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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE 
 
 Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 O V. 
 
 //:
 
 POLAND.
 
 UmRY
 
 D
 
 AN EPITOME 
 
 HISTORY OF POLAND 
 
 IN THIIEE PARTS, 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LIEUTENANT G, M. B. LEON SZADURSKI, 
 
 LATE OF THE HORSE ABTILLEUY OF THE POLISH GUARDS. 
 
 GLASGOW: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 
 BY S. & T. DUNN & CO. TRONGATE. 
 
 184 2.

 
 er. tfu 
 
 ^@iD@cfg6F ib^ 8c>^t|SimoGM'@, 
 
 -'u/lvoje tcaoci itiivikotlut tia^ cuitwui^ been atu^ctke to tae [aic ctl 
 
 ip(()^m(Mm, 
 
 'Jfvc [oltc'i.i>iiig t/aacS cttc aimvouj accacttlcu ,
 
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 The Very Rev. Principal Macfarlan, D.D., 
 
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 Robert Harvey, 
 
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 James IM 'Donald, 
 
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 ADDRESS 
 
 LADIES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 " Honour to Woman ! She it is who wreathes 
 Eternal roses in the web of life ; 
 Fashions the rapture-giving bond of love : 
 And, in the Graces' modest veil attired, 
 Feeds, with a holy and a constant hand, 
 The undying flame of high and virtuous thought." 
 
 Schiller. 
 
 Ten years have already followed into the abyss of ages since 
 the last political hurricane that burst over Poland sprinkled 
 her plains with tears and blood. Ten years already, since 
 those mournful clouds, carrying with them misery and sorrow, 
 gathered over the heads of her twenty millions of inhabitants, 
 and, like a deadly phantom, descended upon the graves of the 
 last of her fallen heroes.
 
 10 
 
 The sweet chain of harmony and order which bound the 
 social relations of the Poles, and spread happiness and bliss 
 around their domestic hearths, is broken now by the mighty 
 glave of the Czar, while the most sacred ties of relationship 
 and love, and the order of their social intercourse, are changed 
 into disorder and fell confusion. Peace now reigns over 
 Poland ; but it is the peace of the grave ! 
 
 As in a thunder-storm, the gigantic cedar of Lebanon, 
 assailed by a whirlwind, and the bolts that dart from the raging 
 elements, falls with a loud crash, its fair branches torn asunder, 
 and its leaves scattered over hill and valley, to wither and 
 decay afar from their majestic parent trunk, — so the unhappy 
 sons of Poland, victims to their patriotism and dauntlessness 
 of character, overthrown by furious despots, are cast away 
 to languish in the country of strangers, — to mourn, to hope, 
 to die, — but free ! 
 
 Britain ! mighty Britain ! — object of the high jealousy of 
 enslaved nations, — seat of learning and genius, — island of the 
 beautiful, — bright star of European liberty and wisdom, — 
 darling clime of the brave and free, and ever open asylum 
 of the persecuted, — site has sheltered the unfortunate orphans 
 of Poland, and extended towards them the hand of sympathy 
 and benevolence. 
 
 Alas ! that the wrecks of noble Sarmatia, broken down 
 to a handful of free-born patriots, are thus compelled to become 
 suppliants, with brows now worn with sorrow, which once 
 were wrapped in helmets that shone with terror to the pha- 
 lanxes of the north ! Alas for the fallen glories of Poland,
 
 11 
 
 when these must be the words of five hundred of her exiles 
 on the shores of Britain ! 
 
 Britons! — The winged messenger of destruction has struck 
 mournfully the last hour of our misfortunes, over the 
 dank graves of our fallen brethren. By hard oppression 
 driven from our dear native land — now exiles — we come to 
 court you for a retreat from the torments of our too numerous 
 — too cruel conquerors. Our friends and kindred we must 
 behold no more ; our fortunes we must relinquish for ever ; 
 the sun of our gladness is set. All is now past, all lost ! 
 The avaricious Czar now rules over our wide dominions, 
 and revels there in ill-gained pleasure ; and to feed the mer- 
 cenary sharers of his unjust grasp, he tears from our fertile 
 soil those abundant crops which, to his own northern climes, 
 heaven has denied. Flying before his revenge, we have sought 
 your distant shore, — alas ! to spend a sad and dreary interval be- 
 tween our bereavement and our death. We have no earth 
 wherein to lay our bones in peace; and we come to implore you 
 for graves: and will you refuse us this? Tell us, — are there 
 any relentings of pity in your Christian bosoms ? Will you 
 endure to behold our deadly agony, our goading pains, 
 with indifference ? Our wounds are yet open, — our bitter 
 tears still fall burning upon your free land ; a mystic 
 spell of your freedom has brought us hither, broken-hearted. 
 O, say, will you deafen your ears to the voice of bleeding 
 Sarmatia ? 
 
 A slowly gathering, deadly paleness spread itself over the 
 despairing countenances of the suppliants; they ceased, but 
 lifted up their fading eyes to heaven, and then, looking
 
 12 
 
 forward, fixed a look of imploring helplessness for that sup- 
 port which human nature could hardly withhold. 
 
 Unable to withstand so distressing a picture of misfortune, 
 Britons received the trembling fugitives, — pointed to their 
 land, and said, — Let this be your home. Thus England 
 opened her free bosom for us, and, with an angelic influence, 
 hope returned, and in our hearts arose the prospect of future 
 happiness and joy. 
 
 The disarmed handful of the illustrious army of Poland, 
 small but formidable, thus receiving shelter, protection, and 
 relief from Great Britain, meditated with bitterness over their 
 sudden and awful change. The contemplation of the past 
 presented the most touching and distressing picture. The 
 vividness of imagination — the rapid succession of the events 
 which produced that change, and the suddenness of the catas- 
 trophe, multiplied the affliction ten thousand times. From 
 their beloved parents, their dear relatives, separated for ever ; 
 the most precious links that bound them to society rent 
 asunder, — comfort and property perfidiously wrested from them, 
 — the appalling horrors of tremendous slaughter, the groans 
 of the dying, the shrieks of the captives, all yet sounded mourn- 
 fully in their ears, and haunted them continually. Then 
 how much was there of glorious ambition frustrated — valour 
 degraded — love blighted! Melancholy now preyed upon the 
 spirit that was once all life, and dimmed the eye, that by its 
 brilliancy was wont to cheer the household hearth, or sternly 
 command in the ranks of battle. 
 
 The terrifying future, like another spectre, violently shook
 
 13 
 
 the minds of the sufferers with inconceivable fear ; they could 
 not look forward to it without feeling as if an electric stroke 
 entered into their hearts, piercing them with convulsive 
 presentiments, — perfect strangers, far from the soil of their 
 birth, without language, without resources — educated for a 
 military life, now thrown into commercial society. To go, 
 to do, — where ? what ? Oh, how sad were those moments! — 
 the recollection of them, even now, runs through the heart 
 with a dreadful chill. 
 
 It required a long time to work such a wildness of mind 
 away ; hence the sprightly working imagination, constantly 
 building new ideas, distracted the minds of many at the 
 outset, and caused them to fly on the wings of hope after 
 some vision at a distance — home — a new insurrection — some 
 peremptory interference — renewed war, and the like ; — thus 
 many were thrown into a life of constant perplexity and sus- 
 pense, who, unmindful how they lived, overlooked the possi- 
 bility, if a proper course were taken, of ameliorating their de- 
 plorable condition, and neglected to pursue those various ways 
 to comfort, and even substantial happiness, which their several 
 talents rendered them capable of attaining. It was a disease, 
 and a dangerous disease, because it was a moral one. Many 
 who formerly lived in ease and comfort soon became impatient 
 under their altered fortune, and longed eagerly for a renewal 
 of felicities, which only a distempered fancy presented to them- 
 They continually dwelt upon the prospect of an approaching 
 and a near return of their independence, and thus frequently 
 wrought themselves into ecstasies, in which they all but grasped 
 the ideal bliss. In the meantime, they overlooked or disre- 
 garded the real miseries of the instant, and were in time en-
 
 14 
 
 snared, — some of them in beggary, ruin, and even dishonour. 
 Le resultat du desespoir. 
 
 With others, however, matters were different : the nature 
 of the difficulties they had to contend with, tlie climate, and 
 other causes, induced them to think of to-day, and contrive 
 what was to be done for changing, in some degree, their im- 
 providence for the better. Different professions were resorted 
 to, to the denominations of which were added the various 
 titles of rank which they possessed. Then appeared titled 
 masters of drawing, fencing, language, music, — all enter- 
 prising, — and filling their new character with courage : 
 though rather affected with the rage militaire, a few procured 
 lucrative employment; but those whose good fortune placed 
 them under the gentle bonds of Hymen had the best, because 
 
 Sans un petit ])rin d' amour 
 On s'ennuierait meme a la cour. 
 
 As to myself, necessarily setting aside my military Lieu- 
 tenancy, I embraced the profession of a maitrc d 'Escrime et 
 de Gymnastic, which, finding to be of little benefit, I aban- 
 doned, after three years' practice, I then became a Lecturer 
 on the history of Poland. 
 
 Mon premier debu was in Cheltenham, where I experienced 
 perplexities, before making a first appearance in public, equal 
 to those before a first battle. My undertaking, however, 
 was crowned with so much success, that I felt encouraged to 
 make a lecturing tour, which I continued for a period of 
 nearly two years. At Cheltenham, Bath, Reading, North-
 
 15 
 
 ampton, Leicester, and other towns, my respectable audiences 
 were chiefly ladies ; generally they composed about two- 
 thirds of the audience, save Exeter, where, out of 180, 
 there were 120 ladies present. 
 
 So much sympathy for my country, and so much conde- 
 scension and kindness towards myself, made a deep impression 
 upon me, and called forth feelings of the highest esteem for 
 the people of England, with, at the same time, the sincerest 
 and most heartfelt gratitude. I felt that the "rude unvarnished 
 tale" of the Polish stranger was appreciated for its truth. 
 
 I will never forget, never lose the warm emotions that filled 
 my breast, when I beheld before me many whose hearts were 
 moved with that sympathy which manifested itself so highly, 
 and in so many noble instances, in England. I was filled with 
 delight, and the feeling spread itself into a sweet satisfaction ; 
 exile as I was, I felt that the warm beams of sympathy and 
 friendship were around me, and I was happy. 
 
 It was under the influence of such feelings that I considered 
 in what way I could best express my gratitude. It occurred 
 to me, that to draw up and inscribe to my fair and gentle 
 patrons an epitome of that history with which I so long, and 
 with so much endearing success, endeavoured to win their sym- 
 pathy for Poland, I could in some small measure repay their 
 favour and their kindness. 
 
 TO YOU, THEREFORE, 
 
 P, 
 
 I HUMBLY DEDICATE MY LITTLE WORK.
 
 16 
 
 May I hope that your criticism will not be severe on the 
 composition of one not learned in the language of your fair, 
 free, and happy country, — one who could better wield his 
 sword than his pen, — who can better feel than express the 
 wrongs of his country. My abilities are too humble, else I 
 might enter with more boldness the wide fields of Polish 
 history. What I have done will barely answer to the loud 
 call for a short history of Poland. Still I have attempted, 
 and in the language of truth, to trace her bright existence and 
 gloomy fall. 
 
 I have divided this coup (Tceil into Three Parts, sub-divided 
 into Six Lectures, viz : — 
 
 PART I. 
 
 I. Religion in Poland, from 965 to 1841; namely. The 
 introduction of Christianity to Poland in 965 ; the Reformation 
 to Protestantism ; and the religious persecutions under the 
 Russian dynjisty. 
 
 II. Kings — Poland under her hereditary Kings, from a.d. 
 999 to 1573. The Republic of Poland, and her elective 
 Kings, from 1573 to 1733. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 III. Poland under the Russian Vassals, from 1733 to 
 1796 — next under the Russian dynasty, from 1815 to 1841 — 
 her five dismemberments — and the last struggle of 1 83 1 .
 
 17 
 
 IV. The Exiles of Poland — their reception in Germany, 
 France, and England — their misfortunes — mission — present 
 condition, and future prospects. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 V and VI. The war of Poland in 1831, containing- a com- 
 plete description of the various battles — fifty-five in number — 
 enduring for eight months, and terminating in the surrender 
 of Warsaw, and fall of Poland. 
 
 I shall only add, that in drawing up the present epitome, it 
 has been my principal desire to prove, that Poland has always 
 been guided and ruled by principles of pure patriotism and 
 disinterested devotion. If my motives are duly appreciated, 
 I will not have made the cause of my country a vain theme ; 
 and if you, at whose feet I lay the humble effort, will bestow 
 your approbation, it will become a strong incentive to my 
 improvement, and the production of a better tribute hereafter. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Ladies, 
 
 With the highest respect, 
 
 Your grateful and devoted servant, 
 
 G. M. B. LEON SZADURSKI.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " In vain, alas! in vain, ye gallant few ! 
 From rank to rank your voUey'd thunder flew: — 
 O, bloodiest picture in the book of Time, 
 Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ; 
 Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe. 
 Strength in her arm, nor mercy in her woe ! 
 Dropp'd from her nerveless grasp the shatter'd spear, 
 Clos'd her bright eye, and curb'd her high career : 
 Hope, for a season, bade the world farewell. 
 And Freedom shriek'd — as Kosciuszko fell." 
 
 Campbell. 
 
 The glittering waves of the Black Sea form the southern boun- 
 dary ; the rivers Dwina and Dnieper, springing up in the vicinity 
 of Smolensk, and rolling their rapid streams, the one to the 
 Baltic, the other to the Black Sea, dividing the land of corn from 
 the land of snow, — the land of the free from the land of serfs, —
 
 20 
 
 form the eastern boundary ; the frosty Baltic, washing the shores 
 of six different nations, marks the northern limits ; whilst the 
 crystal currents of the river Oder, meandering through a land of 
 fruits and flowers, form the western boundai'y of a land called 
 Poland. The proud Carpathian mountains raise their majestic 
 heads, stelliferous with the brilliancy of eternal snow, and separate 
 Poland from Austria, finishing her western and southern boun- 
 daries. From the lofty summits of those enormous mountains, the 
 human eye marvels to behold the immense plain of several hun- 
 dreds of miles, beneath which appears a boundless and peaceful 
 ocean of corn, gently moving in waves by the touch of the fragrant 
 zephyrs. Here the country, as far as the eye can reach, has the 
 appearance of a perfect level. Traversed by numerous rivers, 
 winding serpentine in all directions, not only fertilizing by their 
 moistness, but adorning by their crystalline brilliancy, enriched 
 on both sides by an extraordinary variety of fragrant flowers, 
 numerous trees, and enormous American-like forests, offer a deli- 
 cious shelter and sweet coolness in the scorching heat of summer, 
 whilst, overthrown by the axe, they become the fuel during the 
 severe winter. Covered for five months with a thick mantle of 
 constant snow, the rivers strongly frozen, the whole plain appears 
 one sheet of ice, on the hardened surface of which smoothly glides 
 numberless sledges, employed both in commerce and pleasure. The 
 seven month summer changes entirely the appearance, and gives to 
 those plains the aspect of a perfect nursery ; yet, neither the extreme 
 cold of winter, nor the extreme heat of summer, can influence the 
 fertility of the soil, which, protected from the chill winterly winds 
 by the frozen surface of snow, remains in a state of perfect warmth, 
 whilst the dryness produced by the scorching summer days is 
 refreshed at night by a most abundant dew, thus producing not 
 only all those kinds of fruits and delicacies which are most desired 
 by the admirers of luxury, but also an enormous supply of vegetables
 
 21 
 
 and corn. Hence Poland has been styled the European granary. 
 Numerous canals, cut out in a soft and yielding soil, have given 
 increased facilities to commercial intercourse, and greatly enhanced 
 the means of internal communication, especially for the exportation 
 of wool, tallow, leather, hemp, wax, wood, and field produce, of 
 which there is always a great residue, after supplying the con- 
 sumption of the twenty-two millions of inhabitants. 
 
 The history of the primitive political existence of Poland, like 
 that of other ancient tribes, is teeming with fabulous narratives given 
 by their primitive writers. On dit que Noe envoya sa famille 
 voyager loin ; son petit-fils Menes en Egypte, son autre petit-fils 
 a la Chine, je ne sais quel autre petit fils en Suede, un Cadet en 
 Espagne ! et un en Pologne ! So they go so far as to trace their 
 descent from Lech, a great-grandson of Noah, from whom they 
 bring the descent of the Heneti of Homer, Herodotus, vEschylus, 
 and Euripides, whom they consider the progenitors of the Sarma- 
 tians, and of the Slavonians, their immediate ancestors. They de- 
 scribe the exploits of some pagan dukes, who were visited by angels, 
 as Piast ; others, like Theseus, killing monsters that annoyed the 
 country ; others devoured by rats, as Popiel ; then comes Vanda, 
 plunging herself into the Vistula, from despair in love, like another 
 Sappho of Lesbos. For Poland, like Troy, Greece, and Rome, 
 thrown by her authors in the abyss of the past, enveloped in a veil 
 of mystery, wonders and romance, strives to enforce the belief of 
 her antiquity and noble source. However, this primitive origi- 
 nality of her history is very religious and full of love, consequently 
 interesting, and exciting to rapture the innocent hearts of her little 
 generation, that should grow up into giants, to dispute her future 
 existence and independence, with the full-grown and formidable 
 champion of the North.
 
 22 
 
 It is certain Poland existed in the eighth century ; for in the 
 first half of the ninth she raised her Christian head, and stared at 
 the East. Since that period she has been governed by a race of 
 generous princes and nobles, who afterwards, gaining the titles of 
 kings, raised Poland to the honourable and high rank it occupied 
 in Europe for ten centuries. It became a free and independent 
 state of considerable magnitude, — the birth-place and residence of 
 great men, — a seat of learning, — a land of bravery and freedom, — 
 the powerful and honourable buckler of European religion and 
 civilization, — driving back so often, and for such a long period, 
 the barbarous hordes of Tartars, Mongols, Turks, and Moscovites, 
 who, like another race of Vandals, threatened central Europe so 
 often with their overflow, and the annihilation of all that was 
 enlightening in literature, elevating in science, and ennobling and 
 inspiring in Christian religion ! 
 
 Had Poland produced only such men as Mieczyslas, Casimir, 
 Jagiello, Sobieski, Copernicus, and Kosciuszko, it would be 
 well for Christianity and civilization did it still exist, although it 
 produced a great number of other eminent men, who were not only 
 ornaments to their own country, but great supports to Europe, and 
 deservedly respected by the whole civilized world. 
 
 Such was Poland once. Alas! to-day overthrown by traitors, 
 and groaning under a terrible foreign yoke. It is no more ! Sic 
 transit gloria mundi. Once the object among nations of high 
 esteem, — famous through the Christian world for heroism and 
 liberty, — free, independent, and generous, — to-day a pitiful object 
 of ruin and desolation, — full of moral and physical misery. 
 
 O that I had the pen of an angel, to picture the dark image of
 
 23 
 
 those gloomy calamities, which, like a mantle of death, wrapped 
 her up in destitution and wretchedness ! — then would I move your 
 hearts and awaken your sympathies for that unfortunate country 
 which now writhes under the foot of a merciless conqueror, whose 
 thundering despotism roars awfully from the Carpathians to the 
 Dwina, from the Black to the Baltic Sea, — whose mercenary satellites, 
 the cruel executioners of his unlimited vengeance, throw themselves 
 with inhuman wildness, day after day, upon all those monuments 
 of industry, civilization, and religion, which were reared up for 
 centuries, learned and pious, crushing them to dust, that they may 
 speak no more to the memory, — to the hearts of the unhappy 
 victims. Fanaticism, ignorance, brutality, and despotism, are 
 forcing themselves with fury towards the west of Europe, inun- 
 dating the plains of Poland with an astonishing speed, and driving 
 away from it toleration, civilization, hospitality, and freedom. 
 
 " O thou, T cry, my country! what a night 
 
 Spreads o'er thy glories! one dark sweeping pall: 
 Thy thousand triumphs, won by valour's might 
 And wisdom's voice, — what now remains of all? 
 
 " Chains gird thy hands and feet; — deep clouds of care 
 Darken thy brow, once radiant as thy skies ; 
 And shadows, born of terror and despair — 
 
 Shadows of death — have dimm'd thy glorious eyes."
 
 PART I.
 
 LECTURE FIRST. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 " O blest Religion, heavenly fair ! 
 Thy kind, thy liealing power 
 Can sweeten pain, alleviate care. 
 And gild each gloomy hour. 
 
 When dismal thoughts and boding fears 
 The trembling heart invade, 
 
 And all the face of Nature wears 
 A universal shade; — 
 
 Thy sacred dictates can assuage 
 
 The tempest of the soul ; 
 And every fear shall lose its rage 
 
 At thy Divine control." 
 
 Six centuries had witnessed the growth of Christianity throughout 
 ancient Europe, — the cheering light of the gospel was spreading 
 hrightly, and with increasing splendour, over many of the European 
 nations ; but a mournful darkness still clouded the heaven of the 
 idolatrous Slavonian. 
 
 That numerous family stretched from north of the Baltic Sea to
 
 28 
 
 the south of Pontus Euxinus, and was bounded from east to west by 
 the rivers Elbe, Danube, Vistula, and Dniester. South-west from 
 the Danube, their territories extended to the shores of the Adriatic, 
 thus occupying the ancient Roman Provinces of Panonia, Dacia, 
 Illyria, and Dalmatia. From the northern shores of the Adriatic, 
 the Slavonian tribes bordered witli Tyrol and Bavaria, and then 
 stretched along the River Elbe and the shores of the Baltic, and so 
 occupied the immense extent of Eastern Europe, which now forms 
 a part of the Austrian Empire, — as Hungary, the Provinces bor- 
 dering on Italy and the Tyrol, Bohemia, and Moravia, a great part 
 of Saxony, the March of Brandeburg, Silesia, Pomerania, the whole 
 of Poland, Lithuania, and nearly the whole of European Russia — 
 forming an enormous race, which, at the present day, reckon no 
 fewer than 70,000,000 inhabitants. 
 
 The Slavonians, in their primitive state, were divided into dif- 
 ferent tribes, under a republican or popular form of government ; 
 acknowledging, however, the supremacy of a chieftain elect. 
 
 Like all other generations in a primitive state, wild and un- 
 settled, the ancient Slavonians must have beheld the varied wonders 
 of nature with amazement, and recognised the secret influence of 
 an invisible and mysterious Power with a mixed sensation of plea- 
 sure and awe. They strove in their ignorance to unravel those 
 mysteries ; and, as a natural consequence, entertained a false belief 
 in the existence of supreme deities, who controlled the mighty 
 machinery around them. The dreadful roll of a thunder storm 
 awakened fears corresponding to the gratification imparted by the 
 cheering and benevolent beams of a summer sun. Following the 
 impulse of nature and the dictates of a humiliated spirit, they aspired 
 to worship deities of their own imagination, unsupported by reason 
 or science, until they were plunged into a labyrinth of superstition ; 
 and tlius, impelled by terror and humility, and guided by error and 
 ignorance, the primitive people of Slavonia bent the knee to many 
 gods.
 
 29 
 
 Their mythology bears striking evidence that their various and 
 unrestrained conceptions of Deity were characterised by lofty ideas, 
 and imagination bright as powerful. It exceeds that of the ancient 
 Greeks in grandeur and fancy ; and much more so in morals. The 
 Slavonians never acknowledged gods who directed wicked or 
 criminal propensities in the human heart, — hence their moral 
 precepts. In short, the religious tenets of the ancient Slavonians 
 were far above those of contemporary families of the human race 
 under similar disadvantages, and was well calculated, previous to 
 the introduction of Christianity, to promote, by its own tendencies, 
 the moral improvement of the people. 
 
 It was impossible, therefore, that the Slavonians could long retain 
 their idolatry, when Christianity had once shed its blessed influence 
 over the lands immediately contiguous to their own. That they 
 imbibed at a very early period sensible notions of the holy gospel 
 is indisputable, when we find that they were reckoned amongst the 
 Christian nations by the sixth Synod of Constantinople, held in 680; 
 and that a Salvonian occupied the patriarchal See of Byzantium in 
 766. Still, we cannot visibly trace Christianity as a dominant re- 
 ligion in Slavonia, farther back than about the middle of the ninth 
 century. 
 
 The Bulgarian Slavonians were the first who strongly manifested 
 a tendency for Chi-istianity. No doubt their vicinity to the Danube 
 gave the first and easiest opportunity to the Greek missionaries of 
 Constantinople to penetrate into their country. 
 
 The Moravian Slavonians were the next to embrace these holy 
 principles. So eagerly did they call for the blessed influence of the 
 holy gospel to illumine their dark minds, that the Greek Emperor, 
 Michael III., sent special missionaries to Moravia for that purpose. 
 These were Cyrillus and Methodius, two brothers, natives of 
 Thessalonica, who were familiar with the Slavonic tongue, and 
 highly eminent for their true piety. To these men was assigned the 
 great, and to them joyful task, of expounding the word of God to
 
 30 
 
 a people who liad long lain under the clouds of superstition and 
 ignorance, but were now ready and willing to merge into the glad 
 atmosphere of divine religion. The gospel precepts now advanced 
 rapidly in this part of Slavonia, and with them the useful auxiliaries 
 of literature and the arts. The Greek alphabet had hitherto been 
 the character in use. Cyrillus improved it; hence the Cyrillian 
 alphabet, slightly altered to convey expressions in which the 
 original Greek was defective, became the basis of that language 
 which is used at the present day in Russia, Moldavia, Wallachia, 
 and Servia. It need not be wondered at that the doctrines of 
 Christianity, after being first promulgated in Slavonia, spread 
 through that country so rapidly, when we consider that at that 
 time all the Slavonic nations spoke one common language. 
 
 In the meantime, the well known dispute between the Patriarch 
 of Constantinople and the Pope arose. Each was eager to assume 
 a religious sway over the Slavonian nations, now in progress of 
 conversion. Cyrillus and Methodius, although they introduced 
 amongst their new converts the rites of the Oriental Church, and 
 performed their divine service in the national language, neverthe- 
 less acknowledged the supremacy of the Romish Church; and ac- 
 cordingly threw themselves on the side of the Pope, having in doing 
 so, conditioned that no opposition was to be given to performing 
 their services in the vernacular tongue, — administering their sacra- 
 ments after the forms of the Oriental Church, and being entrusted 
 with the ordination of their priests ; all which was conceded by 
 Pope John VIII., no doubt prompted by a suspicion that withhold- 
 ing these terms might induce a union with the Greek Church. 
 
 Having thus accomplished the conversion of Moravia, Cyrillus 
 and Methodius, the latter of whom was raised to the dignity of 
 Archbishop of Moravia, next directed their labours to the Bohe- 
 mian Slavonians, with whom they succeeded so well, that in 871 
 a great portion of Bohemia was Christianized, and a Slavonian form 
 of worship founded, which, however, lasted only till 1094, when the
 
 31 
 
 Pope abolished it, and introduced the Latin language, and the rites 
 of the Chvirch of Rome. 
 
 After the violent rupture between Rome and Constantinople, 
 which resulted in the final separation of the Eastern from the 
 Western Church, the attention of the contending parties was as- 
 siduously directed towards Slavonia, with an ardent desire to gain 
 over it a religious supremacy. In this they were opposed by the 
 German clergy, whose exertions in religious conversion were 
 prompted by political triumph and the acquirement of fresh terri- 
 tory. This class commenced their operations by forbidding the 
 Slavonian converts to worship in their own language, a dictate 
 which to them proved in the meantime very annoying, and threat- 
 tened in the end to destroy their independence and nationality. 
 
 On the other hand, the Pope was equally inimical to the inde- 
 pendence of the Slavonians in the free use of their vernacular lan- 
 guage ; and now, having already acquired very considerable influence, 
 made a bold advance to extirpate from amongst them the privilege 
 of worshipping in their own tongue, and the exercise of their two 
 kinds of religious communion. In this step, the Pope readily availed 
 himself of the sentence pronounced by the Synod of Salona in 1060, 
 which declared Methodius to be 'an heritic,' and the Slavonian 
 alphabet ' a diabolical invention.' But notwithstanding this Rom- 
 ish animosity, the national liturgy maintained Itself for a long period 
 in Moravia, Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland, forming the bulwark of 
 their independence, and their barrier against the entire usurpation 
 of their religious liberty from the threatened inroads of either of 
 the Eastern or Western Churches, or even of the German clergy, 
 who, under the pretence of enlarging the fields of Christianity, en- 
 larged virtually the dominions of their feudal system, — a system 
 which tended to mould all nations into one uniform system of its 
 ecclesiastical polity. 
 
 While Methodius and Cyrillus were thus presiding over the 
 church in Moravia and Bohemia, scintillations of the heavenly fire
 
 32 
 
 were carried over to the neighbouring country of the Polish Sla- 
 vonians, who proved the most stubborn opponents to the dictates of 
 the Church of Rome, whenever she ventured to lay her grasp on 
 their nationality. Those historians who possess the merits of truth 
 and deep research in the highest degree, have recorded that in 
 Poland the exercises of divine worship ^vere always, up till the 
 fourteenth century, performed in the national language. It will be 
 seen in the sequel that this precaution on the part of the Poles, 
 maintained by determined resistance, proved of the utmost impor- 
 tance, inasmuch as it averted, in a great measure, the crisis con- 
 templated by the Papal government in bringing the Poles entirely 
 under its own supremacy in the election of their church dignitaries. 
 This triumph led to a severe contest betwixt the Papal government 
 and the Polish, for the right of church elections, — a contest which 
 might be held to embrace the usurpation or independence of Poland : 
 but it terminated in its favour. 
 
 Thus, the dark clouds of fanaticism and barbarous prejudice were 
 dispersed by the blessed rays of the sun of salvation, — the solitary 
 temples of pagan superstition, struck with the thunder of reality 
 and truth, fell, like Nineveh, with a tremendous crash, and over 
 the wrecks of their prostrate idols, the Poles, with true veneration, 
 first acknowledged the God of the Christians in the ninth century. 
 Then arose, over the vast plains of Poland, the bright star of con- 
 version from paganism to Christianity, illuminating the pure 
 hearts of a rude but uncorrupted people. From the rubbish of 
 downfallen temples, sprung brightly the crosses of Christ ; and 
 the principles of virtue and morality, preached forth by the pious 
 clergy, flew sweetly into the hearts of the people, and filled them 
 with serenity and joy. "The seed was not cast upon a rock:" 
 and Poland, like a sacred flower, planted in a chosen soil, dis- 
 played her Christian beauties to amazement, and grew in the wild 
 garden of eastern Europe with brilliancy and splendour ; and Pro- 
 vidence blessed the magnanimous plant.
 
 33 
 
 Christianity was therefore introduced into Poland under the reign 
 of the Grand Duke Mieczyslas, a.d. 965. But what induced that 
 prince to adopt the faith ? Was it the emissaries sent from Rome 
 to convert him and his subjects, or was it the mighty reasoning of 
 a priest, convincing him of his erroneous ideas ? No : the benign 
 truths of Christianity were first imparted to this prince by the 
 lips of an angelic woman — the Catholic princess Dombrowka, 
 daughter of the Duke of Bohemia, for whose hand Mieczyslas 
 aspired. After she gained the heart of the prince, she con- 
 quered his prejudices, and prevailed upon his mind, like another 
 Clotylda, or Bertha of France, to change his false creed, and part 
 with his idolatry. Dombrowka was young and beautiful ; no 
 wonder Mieczyslas listened to such a minister. He became her 
 husband ; and the arrival of Dombrowka to ascend the Polish 
 throne, was also the arrival of Christianity in Poland. No 
 woman on earth could boast of higher honours than this princess. 
 Like an angel of salvation, she beheld in her path through Poland 
 the proud temples and pagan idols laid in ruins at her feet. Be- 
 loved by his subjects, the Duke became the unrivalled champion of 
 the gospel, was anxiously followed by the whole nation, and Poland 
 soon covered herself with the holy mantle of Christianity. 
 
 Thus it pleased Providence that a woman should be 
 the first instrument of promulgating the divine 
 blessings of the gospel throughout Poland ; 
 and choosing Dombrowka to expand its truths, 
 . predestined that the Polish nation should take 
 
 the lead in the advancement of the social vir- 
 tues and moral improvements in the great Sla- 
 vonian family ; and most nobly did the Poles 
 perform the high and sublime task. They 
 placed themselves in the van of the Slavonic 
 religious and political liberties ; they have since 
 been a worthy example for eight successive
 
 34 
 
 centuries ; and although Russia rules over them 
 to-day, and sways their destinies under an uti- 
 merciful glave, yet the time will come when 
 they shall again be united, and guided under 
 the protection of the free, independent, and 
 civilized Polish nation. — Cedant arma togae. 
 
