a guide to assist the Russians in
taking Varna, by nvrbich treachery he hoped to make
his fortune. Ma|unud. Hassan was in fact a very great
rogue, which will sufficiently account for his destiny,
having conducted him to the Belvedere.

He was immediately enrolled in the suite of the

SKETCHES OF WARSAW* 55

Russian general in Varna, where, in gratitude for his
services, he was informed that he might have his
choice, whether he would go to^ St. Petersburgh or to
Warsaw, as he evinced no great taste for the dangers
of a military life. * I resolved/ said he, as he de-
scribed to me his adventures, 'to go to Warsaw; for
I had heard that Warsaw was nearer than St. Peters-
burgh, and I said to myself, Mahmud, in case you
should not like Warsaw, you can go to St. Petersburgh
afterwards. But the Polish women (Deffki Polski)
are very pretty, and I am quite content to stay here.'

It is impossible to convey to the reader any idea of
the naive and comic way in which Mahmud Hassan
made this confession as he sat at my bed side. I
know I never in my life laughed so heartily as when I
heard it.

Hassan still dwells at the Belvedere, dressed in the
costume of a modem dandy, and he is daily advancing
in the favor of his master. When in the Lazaretto,
he was always well supplied with money : he had
whatever provisions and refreshments he wanted brought
from the palace, and General Kuruta used to send him
bags of sweetmeats, such as are usually presented to
ladies.

When Hassan discovered that I was a German, or
at least of German extraction, he grew rather reserved
to me. I understood the reason of this when he after-
wards gave me his opinion of difierent nations, in
nearly the following way : ' 1 bate the Germans, be-
cause they are so grave. I like the French, because

56 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

they mo^e their arms and hands when they speak with
their mouths. The English are foob, (Duracki) and
as to the Italians, I never saw one except Flori, (chief
physician of the Lazaretto.)

When the Grand Duke, during one of his inspecting
visits to Uyazdow, entered oar apartments, he intro-
duced his favorite to Greneral Gendre, and, laughing,
said, ' There is a youth who has only been a few
months here, and he has already made hiioself ac-
quainted with every bad woman in Warsaw.'

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 67

CHAPTER XI.

The Saxon Square — Parallel between Warsaw and Rome.

Next to the monkey of the Belvedere, the most
remarkable thing in Warsaw is the Parade, on the
Saxon Square, fronting the Bruhl Palace.

This square owes its present spacious size to the
Grand Duke Constantine, who ordered the pulling
down of all the buildings which formerly limited its
extent.

On the left, looking from the palace, is a guard-
house. There are so many of these guard-houses in
Warsaw, that two dozen officers may be daily arrested
and lodged in them, without any fear of disturbing each
other in their philosophic reveries.

Warsaw and Rome are similar as to extent ; and
both cities are surrounded by walls. The one con-
tains the Apollo Belvedere, and the other the Belvedere
monkey.

Rome, and the Pope, are two inseparable ideas ; so
are Warsaw, and the Grand Duke Constantine. The
infallibility of the one corresponds with the unlimited
despotism of the other. The clergy form the highest
and most powerful rank in Rome ; so do the military in
Warsaw.

What the convents are in Rome, the barracks are

58 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

in the Polish capital. The general of the Jesuits in
Rome, who deals in places and absolution, is precisely
like the generals of corps and divisions in Warsaw ; —
for example ; Roczniski sells officers' commissions for
ready money, or exchanges them for horses ; and Kur-
natovski knows how to temporize as well as any Jesuit.
As the general of the Jesuits is at once a priest and a
layman, so the Polish generals of division are at once
officers and courtiers ; half flesh, half fish, half Pole,
half Russian, and neither the one nor the other. The
dumb capuchin general in Rome may be aptly com-
pared to the Hussar-General Strandtmann^ in Warsaw,
whose taciturnity has given rise to the by-word, ' as
dumb as the general,^ which is repeated even by the
privates in his own regiment.

At one of the Grand Duke's levees, his Highness
was informed that a highly esteemed Prussian officer
wished to enter the Polish service ; and, by way of re-
commendation, it was added, that he was celebrated as
a writer on military tactics. * What,' exclaimed Con-
stantine, * is he a writer — an author ? Then I will
have nothing to do with him. I want men like my
Strandtmann.' The hussar-general made a low bow
in return for the flattering compliment.

Another point of resemblance between the military
in Warsaw, and the clergy in Rome is, that an officer
here may know nothing of military duty, and a priest
there nothing of spiritual duty.

As the Pope requires only church worship, so Con-
stantine requires only camp worship.^ A general once

&KBT0BE8 OF WARSAW. 59

ventured ta solicit the pardon of a ^ brave officer/ who
bad been guilty of some offence against regulation*
* What ! ' exclaimed the Grand Duke on the public
parade, ' he is a brave man, say you ? I want no
bravery. All I want is obedience ; and I order you
under arrest.'

Rome swarms with prieafcs, and Warsaw swarms
with officers^ In Warsaw, the military are regarded
with all the fear and awe, which are inspired bjr the'
monks in Rome. In the latter city, the rank and dig-
nity of each individual ecclesiastic, from the cardinal to
the lay-brother, is known to everybody ; in like man-
ner, the inhabitants of Warsaw know every man in the
army, from the general-in-chief down to the recruit,
and to what regiment each belongs.

In Rome, the ringing of bells is the summons to
worship ; in Warsaw, it is the flourishing of drums and
trumpets. The clergy in Rome move within the
boundaries of form, without any exercise of mind ;
so do the military in Warsaw. The priest feels him-

m

self free by absolution ; and the officer feels himself
restrained by absolutism.

In Rome, a priest crosses himself whenever he pass-
es a church; and in Warsaw, an officer crosses him-
self mentally, when he passes a guard-house.

The priest goes to church to attend service ; the
officer goes from service to the guard-house. The
criminal who flies to the church cannot be arrested ;
and the officer is not arrested after he enters the guard-

60 SKETCHES OF WAItSAW.

bouse. Men suspected of political offences are in
Rome, as in Warsaw, incarcerated in convents.

The Grand Duke, like the Pope, grants absolution.
The Pope blesses — the Grand Duke curses. This
parallel might be continued to infinite length; but it is
ten o[clock in the morning, at the latter end of autumn.
The infantry have left the camp, and are in the gar-
rison. The crowd has collected in the Saxon Square,
atid the parade is about to begin.

SKETCHES OF WABSAW. 61

CHAPTER XII.

The Parade, and the Guard-houBes.

I WILL, if ray invalid memoiy permiti eoumerate
the guard-houses of Warsaw, before we visit the pa-
rade ; for who knows what may happen there !

In Warsaw, when a man puts on his grand parade
uniform, he can never guess, with any degree of cer-
tainty, whether be be doomed to take it off again in
his own chamber.

I had but little opportunity of acquiring any per-
sonal knowledge of the guard-houses of Warsaw, for
I was always exceedingly attentive to my buttons, and
button-holes, kept my hair and mustachios in good
order, and maintained a most exemplary silence. —
However, we will see how many of these free quar-
ters we can find before we proceed to the parade.

There are at least eight guard-houses ; for there
are (or were,) eight regiments of guards in Warsaw.*

The cuirassier regiment of body guards, command-
ed by General von Knoring.

The lancer regiment of body guards, commanded
by General Markov.

*

* The author, as the reader will perceive, here mentions only
Mven, bat he corrects the mistake afterwards.

6

em SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

The Grodnov regiment of body guards hussars,
commanded by General Strandtmann.

The Polish regiment of chasseur guards, command-
ed by Genera] Kurnatovski.

The Lithuanian regiment of grenadier guards, com-
manded by General Engelmann.

The Volhynian regiment of foot-guards, commanded
by General Essakov.

The Polish regiment of grenadier guards, command-
ed by General Zymirski.

Besides these, there are in Warsaw the 1st, 2d,
and 3d Polish regiments of infantry of the line ; con-
sequently, three more guard-houses, making eleven.
There is also a battalion of Polish sappers, whose
guard-house is much too small, at least for the privates.
These sappers are a terrific corps. They were re-
cruited from the long-fingered tribe, and have not re-
linquished their old propensities, a circumstance which
has given rise to the saying that their gloves are too
short for them. In service, however, it cannot be de-
nied that this corps has distinguished itself. War is the
soldier's true element ; peace renders him a dangerous
neighbor, since mere idleness tempts him to plunder.

The guard-house of the sappers, therefore, which is
always well filled, completes the first dozen.

There is a very elegant guard-house established in
the old palace of Lazienki, which, with its surround-
ing gardens, was once styled the Polish Versailles.
Here suitable quarters are ready for captains of caval-
ry, and, in case of need, even colonels mav be accom-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 63

modated, should they do any thing to indicate a wish
to that effect. The building was newly repaired, and
fitted up in the spring of 1830, and it was doubtless
mortifying enough that it should be provisionally
closed on the 29th of November following.

There is a guard-house in the royal palace, another
in the Cracow suburb, and another in the Krasinski
gardens. In the latter, the prisoners have a pleasant
prospect from their windows, and in spring, may, if
they like, fancy themselves at Carlsbad, as there are~
artificial mineral waters in the neighborhood.

We have now counted sixteen guard-houses ; but
there are many more, though my memory does not
enable me to specify them. There are, besides, a
number of secondary guard-houses in Warsaw, which
are always well filled. These are not merely posts ;
even the unmilitary reader will know how to discrimi-
nate between a post and a guard-house.

While we have been engaged in making this pre-
liminary survey, numbers of officers have assembled
in the Saxon Square, where one half of each regiment
daily attends the parade.

A square of infantry extends as far as the eye can
reach ; and in front of a stable, beside the guard-
house is the cavalry picket, which is furnished by the
four regiments of guards, and daily changed, so that
first the old guard cuirassiers and uhlans, then the
young guard, next the hussars, and lastly, the chasseur
guards alternately relieve each other.

The people are looking out for good places to view

64 8KET0HEB OF WARSAW.

the parade. Bearded and unbearded Jews, ladies,
some alone, some escorted by gentlemen, are pressing
forward in the throng. Brokers of both sexes are
making their- way to the officers, to whom they are
offering their services, at no inconsiderable price.

The runners of the five secret police divisions glide
about without knowing each other. They narrowly
scan the gibbet-looking physiognomy of a jailor, appa-
rently suspecting that he has criminals under his care
no worse than themselves.

The hirelings of Colonel Sass keep their eyes on
the officers, whom they watch as narrowly as a jealous
old guardian watches a pair of iovera Biakipg an
assignation. Their attention is diipectcd to- tbe'l96k»
and gestures of the military gentlemei^ Th6y do not
concern themselves much about the uniforms,. for the
Grand Duke is to be on the parade, and will himself
see that all the buttons and button-holes are in good
order.

Nurses and servants are holdii^ their little charges
in their arms, so that they may have a good view of
the puppets. — *Te!l me,' exclaimed a little black*
headed urchin, in a tone of wonder, . . . . ^ are those
dolls alive ? .... do they move of themselves? '

^Whom do all those pretty men belong to?' inquires
a handsome serious looking boy in the natiooal dress,
but without a wooden karabella. < Whom do they be-
long to, my dear boy ! ' replies the grey-haired old
man, who is holding him on his shoulders to see the
sight, * they belong to the Grand Duke.' At the men-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 65

tion of that name, the boy seems to shudder, for he
thinks of the bitter tears shed by his mother, who for
seven years has mourned his father's captivity at
Zamosz, and whose h'ps tremble as they utter the
name of the Grand Duke. — ^ Used papa to be dressed
as finely as those men ? ' continued the boy. But the
baod strikes up, the Grand Duke appears, and all eyes
are turned towards him.

He advances along the front of the lines, passing
the Lithuanian regiment, and the old grenadiers, who
in the course of their lives receive millions and mil-
lions of lashes, by order of his Imperial Highness,
whose presence nevertheless now operates upon them
like a magnetic power ; — they fancy themselves in
Paradise — for the Grand Duke inspects them.

The several battalions and companies of the other
regiments have enjoyed a similar honor, and the
omnipotent Constantine stands with his back to the
palace, and gives the command. Next comes a
flourish of drums and trumpets. The regiments last
drawn out roust defile in open column. The falcon
eye of the Duke in a moment glances at every indi-
vidual man, while the columns defile ; — ^and as the
battalions march along, the ear distinguishes only a
single step.

The Grand Duke is satisfied. He expresses his
satisfaction to the general, and the compliment is the
same day repeated like an echo through the regi-
ment. The men are in an ecstasy of joy ; some get

6*

66 SKETOHES OF WARSAW.

drunk, are sent to the black->faole at night, and next
morning receive a good flogging.

A Polish company next comes under iospeotton.
The throat of an unfortunate ensign betrayt traces
of what is called a parricide; that is to say, the
young gentleman's shirt^collar accidentally rises about

the breadth of a straw aboire his stock The mapch

is interrupted by a thundering ^ Halt ! '

^Fanfaron!' exclaims the Grand Duke to the
downy^bearded youth. * In the name of all die deWb,
what do you mean by this ? Would you introduce
innovations here ? Off to the guard-house.'^-^Now
there is an end of all good humor, and woe to the
poor wretch who may be at fauk after this.;^ he will
be punished three-fold.

The generals tremble, and, like an electrio shock,
this trembling is communicated from rank to nmk,
down to the very drummer boys, whose treoabling
improves the roll of the drum.

The business is now. over with the infantry, and the
Grand Duke nexit proceeds to pass judgsaent on tbe
prisoners..

A young officer of the uhlan-guards is bpought
forward in chains, and a unanimous exclamation of
sympathy is heard among the female spectators.

^ He is a German baron,' is muttered among the
crowd. * What can be the poor fellow's offence ?'

* I know, I know,' exclaims a gossiping Jew ; * I
heard the story at Schulitz, where my Schicisel
lives. . . .That is the baron. . . . What is his name. . . .

SKET0HE8 OF WARSAW. Qf

I forget. He was quartered with Paoi Converskai
at Schulitz. ... I know all about him ! '

* Then tell us/ says a German merchant . . . . ^ tell
us why he is to be degraded.'

< He is degraded becsmse a youog man in the cui-
rassiers received a box on the ear from one of his
comrades, and then would not run the risk of being
shot, when he was challenged by another young man
who wore the same uniform, and thought it disgraced
by the affront. This last young man, finding he could
not get his challenge accepted by him who had re-
ceived the box on the ear, challenged him wha
bad given it. The handsome young baron yonder,
m chains, was second to the duel, and is to be
broken.' — *" And what iis to be the puni^ment of bim
who took the box on the ear ?' inquired the Germeft
merchant. ^Oh!' replies the Jew, ^as be fought
neither with pistols nor swords, he is aRowed to es-
cape.' — •* Well, the Vistula is dose by him, and be
may easily wash the stain out of bis uniform,' observed
the German.

During this dialogue the young officer is relieved^
from his chaitis, and at the same time stripped of the
ornaments of his uniform. In a common place address
he is then informed, that he is degraded to the rank of
a private soldier, and. he then wididraws from the
parade.

68 8KBT0RBS OF WARSAW*

1

CHAPTER XIII.

The Parade continaed.

The orderlies of the horse-guards advaoce. They
consist of two subK>fficers,^ and a private of each regi-
ment. They announce themselves, and tlie evolutions
commence.

A Russian horse-guard is required not merely to be
a good rider— <he must teach bis horse to dance under
him, to obey on the instant the slightest touch of the
bridle and spur, or the rider is punished for the fault
of the horse.

The Grand Duke gives the word of command, and
both horses and men do their best. The spectators
have free admission to the baiting ground^* and
many a good horseman looks as though he expected
to be baited like a bull.

The Grand Duke suspends for a few moments his
vigilant supervision of collars and button-holes ; for
two of his favorite horsemen, the lancer-lieutenant von
Salpius, from Berlin, and the hussar-lieutenant Baron
von Hiigel,f from the Cape of Grood Hope, are about
to display their equestrian skill.

* It is carious that the baiting ground is the name of the amphi-
theatre, for the performance of horsemanship in Warsaw,
t In 1830, he was promoted to the rank of staff-oaptain.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 69

The assembled generals observe with delight the
cheering satisfaction expressed in the Grand Duke's
countenance. They look round at each other with an
air of confidence, and Strandtmann breathes again,
' His future fate is in the scale, for the picket of his
regiment will prove his ruin if the rawest recruit is not
a better horseman than the general himself.

The picket at length advances : it is a detachment
of glittering hussars destined to relieve the uhlans who
were on duty the day before.

General Strandtmann's heroic heart beats anxiously.
He would give a great deal to see that hour happily
ended.

The adjutant,'^ Edward von Lowenthal, watches with
a half-suppressed ironical laugh, the trepidation of his
general, with whom he is no great favorite. But
Lowenthal is a brave and intelligent man, with whose
services the rerieral cannot dispense. Strandtmann
must relinquialh the command of his regiment were he
to lose his adjutant.

By a fatal ^ccident the officer at the head of the
picket is Lieutenant Zeltner,* from Solothurn. He
came to Warsaw with letters of recommendation frona
the veteran Kosciuszko, after the latter had resided for
eight years among the mountains of Switzerland.

Gloomy recollections of Kosciuszko crowd on the
mind of the Grand Duke. A cloud gathers on his
brow, and he is a perfect personification of Holberg's
^ Dietrich Menschenschreck.*^

* Dismissed in 1830.

70 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

Kosciuszko ! Switzerland ! the asylum of dema-
gogues ! — a host of frightful phantoms float before his
imagination, and with the sure indication of having
resolved to vent his rage on the protege of the hated
Kosciuszko, he thunders out the word of command.

The anxiety of the generals frequently has a fatal
influence on the officers commanding these pickets;
sometimes the officer, who receives the word of com-
mand from a distance, does not distinctly hear it; he
then repeats it partly mumbling, and partly roaring,
which is sure to create confusion.

The military figure and air of Lieutenant von Zeltner
excite interest in the surrounding throng, and all gaze
on the passing scene with anxious attention.

The picket has gone through its whirling evolutions
without a fault ; the rapid advance across the square,
amidst a cloud of dust, and the sudden halt, have been
executed to admiration. Now drawn up in a parallel
line, the horses and their riders await the next word
of command.

The wheeling and the second advance of the horses
throw even the Jew usurers into ecstasy, and after a
few more military tours de force they form in column
three deep, and again in line.

Alas ! one of the horses misses his place ; — and a
torrent of imprecations is hurled at the officer.

General Strandtmann trembles ; but the adjutant
stands unmoved.

Lieutenant von Zeltner fixes himself firmly in his
saddle, and a half suppressed oath escapes from

B^ETOHES OF WARSAW. 71

beneath his black mustachios. Then, after a pious
ejaculation to St. Winkelried, he delivers the command,
accompanied by the imprecations with which his
Highness sent it to him.

The uhlan picket advances for the ceremony of
taking leave. It is commanded by an Estonian,
Lieutenant Baron von Koursel, whose appearance for
a moment diverts away the storm that is gathering on
the brow of the Grand Duke, who nevertheless angrily
surveys the uhlans from head to foot, and shows him-
self inclined to send the whole picket of lancers to the
guard-house.

Koursel retires, and the parade closes with the usual
ceremonies.

The Grand Duke returns to the palace, the gen-
erals go home, the adjutants hurry to their offices, the
lancer-lieutenant Don Renudo, surnamed Uhe old
gentleman, ' sets off to regale himself with oysters, and
thinks Monsieur Chambertin a very good old friend.

72 8KETCBES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER XIV.

The iyftcer of the Isneer guard, and l3ie pjnunid of bafoneti.

The officers as well as sub-officers of the Rus-
sian horse-guards are subjected to the most rigorous
discipline, and are required to execute, on horseback|
all the manoeuvres of a theatrical equestrian.

One day, an officer of the lancer guard was going
through his exercise before the Grand Duke. He
had performed all the usual evolutions in the most sat-
isfactory way, until, when at full gallop, he was sud-
denly ordered to turn, — his horse proved restive, and
irefused to obey either bridle or spur.

The command was repeated in a thtindering voice,
and the officer renewed his effi>rts to make the horse
obey it ; but without effisct, for the fiery animal con-
tinued to prance about in defiance of his rider, who
was nevertheless an excellent horseman.