 In commemoration of that great event, accomplished with so much 
 peace and unanimity, the warlike Poles, on every occasion when the 
 gospel was read in the church, were in use to draw from their 
 scabbards a portion of their swords, in testimony of their readiness 
 to defend with their blood the principles of Christianity. The per- 
 formance of this ceremony was uniformly attended to until the first 
 dismemberment of the country in 1772. 
 
 Thus, under the starless sky of the east, Poland arose and shone 
 forth as the first star of Divine light, — the first luminary to elicit 
 the sparks of heavenly fire, and spread around those dark regions 
 the rays of Christian piety and love, that they might burst the icy 
 fetters of the north, and unlock the bars which imprisoned the 
 minds of millions in idolatry. 
 
 Boleslas I., the Great, son and worthy successor of Mieczyslas, 
 ascended the ducal throne in 999. He was a strenuous propagator 
 of the gospel, using all means not only to support the Christian 
 faith, but to extend it to the dominions which he had added to 
 Poland, by means of his dauntless sword, which he unsheathed to 
 settle the destiny of the Slavonian nations, and to unite them under 
 one Polish Crown. 
 
 During his reign, Otto the III., Emperor of Germany, surprised 
 at the conquests of Boleslas, and judging that it would be of ad- 
 vantage to secure the friendship of so powerful a neighbour, 
 lost no opportunity in soliciting it. In his reign, the cele- 
 brated Saint Adalbert, who had been among the first who 
 brought the tidings of the gospel to Poland from Germany, was 
 murdered by the Germans. Boleslas redeemed his relics with
 
 35 
 
 money, and deposited them in Poland with all the honours due to a 
 saint. Otto's esteem, for so great a warior, his piety and veneration 
 for the relics of so distinguished a saint, inspired him with a re- 
 solution to visit Poland. Both monarchs met at Gniezno, at that 
 time the capital of Poland, in the year 1000. Otto, astonished 
 at the pomp and elegance of Boleslas' court, and still more at the 
 refined manners of such a great warior, — took, on one occasion, 
 the crown from his own head, and, placing it on that of Boleslas, 
 addressed him as king and brother. The Pontiff refused to ac- 
 knowledge him as such, but Boleslas did not pay much attention to 
 it. The obstinacy of the Pope, however, was deservedly punished, 
 for Boleslas summoned his bishops, and commanded them to anoint 
 him; placing the crown upon his head with his own hands. This hap- 
 pened in the year 1024. Considering the times in which he lived, 
 contemporary with Ethelred II. of England, and the power 
 then universally exercised by the supreme Pontiff, we cannot deny 
 that it was a bold measure, characteristic of great courage, and 
 an elevated mind. Since that epoch, the Roman Pontiffs have lost 
 a great deal of their popularity ; and the kings of Poland have 
 gained much in exercising their authority in ecclesiastical matters, 
 as well as the right of electing bishops. Rome might then have 
 seen what Poland would be in her future relations. 
 
 The visit of a German emperor had a powerful influence upon 
 the Church of Poland, and in reality, contributed much to the sup- 
 pression of a national liturgy ; for many of the clergy of Germany 
 gained thus an introduction into Poland ; and it may be said that 
 almost all the monasteries v/ere filled with foreigners from Western 
 Europe, who, indifferent to the Polish nationality, advocated their 
 own rites, and annihilated the performance in the national lan- 
 guage which they could not understand, and as a matter of course, 
 styled the Polish tongue " a barbarous language." The junction of 
 Moravia and Bohemia also influenced the divine worship, by mixing
 
 36 
 
 their already adopted eastern manners, which in time crept into the 
 service of the Polish church. 
 
 In the reign of Boleslas' son, Mieczyslas II., from the year 1025, 
 gresit complaints were raised against the clergy, for imposing 
 severe taxes upon the new converts, — a practice very common with 
 the see of Rome. 
 
 After his death, in 1034, his widow, Rixa, niece of 
 the Emperor Otto III., displayed another occa- 
 sion of woman's influence over the affairs of 
 Poland ; but it was very unbeneficial in this 
 instance. She appointed too many Germans to 
 sinecure offices, — went far to exhaust the trea- 
 sury, and interfered too much with the affairs of 
 government, from which causes she became 
 80 obnoxious during her regency, that the Poles 
 expelled her to Germany, whither she carried 
 her son Casimir the I., and thus caused an in- 
 terregnum in Poland, during which the revolu- 
 tionized party forbade both Christianity and 
 royalty, and falling back to paganism, pro- 
 claimed the intruder, Maslaw, to be reigning 
 Duke. 
 This event proves too well " the spirit of popular or republican 
 tendency, which then actuated the ancient Slavonians against the 
 monarchial form, which seems to have been of a more recent date, 
 and to have been introduced into Poland from Germany." The 
 clergy were then much abused, partly from being foreigners, and 
 partly, according to the statements of contemporary writers, from 
 their morals being in a very degraded state. These things, how- 
 ever, were of short duration, for the Christianized party prevailed, 
 executed Maslaw, and recalled Casimir to tlie throne, whose wis- 
 dom and good government soon restored public affairs to a proper 
 bearing.
 
 37 
 
 The reign of Boleslas the Bold, who ascended the throne in 1058, 
 was distinguished by numerous victories, which he obtained glo- 
 riously over his enemies, and gained for him the profoundest esteem 
 and love, till his unfortunate quarrel with the Bishop of Cracow, 
 Stanislas Szczepanowski. The consequences being of a political 
 nature, the particulars are described in the history of the king, (see 
 reign of Boleslas II.,) although the intrigues of Rome were at 
 the bottom of it. Boleslas, in the first place, wished to subdue 
 the republican spii'it of some of the nobles, who longed still for 
 the ancient Slavonian form of government ; in the second place, he 
 prohibited foreigners from obtaining preferment in church endow- 
 ments, who at that time reaped the whole ecclesiastical benefits ; 
 and he issued a law, that the clergy should participate equally in 
 supporting the burdens of the nation, like the rest of his subjects. 
 This did not please the Pope ; and Bishop Szczepanowski placed 
 himself at the head of those parties who opposed Boleslas. This was 
 a hard struggle for Rome, to reap in Poland a golden harvest, 
 which terminated with the murder of their Prelate, and the banish- 
 ment of Boleslas, by one party of the nobility, supported by the 
 Romish clergy. The dethronement of Boleslas completed the 
 victory of Rome, and established the priests more firmly in Poland, 
 to whom the brother and successor of Boleslas was compelled to 
 concede some new privileges, and to revoke those established by 
 the exiled king. 
 
 Under the reign of Boleslas III., — Wrymouth, the greatest 
 warrior of the age, — who ascended the throne in 1102, the clergy 
 still increased their power, and finally gained an important station, 
 when, after his death in 1139, he divided the kingdom of Poland 
 between his four sons. This circumstance produced disunion and 
 jealousy among the sons. Internal wars, and general relaxation of 
 order, enfeebled and impoverished the country, while the united 
 clergy, aiming at one point, gained a complete station in the country ; 
 for the princes oftentimes sought for the influence of the church, to
 
 38 
 
 fortify their own uncertain position. In such a situation Poland 
 remained for nearly two centuries, and during that time much 
 money and other privileges were lavished upon the clergy, who 
 otherwise threatened to support the opposite party ; yet, so strong 
 was the spirit of Polish independence, that although the whole of 
 Western Europe bowed with reverence to the unconditional will 
 of the Popes, in Poland they could only gain a small share of 
 power, and that, too, more in external appearance than in internal 
 reality. 
 
 Soon after, the first Synod assembled in Poland in 1180. It 
 was composed not only of ecclesiastical leaders, but of nobles and 
 Voyevods, before whom the pretensions and complaints of the clergy 
 were brought against the sovereign princes, for appropriating to 
 themselves the goods of the deceased clergy, instead of assigning 
 them as the benefit of the see. But this point was never gained 
 by Rome ; for Vladislas, (Spindleshanks,) Duke of Cracow, in 
 1214; seized the property of deceased bishops, for which he was 
 excommunicated. He then took away the privileges belonging to 
 the clergy, — became sole dispenser of all church situations, and 
 abolished every other jurisdiction, sending back to Rome the two 
 Bishops appointed by the Pope, to inform him of his improper in- 
 terferences. This discontent was at last suppressed by the sub- 
 mission of Bishops, and a stipulation that all the gold, silver, and 
 valuable furniture, were to be the property of the reigning Dukes. 
 The next great quarrel that ensued, was on account of the enor- 
 mous tithes which the clergy wished to impose upon the country, 
 although they refused for a long time to accept of a more moderate 
 offer ; the consequences of which were, that some of the prelates 
 were imprisoned, — some were banished from the town by the exe- 
 cutioners, and others sent into exile. This contest lasted during 
 the reigns of Boleslas the Bold, and his son Henry, both of whom 
 were excommunicated by the Popes. To this, however, they paid 
 no attention, and the quarrels ceased by the subjection of the
 
 39 
 
 bishops, who consented, besides, to pay out of their tithes a certain 
 sum to the treasury of the reigning Dukes. 
 
 A circumstance which happened in the 13th century, contributed 
 much to excite throughout Poland a strong dissatisfaction against 
 Rome. Conrad, Duke of Mazovia, invited the knights of 
 St John to assist him against the idolatry of Prussia ; but as soon 
 as those monkish warriors were established in Poland, they turned 
 against the Poles, and wrested several provinces from them, to 
 increase their own possessions. The unpleasant feelings which 
 they thus awoke against themselves operated, however, in general 
 against the whole clergy ; and though they had already acquired 
 too much power, and enjoyed too many privileges, — though their 
 performance of divine worship was pompous and imposing, — they 
 could never obtain that influence and command over the minds of 
 the Poles, which they had exercised in many other foreign nations. 
 
 O, thou Polish Justinian ! Great Casimir ! whose name shines 
 in the book of eternity, — whose powerful spirit raised thee above 
 the frailty of mortals, — thou who, scorning the prejudices of the 
 times in which thou didst flourish, crushed the chains of the de- 
 fenceless and the oppressed, and fenced them with thy royal sceptre 
 and thy righteous laws against the accursed nobles of the day, who 
 desired to fetter them in slavery, — mighty and devoted protector 
 of religion and toleration, — immortality be to thy name — to the 
 land that gave the birth — and to the century which thou adornedst 
 with thy virtue and integrity ! 
 
 To take an advantage of few, or many, or of a whole nation, is 
 customary with those conspicuous characters whose exalted station 
 raises them above the common level ; but a man born to a crown, 
 whose dignity knows no rival, and whose will is a law, — such a 
 man, yielding up his own privileges, not to benefit his friends or 
 his party, but for the good of those who are oppressed and poor, 
 rejected and scorned, is a deed rarely to be boasted of in the annals 
 of mankind, — yet, such was Casimir, the champion of religion —
 
 40 
 
 the supporter of toleration — the creator and promulgator of 
 wholesome laws — the founder of universities — protector of the 
 poor, and the impartial judge of the rich. He claimed nothing, 
 whilst everything was due to him. 
 
 During his reign, a hot dispute arose between the nobles and 
 the clergy. The nobility complained of the overbearing nature of 
 the clergy, whose demands placed them beyond the limits of reason, 
 whilst the clergy complained, that the nobles not only withheld the 
 entire payment of tithes, but evinced an impious contempt of ec- 
 clesiastical censures and regulations. To settle the matter was 
 difficult, but Casimir very ingeniously corrected the numerous 
 abuses of both parties, and settled amicably their mutual animosity. 
 How much Casimir was beloved in Poland, the following incident 
 will prove : — " Having imposed a tax on the property of the bishop 
 of Cracow, Casimir was excommunicated by him, but the clergy- 
 man who ventured to notify the anathema to the king, was seized 
 and drowned. This act of violence produced no bad consequence 
 whatever, and the clergy hushed up the affair." 
 
 But Casimir's whole attention was directed to improve both 
 religion and the welfare of his subjects, and in both he succeeded, 
 as will be afterwards explained in the reign of that sovereign. It 
 was also in his reign that the Jews flocked in such enormous 
 numbers to obtain a settlement in Poland. 
 
 When the prophesied storm burst with raging thunder over the 
 Holy Land, and desolation bowed down the house of our Lord on 
 Mount Sion, the sons of Judea, now exiles of Jerusalem, were 
 scattered over the face of the nations, persecuted, despised, detested, 
 everywhere seeking in vain for a respite from condemning aversion, 
 oppressed and tantalized in every kingdom of Europe, where in 
 cold blood they often were condemned to the flames ; but when the 
 Christians of Europe were unbounded in their persecutions and 
 inhuman cruelties against the desolated Jews, the Christian Poles, 
 leaving their punishment to Him whom it pleased to afflict them
 
 41 
 
 with plague and vexation, according to the foretelling of scripture, 
 sheltered the persecuted and unfortunate unbelievers ; and Casimir 
 protected them by law. Well, therefore, did the Poles understand 
 the precepts of the gospel. 
 
 Casimir, wandering often amongst his poor and distressed sub- 
 jects, on purpose to aid them, once visited the cottage of an un- 
 believing Jew. Here he met a Jewess, of such extreme beauty, 
 that he became deeply in love with her ; and after repeating his 
 visits on several occasions, his steps were no longer directed by 
 accident, but regularly led by the impulse of a devoted heart to 
 that humble dwelling. The pretence of sympathy towards the un- 
 fortunate Jew was a convenient pretext for increasing the frequency 
 of his visits. The Christian heart of an august philosopher, and 
 that of an incredulous enchantress, were soon amalgamated. Esther 
 was all for Casimir, and Casimir was all for the Jewess. In little 
 time she left her father's humble cottage, for the magnificent 
 saloons of the royal castle at Lobzow, where, more successful than 
 Cleopatra over Anthony, she ruled the heart of Casimir. Though 
 not invested with a pompous title, she was really the queen of the 
 Jews ; and having gained for them all the privileges and protection 
 of the laws, made Poland, according to their own expression, the 
 "paradise of Jews." To this "paradise" they flew from abroad^ 
 where to this day they assemble in great numbers, forming more 
 than one-eighth of the constitutional kingdom of Poland, or 600,000 
 amidst 4,000,000 Poles. They wear the same costume they did in 
 Jerusalem, — have unlimited enjoyment of their superstitions, — their 
 privileges are larger than in any other part of Europe, and they 
 are constantly active in commercial pursuits, which they often 
 abuse by cheating and swindling. The present unpopularity of the 
 Jews in Poland is chiefly caused by their greed and covetousness 
 for gold, — their want of patriotism for that country which is their 
 sole protection, — ^their indifference for all kinds of useful knowledge, 
 and that extraordinary aversion to cleanliness and comfort which
 
 42 
 
 condemns them to rank with the lowest of commoners in Poland, 
 and continually exposes them to the ridicule of old and young. It 
 is not an easy task to turn some of them from their repulsive habits. 
 Such is the number and condition of the Jews, whose great influx 
 into the country is so clearly traced to the union of Casimir with 
 the Jewish maiden. 
 
 The history of Esther may be reckoned the third 
 appearance of woman's influence in Poland, di- 
 rected, in her instance, to the amelioration of 
 humanity, and the people of her own heart, and 
 exhibiting a striking example of the great power 
 of woman's influence, when properly applied. 
 In her life the Jews acquired that great extent 
 of privilege and protection which that race en- 
 joys in Poland alone. Despised in every other 
 country, the influence of Esther's disposition and 
 character procured for them in Poland both 
 refuge and comfort. So far did their privi- 
 leges extend, that all Jews, on turning to Chris- 
 tianity, were entitled to be ranked as citizens ; 
 and since her time, Poland has come to be the 
 focus of the commerce of all Jews throughout 
 Europe. 
 Deatli summoned Casimir to obey the fate of mortals, and to quit 
 that temporary abode where men, unlike him, live only in constant 
 imaginary delusion of perpetual gain, struggling for glory, fame, 
 wealth or luxury, never satisfied with to-day ; or strive with ad- 
 versity, poverty, and misfortune, which make them hate to-day. 
 Death summoned him to step down to that endless rest which ter- 
 minates all our earthly enjoyments and miseries. 
 
 His grand-daughter, Hedwig, a pious princess, young and beau- 
 tiful, was called to the throne of a powerful nation, — under the 
 condition, however, that her brave and warlike subjects should
 
 43 
 
 choose for her a husband, who would be bound to reside always 
 amongst them. 
 
 Queen Hedwig, (Jadwiga) with her own charms, was possessed 
 of a heart very sensible to those of another ; she was only sixteen 
 when she surrendered her a£Fections — William, Duke of Austria, 
 whom she knew from her infancy, being the happy man. Anxious 
 now to share the honours of power, she prompted him with tender 
 letters, and William hastened to Poland on the wings of love and 
 hope. He was sadly disappointed, however, to learn that the nobles 
 of Poland did not participate in the wishes of their Queen. Those 
 devoted lovers of their country desired some better object than the 
 mere gratification of their Queen in her choice of a consort. 
 
 Lithuania,* a neighbouring Duchy, under the sovereignty of 
 the Grand Duke Jagiello, was exposed to numerous invasions from 
 barbarous neighbours on the east, on accoimt of its fertility. The 
 Lithuanians themselves, resembling the Poles in manners, lan- 
 guage, and costume, being of the same Slavonian branch, nourished 
 brotherly feeling towards the latter, and both countries looked 
 already for some kind of firm union. The Lithuanian Grand 
 Duke, unable to resist the charms of the Queen of Poland, aspired 
 for her hand, and his love was so excessive, that it brought him to 
 the resolution of sacrificing his gods, his faith, his country, and 
 his riches, for her sake. He therefore bound himself to the nobles 
 of Poland, that should they facilitate his purpose, he would not 
 only unite the whole of Lithuania to the Polish crown, but become 
 
 * Lithuania was a grand Duchy of immense extent, stretching from Poland 
 beyond the river Dnieper towards the east, as far as the towns Witepsk, Mscislaw, 
 Kiiow, Czyrkassy, and from Livonia towards the north, beyond the river Dwina 
 and towns of Mitau and Marienhouso, and towards the south as far as the river 
 Dniester and the towns of Odessa and Ackerman. Duke Ringold was the first 
 who united the various provinces, and assumed the title of Grand Duke of Lithu- 
 ania in 1235 ; Grand Duke Gedymin, in 1320, joined Yolynia, Severia, Kiiowia, 
 Ukrain, and Podolia to his Duchy. Duke Olgerd, one of his sons, wresting 
 from his brothers certain parts of the divided Duchy, made himself sole possessor 
 of the whole. Grand Duke Jagiello, one of his thirteen sons, succeeded in 1381, 
 and joined it to Poland in 1386.
 
 44 
 
 a Christian, and prevail upon his nobles and other subjects to 
 follow the same course. The young Queen, at the outset, would 
 not listen to any such proposals ; but when the nobles of Poland 
 sent Duke William back to Austria, and made her prisoner in her 
 own castle, she began to relent, until at length, convinced that her 
 first object should be the happiness and prosperity of the country, 
 and that she should sacrifice every wish of her own for the sake of 
 Christianity and civilization, she yielded to the dull duty of a 
 sovereign. She received the Lithuanian, — listened to his proposals, 
 consented, and was married in 1386. 
 
 It will thus be seen that Providence again chose 
 a lovely woman to perform the office of a mes- 
 senger of bliss, to soothe the miseries of the 
 human race, and to ennoble more the lovely race 
 of womankind. For a second time it was ordained 
 that the truths of Christianity should be propa- 
 gated over the other part of Poland, Lithuania, 
 through the agency of a young and interesting 
 female. Hedwig's true piety and perseverance 
 hastened the triumph of the Christian church ; 
 she performed her high office nobly, and ad- 
 vanced from the altar she stood at, wedded to 
 Jagiello, with extraordiuai'y rapidity, the bless- 
 ings of civilization and knowledge into the centre 
 of the stormy and barbarous east. Her name 
 will ever be dear to Poland, and sacred to 
 Christendom. 
 
 Well may crowned monarchs meditate on 
 the history of the Polish Queen, and learn a 
 lesson of wisdom. The moral and religious 
 well-being of her subjects was Hedwig's constant 
 solicitude, and her actions were guided ac- 
 cordingly ; she sacrificed her own happiness to
 
 45 
 
 promote theirs, and to ensure the prosperity 
 of the land. 
 
 Her wisdom and fortitude brought also to a 
 happy crisis the mysterious uncertainty which so 
 long existed regarding the union of Poland and 
 Lithuania. Hedwig tied them with a gordlan 
 knot, and rendered these countries the medium 
 of a scale on which afterwards depended the 
 destiny of the east and the west in their re- 
 lationships, — and with that, the division of des- 
 potism and liberty in Europe. 
 Numerous churches now spread over the land ; majestic spires 
 and towers, adorned with the Christian cross, rapidly arose, marking 
 the temples of a new faith. The tidings of this change on the 
 plains of Poland and lathuania, soon rung in the Vatican, and, for 
 the first time since Christianity reached those territories, a popish 
 bull was extended to the shores of the Baltic and the Black 
 seas. Several cardinals followed, who paid homage to the throne 
 of Jagiello. The ties of friendship were sought by them with 
 ardour, and great Poland yielded to the authority of the Popes of 
 Rome. 
 
 When we contemplate the mighty power with which the Popes 
 of Rome shook empires, and dethroned, banished, imprisoned, or 
 excommunicated their monarchs, we cannot but marvel at the con- 
 centration of such a magnanimous power. It seemed as if the 
 prophecy was fulfilled, that " There shall be but one flock and one 
 shepherd." It only required that the Popes should have had the 
 piety, virtue, learning, and wisdom of Christ's own apostles, — 
 that, strict to that heavenly doctrine, had preserved its primitive 
 and pure foundations, and strove with care to prevent any corrup- 
 tion to creep in, or to remove such through the medium of moral 
 force, and apostolic goodness, — it was then in their power to en- 
 fold the whole earth with the mantle of Christianity, and inspire
 
 46 
 
 all the nations with one principle of righteousness, and mutual 
 assistance of imitating the sacred devotion and goodness of Christ. 
 
 But, alas ! the perversion of man's fragile heart, — the im- 
 perfection of his stormy mind, — distorted feelings, — unrestrained 
 passions of pride and ambition, — voracious avidity for riches, — they 
 — ^they had crushed that sacred chain of faith which was to bind 
 together the whole of mankind ; they had broken the fraternity and 
 brotherhood of the followers of Christ's doctrine ; they pulled down 
 those glorious pillars of Christ's church, rising in all parts of 
 Europe, over which the Popes could have extended but one roof, 
 and to create one holy church, to fulfil the holy words, and spread 
 over the earth everlasting peace and harmony. 
 
 Thus the meanness of the Popes, — their too far interposition 
 with emperors, not for the sake of promotion of blessings, but as 
 a means of selfish gratification, — their avidity for riches, extorted 
 from nations and kings under the mask of religion, — their unchris- 
 tian-like intrigues, which threw into contention the spirits of 
 crowned potentates, — ^their rigid horrors of indulgences, and re- 
 ligious wars excited by them, were the stamps of their inability, 
 wickedness, corruption and perversion, which loudly called in that 
 iron age of church, for a redeemer from such blasphemy and im- 
 prudence. Thus they rent asunder the union of Christianity, 
 which burst with violence into hundreds of different creeds. 
 
 The volcano of the Reformation, which burst violently over 
 Germany in the sixteenth century, shed its sparks over the plains 
 of Poland, which the time expended ; but when the symptoms of 
 reformation manifested themselves in a considerable light, the 
 nobles of Poland, amongst whom the abuses of Rome were then 
 so well known, seeing so much bloodshed, not in the defence of 
 Christian doctrines, but of Popish authority and power ; and more 
 considering that the violent steps to promote the real gospel were 
 improper and unbecoming the true followers of Christ, mot together 
 for the purpose of guaranteeing to their worthy communities the
 
 47 
 
 free exercise and profession of their tenets. Their resolution was 
 declared by the following- proclamation : — ." We who differ in re- 
 ligious helief, promise mutually for ourselves, and for our suc- 
 cessors, never to arm for any difference in religion ; or to allow 
 such difference to derogate from our common rights of citizenship." 
 
 These few words suffice to prove what state of civilization ex- 
 isted then in Poland ; and what feelings animated the hearts of her 
 Christian people. 
 
 Roman Catholic Poland was far from being fanatic. The 
 independent Christians of the Vistula loved truly and sincerely, 
 both political, as well as moral freedom ; and, when the raging 
 fanaticism of Romanism, with a perverted spirit, like a furious 
 volcano, vehemently poured out its boisterous leaven of fanaticism, 
 headed by columns of bayonets, burning down with fury the towns 
 and villages, they did not flow over the plains of the Vistula- 
 And, when the blinded devotees of other nations preached the gospel 
 with murderous swords in their hand, the Poles, as good and true 
 Christians, preached it holding our Saviour's cross, protecting the 
 persecuted of other religions. Unfurled annals of the Polish history 
 are not stained with the crimes and atrocities of almost all other 
 nations of Europe. There is no unmerciful pillage of thousands 
 and thousands of Protestants, — no perishing Lutherans, — no mas- 
 sacres of St Bartholomew, — no burning of Arians, — no horrors of 
 the inhuman holy inquisitions ; no, none of these religious cruelties 
 were manifested in Poland, the perusal of which curdles the blood 
 of a sensible Christian. No armed men with blood-stained swords 
 slaying each other, no wicked talents to excite the carnage and 
 slaughter of opponents. No, Poland, thou hast not witnessed these 
 terrors in thy Christian bosom. The shield of thy constitution and 
 civilized law sheltered those who sought for thy protection from 
 the slaughter of families, and laid a strong barrier against the re- 
 ligious war at home ; and so much glory for thee ! 
 
 Oh ! misguided Christians of that age, the present century frowns
 
 48 
 
 to contemplate your error and ignorance ; and with a deep and 
 mournful sorrow, turning over the gloomy and dark pages of your 
 history, condemns the absurdities of your blind and criminal de- 
 votion. Did the Almighty One tell you to unfurl the banners of 
 enmity and discord over the whole world, or the banners of amity 
 and love ? Was it the mission of pious Christians to shed 
 brotherly blood, and repress the freedom of thought — the freedom 
 of feelings, with blood-stained iron ? — or rather with the gentleness, 
 goodness, and wisdom of holy scripture, call forth the intellectual 
 power of moral reasoning, and not the debasing physical force, left 
 only as a resort of the lowest brutes of creation ? 
 
 Thus, Poland, proclaiming universal toleration^ allowed the 
 expansion of the new doctrines to be introduced in her bosom ; and 
 permitted the Reformation to expand its spirit throughout the plains 
 of the Vistula. 
 
 As the symptoms of reformed doctrines began to manifest them- 
 selves powerfully under the dominion of Jagiello, a short sketch of 
 its development, which will amply testify the character and insti- 
 tutions of the Poles, might be desirable to the reformed Christians 
 of England.
 
 REFORMATION. 
 
 " Those who undertake to write the histoi'y of the Christian Church are ex- 
 posed to receive a bias from three different sources, — from times, persons, and 
 opinions. The times in which we live have often so great an influence on our 
 manner of judging, as to make us consider the events which happen in our days 
 as a rule by which we are to estimate the probability or evidence of those that are 
 recorded in the history of past ages. The persons, on whose testimonies we think 
 we have reason to depend, acquire an imperceptible authority over our sentiments, 
 that too frequently seduces us to adopt their errors, especially if these persons 
 have been distinguished by eminent degrees of sanctity and virtue. And an 
 attachment to favourite opinions, leads authors sometimes to pervert, or, at least, 
 to modify, facts in favour of those who have embraced these opinions ; or to the 
 disadvantage of such as have opposed them." — Mosheimh Church History. 
 
 Man is born selfish, jealous, idle, improvident, ignorant, vicious, 
 and cruel. If allowed to follow the predominating impulse of his 
 nature, he would entirely direct it to the attainment of his perfect 
 happiness, which lies in the full satisfying of his will and his un- 
 bounded desires, — will, which, in accordance with the selfishness 
 and ignorance of his nature, he would maintain to be always right 
 and just, — desires, which, through his jealousy and propensity to 
 
 G
 
 50 
 
 indolence, would ever increase with his mental and moral improve- 
 ment, until they would become unquenchable and ungovernable. 
 If there existed no laws whereby to check and to limit his will and 
 his desire, man, under such circumstances, would be the most 
 dangerous of created beings. 
 
 But the laws of humanity are too powerless to penetrate into the 
 deep concealment of the feelings of man, rooted, as they are, in his 
 bottomless heart ; and the laws of nature can influence only his 
 outward feelings and senses, for they can never govern his passions ; 
 and then how often does he misunderstand them ; nay, how often 
 does he scorn them in full derision. But thei*e are laws which he 
 cannot misunderstand; — laws which he dares not to disobey, nor 
 disregard, and these are the laws of God — Religion ! 
 
 Is it not religion which, with her heavenly light, dispels the preju- 
 dices and the ignorance which cloud the beauties of the mind, and 
 raises it up to immortality itself? Is it not through religion that the 
 heart of man, incited to the pursuit of wisdom, and a due sense of 
 the omnipotence of the Creator, is fed with pleasures and charms, 
 holy like and hitherto unknown, and his feelings and senses sweetly 
 expanded and nourished ? Is it not the irresistibly charming 
 and sacred laws and influence of religion that prompt man to brave 
 the perils of the deep, — to roam through trackless deserts, and 
 submit to every hardship, that he may spread the joyful tidings 
 of the gospel to the unhappy and enslaved nations that are pining 
 beneath the clouds of superstititlon and error ? Is it not by that 
 divine influence that man will sacrifice every comfort, endure every 
 torment of the body, nay, part with his precious life in martyrdom 
 itself, rather than disobey his God ? What a dreadful recital does 
 the annals of religious persecution present! — yet, the pains of cap- 
 tivity, torture, and inflicted death, prove a sweet compensation. 
 Religion fires the breast of the man with a sacred flame of patriotism, 
 and prompts him to relinquish comfort and fortune, and nobly lay 
 down his life at the shrine of his duty, beside his country's altar!
 
 51 
 
 Religion infuses into him the sacred impulse of humanity, — the 
 purest feelings of charity ; and how freely and abundantly does the 
 man of benevolence scatter his wealth for the benefit and improve- 
 ment of his species, — how often does he even deprive himself of a 
 limited share, that he may hold out a charitable hand to the dis- 
 pairing wretch, who pines beneath a weight of misery and want. 
 Religion inspires him with honesty and virtue, and bids the man 
 of honour rather to part with his riches, and even with his life, 
 than incur disgrace, — to cast away comfort, opulence and rank, 
 and embrace calumny, persecution and ruin, for the sake of a good 
 principle. Religion inspires the sacred feelings of brotherhood 
 and friendship ; and how many sublime and beautiful instances of 
 bereavement and deprivation have been displayed, when the breast 
 of a man has been warmed by the fire of true friendship. Religion 
 fills the heart of woman with modesty and chastity, — nourishes her 
 mind with piety and virtue, and thus ennobles the noblest being of 
 the creation, and bestows her upon man in a state of perfection, as 
 a remuneration of the revealed creed. Religion inflames the soul 
 with the mighty emblem of immortality, and awakens the powerful 
 engine of our senses into action ; and, finally, accomplishing the 
 highest aim, the most precious boon, and the end of all struggles, 
 inspires the mind and the heart with that noble independence 
 which raises man to divinity — to heaven ! 
 
 But it is the true and pure religion that works those mighty 
 influences, that kindles such aspirations, — a religion free from 
 superstition, debasement, absurdity, and imposition, — -a religion that 
 teaches men virtue, humanity, modesty, truth, and independence, — 
 religion which forms the basis of moral laws and good institutions, 
 which will not be satisfied with belief, but insists upon practice, — a 
 religion which fills the breast with the domestic and social virtues ; 
 — that is the religion of a real Christian. 
 
 Nothing is more easy than to impress the barren and innocent 
 mind of a child with ideas of any tendency. Possessing so mucli
 
 52 
 
 love for the parent, esteem for the tutor, and sacred reverence for 
 the minister, how intently are the early lessons received — how 
 aptly every interesting idea implanted ! But how difficult it is in 
 youth, nay, in manhood, to shake off the prejudices which so often, 
 alas, creep around the infant mind ! Yet, man must cross his 
 moral season from youth to manhood, — his mind, fertilized by know- 
 ledge, and elevated by science, begins to question, tvliy should he 
 believe and act so, and not othericise ? His imagination, prompted 
 by unbounded curiosity, carries him into the mysteries of crea- 
 tion, — his ideas penetrate into eternity, — his mind forces its power 
 to enfold infinity, — his raptured soul aspires to immortality, and he 
 feels his grandeur, his power, and sublimity, — now he disrobes 
 nature of her secrets and mystery, — he is a man, a moral giant ; 
 and woe to all that venture to debase, to deceive, to impose on 
 him ; — the chains that hitherto loaded him with disgrace are burst 
 assunder, — his indignation is that of a deceived lover, of a betrayed 
 patriot. 
 
 Thus it was with the Poles, under Jagiello, 1386. They began to 
 be ashamed of the state of their national Roman Catholic church, 
 which, loaded with base prejudices, mixed up with gross idolatry, 
 and governed by corrupted leaders, appeared better adapted to 
 terrify ignorant children, than instruct reasonable men. Their 
 mother country had long since left her intellectual cradle, — she was 
 in the fifth century of her political growth, and she wanted an im- 
 proved and enlightened church to represent her. 
 
 The Reformation in Poland did not break out at once, but was 
 developed in places far apart. Its operations were at first ac- 
 counted as highly absurd, and little notice was taken of them till 
 1070, when Pope Gregory VII. issued a bull, prohibiting 
 marriage amongst the Roman Catholic clergy. This order awoke 
 the indignation of the Slavonian clergy — especially those of Poland 
 and Bohemia, who, in spite of it, continued to marry till the end of 
 the twelfth century. It tended to the furtherance of the principles
 
 53 
 
 advanced by the reformers, who not only permitted, but imposed 
 matrimony upon their clergy. This led, in 1176, to the perse- 
 cution of the disciples of Peter Valdo, a zealous reformer who 
 appeared in the west of Europe, from whence they were forced, and 
 found their way to Bohemia. They were welcomed from thence to 
 Poland, Moldavia, and Silesia, where their doctrines spread with 
 rapidity, being much approved of from their resemblance to the 
 forms of the National Slavonian Church. They advocated the un- 
 limited use of holy scripture, worshipping in the national dialect, 
 communion of two kinds, and the marriage of priests. The Poles 
 and Bohemians went the length of supporting the reformed church 
 in Italy. The Inquisition discovered this in Poland in 1330, 
 and sought eagei-ly to punish its promoters. 
 
 Amongst the numerous sects of reformers, the most conspicuous 
 was that of Pirnensis, formed by John Pirnensis, in 1341. This 
 body had many followers, who preached publicly, and called the 
 Pope Antichrist, and the like ; they disappeared as a religious sect 
 soon after the death of their founder. The sects of Flagellants and 
 Fratricelli, which disturbed Europe during the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries, extended to Poland, where they found adher- 
 ents, but as they did not assume any peculiar character, they also 
 became extinguished. Thus, the Reformation was already known 
 in Poland before the days of Huss, and there were several learned 
 members of the Polish and Bohemian clergy, who propagated it 
 with ardour. 
 
 Richard II., King of England, was married to a Bohemian 
 princess ; after her death, many uf her household returned to Bo- 
 hemia, and there spread the opinions of Wicklifife. Huss, who had 
 been already in Bohemia, translated his writings, and thus not only 
 hastened the progress of the Reformation, but gained for himself 
 considerable popularity. Wlckliffe's principles spread rapidly, on 
 account of the attachment of the Slavonians to the national 
 worship.
 
 54 
 
 The University of Prague about this time was iu open inter- 
 course with that of Oxford. The former was attended chiefly by 
 Germans, who hitherto possessed gi'eat privileges; among others, 
 each German student had tliree votes, and the natives only one, — 
 the result of this was the certain election of Germans to academic 
 dignities. But now a sudden change took place — the Germans 
 became unpopular, and their elective privileges reversed ; the natives 
 obtained three votes — the Germans one. Poles and Bohemians 
 now speedily acquired the ascendency in the University. A dispute 
 ensued; — the Germans left Prague, went to Germany, and laid 
 the foundation of the University of Leipsie, whilst Huss, the leader 
 of the national party, was elected rector of the University in 1409- 
 
 The Polish Queen, Hedwig, founded a college in Prague specially 
 for the Polish nobility. This produced so great an increase of 
 the number of Hussites in Poland, and spread their tenets so 
 rapidly, that the synod of Wielun, in 1416, issued severe laws 
 against them; another of Lenczyca, in 1423, resolved to extirpate 
 altogether the Bohemian heresy, as they styled it ; but the laws 
 and constitution of Poland, permitting the free exercise of any 
 religion, protected the reformers, so that the denouncing ordinances 
 of the Roman Catholic bishops and synods were mere dead letters. 
 In order to screen themselves altogether in future from the fury 
 of the Roman Catholic synods, the nobles of Poland instituted the 
 following law, at the diet held in 1450: — 
 
 '■''Neminen captivare permissimus nisi jure victum;" 
 For now many of the first families in Poland, even the Queen 
 Sophia, adhered to the new doctrines.* 
 
 In the year 1420, the Bohemians, who resembled the Poles in 
 
 language, religion, and manners, sent an embassy to Jagiello, 
 
 begging of him to accept their crown. This the King of Poland 
 
 politely refused, being averse to involve himself in a war with the 
 
 * The reader will here recognise a law very similar to one which, upwards of 
 two centuries afterwards, was passed by tiie British Parliament — the Habeas 
 Corpus Act.
 
 55 
 
 Emperor of Germany, who considered Bohemia as his hereditary 
 property. Another embassy, however, soon followed, proposing- 
 to the Polish king- to unite Bohemia, Silesia, and Moravia, to 
 Poland and Lithuania, and thus give a supremacy to the Polish 
 crown over all the neighbouring territories, and settle the destiny 
 of the Slavonians. But Jagiello still persisted in his first policy, 
 and the proposal was submitted to his cousin Vitold, Duke of 
 Lithuania, who, not daring- to accept of it without Jagiello's sup- 
 port, first dispatched his relative, Sigismund Koributt Wiesnio- 
 wiecki, with money and an army, to aid the Hussites in maintaining 
 their independence against the German emperor. Thus embold- 
 ened, the Bohemians rejected the claims of the Emperor, elected 
 Koributt Regent, and shortly afterwards crowned him King of 
 Bohemia. But Jagiello left him unsupported, and he abdicated the 
 throne at the diet of Prague, in 1427, and returned to Poland. 
 
 The year 1431 was memorable for a public debate, which took 
 place between the doctors of the University of Cracow followers 
 of Huss, and the Roman Catholic bishops and priests. This debate 
 was prolonged with great vigour for several days, during which 
 the theatre of the University was crowded to excess. It did not 
 finish in a very decided manner, — the Roman Catholics pretended 
 to have triumphed over the " heretics," but it was only by unsub- 
 stantial argument, which the Hussites disdained to acknowledge, 
 and therefore they claimed the victory. 
 
 This event tended much to forward the progress of the Refor- 
 mation ; and so great was the number of the Polish grandees who 
 joined the Hussites, that they instituted a confederary, celebrated 
 by the bold designs formed in 1440. They proclaimed the abolition 
 of tithe paying, church censui-e, and excommunication, demanded a 
 change in the Roman hiei'archy, and declared that the estates of 
 the Roman Catholic clergy should be turned to the public use. 
 
 In the meantime, sentence of excommunication was passed by 
 the bishop of Cracow, on a Polish grandee, Spytek Melsztynski,
 
 56 
 
 a leading reformer. Incensed by this measure, Melsztynski boldly 
 scorned his sentence, and did now resolve to banish him and all 
 other Roman Catholic bishops from Poland! Melsztynski followed 
 his plan by placing himself at the head of the reformed nobles, 
 and siezing all the property that belonged to the bishops. He next 
 defeated the regency troops that opposed him, and besieged Cra- 
 cow, the metropolis. Had Melsztynski succeeded in his enterprise, 
 and taken Cracow, which would have been his next step, the fate 
 of the Roman Catholic church in Poland would have hung upon a 
 thread; nor would this daring patriot have hesitated in his career, 
 until a decisive rupture with Rome would have settled the religious 
 destiny of Poland : but, previous to a battle, he was killed before 
 the ranks, in personal encounter, and his army routed. 
 
 In the year 1462, Casimlr IV., son of Jagiello, met in person 
 with George Podiebrad, the Hussite king of Bohemia, when Casi- 
 mir solemnly bound himself to defend and protect the Hussites 
 against the interference of Austria and the knights of Germany, 
 who were inimical to the Hussite form of worship. The emperor 
 and the Pope exerted themselves, by influence and intrigue, to dis- 
 solve that engagement, but in vain. Grateful for this constancy, 
 the Bohemians, upon the death of Podiebrad, in 1470, offered, in 
 conformance with his wishes, the crown of Bohemia to Vladislas, 
 son of Casimir IV. The Roman Catholic bigots strenuously opposed 
 this election as an alliance with heresy ; but the Polish diet disre- 
 garded their feeble outcry, and in 1471 proclaimed Vladislas king 
 of Hungary. 
 
 The reigns of Vladislas and his son Lewis, which lasted from 
 1471, to 1525, formed a memorable epoch in the development of 
 intellect and morals, as well as a golden era in the history of 
 Bohemian literature. The active and bold part which the Poles 
 and Bohemians took in protecting, adopting, and propagating the 
 principles of Huss, was a powerful support to the development of 
 those of Luther, and their establishment in Germany and Poland ;
 
 57 
 
 and it has been well said by a recent and just writer, " If the 
 Germans mat boast of having effected the Reformation, 
 WE, Slavonians, may claim the honour of having laid its 
 groundwork." 
 
 Had that mighty engine the press been known in those times, the 
 laurels which fell upon Luther would have adorned the head of Huss. 
 
 In the year 1453, was held the celebrated diet of Piotrkow, 
 famous in Polish history by the division of the legislative body 
 into the Senate, and the chamber of Nuncios ; but the same diet, 
 in 1459j astounded the east by the great constitutional and religious 
 questions which agitated the Senate. A Polish nobleman, John 
 Ostrorog, Voyvode of Poznania, Doctor of Laws of the L^ni- 
 versity of Padua, where the Polish Grandees generally finished 
 their studies, renowned not only for his learning, but also for his 
 high rank and influence in the kingdom, distinguished himself by 
 certain important political and religious opinions, which he sub- 
 mitted to the assembled diet. The following propositions, addressed 
 to the King and the assembly, which were approved of by a large 
 majority of the most enlightened nobles of Poland, will give a good 
 idea of the political and religioils views of the Polish Reformers. 
 
 REFORM IN THE CHURCH,* 
 
 Proposed to the Polish Diet in 1459. bi/ the Voyvode of Poznania, 
 JOHN OSTROROG, LL.D. 
 
 The king and the assembly were addressed as follows : — 
 1. " There is no objection in recommending to the Pope this 
 kingdom as a Catholic country ; but it becomes not to proffer to 
 
 * See Count Valerian Krasinski's " Rise, Progress, and Fall of the Reformation 
 in Poland," vol. I.
 
 58 
 
 him an unlimited obedience. The king of Poland is subject to 
 none, and has no superior but God. 
 
 2. " It is unbecoming to address to the Pope humble and sub- 
 missive letters. The king is not the subject of Rome ; humility is not 
 bad in itself; but when exaggerated, and shown to one who has autho- 
 rity in affairs of a purely spiritual nature, it becomes guilty. Christ 
 has not submitted temporal affairs to the apostolical see ; he has 
 even said, that his kingdom is not of this world. The clergy 
 should also bear the public burthens equally with other citizens. 
 
 3. " If the bishojis and the clergy were, as they suppose, to be really 
 spiritual, I would object, that the civil authority should direct the 
 elections of the church dignities. The king would then distribute 
 only the political dignities, and the clergy watch over the salvation 
 of souls. Their ecclesiastical duties, and their worldly business, 
 would be then entirely separated. But there is none who would 
 investigate, and clearly explain the duties imposed on the clergy. 
 Custom has prevailed ; and in order to avoid greater evils, it is 
 necessary to leave the elections to the king, who will choose 
 persons of learning and of a meek character, and thus prevent mu- 
 tual hatred between laity and clergy. 
 
 4. " It is to be lamented, that Italian perversity impoverishes the 
 kingdom of Poland by manifold exactions. Rome draws annually 
 large sums, under the pretence of piety and religion, but in fact, 
 by means of superstition. A bishop never gets his consecration 
 without paying some thousands of ducats* to the Roman Pontiff, 
 although the canon law leaves the consecration of bishops to arch- 
 bishops. Our lenity and supineness have given the force of law to 
 the Italian perversity and abuses. The annates were originally 
 obtained for the expenses of a war against the Turks ; war has 
 ceased, and the annates have remained. It is not right, therefore, 
 to continue longer this tax of mistaken piety. The Pope must not 
 exercise tyranny under the pretence of religion. 
 
 • A ducat was of the value of ten shillings.
 
 59 
 
 5. " The Bishop of Rome has invented a most unjust motive for 
 imposing taxes — the wai' against the infidels. Poland, at least, 
 should be exempted from them, as it leads to a constant warfare 
 with the Moscovites, Turks, and Tartars. Being stationed on the 
 limits of Christendom, Poland unceasingly defends the Christian 
 countries. I think, therefore, that the national treasury could take 
 the annates which are given to the Pope.* 
 
 6. " The clergy seek always to screen themselves, whenever they 
 are called to assist the wants of the Republic. They feign to have 
 fears, when there should be none. They have probably foro-otten, 
 that all their superfluities should be the property of the poor. If, 
 therefore, the clergy make an ill use of their goods, they commit 
 robbery. There could be no purer alms, if the church would 
 devote the goods that are given to the poor to their exclusive use. 
 
 7. " The king is accused, that he exacts from the estates of abbots 
 and other clergy services ; but our fathers have not endowed 
 monasteries with rich donations without any object. They meant 
 that all which would remain from the maintenance of the monks, 
 who ought to live modestly, should be devoted to the wants of 
 the country. The king is equally blamed for having- coined church 
 plate Into money. They have certainly not read St Bernard, who 
 says, " The church has gold ; not that it might possess it, but that 
 it might give it to the needy." The king took the church plate, 
 because he was pressed by necessity ; but Rome accumulates great 
 riches by its jurisdiction. A law-suit lasts sometimes thirty years, 
 and the parties die before it is ended. Rome takes no sheep 
 without wool, and the country suffers great losses. It is true 
 that it receives, I do not know what bulls — a fine exchange 
 indeed! There are, however, amongst us such people as respect 
 Roman scribblings, furnished with red seals and hempen strings, 
 and suspended on the door of a church. We must not submit to 
 
 * The payment of annates to the Pope was afterwards prohibited bv the Diets 
 of 1544, 1567, 1607, 1667.
 
 60 
 
 the Italian deceits. We have in our country bishops, archbishops, 
 and even a primate ; why should we not, ourselves, judge our own 
 
 causes : 
 
 8. " Is it not a deceit that the Pope imposes upon us, in spite of 
 the king and the senate — I do not know what bulls — called indul- 
 gences ? He gets money, by assuring people that he absolves their 
 sins ; but God has said by his prophet, " My son, give me thy 
 heart," and not money. The Pope feigns that he employs his 
 treasures for the erection of churches ; but, in fact, he employs 
 them to enrich his relations. I will pass over in silence things 
 that are still worse. There are monks who praise such fables. 
 There are a great number of preachers and confessors who only 
 think how to get the richest harvest, and who indulge themselves in 
 luxuries, after having plundered the poor people. 
 
 9. " After Rome, our own country is the greatest sink of simony 
 and deceit. The clergy sell burials, extreme unctions, penitences, 
 baptisms, and marriages, which should all be administrated gratis. 
 The bishopricks were erected and endowed that they might pay 
 the ministers of the church. The tithes were formerly given by 
 the rich, and not by the poor ; but now the poor give tithes to the 
 rich. Is this the application of the precept, "I require mercy and 
 not sacrifice ?" 
 
 10. " It is very bad, that convents are filled with idle and incapa- 
 ble people. St Paul recommends to be cautious in bestowing 
 ordination ; what scandal and what abuses have not arisen from 
 such people ! After having shaved his head, and endued a cowl, 
 one thinks himself fit to correct all the world. He cries, and 
 almost bellows in the pulpit, because he sees no opponent. Learned 
 men, and even those who possess an inferior degree of knowledge, 
 cannot listen without horror to the nonsense, and almost blasjihemy 
 uttered by such preachers. 
 
 11." People such as are the least (jualificd for It, enter generally 
 the ecclesiastical order, because idleness is an agreeable thing, a
 
 61 
 
 blessed repose. They have been probably induced to it by St 
 Paul, who says, "If a man desire the office of a bishop, he de- 
 sireth a good work." But they have not thought that to desire 
 episcopacy for its advantages is a bad thing, 
 
 12. " The number of labourers and mechanics is continually di- 
 minishing. The reason of that diminution is, that everybody likes 
 to wear the cowl, in order to lead an idle and useless life. As it 
 is the duty of public authority to take care that idleness and 
 vagrancy should not spread over the country, it should be there- 
 fore enacted, that the towns should not admit such numbers of 
 monks and German mendicants. Mendicity should be suppressed. 
 The convents ought to feed and to clothe the poor. The Pope 
 generally takes the goods of bishops dying intestate. Is the Pope 
 not yet sufficiently provided for ? It is much more becoming that 
 they should be appropriated by the public treasury." 
 
 The doctrines of the Reformation, therefore, took a high place 
 in Poland, and were spreading rapidly throughout the whole king- 
 dom, and, to the great honour of the Poles, without such violent 
 symptoms of enmity as might have endangered the fate of the 
 country, excepting always that of the Roman Catholic clergy, 
 which, although it retained all its show of power, had really little 
 or no control over the minds of the Polish people. 
 
 The reign of Sigismund I., from 1508, to 1548, formed a 
 remarkable epoch in the history of the Reformation in Poland, as 
 the long reign of forty years of a generous, prudent, and enlightened 
 monarch. The revealed religion was strengthened at this period, 
 which was Poland's golden age of literature, and the arts and 
 sciences. 
 
 Before the doctrines of Luther were proclaimed in Poland, many 
 zealous reformers had already preached publicly against the abuses
 
 62 
 
 of the Romish Church. Seine appeared in 1504, and more in 1515; 
 but the greatest number appeared in Danzic, a Polish sea-port 
 town, from 1518 to 1523, when the reformers had made such pro- 
 gress, that Sigismund, in 1523, issued au order, prohibiting any 
 religious innovation. To this the reformers paid but little attention ; 
 and in 1524, John Hegge, and ALxandei', two reformed monks, 
 seized, at the desire of their parishioners, the churches of St Mary 
 and St Catherine, and transferred them to tlie reformed church The 
 archbishop of Gniezno sought, by his presence, to stay th' measure, 
 but found it safer to quit the tovvn; and after his departure five 
 other churches were seized. 
 
 The town council of Danzic, obeying the orders of the king, 
 threw several reformers into prison. This event caused the refor- 
 mers to take up arms, to the number of 4000, who disbanded the old 
 council, and instituted a new one, proclaiming universal reforma- 
 tion, and prohibiting the Roman Catholic form of worship. The 
 diet of Piotrkow, in 1526, authorised Sigismund to put down the 
 reformers of Danzic. The king went in person to appease them: 
 he first demanded their submission on conciliatory terms, but this 
 they refused, whereupon Sigismund's armed party entered the city 
 by night, and surprised the reformers by their superior appearance 
 to such a degree, that they at once laid down their arms. The old 
 council was restored, and fifteen leaders of the reformed council 
 beheaded — several banished. This was the only instance of a 
 serious interference that took place in Poland by the govern- 
 ment power ; and political motions were the cause ; for, had Sigis- 
 mund permitted the entire triumph of the Reformation over Catho- 
 licism in Prussia, the emperor of Austria, united to the knights of 
 Germany, who kept a constant watch over Sigismund's policy, and 
 were ever ready to use an advantage, would eagerly seize such an 
 ojjportunity of wresting from the Polish crown tlie whole territories 
 of Polish Prussia and Silesia. 
 
 Peace was restored in Danzic; but the severe regulations pro-
 
 63 
 
 claimed for Its future maintenance made no impression upon the 
 inhabitants, who knew that they could command the strength of a 
 powerful party at Elbing, who publicly declared themselves in 
 1523, and also at Thorn, which, in 1525, was the scene of a violent 
 riot. The inhabitants of Danzic revived their efforts of reform in 
 1534, and Sigisraund ceased afterwards to persecute them. 
 
 The royal decree of 1539 allowed the unlimited liberty of the 
 press, whilst the diet of Cracow, in 1543, granted the entire free- 
 dom of studying in foreign universities, — events which greatly mor- 
 tified the Roman Catholic clergy, who constantly aimed to 
 suppress both. At the university of Cracow, a secret society, 
 composed of the chief doctors and most influential nobles of the 
 kingdom, was formed for the free discussion of all religious differ- 
 ences. It was placed under the secret guidance of one Lismanini, 
 an Italian, and the queen's confessor. At one of the meetings of 
 this society, a priest, who was a native of Belgium, Pastoris by 
 name, took up, in strong language, and with much eloquence, the 
 doctrine and mystery of the Trinity. Many of the members were 
 astounded, but only a few adopted the ideas. These principles 
 were afterwards extended by Lelio and Faustus Socinus, and gave 
 rise to a sect of Socinians, or Polish Brethren, who in time became 
 very numerous in Poland, but were composed only of nobles. 
 
 In the meantime, the Bohemians divided into three religious 
 parties, — Taborites, or the followers of Wickliffe ; Calixtines, their 
 direct opponents ; and Orphans, who supported a medium course. 
 After long disputation, the Calixtines prevailed in numbers. The 
 Taborites were then much persecuted, till at length they were 
 entirely driven out of the country. They were favourably received 
 in Poland, especially in Polish Prussia, where they settled, and, 
 changing their former title, came to be known as " The Bohemian 
 Brethren." 
 
 Such was the state of the Reformation at the death of Sigismund 
 I. This king was one of those monarchs who gained the love
 
 64 
 
 and veneration of his people, and of the nation at large ; yet this 
 attachment was best evinced during the period of his union to 
 Barbara, daughter of the Voyvode of Transylvania, who not only 
 possessed extraordinary beauty, but also great accomplishments, and 
 was full of piety and domestic virtue. But on his marriage to 
 Bona, princess of Milan, and daughter of John Galeazzo Sforze, 
 Duke of Milan, he made himself quite obnoxious to the nation, 
 and had many enemies. 
 
 The influence of woman on the affairs of Poland, 
 had a fatal tendency in this instance (being 
 the sixth.) The perverse nature of this 
 Italian lady — her dissolute habits, ambition, 
 desire of power, and love of money, were points of 
 her character which proved to be very injurious 
 to the nation. This unprincipled queen ruled the 
 country entirely by herself during the latter days 
 of Sigismund. Her conduct towards the Protest- 
 ants was most lamentable, as being under the con- 
 stant influence of the courts of Spain and Rome ; 
 being also related to the first of these, she hated 
 the Protestants, and was always opposed to every 
 innovation made by the reformers, and no doubt 
 would have rendered herself more injurious to the 
 reformed cause, had not John Firley, the Voy- 
 vode of Lublin, and Marshal of the Court, 
 reduced her ill disposition. He was one of the 
 first leaders of the reformed nobility, highly 
 accomplished, and very handsome. A guilty 
 passion attached Queen Bona to him ; and 
 Firley knew well how to turn the advantage 
 to promote his own views. When Bona left 
 Poland, she carried off" by night the great wealth 
 of the treasury, both in money and gold.
 
 65 
 
 Sigisraund Augustus II. ascended the throne in 1548, in the most 
 peaceful manner; because the nobles of Poland, dreading that in 
 the present circumstances of the Reformation the election of a 
 king might give rise to agitation and violence, elected Sigismund 
 Augustus secretly, when a boy, so that now he was proclaimed with- 
 out election. 
 
 An event which happened in the second year of his reign was 
 very important from its results. Some students of All- Hallow's 
 college, one of the universities of Cracow, offended a woman on 
 the street, which caused her to call some servants of the university 
 to her assistance ; a quarrel ensued, in which several of the students 
 were shot dead. This produced a general commotion in the univer- 
 sity, and the students demanded of the vice-chancellor the punish- 
 ment of those servants who took upon themselves to use fire arms. 
 As he did not comply with their wishes, they resolved to leave the 
 university, Cracow, and even Poland. The entreaties of families 
 were in vain. Before the lapse of a week they took their departure ; 
 some went to Goldberg, in Germany; others to Konigsberg, in 
 Prussia. The result was, that they returned to their native country, 
 as Protestants of various denominations. 
 
 The Roman Catholic clergy always acted bitterly in opposition 
 to the efforts of those who promoted the principles of reform. Ex- 
 communications and citations to appear for judgment, were instru- 
 ments of frequent application. They could not go farther, and, prone 
 to use all the means of oppression in their power, did not scruple 
 to urge these with all force. But at this time they were thwarted 
 in their unjust purposes. Many noblemen, among others Nicholaus 
 Olesnicki, Conrad Przeclawski, having been summoned to answer 
 before a Roman Catholic tribune, presented themselves at the head 
 of a numerous band of friendly Protestants, chiefly armed, which 
 so much terrified the Roman Catholics, that not one appeared at 
 the place appointed for the trial. 
 
 In 1552, the Roman Catholics, at a synod met in Plotrkow, pro-
 
 66 
 
 claimed the most peremptory denouncements against " the heretics." 
 This measure was the last outburst of their rage; but owing to 
 the constitution and laws of Poland, it produced no more effect 
 than a dead letter. 
 
 In tlie same year, and at the same place, a Polish diet was held, 
 which is remarkable for having exhibited an animosity which was 
 now becoming general against the Roman Catholics. During the 
 performance of mass, many Poles refused to pay respect or atten- 
 tion to the services ; most of the nuncios laughed at the elevation 
 of the host, whilst others went the length of remaining covered. 
 This diet abolished all Roman Catholic jurisdiction, and established 
 the religious liberty of Poland. Farther, it was proposed to expel 
 from the senate, and even from the country, all bishops appointed 
 by the Pope, and not by the king. 
 
 The Roman Catholics, perceiving the falling condition of their 
 state, insisted, in 1547, upon Pope Paul III. convoking a general 
 council, to decide their fate in Poland. This produced the Council 
 of Trent. 
 
 Andreas Frycz Modrewski was one of the many deputies ap- 
 pointed by the Polish diet of 1552. He was a reformer — a secre- 
 tary of Siglsmund Augustus ; and had finished his studies at the 
 university of Wittemberg. He was to appear at the Council of Trent, 
 and proposed a line of policy, which it is here deemed proper to 
 describe to the reader, for these reasons, that it was the result of a 
 private understanding come to amongst the grandees, that Mo- 
 drewski's opinions, civil and religious, were in perfect unison with 
 those of the most enlightened of the Polish nobility of that day, 
 and especially with those of Sigismund's courtiers ; and therefore 
 conveys the best idea of the condition and prospects of the Polish 
 reformers of that day. 
 
 To pull down, is easy ; to raise up, difficult. Men who can easily 
 crush existing privileges, laws, and establishments, and have talent 
 or wit sufficient to overthrow an existing system, are generally
 
 67 
 
 deficient in their calculations, and have not genius sufficient to create 
 a new one ; whilst, if sometimes they possess such genius, they want 
 the will, and often the courage, to exercise it. The Roman Catholic 
 church went undoubtedly very far, and exerted its powers of uniting 
 mankind to a much greater extent than any other religious sect. 
 Had the might of Popes been well directed and applied, — had it con- 
 templated the union of European sovereigns, and not excited to 
 constant dissension and disastrous wars, — had justice and modera- 
 tion guided their church hierarchy, — had debasing imposition never 
 marked their spiritual government, Europe would to-day have not 
 only presented the noblest and most perfect state of Christian unity, 
 and the most sacred harmony amongst her nations, but would have 
 also regulated and conducted the union, fraternity, and good under- 
 standing of the other parts of the globe. Such is the ultimate aim 
 of the gospel, — such was the desire and will of our Saviour ; and 
 if religion will not unite the feelings of mankind, and bring them 
 together, nothing shall. Rome was the nearest to it ; and although 
 the abuses, prejudices, and corruption of the Roman Catholic church 
 made it fit only to terrify children, or deceive ignorant slaves ; yet, 
 bad as it appeared to be, the Poles did not aim at its ruin and entire 
 extinction, but at its regeneration and improvement. The noble 
 assembly of the Polish grandees meditated profoundly whether the 
 Protestants would understand their high and noble mission. Would 
 they unite themselves in obtaining their aim ? Was reformation 
 to benefit or to injure mankind ? Would the reformers wrest the 
 dignity and the power from the Popes, in order to direct them in 
 hastening the union of mankind, and extending the blessings of 
 Christendom ? or, having acquired that dignity and power, would 
 they direct them to gratify their own ambition, pride, or vengeance ? 
 Well said the learned bishop of Warmia, and Cardinal of Rome, 
 Stanislas Hosen, in his polemical works, that if the Christian 
 religion would not have for its ultimate aim the union of mankind, 
 and the benefit of humanity, it would have no more weight than
 
 68 
 
 the fables of ^sop. What decided the Reformation of Germany 
 in 1517, but the offended spirit of an Augustine monk of Wittem- 
 berg, Martin Luther, against the Pope granting to the Dominican 
 order of priors, in preference to his own, the privilege of selling 
 indulgences? What decided the Reformation in England in 1533, 
 but Henry's guilty passion for a lovely woman ? — and yet, unhappy 
 Anne Boleyn had not borne the name of queen for a short month^ 
 when she was beheaded ; and the very next day witnessed the 
 monarch's union with Jane Seymour. What decided the Reforma- 
 tion in Sweden but the horrible oppression of two monstrous tyrants, 
 distinguished only by vices, without a single virtue, — that of Chris- 
 tianus II., king of Denmark and Sweden, and Archbishop d'Upsal, 
 who in one day put ninety-four senators to death on one scaffold, — 
 gave Stockholm over to pillage, and robbed the country of immense 
 suras of money, thereby calling forth the vengeance and ambition of 
 Gustavus Vasa, who came forth from his asylum in the forest 
 of Dalecarlie, and espoused the Reformation to maintain his 
 crown ? 
 
 But civilization and morals were too well developed, to let 
 the Poles go astray ; and for the sake of innovation, or temporary 
 glory, to throw themselves into violence, and pull down in one year 
 what was built in ages. With the virtue of apostles, and the wisdom 
 of Grecian sages, they were silent to the raging of the times ; — the 
 volcano of reform had burst out, — it was impossible to check its 
 progress ; but it was possible to turn its torrents into the proper 
 channel. Let Europe say what she may for or against Poland ; but 
 who can discover, in the annals of other nations, such another as- 
 sembly as that of the Poles, who laid aside all personal animosity, 
 religious difference, and party spirit, nay, even the temporal benefit 
 of their country, in devising the best means of establishing moral 
 well-being, not only in one country, or one race, as the Slavonians 
 were, but for promoting the honour, glory, and benefit of all 
 Europe ? The Reformation gained for Poland one of the brightest
 
 69 
 
 laurels that humanity ever witnessed, and which, through all cen- 
 turies, shall never fade. 
 
 PROPOSED REFORM OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH,* 
 
 Submitted to the Council of Trent hy the Polish Embassy. Prepared by 
 
 ANDREAS FRYCZ MODRZEWSKI. 
 
 Modrzewski thus addressd the Polish monarch : 
 
 " Religion is no longer secretly discussed, as it formerly was, 
 but publicly debated in the national assemblies. We are now 
 generally abandoning the doctrines of the church, which had 
 hitherto been received, and we have assumed the right of esta- 
 blishing a religion. You resign to a general council the cogni- 
 zance of such an important matter. Inspired by Heaven, you have 
 desisted from making use of your own authority and arbitrary 
 power. The council must give to every one full liberty of speech, 
 for we wish to be instructed and enlightened. We shall not permit 
 our convictions to be silenced by human authority. Men ought to 
 be convinced by the word of God, and by argument, but not by 
 persecution and bloodshed. What has created the dissensions in 
 the church, the corruption of manners and discipline, neglect of 
 the laws, the perversion of the doctrines and of the ceremonies ? 
 The ancient and real Christians have disappeared, as well as the 
 primitive purity and sanctity of the church. The first preachers 
 of the gospel were not numerous : they were poor — not endowed 
 with large estates ; and being persecuted, they converted the world. 
 Now there is none who will preserve the truth of the doctrine, 
 and of the ceremonies established by Jesus Christ and the apostles ; 
 and the consequence of that is, a general and extreme corruption. 
 • See Krasinski.
 