The rage of the Grand Duke had vented itself in
furious imprecations, and all present trembled for the
consequences. ' Halt ! ' he exclaimed, and ordered
a pyramid of twelve muskets with fixed bayonets, to
be erected. The order was instantly obeyed.

The officer, who had by this time subdued the res-
tiveness of his horse, was ordered to leap the pyra-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 73

mid — and the spirited horse bore his rider safely

OVQT it.

Without an interval of delay, the officer was com-
raanded to repeat the fearful leap, and to the amaze-
ment of all present, the noble horse and his brave rider
Stood in safety on the other side of the pyramid.

The ^ Grand Duke, exasperated at finding himself
thus thwarted in his barbarous purpose, repeated the
order for the third time. A general, who happened to
be present, now stepped forward and interceded for

4

the pardon of the officer ; observing that the horse was
exhausted, and that the enforcement of the order would
be to doom both horse and rider to a horrible death.

This humane remonstrance was not only disre-
garded, but was punished by the immediate arrest of
the general who had thus presumed to rebel.

The word of command was given, and horse and
rider for the third time cleared the glittering bayonets.

Rendered furious by these repeated disappointments,
the Grand Duke exclaimed for the fourth time : — * To
the left about ! — Forward ! ' — The command was
obeyed, and for the fourth time the horse leapt the
pyramid, and then, with his rider, dropped down ex-
hausted. The officer extricated himself from the sad-
dle, and rose unhurt, but the horse had both his fore-
legs broken.

The countenance of the officer was deadly pale,
his eyes stared wildly, and his knees shook under him.

A deadly silence prevailed as he advanced to the
Grand Duke, and laying his sword at his Highness's

. 7

74 SKET<JHES OF WARSAW.

feet, he thanked him in a faltering voice for the honor
he had enjoyed in the Emperor's service. h

^ I take back your sword/ said the Grand Duke^
gloomily, ' and are you not aware of what may be the
consequence of this undutiful conduct towards me ?'

The officer was sent to the guard-house. He sub-
sequently disappeared, and no trace of him could be
discovered.

This scene took place at St. Petersburgh, and the
facts are proved by the evidence of credible eye-wit-
nesses.*

* An anecdote within our own knowledge will exemplify this : —
Constantine, one day on parade, for some freak of fancy, ordered
a cavalry officer to advance in full charge upon the spot where he
himself was standing ; the officer obeyed, and putting spurs to his
horse, gallopped full upon the Grand Duke, and drew up his horse
only a yard from his person ; ' Why do you stop without my or-
ders ? ' thundered out the Duke ', — * I arrest you for disobedience ;
away with him to the guard-house !' A week's imprisonment was
the man's reward for having refrained from trampling this reptile
under his horse's feet. — Am. £d.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. . 76

CHAPTER XV.

A citizen of Warsaw condemned to hurl a wheelbarrow on the

Parade.

In commenting on a Russian despot of the sixteenth
century, Karamsin says, — * The investigator of history
knows not which to wonder at most, the unlimited and
barbarous despotism of the tyrant, or the patience and
forbearance of the people by whom he was tolerated.'

In Warsaw this idea forcibly presents itself to the
mind.

The occurrences of past days are repeated from
mouth to mouth, and the recollection of them is bit-
terly cherished in the bleeding hearts of the people,
who raise their eyes to heaven, and, with faith and con-
fidence in the justice of God, postpone the work of
vengeance and retribution.

Some years ago a soldier deserted from the garrison
of Warsaw.

In such cases, adjutants or commanders of regiments,
who are humanely disposed, delay as long as possible
mentioning the affair to the Grand Duke, with the
view of mitigating the punishment of the offender^
should they succeed in discovering him ; but they dare
not postpone their report beyond five days, and at the
expiration of that time the affair must be communi-

76 SKETOHES OF WARSAW.

cated to his Highness, and thus it happened in the case
of this deserter.

The second week after he had deserted, the man
was discovered working as a laborer in a* brewery
belonging to a weahhy citizen of Warsaw, named
Zavadzki, who was also a considerable landed propri-
etor.

On being informed where the deserter had been
found, the Grand Duke flew into a violent paroxysm
of rage, and declared that Zavadzki had been guilty
of harboring and concealing a deserter.

It would have been vain for any adjutant or general
to have represented that the rich brewer employed
perhaps a hundred men daily, with whose,, nai|i/B& he
was unacquainted, as it was the business of his clerks
to pay them their wages; besides, the fear of the
guard-house was sufficient to deter any one from mak-
ing such a representation.

The gentleman was immediately ordered under ar-
rest, and was conducted in chains to the presence of
the Grand Duke who assailed him, in his usual way,
with Imprecations and opprobrious names.

Any defence of the innocent man was out of the
question. A single syllable uttered in his behalf,, would
have been punished as rebellion.

At the parade hour the prisoner was conducted to
the Saxon square, which was always filled with a
crowd of spectators who assembled to see the troops
perform their exercise. He was condemned to be put

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 77

in chains^ and to hurl a wheelbarrow round the square
formed by the regiments assembled for the parade.

Horror-struck at hearing himself condemned without
trial, Zavadzki offered to pay a fine of two thousand
ducats, rather than undergo this public and degrading
punishment. But the offer was made iq vain !

In his despair, the unfortunate man turned to the
officer who was to superintend the execution of the
sentence, and entreated him to consider that his son
had worn epaulets and orders, and perished on the
field of honor. But this appeal was unavailing. The
sentence was rigidly enforced, and the trembling old
man, loaded with chains, was obliged to hurl the
wheelbarrow for the space of an hour round the
square.

Subsequently to this afiair, five other persons were
sentenced to a similar punishment. I cannot now call
to mind the particulars of all these cases, but I know
that they were carefully remembered in Warsaw.

After his punishment Zavadzki was seized with a
dangerous illness, and when he recovered, he disposed
of all the property he possessed in Poland, and left
Warsaw. I never ascertained where he went.

7*

78 BKETOBES OF WAR8AW.

CHAPTER XIX.

Restrictions imposed on officers and private soldiers-— The Grand

Duke and the Inn-keeper.

The infantry camp, as it is styled, contains three
thousand men, and is established, during the summer
season, on a piece of ground belonging to a private
individual, who is remunerated for its use.

It is situated to the north-west of Warsaw, a few
wersts from the barrier. In winter, when unoccupied
by the military, it presents the appearance of a village }
for the officers' houses and soldiers' huts, with their
surrounding gardens, are kept in the best condition.
. All the infantry troops in the kingdom are quartered
in this camp, and they daily go through thBir exercise
in thd presence of the Grand Duke.

Though the camp is so near the city, it is seldom
that an infantry officer is seen in the streets of War-
saw. By a positive order of the Grand Duke, they
are prohibited from passing the Rogatka ; and if any
one leaves the camp for a few hours on his own pri-
vate affairs, it can only be by especial permission.

That the privates are kept under more rigid restric-
tions than the officers, may readily be conceived ; they
are not suffered to go to any place of public entertain-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW, 79'

ment, to amuse themselves with a dance, or even to
enjoy the luxury of a glass of beer.

I will here mention an incident which serves to
show the tyrannical restraints to which officers a.e
subjected,

A lieutenant of the horse-guards, a rank corres**
ponding with that of a full captain in the line, stopped
at an inn to get some refreshment. Having a book in
his pocket he took it out, and in the German fashion
sat down to read at the door of tlie inn, while the
waiter procured what be had ordered.

The wheels of the Grand Duke's carriage were
suddenly heard at a distance. What was to be done ?
He was without the barriers of the city with a book iu
his hand— his frock coat unbuttoned — and his shapki
and sabre lay aside ! What a situation ! Should, he be
discovered the guard house must be his doom.

The rolling of the carriage approached nearer and
nearer, but the falcon eye of the Grand Duke had not
yet discovered the offender. The officer finding there
was no time to gain the door of the inn, hastily
snatched up his shapki and sword, and thrusting the
book into his pocket, jumped into a ditch. His Impe-
rial Highness drove by, without suspecting that one of
the officers of his guards was playing at hide and seek
so near him.

From the above the reader may easily guess what is
the condition of the poor privates and sub-officers who
are closely confined to their barracks and tents, and if
they venture to leave them, compromise not only their

so SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

own safety, but that of others. Of this, the following
is a proof.

Not far from the front of the camp there was an inn
which was occasionally resorted to, by the officers and
also by the citizens and their families, who used to
make excursions thither, to view the military manoeu-
vres*

One day, two citizens were amusing themselves by
playing at skettles in the garden of the inn ; a soldier
who had been sent from the camp, by his officer, to get
his dinner, stopped a short time to look at the game.

Presently the thundering roll of the Grand Duke's
carriage was heard. The poor man was panic struck,
and, after pausing for a moment to consider what he
should do, he leaped over the garden hedge and ran
off in the direction of the camp.

But it was too late ! he had been perceived ; the
carriage stopped at the inn door, and the Grand Duke
alighted.

He angrily asked the two citizens where the soldier
had gone ? To what regiment he belonged ? What
he had been doing, Szc., but the men declared that
they knew nothing of the soldier, except that he had
stood for a few minutes looking at their game.

The landlord of the inn, was next asked how he
had dared to violate the law by allowing a soldier to
enter his house : but he denied having known any
thing of the matter.

The Grand Duke's anger now rose to a furious
pitch. He declared the landlord's license forfeited^

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 81

and ordered his coachman to enter the house and
bring out all the bottles and glasses he could find.
With the assistance of General Kuruta, the order was
speedily obeyed. Not only botdes and glasses, but
plates and dishes were piled up before the inn door,
and the Grand Duke, drawing his sword, smashed
them without mercy, until, being fairly tired, he or-
dered his coachman to drive on, intending that the
carriage wheels should complete the work of destruc-
tion. The horses, frightened at the broken glass,
reared and plunged, and could not be prevailed on to
advance. However, the Grand Duke, who was re-
solved that not a bottie of hock or champagne should
escape his vengeance, again had recourse to his sword.
Kuruia leut ct k^plng hand» and not a hoitle» glass, or
plate, was left unbroken.

The inn-keeper and his guests were immediately
put under arrest, and marched off to the guard-house.
Active measures were taken for the discovery of the
soldier, who, had he been found, would at least have
been sent to Zamosz and kept in chains for life.

The poor inn-keeper's license was never restored
to him. The ruined man for years entreated to be
allowed some compensation for his loss, which how-
ever he had not obtained in the year 1829, when I
heard the history of his ill-treatment, which was well
known in Warsaw.

82 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER XVII.

Another example of the wheelbarrow punishment.

It will readily be supposed that when the Grand
Duke is taking his drives, no one is suffered to pass
his Highness's carriage, without a servile salutation.

All who meet the imperial carriage on the road, must
either stop, or move on slowly, at the same time
uncovering and bowing profoundly. The omission
of this ceremony is a punishable ofienco.

A nobleman from the country was driving through
Warsaw, accompanied by his lady, and their coachman
not knowing the equipage of the Lord of the Belve-
dere, passed the droski without observing any mark of
respect.

A thundering < halt !' startled the Polish boor on the
coach-box, and a few emphatic imprecations issuing
from the imperial droski, no less alarmed the nobleman
and his wife.

Foaming with rage, his Highness turned to tlie
trembling couple in the carriage and exhausted his
whole vocabulary of abuse in the opprobrious titles
which he bestowed upon them.

The lady and gentleman having been ordered to
alight, were put under arrest ; the coachman was sen-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 83

tenced to receive five hundred lashes, and all three
were condemned to hurl wheelbarrows at Lazienki,
where some buildings were at that time going on.

This punishment was kept up until a relative of the
unfortunate lady and gentleman came from their estate
in the country, and, through the intercession of the
Princess of Lowicz,* obtained their pardon.

* The Wife of the Grand Duke. She was one of the loveliest
of the lovely women of Poland ; the Grand Duke fell in love
with her, and binding every dishonorable proposal was repelled
with scorn, his passion impelled him to marry her, although he
thereby forfeited his right to the sceptre of the Russias. — This
amiable lady could alone control, in a measure, the fury of the
Duke ; and she was ever ready to intercede in the cause of hu-
manity. — ^Am. Ed.

'B4 SKETOnES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The -Military School at Warsaw — Balancing and Prefeniing —

Equilibrum of Europe.

The names of the Polytechnic School in Paris and
the Military School in Warsaw are inscribed in char-
acters of blood in the page of history ; and let the ser-
vile historian shade and color as he may, he will never
be able to obliterate them, for they are indelible.

' The absence of hope creates despair.' Such is
the motto which surmounts the portico of the military
school at Warsaw. The word school, in its proper
signification, is associated with the idea of learning ;
not so in Warsaw, if indeed we except learning the art
of balancing, and, above all, the art of presenting.

According to the Grand Duke's notions of military
education, it is in die highest degree important that the
young nobility of Poland, who, from inclination or any
other cause, are induced to enter the military service,
should be, without ceremony, shut up in barracks like
common soldiers ; for his Highness justly considers,
that no better check upon democratic ideas has hither-
to been discovered than the negative ideas of laced
uniforms.

The establishment styled the military school has
three barracks : one for the school of infantry, which

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 85

is a palace in Lazienki : another, or the cavaky under
the command of Colonel Czernomski, consisting of
some ruins, styled a palace, situated in King's street,
near the Saxon square ; and a third, in which the artil-
lery are imprisoned, situated in the Ulica-Miodowa,
or, as it is sometimes called, the Rue Napoleon. In
the latter, the pupils are at least allowed the use of
pen and ink, things unknown in the other two bar-
racks.

A prey to anxious terrors and devoid of personal
courage, the despot seeks security by obtaining an
unlimited influence over every class, — nobility as well
as commoners. The organization of the civic schools
has on the latter, the same effect as the system of the
universities and barrack schools produces on the for-
mer. The object of all these establishments is to
deprive men of their personal freedom, and, instead of
making them leam^ to teach them io forget ; — to for-
get that they are men, and to forget their right to be
treated as rational beings.

Perhaps the reader writ be enabled to form a more
correct notion of the military school in Warsaw, if we
refrain from designating it by the term school^ and
style the pupils, collectively, the noble guard. The
individuals composing it, though they have a right to
be considered gentlemen, are subject to all the oppres-
sive discipline of common soldiers, and must bear it
without daring to complain.

1 cannot state, with any accuracy, how many indi-
viduals the three barracks contain, as their number is

8

r

continually varying, on account of the transfers to and
from the regiments of the line. In July, 1830, iher*
were about two hundred men in the cavalry barrack,
and in the infantry barrack about five or six hundrBd.
Of the number of the artillery cadets 1 am unable t6
form any estimate. -•

For obtaining admittance as a cadet into the Russim
or Polish service, nobility is an indispensable condition;
at least, it is only with regard lo foreigners that family,
respectability, or personal merit are, in any case, al-
lowed to be an equivalent for nobility. The regular
period of service in the Russian guard is a year longer
for foreigners than for natives. Among the Poles ev-
ery individual must serve ten years" as a cadet, before
he can actually rank as an officer.

In the military schol there are young Polish noble-
men, who have served, hopelessly, for fifteen years,
and even longer; and, if I mistake not, it was one of
those who, at the head of the citizens, on the 13th of
November, engaged the general of division KurnaCov-
ski in Trumpet street, and obliged him to fly.

No plan could be better calculated to obtain the ob-
ject for which it was designed, than that of imprisoning
the flower of a whole nation's nobility in barracks,
where the victims of tyranny, debarred from all mental
occupation, and oppressed by weariness and lassitude,
they fly for mere excitement, to the lap of vice. Such
a system is a true hot-bed of moral corruption.

To balance is the first, and indeed almost the only

'Among the RusEiians, tbree years.

I

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 87

object to which the attention of both cavalry and in*
fantry is directed.

The reader will, perhaps, be at a loss to comprehend
the inoport of the phrase, to balance. He will prob
ably think of the tours de force of an opera dancer,
and will picture to himself a mountebank standing on
one leg, and extending the other in the air. Well ! he
would not be far wrong. The true explanation of the
terra is to be foui\d in the vocabulary of the opera
dancer. The only difference between the balance of
the dancer and that of the Polish cadet is, that the
former throws his elevated leg backward, and inclines
his body forward, whereas the latter stands bolt uprighti
and thrusts one leg forward, making the point of the toe
form a horizontal line with the shin. This exercise
gives to the foot the fine form so much admired in the
opera dancer, and is well worth all the labor it costs.

But why, it will be asked, is this exercise imposed
on the Polish cavalry officers ? The answer is, to fit
them for the parade ; for the cavalry offipers are re-
quired to defile in column in the presence of the Grand
Duke, and woe betide him who, in marching, does
not point his toe according to the prescribed rules.

Spalding, in his well-known work on the objects for
which man is destined, has quite forgotten to mention
the parade ; but that is no fault of ours.

In certain countries, the most important, and indeed
the sole object of human life, is — the parade ; and he
who descends into his grave without having paraded,
has certainly not fulfilled the object of his existence ;

<•-

indeed, strictly speaking, he is not a member of civi-
lized society, which is to be found onlyio barracks, and
is respected only on the parade.

Balancing is the fundamental principle of liuman
education, and therefore it is the first study of the
cadets in the military school at Warsaw. Its impor-
tance, both in a political and cosmopolitical point of
view, is incalculable. On it depends a man's position
and uprightness in the world ; and it is perfectly rea-
sonable that balancing should form the ground-work of
education, since a firm standing is the best security for
welfare in hfe.

When a young man feels himself secure of his foot-
ing, which he may perhaps do after having practised
balancing six hours a day, for the space of three or
four months, he may try to advance in the direction
which his calling points out ; in other words, he may
learn to march,- — an art which, in the military school of
Warsaw, is only acquired after six, ten, or even six-
teen years of application.

To balance, or to maintain equilibrium, is, in the
present day, the first principle of political science. It
is, therefore, perfectly natural that balancing should be
an indispensable qualification for the young nobility of
a kingdom, who may in after life influence, not only
the equilibrium of iheir own country, hut the equilib-
rium of Europe. The attention which the cabinets of
our time have bestowed on this equilibrium or bal-
ancing is well known, though they have not all suc-
ceeded in producing a conviction of its necessity or
impo nance.

\

8KETGHES OF WARSAW. 89

The only thing taught in the military school at War-
saw besides balancing, is presenting arms.

As the fate of an officer frequently depends wholly
on his tact in presenting, it must be obvious that this
is a most essential part of his education. The least
mistake in presenting, may cause him to be degraded
from his rank ; and removal to a Siberian infantry regi-
ment, may make him acquainted with many degrees of
human misery, of which he could previously have
formed no idea.

Every one knows, either from personal experienci^
or from hearsay, how much of good or ill fortune de-
pends on the manner in which a man presents himself.
It may enable him to inspire interest and secure favor^
or it may render him an object of distrust and dislike.
An agreeable mode of presenting himself may obtain
for him honors and orders, trusts and employments, —
in short, every thing that is calculated to secure happi-
ness in life.

In the education ol a Polish cadet, therefore, the
practice of presenting immediately follows that of bal-
ancing, or, in other words, the study of the fundamental
principles of the European equilibrium.

8*

(V.-^'^

90 SKETCHES OF WARSA

1

CHAPTER XIX.

The Military School at Warsaw continued.

Every cadei of the military scliool is confined to
his chamber and his truckle bed. This chamber, as it
is styled, is a hole, which, were he placed ia other cir-
cumstances, the young gentleman would not allow his
servant to lie in.

In ibis chamber, the only furniture is the bed and a
small table. A chair is od no condition allowed; and
the cadet is obliged to sit on one half of his wooden
bedstead, while the straw mattrass, folded back, to-
gether with the pillows and bed-covering, occupy the
other half.

On a Sunday, and only occasionally, be obtains,
upon application to the colonel, a written permission to
spend a few hours in the city ; but he must visit nei-
ther a cafe, a restaurateur, a ball, or concert, a public
promenade, or a theatre. Should he infringe this rule,
he is degraded from his rank; and I can affirm that
more than twenty cases of this sort occurred, to my
knowledge, in the space of two years.