 70 
 
 Those who have possessed themselves of the lucrative dignities of 
 the church, have engaged in unworthy occupations. They liave 
 become fond of merry revels, of rich dresses, precious stones, and 
 large retinues. All their time is devoted to play and hunting. 
 They have become enamoured of comfort, ease, and luxury. What 
 is now the intellectual authority of the clergy ? The greatest part 
 of them are ignorant of the scriptures; some are given up to 
 atheism ; they deride everything that is holy. They have ceased 
 to believe in religion ; they have rejected doctrines, and neglected 
 actions prescribed by God. They have appropriated to themselves 
 villages, towns, castles, tithes, enormous incomes, and richly en- 
 dowed states. They have founded their supremacy upon money, 
 upon worldly connexions and assistance, and upon a luxurious life. 
 They wish to rule only by force ; and in order to maintain their 
 authority they have elevated their church, contrary to the precepts 
 of Christ. They have appropriated to themselves exclusively the 
 name of the church, and imposed on the people of God their laws 
 and restrictions. But no religious community can be durable and 
 maintain its unity, if its doctrines and actions are not founded on 
 the pure word of God. It is therefore necessary that the laymen 
 should be also admitted to the discussion about the principle of 
 faith, because, as Gerson says, < The council is the assembly of all 
 the states of the church, and excludes none who believe. The 
 principle of faith must be decided by all, in order that they should 
 know what is to be believed. Is it not a duty of the commuity to 
 investigate whether its pastor expounds a falsified doctrine, and to 
 avoid false prophets, and the perversity of the Pharisees ?' 
 
 " The general council will restore peace to Christendom, but it 
 must be independent and properly composed. It will abolish the 
 profligacy of the clergy, and the abuses of the popular authority. 
 In the synod, every man and every party must have an uncon- 
 trolled liberty of speech, even against existing order and established 
 customs, because the church never has been, and is not now infalli-
 
 71 
 
 ble. Being a human assembly, It could err, it has erred, and it 
 may still err. 
 
 " The bishops should convoke the clergy and the population of 
 their dioceses. They must not restrict by any ancient laws the 
 deliberations of the Christian people. Every member of the church 
 must expose his conviction. Faith, being common to all the mem- 
 bers of the church, must be determined by them all, or by an 
 assembly of all the faithful. The church itself should statute the 
 rules of belief. The general council must learn from the synods 
 of the dioceses the convictions of the Christians, and according to 
 that it must form its decisions. The population of the dioceses 
 ought to choose their delegates for the deliberations of the general 
 council ; such a council alone will truly and legally represent the 
 universal Christian church. Christians of every dei^pnination must 
 be, without any difference, represented at that council. The Ar- 
 menians, Greeks, and other sects, are they not also Christians ? 
 The Latin church alone is not a complete church, and it will not 
 restore, by itself, unity to Christendom, when all its sections are not 
 duly represented. 
 
 " The general council should not be composed exclusively of 
 bishops. Why should the laymen, who form a part of the church, 
 be prohibited from judging matters relating to their own salvation? 
 A bishop does not possess the necessary qualification for defining 
 the doctrines, by the mere fact of his being a bishop. The only 
 titles which give authority to decide on that important matter are 
 learning and virtue. The direction of the council must be en- 
 trusted to virtuous and learned men, and not to such as have nothing 
 to recommend them but office. 
 
 " It is not true that the bishops alone have the power of expound- 
 ing the gospel. All those who have retained only the name and the 
 income of a bishop, without possessing his moral qualifications, 
 should retire from the council. It is impossible to renew the an- 
 cient custom of setting up fire and sword against truth and con-
 
 72 
 
 science. Formerly the nations were kept in subjection by the bishops, 
 and obeyed all their commands. They were insulted without dar- 
 ing to complain, and even addressed thanks for the injuries they 
 had received. It is therefore just and right to eject from the church 
 the pride and despotism of its rulers. The government of the 
 church must be entrusted neither to one nor to all, but to the most 
 learned and virtuous, even if they were not invested with the 
 sacerdotal dignity. Every church and its people will send their 
 representatives to the council, because the people have also their 
 just griefs against the clergy, and against their rulers. It is indeed 
 a very preposterous regulation, which deprives of influence and office 
 even the most enlightened men, if they do not belong to the class of 
 the nobles, — all members of the community should have equal rights. 
 All the rulers of the church have been infected by an unpardonable 
 pride and luxury. The people have been despised, and the poor 
 entirely neglected; although only a madman could suppose that 
 God has created mankind for the use of his rulers. The council 
 will choose the judges who are to determine a universal creed; no 
 difference of religious opinion must exclude from that mission, be- 
 cause the reformers and antagonists of Rome are also Christians. 
 If the Pope was infalliable, and superior to the council, and to all 
 the churches of Christendom, of what use would it be to convoke 
 a council ? It is well known that they have erred against faith ; 
 and Pope Adrian himself acknowledged, in 1522, that the church 
 and Its dignitaries were in the utmost state of corruption. How 
 can a guilty clergy, being accused, decide against themselves, — 
 abolish their own profitable usurpation, and destroy their own 
 authority? 
 
 " The renovation of the church must be entrusted to the church 
 itself, i. e. to all Christendom — to all believers. How did the 
 church till now answer to all the pious complaints against its cor- 
 ruption? By persecution and cruelties. The mind cannot be 
 changed but by argument, because religion Is but a spirit.
 
 73 
 
 " The present mode of administering the church must be changed. 
 One person should not possess several dignities, which ought to 
 be granted only to virtue and ability. The church must not feed 
 idlers with its riches. One clergyman is sufficient for one church. 
 The rule over the people must be entrusted to intellectual superio- 
 rity, and not to that of birth or fortune. The kingdom of Christ 
 must be supported by the same means by which it was raised. The 
 disciples of our Saviour, without either being rich or noble, have 
 converted mankind. In our counti-y, the nobles, invested with the 
 dignities of the church, enjoy their possessions, but have no learning. 
 They consider it a mean occupation to devote themselves to intel- 
 lectual pursuits, and have left to their inferiors the duty of teach- 
 ing. They occupy the first places, and govern, although birth 
 without merit is nothing. But if the nobles have appropi'iated to 
 themselves the dignities and the riches of the church, they ought 
 also to fulfil the duties, to teach, to prophetize, and to tend the 
 flock of Christ; but they have accepted only the enjoyments, and 
 they have rejected the duties. Such abuses are highly injurious 
 to religion, as well as to the state. The people, contemned and 
 degraded, lose the sense of their own dignity ; the ruling class being 
 corrupted, attach little value to the fulfilment of the duties of a 
 Christian magistrate. We try by oaths and documents the test of 
 nobility, which is an innovation unknown to our ancestors;* and 
 we do not even ask about virtue and learning'. This leads to pride 
 and luxury, which degrade the sanctity of religion ; it is therefore 
 necessary to introduce another system. Those who are adorned by 
 virtue are real nobles, even if tliey were of the meanest origin ; 
 they are fit to possess all the dignities of the nobles, because they 
 have all that constitutes a real nobility ; but now, when all the 
 cathedrals of the church are exclusively occupied by nobles, it is 
 
 * This alludes to the preposterous enactmeut of 1515, which excluded all those 
 who did not belong to noble families from preferment to the higher dignities of 
 the church.
 
 74 
 
 even dangerous to propose that the dignities of the church should 
 be granted without any regard to bii'th. The exclusion of the 
 lower classes from preferment is indeed the greatest abuse and 
 injustice. 
 
 " A bishop should be elected by all the faithful of the diocese, in 
 the following manner : — Every class, the magistrates, the nobles, 
 the burghers, and the peasants, (for it is unjust to exclude the 
 peasants from a share in the public affairs) should choose each 
 three representatives ; the clergy will also send twelve of its mem- 
 bers. These twenty-four delegates will take an oath before the 
 deputy of the monarch, that they will elect only such as are qua- 
 lified by their virtues, learning, and sanctity of life, and that their 
 choice will not be influenced by any worldly motives ; and they 
 must act accordingly. All the clergy should be equalised, because 
 the superiority of the bishops was established only by custom, and 
 not by Jesus Christ, who did not grant priority to any of the 
 apostles. Such a system will restore to the church its purity and 
 independence, and will pacify its troubles. In order to restore 
 peace to the church, and establish a unity of faith and discipline 
 all over Christendom, it is not sufficient to write sentences, to pro- 
 mulgate decrees, to judge and excommunicate. The church and 
 the Christian people do not exist for the use of the king and of the 
 bishops ; on the contrary, the kings were established for the benefit 
 of the people, and the bishops for that of the church. The kings 
 must therefore watch over the advantages of the children of God, 
 but they must leave to the church itself the election of the bishops, 
 whom they actually nominate themselves,* because no authority 
 has the right despotically to rule the church. 
 
 " The dignity of the Pope, which maintains the unity of the 
 church, ought to be retained ; but the mode of his election should 
 be totally changed, because otherwise despotism and an unbridled 
 
 • The kings of Poland nominated bishops.
 
 75 
 
 passion for power will never be expelled from the church. The 
 Pope must not be elected either by one nation or by one church, 
 or by one section of the Christian community, as it is now done ; 
 the Pope, being the chief of all Christians, must be elected by all 
 Christendom ; every nation must have an equal right and equal influ- 
 ence in his election. A hierarchy is necessary, in order to maintain a 
 unity amongst all the members of the church of Christ, but not a 
 hierarchy of superiority. Each clergyman, possessing an equal 
 mission to teach, to baptize, to perform sacrifice, to bind and to 
 unbind, there is no difference in that respect between the most in- 
 ferior clergyman and the Pope himself. Such a hierarchy has not 
 been authorised by Christ, — it has not been ordered by the gospels, 
 — it has not been established by the primitive church ; it would 
 therefore perhaps be more expedient to abolish episcopacy, and 
 that the Pope should preside over the rulers of the churches. 
 
 " The Pope should retain only such attributes of his authority as 
 are useful and indispensable for the benefit of the church ; he 
 should execute the laws, and watch over the maintenance of disci- 
 pline ; but he must not have judicial authority over the churches. 
 Each nation should have its own independent church, and its own 
 independent and final jurisdiction, that they may not appeal to 
 Rome. The Pope cannot be infallible, and must be subject to the 
 council, which truly represents the whole of Christendom. The 
 Pope must have nothing to do with the political relations of dif- 
 ferent states. The Papal see being the centre of the Christian 
 unity, may be established anywhere. The Pope will be elected 
 only for a year, and never for his lifetime. A frequent change of 
 Popes will not destroy the unity of the papacy. If the Pope 
 would resume the ancient abuses, he will be checked by the council, 
 which is to assemble every two years. Each province of a synod 
 will nominate two persons, who will by turns occupy the papal see. 
 Every Pope will be judged after the termination of his oflfice, by 
 liis successor, who will strictly investigate his conduct, and punish
 
 76 
 
 him if he is found guilty. The council will nominate the Pope's 
 ministers, who cannot be dismissed by him. Papacy, cirumscribed 
 within such limits, will fulfil its mission much better than it does 
 now. 
 
 " Every separate church should have its prophets, evangelists, 
 pastors, and presbytery ; but the office of teaching is not to be 
 exclusively vested in the presbytery. 
 
 " Every one may speak, prophetize, and investigate divine subjects, 
 when he feels that he has an interior vocation to do it. Every 
 church should choose its own government and authorities. If the 
 congregation were able to elect the best qualified, the present con- 
 dition of the church would be greatly improved by it ; places des- 
 tined to teachers and apostles would not be then given to nobles, 
 who now occupy every dignity, whether they be able or not to fulfil 
 its duties, provided they have a coat of arms. The duty of the 
 evangelist should be, to preach, to instruct, and to expound the 
 gospels ; that of the pastors should be, to administer sacraments, 
 to watch over the morals of the congregation, and to Inflict spiri- 
 tual penalties on those who lead a vicious life. The actual pastors 
 have forgotten their real duties ; they are fit only to shear the wool 
 of their flock, but not to watch over its welfare. The dignity of 
 the bishop, which was formerly equal to that of the presbytery, 
 has now changed its primitive destination, and perverted its real 
 duties. The bishops have thrown on the parish priests all the 
 burdens of their vocation, and retained only the riches and honoiu's 
 attached to it ; they enjoy the possession of villages and towns, of 
 small and great tithes ; they only occupy prominent places in the 
 councils of the state ; but the care of souls, and that of religious 
 instruction, they consider a subject of minor importance, leaving 
 them to some inferior and insignificant persons. The scriptures 
 must be the only rule of faith, because they are sure and true, un- 
 erring, and unable to err, comprehending the chief and indispen- 
 sable principles of salvation. The word of God must be placed
 
 77 
 
 above the church, and above all authority that has been created. 
 That which cannot be conceived by human reason, must, however, be 
 believed. Tradition being a human explication, cannot be binding; 
 the church could not finally decide how the holy writ should be under- 
 stood and explained. The scriptures should be explained by the 
 scriptures themselves ; the places whose meaning is uncertain 
 should be explained by such passages the sense of which is clear 
 and certain. The church being founded on the scriptures, cannot 
 develope or modify its own origin, by introducing things which 
 have not been authorised by Jesus Christ, and were unlinown to 
 the first disciples. The church preserves only the word of God, but 
 has no right to its arbitrary explication. Augustinus himself ac- 
 knowledged that the gospel alone was infallible, and he founded on 
 it his arguments. He acknowledged the authority of the synods 
 and fathers, but he placed them below the precepts of Jesus Christ 
 himself. 
 
 " The discussion about the real meaning of the Eucharist is unne- 
 cessary, and more fit to disturb than to edify the church of God. 
 It is much better to believe the words of God, which express that 
 we receive his body and blood, than to begin subtle researches 
 about the nature of receiving them ; it is rather necessary to avoid 
 such questions, as being unfit to give any comfox't or hope to the 
 troubled spirit. It is quite sufficient for our salvation to believe 
 that we are receiving the body and blood of our Saviour with the 
 lips of the spirit, and not with those of the body. The communion 
 of two kinds should be administered to all Christian people. The 
 auricular confession which is established by the Roman church is 
 not injurious, but it is very doubtful whether it may be considered 
 as a sacrament, and as a condition necessary for our salvation; and 
 therefore it ought not to be made obligatory. Confession serves to 
 give a better knowledge of religion to those who arc ignorant ; — it 
 enlightens the consciences of men, and strengthens the discipline of 
 the church. The worship of the saints should be limited. Eminent
 
 78 
 
 persons deserve respect during their lifetime, and a pious remem- 
 brance after their death ; but can the mediation of saints be of any use ? 
 But, although neither the Old nor the New Testament have even 
 recommended the worship of saints, as mediators between man and 
 God, no person's liberty in that respect should be circumscribed. 
 The baptism of infants is allowable, and the promise of their god- 
 fathers is necessai'y ; but the baptized children must, on becoming 
 adults, confirm their baptism by taking a solemn obligation of 
 respecting and following the precepts of the gospel. Matrimony 
 should be allowed to the priests ; and the worship should be per- 
 formed in the national lanffuag-e." 
 
 The abdication of Charles the Fifth interrupted the Council of 
 Trent, and its convocation was postponed. 
 
 Amongst many other stanch reformers in Poland, Stanislas 
 Orzechowskl, (known better to learned Europe under his Latin 
 name of Orlchovious,) made himself conspicuous for his extraordi- 
 nary and powerful eloquence, and depth of argument. He might 
 have rendered great service to the cause of reformation ; but the 
 perverse spirit of that extraordinary man led him to pull down 
 with one hand what he built with the other. He astonished the 
 learned world with the ease with which he combated his own 
 arguments ; and the condemned ones he again defended with a new 
 strength and vigour, — he served both parties in turn — had been 
 three times excommunicated, and as often reconciled to the Pope : 
 at length he embraced Romanism. His highly eloquent speeches 
 for and against himself, are the most amusing passages in the his- 
 tory of the Pollsli Reformation. 
 
 Laski (latinized, Alasco,) bishop of Cujavla, was another 
 of the most powerful and learned men the Reformation could
 
 79 
 
 boast of. Laski's family is a pride of Poland, for all his rela- 
 tions made themselves conspicuous and valuable in different 
 branches, — not only by their learning, but by their integrity 
 and virtue. He left Poland in 1537, in order that by travel- 
 ling he might devote himself with better opportunity to the cause 
 of the Reformation. He married abroad in 1540, and, at the 
 request of a reigning prince, went to Friesland, and settled in 
 Emden, its metropolis, where he organised all the churches of the 
 country. His renown for learning caused several princes of Ger- 
 many to be anxious for securing his services ; he received numerous 
 invitations from them to organize the churches in their dominions ; 
 but he preferred to accept that of Cranmer, to reform the church 
 of England. To that country he accordingly proceeded, and ar- 
 rived in London in 1548. He was there appointed superintendent 
 of all the foreign churches, and prolonged his stay till 1 553. After 
 a tour in Denmark and Danzic, where he was much annoyed by 
 the bigoted Lutherans, he went again to Emden, and from thence 
 returned to Poland, where he was made superintendent of all the 
 reformed churches in Poland. The ultimate end at which Laski de- 
 sired to arrive, and which was his principal aim all his lifetime, was 
 to unite all reformers into one body, and strengthen their cause. 
 This, to a certain extent, he accomplished ; at any rate, he laid the 
 first stone of that union of the reformed church in Poland, which 
 astonished all civilized Europe in the year 1570. It was executed 
 under the name of Consensus Sandomiriensis. Laski was the noblest 
 leader of church reform Poland ever had ; his premature death, in 
 1560, covered the majority of the nation, who were then his follow- 
 ers, with the deepest mourning. 
 
 The king himself was a great supporter of the new doctrines ; 
 yet, before he would openly patronize and embrace them, he was 
 anxious to know the real state of reformation abroad ; for the 
 seceding of Poland from the Pontiff see would at once decide the 
 fate of Rome, — that is, it would produce its absolute fall ! Sigis-
 
 80 
 
 muud Augustus, therefore, would not take the responsibility upon 
 himself of plung-ing Europe into a new channel of turbulent dis- 
 asters, unless he was previously certain that doing so would pro- 
 duce beneficial consequences to mankind, and create a new, more 
 reasonable, and more moral power. With this consideration, he 
 despatched his favourite priest, Lismaninl, an Italian by birth, to 
 travel through Europe, and by constant correspondence, inform the 
 king of the real state of the reformed doctrine — its influences and 
 tendency. Lismaninl left Poland in 1553, and having visited Italy, 
 Venice, Padua, Milan, Switzerland, Lyon, Paris, London, Den- 
 mark, and Prussia, returned to Switzerland, where he gave way to 
 the doctrines of Calvin, and married a lady of that persuasion. 
 Such gross impolicy induced the king to break off all communi- 
 cation with him, and even to withdraw his salary. Lismaninl then 
 returned to Poland, where he might have redeemed his character, 
 and been still useful, had he not embraced the antl- Trinitarian 
 doctrines, which were spreading rapidly in Poland. George Blan- 
 drata, an Italian of great learning-, was their leader and orator, and 
 gained much Influence. In his opinions he went farther than 
 Gonesius and Arius, and maintained that Christ did not exist before 
 his birth, and consequently reduced him to the condition of man. 
 He condemned the baptism of infants ; acknowledged the superi- 
 ority of the Father over the Son. The principal tenets of the anti- 
 Trinitarians were published in 1574. They said, "God has made 
 Christ a most perfect Prophet, sacred Priest, and invincible King, 
 and through him created a new world. The Holy Spirit is not 
 God — it is a gift which the Father has bestowed upon his Son, in 
 all its fulness." They prohibited the taking of oaths, and prose- 
 cuting before tribunals, for any injury whatever, and the like. 
 They were afterwards supported by Gregorius Pauli, of Brzezlny, 
 a Pole. The synod of Cracow, in 1563, condemned and separated 
 them. At the diet of Piotrkow, in 1566, a public dispute between 
 them and reformed churches took place ; the mystery of the Trinity
 
 81 
 
 was debated, Pauli being tbeir orator. The debate lasted four days, 
 and terminated without any satisfactory conclusion on either side. 
 The anti-Trinitarians increased in numbers, appointed their own 
 ministers, synods, and schools, and were generally known under the 
 name of Pinczowians, from their most important town and residence. 
 The Synod of Trent now opened its sessions, and the king, in 
 the name of the diet, forwarded a letter to Pope Paul IV., de- 
 manding the following changes : — 
 
 1 . That mass should be performed in the national language. 
 
 2. The communion of two kinds. 
 
 3. The marriage of priests. 
 
 4. The abolition of the annates. 
 
 5. The convocation of a national council for the reform of abuses, 
 
 and the union of different sects. 
 This message, as may be easily conceived, alarmed the court of 
 Rome very much, and was rejected. The Pope wrote a letter to 
 the king, filled with bitter reproaches and threats. 
 
 In the meantime, the Pontiff was by no means indolent ; he dis- 
 patched his agent, Lippomani, to Poland, who advised the king to 
 extirpate heresy by treachery and massacre. This private counsel 
 was publicly devulged by the king himself, and excited a general 
 hatred against Lippomani throughout the kingdom. He laboured 
 to obtain from the king a decree against all the printers and book- 
 sellers of the heretics. His list contained Picardlans, Bohemians, 
 Anabaptists, Sacramentarians, Augsburgians, antl- Trinitarians, 
 Helvetians, and Socinlans. The Roman Catholic synod of Lowicz 
 met in 1550 to reform the Roman Catholic church; yet, the 
 intrigues of Lippomani, who placed himself at their head, frustrated 
 all their efforts. The synod, while endeavouring to reform abuses, 
 only exposed them to the public eye, — at last it broke up in dis- 
 grace, having condemned to the stake a young woman of the 
 reformed church, and a Jew, who, as it was reported, purchased a 
 copy of the Eucharist from her, for malicious purposes. The king's
 
 82 
 
 order, countermanding this sentence, arrived too late ; the execu- 
 tion had been performed, and the country was filled with indigna- 
 tion. 
 
 The diet of 1563 passed a resolution for appointing a general 
 synod, that would represent all religious parties ; but the Pope, by 
 another vile messenger, — Commendoni, an Italian, — again frustrated 
 through intrigue this conciliatory measure, for the Roman Catholic 
 clergy refused to be present. Commendoni brought the statutes 
 of the Council of Trent to Poland. They were received by the 
 Roman Catholics in 1564, with some limitations, and in 1578 were 
 submitted to unconditionally ; but they were never accepted by the 
 diet; and all attempts made, even in the reign of Sigismund III., 
 and John Sobieski, were in vain. 
 
 The general dislike of the Roman Catholic clergy, on account 
 of the intriguing emissaries of the Pope, Lippomani and Com- 
 mendoni, gained Its height In 1564. In that year, a great procession 
 took place in Lublin ; a Polish nobleman of influence, Erasmus 
 Otwinowski, stopped the priest in the public street, in the middle 
 of the procession, snatched from him the box containing the conse- 
 crated wafers, threw them on the ground, and trampled them under 
 his feet. He was summoned to appear before the diet, and 
 acquitted on paying the trifling price of a little flour, for a new 
 supply of these consecrated wafers ; yet, to prevent a repetition of 
 similar nonsense, a law was established to protect all parties in 
 their forms of worship. 
 
 The diet of 1566 at length settled the pretensions of the Roman 
 Catholics, by passing a law, enacting that nobles were at liberty to 
 have clergy in their houses for performing divine service according 
 to any creed ; and also, that they might erect new churches for the 
 preaching of any doctrine, but maintain them at their own expense. 
 This opened up a rapid spread of the reformed churches in Poland ; 
 that in Cracow obtained the royal sanction for public worship. 
 Polish Prussia made greater advancement than any other pro-
 
 83 
 
 vince ; and in Livonia, in 1561, Romanism was entirely done away 
 with. 
 
 The diet of Lublin, in 1569, is remarkable in Polish history for 
 the final union of the two brotherly countries, and the common 
 privilege of equal rights, national institutions, and parliamentary 
 representations. At this time, the nobles of both countries 
 strongly petitioned the king to embi*ace Protestantism. 
 
 In the following year, the synod of Sandomir accomplished the 
 greatest act recorded in the annals of the Reformation. Astonished 
 Europe covered Poland with universal applause ; and perceived 
 that liberal education and a free constitution, bestowed upon an 
 enlightened people, is capable of uniting them to exhibit wonders. 
 
 The synod of Kozminek, in 1555, had effected the union of the 
 Bohemian and reformed churches. Next, the Helvetian church 
 adjoined itself, but now the long and hard obstinacy of the Luther- 
 ans was completely subdued. 
 
 It was nothing less than the Concensus SandomiriensiS) 
 or the UNION of the Helveto, Bohemian, and Lutheran 
 churches; that is, the union of all reformed doctrines in 
 Poland.* The fruit of the labours of great Laski. 
 
 This Sandomirian agreement was signed by nearly all the nobles 
 of Poland, and contained the names of the most influential 
 grandees. The triumph of the Reformation was at its zenith, — 
 it required only the public consent of a single individual, and 
 Poland would have been a Protestant kingdom, and that was the 
 consent of Slgismund Augustus. This magnificent agreement, al- 
 though proclaimed in the sixteenth century, ought to be in the 
 hands of evei'y Protestant of our age ; and should other European 
 reformers but follow the path pointed out to them by the reformers 
 of the Vistula, our nineteenth century would be illuminated by a 
 light sufficient to shine for twenty ages to come.f 
 
 * The anti-Trinitarians were excluded, 
 t This agreement is to be found botli in English and Latin, in Count Valerian 
 Krasinski's " Rise, Progress, and Fall of the lleforniation in Poland."
 
 84 
 
 Death prevented Sigismund Augustus from officially avowing his 
 Protestant belief. The last years of Sigismund's reign were very 
 unhappy, on account of his domestic troubles. His days were joy- 
 ful when he was united to Barbara Radziwill, the daughter of one 
 of the most influential grandees of Lithuania ; she was a Protestant 
 lady, of extreme beauty, goodness, and high accomplishment ; she 
 unfortunately, owing to the jealousy and villany of Bona, was, by 
 her, poisoned in 1551. To complete his misery, Bona intrigued 
 so long with the old monarch, that she prevailed upon him to marry 
 Cathrine of Austria, Dowager Duchess of Mantua, a Roman Ca- 
 tholic. 
 
 This seventh instance of woman's influence proved 
 not only injurious to the country, but affected 
 and destroyed the happiness of the Polish mo- 
 narch. Sigismund felt so unhappy under this 
 alliance, that he implored with tears the bishops 
 to divorce them; yet, the intrigues of Rome 
 and Vienna were so powerful and so alarming 
 to the cause of peace, that Sigismund submitted 
 to his evil destiny with much patience. It was this 
 alliance that prevented his becoming a Protes- 
 tant, and made his latter days miserable. 
 He died in 1572, and with him expired the line of the Jagiellos. 
 
 HERE POLAND BECAME AN ELECTIVE REPUBLIC. 
 
 The first elected French prince, Henry de Valois, a Roman Catholic, 
 and a deserter from the Polish crown, opened the way for Stephen 
 Batory, Duke of Transylvania, a great warrior, a wise monarch, and 
 a generous prince. One of the conditions of the Pacta Conventa
 
 85 
 
 was, that he should marry princess Anne, sister of Sigismund 
 Augustus, who was in the fifty-second year of her age. 
 
 This princess was a great patroness of the Jesuits ; 
 and her influence upon the Reformation (being 
 the eight instance) was very disastrous. The 
 introduction of the Jesuits to Poland, by Ba- 
 tory, was almost forced upon him by Queen 
 Anne, who endowed them with a splendid con- 
 vent, library, and estates, — and conferred upon 
 them all the benefits she possibly could. 
 The history of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, is 
 full of absurdity, — but still, an interesting picture of the character 
 of that people. The importance of Loyola's influence over the many 
 who became his followers, and theirs over the progress of the 
 Reformation, are sufficient reasons for introducing here a short 
 sketch of the singular belief, adopted from Ribadeneira's " Lives of 
 Saints." 
 
 Ignatius Loyola was a page of Ferdinand V., king of Spain, and 
 in 1521 a courageous soldier at the siege of Pampeluna, then held 
 by the French. Having had a leg bruised, he was honoured 
 with a visit from St Peter, who came on purpose to cure him. 
 After the saint departed, Loyola placed himself for many days 
 upon a kind of rack, and, with an iron engine, wrought violently to 
 stretch his leg, but not being able to extend it, he remained with his 
 right leg shorter than his left. In 1522, the Virgin Mary, holding 
 the infant Jesus in her arms, appeared to him in a vision. He then 
 determined upon making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and with only 
 one shoe, travelled to the hospital of St Lucy, at Mannesa. 
 From thence, in a canvas coat tied round with a cord, exhausting 
 his body, allowing his nails and the hair of his head and beard to 
 grow, sleeping always on the bare ground, scourging himself three 
 times a-day, and spending seven hours each day upon his knees, 
 begging his way from door to door, he went to Venice ; afterwards,
 
 86 
 
 in the same manner, to Cyprus, and from thence to Jerusalem. 
 Having there had some visions, he returned to Venice, and from 
 thence to Genoa, cutting down in his way a naan who had hung 
 himself, and by his prayers restoring him to life. While travelling 
 to France he was taken by the Spaniards, who thought him a fool. 
 He reached Paris in 1528, and in his thirty-third year began to learn 
 grammar and Latin. Having returned from Flanders and England 
 to Spain, he formed a fraternity under the name of the Fathers of 
 the Society of Jesus ; and with the two eldest of this fraternity 
 retired for forty days into a ruined and desolate hermitage, without 
 doors or windows, feeding upon loathsome food. From Spain he 
 went begging to Rome, where, by the Pope, he was created general 
 of the Jesuits. He had many visions, and once conceived that he 
 was visited by the whole Trinity. 
 
 Such was the man who became the founder of an order which 
 was the richest and most powerful of religious fraternities, and 
 which was the cause of banishing for a time the influence of the 
 Reformation, and literature itself, from Poland. 
 
 One of the order of the Jesuits, Canisius, was sent to Poland as 
 early as 1558, to establish a branch in that country. They had 
 already obtained a stronghold, under the reign of Stephen ; but the 
 long reign of Sigismund HI., from 1586 to 1632, gave them an 
 opportunity of gaining unlimited influence. Sigismund's third mar- 
 riage with two sisters, Roman Catholic Archduchesses of Austria, 
 his own obstinacy, extraordinary bigotry, superstition, and im- 
 becility, frustrated the best exertions of the learned of his sub- 
 jects. It was in his reign that the Jesuits gained a perfect sway 
 over the domestic proceedings of royalty and national affairs. The 
 Jesuits not being able to combat their religious opponents with fire, 
 sword, and massacre, adopted (piitc different means. The national 
 constitution, laws, power, and knowledge of the nobles, were beyond 
 their reach. Their long and well-planned hypocrisy, supported with 
 general knowledge, and good individual instruction, gained for them
 
 87 
 
 the favour of the king, and in a short time the superintendence of 
 certain schools, which was afterwards extended to all national insti- 
 tutions. This secured to the Jesuits the power of early influence 
 over the minds of youth, which they readily directed to their own 
 cause. This was done, — they threw themselves into the hands of 
 the peasantry, and by extremely well-managed policy gained their 
 confidence and support. No sooner was this accomplished than the 
 populaee broke out into violence, rioted against the infidels, burned 
 the churches, colleges, and mansions of the reformers ; and so long 
 and industriously was the plot in being arranged, that the symptoms 
 appeared simultaneously throughout the whole kingdom. In the 
 meantime, learned and artful arguments, for and against, were 
 secretly furnished by private agents to the different reformed sects, 
 in order to produce a polemical war, and throw the seeds of ad- 
 versity and enmity amongst the reformers, that thus the Jesuits 
 might have an opportunity of condemning their turbulence, the 
 boldness of their discussions, and their infidelity. The basest servi- 
 tude, and most unlimited humility was shown to the king and his 
 courtiers, who became the dupes of their hypocrisy and flattery. 
 Whilst under the show of an extraordinary invention, a learned 
 and clever impostor was planted at the king's side, who racked the 
 imbecile brain of Sigismund with the chemical pursuit of the phi- 
 losopher's stone. Under the pretence of patriotism and glory, the 
 Jesuits stirred up the minds of the nobility to support certain 
 Russian impostors, in order to involve the country in a war with 
 Russia. They next instigated Sigismund to fight for his hereditary 
 crown of Sweden ; then they wished him to change the Protestant 
 religion of the Swedes to Roman Catholicism; next they were for 
 persuading the bigoted nobles to Catholicize the Cossacks ; and 
 finally, they instigated the reformers to revolt. All this was done 
 to keep the nation in anarchy, confusion, and constant foreign 
 war, that they might take advantage of these disturbances, and 
 establish their dominion over all the schools, and over the ignorant
 
 88 
 
 peasantry, whom they rendered the greatest of fanatics. And so 
 it was, internal feuds, riots, foreign invasions, and loss of many 
 provinces, were the effects of the labours of the Jesuits. It was at 
 such an expense that Rome gained her superiority in Poland, where 
 Roman Catholicism was now established; but literature and the 
 fine arts were annihilated there, and the country was rapidly retro- 
 grading to barbarity, fanaticism, and ignorance. 
 