The young man who is sent to the military school
from a distant Waiwod or government, and happens to
have DO family connexion in Wnrsaw, finds only one

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 91

place of recreation open to him, — and that one of the
worst description.

The visits of the cadets to houses of ill fame are not
made by stealth. They parade on a Sunday, in open
daylight through the streets of the old town, — a part
of Warsaw which abounds in those establishments.
Indeed, a young man can feel no scruple in frequenting
such places, as he sees his comrades do so without fear
of punishment, though they are well aware that the
spies of the secret police always have their eyes on
them.

It may sometimes happen that a cadet, during his
temporary release from the barracks, seeks intellectual
recreations as a relief from the monotonous torture of
balancing and presenting. But a phenomenon of this
kind is exceedingly rare ; and he who may distinguish
himself by such meritorious conduct is rewarded by
the jeering of his comrades, and the contempt of his
superiors.

The tendency of the military school at Warsaw is
to produce intellectual annihilation, and the subversion
of all moral feeling. Thus it is a useful engine of
despotism with which intellectual energy and moral
purity are incompatible. Indeed, for promoting the
interests of despotic power, nothing could have been
more ingeniously contrived than the imprisonment of
the noble guard in Warsaw.

A yoke was required, whose control should extend
at once over mind and body. The desired object was
amply fulfilled by the separation of the pupils of the
military school from all cultivated society, by their

02 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

rigorous daily exercise, miserable lodging, hard fare,
and frequent incarceration in the guard-house.

As to the choice of tutors for the military school,
the selection falls upon such officers as are most dis-
tinguished for implicit obedience to prescribed ^ regu-
lations,' and whose narrowness of mind af^rds a se-
curity against any change of system. To obtain die
appointment of tutor at the military academy, a man
can possess no greater recommendation than stupidity,
which, as I have already observed-, in alluding to cer-
tain generals, is a strong claim to the favor of the
Grand Duke.

Every young man who enters the military profession
in Poland, will, if he be wise, willingly subject him-
self to the rigid iiiscipline and subordination of a com-
mon soldier. It is only by such a preparation that he
will be enabled to endure the hardships of his situation
when he becomes an officer.

But slavish captivity, separation from every thing
that is accessary to social exidtence, the painful con-
viction of being wholly subject to the caprice of an
individual, naturally engender in the mind of a young
man so unhappily situated, a dissatisfaction, which eve-
ry hour increases.

This lingering misery and despair is, at the military
school of Warsaw, shared alike by youths of eighteen,
and men of thirty, or even five and thirty.

Accident and caprice, the fevor of the Grand Duke,
or of one of his parasites, not un frequently decides the
advancement of an ii>dividual who has served only one
or .two years ; while others are passed over, and left

SKET0HE8 OF WARSAW. 93

without any prospect of an amelioration of their con-
dition.

Of this I could mention several instances, but I do
not choose to quote the names of respectable families,
with whose sons I was personally acquainted while they
were in the barracks of the military school. These
young men, in spite of exemplary conduct, had enter-
ed upon their eighth or ninth year of service, though
the period of three legally entitled them to advance-
ment. But they were individuals who had been com-
pelled to serve when they visited Warsaw on their re-
turn from Germany.

When, in 1829, the Emperor attended some manoeu-
vres of the noble guard in Warsaw, he expressed him-
self perfectly satis6ed with the institution, and ordered
the advancement of the whole corps. ^ You can em-
ploy the officers,' said he to the Grand Duke Coostan-
tine, in the presence of his generals.

The Grand Duke, however, was not so well pleased
as the Emperor with the manoeuvres. He was out of
humor, and instead of executing the imperial order,
he selected from the whole corps, nine or ten individ-
uals who were pointed out as worthy of advancement
by Rozriecki, Gendre, and Kurnatovski.

The cadets are as well exercised in the use of arms
as veteran soldiers. They affi)rded a good example
of their skill in this way on the 29th of November.

On Sundays, the noble guard turns out on the parade,
to the great delight of the assembled spectators ; for
their corps certainly makes a very fine appearance.

The Grand Duke is, if possible, more strict with

M 8KETGHE8 OF WARSAW.-"

the noble guard than with the rest of the military ; and,
during his inspection of the cadets, the merest tri6e
suffices to call forth the ever-resounding order ' to the
guard-house !'

Out of a hundred cases of this kind, 1 may niention
that of an orderly cadet. During the inspection, the
Grand Duke turned to Colonel Czerhomski and said,— -
i»|v«bfDk liis hair is too long. 'See to it.' The colonel,
without taking the trouble to ascertain whether the
Grand Duke was right in his supposition about tl:fae
length of the hair, ordered the youth under arrest, and
imprisoned him in the stable.

A cuirassier officer, who was lying ill of the camp
fever at Uyazdow, declared to me after he had under-
gone the last frictions, and while his tongue would
scarcely enable him to articulate, that he would rather
suffisr all his illness over again than go back to the
cadet school, under Czernomski.

The cadets of the cavalry guard, who are in regi-
ments, are subject to even greater severity. During
the exercise of defiling as dismounted cavaky, one of
them missed step. This fault was punished by an
order for transferring all the cadets in the three regi-
ments of guards to the four Polish regiments of infantry,
where, for the space of half a year, they were obliged
to perform musket exercise six hours a day ; and
many, when die cold was at twenty or thirty degrees,
had their muskets frozeti to their gloves. — I must add,
that I have myself had the honor * to follow the
drum,' heavily booted and spurred, until this Polon^
aist brought me to the Lazaretto.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 93

CHAPTER XX.

RuBBiao classification of ranks.

Who is he ? — ^To what class does he belong ? — ^How
long has he served ?

Among Russians these are every day questions,
when a man is spoken of, and no man is thought
worth mentioning if he does not serve — that is to
say, if he has not discovered a mode of forwarding his
own personal interest, in some way or other, at the
expense of the state.

In Russian society individual worth is solely and
exclusively determined by service, which gives a
man the distinction of some class of which there are
fourteen. They rise by gradations similar to the mili-
tary scale, from the College Register, who has the rank
of ensign, to his Excellency the Minister of State,
whose rank corresponds with a field marshal's.

The gradation of these fourteen classes, and their
relation to military rank, is known to every Russian as
perfectly as his paternoster. The degrees of rank
begin, as has been said, with the College Register,
and ascend to College Assessor, Counsellor of Lega-
tion, Court Counsellor, Counsellor of State, and so on ;
the same as from Ensign to Lieutenant, Captain,
Major, fac. A Russian, especially in the civil ser-

96 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

vice, in which there is a regular promotion every three
years, may, with plenty of patience and resignation to
the mortification he must endure, become at last a
man of high dignity, to whom every Sobaka* if he
would avoid the penalty of the knout, must pay
respect.

The serf gains the lowest or fourteenth class, and
thus enters into the Russian order of nobility, after a
service of twenty-five years in the army, (the last ten
years as corporal or sergeant,) which gives him the
rank of ant)fficer; or he obtains the same rank by
twenty years' service in the guards as surgeon, non-
commissioned officer, writer in the military bureau, or
regimental tailor.

Kriffzov, head clerk in the Grand Duke's chancery,
rose in this way to the rank of general; Kolotov, tailor
to the division of guards in Warsaw, became, in the
same way, a general ; and Dubner, tailor to the regi-
ment of lancers, a captain. Thus thousands in the
Russian empire, after a long acquaintance with the
knout, are indemnified by at last obtaining military
rank.

To get into the fourteenth class is a grand object of
ambition, for it bestows military rank, which is the dis-
tinction most courted in Russia.

The Russians have but one degree of nobility.
The titles Prince, Count, &c., indicate certain rela-
tions, but convey no essential superiority, except when
connected with great wealth, which may, however, be

* The Russian word Sobaka, a dog, used as a tenn of eon.
tempt. — Translator.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 97

possessed no less advantageously by a member of the
humble fourteenth class.

Nevertheless, a Hospodin of the twelfth, or even the
eighth class looks down upon a fourteenth man with
much the same sort of disdain as one of that lowest
class of military rank regards the mass of the popu-
lace, even those who form its front rank as the mem-
bers of the three Guilds, artists and men of the learn,
ed professions.

Between two Russians of the same class or rank,
length of service determines the precedency. Thus a
man of thirty, who has had a ten years' possession of
military rank, requires humble homage from a gray
beard of sixty, who has worn a sword and epaulets
only eight years.

The announcement, by the word Starzi, of seniority
of service, binds at once to submissive obedience ; and
when the senior speaks, let what he says be ever so
unreasonable, the junior must be silent.

The women are extremely punctilious in the observ-
ance of these regulations respecting rank. They con-
sider themselves the representatives of their husbands,
and claim full payment of all the respect due to their
dignities.

The wife of the tailor-general, formerly perhaps his
kitchen-maid or mistress, takes the precedence in so-
ciety, of a countess or baroness, if the husband of the
latter should be only n captain. If visited by the
countess or baroness, she maintains exclusive possession
of the canopied seat of honor, and allows only a com-

9

^ SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

mon chair or even foot-stool for such a visitor, froin
i whom she exacts the most unqualified homage. The
inevitable consequence is, that in Russia, education,
real worth, and integrity, are not thought of importance,
for they foim no items in the fourteen classes which
exclusively indicate the characters of men, the char-
acter recognized by tlie state, and therefore that which
has a value above all other considerations. The hom-
age paid to the individual is really paid solely to his
class, and if an officer of the imperial treasury should
pilfer, he must not be called a thief by any person be-
longing to an inferior class.

The rank of the father forms a rule for the claims
of the son on his entering into service. Suppose a
general raised from the rank has a son born while he
was a private or corporal, that son can only enter into
the army in the same situation ; but a younger son
born when the father was a lieutenant, being by birth
•a Russian nobleman, enters the service witli all the
advantages attached to that distinction. In the same
way the son of a staff officer is entitled at once to the
rank of a superior officer. Distinctions of this kind
are not uncommon among brothers, the children of the
same father and mother.

Baikovv, the body-coachraan of tlie Emperor Nich-
olas, though originally a serf, has obtained the rank of
colonel; but his son, a very amiable young man, is
only a cadet in the Grand Duke Constantine's uhlan
guard. This proves that the youth was born before
his father became a major or a captain.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 99

This Baikow maintains a grand establishment for
himself, and is driven by his own body-coachman, as
soon as his colonelship alights from the box of the im-
perial carriage.

It was not long since reported in Warsaw that the
Emperor had resolved to alter this absurd system of
service-nobility, at least so far as to grant the rank only
for the life of the individual, confining the hereditary
succession to the ancient Russian nobility. Such a
law would gain him the hearts of the aristocracy, to
whom the pretentions of a coach-box colonel, a tailor-
general, or a barber-captain, are very offensive, not-
withstanding that the ancestors of many of the great
families obtained their noble rank through tlie favor of
some court pander, after having been employed in
menial or still less honorable offices.

The civil offices in the Russian empire are almost
all in the possession of military persons who have re-
tired, either under particular circumstances, or, being
of inferior rank, after the termination of their stipu-
lated period of service. A retired officer, who has serv-
ed ten years, may continue to wear his uniform, but
without epaulets ; and if placed in a civil department,
he probably will at least be a circuit marshal, or do-
main magistrate. A soldier who has been advanced to
the rank of major will at most have to write his name,
or, in case of necessity, read a report. Should a re-
tired officer become, by the grace of God, a judge,
with what dignity does he discharge the functions of
bis high office ! In a doubtful case, if the old worm-

100 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

eaten and tattered ukase, which he orders to be read
is not decisive on the point, he settles the matter at
once, by sending the accused to Siberia, being deter-
mined to make short and sure work with all sorts of
offenders. An old soldier finds much uncertainty and
difficulty in obtaining his discharge and appointment to
some civil office. Linschuk, my old sergeant, after
having served out his time of twenty years in the
guards,* was obliged to wait two years and a half
longer for his discharge, and even then had great
trouble in procuring it.

Upon this event, one of my fellow officers said to
me laughingly, — ' Our old Linschuk has at last got
his discharge, and, as a reward for his long service, is
to be made Professor of Moral Philosophy in Cassan.*
We put on a serious air and asked the old man whether
such was the fact. He answered that if the Emperor
commanded, it would be all one to him whether he
was to be a professor in Cassan, or a cornet in War-
saw ; he only longed to have an hour he could call his
own, which was a pleasure he had not enjoyed for
twenty-two years and seven months.

* A soldier in the line must serve twenty-five years.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 101

CHAPTER XXI.

Russian service — The Russians in Warsaw — National feeling

among the Poles.

* The Russian is brave or coAvardly, honest or ItnaTish, wise or foolish, clerer or
stupid, a saint or a sinner,— just as it may please his master. He prays and plunders,
is a murderer, and child-eater ; yet he is compassionate and generous at his master's
command, and he has talent when his master requres it. From what other machine
could all this be expected i Excellent people ! expressly created for absolute mon-
archy!* Heney von Bulow.

' Prayer to God, or service to the Eraperor is
never lost : ' so says a Russian proverb ; and it is usu-
ally repeated with the conviction that the service is
more important than the prayer.

The term service includes in its signification, uncon-
ditional obedience to the authority of a superior, even
though that superior should be only one class above the
person he commands. This blind obedience extends
from the general or minister, down to the common
soldier or clerk, through all offices and classes in which
service confers dignity.

^n affair of service, as it is styled, takes place of
all other considerations; and the man who has quietly
realized a fortune at the expense of the state, affects
the most scrupulous conscientiousness in the fulfilment
of any prescribed duties which are calculated to make
him feel the full extent of bis own slavery.

9*

102 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

Every verbal command given by a miliiary officer
to a soldier, or by a civil officer to a Dentshik, or vas-
sal, is answered by the words Slushey Hospodin^ (I
obey, my Lord;) and the individual who gives the or-
der may confidently trust to its punctual fulfilment, as
its neglect would be punished by a severe flogging.

While a Russian is receiving commands, he stands
stock still, like a soldier, without moving leg or arm,
and at the close of every sentence delivered by his
Lord, he murmurs * Slushey Hospodin.'

The slavish subjection of the lower ranks, and the
arrogance of Russian upstarts, which in Warsaw are
carried to such unlimited extent, are nevertheless quite
at variance with the national character of the Poles.
The Russian classification of ranks is, moreover, offen-
sive to the pride of the Polish nobility, whom it de-
prives of their dignity and reduces to a mortifying
inferiority.

The natural pride of the Poles is extraordinary. It
animates every rank, from the prince to the beggar,
and manifests itself at every opportunity. But this
pride is in unison with the national feeling ; and how-
ever vain and empty may be the source whence it
springs, — a spirit of nationality is honorable, and not
unfrequently leads to great actions. *

In thus acknowledging the good qualities which dis-
tinguish the Poles as a nation, I am not blind to their
faults; and among these I number levity, vanity,
proneness to break their word, unfairness in judging of
other nations, and extravagant prejudice in favor of
every thing Polish.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 103

These traits in the shady side of the Polish national
character, I observed to be universal, with a few excep-
tions, which I must make in favor of men of very-
superior education.

Spirit is a quality in which the Poles are never de-
ficient. One of the roost marked distinctions between
the Poles and the Russians appears to me to be, that
the former are remarkable for spirit, and the latter for
judgment. Even the Polish beggar is animated by a
spirit which glows for his country, when the slightest
occasion calls it forth ; and the Russian bondman pos-
sesses a degree of judgment and good sense, which is
always present and available at the required moment.

Warsaw swarms with Russian civil officers, most of
whom are obliged to wear their official costume. The
streets too are thronged with Russian equipages ; for
a Russian finds it easy to live in good style in War-
saw. There he receives his salary in silver roubles,
while in Russia it would be paid to him only in paper.
At the noon promenade in Warsaw, Russian carriages
and four are seen driving, one after another, from the
suburb of Cracow to St. Alexander's Church ; — and
on the foot pavement Russian uniforms predominate.

A coachman in the Polish national livery is seldom
seen in Warsaw ; and if by a rare chance an old Pole
should venture to show himself in his national costume,
he seems to glide along like a midnight ghost.

In short, the national feeling of the Poles was, at
this time, painfully wounded at every step in Warsaw;
and it may easily be conceived that continued griev-

IM SKETCHES OF WARBAjV^.

aoces, preying upon .the minds of all classes of the
people, grew at last into a bitter national hatred, which
longed for revenge.

Relying on the franchises conceded to them by the
constitution which the Emperor had sworn to maintain,
it is not surprising that a few individuals should form
the bold idea of asserting those rights which had been
violaled by absolute power.

That power was, however, so fearfully strong and un-
limited, that the courage of the Poles, who attempted
to oppose it, and resolved to sacrifice their lives for
constitutional freedom, presents one of the most extra-
ordinary phenomena which history has on record.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 105

CHAPTER XXII.

Novacovitsh — ConBtitution and Monopoly.

Who that has smoked a pipe in Poland, or taken a
pinch of snuff, or a dram, in Warsaw, does not know
tlie name of Novacovitsh ! Who that has eaten a
slice of beef in Warsaw, and slaked his thirst with a
glass of beer, is not familiar with this name ?

Novacovitsh is a merchant of St. Petersburgh ; he
is also an author, for he has written several dramatic
pieces ; but, above all, Novacovitsh is the monopolist
of Poland, — a very rich and a very great man.

He keeps one of the finest houses in Warsaw, and
even my obscure self was once honored by a kind
invitation to it. I moreover heard that the ladies of
his family thought the humble efforts of my pen wor-
thy their attention. This is a flattering compliment !
I acknowledge it with poetic modesty ; and therefore
I will not confound together the hospitable mansion of
Novacovitsh and the monopolist establishment which I
find it necessary to notice in these pages. To the fair
ladies, with whom unfortunately 1 have not the honor
to be acquainted, I present my compliments ; though,
as they are loyal Russian subjects, their delicate fin-
gers will never turn over the leaves of this prohibited
volume. *

106 SKETCnES OF WARSAW.

I never was clever at iiniavelliiig riddles ; but if I
had been ever so expert at such solutions, there is one
which I should never be able to explain : it presents
itself in the question, — * How do constitutional govern-
ments and monopolies accord together ? '

Constitution and monopoly ! South pole and North
pole ! how in the world did the two things come
together in Warsaw ?

The tobaccQ monopoly of Poland is purchased for
some millions, how many I caimot precisely say ; for
numbers slip out of my memory, as ducats out of my

purse. '">*

The monopGly%)f beer and brandy for Warsaw is
purchased for four millions ; and for every head of
ftatUe which comes to the slaughter-house, a tax of
four and ivi^j^ Cl^ti^ florins is paid.

It is at. Qnce md&ncholy and ridiculous, something
truly tragic-comic to see a people who have, or rather
fancy they have, a very eflicient constitution, in such a
state that they really cannot drink a single glass of
caraway withQut seeing in that glass the palpable rep^
resentation of freedom bartered and lost.

What can be more extraordinary than that a consti-
tution, which recognizes in every individual the right
of discussing every subject connected with the inter*
ests of the country, should be found reconcilable with
a system of monopoly ; a system which grinds the
bones and extracts the marrow of the state ?

But, as has been said, this enigma is insoluble, and I
will not waste further time upon it. I shall only say

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. |07

that this strange and compound idea of constitution
and monopoly, is calculated to distract the brain, and
10 produce among the Poles the same sort of horrc-
ot beer and brandy that mad dogs have of water,— ««
real monopoliphobia !

Salt is also a government article, and finds its way
to the public through the Royal Salt Office. Howev-
er, I have the less to say on this point, as a similar ar-
rangement esiists in other countries. But whether
this is not an evil which requires to be remedied, and
whether a- government ought to interfere in any way
.with trade, except by the establishment of magazines
to guard against public distress, are questions for seri-
ous consideration. It is for the Polish diet to decide
on them.

Vodki* is an clement of Polish existence, at least
of the common mass of the people, and the climale
prompts to its use ; but this spirit is not to the Pole
quite so much a condition of his being, as beer is to
the Bavarian.

The Pole can dispense with vodki, and he does
dispense with it, — even renounces it, when he cannot
get it. Vodki is beatitude to the rude Pole ; and who
will not pardon him, when, in despair, he forgets him-
self in seeing his beatitude, his. heaven bartered away
and monopolized in foreign hands ?