 In one half century from the commencement of the Reformation 
 Poland gloried in laws, literature, and fine arts, and boasted of 
 being placed in the van of European civilization, and moral and reli- 
 gious liberties ; but from the introduction of the Jesuits, another fifty 
 years scarcely elapsed, and Poland, affected as by the invisible hand 
 of destruction, was sinking under the difiiculties of external war 
 and internal confusion, that seemed to predict her ultimate fall and 
 debasement. Fortunately, however, for her, the wickedness of 
 the insolent order of Jesuits was discovered, — they were all ba- 
 nished, and Poland, in less than twenty years, was again making a 
 speedy progress in regaining her ancient glory, and restoring her 
 learned Institutions. 
 
 Her skies began to shine brightly over her reviving spirit ; but 
 another and a more dangerous order — that of perjury-crowned 
 conspirators, combined in one political plot — was preparing to give 
 that fatal blow which their treacherous and secretly armed forces 
 were ready to inflict upon the devoted land. Alas ! Poland strug- 
 gled in convulsive agony, for more than half a century, to oppose 
 her treble antagonists ; whilst losing her noblest blood, she 
 yielded to the overbearing and united hands of the foulest treachery ; 
 at last, with their glaves plunged in her afflicted bosom, she sunk 
 Into the grave ! Will she exist no more ? 
 
 Let all Christendom judge Christian Poland. Ambition, 
 pride, vanity, or fanaticism, arms in hands, were struggling to 
 change or abolish different creeds ; and when the gospel in other
 
 89 
 
 empires was floating in blood to the very altars of the nation, in 
 Poland religion wafted her flight from west to east, from south to 
 north, on the wings of pure and divine love, (being introduced 
 by the marriage of queens,) — love, whose only delightful and 
 soothing harmony and sweet power was proper to introduce the 
 more soothing, more sweet, and more powerful words of our Lord 
 and Saviour. 
 
 Here is to be noticed the superiokity of the Polish 
 nation over all others, for the ease with avhich she shook 
 off the yoke of idolatry, for the peacefulness with which 
 
 she accomplished her reformation, the protection and 
 
 toleration she offered to different religious creeds, and 
 for the steadiness and dignity with which she could pass 
 from one reform to another, and transform herself in 
 perfect peace and tranquillity. 
 
 M
 
 RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 " Since godly men decay, O Lord, 
 
 Do thou our cause defend ; 
 For scarce these wretched times afford 
 
 One just and faithful friend. 
 One neighbour now can scarce believe 
 
 What f other doth impart; 
 With flatt'ring lips they all deceive. 
 
 They all with double heart. 
 
 " But lips that with deceit abound 
 
 Can never prosper long ; 
 God's righteous vengeance will confound 
 
 The proud blaspheming tongue. 
 Then shall the wicked be perplex'd. 
 
 Nor know which way to fly ; 
 When those whom they despised and vex'd 
 
 Shall be advanced on high." — Psalm xii. 
 
 Such is a short liistory of ecclesiastical affairs in Poland; and 
 no one can deny that it may serve as an example to other nations, 
 and indicate how much of reason and steadfastness of principle re- 
 quisite in the direction of religious proceedings the Poles displayed; 
 yet, that unfortunate land was not destined to enjoy the fruits of 
 the wisdom and right judgment of its brave sons.
 
 91 
 
 The facts to be hereafter detailed, and which have beeen derived 
 from good sources, will give an idea of Russia's policy, which 
 pursued a similar line of conduct in religious, as in political 
 proceedings. Slow, masked, and full of false pretences, her steps 
 were always directed to overthrow and annihilate the independence 
 and existence of a neighbouring nation, whose name alone is a 
 dreadful spell to the ear of the tyrant. But let these facts speak 
 for themselves, — and they cannot but awaken feelings of the utmost 
 indignation, not only in the breasts of all lovers of justice, liberty, 
 and freedom, and of all who inculcate the dignity and the duty 
 of an enlightened man; but even those who, indifferent to what 
 may be the lot of humanity or nations, would not suffer to see the 
 malicious hand of destruction aiming to destroy that most sacred 
 privilege — ^the religion of our fatherland. 
 
 The ultimate aim of Russia is to retard the progress of civiliza- 
 tion and knowledge, — to retrograde the advancement of righteous 
 freedom and liberty ; and she has resolved, at every risk, to lay 
 herself down as an impregnable barrier to the march of intellect, 
 and to check its advancement from Western Europe she plunges 
 the whole of the East into the most distressing misery, and loads 
 it with the disgraceful chains of slavery, superstition, and 
 ignorance. 
 
 Russia is divided into three religious sects : Oriental- Greek, 
 Catholic- Greek, and Russo- Greek churches. Their differences 
 are as follow : — In the year 1439? in order to settle some differ- 
 ences which had arisen, the union of the two churches, that is, the 
 Eastern and Western, was finally decreed at the Council of 
 Florence. The Polish provinces of Gallicia, of the Ukraine, of 
 Volhynia, Kijov, and Witepsk, submitting cheerfully to the union, 
 acknowledged the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, professed the 
 same doctrine, and practised nearly the same ceremonies, — preserv- 
 ing, however, their ancient liturgy, rites, and a great part of their 
 ceremonies; and had also, as before, their metropolitan at Kijov, and
 
 92 
 
 their patriarchs at Constantinople ; and styled themselves, United- 
 Greeks, or Catholic-Greeks. 
 
 Basil III., duke of Moscow, rejecting' the union at Florence from 
 political motives, appointed, by his sole will, Jonas to the metro- 
 politanship of Moscow, and supported the designs of ambitious 
 Mark, bishop of Ephesus. The Czar then persecuted bitterly all 
 those who adhered to the union, or dared to oppose his despotic 
 will. The Moscovite Czars acknowledged the spiritual autho- 
 rity of the partriarch, until the time of Peter the Great, who, 
 in 1702, abolished the metropolitanship of Moscow, and declared 
 himself and his successors (not without numerous victims) the head 
 of the church. He overturned the clerical orders, completely 
 changed the discipline of the Eastern Church, and converted the 
 ecclesiastical establishment into a mere Government iiistitution, or 
 JRusso-Greek church, which denies the existence of the Trinity, and 
 is immersed in the most frightful ignorance with respect to Chris- 
 tian doctrines. All the Russo-Greek, or schismatic clergymen, are 
 subjected, as well as persons holding government situations, to the 
 gradations of military rank ; for example, a parish clergyman holds 
 the rank of a captain of the army, and forming a part of the whole 
 barbarous Russian army, are thus mere expounders of the Czar's 
 ukazes, instead of the ordinances of Christianity. 
 
 The third sect of Oriental-Greeks differs in worshipping their 
 images from either of the two preceding churches. 
 
 It is against the professors of the United-Greek, or Catholic- 
 Gi'eek religion, that the rulers of Moscovy direct every scheme, 
 in order to transform them, if possible, into Russo-Greeks, and thus 
 to denationalize Poland, by bringing her immediately under their 
 despotism and power. 
 
 According to the constitutional laws of Poland, every one in that 
 country was allowed the free exercise of his religion; numbers, 
 therefore, flocked to it from Moscovy, in order to escape the tortures 
 exercised on them by Peter the Great, and by the Empress Anne,
 
 93 
 
 in 1734. Of these refugees, some followed the United-Greek per- 
 suasion, others the Oriental, which counted also many adher- 
 ents among the people who resided on the frontiers of Lithuania. 
 The Empress Anne, in order to punish the Poles for the reception 
 which they gave to her fugitive subjects, made a midnight incursion 
 into the Polish territories, in spite of the treaty of Polonna, and 
 of the peace which then existed between the two countries. Her 
 barbarous troops spared neither age nor sex, — plundered and burned 
 the sacred edifices, — and carried off to the heart of Moscovy forty 
 thousand of the popvdation, among whom wore crowds of United- 
 Greek clergymen. 
 
 Soon, however, the ravaged frontiers of Lithuania were repeopled 
 by the Latins and United-Greeks, and the religious buildings 
 re-erected, — the Polish provinces became a second time the asy- 
 lum of the persecuted subjects of the Czarina, and a second time 
 the scene of Moscovite treachery and violence. Catharine 11., 
 after having contrived to maintain her troops in Poland, repeated 
 in 1764 the sanguinary events of 1734, and caused twenty thousand 
 of the inhabitants to be transported to Siberia — directing all her 
 hatred and fury against the clerical and monastic orders. The 
 number of monks and nuns who were killed or carried off, amounted 
 to twelve hundred. 
 
 The Moscovite cabinet contrived afterwards to foment religious 
 differences In Poland, in order that, under the pretext of interfer- 
 ence, they might grasp at something. First, they raised commotions 
 among the Polish Cossacks, (Zaporozce,) by bribing their leaders, 
 Doroszenki and Timnenkl. They were followers of the Eastern- 
 Greek persuasion, and were easily excited by the tools of Moscow 
 against the United-Greeks. In order to further its schemes, two 
 Archimandrites were sent as emissaries, who secretly raised quar- 
 rels between the Cossacks and the United-Greeks. These emissaries, 
 whose residences were fixed at KIjov and Mohllew, persuaded the 
 unsuspecting Cossacks to place themselves and their creed under
 
 94 
 
 the protection of the Empress Catharine, who soon inundated their 
 country -with Moscovlte troops, and took possession of It. 
 These soldiers, aided by the Oriental- Greeks, suddenly Invaded 
 the habitations of the United-Greek professors, and committed the 
 most horrible excesses, particularly at Zwinogrodek, Lessianka, 
 and Olchowiec. One hundred and ninety churches, with several 
 villages, were taken from the United-Greek persuasion, and 
 either bestowed on the Russo- Greeks, or converted into barracks. 
 These events happened in 1775. 
 
 Having thus formed Moscovite churches in Lithuania, the two 
 bribed einissaHes endeavoured now to sow the seeds of animosity 
 in different parts of Lithuania, between the United-Greeks and 
 those of the Latin creed. In order to succeed better in their 
 schemes, they bribed numbers of Russian markietans, (petty mer- 
 chants, who travel from place to place,) to propagate a report 
 that the Latins were preparing, by forcible means, to incorporate 
 with their church that of the United-Greeks. In the meantime, 
 they wrote able annonymous phamphlets, one pro, another con, 
 and diligently circulated them. Then they sent emissaries among 
 the United- Greeks, to persuade them to place themselves under 
 the protection of the Empress Catharine, and to stir them up 
 against Catholics, — almost all land proprietors belonging to the 
 higher classes, whilst the United-Greeks were of the humbler class 
 of society. These circumstances, cunningly conducted by the two 
 intriguing Archimandrites, were the Instruments of creating fresh 
 differences. 
 
 During these intrigues, many clergymen of the Latin and Greek 
 churches were massacred, and their sacred edifices burned to 
 the ground. A full account of those excesses Is preserved in the 
 British Museum, London, and can be found in the annexa to the 
 report of the commissioners who were appointed by the diet In 
 1790, to examine the causes of the disturbances in the Ukraine, in 
 Volhynia, and in Kijov. With those annexa are also given the
 
 95 
 
 pamphlets, written by the two emissaries of the Empress, as well 
 as her ukazes ; all these were found on the person of one of the 
 emissaries, when he was captured by the commissioners. 
 
 Notwithstanding the intrigues of the Empress and her two 
 bribed agents, the United-Greeks maintained a close union with 
 their brother Catholics, often officiated in the absence of each 
 other, and frequently educated in the same seminaries. 
 
 Such was the state of the United-Greeks, when a bold stroke was 
 made by Russia, and the United- Greek seminary was shut up at 
 Wilna, in 1807, by the ukaze of Emperor Alexander. After the 
 Czar Nicholas had usurped the throne of Poland, he discovered 
 that the rebuilt United- Greek seminary at Wilna, formed between 
 them and the Latins a union too strong and too patriotic to suit his 
 treacherous schemes; he therefore issued an ukaze in 1827, by 
 which he ordered the United-Greeks to be removed from that 
 seminary, in spite of their earnest requests for permission to 
 remain. The most gracious Czar was then graciously pleased 
 (not to make his schemes too evident) to establish a seminary at 
 Polock, which has been taken by him under his especial care and 
 protection ; — he appoints the professors therein, prescribes the plan 
 of education, and thus turns the seminary into a mere nursery of 
 future tools and servile dependants. The Czar took on himself to 
 abolish and destroy the order of Saint Basil, which presented 
 the greatest obstacle to his scheme of incorporating the United- 
 Greek church with the Moscovite one, giving always to the Greek 
 secular clergy most zealous bishops, distinguished for their learning 
 and patriotism. From this order the Czar has taken many monas- 
 teries and other edifices, with their funds, as at Zurowica, Polock, 
 Wilna, Winica, Podubis, &c. 
 
 All kinds of means are employed to gain over to the Moscovite 
 church the United-Greek clergy, such as exemption from the pay- 
 ment of taxes ; but when bribes and threats do not succeed, other 
 schemes are adopted. One is to employ some servile dependants
 
 96 
 
 of the Moscovite court to vamp up a petition to the Czar, express- 
 ing, in the name of a whole parish, a desire to embrace the Russo- 
 Greek religion. Immediately an official document appears, stating 
 that the Emperor is graciously pleased to grant the prayer 
 of the petitioners, and the authorities are then informed that 
 the parish voluntarily adopted the Moscovite creed. On the next 
 Sunday, the parish church is filled with Moscovite soldiers, who 
 immediately seize on those who refuse to profit by the Emperor's 
 condescension. The United- Greek priests are next fcbidden to 
 administer the sacraments in that parish, which has been so benefi- 
 cially enlightened, and so suddenly converted to the true religion — 
 established by pious (?) Peter the Great, and apostolic Catharine II. 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of the persecutions endured by the United- 
 Greek clergy. 
 
 After the three first partitions were executed in Poland in 1772, 
 1793, and 1795, the cabinet of St Petersburgh, after having ac- 
 complished its treacherous designs, adopted the most speedy and 
 efficacious way of destroying the nationality of Poland, by uprooting 
 the religion, language, institutions, and customs of the people. In 
 this it is followed by Prussia and Austria, except that the latter 
 allows the Poles the free exercise of their religion. But though 
 these two despotic powers have no recourse to such open and 
 violent measures for effecting the denationalization of Poland as 
 Russia adopts, it may be doubted whether their wicked policy will 
 not prove to be, in the long run, more fatal to Poland than even 
 the cruel and undisguised plans of their more reckless associate. 
 
 The principal measures adopted by Prussia to denationalize its 
 portion of Poland, are these : The funds of religious and charitable 
 institutions are made over to Prussian adventurers ; the Poles are 
 excluded from almost all offices of trust and emolument ; the use of 
 the Polish language is forbidden in government and police offices ; 
 finally, the right of commerce is confined to Prussians. 
 
 Now, in Russia, the first attempt to uproot the religion of the
 
 97 
 
 Polish people, was made in those provinces called governments, which 
 are incoi'porated with Russia, viz., Witepsk, Mohilew, Kijov, Podolia, 
 Volhynia, Grodziensk, Minsk, Wilna, Biaslystok, and which are 
 distinct from the eight Voyvodships, known now under the 
 name of the kingdom of Poland. The persecution began first 
 against the spiritual teachers of the people — particularly against 
 the Jesuits. As this body was unpopular, for political reasons, 
 with the great mass of the nation, the Russian government, in order 
 to bring it into general odium, issued anonymous but ably written 
 pamphlets, where many falsehoods concerning the Jesuits were 
 sedulously propagated. This was followed up by the ukazes of 
 the emperors Paid and Alexander, which deprived the Jesuits of 
 the funds belonging to the churches and colleges; these funds, 
 however, and edifices were to be devoted, according to a solemn 
 declaration in these edicts, to the purposes of national education, 
 and the use of the national religion. But was this solemn promise 
 fulfilled ? No : the Czar Nicholas seized, in 1 825, by way of a loan, 
 on three millions of roubles, part of the funds of the Jesuits, which 
 he took care never to repay. As for the churches and colleges 
 belonging to the same religious order, some of them were destroyed, 
 as in Riga, Wende, Orsza, Dorpat, Polock, Smolensk, Poszawsze, 
 and Kroze, while others, as in Minsk, Witepsk, Kijov, Wilna, and 
 Nieswierz, were given to followers of the Russo-Greek religion, 
 although this latter sect had already more places of worship than 
 it needed. 
 
 Having succeeded in sequestering the funds of the Jesuits, and 
 in destroying their churches and colleges, the Russian cabinet now 
 commenced, in the provinces before mentioned, a systematic perse- 
 cution of the monastic orders, who were generally esteemed on 
 account of their zeal in promoting the moral improvement of the 
 people, and in undertaking the gratuitous education of children. 
 These monastic orders were also distinguished for their enlightened 
 patriotism, their opposition to Russian tyranny, their charity and 
 
 N
 
 98 
 
 hospitality. The cabinet of St Petersburgh oleai-ly perceived, there- 
 fore, that one of the readiest ways to effect the demoralization of 
 the people, and to destroy their nationality, would be to suppress 
 these influential establishments. And how did Russia accomplish 
 its wicked and unchristian schemes against religion, social improve- 
 ment, and education ? First, the Emperor Alexander sent forth 
 an ukaze in 1823, by which all persons were 23rohibited from en- 
 tering into the monastic state without the express permission of the 
 minister of religious worship, a mere minion of the Russian court, 
 and a man without any ideas of religion. It will be readily enough 
 conceived, that very few, if any, would be allowed by such an indivi- 
 dual to embrace a monastic life. The iniquity and cunning of the 
 Petersburgh court were farther developed in 1 829, when the Czar 
 Nicholas issued an ukaze^ by which all monasteries were to be sup- 
 pressed that had not twelve inmates. A commission, composed of 
 Russians, atheists, and members of the Schismatic-Greek Church,* 
 all mere Instruments of Nicholas, was appointed at the same time to 
 examine the state of the monasteries, and report the number of 
 their inmates. This commission had full power to take possession 
 of the funds and property of all monastic orders which were com- 
 posed of less than twelve members, — a power which it exercised in 
 a most arbitrary manner. In 1832, the impious designs of Russia 
 were at last accomplished, the monasteries were shut up, and the 
 people deprived of some of their best, and, in many places, their 
 only instructors. This was effected by the ukaze of the above 
 year, whereby the Czar appointed a second commission to visit the 
 monasteries, as he well knew that scarcely one of them had the 
 requisite number of members, and for these good reasons, viz., that 
 no one had been allowed, for several years, to embrace a monastic 
 life, and that many of the inmates of the monasteries had died, or 
 
 * The term " Schismatic" is used here in contradistinction to the orthodox- 
 Greek persuasion, from wliich the Russians separated at the time of Peter the 
 Great, wlio first denied the authority of the patriarch, and made himself the 
 PI)iritual head of the Greek Churcli.
 
 99 
 
 been imprisoned or banished, since the last revolution in 1831. 
 About one hundred monasteries were abolished in this year, the 
 principal ones of which were in Rossienie, Winnica, Podubis, 
 Kowno, Wilna, Minsk, and Witepsk. All the surviving members 
 of the various suppressed monasteries were forcibly conveyed by 
 rude Russian soldiers to Wilna, Calvaria, and other places. Many 
 of these monks were decriped through age, and others in a 
 dying state ; yet they were all treated with the utmost barbarity by 
 the heartless Russians. 
 
 After having suppressed the Jesuits and the monastic orders, 
 the Petersburg!! cabinet now directed all its violence and hatred 
 against the secular clergy. By an ukaze of the Emperor Alexander, 
 in 1824, no candidate for the priesthood was to be received into 
 the seminaries, who was not provided with a certificate of nobility. 
 At the same time the treacherous Czar considerably reduced, by 
 fresh ordinances, the number of nobles, and contrived that no cer- 
 tificate of nobility should be granted without great expense and 
 immense trouble to the applicant. In 1826, an ukaze appeared, 
 which prohibited the reparing of decayed churches ; and on the 
 19th of October, in the same year, another edict was published 
 against the building of new ones. Two distinguished noblemen of 
 Podolia, named Kolinski and Moskowski, who transgressed this im- 
 pious ordinance, had their estates confiscated, by virtue of an ukaze 
 which appeared on the 5th of November, 1 832. Previous to this 
 last mentioned date, an ukaze had been issued, by which all clergy- 
 men in the province incorporated with Russia, were to be rigo- 
 rously examined as to their conduct during the late insurrection, — 
 first, by a kind of police, called assessors (assessorowie,) and after- 
 wards by a military commission. Large sums of money were 
 extorted from the accused clergymen by the former body, who, 
 notwithstanding, frequently betrayed them afterwards to the mili- 
 tary commission, who ordered, after the reception of rich gifts, 
 many of the clergymen to be shot; others were imprisoned, and
 
 100 
 
 numbers sent to Siberia, either as common soldiers or as 
 workers in the mines. In one diocese alone of Samogitia, no less 
 than three hundred of them were barbarously imprisoned. By the 
 ukaze above mentioned, of the 5th of November, 1832, bishops 
 were forbidden to nominate any parish priest, chaplain, or vicar, 
 without the sanction of the Russian government. In order to ob- 
 tain this santion, candidates for the clerical office were required to 
 be presented by the magistrates and governors of provinces, who, 
 of course, were mere tools of the Czar, and took care to recommend 
 only individuals that were ready to carry out into practice the slavish 
 principles of the court of St Petersburgh. Innumei*able abuses 
 have been introduced into the clerical orders by means of this 
 shocking ukaze, and persons have, in many cases, been nominated 
 to the sacred office of the priesthood, who were totally unfit for it 
 by the irregularity of their lives, and by their want of the necessary 
 education. 
 
 Amongst these persons, it will suffice to point out particularly two 
 individuals : one was named Rupeyko, of the village of Szadon, who 
 was long employed as a Russian spy, and who was appointed to the 
 office of a canon by order of the Petersburgh court, in opposition 
 to the chapter of Samogitia. He was a man of immoral manners, 
 and gross ignorance in all that related to the important situation 
 he was called to fill. The other individual was named Simon 
 Giedrojc, who, despised by his countrymen, had lived for many 
 years at St Petersburgh, where he also remained during the struggle 
 of 1831. This man was appointed, after its unsuccessful termina- 
 tion, to the bishopric of Samogitia by the Czar, who ordered him to 
 use every means in his power to bring the Poles to obedience. 
 This bishop, on his arrival in Samogitia, immediately put forth 
 most treacherous and false statements to the people of the diocese, 
 Avherein he extolled the goodness of the Czar, and condemned alto- 
 gether the late attempt at revolution. But what renders the ap- 
 pointment of this man more illegal and revolting is the fact, that
 
 101 
 
 the Czar was obliged to remove the lawful bishop from his diocese, 
 in order to mahe room for Giedrojc. The venerable prelate, whose 
 place was so usurped by this tool of Russia, was universally be- 
 loved and esteemed, and was as much distinguished for his patriotism 
 as for his unaffected piety and amiable manners. Other virtuous 
 and truly patriotic bishops, have also been removed by the Czar 
 from their beloved flocks, in order to make room for "ravenous 
 wolves." Among these deposed prelates were Krzyzanowski, of 
 Samogitia ; Szczyt, administrator of the diocese of Mohllew ; 
 Buthak, bishop of Wilna, and many others. 
 
 After diminishing the number of clergymen and parish churches, 
 — after having deposed, by his sole authority, many venerable and 
 patriotic bishops, the Czar now thought it high time to turn his 
 hand against the ecclesiastical seminaries, and to obstruct the edu- 
 cation of youth for the clerical functions. He therefore placed all 
 colleges and seminaries under the inspection of the minister of 
 public instruction, who, according to the information given him by 
 his spies, removed or imprisoned the professors. This official per- 
 sonage had also strict orders to allow no priest or professor to 
 explain the difference between the Latin and Russo- Greek churches, 
 — to answer the objections and calumnies which the Czar's crea- 
 tures were unremittingly propagating against the Catholic tenets, — 
 finally, to recommend, much less to print, any books which showed 
 on what points the Latin and Greek churches differed or agreed. 
 
 In order to transform, if possible, all the bishops and inferior 
 clergy into willing tools of his arbitrary will, the Czar has resolved 
 to pay them certain salaries from the proceeds of the sale of reli- 
 gious property. He has already formed at St Petersburgh a consis- 
 tory, under the title of Collegium Justitice, which is composed of 
 men whom he has purchased by honours and riches; and who, as 
 a body, have neither morals nor religion ; — and when it happens 
 that a patriotic, virtuous, and high-minded ecclesiastic Is dejjuted 
 by any chapter in Lithuania to represent It in this consistory, he
 
 102 
 
 is very soon dismissed, and sometimes imprisoned,* deprived of his 
 benefice, or banished to Siberia. By means of this Collegium Jus- 
 titia;, the Emperor Nicholas is really the head of the Catholic 
 Chm'ch in Poland, as he is already of the Russo- Greek over 
 all the Russian empire. Through this consistory, he has ordered 
 that no priest be allowed to solemnise mixed marriages, or bap- 
 tize children of parents who differ in religious tenets, even although 
 both request him to perform the ceremony. A brief glance at 
 the origin of this slavish court, will show, in their strongest light, 
 the cunning and iniquity of the Czar. It has always beeen one of 
 his principal plans of policy, to endeavour to uproot in the Polish 
 provinces, if possible, every species of religion except that of the 
 Russo- Greek church. He saw well that he could never accom- 
 plish by force his tyrannous and unchristian designs ; he therefore 
 had recourse to hypocritical means, and accordingly established 
 this Collegium, for the interest, as he treacherously declared, of the 
 national religion, and for the benefit of its members. He pi'ofessed 
 to give full power to the chapters to elect any persons whom they 
 thought fit as members of the College ; but we have seen, in the 
 individual cases already quoted, how the Czar treated such of their 
 representatives as had the patriotic courage to oppose his schemes? 
 and the honour and virtue to resist his bribes. The consequence 
 is, that the elective chapters, all of whom the Czar is now endea- 
 vouring to compose of his own creatures, scarcely make an effort 
 to oppose his nominees, well knowing, in the first place, that it 
 would be useless, and that they would be only presenting to the ruth- 
 less tyrant another victim in the person of a worthy and esteemed 
 representative. Besides, the Czar, in his paternal solicitude for 
 the interests of the national religion, fixed the residence of this same 
 immaculate court, not in any of the Polish provinces, but under his 
 own august protection at St Petersburgh, a distance of about a tliou- 
 sand miles. He appointed as secretary to this Collegium, one of his 
 * As Szczj't, Krzyzanowski, and Wojtkiewicz.
 
 103 
 
 most ready instruments, a certain Count Zawadowski, who was, 
 moreover, of the Schismatic- Greek persuasion. This worthy per- 
 sonage would, of course, do all in his power to preserve the national 
 religion intact. Accordingly, it was found that he had been 
 writing, by the connivance of the Collegium, a series of the falsest 
 statements to the See of Rome, concerning the patriotic Polish 
 priests; it was found, also, that he had, by orders of the St Peters- 
 burgh court, often altered the letters received in answer from the 
 Roman Pontiflf, so that they might be made to suit the Emperor's 
 views, and to induce some unsuspecting and patriotic clergymen to 
 believe that their conduct was highly culpable in the eyes of their 
 supi'eme head. This 7'use, however, succeeded with few priests, as 
 the majority were well aware of the lying treachery of the Peters - 
 burgh court, and besides, attached no weight whatever to the re- 
 monstrances or interference of the Pope in temporal matters, even 
 if they believed the declarations of the Collegium to be founded on 
 truth. This secretary has even gone so far as to forge letters from 
 Rome, by which the priests are threatened with suspension, unless 
 they endeavour to persuade the people to pay blind obedience to 
 the Czar, and money to the Pope ; for there is not the least doubt 
 that the latter is not only perfectly well acquainted with all the 
 enormities and abuses of his church in Poland, but has a consider- 
 able share of it handed to him by Russia. So poor Poland is now 
 under the double iron sceptres of Czar and Pope ; and whilst the 
 Archdeacon of Christ at St Petersburgh, by confiscation and im- 
 prisonment, deprives her sons of earth, the Archdeacon of Christ 
 at Rome, by excommunication, deprives them of heaven. 
 
 Nicholas, in endeavouring to uproot the Catholic religion in 
 Poland, is not actuated by the desire of implanting therein another 
 one, which he conscientiously believes to be better. Were such 
 the case, he might possibly find, in other countries, some advocates 
 of his policy, provided, however, it was conducted with Christian 
 forbearance and paternal charity. But how stands the case ? He
 
 104 
 
 shuts up numbers of parish churches and schools, but he does not 
 open others ; he removes hundreds of pious clergymen, but he 
 does not send fit pastors in their places ; in fine, he is evidently 
 striving with all his force to demoralize, in order afterwards 
 to denationalize, the Polish people, and keep them in lasting 
 despotism. 
 
 By an ukaze in 1831, priests are forbidden to baptize Catholic 
 children after the expiration of twenty-four hours from their birth ; 
 now, as churches are destroyed in many parishes, and the priests re- 
 moved therefrom, this iniquitous order successfully accomplishes the 
 wicked intents of its framer. Besides, by another ukaze of the 
 same year, the people are prohibited from going from one parish 
 to another without the permission of the commandant of the dis- 
 trict, who has orders not to grant the privilege for any religious 
 purposes. By the first mentioned ukaze, it is ordered that any 
 priest who shall baptize a child after the above stated time, shall 
 be imprisoned and fined for the first offence, and be sent to Siberia 
 for the second. There are hundreds of priests now pining in those 
 mines, who choose rather to endure a punishment worse than death, 
 than refuse to perform any portion of their holy office, when re- 
 quired to do so. Some clergymen, however, who do not really 
 disobey this ukaze, are falsely accused by the Russian spies, and 
 hurried away by night to Siberia, without being confronted with 
 their accusers, and without even the mockery of a trial; but their 
 churches are wanted for those appointed by the Russian government, 
 and that is sufficient. 
 
 Such is the present deplorable state of religion in Poland, and 
 such the position of her pious clergy, and the condition of her 
 falling churches. And how long will the Northern Nero continue 
 to follow his guilty path with impunity ? The blood which he has 
 shed beside the altars of Poland, and her clergy who are still af- 
 flicted by his atrocities, cry aloud for vengeance. Will not 
 Christendom now raise the arm of retribution, and stay the daring
 
 105 
 
 and dark career of the one mortal who has so long heen Its terror, 
 and its disgrace? 
 
 God! is there not some peculiar curse — some hidden thunder, 
 red with dreadful wrath, in the stores of mighty heaven, to over- 
 power the man who culls his pleasures from the ashes of nations 
 he has ruined ? O Thou Almighty Power, who rulest above, 
 and takest cognizance of all our actions, how great is thy long 
 suffering! How wonderful that thou dost not rend yonder 
 spangled canopy, and, clothed in thy robes of awful majesty, de- 
 scend, or send forth the ministers of thy wrath, — that thou dost 
 not hui'l the thunder of thy vengeance, with all the fury of eni'aged 
 Omnipotence, on that guilty race ; and sink into the bottomless sea, 
 the very land which gave birth to such oppressors, — that, from the 
 awful scene of such a gloomy catastrophe, other nations may take 
 warning, and shun the path of guilt. 
 
 Why hast thou cast us down, O God ? 
 
 Shall we no more return ? 
 O ! why against thy virtuous flock 
 
 Does thy fierce anger burn ? 
 
 O come and view our ruined state, 
 
 IIow long our troubles last ! 
 See how the foe, with wicked rage, 
 
 Has laid thy temple wastp.* 
 
 How they blaspheme thy name, where late 
 
 Thy zealous servants pray'd ; 
 And now they there, with haughty pomp, 
 
 Their banners have display'd.t 
 
 * A church in Praga burned by the Russians, 
 t Several churches in Warsaw and Poland were changed into Russian barracks.
 
 106 
 
 Those curious carvings, which did once 
 
 Advance the artist's fame," 
 "With axe and hammer they destroy, 
 
 Like ■Nvorks of vulgar frame. 
 
 Thy holy temple they have burned, t 
 
 And what escap'd the flame 
 Has been profan'd and quite defac'd,t 
 
 Though sacred to thy name. 
 
 Thy worship wholly to destroy, 
 
 ISIaliciously they aim;ll 
 And all the sacred places burn, 
 
 "Where we thy praise proclaim. 
 
 Yet of thy presence thou vouchsaf'st. 
 
 No tender signs^to send ; 
 "We have no prophet now, that knows 
 
 "When this sad state shall end. 
 
 And Lord, how long wilt thou permit 
 
 Th' insulting foe to boast ? 
 Shall all the honour of thy name 
 
 For evermore be lost ? 
 
 AVhy hold'st thou back thy strong right hand. 
 
 And on thy patient breast, 
 When vengeance calls to stretch it forth, 
 
 So calmly let'st it rest ? 
 
 ' A splendid chapel in the Royal Castle, at "Warsaw, destroyed, — the monu- 
 ments and tombs of kings, statue of Copernicus, and that of Prince Poniatowski, 
 taken to St Petersburgh : the latter iidentionally destroyed on its way. 
 
 t The church of Wola destroyed by fire, by the Kussian artillery, during the 
 siege of Warsaw. 
 
 X Tlie Polish general of artillery, Sowinski, who defended it, murdered at the 
 Great Altar, with many Polish officers and soldiers, who sought refuge in the 
 church from the infuriated Russians. 
 
 11 One of the finest churches in Warsaw Piiary, and several in other towns, 
 converted into Greek cliapels, — upwards of ;50()0 young children, forcibly taken 
 away from AVarsaw, from their parents and homes, and carried into the middle of 
 Russia, — their names changed into Russian — are now brought up in a Greek 
 creed.
 
 107 
 
 Remember, Lord, how scornful foes 
 Have daily urged our shame ; 
 
 And how the foolish Russians have 
 Blasphemed thy holy name." 
 
 Thy ancient cov'nant, Lord, regard, 
 And make thy promise good ;t 
 
 For now each corner of our land 
 Is wet with Polish blood. 
 
 Arise, O God, in our behalf, 
 Thy cause and ours maintain ; 
 
 Remember how the mad Czar's tools, 
 Each day thy name profane. 
 
 Make thou the boasting of our foes 
 
 For evermore to cease. 
 Whose insolence, if unchastis'd, 
 
 "Will more and more increase. t 
 
 • After the Empress Catharine died, the Russo- Greek bishops placed in her 
 coffin a passport to heaven, with all its signatures and seals. It is still preserved 
 in the British Museum. Russian clergy explained in their churches that there 
 are two powers, one in heaven — God, to whom belongs the souls of men ; another 
 on earth — Nicholas, to whom belongs their bodies. 
 
 t " What belongs to God give to God, and what to kings give to kiiigs" — to 
 the righteous Polish king and his people, therefore, belongs Poland. 
 
 t Circassia.
 
 RELIGIOUS ANECDOTES. 
 
 1. Nicholas Kadziwill, Grand Chancellor and Grand General of 
 Lithuania, and Voyvode of Vilna, and one of the richest and most 
 influential nobleman in Poland, was the leader of the reformed 
 party. One of his descendants being' extremely sorry that some of 
 his relatives had abandoned the Romish church, went to Rome, and 
 paid all imaginable honour to the Pope, who acknowledged his 
 fidelity by the present of a box filled with relics. When he re- 
 turned to his country the fame of these relics spread abroad, and 
 some friars came and told him that a man was possessed by a devil, 
 who had been exorcised to no purpose ; they therefore besought 
 him, for the sake of that unhappy wretch, to lend them the precious 
 relics which he had brought from Rome. This was readily 
 granted, and the relics were carried to church in solemn proces- 
 sion. They were deposited on the altar, and on the appointed day 
 the experiment was made in the presence of a large multitude. It 
 succeeded perfectly well ; for as soon as the relics were applied, 
 the evil spirit left the body of the man, with the usual postures and 
 grimaces. Every one cried out, "a miracle !" and Radzlwlll lifted up 
 his hands and eyes to heaven, to return thanks for his having 
 brought so holy a thing, which performed such miracles. Some 
 days afterwards, when he was in that admiration and transport of 
 joy, and bestowing the greatest culogiunis on the virtue of these 
 relics, he observed that a young gentleman of his household, who
 
 109 
 
 had the keeping of that treasure, began to smiie, and make certain 
 gestures, which showed that he was laughing at his words. Rad- 
 ziwill flew into a passion, and would know the reason of his derision- 
 A promise being made to this gentleman that no harm should be 
 done to him, he declared, that on their return from Rome, he had 
 lost the box with the relics entrusted to his care ; and that for fear 
 of being punished for his neglect, he had got another box similar 
 to that which had been lost, and filled it with little bones of some 
 animals ; and that therefore he could not help laughing, seeing the 
 virtues ascribed to it. Radziwill, wishing to ascertain the reality 
 of that imposture, sent for the monks, and desired them to inquire 
 whether there were no more demoniacs who wanted the assistance 
 of his relics. After a few days, they brought him another man 
 possessed by the evil spirit, who made extraordinary contortions. 
 Radziwill ordered them to pei'form in his presence the ordinary 
 exorcisms ; but which, having proved ineffectual, he sent away the 
 monks, and ordered the demoniac to remain in his own house. 
 When the priests were gone, Radziwill put the demoniac into the 
 hands of his Tartar grooms, who exhorted him to confess the im- 
 posture ; and, when he persisted in making his furious gestures, 
 they imposed on him a severe castigation with rods and scourges ; 
 the wretch confessed his imposture — and that he never was pos- 
 sessed, but only forced by the monks to play such a part. Radzi- 
 will sent for the monks, who at first implored him not to believe the 
 man's expression, because it was the devil who spoke by his mouth ; 
 but Radziwill answered, that if his Tartars were able to make the 
 devil speak the truth, they would be able to extort it from the 
 friars. The monks were forced to confess their imposture, but ex- 
 cused themselves by pretending that they had done all this with a 
 good intention, and in order to check the progress of heresy. These 
 pious frauds raised great doubts in Radziwill's mind about the 
 truth of a religion defended by such means, and he began to study 
 the scriptures. After six month spent in reading and prayer, he
 
 no 
 
 publicly embraced the Protestant religion, with all his family — 
 V. Krasinski's Reformation. 
 
 2. In the celebrated cathedral of St Peter and Paul at Kome, 
 within the inside of the cathedi'al, at the extremity of the great 
 nave behind the altar, and mounted upon a tribune, designed or 
 ornamented by Michael Angelo, stands a sort of throne, composed 
 of precious materials, and supported by four gigantic figures. A 
 glory of seraphim, with groups of angels, sheds a brilliant light 
 upon its splendours. This throne enshrines the real, plain, worm- 
 eaten wooden chair, on which St Peter, the prince of the apostles, 
 is said to have pontificated ; more precious than all the bronze, 
 gold, and gems, with which it is hidden, not only from impious, but 
 from holy eyes, and which once only, in the flight of ages, was pro- 
 faned by mortal inspection. The sacrilegious curiosity of the 
 French, during the invasion of Napoleon, broke through all obsta- 
 cles to their seeing the chair of St Peter. They actually removed 
 its superb casket, and discovered the relic. Upon its mouldering 
 and dusty surface were traced carvings, which bore the appearance 
 of letters. The chair was quickly brought into a better light, the 
 dust and cobwebs removed, and the inscription, (for an inscription 
 it was) faithfully copied. The writing is in Arabic characters, 
 and is the well-known confession of Mahometan faith, — ." There is 
 hilt one God, and Mahomet is his prophet /" It is supposed 
 that this chair had been among the spoils of the crusaders, and oflered 
 to the church at a time when a taste for antiquarian lore, and the 
 deciphering of inscriptions, were not yet in fashion. This story has 
 been since hushed up, the chair replaced, and none but the unhal- 
 lowed remember the fact, and none but the audacious repeat it ; yet 
 such there are, even at Rome. — Lady Morgai^s Travels in Italij. 
 
 3. In Western Poland there stands a small fortified abbey, called 
 Czenstochowa, renowned amongst the commoners for the wonders 
 performed within its walls by the picture of the Virgin Mary. 
 In this abbey, once every year, a holy fair takes place, for visiting
 
 Ill 
 
 the wonderful Image ; and the population of Poland, even from its 
 remotest parts, flock towards it in a procession not unlike that of 
 the Mahometan pilgrims to Mecca and Medina. At days appointed 
 by the priests for divine service, there were always several thousands 
 congregated, attentive to the sacred performances of the church, 
 passing the remainder of the day under the tents, in full enjoyment 
 of eating- and drinking, and purchasing the consecrated toys. It 
 was reported by the priests, that whoever happened to be oppressed 
 with illness or trouble, had only, in the full spirit of a Christian, 
 and with unbounded faith, to implore the Virgin Mary at the foot 
 of her altar, in a kneeling posture, who, it was asserted, would burn 
 away the evil, if the supplicant was not a hardened sinner ; for this 
 boon he was to present an offering in silver, to be suspended at the 
 side of the altar. As a matter of course, many pious Christians 
 experienced wonders, for they shortly found themselves, or their re- 
 latives perfectly cured or redeemed fi^om difficulties; and such was the 
 number of the offerings of these sinners, that the altar was loaded 
 with silver arms, legs, eyes, heads, ears, and hearts, in token of the 
 parts affected of the supplicants, or of that part of Christ's body 
 which had undergone suffering. As the bigoted gentry also con- 
 tributed greatly, both in cash and other offerings, the Vii'gin's 
 image was in time ornamented with real pearls, clustering round 
 the neck, — ear-rings in her ears, and rings of great value on the 
 fingers ; and so far was the practice carried, that, in gratitude of 
 the wonders she performed, two brilliants of very great cost were 
 set in the middle of her eyes. 
 
 When Frederic William, King of Prussia, invaded Poland with 
 his army in that quarter, he took possession of this fortified abbey. 
 Some of the soldiers found their way to the church, as they in time 
 of war can readily do. One of them was so much charmed with 
 the brilliant eyes of the Virgin Mary, that he allowed himself to 
 pick out one of them. The wonderful eye soon found its way, and 
 shone in the box of a Jew. Alarm w^as given by the priests. The
 
 112 
 
 Jew, eager foi- a speedy quintuple profit, was detected, and the sud- 
 denly rich soldier betrayed himself by banqueting' in luxury. He, 
 along with the Jew,was brought before the king, and both were accused 
 as polluters and destroyers of church and religion. The king, who 
 was a Protestant, asked the soldier, in presence of his suite, how he 
 ever dared to commit such a crime, well knowing the punishment. 
 " Sire," replied the soldier, " I heard of the numberless wonders the 
 image had performed : full of spirit and faith, I kneeled at the 
 altar, confessed my misery in the want of money, and my debts, 
 which made me wretched, and begged the holy image for relief. 
 Suddenly I heard a voice, ' Arise !' I arose, and to my great as- 
 tonishment, the Virgin Mary said, ' I know your misery. Good 
 Christian, I have no money : but if that can be of any service to 
 you, take it.' Thus saying, she took her eye out, and gave it to 
 me." At this the whole assembly could not refrain from laughing. 
 But the king commanded the presence of the bishop. He immedi- 
 ately appeared ; and the soldier was desired to repeat his defence. 
 The king then asked the bishop, whether it was true that the image 
 performed so many wonders, to which the latter replied, " Yes, Sire : 
 most solemnly true." " Then," said the king, " do you think it Is 
 possible she performed the miracle now described." 'J'he bishop, 
 wlio rather preferred to lose the diamond than the reputation of the 
 Image, answered, " it Is quite possible. Sire." " If so," said Frederic 
 William, "my soldier is not guilty, and therefore let him be acquitted." 
 4 . In a small diocese in the north of Poland, a priest, endeavour- 
 ing in vain to explain the beauty of the Holy Trinity to a foolish 
 congregation of peasants, whom he wanted In the hours of instruc- 
 tion to foi'tify in the faith, was obliged to adopt a last resource. 
 He ordered them to maintain a profound silence, and pay attention ; 
 then, calling Peter to give him his cap,* thus began : — " My dear 
 
 " The caps of the Polish peasantry in that quarter are like those of the Cossacks, 
 — the shape and height of a common Enj^lish hat without the brim, made of fur, 
 and topped with rod or blue cloth.
 
 113 
 
 brethren, you see this fur ?" " Yes, yes, we do." " Well, what is it 
 made of ? It is a skin of a sheep, which, properly arranged and 
 prepared, now serves you for wearing. But look here, my brethren," 
 and turning the cap inside out, " Do you see that linen ?" " To be 
 sure." " Well, of what is it made ? — It grows in the field ; when 
 cut down, it is made into hemp, — the hemp into flax, — the Hax 
 into thread, and the thread into linen ; you see, therefore, it is 
 quite a different thing altogether from the fur. But now, my dear 
 brethren, look here," again turning the other side, and point- 
 ing to the top,—" Do you see that red cloth?" "Ay, to be sure we 
 do." " Well, of what is this made ? The wool of a sheep is cut 
 off, washed, dyed, and sent to the factory, where they make a thick 
 stuff of it called cloth. Well, my dearest brethren, listen ; you see, 
 there are three several things, of different natures altogether ; they 
 go through different processes, to perform their future task ; they 
 are to answer entirely different purposes. Yet, my dear brethren, 
 though different in nature, and three in number, when these are 
 united and shaped, they protect your heads, and, though it is fur, 
 and linen, and cloth, all different names ; yet, united, they form one cap. 
 So it is with the Holy Trinity ; and although there is a God the 
 Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, yet they are united, 
 
 they are three Gods in one person, and they are but one God. Do 
 
 you understand now ?" " Ah, to be sure !" murmured the whole 
 assemblage, with emotions of perfect understanding and satisfaction, 
 which made the priest rejoice. Willing that such an intellectual 
 explanation should not be soon forgotten, the priest asked them if 
 they did perfectly understand it, to which it was unanimously re- 
 plied, " Yes." " Well, Mathew," said the priest, " Could you tell 
 any one, if asked, what Holy Trinity is ?" " To be sure, your 
 reverence." " Well, Mathew, tell me what is the Holy Trinity ?" 
 Mathew, with a cheerful and smiling countenance, which bespoke 
 confidence in his understanding, shouted aloud, " Why, please your 
 reverence, it is Peter's bonnet /" 
 
 V
 
 114 
 
 5. During- the religious feasts in Czenstochowa, a dinner is 
 usuallj given to a certain number of those peasants who are best 
 acquainted with the scriptures, and can satisfactorily answer the 
 questions put to them at examination. It once happened that the 
 bishop observed a peasant of very noble appearance, and far ad- 
 vanced in age. His white locks induced the bishop to desire that 
 he should be one of the guests. He accordingly called him, 
 and in order to avoid puzzling him, purposing to put the sim- 
 plest questions possible, asked him how many Gods there are ? 
 " Seventy-seven, if you please," was the peasant's reply. This 
 greatly provoked the clergymen present. " How can that be ?" 
 said the bishop. " Pray, your holiness," returned the peasant, " I 
 have now lived seventy-seven years, and I well remember that on 
 every Christmas a Son of God was born." 
 
 6. Another priest, while discoursing on the mysteries of the 
 holy scriptures to the Cracovian peasants, and having for his text 
 the history of Jonah, wished to impress the wonder on the minds 
 of his hearers, when he perceived a peasant shaking his head, as if 
 he did not understand, or believe. The priest asked him whether he 
 doubted that Jonah was swallowed up by a whale, as related in holy 
 writ ? The peasant replied, " O, that is no wonder at all." " And 
 how not ?" demanded the priest. " Why," said the other, " that a 
 whale should have swallowed Jonah was no wonder : but had 
 Jonah swallowed a whale, that would have been a wonder indeed !"
 
 LECTURE SECOND. 
 
 KINGS. 
 
 " Who dies in vain 
 Upon his country's war-fields, and within 
 The shadow of her altars ! Feeble heart,— 
 I tell thee that the voice of noble blood. 
 Thus poured for faith and freedom, hath a tone, 
 Which, from the night of ages, from the gulf 
 Of death shall burst, and make its high appeal 
 Sound unto earth and heaven ! Ay, let the land 
 Whose sons, through centuries of wo have striven, 
 And perished by her temples, sink awhile. 
 Borne down in conflict! But immortal seed. 
 Deep by heroic suffering, hath been sown 
 On all her ancient plains ; and generous hope 
 Knows that the soil, in its good time, shall yet 
 Bring forth a glorious harvest i— earth receives 
 Not one red drop from faithful hearts in vain !" 
 
 Mrs Hemans. 
 
 The dignity of a crown is the highest exaltation of humanity. It 
 is this that elevates man to a rank inferior only to Divinity ; and 
 the manner in which he exercises his authority holds him up either
 
 IIG 
 
 as an object of everlasting veneration, or degrades liira to eternal 
 disgrace. Such, in all ages, has been the lot of every crowned 
 potentate. 
 
 That king whom the nation calls Pater pahnce and protector, 
 whose honour, dignity, and power know no rival ; with what prudent 
 anxiety should he watch for the safety, comfort, aiad prosperity of his 
 subjects, who withhold neither their wealth nor their lives to support 
 the cause, to maintain the honour of their father and king. la 
 such a light, as fathers and protectors, stood the powerful crowned 
 rulers, before the free and independent race of Sarmatians ; and as 
 fathers and protectors, they were honoured, venerated, and obeyed. 
 The King of kings descended to earth — not to assume honours, 
 to amass wealth, or to seek vain glory or luxury — nor was it 
 pride or ambition that made him the Mighty Ruler — but he came 
 to redeem mankind from the yoke of deadly prejudices, idolatry, 
 slavery, and misery. He came to teach the nations how to live 
 virtuously and honestly, — how to obey the supreme power of kings, 
 and kings themselves how to rule with justice and policy ; and, 
 had earthly kings followed strictly the principles of the Heavenly 
 Potentate, our Lord and Saviour, they Avould have been imitated by 
 their nobles in their righteousness, as they were in wickedness; 
 and these, by their example to the people, might have united all 
 mankind under the Christian motto, " Do unto all men as ye would 
 that thoy should do unto you." Then virtue would have been our 
 king, honesty our government, axidi justice our army. 
 
 O Lord ! such are thy sacred commandments, and such was thy 
 holy will, to gather into one the scattered tribes of mankind, to 
 reconcile inimical nations, to unite their interests, to settle their 
 rights, to improve their hearts, to enlighten their minds, and to 
 bind them with the irrefragable chain of friendship and brotherly 
 love, under the one glorious mantle of Christianity ! 
 
 Let us now glance at the noble rank of the Polish kings. As 
 their common succession, however, is of little importance at
 
 117 
 
 the present day, unless distinguished by beneficial and important 
 services, we shall therefore inquire only into what benefit they 
 have rendered to Christianity and general civilization ; how they 
 have obeyed the precepts of the gospel ; and, lastly, with what 
 policy and justice they governed their Polish Christian subjects: — • 
 
 965. MIECZYSLAS 
 
 The Grand Duke of Mazovia,as was formerly explained, prompted 
 by the impulse of sweet affection, sacrificed the prejudices of his 
 forefathers on the altar of love; and, introducing Christianity into 
 Poland, in 965, laid the first foundation of Christ's church, — which, 
 in course of time, will form one universal mode of worship through- 
 out the globe. Having become the founder of this new creed, 
 he displayed great sagacity by prevailing upon his subjects, in a kind 
 and gentle manner, to follow his example; and thus prevented all 
 violence from spreading those terrors which afterwards dis- 
 turbed so many other nations. His life was pious, and not only 
 devoted to the establishment and propagation of Christianity in his 
 dominions, but to exemplify generosity and benevolence among his 
 subjects. To those, therefore, who felt as he did, and who did not 
 harass their neighbours by merciless ravages, his reign was more 
 beneficial than renowned. 
 
 999. BOLESLAS L, THE GREAT, 
 
 Succeeded him in the year 999. The devotion of his father to the 
 propagation of the new creed, and the redemption of the relics of 
 the celebrated Saint Adalbert, who had been murdered by the Ger- 
 mans, gained him the friendship of the Emperor Otto. In such rever- 
 ence were the ashes of the martyr held by Otto HI., of Germany, 
 that he made a pilgrimage to his tomb in Poland ; and upon that
 
 118 
 
 occasion, rich presents and compliments were exchanged by the 
 monarchs, with such happy effect, as to confirm to Boleslas the 
 title of king, and to elevate his duchy to the rank of a kingdom, both 
 of which were soon after ratified by the Pope.* 
 
 Boleslas acquired the title of Great, not only in consequence of 
 his military talents and achievements, but also on account of the great 
 events which occurred in the course of his reign. He not only de- 
 livered his kingdom from Germanic supremacy, and the sway of the 
 Roman Pontiff, but also from that of all his surrounding neighbours. 
 His was the high merit of uniting all the Slavonic race under one 
 crown, — ^forming, at that time, nearly half of the European popula- 
 tion ; viz., Bohemians, Silesians, Servians, Slavonians, Croatians, 
 Dalmatians, Moravians, Rusniaks, with the exception of the Rus- 
 sians, who were then called Moscovites, and a great part of the 
 Wallachians, Moldavians, and Illyrians. 
 
 Thus, after conquering Bohemia, Moravia, Lusatia, Misnia, Ba- 
 varia, — Saxons, Flavelins, Brandeburghians, and Moscovites, he 
 improved the country by administrations of justice and regu- 
 lations of good government. Greek, French, Russian, German, and 
 English merchants, frequented Poland. The two latter nations 
 bought many slaves and sold them to the Poles, who, after having 
 bought them, set them at liberty, with a grant of a piece of land ; 
 so great was the aversion of the Poles to this species of traflfic. 
 They might have done so, because the country was but thinly inha- 
 bited, whilst it soil was rich. Serfage was not even then sanc- 
 tioned by the laws nor institutions of the country, although afterwards 
 partly introduced into Poland ; being of foreign origin, however, it 
 did not last long. The conquests made by Boleslas the Great, or Va- 
 liant, were retained by the majority of his successors, as Casimir the 
 Restorer, Boleslas the Bold, and Boleslas the Wrymouth, who 
 fought forty-seven battles, without losing one. 
 
 During a reign of twenty-six years, he was constantly compelled 
 • See the reign of tliia Monarch, page 34.
 
 119 
 
 to ward off the aggressions of rapacious neighbours, amongst whom 
 chiefly were the Bohemians, who, with an invading army, committed 
 the most wanton and barbarous ravages. The Poles, however, took 
 Praga, their capital ; put to death their leader ; and finished the con- 
 quest by stipulating, on the part of the generous Boleslas, for an 
 insignificant sum, more as a feudal acknowledgment of victory, than 
 tribute imposed by a conqueror. He next routed the Russians, 
 with such tremendous slaughter, that the river was so filled with 
 dead as to give its torrent the appearance of blood. From this 
 circumstance the Russians surnamed him the Valiant. After hav- 
 ing defeated Yaroslas, he entered Kijov, and reduced the Russians 
 to a long submission. Kijov at that time rivalled Constantinople in 
 commerce, and possessed four hundred Greek churches, and eight 
 hundred public markets. After he had subdued the Saxons and 
 Prussians, he rid his dominions of all restless and rapacious fo- 
 reigners. Proud of the dreaded power of his sword, the valiant 
 king drove into the rivers Elba, Dnieper, and Dniester, majestic 
 iron pillars, to mark the boundary of his nation, — exclaiming, " Wo 
 be to those who shall dare to cross these pillars." 
 
 " Le premier qui fut roi, fut un soldat heureux ; 
 Qui sert bien son pays, n'a pas besoin d'ayeux." 
 
 1058. BOLESLAS IL, THE BOLD, 
 
 Ascended the throne in the year 1058. He was by nature a warrior, 
 ready to fight, and to protect any foreign king or prince, no matter 
 what might be the consequences, if he had been only solicited to do so. 
 His court, therefore, became an asylum for foreign fallen princes, 
 who fonnd in him not only a powerful but a ready protector. The 
 son of the Duke of Bohemia, the brother of the King of Hungary, 
 and the eldest son of the Duke of Russia, were at one time under 
 his protection, — they asked his assistance, and they did not implore
 
 120 
 
 ill vaiu. Each of these he reinstated on his throne ; and even 
 twice fought the battles of the Hungarian and Moscovite monarchy. 
 His benevolence to the latter prince, however, afterwards deprived 
 him of his crown. 
 
 In 1059, he took Kijov, where the voluptuousness and luxury 
 of that second Constantinople detained him and his army for seven 
 years in a state of inactivity. This unhappy event produced great 
 disquietude in Poland, excited by the deserted wives, w-ho, in spite of 
 all the interference of the clergy, married again. Many of them, 
 however, made abetter choice — experientia docet. To tranquillize 
 the revolution, both in Poland and in his own army, Boleslas re- 
 turned, and was obliged to fight with the women and their new hus- 
 bands. This caused very unpleasant consequences, and induced the 
 Bishop of Cracow, first to reprimand, and next to excommunicate, 
 the king. Boleslas, who was a haughty monarch, murdered the 
 prelate at the very altar ; and the blood of the bishop Stanis- 
 las roused the furious vengeance of Rome.* The Pope proclaimed 
 Stanislas a Saint and patron of Poland, and dethroned, exiled, and ex- 
 communicated Boleslas, who, after long wandering, at length found 
 an asylum in one of the Italian convents, where he was made a 
 brother baker to the convent, — in which capacity he died. 
 
 " The life of Boleslas forms one of the saddest and most striking 
 pictures presented by the worst vicissitudes of human life. From the 
 almoner of kings to the pensioner of mendicants ; from the leader of 
 armies to the menial of monasteries ; from the royal voluptuary to 
 the starving beggar ; from the palace to the kitchen; how stupen- 
 dous was his fall, and the power which hurled him from the throne ! 
 Abandoned by men, and denounced as one abhorred by God, he 
 crept away into the forests, whose savage tenants were the only 
 living creatures which were left to afford him an asylum, and make 
 hi in an inmate of their caverns. Nor was his moral fall less ereat. 
 
 Sec the intrigues of the bishop, Stanislas Szczepanowski, page 37.
 
 121 
 
 He had set out in life with a heart fuU'of generous feeling : he had 
 a noble spirit ; but the bland and seducing smile of the votary of 
 gaiety lured him to its orgies, and corrupted the pure blood of his 
 heroic heart. Self-dissatisfaction, added to the violence of his 
 passions, then accelerated his downfall ; and the hand which was 
 once stretched forth to help the weak and assist the poor, was now 
 stained with the blood of a minister of that faith, to which his great 
 namesake and predecessor had devoted all the energies of his vigor- 
 ous mind. Boleslas saw, and the whole country felt now, the 
 dreadful effects of giving offence to that spiritual authority that was 
 preparing to rule the world." 
 
 Notwithstanding the violence of his temper, for which he greatly 
 suffered, his disinterested protection, his benevolent intercession, 
 generous and unassuming friendship for foreign princes, are proofs 
 of his excellent and feeling heart : qualities not easily to be found 
 in the history of other kings. They are indeed the proofs of a 
 noble mind, revolting at the idea of injustice or usurpation, which 
 the Polish nation afterwards imitated, and showed on so many 
 occasions with true and Christian sincerity, to those who, in return, 
 repaid them with ingi^atitude, by treachery and deceit. Pope 
 Gregory VII., excluded his sons from succession, and degraded 
 the country, by styling it a dukedom, instead of a kingdom. 
 The regal dignity of Poland was not re-assumed for more than two 
 hundred years ; which took place in the reign of Przemyslas II« 
 Tluxs the country became a 
 
 DUKEDOM OF POLAND. 
 
 [1090—1296.] 
 
 1091. VLADISLAS I., DUKE OF POLAND, 
 
 Brother to Boleslas II., was elected by the nobles to the throne. 
 He was not, however, able to remove the interdict of the Pope.
 
 122 
 
 He married Judith, daughter of the king of Hungary, and by her 
 had a son, named Boleslas. Between him and Zbigniew (his 
 natural child) he divided the dukedom, which caused a civil war 
 between them. Boleslas, however, gained the ascendancy. 
 
 1103. BOLESLAS IIL, WRYMOUTH, 
 
 Succeeded to the ducal throne. He fought against the emperor of 
 Germany, Henry V., and conquered him. After this, he defeated 
 the Pomeranians and Moscovites. Finally, he was conqueror 
 in forty-seven battles. At last, however, he lost one with the 
 Moscovites, through the treachery of a Hungarian, to whom he 
 had entrusted the government of several towns on the frontiers of 
 Moscovy, which, he delivered up to them. This defeat had such an 
 effect on the Duke's mind that he died of grief. In his reign was 
 established jiosjjolite ruszenie (the common levy.) Every palatinate 
 (eleven in number) was ordered to furnish a certain number of 
 cavalry within a prescribed time, for the service of the country, 
 which, as soon as the war was over, were disbanded, and retired to 
 their homes. This was the first Polish army, until king Stephen 
 Batory, who first organized a well-disciplined standing army, in the 
 year 1575. 
 
 Boleslas HI. divided the dukedom between his four eldest sons, 
 in the following manner : — ■ 
 
 Vl-ADISLAS, 
 
 Boleslas, 
 
 JNIlECZYSLAS, 
 
 Henrv, 
 
 Casimih 
 
 Cracow, 
 
 Masovia, 
 
 Gniezno, 
 
 Lublin. 
 
 
 Lenczyca, 
 
 Kujavia, 
 
 Pozen, 
 
 Sandomir. 
 
 
 Sieradz, 
 
 Dobrzyn, 
 
 Halitz. 
 
 
 
 Silesia, 
 
 Culm. 
 
 
 
 
 Pom crania. 
 
 
 
 
 
 When the Duke was asked the reason why he gave no share to 
 one of the most beloved of his children (Casimir) he said, " The 
 four-wheeled chariot must have a driver."
 
 123 
 
 This is a singular instance in the annals of Polish history. It 
 always gave rise to discontent and war in the royal family ; and it 
 so happened, that in the end, Casimir II. the Just, was master. At 
 this time the Duke's son obtained the mastery, and — 
 
 1146. BOLESLAS lY. 
 
 Was proclaimed in 1146. As religious wars were then fashion- 
 able, so this Duke, tired of idleness, and affected with fanaticism, 
 took into his head to convert the Prussians, then sunk into the 
 grossest idolatry and ignorance. As they were more barbarous 
 than truly warlike, he soon mastered and Christianized them ; but 
 they were not long in returning to their old prejudices, and made 
 an attack upon the Poles with such impetuosity, that Boleslas him- 
 self narrowly escaped. Finding thus the business of conversion not 
 so pleasant as he anticipated, he afterwards devoted himself to secu- 
 lar affairs, in which pursuits he remained till his death, in 1173. 
 
 At the beginning of his reign, his younger brother, Henry, caught 
 the same mania of spiritual and pious devotion, and enrolled him- 
 self in the ecclesiastical band of idlers, which, amounting to 60,000^ 
 were led by Conrad, the emperor of Germany, and his nephew, 
 Frederic Barbarossa, against the Saracens, to recover, or more 
 properly speaking, to cover the holy sepulchre with the blood of 
 infidels. One single campaign, however, in which he highly dis- 
 tinguished himself, cooled his religious zeal and ardour, and he re- 
 tired to enjoy the sweets of peace. 
 