To the poor, destitute Pole, who is in want of every
comfort, even a pinch of snuff is a great blessing. It
is a singular spectacle to see him with solemn pauses, in
the regular rhythm of the grand elegy oii the downfall.

* In Russian Vodka, Brandy, from Vada, Water.— Tr.

108 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

of Poland, draw the rapee up his half frozen nose from
the borkedose* of a fellow mendicant and countryman.

But this miserable pinch of snuff, the poor Pole
cannot always command ! even the beggar who pur-
chases this olfactory luxury with the alms he has
received, must pay bis tax to the monopolist, or rather
the ill-constituted and oppressive government. The
beggar, too, is perhaps a nobleman, whose grandfather
once figured in Lazienki, in gold and ermine, and
addressed, with all the point of Polish wit, fine things
to the ladies of the court.

Poor Pole ! In the midst of the fervid heat of sum-
mer, you cannot quench your thirst with small beer
widiout paying a heavy tax on ever)'^ glass ! by the
consumption of every bottle, you are enriching a for-
eigner, who, having well calculated his speculation,
pays annually four millions that he may gain fourteen.
You swallow, out of pure patriotism perhaps, large
draughts of Polish porter, for which you pay two
Polish florins the flask. You tlirow your money to
the monopolist, and sigh and lament over your lost
florins, and your lost country ! Even the bone that you
gnaw, has paid a heavy tax, an imperial impost.
Pour and twenty Polish florins is the shambles duty
on a single ox; and consequently every respectable
bone must pay a few Polish groshes, of which six hun-
dred at least fall upon every Jews-slicef or hatchet cut.

* A peculiar sort of small oval snuff-box, made of the bark of
trees, very common in Poland.

, t Many of the butchers in Warciaw are Jews, who observe par-
ticular ceremonies in their trade, and use the knife, instead of the
chopper.

SKETCBES OF WARSAW. 109

CHAPTER XXIII.

General sympathy in the fate of Poland — ^The cause.

Warsaw — ^thy name has a charm to foreign ears ! —
We hear it with pleasure, and we know not why.

No other city of Europe, always and in all coun-
tries, excites such interest as Warsaw — Vabszava !

Is it the mere sound of the name, or is it the idea
linked to it, which every where awakens at least curi-
osity, and rivets the attention on Warsaw?

It is — what ? The grand but sanguinary forms of
extinguished ages, ^ the days of the years that are gone,'
the images of blighted flowers, the dead body of de-
parted power — aU these are what the sound of the
word Warsaw calls forth in obscure, melancholy rec-
ollections, and which, hovering before our eyes, seri-
ously reminds us of the passed.

Warsaw ! the Poles ! are ideas with which we in-
voluntarily connect something that moves the heart —
but we know not at the moment what.

But our feelings explain themselves, and our soul tells
us what it is that so strangely touches us on hearing
that sound.

It is the pain, the deep gnawing pain which accom-
panies the funeral bier of a nation. — Alas ! of a whole
people, — ^not of an individual !

10

110 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

As a sufferer, whose real and deep affliction is gen-
erally known, always finds sympathy in the allied hearts
of men, — so the Pole has every where the voice of man-
kind on his side, and in all places where he appears is
regarded, nay, even overwhelmed with conipassion.

In the different countries of Europe, which I have
visited, I have seen this interest taken in the Poles,* —

* After the fall of Warsaw and the annihilation of the heroic
armies of Poland in 1831 , the public roads of Prussia, Austria, and
indeed of all Germany, presented a spectacle disgraceful to our
age, and our religion : more than twelve thousand of the bravest
and best of Poland's defenders, with their jet unhealed wounds,
and their tattered uniforms, were wandering upon them, — friendless
and pennyless exiles: they had left behind them country, and
home, and hope — they had before them but poverty, and exile, and
despair. We have often met, at nightfall, bands of officers who
had sacrificed the luxuries of home and wealth, for the love of
country, and were, in reward therefor, wandering with swollen feet,
and unshaven beards, and soiled linen — in a country of whose lan-
guage they were ignorant, and without money enough to purchase
from the poor and stupid peasantry, clean straw for a night's lodg-
ing. Often they knew not where they were, or whither they were
wandering, — they saw the sun going down in the west, and west-
ward they held on their sad way, — for there were free governments
and commiserating people ; while behind them lay Russia, where,
for them, were only the dungeon, and the'knout, and the mines.

In the centre, and in the west of Germany, they indeed met
with commiseration, and received assistance ; in some places they
were received with that enthusiasm which their courage, their
patriotism, and their devotion, ought to have inspired in every gen-
erous bosom ; and there all their wants were supplied. But it was
not so in the east -, nor could even this manifestation of public
sympathy west, wipe off the disgrace of tacpely living under govern-
ments, which at the very- moment were openly helping Russia to
exterminate the last hopes of freedom, in a land whose only sin
was detestation of the sway of foreign, ruthless and semi-barba-
rous tyrants. — ^Am. Ed.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. HI

aa interest quite independent of the favor which many
of them have found in the hearts of the fair friends of
freedom in France or Italy.

When we behold a man who has come from a land
of bondage, where his brethren remam in chains con-
fined in three great prison-houses ; — when we reflect
on the sufierings of his whole race, and on the man-
ner in which his country has been oppressed and be-
trayed ; — when we hear of the sacrifices fruitlessly
made for deliverance and emancipation, we contemplate
the stranger with inward emotion, and when he bids us
farewell, we silently press his hand. — We shudder to
think of his sad fate, and our feelings do not permit us
to utter a single word of consolation.

112 sketohKb of waksaw.

CHAPTER XXIV.

The city of Warsaw— Palaces of the Magnates — The King's
palace — The library — Dr. Linde — The protestant church — l^astor
Tetamer and the Grand Duke.

Warsaw is situated on the left bank of the Vistula.
The city stands on high but not rocky ground. There
are two pontooil bridges across the river leafding from
Warsaw to Praga, but they are always broken up at
the setting in of the frost.

The Vistula is at this part one of the broadest rivers
in Europe. Above the first bridge there is the tolera-
bly large island, of the Saxon Boars. It is inhabited
by some German families from West Prussia (here
called Swabians,) and in summer it is the Sunday's
resort of the German inhabitants of Warsaw ; for the
Germans, in whatever part of the world they may be,
always make Sunday a day of recreation.

Viewed from the Boars, or from Praga, Warsaw
presents an imposing aspect. Its length, along the
bank of the Vistula, is about a German mile and a
half,* and at the lower or western end it is terminated
by an enormous building, called the crown barracks.

There are no very high steeples in Warsaw. The

* Nearly six English miles.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 113

most conspicuous are the two spires of the Church of
the Cross in the New World, which resemble the
spires of the Theatine Church at Munich, and, like the
latter, they are portal spires and of equal height. The
parish church of the old town, with its gothic steeple,
reminds the German of St. Thomas's Church at Leipzic.

Warsaw is surrounded by mean mud walls, which,
owing to their great extent, cannot answer the purpose
of fortification. These walls encompass cornfields,
gardens, pasture-grounds and promenades, besides the
busy city of Warsaw. The city which is divided into
three parts, the Old Town, the New Town, and the
New World, forms a semi-circle on the bank of the
Vistula. The principal streets, those through which
the Grand Duke Constantino daily drives, are in fact
roads, being paved only on the sloping part next the
foot-path. In some places this pavement is of free-
stone.

The principal streets in Warsaw are the Honey
Street, the Long Street, the New World, and what
is styled the Cracow suburb. This last, however,
instead of being a suburb, is in fact the central point of
the business and bustle of Warsaw ; for the city has
been extended three or four worsts beyond the Cra-
cow suburb, and the part thus added is called the
New World.

In its general aspect, Warsaw is not inferior to
some of the first cities of Europe : Vienna and Lyons,
for example ; but it possesses neither the gaiety of the
former, nor the trading bustle of the latter.

10*

114 8KET0HES OF WARSAW.

About a hundred and fifty palaces, $ome built in the
old Italian and some in the modern style, are inter-
spersed among miserable houses and barracks. The
barracks, however, are every year gradually dii^appear-
ing, and neat private hoases, and in some places ele-*
gant palaces, are rising on their sites.

Among the palaces of the Magnates, one of the
newest is particularly worthy of notice. This is the
Residence of Count Patz, in the Miodova Ulica, which
is built rather in the ancient Roman, than in the mod-
em style. The building and also the statues with
which it is adorned, are the work of Italian architects
and sculptors. It is not yet quite completed. Count
Patz has conferred great benefit on his country, by
bringing several artists from Rome and Paris, to War-
saw, where their example at least has a salutary in-
fluence.*

Besides Count Patz, there are other Polish Mag-
nates, who keep their painters, librarians, &c. noble-
men who have hitherto, for the most pai*t, lived abroad,
ias their native air does not agree with them.

Among the fine buildings of the Polish capital the
new theatre may very properly be included. It is a,
building of colossal magnitude, and will, when com-
pleted, be an ornament to Warsaw; that is, if the latter
city does not share the fate of Praga, — which may
Poland's good genius forbid.

* AiDctng these artists are the sculptor LoniB Kanffmann, fVom
Rome, and d*Achiard, from Florence, who are emplojed by Mar-
coni, the government architect.

8XBT0HES OP WARSAW. 115

The Exchange and the office of the minister of
Finance, form, both together, an immense whole, and,
were it not for the absurd style in which the latter is
built, would have a very grand effect.

The king's palace should properly have been noticed
first; but as Poland does not enjoy the rights of a
kingdom, the roy^I palace b not a very important ob-
ject on the topographical map. It however forms a
pleasing point in the picture, on the bank of the Vis-
tula, where it rises majestically and commands a fine
prospect. The front, which looks to Sigismund
Square, is less imposing, and is inferior in beauty to
most of the palaces of the Magnates. It contains spa-
cious apartments, and is kept in good condition.

The library, which is situated in the same pleasant
part of Warsaw as the king's palace, has recently been
repaired. Attached to the library, there are several
large buildings, containing the lecture rooms of the
Gymnasium and the University^ The library is under
the direction of Dr. Samuel Gottlieb Linde, a teamed
and estimable man. He is well known among lin-
guists, as the author of a Sclavonic Dictionary, a
gigantic work, which, for laborious research, may be
compared to one of the labors of Hercules.

Dr. Linde has claims on the gratitude of the Ger-
man Protestant community at Wai-saw ; for, as Consis-
torial Counsellor and a member of the Commission of
Education, he obtained by his exertions the ratification
of the Emperor's declaration in favor of the Protest-
ants. To what extent this declaration operates, I do
not know.

116 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

Through his influence we obtained the use of a
building for a German church. This building was a
rotunda near the Saxon Square, surrounded by a
pleasant grass plot. Adjoining it was a house for the
clergyman Tetzner, who, together with two other cler-
gymen, had the spiritual charge of the German Prot-
estants in Warsaw. In the winter of 1829, Tetzner
well nigh received a box on the ear from the Grand
Duke. His offence was having married an uhlan
officer, named Minim , a member of the Greek church,
to his cousin, the daughter of Colonel Michael.
Though the marriage was performed by permission
from St. Petersburgh, yet it nevertheless roused the
indignation of the Grand Duke, and Colonel Michael,
together with Jbis son-in-law, were put under arrest for
a month.

The advice given by an adjutant, fortunately averted
the box on the ear, intended for Pastor Tetzner, who
threw himself at the feet of the Grand Duke, and per-
formed that act of humiliation to his Highness's satis-
faction. Tetzner, who had been forbidden to preach,
was then permitted to resume his spiritual duties, and
to offer up prayers for the health and prosperity of the
Grand Duke.

9KETGHES OF WARSAW. 117

CHAPTER XXV,

The Saxon Garden — The Promenade — ^The Rassian Hassar and

the Banker*8 wife.

The entrance to the Protestant parsonage house
corresponds with one of the gates of the Saxon gar-
den, of which we will now take a survey.

This garden is of tolerable extent, and, though in-
tersected by a broad alley or promenade, it is in other
respects laid out in the style of an English park, and
is surrounded by an iron railing. '

On a Sunday evening, the Saxon garden is the resort
of the fashionable society of Warsaw. The principal
alley is thronged with figures, which, though animated
with life and motion, nevertheless resemble the stiff
puppets which decorate the rooms of a Marckande de
modes. These figures are of all sorts and descriptions ;
old and young, bandsome and ugly, little and big,
slender and stodl^, Cfoquetish brunettes, and languishing
blondines.

Mendel, the celebrated tailor, contributes not a little
to heighten the effect of the gay scene in the Saxon
garden ; for he sends the handsomest guard uniforms
to the promenade. Sometimes a Polish officer is seen
mingling in the throng ; but he finds himself eclipsed

118 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

by the guards, and he postpones his revenge till the
29th of November, 1830.

The Russian commissariat officers, military clerks,
regiment, staff, and veterinary surgeons, masters of
bands, &c., form a sort of intermediate species between
the military and civil promenaders in the Saxon gar-
den. The appearance of these Russians is not quite
so offensive to the national vanity of the Poles.

Their uniform is the well-known Russian green, with
colored facings and pantaloon braidings, no epaulettes,
' regulation ' hats without feathers, swords and hilts.
The staff officers wear spurs, and the colonels and
generals wear an epaulette, or rather an ugly kind of
shoulder-knot. As to gentlemen in plain clothes, but
few show themselves on the Saxon garden promenade ;
for though they may dress in strict conformity with the
newest bulletins of fashion, the ladies scarcely deign
to bestow a look on them — every female eye is rivetted
on Mendel's laced uniforms.

Near the confectioner's, on the left of the entrance
to the garden, there is a group which we will stop for
a few moments to observe.

An enormous black, white, and yellow suUaHy
(plume) droops like a weeping wfllow over a shining
beaver sturmer^ which, * according to regulation,' is
put on square over a profusion of carefully curled
hair.

The wearer of this hat and plume is a slender young
man, in a hussar's undress uniform ; that is to say, a
green frock with silver buttons and crimson facings, a

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 119

massive silver epaulette, gray pantaloons with red
braidings, spurs, and a long sabre in a steel sheath.

This costume adorns the tight-laced figure of a rich
cornet from Moscow, who in one day squanders away
as much money as would support some men for a
whole year. To the vexation and envy of the gen-
erals, he keeps six riding horses : — an Arabian, a milk
white cossack, an English sorrel, an Andalusian, a
Hungarian, and a Polish horse, all without Haw, and
of the finest breed. The English sorrel is at this
moment harnessed to a cabriolet, which stands at the
^ Iron Gate,' under the care of a smart groom in blue
and silver liver}*^, on whom a passing nursery-maid be-
stows a smiling glance.

The cornet is playing with his glove, and stands
with his body inclined forward in a sort of bowing atti-
tude, for he is conversing with some ladies.

A fat portly mamma, in a dress of rich silk and
Brussels lace, made after the newest fashion, lets her
rich Terneaux shawl slip off her shoulders and drag
on the ground, for the purpose of showing that she can
afford to be careless of such valuables. The features
of the old lady betray her Hebrew origin ; and her
locks, which once were of the blackest black, have
now a shade of blue gray : — the good old lady has no
suspicion that the leaves of the Old Testament, con-
verted into papillotteSf will not preserve the beauty of
her coiffure^ and that in this silly world, men like blue
eyes better than blue hair.

This piece of oriental antiquity is accompanied by

tl29 SKETCHES OF WARBAW.

two daughters and a niece, who, while they converse
with the handsome hussar cornet, show off all the fine
nirs in which their Swiss governess has initiated them.
The cornet, on his part, who has been bred in the St.
Petersburgh school, is more an adept in gallantry than
id tactics ; the latter, indeed, is a branch of knowledge
which would not be of much use to him in Warsaw.
4- baptized nephew of the old lady is engaged in
adjusting his manchettesy and counting the course of
^^change with his waistcoat buttons.

The conversation between the young hussar and
the ladies turns on the Chlop milionowy^ (the peasant
wprth a million) a dramatic piece, recently brought
out with great eclat at Warsaw.

The hussar, who is a connoisseur of art, pronounces
a high eulogium on the scenery painted by Signor
Zagetti, a Venetian artist. The ^old lady declares
herself quite charmed with the inusic, in which she
trapes a great resemblance to Mozart and Rossini;
but she cannot reconcile herself to the indecorous
nudity of the actress which personates spring. — At this
las^ remark the young ladies blush, and their eyes,
which have hitherto been fixed on the face and figure
of the hussar officer, are gradually cast down, until
they descend to his boots.

The old lady's awkward nephew, who has several
times yawned during this conversation, suddenly inter-
rupted it by informing the young officer that he has
received the ten thousand creronizes from Moscow,
and given full credit for them.

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 131

To speak of matters of business in the Saxon gar-
den is the very extreme of vulgarity ; — but the mam-
mon-worshipping youth can talk of nothing else ; and
he stares with astonishment on observing the mortifi-
cation depicted in the countenances of the ladies.

The cornet politely thanks him for his attention to
the trifling afiair, and gives him to understand that he
will talk about it at another opportunity.

This trait of good-breeding is fully appreciated
by the old lady, in whose favor the cornet is already
deeply ingratiated. As he has opened an account
with her husband's house, and has brought particular
recommendations from Moscow, she thinks he might
be an eligible husband for one of her daughters ; — but
in this, as in many similar cases, mamma proposes, and
God disposes. **

The unfavorable eye with which the old lady re-
gards her fair niece, has not escaped the observation
of the gallant comet. The niece is by far the prettiest
of the three young ladies, and the hussar resolves to
amuse himself by plaguing the colossal banker's wife.

He draws his diamond sparkling finger across his
upper lip, adjusts his morocco sword belt, twirls his
perfumed curls, and, with the sentimental air of a
lounger in a Parisian salon^ asks the niece how she
likes Bulgarin's last new novel, as she is the only
individual who reads Russian.

The old lady bites her lips with rage ; her daugh-
ters hang their heads, and would perhaps shed tears
of vexation, but that their governess from Lausanne

11

192 SKETOHSS OF WARSAW.

has always assured them, that there is no greater
m^ of tnauvais ton than to cry or laugh in public.
The hussar continues his gallant conversation with the
niece ; and the i^unt, as a last resource, abruptly bid0
him adieu, and takes the young ladies home%

Her resolution is fixed : she no sooner enters the
housjf^ than she sends for her steward, and desires him
to look out for a Russian master for her daughters,
with strict injunctions that he must be a man of a cer-
tain age, and not a Jew.

8KST0HE8 OF WARSAW. 18S

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Kraainski Garden^The Franciscan Street^The Jews.

The Krasinski garden, like the SaKon garden, is
a public promenade, and like the latter it possesses
the attraction of shady walks and a CafL

At certain hours, the company in both gardens is the
same ; for it is customary to walk from the one to the
other.

The seats on either side of the grand walk are 611ed
with ladies, who resort to the Krasinski garden, to see
and to be seen, and to admire the uniforms of the
officers.

In summer, (that is to say, in the Polish spring) the
Krasinski garden is much visited on account of some
artificial mineral waters which are sold there. Here
many a love-sick heart meets the object of its adora-
tion, without offence either to Novosilcov or the Grand
Duke Constantine Cezarewitsh. The latter, by some
means or other, never fails to discover every liaison
in which his officers may happen to be engaged.

These gardens, situated as they are within the capi-
tal, are not less ornamental than useful ; for many offi-
cers, both civil and military, have lived and died in
Warsaw without ever passing the gates of the city ex-
cept on duty. The officers are state prisoners in the

134 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

Strictest sense of the term. They seldom go out of the
city ; for, on returning in the evening, they must give
their names, which are then forwarded to the Belve-
dere.

Where did he go ? — What was he doing there ? —
Was he alone, or was any one with him ? — These are
questions from the Grand Duke's lips, which it is not
very safe to provoke. All, therefore, who wish to es-
cape them, pursue the f(»llowing course in their walks
or rides, viz : through the Cracow suburb to the New
World, past St. Alexander's church, into the alley of
the Mokotovska-Ragatka, turning back before they
come within sight of the Belvedere, and, after showing
themselves for a short time in the Saxon or the Kra-
sinski garden, return home. In this way, officers, both
civil and military, pass their lives, year after year, with-
out ever venturing to breathe the air on the other side
of the barrier.