 After his death, his third brother, Mieczyslas, was elected to the 
 ducal throne; but his bad management of affairs, and inability 
 to govern, made the nobles, after four years' reign, desire for — 
 
 1178. CASIMIR II. THE JUST, 
 
 Who was called to the throne in 1178, by the Poles, dissatisfied
 
 124 
 
 with Mieczyslas, his brother, and the third son of Boleslas III. 
 But he exhibited to the world an example of eminent virtue, by the 
 indifference he testified to the supreme power and dignity of a king. 
 He requested the nation to allow him to resign in favour of his 
 brother, pledging himself, in the meantime, to the Voyvodes, like 
 another Damon, that the future conduct of his brother should be 
 better.* This offer, however, was not accepted, and his reign was 
 a reign of bliss. " Like Aristides, he never swerved from duty and 
 equity; and, unlike him, he tempered justice with mercy; he has 
 therefore even one title more than the Athenian, to that rare and 
 enviable surname which his subjects bestowed on him, the Just." 
 
 O ye sceptred monarchs ! — who so often, by means of base and 
 dark intrigues, ascend your thrones, stained with the blood and 
 tears of thousands ; who, hypocritically hiding your malicious de- 
 signs under the mask of probity, are ardently striving to grasp at 
 power, only to overwhelm the victims of your hatred and ven- 
 geance, — who, to satisfy your unquenchable vanity and pride, throw 
 millions into distress and misery, — learn, from Polish Casimir, 
 to consider the crown, not as a power to extend your own privi- 
 leges, or gratify your own ambition, but as an honourable station, 
 binding you to discharge your sacred duties to your subjects. Should 
 only but one century Avitness, on the thrones of Europe, kings 
 breathing only a noble desire to serve their country, like Casimir, 
 unaspiring and unaggressive, the whole world would reap blessings 
 for twenty centuries to come ! 
 
 • Though the throne of Poland was hereditary, yet the nobles had the power 
 of making a choice amongst the king's sons, as to elect them, — they, however, 
 generally elected the eldest son. The primitive originality of ii sprung up from 
 the ancient manner in which the first Duke of Poland, Piast, was elected. He 
 was a poor labourer — a wheel-wright. The nobles, then in his vicinity, came to 
 elect their reigning duke, and were obliged to disperse, on account of the want of 
 provisions, with whidi they had not provided themselves. The good economy 
 of Piast had accumulated such a quantity in his dwelling, that it was sufficient 
 to receive them. That instance struck them forcibly that he would make a good 
 governor, and thus they elected him in the year S^30. Piast's fifth descendant was 
 Mieczyslas, who married Princess Dombrowka.
 
 125 
 
 Several succeeding dulces served merely to fill up vacancies in the 
 history of one century in Poland, and became known only according 
 to casual circumstances, and their co-operation with other eminent 
 men. 
 
 1228. BOLESLAS V. THE CHASTE, 
 
 Was one of those unfortunate princes to whom the crown 
 is only a burden. He was only seven years old, when a dis- 
 pute arose between Conrad, his uncle, and Henry, Duke of Bres- 
 lau, his cousin, for the guardianship of his person. These princes 
 annoyed the country much by their struggles to obtain the 
 supreme power. They deposed each other in turn, till Henry's 
 death ended the dispute, and Conrad obtained the mastery. It 
 was he who first introduced the Jesuits. He aimed at the crown, 
 but found another rival in Swiatopelk. In cases of danger, Boles- 
 las used to fly to Bohemia and Moravia ; and the country under his 
 reign was in complete anarchy. Twenty-four vassal princes, 
 among whom Poland was shared, refused to pay any obedience to 
 Boleslas, and many of them openly denied his authority. He was 
 very bigoted, and his only boast was, that through the period of 
 his marriage he had taken no other freedom with his beautiful 
 and excellent consort than a brother might lawfully take with a 
 sister. This gained him the surname of Chaste, — the only title 
 for which he is remarkable, if such absurdity is worthy of being 
 recorded. 
 
 1306. VLADISLAS IV., THE DWARF, 
 
 However, seems worthy of notice, on account of some particular 
 incidents. He had been once deposed for bad conduct, but after five 
 years, was reinstated ; having rendered himself deserving of such fa- 
 vour, by a change which had been wrought in his mind and character.
 
 126 
 
 He fought several battles with the Teutonic Order ; and though it 
 was not in his power to crush them entirely, he greatly defeated 
 them, and recovered the provinces they had wrested from Poland.* 
 Although Przemyslas, one of his predecessors, had recovered the 
 title of king in 1296, it was, however, Vladislas IV. who 
 sent an ambassador to Rome, loaded with an enormous sum of 
 gold, to persuade the Pope to ratify his title of king. The tinkling 
 of ducats was too charming and too harmonious not to captivate 
 the ears of the Pope ; consequently, his application having been 
 graciously received, the pompous ceremony of coronation was per- 
 formed in the cathedral at Cracow, amidst splendid and brilliant 
 festivities. And thus the country was again denominated 
 
 THE KINGDOM OP POLAND. 
 
 [1320.] 
 
 It is strange that Vladislas should have had such dark presenti- 
 ments towards the Teutonic knights. On his death-bed, he warned 
 his son and successor, Casimir the Great, in most touching and 
 eloquent words, of their baseness and treacherous disposition, and 
 recommended tojiim the greatest possible hostility to that race of 
 traitors, assuring him of their ingratitude, treachery, and aggres- 
 sion, as will be hereafter explained. 
 
 1333. CASIMIR III., KING OF THE PEASANTS, 
 
 As has been already stated, appeared on the throne in 1333. 
 He was one of those blessed rulers who seem to be sent by Heaven 
 to soothe the painful condition of humanity, and to redeem their 
 subjects from misery and slavery. A Christian, philosopher, and king, 
 
 • In one of the battles 4,000 knights were killed, and 30,000 taken prisoners.
 
 127 
 
 he often descended from his exalted station, and left his 
 splendid castle — not for the sake of sport or amusement, but to 
 enter into the humble cottages of his peasants, that he might learn 
 their real state and position. Religion inspired him with the noble 
 resolution to annihilate their slavery, to abolish the unchristian 
 tyranny of the nobles, and to ameliorate their deplorable condition. 
 He formed a code of laws, and established judges for their protec- 
 tion, known till this day by the name of Casimir's code.* The 
 gospel now entered the cottage of the peasant ; freedom followed, 
 and destructive thraldom was banished from Poland in the thir- 
 teenth century, towards the north, where it since shares the honour 
 of partnership with the northern Autocrat. Since the time of Casi- 
 mir, the Polish peasantry were the only people in the east who en- 
 joyed the privileges of law; — all their surrounding neighbours 
 groaned for a considerable time longer under the yoke of servility, 
 like the serfs of Russia at the present day. The nobles, inimical to 
 the infringement of their unrestrained power, with a revengeful 
 cry, sarcastically surnamed Casimir, the king of peasants ; yet, in 
 the present age, this title far surpasses those of Metellus and 
 Fabricius, as sword and buckler of Rome ; those of Alexander 
 and Ca?sar, as god and emperor of the world ; and it shines 
 above all others which flattery or hypocrisy has invented to 
 adorn the proud and ambitious. He founded a university at 
 Warsaw, and entrusted it to learned men, encouraged arts and 
 sciences, protected all who were persecuted for religion, and 
 created a paradise for the Jews, who became so rich during his 
 
 * This code declared all peasants eijuai in the eye of the law, and their prosecu- 
 tions against their masters were free from payment. They were styled peasants ; 
 for there were no serfs in Poland even before Casimir, or the nobles would 
 have called him king of the serfs. Those only were styled slaves who were 
 taken in war, or bought from Russians, Turks, Tartars, or INIonguls; and such 
 were only to be found working in the castles of the higher order of nobles.— 
 It stated, also, that no nobleman could be imprisoned in Poland, unless he Avas 
 first convicted of guilt.— See " Essai Historiijue sur la legislation Polonaise," par 
 J. Lelewel.
 
 128 
 
 reign, that one of their merchants, Wierzynek, entreated the king for 
 the honour of laying at the feet of Elizabeth, the grand- daughter 
 of Casimlr, a marriage gift. This was no less a sum than 100,000 
 florins of gold, equal at that time to the dower of a princess. 
 Cracow became one of the Hanse Towns, in alliance with forty other 
 cities in Europe ; and, finally, Poland flourished in happiness, 
 prosperity, science, and riches, under the praiseworthy Polish Jus- 
 tinian. Such was the king of peasants. 
 
 Casimir left no heir, and therefore the Poles called upon his 
 sister's son, — 
 
 1370. LOUIS, KING OF HUNGARY, 
 
 Who succeeded him in 1370. As Louis was king of another 
 nation, the nobles of Poland were afraid he might wish to rule over 
 them with his former power. They laid before him the Polish code 
 of laws, which, previous to his coronation, they made him promise 
 to fulfil. There had previously been certain stipulations which the 
 kings of Poland were obliged to yield in favour of the nobles, but 
 they were mere formalities. At this time, however, the articles 
 that had been formerly agreed upon, limited considerably the abso- 
 lute power of sovereignty. These were styled Pacta Conventa ; 
 and were presented to the future kings, and sworn to, always before 
 the coronation. This was the Magna Charta of Poland. The 
 conditions required of Louis were the following: — 
 
 " He was obliged to resign all right to most of the extensive 
 domains, formerly annexed to the crown, and consign them as bene- 
 fices to his officers or Starostas, whom he could not remove without 
 consulting the senate, or assembly of nobles. He was not to exact 
 any personal service, to impose any taxes, or wage war, without 
 their consent; nor was he to interfere with the authority of the 
 lords over the peasantry." He was, therefore, little more than the 
 nominal guardian of the nation. Louis fixed liis residence chiefly
 
 129 
 
 in Hungary, and did not pay much attention to the Pacta Conventa, 
 which did not much please the Poles. However, his reign lasted 
 only twelve years, and he terminated the dynasty of Piast, in 1 382> 
 and made way for that of Jagiello. 
 
 As kingdoms and legislators improve in course of time, so must 
 their laws improve to regulate their social intercourse. Thus, the 
 Pacta Conventa received an expansion or an amelioration according 
 to the loud and necessitous calls of the Polish nation, and according 
 to the social and moral advancement of its inhabitants. Some 
 authors complain bitterly of the infringements, as they style it, 
 made by the nobles of Poland upon the authority of their kings. 
 Let the following articles be impartially weighed by all rational 
 men, and by all admirers of reasonable and righteous liberty, whe- 
 ther they deserve to be complained of. The principal articles of the 
 Pacta Conventa, presented by the nobles of Poland, at the election 
 of Henry Valois, Duke of Anjou, In the year 157-1, were the 
 following : — 
 
 1. That the king should not name a successor, but leave the 
 power of nomination to the nobles. 
 
 2. That he should not marry without the consent of the nation. 
 
 3. That he should not assume the title of lord, and heir of the 
 monarchy, as borne by his predecessors. 
 
 4. That the treaty of peace with the dissidents should be observed, 
 and full power left for the exercise of their religion. 
 
 5. That he should neither declare peace nor war, nor send the 
 nobles on foreign missions, without the consent of the Diet. 
 
 6. That he should not, of himself. Impose taxes or contributions 
 of any kind. 
 
 7. That when different opinions prevailed among the senators, 
 he should only espouse such as were advantageous to the nation, 
 or, at least, in accordance with the laws. 
 
 8. That he should have a fixed privy council, of sixteen, com- 
 posed of four bishops, four palatines, and eight castellans, who 
 
 R
 
 130 
 
 should be changed every half year, and selected by the ordinary 
 diets. 
 
 9. That ordinary diets should be convened every two years, or 
 oftener, if required. 
 
 10. That no diet should sit longer than six weeks. 
 
 1 1 . That no dignities or benefices should be conferred on any 
 other than natives. 
 
 12. That the king should annually apply the greater part of his 
 hereditary revenues for the service of the republic. 
 
 13. That he should pay the debts of the crown. 
 
 14. That no allowance from the treasury should be granted to 
 any of the royal relations. 
 
 15. That he should support and educate, either at Paris or Ci'a- 
 cow, one hundred young Polish nobles. 
 
 16. The infraction of any of these stipulations was to absolve the 
 Poles from their oath of allegiance. 
 
 138G. YLADISLAS V., JAGIELLO, 
 
 Came from Lithuania on the wings of love, and appeared on the 
 Polish throne in 1386, as has been explained, by entering into 
 wedlock with Hedwig, the grand-daughter of Casimir III. The 
 superhuman sacrifice of his father's gods, of his whole country and 
 riches, for the sake of a handsome woman, and his extraordinary 
 protection of the arts and sciences, gained him the title of philo- 
 sopher. The amalgamation of two brotherly nations into one, and 
 the prudent manner with which he christianized Lithuania, are 
 deeds sufficent to transmit his name to a grateful posterity, as an 
 object of glory and veneration. But this monarch was obliged 
 to fight as well as to preach ; and his valiant spirit crushed the 
 ambitious plans of his troublesome neiglibours, while his meek and 
 gentle temper delighted in fulfilling the commandments of God. 
 Improving the university established by the King of Peasants,
 
 131 
 
 he founded another at Cracow, known till this day by the name of 
 Jagiellonian. He promoted the arts and sciences, learning, and 
 industry, — greatly improved the code of Casimir's laws, — amelio- 
 rated the state of the country, and enriched it considerably, — yet, 
 not by pillage or devastations abroad, but by peace and policy at 
 home ; and after laying those strong foundations of future Polish 
 greatness, and of her future moral and physical strength and glory, 
 he descended to the tomb of his illustrious predecessors, being the 
 first of the dynasty that had ruled Poland with honour through the 
 long period of 186 years. 
 
 1444. VLADISLAS VI. OP VARNA, 
 
 The son of Jagiello, next ascended the throne ; but, being only 
 nine years old, his mother and a few nobles were appointed as his 
 guardians. Scarcely had he finished his twentieth year, and en- 
 tered upon the sovereignty, when the Turks, not satisfied with 
 conquest and ravages in Asia, thought of the destruction of the 
 eastern empire. They crossed the Hellespont, fell upon Transylvania, 
 and committed merciless depredations upon the Hungarians, who, 
 unable to oppose the formidable hordes of Turks, entreated Charles 
 VII. of France, together with the Pope, to despatch an embassy to pre- 
 vail upon the Polish king to put a stop to their encroachments, 
 which threatened both Austria and Rome. The generous Vladislas 
 put himself at the head of his small army, and, joining Huniades, 
 led the chivalry of Europe against Amurath II. At the head of 
 15,000 horse, and 15,000 infantry, he defeated and put them to 
 flight, whilst Amurath, an old and experienced warrior, was forced 
 to implore Vladislas, an inexperienced youth, for peace. This he 
 kindly granted ; and the Hungarians, penetrated with gratitude, 
 bestowed upon the young hero the crown of Hungary, which he, 
 according to the wishes of the nobles, willingly accepted. 
 
 Let the sacred truth be impressed upon the minds of the whole
 
 132 
 
 civilized and Christian world, that the Poles, since Boleslas the 
 Great, the first King of Poland, A. D., 1000, never enriched them- 
 selves with one single acre of land, which might he said to have 
 been acquired by force or perfidy. The Teutonic knights, the 
 Prussians, Cossacks, Wallachians, Moldavians, Hungarians, had 
 thrown themselves under the protection of the Poles — binding them- 
 selves willingly to the crown of Poland, and uniting themselves to 
 the Poles, always with a deep persuasion that no common honour 
 and benevolence had been conferred upon them, by their admission 
 to the free and enlightened privileges of an honest and brave 
 people. 
 
 Many of the kings of Poland might have covered themselves with 
 the renown of an Alexander, a Caesar, a Napoleon, &c., — they 
 might have worn laurels bedewed with blood and tears ; but 
 the principles of religion were too deeply rooted in their heai'ts to 
 make light of the tenth commandment of the decalogue. The whole 
 history of Poland asserts their religious principles, which they 
 proved by their deeds, and not by the refined words so often made 
 use of by other nations. 
 
 And here lies the secret why Poland commands such respect from 
 all nations — why she awakens so strong a sympathy amongst them ; 
 for her history, full of religious deeds, of kindly support to friends, 
 generous behaviour to enemies, her civilization, laws, and misfor- 
 tunes, speak for her in a language sufficient to procure for her 
 every feeling of sympathy. 
 
 But the glory of Vladislas was of short duration. The intriguing 
 Pope sent a legate from Rome to prevail upon the young hero to 
 renew the war with Amurath, and to drive him back into Asia, 
 promising most solemnly — even upon oath, to send him succours 
 from Italy, as well as from Austria and France. Vladislas again 
 took the field, but being all but betrayed by the Pope, the emperor, 
 and Charles VII., who sent liim neither army nor money, he fell 
 a victim to their perfidy, iu the battle of Varna, wliere, after having
 
 133 
 
 displayed such amazing courage and personal bravery as to gain for 
 him the title of " Man of Varna," he fell on the field, in the prime of 
 his life, aged only twenty-one. 
 
 The foreign powers which had forced Vladislas to break his 
 oath, and begin hostilities, by promising him their support, in 
 basely and cowardly abandoning him whilst exposed to the fury 
 of Amurath, will never be forgotten by posterity.* 
 
 1507. SIGISMUND I. 
 
 Appeared in the year 1507, and his reign, as well as that of his 
 successor, Sigismund II., was the golden age of Poland, in which 
 she stood at the head of all the Christian, liberal, well-principled 
 and great kingdoms of Europe. The long, able, virtuous, and vic- 
 torious reign of both Sigismunds, covered Poland with everlasting 
 brilliancy and glory. 
 
 Poland was at that time everywhere successful and respected. 
 Moldavia and Wallachia willingly submitted themselves to the crown 
 of Jagiello ; and the navigation of the Black Sea was in the hands 
 of the Poles. The Cossacks of the Don were her willing and well- 
 pleased subjects ; her power spread from the Black to the Baltic 
 sea, — from Elba to the Dwina and Dniester, — from Odessa to 
 Dantzic, — from Breslau to Smolensk and Kijov, where her undis- 
 puted authority was solemnly obeyed. She had a great army well 
 equipped, and maintained with the best pay in Europe. The royal 
 court shone with the brilliancy and etiquette of that of Louis XIV. 
 The courts of law were open to all without any distinction. The 
 flourishing state of her universities, as, for instance, that of the 
 Cracovian, possessing fifty printing presses, was the foundation for 
 having ten times that number of presses, circulating in eighty other 
 
 • The Pope, Charles VII. of France, Philip of Burgundy, the Kepublics of 
 Venice and Genoa, Scanderbcrg of Epirus, and the Emperor of Constantinople, 
 all promised to support Vladislas.
 
 134 
 
 towns. Both ordei's of the Polish nobility, generous and enlightened, 
 astonished foreign courts with their gallantry and courtesy. The 
 towns, villages, and castles, were filled with spirited youths, — ad- 
 mirers of the fine arts and sciences. A general reformation took 
 place in Poland at this time ; and to the great and eternal glory of 
 the Poles, was met with a spirit worthy of a free and enlightened 
 nation. 
 
 Such was once this land of the free and the brave ; but now, — alas ! 
 beloved Poland ! our fond hearts break at contemplating the miser- 
 ies and degradation under which thou art doomed to labour in 
 agony. 
 
 " To Thee, O Lord, we raise our prayer, 
 To whom we glory justly owe, — 
 Restore to us our dearest land, — 
 Redeem it from its treacherous foe. 
 
 " Redeem us from our cr^iel foes — 
 Protect us, Lord, from harm ; 
 Because oiu" trust we still repose 
 On thy Almighty arm." 
 
 Amongst many bright victories that covered with glory the 
 Polish arms, the most important was that of the Teutonic knights, 
 headed by Prince Albert, Marquis of Brandenburg, — a victory 
 which would have annihilated the ambitious order, whose spiteful- 
 ness, ravages, and unbounded desire of aggression and plunder, 
 filled northern Prussia and Poland with ruin and desolation. 
 
 The Germans who accompanied Frederic Barbarossa, emperor 
 of Germany, to the crusades in 11 8S, were left after his death 
 without a commander. This induced the king of Jerusalem to form 
 them into an order of knights, to be called the knights of St George. 
 At first, this order professed extreme humility. It was founded at 
 the siege of Acre, by eight Germans, for the purpose of assisting
 
 135 
 
 wounded and perishing Christians. When Acre was reduced, a 
 church and hospital were built for them there, and afterwards at 
 Jerusalem. As their number increased, the king of Jerusalem 
 changed their former title to that of knights of Our Lady of Mount 
 Sion. The emperor Henry VI., and Pope Celestine III., approved 
 of the order. Candidates were to be of noble parentage ; they were 
 bound to a life of celibacy, and to the defence of the Christian 
 church and the Holy Land, and to propagate religion to the utmost 
 extent of their power. In the year II9I5 Pope Celestine III. 
 issued a bull, addressed to them under the title of Teutonic knights 
 of the hospital of St Mary the Virgin. After having been expelled 
 from the Holy Land, they found an asylum in Venice, where they 
 followed the rules of St Agustine. Originally, the order was com- 
 posed of only twenty-four laymen and seven priests, besides their 
 grand master, Henry of Waelford ; but, subsequently, they increased 
 to forty, exclusive of attendants. They gladly accepted, and came 
 under an engagement to overthrow the Prussian power, and convert 
 their neighboui's to Christianity ; and were to hold the fortress and 
 territory of Dobrzyn in perpetual possession. In the thirteenth 
 century, they were so successful, that Com-ad ceded to them, in 
 addition. Culm, and the country between the Vistula, the Moki-a, 
 and the Druensta. This cession was only temporary, and under 
 stipulation that they were to turn their arms only against their 
 Pagan neighbours ; but the knights took care to set aside the in- 
 junction; and having conquered the whole of Polish Prussia, they 
 built Marienburg, invaded the Polish territory, and ovei*ran the 
 greater part of Pomerania. 
 
 The reign of Vladislas IV. was one continued struggle with the 
 Teutonic knights, who seized on Dantzic as a city of their order, 
 when its restitution was demanded by the king. The knights pre- 
 tended that Pomerania belonged to the Marquis of Brandenburg, 
 and offered him ten thousand marks for its possession. Of this 
 the king complained to Pope Julius XXII., who appointed com-
 
 136 
 
 missioners to arbitrate between the parties, and judgment was given 
 against the knights, in addition to excommunication, and an inter- 
 dict on their territories. But the knights laughed at the thunders 
 of the Vatican, though, after three severe and destructive campaigns, 
 they were completely routed by the Poles. They, however, still 
 retained ample possessions. 
 
 Under the reign of Casimir IV., the Prussians, wearied with the 
 oppression of their fanatical tyrants, made a general revolt, and 
 placed themselves under the protection of the Polish king, and 
 seized on all the fortresses of the order, except Marienburg, the 
 residence of the grand master. Deputies arrived in Poland to pro- 
 pose the incorporation of Prussia with the Republic, and to stipulate 
 in return for a community of privileges. Their proposal was eagerly 
 accepted, their homage received, and ambassadors were sent to exact 
 the usual oath from the nobles of the country. Casimir himself 
 soon followed, and was hailed as their deliverer, and, by conferring 
 privileges on the chief towns, thereby secured their attachment. 
 In the mean time, the knights were not idle ; with the money raised 
 on their few remaining possessions, they levied troops in Bohemia 
 and Silesia, and, advancing against Casimir, the Poles were defeated. 
 Money, however, did as much for them as arms ; for a sum, amount- 
 ing nearly to a million of florins, (£25,000,) they obtained possession 
 of Marienburg from the mercenaries of the order, who were unable 
 to pay their soldiers. The knights, having no longer a foot of 
 ground in Prussia, were conducted to the frontiers, and told to 
 depart in peace. They speedily spread throughout Germany, the 
 courts of which looked with no favourable eye on this rise of the 
 Polish power. Means were furnished them by European powers 
 for asserting their claims to the country wlience they had been 
 expelled. No means, however, ivcre ajforded to the Pules in 1831. 
 A desolating war followed, in which the successes of the two con- 
 tending parties were nearly balanced ; — smoking ruins, and fields 
 laid waste, alone remained. At length both parties, from their
 
 137 
 
 mutual losses, sighed for peace, which was soon after concluded, on 
 conditions sufficiently advantageous to the Poles. Western Prussia, 
 comprising Poraerania, Culm, Malberg, with the important cities 
 of Dantzic, Marienburg, Elbing, Thorn, &c. &c., which had been 
 wrested from Poland, were restored. Eastern Prussia, or Prussia 
 Proper, the cradle of that fierce race, was left to the knights, who 
 were to hold it as a fief of the crown, and every future grand master 
 Avas to pay homage to the Polish king and senate. These advan- 
 tages, however, were dearly purchased; for in this war they lost 
 300,000 men; 17,000 villages and hamlets, with 2000 churches, 
 were burned to ashes, besides immense sums of money having been 
 expended. 
 
 In the reign of Sigismund I., however, the Teutonic knights took 
 the field again with a formidable army. Frederic of Saxony, their 
 grand master, disregarding the engagements of his predecessors, 
 refused to pay homage to Poland, and insisted on the restoration of Po- 
 merania and the other ancient conquests of the order. After Frede- 
 ric, came Albert, Marquis of Brandenburg, who was the nephew of 
 the Polish monarch, and had been elected in the 25th year of his 
 age. The Poles could not for some time punish his revolt, on ac- 
 count of the war in which they were engaged with Moscovy and 
 Wallachia. At length the Teutonic knights were overpowered; 
 and Prince Albert was obliged to resign his mastership. He after- 
 wards became Prince of Eastern Prussia, which had been settled 
 by Sigismund as hereditary in his family. It was, however, a fief 
 to the Polish kingdom. The grand master, and the greatest part 
 of the knights, embraced the doctrines of Luther. These territories 
 could neither be sold, alienated, nor mortaged, while its integrity 
 was pledged by the Suzerain ; and, in case of the family of Albert 
 becoming extinct, it was to revert to the supreme lord. Thus the 
 late grand master became the founder of a new dynasty, (Prussians.) 
 This concession was fatal to the existence of the Poles ; for while 
 the descendants of the monkish knight became the head of Protes-
 
 138 
 
 tantlsm in Germany, one of them, Frederic the Great, assisted 
 Catharine in dismembering Poland. 
 
 Thus Sigismund, though actuated by the most honourable motives, 
 evinced that he was but a shallow politician, by forming them into 
 a Duchy in 1525, and intrusting it to the faithless Albert in fief, 
 and calling it regal Prussia, to distinguish it from Polish Prussia. 
 
 Here was thejirst beginning and origin of the Prussian hing- 
 dom, which has always since annoyed the Poles in war, until at 
 last the religious generosity and kind protection of the Poles were 
 repaid by treachery, shameful aggression, and plunder, which 
 Prussia afterwards executed by joining the crafty Alliance in 1772, 
 for the purpose of dismembering Poland. This is thejirst instance 
 of the ingratitude of one of our unmerciful spoliators. 
 
 And how singular is it that Vladislas IV., on his death bed, 
 predicted their baseness and treachery in such strong and animating 
 language as the following, to his son, Casimir the Great : — 
 
 " If you have any regard for either your honour or reputation, 
 beware of yielding anything to the knights of the Teutonic order, 
 or to the Marquis of Brandenburg. Resolve to bury yourself under 
 the ruins of your throne, rather than abandon to them that portion 
 of your inheritance which they possess, and for which you are re- 
 sponsible to your people and children. Leave not your successors 
 such an example of cowardice, as would be sufficient to tarnish all 
 your virtues, and the splendour of even the most prosperous reign. 
 Punish the traitors ; and, happier than your father, drive them from 
 a kingdom where pity opened for them an asylum ; for they are 
 stained with the blackest ingratitude."
 
 ELECTIVE KINGS. 
 
 With Sigismund I. fell the hereditary crown of Poland ; and this 
 was the signal for foreign princes to bestir themselves for its assump- 
 tion. The Polish nation had arrived at such a state of freedom, gran- 
 deur, and civilization, that it knew no rival in Europe. The nobles of 
 Poland, having once tasted and relished the sweets of knowledge, 
 civilization, and the fine arts, and detesting the cruelties of war 
 and its consequent horrors, to which they had been so often driven 
 by their restless neighbours, meditated by what means all necessity 
 for war might be averted, in order to the due cultivation of civiliza- 
 tion and freedom. They supposed that if, from the royal famUy of 
 some neighbouring monarchy, a personage was selected to be 
 created king of Poland, such a one should feel a lively interest in 
 preserving peace between the two countries, and, becoming after- 
 wards king of both nations, would promote the extension of friendly 
 feeling between his two courts, — between the nobles on the one 
 hand, and the people on the other. Thus civilization, receiving 
 mutual support, would spread into the surrounding country, and 
 brotherly feeling and sympathy, thus induced and nourished between
 
 140 
 
 the people, would no doubt produce results of great benefit. Now, 
 should the monarchy become an elective one, the same course, at 
 the expiration of the reign, might, it was assumed, be adopted to 
 another country, offering, in the meantime, to the Polish nation, a 
 unipn with powerful kingdoms, and thus increasing her external 
 influence, in the event of hostilities. For the Poles knew that 
 theirs was the only country in the east professing the principles of 
 civilization and freedom, and was far advanced before the sur- 
 rounding despots, who looked towards it not only with jealousy, but 
 with anger, and thus making her position very delicate and dan- 
 gerous. The extension of civilization, therefore, among the neigh- 
 bouring people, was the only sure means of securing tranquillity to 
 Poland. 
 
 Besides, there were yet some privileges absolutely belonging to 
 the crown ; the possession of which, however, if wrested from it, 
 and adjoined to the Polish senate, would prove beneficial to the 
 country at large. The nobles therefore thought that an elective 
 prince would yield it willingly to them, for the sake of a crown, 
 which was to be given only to such a prince as would agree to the 
 stipulated conditions. Seeing, next, how frequently foreign kings 
 involved their dominions in difficulties, or exposed their subjects to 
 heavy losses and perils, through their obstinacy, (which generally 
 goes arm in arm with folly,) and through their unlimited power, 
 it was wished to bind the king of Poland under the constitutional 
 laws, and so prevent the exercise of his own unjust or improper im- 
 pulse, and by making him supreme guardian of those laws, consti- 
 tute him a king, a father, and a protector, and not a usurper, a 
 despot, or an oppressor. That was what Poland desired, and what 
 she positively required, as a Christian and civilised country, in the 
 sixteenth century, and what England and France obtained two cen- 
 turies thereafter, and now possess. 
 
 Moreover, the nobles of Poland, knowing that kings were 
 not creatures of celestial birth, and no less liable to temptation
 
 141 
 
 than the rest of humanity, — that their mantles of fame and glory 
 often veiled false or misruled principles, or misled honesty, as was, 
 alas ! too well proved in the histories, in other days, of Sobieski 
 and Napoleon ; and, above all, that the majestic robes of the Polish 
 kings were mere tiffany to the argus eyes of the nobles, resolved, 
 that the king of Poland should not only be responsible for his 
 deeds, but liable to forfeit his crown, should he politically outstretch 
 the limits prescribed by the laws of the nation, or, privately, those 
 of morality ; in other words, that they should have the power to 
 depose him, and cease to be his subjects, when he ceased to be 
 their father and protector. This single page of Poland's history 
 will glow for ever in the annals of the history of the world, as the 
 sublimest pattern of wisdom and virtue that ever distinguished and 
 guided any nation on the globe ! The brief address of a Polish 
 noble to John Casimir V., in 1661, in the Polish senate, that "the 
 calamities of Poland, cannot end but with your reign, Sire ;" and 
 the few words addressed in the same senate, by the bishop of 
 Chelm, to John Sobieski, " Either cease to reign, or reign with 
 justice," surpass the long speeches of Cicero against Catiline, and 
 of Demosthenes against Philip, and are at once characteristic of 
 what Poland was. Ahunclant dulcibus vitiis. 
 
 It was not, therefore, the excitement of enthusiastic principles of 
 democracy, as some maliciously report, nor was it jealousy,* nor 
 
 * Fletcher says, — " The nobles, among whom had sprung up that spirit of 
 equality and jealousy which had so entrenched on the regal authority, would not 
 bend to a rival of their own order ; and with the same feeling which has made 
 them in late years rather submit to the domineering and treacherous interference 
 of foreign powers, than bear any stretch or even appearance of power in their 
 peers, they preferred to look abroad for a king." 
 