A short distance from the Krasinski garden is the
Franciscan Street, a place inhabited by Jews. Their
shops line both sides of the street, and they deal in
every thing on which profit is to be gained.

There are said to be ten thousand Jews in Warsaw ;
but their number may really be estimated much higher ;
for though some of them, by way of speculation, pre-
tend to be converted to Christianity, they secretly ad-
here to the Hebrew faith.

The Fradciscan Street in Warsaw is like those busy
districts occupied by the Jews in Frankfort, Prague,
Rome, Amsterdam, and Leghorn. In short, wherever

8KITOHE0 OF WARSAW. 195

ihe Jews congregated together, they are eharacterised
by the same peculiarities, riz. uocleanliness, aad the
love of finery, avarice, and dishonesty ; while the per-
secutions and insults to which they are exposed render
them real objects of pity.

What the Miodova and Senator streets are to the
fashionable classes m Warsaw, the Franciscan street is
to the lower classes. — However, there is nothing fiorn
the finest Temaux or Thibet shawl, which the Jews of
the Franciscan Street cannot produce to their custom-
ers when asked for.

The Russian soldiers may frequently be seen, when
occasionally they obtain a few hours' leave, moving to
and fro in the busy fair of the Franciscan Street, where
they spend a portion of their pay in tbe purchase of
little articles of which they stand in need. They wan-
der about, boking earnestly at every thing ; and when
they see any object they would wish to purchase, they
anxiously reflect whether it us conformable to * regula-
tion.'

If they wish to purchase thread, for example, the
lancers of the Constantine regiment, want only blue
and red ; the cuirassiers only white and yellow, and
the Grodno hussars only yelbw and dark red ; — and
as soon as a Jew spies a soldier, he seems to read in
his countenance what be was looking for,-'*^hethep
thread, pipe-clay, tracking, or soap. In the Francis*
can Street, many an unlucky wight purchases a good
flogging for himself; as for instance, in the ease of the
^ves, the seams of which were sewed on tile wrong

11*

126 SXETORES OF WARSAW.

side. And yet the poor soldiers are obliged to pur-
chase many things out of their own pay, as the ' crown
allowance ' is insufficient for them.

On leaving the Franciscan Street, and passing the
cloister of the Minimes, facing the lunatic hospital, we
arrive at the barracks of the fourth regiment of the
line, commanded by Colonel Boguslavski.— -This is the
Grand Duke's favorite regiment, on account of the
admirable style in which it performs its exercise ; of
which, certainly none but those who have seen it can
form any idea.

Near these barracks, which are divided into two parts,
is the jail, whose inmates, except the fact of their
wearing chains, are not under greater restraint than the
Polish officers. As to common soldiers, their situation
is infinitely more miserable than that of felons.

A little further on are the crown barracks, which
contain the regiment of Lithuanian grenadiers, the
Polish infantry guards, and other troops.

The immediate vicinity of the city is not unlike the
Campagna di Roma. — ^The beautiful ruins, to be sure,
are wanting ; for in Warsaw the only ruins are the
broken spirits of the people.

A very high windmill forms a conspicuous object in
the scene ; and near it there is a second pontoon bridge
across the Vistula, which was constructed in 1829, for
the entrance of the Emperor Nicholas as King of Po-
land. There is also a spring which supplies the inhab-
itants of Warsaw with excellent water.

From the new town, which we have just been ex-

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 127

ploriDgi we will proceed to the old town, which formerly
included the whole of Warsaw, as is obvious from the
name of one of the principal streets, Podval, (under
the wall) which runs parallel with the Ulica Modova.

The old town contains a fine market-place. The
streets in this part of Warsaw are, for the most part,
narrow; and the houses, which are exceedingly old,
have many of them a very bad reputation.

Continuing our course through the old town, we
arrive in the Palace square, in which stands a marble
column, with the statue of King Sigismund.

From this square a street runs into the Cracow
suburb ; beyond which it extends about half a mile,
under the name of the New World, and leads to St.
Alexander's church, already mentioned. Forming an
angle with Cracow suburb, the Senator street commu-
nicates with the square of the new theatre. On the
other side of the square, the Electoral street, which is
about half a mile long, terminates with the Volska
Rogatka, on the boundary line of the semicircle of

Warsaw.

The old theatre is situate in the Krasinski square,
at the end of the Franciscan Street.^

* I may here observe, that in my notice of the guard-houees of
Warsaw, (Chap. 12,) I mentioned, by mistake, only seven regiments
of the guards, instead of eight

198 d'KiTcnFs OF warsjiw.

CHAPTER XXVII.

AlliBjs of te0ef«-The PoUsk Piekte andi the Statue of Copemikar
— Poniatowski'a Statue — The Lyeaam— Tke Uaiveuuty — Dan-
gerous fixed ideas — Literature and Bookselling.

During the Vice-royalty of Constantine^ much has
certainly been done in the way of ornamenting and
beautifying the city of Warsaw ; but even these im-
provements are characterized by military unifbrmity;
as for example, the long alley of poplar trees, in the
new or south part of the city, extending from the Vis-
tula to the Jerusalem barrier.

These popfar trees afford neither shade nor fruit ;
dierefbre oaks or lindiens would have been infinftely
preferable. But the oak, in an allegorical point of
view, is a forbidden tree ; and the linden puts forth its
leaves and blossoms much too e^ly, — ^thus presenting
a bad example, which must be kniided.

A venerable Polish Prelate, tBe Abbe Staszyc, who
bequeathed bis property for the improvement of War-
saw, erected, during his life^ a building as an Academy
of Art, which, through the neglect of the architect, was
not convertible into a barrack.

From a fund established by this gentleman, Thor-
waldson was paid for the model of the statue of Co-
pernicus, from which a bronze cast was executed in

SKETOHES OF WARSAW. 129

Warsaw, and erected in front of the Academy of Art
in 1830.

This statue was to be uncovered on the day ap-
pointed for the interment of the Abbe Staszyc. The
Grand Duke gave orders for a review on that day, in
order to prevent the patriotic portion of the military
from attending the funeral ceremony in the Bilany con-^
vent ; for the erection of a statue in honor of a Polish
star-gazer was a crime in the eyes of his Imperial
Highness.

On learning that the poet Niemcewicz* intended to
deliver an address on the uncovering of the statue^ he
summoned him to his presence.

The venerable bard was angrily asked what h^
intended to say on the occasion. Tliere was no alter-
native, but to pay some compliment to the government ;
and Niemcewicz replied, that he should avail himself
of that opportunity to ^ extol publicly the paternal gov-
ernment of the Emperor and King, and in particular
the graciousness of his Imperial Highness, who per-
mitted the Poles to raise a monument of their national
honor.'

To this no objectioo could be made, and Niemce-
wicz was enjoined to make no other allusion to Poland
or the Poles, under pain of incurring the Grand
Duke's displeasure. The address which had been
previously prepared was therefore abandoned, and an

* The Poet served daring- the American war of the Revolu-
tion, as aid-de-camp to Kosciuszko, aod married an American
lady. — Am. £d.

I

tM 8KSTGHE8 OF WARSAW.

eulogium on the Russian governnMnt was pronounced
at the ceremony of uncovering the statue of Coper-
nicus«

When I was in Rome, in the year 1822, I saw the
equestrian statue of Poniatowski, in Thorwaldson's at-
eUer ; and five years afterwards, when 1 visited War-
saw, I of course expected to see it erected.

Poniatowski's statue, however, was not in its des*
tined pkce, and never would have been seen there
during the government of Constantine.

The model of the statue was paid for by patriotic
subscriptions ; and only a trifling contribution was re-
quired to defray the expense of the bronze cast.
_FfOffl <^U that has already been related of the des-
potic tyranny of the Grand Duke, it may readily be
imagined that some risk was incurred by those patriots,
who subscribed to Poniatowski's monument ; for, how-
ever secretly their names might be concealed, they
immediately found their way into the list of the sua-*
pected, or, if ahready inscribed, they were illustrated
with notes.

^ The Death of Poniatowski/ an original picture by
Vemet, from which many copperplate, and litho-
graphic prints have been executed, was sold at an
auction, in the public streets of Warsaw^ for about a
hundred Polish florins. It travelled back to Paris; for
no Pole dared venture to bid for it, even by proxy; for
the infallible spies would have discovered a patriot
under any mask. Yet the p^ple cherish an almost
romantic reverence for the hero. I scarcely ever

SSST0HE8 OF WAB0AW. ISl

entered an apaitment, either in Warsaw or any other
part of Pohnd, in whit4i I did not see Poniatowski's
portrait; though beside it invariably hung the picture
of the Grand Duke Ck)nstantiDe Cezarewitsh, as if it
were a police license for permisskm to exhibit the
other.

In die GrymMsiiim, or Lyceum, there are six classes,
all of \^ich the scholars must pass through, remaining
m each two years. They are then^ after an examina-
tion, transferred to the university; that is to say, if they
be not refused admittance, wbioh soipetimea happens
to the son9 of the beM femiltes.

At the univeisity, aO the different branchet ef edbc**
tlon are classified, and philosophy is dealt out in cbsdt
to the students, spoonful by spoonful, Kke medicine to
an invalid.

The sysit^m t6 whteb the students of ^ University
of Wafsaw afe subject, may be compared to a course
of anti-phtlosoph^c cathartics ; and any tiling whiob
resists the operatbn Kit this medicine is pronounced to
be an unJbrHinate fixed idea. These unibrhmate
fixed ideas, however, are neither more nor less thaor
what are generally denominated sound reaso«k

It is indispensable that the fixed idea siuHild be
thoroughly eradicated, before the poor devd, who is
infected with the disease, can proceed with htS'sitodies.

Should the fixed' idea or sound reason pi^e so
obstinate, that it will yield to no remedies, the stu^
dent is declared to be a dangerous demagogue, and
it is thought advisable to confine him in ft convent^ or

132 8KVT0HSS OF WAB6AW.

ID the fortress of Zatnosc ; or, perhaps be is sent to
exercise as a recruit in a regiment of infantry ; or, if
he be a Russian, to make a tour to Siberia.

The Poles cannot be legally sent to Siberia ; but
til ^ Jaw on this subject is occasionally broken.

The pupils of the Gymnasium, as well as the stu-
dents of the University, wear a sort of livery, which Is
styled a uniform. It consists of a blue frock coat,
with one row of buttons, and a high standing collar ;
black pantaloons, white or black waistcoat, &c. The
students of the university have on their collars two
white stripes; and, for the sake of distinction, the pupils
of the Gymnasium have only one. The metal buttons
of the students denote dieir different classes, as the
soldiers' buttons mark the company or regiment to
which tliey belong.

The students are kept under the most rigid restraint ;
in short, they are subject to rigid barrack discipline*
the least violation of which is punished by confine-
ment in the black hole. The students are even visited
in their own apartments by the professors of the uni-
versity and their assistants, and also by spies, who
keep watch on their books, and take care they read
no forbidden books, old or new.

Social meetings among the students are not strictly
prohibited ; fof dissipation is considered a venial of-
fence, and is viewed with an indulgent eye. Indeed,
to be distinguished by profligate conduct, is a recom-
mendation rather than otherwise.

With regarcl to the liberty of the press, it is almost

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 133

unnecessary to observe, that no such thing exists in
Poland ; and literature is at the* lowest possible ebb.
The poet, Miczkiewicz, however, in spite of the nar-
row boundaries within which he is circumscribed, rises
like a proud cedar in the desert, whose summit the
sun lights before his rays descend to the plain. Poetic
talent, like the taste for philosophy and science, is
checked in the bud.

Under Novosilcov's administration, the bookselling
trade was confined chiefly to school-books and French
novels, which the bookseller, Gliicksberg, circulated
very extensively. A book and music-seller, named
Brozina, was the principal dealer in German books ;
but no new publication of any importance was ever
permitted to pass the ordeal of the censor. As to
foreign journals, they were strictly prohibited in Po-
land, as they are in Russia.

12

134 8KET0HE8 OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER XXVIII-

The Runian post-office — ^All letters regralarlj opened — '.
spies — Liberty incompatible with the spy system.

The post-office is a building of considerable size, in
the Cracow suburb. It serves not only for the trans-
mission of letters, but for all the business coonected
with the management of stage-coaches and expresses.

All the clerks of the post-office wear the Russiaa
uniform of the Grand Duke's office, which is green
with dark red facings ; whereas, the other Polish civil
officers wear the blue uniform of the country.

In due conformity with this Russian uniform, is the
practice established throughout the whole dominions of
the autocrat, which, in virtue of a secret instruction,
permits no letter to be delivered or forwarded to its
address until it has been opened and read. To secure
the full and complete execution of this order, there is
attached to each post-office, a number of readers con-
formable to the extent of the correspondence, of
which it usually is the medium. If a single letter
should cross the frontier, or pass from one part of the
country to another, without undergoing a previous
examination of its contents, the readers have neg-
lected their occupation. Perhaps they were playing

SKETOnES OF WARSAW. 1S5

at whist, or perusing the newspapers ; in this way
only it is possible to account for such aa accident.

If the dexterity of the seal-breaker should fail to
perform the operation neatly, or if a cover should be
torn in opening it, the whole letter is then thrown aside.

Suspected letters are transmitted, by the readers, to
different sections of the secret police, according to the
nature of their contents, or the quality of the writers
or persons to whom they are addressed. They send
those on Russia or Russians to Novosilcov ; on foreign
afikrrs, to General Fenshaw ; on military persons, or
military afiairs^ to Baron Sass,: — ^who reports, either to
General Rozniecki, or to the Grand Duke through
Kuruta. Sass has also the superintendence of the
foreign correspondence of spies maintained abroad, of
whom there are two at Dresden ; one a German,^ the
other a Russian.

This violation of the secrecy of correspondence and
the whole of the spy system of which it is a part,
never can co-exist with civil liberty in any country.
Men's minds are agitated by the painful idea of being
deprived of all certainty and safety in communicating
with each other. Under such circumstances it is not
surprising that the indignation of the people should at
length manifest itself in an open contest of despair
with oppressors and betrayers.

* I obtained correct information in Warsaw of the secret trans-
actions of this German, who had a yearly salary of 1000 dacats
from the Grand Duke. He visits all the towns of Germany in
succession. He passed the winter of 1887 in Munich.

126 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

No two friends, at a short distance from each other,
can correspond without being exposed to the risk of
having all their secrets, trifling or important, made
known to third parties. If persons, whose intimacy is
most confidential — two of the same family^ for instance,
separate to travel, their best feelings are necessarily
suppressed, buried in a tomb from which no voice
comes ; for they dare not venture to give expression to
their thoughts by language.

When a spy, whose infamous office enables him to
discover in a letter the secrets of another's squI — ^the
overflowings of a warm heart expressed in the language
of friendship and affection, — he concludes, not unreason*
ably, that the writer is a man in whose brealst a similar
feeling for truth, juistice and freedom glows, and there-
fore that he is greatly to be suspected, and is a danger-
ous man, against whom the government ought to take
precautionary measures. With a horror equal to that
which this degree of sensibility excites, a jealous des-
potism views the declaration of any decided opinion or
sentiment respecting the fate of offenders against its
authority. The mental perspicacity of the one is not
less dangerous than the depth of feeling of the other.
Against both, as wild enthusiasts and visionaries, the
same law is pronounced. They are numbered among
the dangerous fools, whom it is necessary to confine in
dungeons, for the safety of the state.

In Warsaw there were several hundreds of Russian
spies, and throughout the whole of Poland some thou-
sands were maintained. They were of all descriptions)

8KBT0HES OF WARSAW. ]37

from the apparent gentleman down to the lowest ruf-
fian ; and in ever^ company, one at least was fastened
like a poisonous excrescence. Thus, in no social cir-
cle, in no family party, could it be certain that some
betrayer had not insinuated himself under the mask of
friendship.

Imagine jrourself, if you can, good reader, placed in
such circumstances as these. Suppose your brothen
your father, your son, or your friend, a hired spy of the
government, sitting beside you in the domestic circle,
and every kind of family confidence banished : — ^then
ask yourself what remains to you, what peace or hap-
piness you still possess ? You will find little that is
worth living for is left, good reader ! and if you are a
Pole, east away my book, grasp your sword, and avenge
your country's degradation.

12*

138 SKETCHES OF WARSAW.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Crael treatment of a Jew, by a Rassian officer.

The justice which, in Germany, every beggar may
obtain, on appealing at the proper time to the proper
authorities, was, in Warsaw, during the Russian domin-
ion, as rare a thing as Prussian tobacco, which was
declared contraband, and not permitted to pass the

frontier.

An acquaintance of mine, a lieutenant in one of the

regiments of the Russian guard, was robbed of all his

linen, and was unable to conjecture, how or by whom

the theft had been committed ; for a long acquaintance

with the knout had rendered his own servant a pattern

of honesty and fidelity.

The lieutenant took it into his head that he had
been robbed by a Jew ; and so firmly rooted was this
notion, that whenever a Jew passed him in the street,
he used to think of his stolen linen, and say, ' I wish
I could but catch the Jew who robbed me ; I would
pay him well.^

Some months after the theft I met this officer, who
came running up to me in the street saying, * I have
found the Jew. I have got him safe. Come with
me, and you shall see how I will punish him.'

SKET0HE8 OF WARSAW. 199

His servant bad, a few hours before, collared a Jew,
wbo had stolen a coat, with which he was slipping out
of the house of a neighbor, a Polish colonel. Just at
that moment the lieutenant returned home, and on
witnessing the scene, immediately concluded that it
was the identical Jew who had robbed hini, and deter-
mined on being revenged.

Without further ceremony, he conducted the Jew to
the police office of the district, and made himself the
plaintiff in the case.

The Jew had been caught in the fact ; and, though
he had surrendered up the stolen goods, he was nev-
ertheless punishable.

Whips, sticks and swords, lay in readiness at the po-
lice office ; and the lieutenant, who was intent on the
Jew's punishment, heard the following declaration of
the officer who judged the case: —

^ If you insist on his being punished now, I cannot,
without a trial, condemn him to more than five blows
of a stick ; and if he receive them, he is protected
against further punishment.'

The Russian officer laughed, and thought he would
take care of the further punishment^ — ^but that at all
events the Jew should receive the five blows, by way of
security.

He promised the police soldier a glass of vodka for
executing the punishment ; and the Jew obtained his
full allowance of five blows, which number the fanatics
consider a memorial of the five wounds which our Sa-
vior received from the Jews,

l40 8KETCHK8 Of WARSAW.

The Jew was now legally tlischarged ; but the officer
ftund a pretence for detabing him a little longer. He
requested the police officer to allow a man to accom*
pany his senrant and the Jew to the house of another
officer m the Cracow suburb. This officer, he said,
had also been robbed, and be wished him to see the
Jew, in order to ascertain whether he could identify
him as the thief.

The police officer gave permission, and the Jew was
conducted away.

Instead, however, of sending the culprit to the Cra^w
suburb, the officer ordered him to be taken to the staff
office of his regiment in the WarszawskatUlica.

The Jew suspected the plot, and refused to cross the
threshold of the door. He declared his readiness to
go to the officer in the Cracrow suburb, being confident
diat he could not identify him as the thief; for he had
never, he declared, robbed any one in that part of the
town ; but he insisted that as he had received his pun-
ishment, he was legally released.

His remonstrance was addressed to the wind, which
at that moment was blowing hard in the Warszawska
Ulica. The police-man was dismissed, and some or-
derlies seized the Jew, and put him into the black hole,
where he was locked up at the moment I met my
friend, the officer.

I represented to him that he had no right to punish
the poor Jew : all I could say was of no avail. He
repeated, over and over again, that a Jew had robbed
him ; and that this Jew having been caught in the act

- 8KET0HE8 OF WARSAW. 141

of purbining a coat, nothing was more likely than that
he had committed the other theft. ' And ^ven though
he should not be the same Jew,' he added, * it will be
no harm to give him five hundred lashes, and set them
down to the other's account.'

On entering the office of the regiment, which was a
miserable sort of barrack, facing the adjutant's abode,
I beheld the Jew trembh'ng and deadly pale. The
cat-o-nine-tails lay on the ground, and four soldiers
were in readiness to execute the commands of their
officer.

* Strip him ! ' said the lieutenant 5 and the command
was instantly obeyed.

' Mercy, baron 1 mercy ! ' exclaimed the Jew. * You
have no right to flog me. Have I not received my
punishment. IxanDOtJaa-punished twice far one theft.
I have received my five. You cannot give me my five
over again. If you bad any right to punish me, baron,
why did you not say so when I was before the com-
missioner of police ? '

' Silence, rascal ! ' said the- lieutenant. All my en-
treaties in behalf of the poor Israelite were unavailing.
What could I do ? my friend was the senior lieutenant
of another regiment. I could exercise no authority.
Our duties were as dii^tinct as our uniforms.

Two stout fellows seized the trembling Jew, and
threw him on a truckle bedstead, on which was a straw
raattrass. The lieutenant gave the v^ord of command ;
* five hundred ! ' and the ceremony commenced.

After the first two hundred lashes, the lieutenant

142 8KET0HEB OF WARSAW.

remarked that the cords of the cat-o-nine-tails were
too dry, anc] that several of them had cracked. ' Take
a sabre ! ' he exclaimed.

The cries of the poor Jew had by this time gathered
a crowd round the door of the office! What was go-
ing on within might be easily guessed. It was a mere
every day afiair.

The Jew continued roaring * Mercy ! mercy I' — ^Two
men held him down by the shoulders, while a third
held his legs.

The clerk's sword was employed — but it was only
the clerk's sword, and the blades of Tula are none of
the best. It bent at the first blow.

At this moment a confused noise of voices was heard
on the outside of the door. A minim sister was en-
deavoring to force admittance j but the lieutenant ut-
tered bis usual oath : < FasehoU ! won kurwa — / ' and
he lent his own sword for the completion of the pun-
ishment.

When it was ended, be said, in a tliundering voice
to the Jew, ' Well, are you satisfied ? or . . * The
Jew bowed his head and said, < Thank you, thank
you. Baron ; I humbly thank you for this mild punish-
ment.'

I was confounded. I knew not which to wonder at
most, the barbarity I had just witnessed, or the grati-
tude of the Jew. Like a dog perfumed with turpen-
tine, the poor Israelite hobbled down the street, and
turned the comer leading to the New World.

SKXTOBES OF WARSAW. 143

CHAPTER XXX.

A Polish Florin's worth of Rcuwian beating.

While I was in Warsaw, I witnessed another in-^
stance of cruelty towards a Jew, the particulars of
which I may here relate.

In the Lazaretto of Uyazdov there were seven Rus-
sian officers in one apartment ; for it was the custom
to keep the Russians apart from the Poles.

When I became convalescent, I visited these seven
officers, several of whom were my particular friends.

Entrance to the Lazaretto, as well as to the bar-
racks, is prohibited to all but officers and soldiers. The
Jetirs, in particular, are stricdy kept out, and the senti-
nels drive them back, whenever they attempt to enter.

Notwithstanding the rigor with which this regulation
is enforced, a Jew now and then contrives to slip into
Uyazdov, accompanied by a soldier, and under the pre-
text of having been sent for by an officer.

In this manner, a Jew pedlar once found bis way
into an apartment occupied by the seven officers
above mentioned, and offered his wares for sale.

I asked the price of a pair of scissors, and Baron
R asked the price of a comb. The Jew, accord-
ing to custom, demanded twice their value.

* Dog ! villain ! ' exclaimed the Baron. ^ Do you

144 8KET0HE& OF WARSAW.

think we are fools ? I will make you remember this.
Alexiyeff ! here is a florin for you. Give this fellow
a thrashing, and drive him down stairs.

AlexiyeflT, a robust looking invalid, who was in
attendance on the officers, on receiving this command
replied, ' Slushey Hospodin Kornet ! ' and pulled the
Jew out at the door.

After the lapse of a quarter of an hour, I took leave
of my friends, and was returning to ray own apart-
ment, when, to my surprise, I saw the Jew lying on
the stairs with a broken head, and bathed in blood.
The boards were soaked with Eau de Cologne and
Oil of Roses, and all his wares lay scattered beiside
him. It was really a melancholy sight. I hastened
back to the Baron, who had ordered this act of
cruelty, and brought him to witness the scene.

He beheld it with deep regret ; for ho was at bot-
tom a good-hearted young man. He had not expect-
ed that his commands would be so literally obeyed ;
and he reprimanded Alexiyeflf, whilst I endeavored to
collect the remnants of the poor Jew's scattered stock.

Alexiyeff declared that as he had been desired to
beat the Jew for a Polish florin, he had punctually
and conscientiously executed the command, except
that, from a feeling of compassion, he had kicked him
only half way down the stairs. He added, that if the
Baron had given fiim only ten Polish groats, he
should have dealt out his blows more moderately.
' But,' said he, ' after all, what does it signify ? He is
only a Jfew.*

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 145

The poor Israelite, who was a meagre old maD,
understood but little of this Russian explanation, and
without even begging for a trifle by way of compensa-
tion for his loss, he crept silently away.

Whether my friend the baron subsequently sent him
a few roubles, I know not ; but I hope he did.

13

146 SKETOHES OF WAE3AW.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Russian mode of wetUing with a Droski-driyer.

^^ All good things are three in number : ' so says
the German proverb. I will relate you a third anec-
dote of Russian barbarity, — though instead of confin-
ing myself to three, I might easily swell the number
to thirty.

One summer evening, rather late, I was proceeding
to Lazienki, through the alley of trees, and, on reach-
ing the tavern, near the uhlan guard-house, I stopped
to get a glass of putich.

As I approached the door, I heard a terrible uproar
within the house, and on entering I discovered that
the noise was occasioned by a Russian infantry officer,
who was disputing with a droski-d river about the
amount of his charge. A droski-driver is entitled to a
Polish florin for every fare, whether long or short : if
the person hiring the vehicle alights and gets in again,
that commences a new fare.

Which of the two parties was right in the aflTair
which I am about to relate, I could not ]K)ssibly dis-
cover, amidst the demand and protestations of the one,
and the oaths and imprecations of the other. I went
into a private room, and left them to setde the dis-
pute

SKETCHES OF WARSAW. 147

However, in a short time the noise increased to so
violent a degree, that I was induced to return to the
scene of contest.

There I beheld the coachman stretched on the
ground and roaring piteously, while the officer was
kicking him and beating him with his sabre.

The women of the tavern pale, and trembling with
terror, were interceding in behalf of the unfortunate
droski-driver, but in vain. As the officer was deaf to
the entreaties of the women, I concluded that any
remonstrance on my part would be very ineffectual.
I therefore took my glass of punch, and left the tavern.

When I had proceeded about half a werst on my
road, an empty droski passed me. — ^The poor devil
seated on the box was covered with blood, and was
cursing the Russians in very good Polish. My Rus-
sian uniform, I presume, entitled me to some share of
hb compliments.

PART III.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

OF POLAND.

13*

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

OF POLAND.

CHAPTER XXXri.

Popalation of Poland.

The population of the kingdom of Poland is staled
by Hassel, on the authority of the returns of 1820, to
be 3,440,000 within a superfices of 2,293,22 geograph-
ical square miles.*

* Such are the namben (see next page) as given by the author,
but there is an evident inconaiBtenQy in making a calcuhition by
geographical and German square miles so nearly correspond, for
a German square mile contains sixteen geographical square miles.
It appears that geographiedlf in the quotation from Hassel, is an
error of the press, for which German should be read^— Tbav.

162 THE POLITICAL 8T8TEM

yt IS DIVIDED A8 FOLLOWS, TIZ :

The Voyvodsbip of Masom 321,10—481,000

— Kalish 512,24—512,000

—Cracow 211,48—445,000

— Sandomirz 282,30 — 432,000

—Lublin 317,25—490,000

— Podlachia 228 —286,000

— Plock 290 —864,000

— Augustov 321,84 — 430,000

According to a survey lately published in Paris, the
superfices of the kingdom of Poland contains 2,270
German square miles,* and its population amounts to
3,475,742 (1 823 ;) the army consists of 55,000 men ;
the revenue is equal to 34,231,225 francs ; and the
number of pupils in public schools 34,523.

AUSTRIAN POLAND AND GALLIdA.

Square miles . . • • 1,528

Population 4,226,969

Army 58,760

Revenues 43,500,000 francs

Pupils 51,010

PRUSSIAN POLAND.

Square miles .... 1,664

Population 2,584,124

Army • • . . . . 51,546

Revenue 35,054,057 franca

Pupils ...... 49,875

* Vide the preceding page.

OF POLAND. 153

CRACOW.

Square miles 21

Population 107,934

Military 320

Revenue 761,332 francs

Pupils 4,872

The number of Poles in West Russia and in the
Russian governments of Wilna, Grodno, Bialy stock,
Vitebsk, Mohilew, Minsk, Volhynia and Podolia can-
not be ascertained with precision. The Poles make
them amount to 25,000; by others they are estimated
at not more than 10,000.

Those populations within the States of Prussia and
Austria, who in language and manners coincide with
the preceding, and who from their character are recog-
nized as Poles, must be reckoned as forming part of
the Polish nation.

It has been expected that this age, so fertile in great
events, would see the whole of the Polish Nation
united under the banners of freedom ; but when this
restoration of a depressed and scattered people shall
take place is still a secret in the womb of time.

But that a people, who for the love of liberty may
rank with the French, and whom none exceed in de-
voted love of country;— that such a people should be
sacrificed to ambition and political intrigue, — should
be transferred to different governments, and have their
national name proscribed ; and, as may be said, blotted
out of history,— appears to be something in cdntradic-

154 THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

tion with the eternal decrees of that Providence, which,
in spite of all the plans of oppression concocted in the
bureaux of legitimacy, still watches over the fall of
mankind.

It was well and timely said by a French Journalist,
in April, 1830 — ' Poland does not now exist; but the
Polish Nation will always exist.*

.."J-

OF POLAND. 155

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Form of Goyemment.

^ Russia and PolaDd are two separate states, under
the dominion of one sovereign. Russia presents the
model of ^ perfect unlimited monarchy, in which the
will of the ruler is the sole law. Poland, on the con-
trary, is a constitutional monarchy, in which the exec-
utive and legislative powers are completely separate.
In Russia, if the sovereign does not choose to pay
respect to certain ancient customs held in reverence
by the people to the institutions of the predecessors,
nor to public opinion, there is nothing to restrain him.

'Poland has at least a charter, with which she can
arm herself against an unjust, arbitrary will.'

Such are the words of Dr. G. Hassel, in his ' Prin-
ciples of Statistics ' (Weimar, 1 822,) a work which 1
make the foundation of my observations, and from
which I shall, without further reference, introduce pas-
sages, — ^marking them, however, by inverted commas,
as it is not my practice to dress myself in strange
feathers.

Poland is indeed ^ a constitutional monarchy,' and
* has a charter with which she can arm herself against an
unjust, arbitrary will.' — ^In the first place, it may be

156 THE POLITICAL BTSTEM

remarked, that every arbitrary authority in goveroment
is unjust ; but we shall respect the words of our text
and let that pass.

Poland was then a constitutional monarchy, and had
a charter ; yet the Poles submitted for fifteen years,
preceding the 29th of November, 1830, to the humili-
ation of being oppressed by the crudest caprice tliat
any people ever endured !

Good Heaven ! with what forbearance and patience
have the noble Poles been endowed ! This character
may henceforth be made the foundation of an univer-
sal proverb, and it may be said : — ' To persevere with
Polish patience ! ' — * Patient as a Pole ! ' — or * Polish
forbearance ! '

Patience is a virtue. — Forbearance is exalted pa-
tience, and consequently exalted virtue. People then
who could patiently bear the chains of slavery, while
possessing the power of breaking thetn, may well be
said to stand forward in the attitude of real greatness.

The more lively the picture we represent to our-
selves of the state of Poland^ and particularly of the
city of Warsaw under the government of Constantine,
the more decisively do we repeat the appeal of the
introduction to these pages j and the facts, which aston-
ish us, appear not less incomprehensible than would
the situation of having to answer negatively the exam-
ination of a German professor, who, pointing to a ped-
lar's pack-horse, should ask, —

< May not this animal be transformedi nto a fiery
Pegasus ? '

«F POLAND. 15V

After this fair declaration, it will not offend the
noble Poles if I own, that, while I lived among them, I
often Compared the whole people to a worn-out pack-
horse, whose back is a register of scourges, whose
knees tremble under him from hunger and weakness,
whose look is sad and sorrowful, — whose entire life is
indescribable wretchedness. Notwithstanding all that
is said of the progress of distress and pauperism in
England, the poor laws of that country give to miseiy
a protection, which, under Russian rule and their con-
stitutional charter, is totally wanting to Poland.

But I readily confess that I was very ignorant of the
political affairs of Poland, when, in Warsaw, I once put
the following question to a Pole : — ' How was your
constitution overthrown, and when did it cease to have
force ? '

This question had reference to a ukase, the issuing
of which was not known to me, as I was at the time
in another countiy, where I was too much occupied to
pay attention to the details of transactions in Poland.

* Good heavens* ! ' replied the Pole, ^ we still have a
constitution, 'which his Imperial Majesty, our constitu-
tional king, was so good as to give us, and to swear to
maintain. You see, therefore, that we have a sworn
constitution, and that the Emperor's brother has only
shorn it, as he does the heads of his recruits.'

I stared at my Polish friend, who, after a pause^
said, — ^ You wear a Russian uniform. Do you know
that you cannot legally appear in that dress in Wnrsaw
except as a foreign guest, and tliat, according to our

14

158 THE POLITICAL BYSTEX

constitution, no Polish troops can be sent to Russia^
aid no Russian introduced into Poland.'

^ I hastily replied :— ^ My dear sir, you labor under a
mistake ; the Grand Duke Constantine is surrounded
by seven thousand Russian guards, and do you mean
to say that he has no right to have these troops here? '

^ Certainly, he has not the right of introducing a
single squadron, or a single company of Russians into
Poland. He possesses no right of doing so, except (he
right of arbitrary power, if such can be said to give
right.'

'I do not on the other hand deny,' continued the
Pole, * that the quartering of five regiments of Russian
guards in Warsaw encourages trade, as each regiment
throws into circulation, annually, more than a million of
silver roubles, and thereby enriches our city ; but this
is a gain at the expense of our honor, which is daily
offended by the arbitrary acts of the Grand Duke
Constantine, who is protected in the exercise of an
absolute power by his Russian garrison.

*The sight of the Russian uniform x^annot be
otherwise than hateful to us, though many Poles wear
it, because prudence teaches them to ' put a good face
on a bad business,' and hard necessity compels us tO
submit to an iron yoke, which fetters our acts, our
words, and even our thoughts. Whatever way we
turn, we find ourselves confined and oppressed by the
heavy chain of despotism, -and we can only sigh over
our violated rights.'

This declaration of the Pole made no slight impres-

OF POLAND. 159

iiioa on me at the moment. I reflected on what
might happen, if the Poles were to be driven to revolt.

Might they not easily expel us, strong as we are ?-or
what if they should rise some night, and massacre the
whole of us ? But when I looked over to St. Alex-
ander's Church, and saw the military power and pomp
near it, I laughed at the idea 1 had formed, whieh
seemed to me as unlikely to be realized as that of the
patron saint of that edifice should come to drink tea
with me in the evening, and make one of a party at
whist.

'No! no*! while the Grand Duke Constantine and
Novosilcov are in Warsaw, no Mazurka can be danced
there.' I said to myself, in silent reflection.

It is quite impossible that even ten individuals can
meet for the most harmless purpose without being
closely watched ; liow then are the unwelcome guests
lo be turned out of Warsaw, when il would require
hundreds and thousands to unite for that purpose ?

You may go then, without fear, to drink your Rus-
sian tea and smoke your Polish pipe ; no Pole will
disturb you. Thus thought, even in the middle of
November, in 1630, almost every man who wore a
Russian uniform in Warsaw. However, after all, I
could not help closing my soliloquy with the confes-
sion : — If the honest Poles were to rise on you and
your worthy comrades, and cut the throats of the
whole gang of you, the thing would be just what the)'*
.have a right to do.

160 THE POLITICAL BTSTEM

CHAPTER XXXIV.

The Polish CoiMititution.

' The political system of Poland differs essentially
from the Russian. It is a monarchy founded on a
constitution, by which the legislative power is divided
between the head of the state and the representatives
of the people.'

The following are the fuadamental principles of the
Polish Constitution : —

1. The legislative and executive powers are sepa«
rated. The former is exercised by the Monarch and
the Representatives ; the latter by the Monarch alone.

2. The Roman Catholic religion being professed
by the majority of the people, is particularly guarau-
teed, but without giving it authority lo restrict the
freedom of other religions, or ta exclude them from
civil rights.

' 3. All classes of citizens are protected by the an-
cient law of the country : — JVemtnem captivabimus^
nisi jure viclum*

4. Property is sacred and inviolable. A foreigner
can hold property and be domiciled.

5. Only a Pole, or a domiciled foreigner can serve
in state offices.

OF POLAND. ICl

6. The press is free.

7. The Polish is the language of public transac-
tions.

8. The military force is employed merely for th(j
defence of the country.

9. Public instruction i^ national.

10. The privileges of the towns are preserved.

11. The peasant is free, and can acquire properly.

12. The Jew is under the protection of the pre-
vious laws.

The people can use their share in the Legislative
authority by a Diet.

This Diet assembles every two years, at a time
appointed by the Emperor for fourteen days, and
deliberates on imposts and laws, the plans for which
X are to be prepared in the Council of State, and laid
before the Diet in virtue of the Emperor's command.
The Diet is composed of two Chambers.

1. The Senate, which consists of thirty members;
namely, ten Bishops, named by the Emperor and con-
firmed by the Pope ; ten Voyvodes, and ten Castel-
lans, who nommate the Counsellors of State. The
President is appointed by the Emperor.

The Senators have their seals for life.

The laws, after being discussed by the Chamber of
Deputies, are submitted to the Senate, which, with
the exception of certain cases, adopts them.

2. The Chamber of Deputies has sixty members,
who are chosen from the assemblies of the nobles of
the circles, and who must have attained tlie age of

14*

162 THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

forty. For the purpose of their election, the country
is divided into forty commercial assemblies, eight for
Warsaw, and thirty-two for the rest of the territory.
Every commercial assembly must have 600 voters.
The Deputies are elected for nine years, and one-
third of the Chamber fs elected every three years.
The President is a Marshal appointed by the Empe-
ror. The members of the Council of State have seats
and a deliberative voice in the Chamber.

The Chamber appoints three Commissions of five
members each, for the Finances, Civil Law, and
Criminal Law. Only the members of these Commis-
sions and the Ministers have the right of speaking in
the Chamber ; the other members decide by a silent
vote.

The Diet of a circle assembly consists of the
nobles of the circle, — in the commercial assembly, the
owners of land, who are not nobles, and other persons
having the right to vote, but who must not be less than
twenty years of age. They are convoked by the
Sovereign, and, under the presidency of a Marshal,
choose the Deputres.

In taking a retrospective view of Poland and War-
saw, under the dbmfnion of the Grand Duke Constan-
tine with reference to this constitution, the P©l*e ap-
pears in the character of a substantial husbandman,
who is not allowed to walk in his own garden, to
pluck an apple from his own tree, nor to eat a potatoe
grown in his own land ; for he has got in his house
an unbidden guest, who disputes the right of property

OF POLAKD. 1^

with him, turns bim out of his garden, and places sen-
tinels round the walls, who refuse him admission, and
take good care that he shall not have a single apple or
potato3. Nay, spies and eves-droppers are employed
to watch all his motions, and to ascertain whether he
has any thought of attempting to recover possession.

In contradiction to article 1st, the legislative and
executive power never was divided. On the con-
trary, the whole was concentered in the person of his
Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Constautine
Cezarevitsh, Generalissimo of the- Russian Cavaliy,
and Commander of the Polish Lithuanian army. He
was the beginning and the end of every thieg.

As to article 3, what has been said respecting the
hurling of the wheelbarrow in Saxon square,* shows
that the ancient law referred to was completely set
aside, if it had ever been allowed to operate under the
government of the Grand Duke.

Article 6 is downright irony, and this might well be
sufficient to say on the subject.

But we are told ' the press is free ! ' violated
truth, what a declaration ! The press in Poland free !
when scarce a book dare be printed, and when the
printing of any thing approaching truth is out of the
question !

The press free indeed ! while hundreds and thou-
sands were daily put under arrest^ for some expression
of their thoughts and feelings, not by writing, but orally,
and with fear and hesitation 1

* See Chap. xr.

164 THE POLITICAL 8T8TEM

The press said to be free ! when a German, whose
name has escaped me,* a literary man, who was em^
ployed as a librarian by one of the magnates, was
condemned to serve for life as a common soldier, in a
regiment of Lithuanian infantry, because, in a public
house, he read some paragraphs of the Polish Consti-
tution to two of his friends, and toasted the articles !

The press free ! when the editors of the severely
restricted Journals did not dare to insert tlie most
harmless word without incurring the risk of being ar-
rested and imprisoned in the fort, without any hope of
deliverance !

The press free, truly ! when scarcely a press dared
be established, for to say nothing of a book, no one
would venture to print a single page, without trembling
for some malignant interpretation of a phrase, every
word of which, before being committed to paper, had
undergone the most serious consideration.

This article 6 is really a satire which does much^
credit to its author. — Honor to the talent for ridicule
of this Great Unknown !

According to article 8, the military is to be employed
solely in the defence of the country. This article
must have alSTorded fine scope for the Grand Ducal
caprice. He even went so far as to resolve on order-

** If I forget names, which it v/ould be of importance to recol-
lect the situation in which I was when I heard them, must be my
excuse. The finding of a memorandum' of such names in my
possession wonid have been sufficient to insure for me a fate simi-
lar to this German*!.

OF poiA^D. . r* IK

ing the whole of the Polish troops to inarch out of
Warsaw, in order to supply their place by a Russian
garrison. — ^This step, which seemed to him quite sim-
ple, became however, by the influence of events, a
cause of his own marching out.

^ The peai^ant is personally free, and can acquire
property,' so says article 11.

The Polish peasant might perhaps be about as free
as my dog was in Warsaw ; for I certainly should not
have prevented t{ie animal from learning, had he been
so inclined, some tricks by which he could earn the
reward of an extra bone. The freedom of the
wretched Polish serfs is much the same as the freedom
of their cattle ; for they are brought up with as liltle of
human cultivation, being able to do little more than,
like them<i— to low and bellow to the sun, when a new
day dawns.

Article 12 places the Jews under the protection of
the preceding laws. This is an untruth, and the proof
of its so being is sufficiently indicated by a single
transaction, of which I was an eye-witness.*

Moreover, it is stated : — * The people exercise their
share in the legislative power through the medium of
a Diet ! '

Another great untruth !

I have seen a Diet in Warsaw, and I well know
what sort of share the people have in the choice of
their representatives, and consequently their share in
legislation.

* See Chaps, xziz. and zxx.

166 THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

. The law-making and law-breaking power was vested,
as lias been described, in the Grand Ducal person.
Ho caused the lists of the candidates to be laid before
him, and without hesitation struck out the name of
every Pole of whom it could ^ in the remotest degree,
be suspected that he would venture to speak a word
for Poland in the Diet; and if any patriot should hap-
pen to be returned, the overwhelming majority was
ready to nullify all his efforts.

It is true, that when the Diet is over, all the journals
trumpet forth that every proposition of the government
had been approved and adopted by that assembly.
Those who have had the opportunity of taking a near
view of the proceedings, know well how to explain tlie
enigma of this boast ; and one need not be a Pole to
be induced, on reflecting on such conduct, to throw
aside the pen with indignation.

OF roLAxo. 167

CHAPTER XXXV.

General Administration.

' As to the afiairs of governrnent, Poland is com-
pletely separated from Russia, and has its own partic-
ular administration.

^ The head of the government is a Namiestnik,* or
Royal Stadtholder, who represents the person of the
Monarch.

^ The execution of the laws belongs to the depart-
ment of the Council of State, which is divided into
four Boards or Commissions, the three first of which
are presided by a minister. This council draws up,
annually, reports on the state of the kingdom. The
three ministers and the members of the Council of
State are responsible.'

Since the decease of Prince Zaionczek, the last
stadtholder of Poland, who died about five years ago,
there has been no Naniiestnik. The Grand Duke
Constantino was in no respect the stadtholder of the
kingdom. The minister. Prince Sobolevski supplied
the place of the Namiestnik.

• Viceroy.

103 THE POLtTIOAL SFSTEM

CHAPTER XXXVI.

The Body politic in Russia, (inserted here for the sake of

comparison.)

' In Russia asin Poland the inhabitants are divided
into nobility, clergy, citizens and serfs. These differ-
ent ranks luive particular rights, but it is only in
Poland that they can take part in the government.'

What sort of share they have in the government of
Poland has just been explained.

THE NOBILITY.

In Russia* there is ;< — I. The noble of the highest
and most important- rank in the Empire, to whom
certain privileges are secured; as for example : the
exemption of his person and landed property from all
taxes ; but the government levies contributions on his
serfs at pleasure.

Nobility is either inherited or obtained by service,
as has been already explained under the head ^ Rus-
sian Classification of Ranks.'*

^ In some quarters, as in Russia, Poland or West
Russia, only a nobleman can possess a baronial estate.'

See Chap. zx.

OF POLAKD. 160

THE CLERGY.

The clergy have no hereditary rank, but in the
public documents of the government they are usually
regarded as forming a particular order ; their privi-
leges are freedom from corporeal punishment and tax-
ation, even from the poll tax ; but their sons, except
in the Grerman provinces, where the clergy are re-
garded as nobles, must enter the army as recruits.

It is to be observed, as indeed might be inferred from
the above, that priests or churchmen are not made
responsible in their persons for misconduct, and conse-
quently, that they are not liable to chastisement unless
they meet with it accidentally, which sometimes
occurs. In this way, General Markoff, when he was
only a t^aptain of cavalry, made his servant inflict a
pretty severe punishment on a capuchin.

The capuchin was coming with a serf from the coun-
try to Warsaw. The pole of their vehicle touched Mar-
koflPs horse, which gave a sudden spring, and put the
horsemanship of the captain of the lancers to the test.
In a furious rage he made the capuchin be well cud-
gelled, and next day all Warsaw was shocked at the
treatment given to the poor monk.

When I heard this story, I asked what had been
done to the gallant captain. The Russian who rela-
ted it replied. What do you suppose could be done to
him? Poland is a conquered country. Warsaw is
occupied by foreign troops ! Who dare resist?

15

170 THE POLITICAL 8T8T£H

THE CITIZENS.

The citizen is personally free, and is governed by
his own magistrates and civic laws. Nevertheless, he
is not exempt from the regulations for supplying
recruits to the army.

The inhabitants of towns are divided into five
classes :

a. The citizens or burgesses, properly so called.

h. The three guilds, the members of which must
prove that they possess a certain capital, according to
which the tax on their property is assessed. Each
guild enjoys certain advantages, particularly in respect
to the freedom of exercising trades.

€. Corporati(Hi9 and professions.

d. Foreigners who carry on business in any town*

e. Nominal burgesses, such as literary men, ar-
tists, &LC.

These last possess, according to law, important
privileges. . They are like the two first guilds, exempt
from corporeal punishments.

As respects the guilds, the arrangement is simple
enough, but the practice is a difierent thing. A mer-
chant of the third guild is always in contempt called
czlowiekf ^ man,^ * fellow,' and is regarded as a low
creature, whom every officer and every cl^k in uni-
form may maltreat at pleasure. If he shoyld t;om-
plain, he is indemnified by the ktiout. It is much tbe
isame with the second and even with the first goild,
except that a member of the latter receives his punish-

OF POLAND. 171

ment in private, and perhaps has the disgrace after-
wards Tarnished over by being totd that be suffered by
mistake.

A merchant of the third guild is, however, always a
solakoj a ' dog/ or a wretched durak^ a ^ blockhead ;'
for he has only a trifle of property, and above all, he
has not served^ l^ doing which a man in Rtissia caA
alone become respectable, though he may, after twenty
or twenty-five years of service, and ten thousand flog-
gings, at last merely purchase admission into the four-
teenth class.

It is stated that the Russian law grants great privi-
leges to men of learning and artists. Yes, so far as
exempting them from the knout. A humanity which
certainly deserves honorable mention !

However, it may be asserted that he who should
receive a single paper rouble for every stroke bestowed
in the great Russian empire, on one of these learned
men or artists^ would soon be able to prove a capital
sufficient to constitute a member of the first guild.

THE SERFS.

' In Russia and Poland, every peasant^ is, according
to law, a bondsman : he can possess no property, and
is regarded not as a person in the body politic, but as
a thing, over which the owner has complete control ;
which he can sell, transfer, stake at a gaming-table,
dispose of, or deal with as it may please him ; but he

* Not the peasant of the kingdom, but of other parts of ancient,
Poland, as V^est Russia. See Chap, xxxyii.

172 ^"K POLITICAL SYSTEM

cannot inflict the punishment of death on his serf, nor
prevent him from marrying, or violate the chastity of
bis daughters. These bondsmen are known by differ-
ent denominations, as serfs of the crown, serfs of the
mines, serfs of the nobility, &c.'

The above kind of property is estimated, as is well
known, by souls ; and the owner accordingly indicates
the amount of his wealth, by stating the number of
souls that belong to him.

Then, according to the document which has just
been quoted, the wealthy Russian proprietor can deal
with men's souls as he pleases ; can sell them, transfer
them, and stake their fate on the turn of a die. As
to the punishment of death, a law against its infliction
can scarce be necessary, since it is not likely that he
would be so imprudent as thereby to injure and depre-
ciate his property.

A human soul is as good as ready money to the
owner, and if imprisoned within a stout, well-formed
carcass, is a profitable commodity. It will fetch, at the
common market price, four thousand roubles banco.

The proprietor, it is true, is by law prohibited from
preventing the marriage of his bondsman ; but as the
proverb says, — * God is high up, and the Czar a long
way off,* and what will harm my lord, if he does dis-
appoint a bridegroom ?

Dare a bondsman think of preferring a complaint
against his lord ? to whom shall he complain ? to what
court ? The judge is the friend and fellow proprietor

OF POLAVD. 178

of the lord who maltreats his ^ soul.' Will he not
decide in favor of the soul-tormentor in every case ?

O Axinia! Axinu ! exclaims Ossif, hi Rau-
pach's IsiDOR and Oloa ; and the cry &f the despair-
ing OssiF resounds in piercing lamentation through all
knouted Russia, and — humanity hears not !

As to what is said respecting the bondsmen's daugh-
ters, it is all very well : the law is very humane upon
paper ; but who dares to interfere, if the lord chooses to
do what the law forbids?

Reader ! do you wish to understand the nature of
the Russian ndode of thinking on these points ? That
18 impossible, without a residence of some years in
RusMa^ and opportunities for forming a picturie of the
whole from numerous collected traits.

Far be it from me to assert that every Russian
' soul-owner,' is constantly &nd every where brutal.
Even among the Russians I have met with worthy,
estcetlent men ; but they Were only nominal Russians,
and really Germans.* Throughout the whole country
Ul^ influence of mond restraint is little felt.

* The reader wiU remember tlttt the author of this work was
a German. — Au^ £d.

16*

174 THE POLITICAL ST8TEH

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Ciyic rights in Poland.

Thebe are three degrees of rank in Poland.

I.— THE NOBILITY.

The nobles form only one body. The distinction
of high and low nobility is not legally recognized.
The richest magnate in the law, not a more important
person than the poorest knight,*—* JEJ^tie^ polonus par
omnibuSf nemini secvndus.

The nobles are extremely numerous. — ^At least
60,000 families belong to the class, of which, how-
ever, only about a hundred are wealthy,—^ the rest
are poor.

In Poland, a man who possesses as much as is ne-
cessary to support him, is still called poor.

^ Fifty knights often live together in one village :
the rich nobles, on the contrary, have princely est&tes*'

Every Pole of the noble class may wear a sword^
the ' karabella,' and he hangs it at his side, as an orna-
ment and part of his dress.

During the government of Constantino, however,
the sword was worn only in remote quarters of the
country, and on holidays.

Of POLAND. 176

The simple Polish kurtka, a coat with lace trim-
mings, was soon a sufficient ground of arrest, as was
also a white hat, under which the head of a Carbonaro
was always sure to be found.

II.— THE CLERGY.

The clergy enjoy particular privileges : the superior
ecclesiastics sit and rule in the Senate.

In consequence of the superstition of the people,
every thing connected with the clergy is held in great
respect. In the spring of 1830, a law proposed by
the Emperor was expected to be passed, by virtue of
which the convents were to be suppressed, and their
profierty applied to public purposes. This plan seemed
to give great satisfaction to the better informed part of
the population of Warsaw. Whether it was carried
into efiect, I know not*

IIl.^THE CITIZENS.

' The citizens have particular privileges, in which
the Jews participate.'

The citizens or burgesses^ of the Polish towns, and,
in particular, the inhabitants of Warsaw, appeared to
be comfortably situated, and to have a just sense of
self-respect, until any Russian officer who might meet
a hackney droski, would turn a Pole out of it, if he

* This appears to be mis-translated : the aathor must refer to
the swarm of traders or pedlars, who infect and degrade the name
of merchants by assuming it : thej are mostly Jews, Germans,
or other foreign adTenturen. — ^Am . Ed.

196 THE POXITIOAL SYSTEM

wanted to ride himself, and ho other droski was near.
Examples of this sort ot iosolekit conduct I have often
feen^'

< la Obytvatel Warszawiki I '-t-^ I am a citizen of
Warsaw ! ' is a declaration which little avails. The
Obywaiel must get out withbut arguing the point.
The most pnident thing he can do is U> submit prompt-
ly and patiently to his fate.

IV.— THE SERFS.

*Tfae serfs or peasants/ as has dreaidy been stated,
* are personally free, and enjoy the right of holding
property.'

The Polish serf is in every part of the country
extremely poois and of all the Uving creatures I have
met with in this wtnrld, or sef^ d^sdribed inl- books of
natural history, he is the most wvetohedi {ie is in a
worse situation than the Russian serf, who is maintain-
ed by his master, and has at least, a subsistence in
return for the cudgellings which he receives.

OF POLAND. 177

•'Hi

JOOtt

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

I

Internal (Government of Poland — Administration of Justice.

'Is respect to internal administration, Poland differs
much from Russia.

Poland is divided into eight Voyvodships : — viz.
Cracow, Plock,

Sandomir, Masur (Masovia)

Kalish, Podlahia, and

Lublin, Augustov.

In each Voyvodship there is —

1. A commission, v^hich superintends the public
service, and the execution of the laws.

2. Sub-Commissioners, for executing the orders of
the Voyvodship commission.

3. A council of inhabitants ; and

4. A certain number of town and country courts.
Russia and Poland have, besides, very different legal

codes, and each has its particular judicial system.

The collection of laws, published in Russia, in 1649,
though very incomplete, is, independently of the de-
cisions of the Senate, the general rule by which judg-
raehts are pronounced. For some years past a national
code has been under preparation.

In Poland, decisions ought legally to be made ac-
cording to the old constitutions and laws, which, how-

178 THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

ever, must give place to the new civil and criminal
code preparing for publication. But the constitutional
law^ have no practical operation, and the ancient code
is only read as an academic study ia jurisprudence.

The inferior courts in Poland are district tribuqals
for civil causes, and the Grod, or town tribunals for
penal ofiences« The judgments of both are subject to
revision by the courts of appeal of Piotrkow and Ifib-
lin, and the supreme tribunal of Warsaw, which is
united with the council of State.

Two-thirds of the judges, in the first instance, are
elected ; the rest, and the judges of the higher tribu-
nals, are appointed by the sovereign for L'fe. In all
the districts there are justices of the peace, who have
authority to decide in unimportant cases.

In Poland, the administration of justice is as bad as
in Russia, and bribery and corrupt influence are con-
stantly at work. This might be proved by innumera-
ble examples. I shall, however, only mention cases
which came within my own personal knowledge.

One of my friends had three hundred dollars, and
some silver plate stolen from him, and all circum-
stances rendered it probable that some individual, well
acquainted with the house, must have committed the
theft. A recently dismissed coachman Was the person
on whom strong grounds of suspicion became fiited.
After repeated examinations, the case was so clear
that the offender was committed to prison ; but, never-
theless, the trial was postponed for three weeks.

in the mean time my frieddt made preparatioii for

OF POLAVD;. 179

prosecuting the thief before the criminal court ; but
when the trial should have commenced, he was told
that the police authorities had discharged the coach-
man, on account of HI health, and tliere not being suffi-
cient evidence against him.

The police officers had possession of part of the
stolen plate and money, of which they took good<:are;
for, in spite of numerous urgent applications, the owner
never recovered any of his property.

It is common for a family in Warsaw to keep in
their service one of the Hebrew race, who acts as
agent, broker, and executes every sort of business.
This fac-totum is called the ' house Jew.' I sent one
of these fellows from the house of a friend with forty
Polish guilders to Mendel, the celebrated tailor, of
whom I have already spoken. Some weeks after
I met Mendel, and asked him whether he had received
the forty guilders safe, which I had given to ShmtM^
the Jew, to carry to him. The tailor appeared aston-
ished, and told me he had never seen the money. I
then thought it right to take him to my friend's house,
that he and the Jew might explain the matter face to
face.

Shmuhl resorted to evasion : he said he had given
the money to a fellow broker, named Borruch, to take
for him. This man, on being brought forward, denied
all knowledge of the transaction, and, after a long alter-
cation between the two rogues, I perceived pretty
clearly that my money was lost.

The period fixed for my departure from Warsaw

180 THE POLITICAL BTSTEK OF POLAND.

was fast approachiDg, and I lost no time in applying to
tbe police. I was however informed, that a decision
of the case could not be obtained for several months,
and that the prosecution must be carried on entirely
at my own expense. On consulting with an experi-
enced lawyer, I found that to punish the Jew would
cost me full eighty guilders, besides the certain loss of
the first forty guilders, and that the tailor must still be
paid. I therefore thought it. better to pay over again
the latter sum, and to abandon all thoughts of the
process.

In Russia, however, the administration of justice is
still worse than in Poland.

PART IV.

RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT.

16

RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Thoughts on the dedication of this work — Lafayette — Chloplcki —
Count Potocki — ^The ladies of Poland.

' To the freedom of all the Poles ' I dedicate this
volume, and as a testimonial of their rights, I lay it
on the blood-slained altar of the age, — fully conscious
of the danger to which 1 thereby expose myself.

Perhaps 1 ought to have been more precise in my
dedication, and have addressed it to individuals whose
answers might have something more substantial than 1
can expect from * the freedom of all the Poles,' — a
problem, the solution of which is involved in the ob-
scurity of the future. Another, in my place, would,
probably, even before he commenced his task, have
determined on the individual to whom it might be
most advantageous to dedicate it ; and with this object
would have carefully examined the genealogical list
in the almanac of Gotha.

184 KETRO.SPEOT

This however 1 did not do ; and even had I wished
to dedicate my work to any particular individual, I
certainly should not have made the dedication from
the Gotha calendar. Of this publication I shall merely
observe, that it has hitherto appeared in the French
language, and that in July, 1830, the French people
began to cast it aside as waste paper. At the same
time, I wish to say, with reference to the present and
every other production of my pen, that I heartily re-
nounce the favor and grace of legitimacy, which is
usually 60 unworthily bestowed as to render it a dis-
grace rather than an honor.

Perhaps I might, with great propriety, have dedi-
cated this little volume to General Lafayette, who has
so openly advocated the cause of Polish liberty. But
it appeared to me that the veteran General is so intently
occupied with the affairs of France, that he can scarcely
have leisure to peruse a work devoted to Poland and
Warsaw. I therefore relinquished the idea of address-
ing my dedication to him.

I next thought of offering my work as an homage
to the Poles, and to send some hundred copies to
Warsaw, as presents to the heroes of the day, many
of whom are my personal friends.

This idea pleased me ; but I abandoned it, when I
recollected that neither travellers nor letters were suf-
fered to pass the Prussian frontiers, and that my lite-
rary packets, addressed to the brave Poles, would in-
evitably be doomed to conBscation.

But still I could dedicate my work to some individ-

AND PR08PEGT. 185

ual Pole whom I value and esteem, — ^possessing a heart
animated by the love of freedom, and a spirit imbued
with all that is good and great.

I knew many such ; and foremost in the rank stood
Count Titus Potocki, one whom my heart reveres,
and on whom I never think without a pang of regret
for our separation.

But, thought I, does Count Titus still live ? May
he not have fallen in the bloody Mazurka,^ a sacrifice
to that freedom for which his heart yearned ? May
he not have sank beneath the lance or the sabre of
some Russian lancer, who conducted him one Sunday
morning to my quartenr when he visited me in the
barracks ? These were the questions which occurred
to me, when I thought of Count Potocki ; for gloomy
ideas always flit before my imagination, when I think
of Warsaw and the ' bloody Mazurka.'

I certainly might have dedicated my book to my
much respected friend, and I may do so yet.

When occasionally my humor changed from serious
^^ g^J? I have thought of dedicating these pages to
some fair and patriotic daughter of Poland. But it
was difficult to make choice of one, where thousands
had claims ; for I must frankly confess, that, on the score
of personal loveliness, the palm of superiority must be
awarded to the ladies of Poland, in preference to those

* The celebrated Polish national dance was originally a war
dance of the province of Mazur (Masovia.) The allusion in the
text may remind the reader of the phrase, ' To dance the Car-
magnole/ which was common at the commencement of the first
French Revolution. — ^Tran.

16*

183 RETR06P£0T

«

of any other country with which I am acquainted.
But, thought I, why not lay my work at the feet of
some fair and unnamed patriot ? To think of thanks
from beautiful lips, though they should be unheard of,
is pleasing.

Some fair Pole will fancy herself the lady alluded
to ; — from pure patriotism, she will refer to the address
of the publisher or printer, and, having seated herself
at her writing table, and placed her fairy foot on the
stool beneath it, she will trace with her little hand a
few lines, and sign them with her pretty name,— all for
the sake of pure patriotism. I banished this reverie
with the reflection, that should any such lines ever
reach me through the medium of the post, I should
have the satisfaction of discovering that — ^1 had been
hoaxed.

AKD PROSPECT. ]87

CHAPTER XL.

A glance at the Revolution of Warsaw.

My gaiety, reader, is not the gaiety of a cheerful
and tranquil mind. It is the result of the efibrt I
make to be gay in spite of a sorrowful heart.

In the Prussian State Gazette, No. 351, (1830,) I
read under the date of Warsaw, Dec. 14th, the fol-
lowing : ' On the 8th and 9th of this month, the Rus-
sian troops passed Kurow. The uhlan guards 540
mounted, and 60 on foot,' izc.

When, on the 6th of December, I saw the first
intelligence of the engagement in Warsaw, I trembled
as I perused it ; for I thought of my friends, the offi-
cers of the regiment whose uniform I had Worn a few
months before.

The regiment consisted of eight hundred men,
besides a reserve squadron in the fortress of Modlin.

If the above-mentioned 60 men on foot were,
as I suspected, the artificers attached to the staff,
then 260 men were wanting. But how many, and
what officers were numbered among the killed and
wounded ?
The grief into which, this information plunged me.

188 RETROSPECT

cannot be a matter of surprise ; and it may serve as
an apology for many of the faults and imperfections of
this little volume ; for, while I was engaged upon it, the
images of two of my departed friends were constantly
before me. I loved them as though they had been
my brothers. We enjoyed each other's confidence
without reserve, and 1 would willingly have laid down
my life for them.

Besides these two, there were many other noble-
spirited young men, with whom I became acquainted*,
not only in the uhlans, but in the cuirassiers and hus-
sars corps, which also suffered, according to the account
of the Prussian State Gazette.

There was not a man in the regiment to which
I belonged, for whom I did not cherish a regard..
The intelligence of the death of any one of them
would have distressed me. As to the officers, they
were all excellent men, worthy to die the death of
heroes.

I loved theregin^ent, from Prince Adam Woroniecki,.
the Colonel of my squadron, down to the lowest uhlan,
and I would have nrarched with them to the world's
end, in the name of the Emperor Nicholas, King of
Poland ; for I lived in the conviction that the Emperor
would never issue a command to his guard of honor^
the fulfilment of wUch would not redound to their
credit.

What was the immediate cause of the revolution of
Warsaw ? What particular acLt of tyranny roused the

AND PROSPECT. 189

Polish nation to resistance ? Of this we are by no
means accurately informed.

The cadets of the military school, supported by the
students, took the first step. According to the ac-
counts given in the public papers, two cadets and six-
teen students effected an entrance to the Belvedere,
and the Grand Duke Constantino was only saved by
the presence of mind of ' a faithful servant,'* who
assisted him in escaping into a secret apartment,
while the betrayers of the Polish nation, disguised in
Generals' uniforms, expiated their crimes with their
lives.

It was to defend the latter, that the Emperor's
guards of honor, (into whose barracks the Grand Duke
Constantine fled for safety) were called out — and shed
their blood !

The cadets of the military school in Lazienki,f to
the number of two hundred — where the rest were,
does not appear — and two battalions of PoUsh infan-
try, engaged two regiments of the Russian horse-
guards, (probably uhlans and hussars,) and overthrew
them. The cadets proved that they were soldiers,
and the fourth regiment of Polish infantry honorably
supported its old reputation.

The people, whom the Prussian State Gazette is
pleased to denominate * the mob,' seized the arms
in the arsenal, and a cadet placed himself at their
head.

• This faithful servant was Kochanowski.
t Lazienki is near the Belvedere.

190 RETROSPECT

The conflict must have been terri6c ; and, during
the two and thirty years of my earthly career, no
image was ever so vividly present to my mind as that
of the sanguinary battle in Warsaw.

It has been affirmed that the cadets of the military
school had solemnly pledged themselves to each other,
to commit suicide, in case their enterprise should fall.

We may hope, or rather we may confidently be-
lieve, that every Pole had formed a similar resolution,
so that none might survive to see the last spark of
freedom extiuguished and their country again sub-
jected to the yote of slavery.

The Poles had no choice : the result of the contest
was to decide iheir freedom or bondage.

To bow again beneath the yoke of tyranny, — ^to sur-
render up, but with their lives, the rights secured by
their constitution, would have been to erase their
name from the book of nations, as their country has
already been obliterated from the map.

Should the Poles fail in their attempt to reconquer
their countiy, and their rights, then let one vast ceme-
tery say to posterity, * This was that Poland, whose
glory the last of the Poles carried with them to
immortalitv.'

Assuredly, no brave Pole will consent to linger out
a life of bondage on his native soil : all will perish
sword in hand, or live for the triumph of mankind.

With deep sorrow of heart, I think on those whose
shades are now wandering in Walhalla or Elysium —

AND PROSPECT. 191

these Poles who nobly ended their career on the 1st
of December, 1830. Their deeds belong to the his-
tory of every nation, and their names will be recorded
among those of the heroes of every age. Like
Arnold Winkelried, they threw themselves among the
enemy's spears, and ' opened a path for freedom.'
On their graves I deposit these sheets, as an humble
tribute of my veneration for their memory. — My voice
can add nothing to their fame.

Views in regard to the Court op St. Pe-
tersburg AND ITS POLIOT.

There is eUUa hope ^ft for PolandL^There u yet a probability,
that the foiU toon hold a high and retpectable rank among the nations
qf the earth.

Poland, one of the most chivalrous countries in
Europe, the only barrier against Russian despotism,
the most sure ally to the Sultan; — ^that once free re-
public with her elective throne, — ^was of course the
roost dangerous enemy of the Emperors. Peter the
Great, Czar of Russia, was well aware of the impos-
sibility of accomplishing his views with the Sultan,
so long as Poland, his most dreaded enemy, and the
most sure and formidable ally of the other, had the
power to prevent him. He, therefore, laid the first
plan for the destruction of Poland, and we see now
how she has been sacrificed to effect his purposes.

Through Poland, (if we well understand and well
17

194

consider the positioa of her provinces, now belong-
ing to Russia,) have the Emperors the greatest power
over Turkey and over the whole south-east. In this
political body, our land is as a heart : — it is the seat
of pulsation of the northern empire.

The present position of the frontier of Russia, far
advanced to the centre of the south, its ports on the
Black and Caspian Seas, and in the north, — we ought
to consider, only as an obscure outline mdicating more
extensive views. The point to which all her plans
look is Constantinople. Let no one think that there
is no logic, no solid reason in this idea. * Putant
enm, qui mari potitur^ eum rerum potiri ! ' This
truth the cabinet of St. Petersburg well understands.
To strengthen her political power in Europe, Russia,
in this second age of her greatness, must be as pow-
erful on the seas, as she is upon the land. Tn order
to bring this to pass, ft is almost indispensable for
Nicholas to become master of Turkey ; and here is the
full picture of Peter the Great's dark outlme.

But not a step towards this object could be taken
without Poland. — There are some things indfspensa-
ble to great realms. Large masses of land must
have large masses of sea. Water is as necessary
to them, as it is to the existence of men and animals.
Russia must either withdraw from the rank of a first

195

rate realm in Europe, or she must gain this point,
as there is no other alternative left for her.

Many authors believe in the impossibility of her
treating the Sultan, as Stanislaus Augustus, King of
Poland, was before treated by her ; and of Turkey
being reduced to the condition of Poland and of
Georgia. England and France believe this to be a
dream. But the daily growing power of Russia in
Greece, and her despotic sway in Wallachia and
Moldavia, show us best what is to be expected by the
Sultan. In the year 1790, after the taking of the
Crimea, the river Cuban divided Russia from Turkey.
That river was very necessary for the commerce of
the Russian merchants ; and at the present day, we
do not hear the Sultan's cannons on that river ; the
Russian eagle has taken the place of the crescent.
Persia will not o&r any help to the Sultan in hfs
danger ; moreover,, she will not make any diversion,
after the loss of Dagestan and Shervan, in which
countries we see how the Russian military posts are
every day extending themselves.

Diebitsch passed the Balkan, and encamped with-
in the walls of Adrianople. What was before thought
impossible, we have seen realized, by the grandson
of Catherine. What prevented him from taking Con-
stantinople itself? ' Our intervention,' perhaps the

196

mihislera of France and England wffl answcnr. But
pray, will not Nicholas now regard the conquering
af Turkey as the best means of making liimself in-
dependent of any such intervention hereafter ? — ^Tfaese
are the consequences of the dismemberment of Po*
land, the natural ally of the Porte,*— and both Eng-
land and France witl soon feel them on the Atlantic.

England may not believe in the possibility of an
East India expedition, (which is in close connexion
with the plans of Russia against Turkey.) She may
not fear an attempt to relieve the Hindoos from their
yoke. But will Nicholas the less think t>f k? Na-
poleon did not regard it as a dream or a fihimera.

At St. Petersburg the possibility of a Polish revo-
lution could not be believed, nor was it believed, till
within a few days before the memorable 29th of No-
vember, 1830. It was little thought that the laurels
which this same Diebitsch, the conqueror Of the Mus-
sulmen, had won upon the heights of the Balkan,
would so soon be withered upon the plain fields of
Grochow, Wawr, Dembe, and others.

Great political plans and military expeditions, un-
like colossal works of architecture, seem more im-
posing at a distance, than when we approach them.
The imagination exaggerates the difficulties which
attend them. It was perhaps more difficult for Na-

197

poleoD to pass the English fleet, and to conquer Egypt,
than it would be at the present day, for Nicholas to
conquer Turkey, and if England should oppose it— -
check her interference by attacking India.

I will now ask, if the glorious and chivalrous
Republic of Poland, Lithuania, Yolhynia, Podolia,
Ukraine, Zmudz, Posen, and Gallicia, were now free,
— ^that Poland for which we did not spare our blood nor
our treasure ; — I ask, if such a Poland had been re-
stored, when could any of the tyrannical Czars of
the north thought of, and matured such plans and
expeditions ?

There are many political reasons for conquering
Turkey, and the importance of those reasons the
government of Russia well appreciates. The deter-
mination to which they point, she has both the will
and the power to execute.

These reasons are as follows : — 1st. the weight and
pressure of this great empire, according to the laws
of nature, tends from the north to the south, like the
course of its rivers. The most beautiful provinces
of Russia in Europe, as well as in Asia, are in the
south. The products of those provinces, from the
great facilities of communication, can be sold with
much more profit, by the way of the Bosphorus, than
upon the Baltic.

2d. The unnatural and eccentrical position of St.
IT*

193

Fetorsbiirg, the Russian eapitai, binit bj tbe order of
Peter tbe IGreat, aets like a leech, .wfaicb withdraws
Ae best blood from this monstrous body. Good po]i'>
cy now requires the Russian government to remove
k» capital from this unnatural position to the south.
. 3d. St. Pelersborg was erected, at is well known,
not merely' from commercial views, but with regard
to an increase of naval power, without which, the
commerce of a great coi^pfry cannot exi^t^ — ^Tbis
was the only reason with P^tej: the Great for placing
bis capital at the extremity Ckf. his realm, in ^ climate
so unhealthy, and a soil so sterile. Ta this day, hoW'
ever, we do not see his plaps crowned with ^uacess.
It is true that Jlyssia has nQ,.rival on tbe Bahic : but
this sea is on every side confined by kmd, and can be
ifsed only half the year. The Russian ships of war,^
idle through six, seven, and some times nine months,,
are only an unnecessary burtbisn to die country. On
die Baltic, therefore, no good sailcsrs can be trained,
nor tbe n»yy sufficiently exeroised^

In order to bring inl^ effect tbie Advice contained
m the last testament of Pe^er tbe Great, viz, * ta
secure by a naval force their ^tn^ng^h on tifi land^ it
is positively necessary tp possqsi^ ^ large— a. very large
fleet, No pride, no caprice, li^t ^idispensable policy,
forced every Emperor to try that upon the Adantic,

199

which was found impossible upon the Bikltic« In one
wordy thing urges this point upon the Czars.

There must be certainly great strength in the pofi^i^
tion of Constantinople, when it is considered that that
city alpnei in the decline of the eastern empire, oouM
yet shield it from final destruction for so long a time.
Here the fruitful central provinces of Russia would
enter bto a most glorious commerce with the whole
west. From hence it is very easy to form mercantile
connexions with TveUzond,Erzerum, Mussol, Bassora,
Bagdad, Khieva, Balk, Bukhara, and Samarcand.

It is well known what a profitable commerce with
the cities of Bukhara and Samarcaud, England en-
joyed, up to the middle of the last century; but Russia
has now forced her to leave the Astrachan markets^.

«

After Constantinople shall be taken, that whole com-
merce will belong unquestbnably to Russia. At pros*
ent, great numbers of Russian merchants visit annually
the fairs of Kuljick, on the south bank of the Caspian
Sea. From hence the Russian caravans go to Khieva
and Bukhara. The Russian Consul, Gamba, not
long since observed that the high state of English
commerce was disadvantageous to Europe. 'The
greater part of the commerce of Asia' (says he) * wiB
recover its old way, which is the shortest and most
profitable, because it will not depend alone on the Eng*
lish East India Company.' And who does not under-

200

stand ;iow, that the port of Constantinople, when a
capital of the Emperor's, will, in a short space of
time, become the first marine arsenal in the world ?

The timber of Asia Minor, which is better than the
English ; the iron of the Caucasus ; the hemp of Sy-
nope and Trebizond, (known by its length of fibre)
will soon furnish the manufactories of the successors of
Peter ihe Great. The price of labor, on the banks of
the Black Sea, is lower than in any part of the whole
world beside. Steam-engines will lend their aid, and
the sailors of Greece and Russia, to whom nature
has not refused instinct, — under the command, perhaps,
of experienced officers from America, who would cheer-
fiiUy welcome a new naval power in the old world.

Suppose that any one before the reign of Peter the
Great, say in the reign of Ivan Wasilevitsch, had pre-
dicted such an empire as Russia now is. I believe
every one would have called him a lunatic or a char-
latan ; and certainly the Moscovite empire has made
much greater progress, from what it was before Peter
the First to the present, than will be required to reach
that degree to which we have pointed from its present
state, and which she may attain, unless she should fall
by her own weight.

There is something monstrous in the growth of this
political colossus. There seems to be an instinctive
consciousness of great material strength in this despot-

SOI

ictti realm of ibe Czar% which we see eeasdessly ad»
vancing upon the neigbboriog countries,— in this singu-
lar constitution of government, which, in constant fear
of falling, must always keep the eyes of its subjects on
external objects, and by the conquest of ether lands
prevent tbem from perceiving their own wretclied con*
didon* This political voracity is the peculiar charao-
leristic of Russia, which leads her to devour all within
her reach 9 — like a giant ^child, which seeks to swallow
all that itis hands can grasp;

Whatever name we may give to this instinct of c<^
lossal nations, or primeval law of barbarism, it wiH
prove but too true, that there can be fdund nothing
more tempting to the magnetico-electric Imagination of
northern absolutism, than the mild southern heaven,
the charming clime of the east, its ruins and monu-
ments of ancient glory, and then, at last, the unbound-
-ed prospect of the Atlantic. * This country,' said a
French author in his remarks upon Russia, — ^placet
upon the confines of fiurope and Asia, bears at the
same time upon both, and no power since that ol
Rome, has united such strength and extent. — ^It is thus
in every state where the government is enlightened and
the people barbarous, and where extreme ability in the
mover is united with extreme pliability in the instru-
ment ! '

Russia governed as she is now, is, in truth, not a

S02

country) but an instrument, of which an absolute govern-
ment is the mover.

But enough of plans and expeditions. — ^I see my
reader already tired ol the subject. Let him then close
these pages, and look at actual events, and see how
far those plans have been carried into effect. Let him
look at the Sultan besieged in his own palace ; — look
upon his empire, as it is now under the protection of
Russia against his rebellious subject of Egypt ; — and
call to his mind the reign of the Empress Catherine.
She had protected, in the case of our unhappy Poland,
King Stanislaus Augustus against his people, and to
what end ? — what are the effects of this northern poli-
cy ? — Slavery ! ! I

I am sure, quite sure, that the rebellion in Egypt
was caused by the Russian instigation. It is old Rus-
sian policy. So it was with Poland. Russia promises
perhaps to make the Pacha independent, and points
out to his view several provinces in Asia. It is not
necessary to be a prophet to be aware that the destmy
of Turkey will be similar to the destiny of Poland and
Georgia ; yet, if I believe in the possibility of the Pa-
cha's independence of the Sultan, I also believe in the
certainty of his dependence upon Nicholas in a short
time. Russia now protects Constantinople, and she

303

has a full command of the whole empire. Every for-
tress is under the command of her army ; her troops
are traversing the country in every direction. No one
can travel in Turkey without a Russian ambassador's
passport Without the Russian ambassador's consent,
even the Sultan himself dares not do any thing, for
fear of exciting the anger of his Protector ! And, how
easy it will be to change the political title of Protec-
tor to that of Master ? .

Free citizens of America! Look upon noble and
unlawfully oppressed Poland, and you will find a most
excellent comment upon the views of Russia in regard
to Turkey.

It is an indisputable truth, that an expedition full of
risk would never be undertaken without the temptation
of great advantages, or the pressure of indispensable
necessity. Placmg Russia in this last predicament,
nothing will be considered impossible for the Empe-
rors of the North. They have been, hitherto, the des-
poilers of the lands of Europe and Asia ; but, not to
lose what they have already made their prey, some
one of them must, sooner or later, become a Pirate of
the Seas.

There is no other country in the world, for which
so much respect and regard is felt in every patriotic
bosom as for Poland. It is a feeling of sympathy in
noble hearts for the brave, but unfortunate and oppress-

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DK 437 .H2 "^I^BI
Poland uwtorthBdomlntonotn ^^^^

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3 6106 036 808 827

DATE DUE

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MAR -7 1990

STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA

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