 In venturing his remarks upon tlie policy of the Poles at a period so important 
 in their history, Mr Fletcher ought to have been more guarded. In the present 
 case, he is greatly mistaken. For nine years after the election was proclaimed, 
 the Poles made choice of Sigismund, who was related to Jagiellons; and he was 
 soon afterwards succeeded by the following Polish noblemen, who were elevated 
 to the throne at different times, — jNIichael Wiesniowiecki, John Sobieski, and 
 Stanislas Leszczynski. As to his views of their spirit of submission, Mr F. plants
 
 142 
 
 party spirit, as others denounce it, but an unbounded and devoted 
 attachment to their beloved country, that made the nobles of Poland 
 zealous for the elective system. Had but her neighbours been 
 blessed with only a part of that honesty and independence which 
 distinguished Poland, and a share of the sound understanding and 
 right principles which regulated her people in those remote times, 
 the now barbarous and ravaging east would have been at the pre- 
 sent day a worthy example, even for the west ! 
 
 At that time, two principles were fermenting the east ; Poland 
 was striving to spread her principles of freedom to her surrounding 
 neighbours, who were in slavery, and to convert them into consti- 
 tutional monarchies, — whilst the despots struggled to crush her 
 down, as contagious to their enslaved subjects, whom they resolved 
 to keep in the thraldom of barbarism and ignorance. The contest 
 was unequal ; and as Poland was struggling between three oppo- 
 nents, she became the victim. She fell, yet covered with immortal 
 glory for her noble attempt to reform the lawless east, — she fell, 
 like a great nation striving for the improvement of humanity, and 
 the adjustment of moi-al principles and laws in the east ; yet, falling 
 she proved herself to be a nation full of Christian piety and sound 
 principle ; and her descent was marked by great and virtuous deeds ; 
 but she fell upon the extremities of the mental and intellectual 
 limits of moral power, in an arduous struggle to enlarge the bless- 
 ings of universal society. And though the European hydra, styling 
 
 one foot in the sixteenth century, and another in the eighteenth; and bringing up 
 his position by one step, thinks proper to omit the fact, that the Poles, under 
 Sigismund I., exercised no spirit of submission whatever: for they were too 
 honest and too resolute to yield a particle of their independence. It was in the 
 reign of Frederic Augustus II., elector of Saxony in 1697, that the intriguing 
 court of Petersburgh, knowing the vicious disposition of the king, surrounded his 
 court by the selected grandees and debauchees of the English, French, and German 
 nobility, who first brought vicious manners and base intrigues into Poland, where- 
 by many individuals were created nobles, and became a great disgrace to the 
 country, for they sold their principles for their titles, especially to the three 
 northern despots. — See Historij of the Court of Frederic Augustus II., in German, 
 hy J. Ueingart.
 
 143 
 
 herself the Holy Alliance, has devoured Poland, she will never 
 digest her ! 
 
 The nobles of Poland, actuated by the purest motives for the 
 well-being of their country, assembled in a diet held at Warsaw in 
 1573, and there passed a unanimous resolution to elect a king. 
 It was expected that the election would have been declared by the 
 votes of the nonces exclusively ; but the Great Chancellor, John Za- 
 moyski, proposed a different mode, which was unanimously approved 
 of. He moved, that as in the eye of the law all nobles were equal, the 
 whole body of the Equestrian order (Szlachta) should be at liberty 
 to exercise the franchise. This fact, alone, should have weight 
 enough with those inimical accusers who talk about the jealousy, 
 party spirit, and disunion of the nobles of Poland. The powerful 
 and supreme nobility had always proved their greatness and gran- 
 deur, — not by splendid tournaments, rich equipages, or pompous 
 fetes, but by great ideas of intellectual worth, by their schemes 
 for the amelioration of their fatherland, and that amiability and 
 kindness to their inferior nobles, which made them endeared 
 to their country. What the nobles of other countries were forced 
 to accomplish after long and obstinate struggles, the nobles of 
 Poland now proposed at once, and was joyfully yielded.* 
 
 The preliminai'y steps for the election having been devised, 
 the vacancy of the throne was proclaimed, and the whole country 
 denominated " The Republic of Poland." 
 
 » It may be mentioned, that the second order of nobles in Poland is equal to the 
 foreign gentry, on account of their limited wealth and influence, — the great differ- 
 ence being, that from the fourth generation, (often from the tenth,) they never 
 prosecuted business avocations, -which they always considered as beneath the rank 
 and station of a gentleman.
 
 THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND. 
 
 [1573.] 
 
 The crown of Poland became now a magnificent prize in the 
 sight of many foreign princes of royal blood, which was sufficiently 
 demonstrated by the numbers who presented themselves as candi- 
 dates before the grand tribunal of Polish nobles, not only at the 
 first, but at all subsequent elections. 
 
 The vast plains of Wola, in the vicinity of Warsaw, were fixed 
 upon as the spot best suited for the grand scene where the Republic 
 was to be presented with a crowned ruler. These, although spa- 
 cious, extending to twelve miles in circumference, were barely large 
 enough to accommodate the vast assemblage of nobles, who, as 
 electors, reckoned no fewer than a hundred thousand, who went 
 thither to conduct proceedings of such vital interest to Poland and 
 the neighbouring states. The nobles, who were to be arbiters in 
 the decision, were followed by numerous supporters ; they were 
 all on horseback, and armed, and the field had more the appear- 
 ance of a tremendous army, preparing for the conquest of the 
 world, than that of an election, — all presenting an array, which.
 
 145 
 
 or grandeur and superiority of numbers, the brightest days of 
 chivalry never witnessed. 
 
 The numerous tents of the different palatines formed an enormous 
 circle, and were built in a very splendid manner, dazzling the eye 
 with their rich variety and beautiful appearance. In the centre 
 of the ground an immense wooden pavilion, called Szopa, was 
 erected, where the grand business of the day was to be settled. 
 Its internal decorations were of the most costly description, loaded 
 with velvet and satin, gold and silver fringes, and in all respects 
 worthy of its purpose. Within its majestic precincts, the cream of 
 European aristocracy, the mighty senators of Poland — resembling 
 more the gods of Parnassus than the representatives of an earthly 
 dynasty, surrounded by princes and ambassadors of distant states — 
 were discussing the qualifications and pretensions of the rival 
 princes. The noble heralds, on horseback, passed from the con- 
 clave to their respective tents, to inform the nobles of the pro- 
 ceedings, and returned with their opinions to the senate. The 
 suffrages were collected by the bishops, who were passing along 
 the circled ranks for that purpose. 
 
 Numerous equipages, of the most splendid description, rolled 
 along from all directions, drawn by high-spirited horses of different 
 countries, adorned witli plumes and ribbons. Their reins were 
 of velveteen, glittering with gold and silver ; the drivers were 
 attired in gay and fanciful liveries, decorated with bandeaus of gold 
 and silver tassels, wearing upon their heads rectangular, triangular, 
 or circular bonnets of great splendour. Here the proud and 
 valorous nobles pranced and galloped upon Persian, Arabian, and 
 Turkish steeds, richly caparisoned and studded with pearls and 
 precious stones. Their noble air, and graceful posture, costly 
 attire of crimson velvet and damask, pink satins, resplendent with 
 gold and silver embroidery, attracted the general admiration. En- 
 ormous chains of gold supported their costly and ponderous swords, 
 
 T
 
 146 
 
 of different forms and sizes, many of them the trophies of Turkish, 
 Russian, and Tartarian war ; they were almost all in gold scab- 
 bards, set thick with emeralds, diamonds, topazes, and jewels of 
 every description, in the same way. Their fur caps, bonnets of 
 state, arrows, quivers, daggers, and party-coloured ostrich plumes, 
 presented a display of most amazing grandeur. The different dukes, 
 princes, ambassadors, foreign ministers, all attired in their rich 
 state uniforms, with their state carriages, offered a most magnifi- 
 cent contrast. Then the Polish Voyvodes,* Castellans, and Star- 
 
 * Voyvodes, so called from Woiewodztwo, or Palatinate, were the generals of 
 the forces raised in their respective palatinates, during warlike expeditions; and 
 in peace they were the presidents of the judicial tribunals, and political assemblies 
 of their provinces. They also determined and stipulated the price of provisions 
 and merchandise, to prevent imposition upon the community, — they regulated 
 weights and measures, judged and protected the Jews. A Vice-Voyvode was as- 
 sociated with each of these great dignitaries. 
 
 Castellans were considered as the lieutenants or deputies of the Voyvodes, and 
 were invested with the same power, though in an inferior degree. Like the 
 Voyvodes, they held their own tribunals, presided over the assembled nobility of 
 their districts, and headed them in war. The Castellan of Cracow had no juris- 
 diction ; but in rank he took precedence of all the Voyvodes, and of all the tem- 
 poral dignitaries in the Republic. They were all considered as members of the 
 senate, although half of them were seldom summoned to attend. 
 
 Starosts had no seat in the senate, yet many of them had a civil jurisdiction, — 
 they held a common court every fortnight, and a great one every six weeks; they 
 were, besides, tlie collectors of the king's revenue, one-fourth of which they re- 
 served to pay the expenses of their bailiffs, secretaries, &c. The word Starost 
 signifies aged ; and the crown lands attached to each starosty were originally in- 
 tended as benefices, to which old and deserving servants of the Kepublic might 
 retire, to end their days in comfort, with few duties to be discharged. 
 
 Grand Hetman was the chief commander of the whole army. 
 
 The ten great officers of state were, — the Grand Marshal, the Chancellor, the 
 Vice-Chancellor, the Treasurer, and Marshal of Court, one of each for the king- 
 dom, and for the Grand Duchy. 
 
 The nobles of Poland rejected all distinction of birth, family, particular privi- 
 leges, foreign honours and titles, and gloried in a Spartan equality of moral worth. 
 The above titles were left only to the senate, to be conferred on those who dis- 
 tinguished themselves in services rendered to their mother country, always with 
 a great income, and signified only the station they occui)icd in the Kepublic. 
 Their titles were their deeds, their decorations their wounds acquired in the 
 battle-field, their reward — the glory and honour of an honest man. The apostles of 
 Christ had no titles, neither had the nobles of Poland ; the former styled them- 
 selves "brethren," so did the nobles of Poland. More noble and great principles
 
 14T 
 
 osts, in their warlike armour, followed with an escort of the elite 
 of national cavalry, the countless mass of gaily-dressed electors, all 
 on horseback, moving' in torrents to the tents of their different 
 palatinates, standing around the field, presented a truly picturesque 
 crowd. From fifteen to twenty thousand banners, of various hues 
 and shapes, richly embroidered with the arms of the countries, and 
 of the nobles, were waving like forests of flowers, amidst other 
 magnificent trophies. The officers of state, and the deputies of 
 the nobility, in their uniforms, the numerous regiments, with 
 martial music and national melodies, floated sweetly through the 
 air, — the thundering peals of artillery and mortars, shook the im- 
 mense plain, already trembling under the hooves of two hundred 
 thousand horses, — the joyful cheering of thousands, loud cries of 
 Vivat, pierced the blue serene, and re-echoed along the green 
 meadow of Wola. All this created, certainly, a most amazing and 
 bewitching scene, imposing, no doubt, upon the feelings and minds 
 of those present an emotion and sensation of no common nature. 
 Had those elections been as happy in their success as they were 
 attractive in appearance, Poland would have been to this day a land 
 of greatness and of glory. 
 
 From the solemn character of that event, and the dignity and 
 respect due to it as a national and state proceeding, the display of 
 grandeur was highly imposing. But this magnificent ceremony, 
 this innocent play of the nobles of the monarchial election, has 
 been condemned by modern writers with unsparing severity. It 
 would ill suit the coronation of a king or queen of Great Britain 
 to be conducted with the simplicity of a college installation ; and 
 as ill would it have accorded with the bravery and gallantry of 
 Poland, in the days of her glory, that her monarch should have 
 been chosen with as little regard to ceremony as the election of a 
 
 guided the hearts of the Polish nobles than those ascribed to them as democracy. 
 It was religion, well understood and practised, and an unbounded love of country, 
 that formed the proud basis of that mighty order.
 
 148 
 
 Member of Parliament at the present day. Yet one writer * has 
 styled Poland, at the period of which we write, a "republic of 
 aristocrats ;" another,! a " scene of anarchy ;" a third,:}: that of 
 " disorder." But now, when the hydra-headed monster has issued 
 from his den, and ravaged her plains for years, — when the usurping 
 Czar has changed the aspect of her fields, and sprinkled them 
 with the blood of hundreds of thousands, and, in 1831, covered 
 its surface with 40,000 corpses, Europe exclaimed, " order is re- 
 stored to Warsaw,"1[ and " peace now reigns in Warsaw ! "§ 
 
 The candidates in this first election were — Ernest, Archduke of 
 Austria, the Prince of Sweden, the Czar of Moscovy, and the 
 French Duke, Henry de Valois. The Swede and Moscovite were 
 soon set aside, and the day closed by electing Henry, who promised 
 the greatest support to the Republic ; but with the proverbial 
 fickleness and treachery of France, he never fulfilled his promise. 
 
 1574. HENRY DE VALOIS, THE DESERTER, 
 
 Was the first elected king of Poland. He was French Duke of 
 Anjou, and son of Catherine de Medicis. When he came to 
 Poland, his language was, " Why, the king here could only be a 
 judge." Soon after, in the same year, his brother, Charles IX., 
 died, whom he succeeded on the French throne. He formed the 
 singular resolution of abdicating the crown of Poland, and he 
 actually deserted the throne, running away in the disguise of a 
 peasant. All the entreaties of the Polish nobles, who overtook 
 him near the frontiers, would not prevail upon him to return. 
 Ikit he went to entail a greater disgrace upon his hereditary realm, 
 by a horrible massacre of the Protestants in France. 
 
 • Flefclier. t llhulicre. t Larflncr. 
 
 f The British House of Lords. 
 
 5 The French Chamber of Peers, (Sebastiaiii.)
 
 149 
 
 1575. STEPHEN BATORY 
 
 Was the fruit of the second election, out of seven competitors who 
 started for the crown. He was a prince of rare qualities and high 
 talents ; his valour, unstained by violence or injustice, had placed 
 him on the throne of the Duchy of Transylvania, from whence he 
 was elected king of Poland. The nobles of Poland had in reality 
 made choice of Anne, sister of Sigismund; but she accepted it 
 upon condition that she should marry Stephen Batory. Batory, pre- 
 vious to his coronation, swore and confirmed the following ax'ticles 
 to the Pacta Conventa : — He engaged to recover the conquests of 
 the Moscovites, — to discharge the national duties, — to pay 200,000 
 florins into the treasury, — to redeem the captives made by the 
 Tartars, — to employ Polish troops in foreign wars, — to maintain 
 them at his individual expense, — and to marry the princess Anne. 
 He vanquished the Russians, and other plunderers who disgraced 
 themselves by the most revolting and barbarous deeds of inhuma- 
 nity. Batory's generosity prompted a different course towards 
 them, for, in return, he measured out for them justice with 
 mercy. He founded the third university in Poland at Wilna, 
 and entrusted it to some Jesuits, whom he introduced, not sus- 
 pecting that they should become, in a great measure, the cause of 
 subsequent calamities to Poland. He appointed the times and 
 places for holding diets, and granted full liberty of conscience 
 to the Protestants. He established a supreme tribunal by jury at 
 Cracow ; appointed the election of two nobles in each great pala- 
 tine, and one in the smaller, to meet at Petrikow, to decide on 
 the affairs of Great Poland; and at Lublin, on those of Little 
 Poland : appeals from these courts were to be made to the supreme 
 tribunal at Cracow. The same was done in Lithuania. He 
 greatly strengthened the kingdom by establishing a large standing 
 army, and giving to the Cossacks a military organization, by which 
 means lie gained their sincere friendship for Poland.
 
 150 
 
 Origin of the Cossacks " This singular people were ori- 
 ginally deserters from the armies maintained by the Republic 
 near the banks of the Borysthenes, to arrest the incursions of 
 the Tartars. The almost inaccessible isles of that river, and the 
 vast steppes of the Ukraine, served for secui'e places of retreat. 
 As their numbers increased by propagation and desertion, — and 
 they opened their arms to the people of every nation who arrived 
 among them, — they made frequent predatory incursions into the 
 Ottoman territories, sometimes venturing as far as the suburbs of 
 Constantinople ; and in rudely-constructed boats, consisting merely 
 of trees hollowed out, they did not hesitate to trust themselves on 
 tlie Black Sea, every shore of which they visited and ravaged. 
 Their soil, the richest in corn of any in Europe, required little 
 cultivation, and they were consequently at liberty to pass most of 
 their time in plunder, piracy, or open war. 
 
 " As they were Christians in their origin, they preserved a sort 
 of Christianity among themselves ; but so mingled, in time, with 
 idolatrous and Mahommedan notions, that its originally fair cha- 
 racter was almost lost. The Poles, fugitives of all creeds, the 
 Greek schismatics, the persecuted Lutherans, either imperfectly 
 remembered, or but negligently practised, the rites of their churches ; 
 hence a sort of mongrel worship prevailed, the leading features of 
 which more resembled the eastern than the western church. And 
 they did not trouble themselves much with either the doctrines or 
 the duties of Christianity. Robbers by profession, they were the 
 terror of the surrounding countries, — strong, hardy, and of indo- 
 mitable courage, — fond of war, even more for the dangers which 
 attended it than for the plunder it procured them. Hence their 
 alliance was eagerly sought by the Lithuanians, Poles, Moscovites, 
 Tartars, and Turks. As the country from which the most of these 
 people descended was Poland, so they bore towards that nation the 
 sentiments of affection ; indeed, they acknowledged themselves 
 vassals of the Republic, though their chief obedience was owing to
 
 151 
 
 their own Grand Hetman. Ostafi Daszkicwicz, a mere dependant 
 on the state of a Lithuanian noble, raised himself among them, and 
 first divided them into regiments, and instructed them in military 
 discipline. As a reward for his exertions, he was presented by 
 Sigismund I. with the Starosty of Czerkassy, and the jurisdiction 
 of some fortresses near the Borysthenes. This humble but strong- 
 minded man, suggested to Sigismund to maintain 10,000 armed 
 men, to prevent the crossing of the enemy' — to build forts and 
 petty towers on the islets of this magnificent stream. Pity that 
 Sigismund and Batory overlooked such an important suggestion. 
 The latter, however, improved them greatly ; he gave them the 
 city of Trychtymirow, which became their chief magazine, and the 
 residence of their Grand Hetman, — he introduced among them the 
 useful arts of life, and formed them into six I'eg'ular regiments. He 
 appointed Rozynski as their Grand Hetman, whom the whole force 
 obeyed. The insignia of his dignity, which Batory had given to 
 him, were the following, — a flag, a bontzuk, (a horse tail) a baton, 
 (resembling a club,) and a looking-glass. Their fidelity and 
 attachment were striking ; they remained so as long as the Poles 
 treated them well, until from friends they were transformed into 
 enemies, by the most intolerable wrongs." 
 
 Very few princes can boast of greater respect paid to them in 
 Poland than this humane king ; but death summoned him — too 
 soon, alas ! — to see the end of his prudent and unceasing exertions 
 for the welfare of the country. 
 
 1587. SIGISMUND III., 
 
 Prince of Sweden, was elected to the throne in 1587, being related to 
 Jagiellons by marriage. He was a pusillanimous and obstinate prince, 
 qualities that always go hand in hand. A truly religious king is 
 good and useful to a country ; a bigot, never. He carried on war
 
 152 
 
 against the Turks and Russians, to put a Russian impostor ou the 
 throne, — then allied with Turks against Austria, — then he fought 
 with Swedes, for he aspired to the vacant crown, after the death of 
 his father, the king of Sweden, but was rejected, ou account of the 
 law, which stipulated that the king of Sweden should be a Lutheran, 
 whilst he had just become a Roman Catholic, for the sake of the 
 Polish crown. He was a double-minded man. Hence originated a 
 war with Gustavus Adolphus, the celebrated champion of the thirty 
 years' war, who wrested from Poland Livonia, Estonia, and Polish 
 Prussia, which Poland, however, regained after his death. He 
 gave cause of offence to the Poles, by his foolish pertinacity to 
 Swedish customs, and never troubled himself with the affairs of 
 government. He used to spend his leisure hours with a literary 
 charlatan, who promised him the discovery of the philosopher''s 
 stone. He next violated the laws by entering into marriage with 
 an Austrian princess, without the knowledge of the diet, whilst his 
 persecution of dissidents, and his haughty pride, averted the minds 
 of the nobles to such a degree, that an extraordinary diet was con- 
 voked by the crown-marshal and nobles, in which they accused 
 Sigismund of an intention to imitate the tyranny of the house of 
 Austria, to which court he was becoming subservient, in order to free 
 himself from the power of his people ; for which cause the primate 
 Karnkowski addressed him in the following words, in the presence 
 of the senators : — " Your majesty must remember that you reign 
 over a free people, — over nobles who have no equals under heaveu. 
 Your dignity is far superior to your father's, who reigns only over 
 peasants." Soon after, a confederation was despatched, to insist 
 upon Sigismund publicly asking pardon of the diet for his infringe- 
 ments of the Pacta Cunventa. But he refused, which caused no 
 little disturbance throughout the country. 
 
 The ravages of the Cossacks were so terrible among the Turks, 
 whom they were not able to subdue, (for their system is, never to 
 stand to battle,) that they called the Poles to account for them.
 
 153 
 
 Several barbarous incursions were afterwards made by the Turks ; 
 and after putting to death a few thousands in Ukraine, peace was 
 concluded. 
 
 But the intrigues of the Jesuits, who had unlimited sway over 
 Sigismuud, involved the country in war with Gustavus Adolphus ; 
 they insisted upon the king to aspire to the crown of Sweden, after 
 his father's death : for they wished to introduce Catholicism into 
 Sweden again, and to surrender the kingdom to the papal power. 
 
 Zamoyski, Grand Hetman of the crown, several times defeated the 
 Swedes, commanded by Charles in person, and saved the country. 
 He also repeatedly routed the Wallachians, Turks, Tartars, and 
 Transylvanians ; and the services he rendered to his country, both 
 by his sword and his pen, were so great, that when he returned 
 from the campaign with reports to the Polish senate, the assembled 
 diet, who were sitting with covered heads in presence of the king, 
 rose uncovered at his approach. 
 
 Scarcely was this danger repulsed, when the Jesuits entangled 
 him in another, with the same view of extending the Popish influ- 
 ence in Russia. The history of the proceedings of the Russian Czars 
 in the present case, is so amusing, and so characteristic of Russia, 
 that it may not be unworthy of notice. 
 
 " Boris, Marshal of the Court of Moscow, had married his sister 
 to the Czar Feodor, and consequently exercised uncontrolled 
 power, similar to that of the mayors of the palace of France. The 
 blood of Ruric was extinguished, save in the person of the Czar's 
 brother, the prince Demetrius ; — the marshal had assassinated him, 
 and, on the Czar's death, seized on thf throne of Iwan. He formed 
 an alliance with Siglsmund for twenty years, yet, at the same time, 
 secretly favoured the pretensions of Charles of Sudermania. Si- 
 gismund had speedy revenge ; for a Russian Warbeck appeared, 
 and, pretending to be the slaughtered Demetrius, fabricated a story 
 about the way he had escaped from the assassins of Boris, and soon 
 won over, as his partisans, both the Pope and the Polish monarch. 
 
 u
 
 154 
 
 He testified to the Pope his desire of extirpating the Greek schism. 
 Boris was loud in his exclamation against the pretender's claim, 
 and offered to prove to the world that the impostor was named 
 Otrepieff, a deserter from the monastery of Cudnow. The Voy- 
 vode of Sandomir, Wiezenowicz, promised his daughter in marriage 
 to the adventurer, who was therefore soon enabled to march against 
 the usurper of Moscow. Otrepieff was at first defeated ; but such 
 was his courage and conduct, and such the train of lucky circum- 
 stances which attended him, that he won the throne of Iwan, and 
 declared Maria, daughter of Voy vode of Sandomir, his queen. The 
 false Demetrius, amid the festivities of his marriage, was murdered 
 by Basil Szuysky, who was proclaimed Czar. Maria and her at- 
 tendants were transferred to a dungeon. The Jesuits stirred up 
 another adventurer, in the place of Otrepieff; and so well were 
 their contrivances laid, that although the murdered body of the 
 monk of Cudnow was exhibited to the populace of Moscow, the 
 second Warbeck was recognised by thousands ; they even forced 
 Maria to proclaim him her real husband. This second upstart was 
 also supported by the Polish king, who was victorious in every en- 
 gagement." 
 
 Zoi-KiEWSKi was now the Grand Hetman of the crown, — 
 a noble successor of the veteran Zamoyski. He previously, with 
 14,000 men, defeated 17,000 Swedes, commanded by Charles In 
 person. Now he went against the Moscovites, — besieged Smolen- 
 sko for eighteen months, — defeated 30,000 Moscovites, and 8,000 
 Swedes, at the head of 8,000 Poles, — overrun White Russia and 
 Severia, — conquered the enemy evei'ywhere, and made all the Mos- 
 covite generals prisoners. At last he carried Moscow by assault, 
 — disbanded the whole army of the Moscovites, — took the Czar, 
 Basil Szuysky, and his imperial brother, and made them prisoners 
 of war. And such was his policy, that he obtained the sanction of 
 the Moscovites to the election of Vladislas, son of Sigismund, to 
 the throne of Moscovy, but under this condition, that the young
 
 165 
 
 Pole should become a Greek schismatic. The Jesuits flocked 
 around the bigoted Sigismund, and insisted that he should refuse 
 such a condition ; and they claimed the conquered territories of 
 Moscovy on behalf of the See of Rome. An insurrection was the 
 consequence : Sigismund retreated with his army, — the Moscovites 
 drowned Maria, strangled her infant, and placed Michael Fiede- 
 rowicz upon the throne. In the meantime, Zolkiewski entered 
 Poland, and proceeded to Warsaw. The Poles were then specta- 
 tors of such scenes as were formerly witnessed by the ancient 
 Romans, in the days of their glory, and more recently by the 
 Britons, in the reign of Edward III., 1345, when both a French and 
 a Scottish king were taken prisoners by the Black Prince and Lord 
 Percy, and both kings led in triumph through the streets of London . 
 In similar state did the Grand Hetman, Zolkiewski, enter Warsaw, 
 seated in a triumphant and pompous car, leading the Czars pri- 
 soners by his side. Multitudes hailed him with loud acclamations, 
 and his path was strewed with laurels showered down by the fair 
 and the great of the city. Poland, therefore, once possessed a 
 crown, which is now worn by her deadly enemies ; and her generous 
 proceeding, in not making it her own for ever, is repaid in a very 
 dishonest manner. 
 
 Here occurs the second instance of the manner in which our 
 unfeeling neighbours, the Russians, repaid the Poles. The dis" 
 turbances and general disorder was at that time so great in the 
 dominions around Moscow, that an army of 10,000 Poles might 
 have kept them in perfect subjection. Had Sigismund entertained 
 the principles of other foreign princes, who so readily and so 
 often changed their religious and jiolitical principles for the sake 
 of temporary gain, he might have made himself master of the 
 Moscovites. £tit the truly Christian principles of the nobles and 
 bishops of Poland were against foreign invasions. The same op- 
 portunity presented itself to the Poles before, in the reign of
 
 156 
 
 Boleslas the Great, 1088, when, in consequence of the frequent 
 revolts and murders tvhich then took place in these territories, he 
 aided the Moscovite prince in ascending his throne. But neither 
 Boleslas nor Sigismund nourished in their hearts the treachery 
 and deceit of Frederic William and Peter the Great ; hut, unlike 
 them, having assisted a country in placing a king upon its throne, 
 did not avail themselves of the advantage thereby offered to them, 
 in so troublesome and iveak a position of the country. Not so 
 the rapacious Czars: they took all possible means to sow discord 
 and dissension amongst the Poles, in order that in the hour of her 
 trouble they might take easy advantage of enriching themselves in 
 so dishonest a manner. The crown of the Jagiellos shines now 
 upon the guilty brows of the Russian dynasty, whose throne is 
 built over the heaps of millions of the murdered. 
 
 The Turks had now grown so formidable that the gates of War- 
 saw, Vienna, and Venice, had seen them already. They wrested 
 from Poland a fortress called Chocim, which defended the river 
 Dniester and Volynia, and they conquered Moldavia, whose Hos- 
 podar (governor) fled to Sigismund for support; he bound himself 
 by promise, in the name of the Moldavians, that they should run 
 to arms as soon as the Polish Hetman should appear among them. 
 The conqueror of the Moscovites, Zolkiewski, at the head of 8,000 
 Poles, marched to Moldavia ; but he found that the Hospodar had 
 failed in liis promise, and hardly mustered 12,000 men. At the 
 head of these 20,000 men, the Grand Hetman, Zolkiewski, took the 
 field, against the Mussulman army of 70,000 strong. He soon 
 checked their impetuosity ; but, unfortunately, after the first strug- 
 gle, the cowardly Moldavian army took to flight, and left the 
 Grand Hetman with his Poles only. His masterly manoeuvres 
 kept the Turks at bay for the whole of the day, and, screened by 
 midnight darkness, he commenced his retreat towards Poland. 
 His line of march was over immense steppes, and through impene-
 
 157 
 
 trable forests. For six days and nights he continued his progress, 
 amid the constant onset of the foe. He frequently committed great 
 havoc in their ranks, curbed the rising discontent of his followers, 
 encouraged the brave, assisted the wounded, was the soul of every 
 movement, and altogether performed prodigies. Historians com- 
 pare this to the retreat of the 10,000, and no doubt "that if the Polish 
 Grand General had understood the Greek language, and had pos- 
 sessed a Grecian sword, he would have performed feats wonderful as 
 those narrated by Xenophon." But, alas ! his army was but a 
 handful of warriors, 5,000 Poles ; — there was no hope of success. 
 A friend, who was an eye witness to the circumstances, offered the 
 old general the only remaining horse he had, and entreated him to 
 fly. Zolkiewski drew out his sabre, and, in the presence of his 
 army, laid the animal prostrate at his feet, exclaiming, " Dulce est 
 pro patria mori." " For Zolkiewski," says the same Polish his- 
 torian, " like Paul us iEmillus, disdained to survive his defeat, 
 wherefore, with the same valour which had distinguished his life, 
 he fell, fighting for his country, covered with wounds, at Cecora, 
 on the banks of the Dniester." His body was found by the Turks 
 under a heap of slain ; his head was cut oflP, and sent to Constanti- 
 nople, to grace the gate of the Sultan's seraglio. 
 
 The Grand Hetman's baton, and the Arch- Chancellor's ring, 
 were carried in state to the senate, by whom they were conferred on 
 
 Chodktewicz, the conqueror of the Swedes, and who held the 
 high office of Hetman of Lithuania. In the year 1621, the newly 
 proclaimed sultan of Turkey, young and enterprising, the Osmlan, 
 placed himself at the head of 300,000 Mahometans, comprising 
 the chivalry and flower of Turkey, and marched against Poland, 
 buoyant with the romantic idea of crushing her by a single blow, 
 and thus, at last, to break the impenetrable barrier of European 
 Christendom. Thus, impelled by an extraordinary illusion, he un- 
 dauntedly marched forward his formidable army. 
 
 The Republic was not long in preparing to repulse the Mussul-
 
 158 
 
 mans in their daring enterprise ; — 60,000 men were ready to 
 defend, by their arms, the sacred cause of the Republic and Chris- 
 tianity, and, headed by the Grand Hetman, Chodkiewicz, marched 
 against the threatening columns of Osmian, and the plains of 
 Chocim witnessed the mournful wreck of the haughty Mahometans. 
 Chodkiewicz displayed his wonders in his personal valour and 
 abilities as a general ; his untiring zeal yielded up his life to his 
 extraordinary exertions. On his death-bed, he ceded his dignity 
 and command to 
 
 LuBOMiRSKi, who, in a few months, put 30,000 Mahome- 
 tans to the sword. Thus, the pride of the Moslem's army 
 vanished with the smoke of their artillery, whilst the glory and 
 fame crowned the Republic with fresh laurels. The Turks sued 
 for peace, and it was granted. The Hospodar of Moldavia, late 
 vassal of the Sultan, now became a Christian, and an ally of Poland. 
 Osmian fled to Constantinople, where he was assassinated by the 
 Janissaries, for losing 60,000 of his troops. 
 
 Whilst the new sun of glory beamed upon the Republic from 
 beyond the Carpatians, the obstinacy and bigotry of Slgismund 
 were gathering clouds from across the Baltic ; he was engaged in 
 active hostility with Gustavus Adolphus ; yet, the contest did not 
 last long, for the same year witnessed the death of Gustavus, in 
 the battle of Liitzen, and Sigismund's, in his castle. The weakness 
 of the latter king, his pertinacity of opinion, his bigotry, his inat- 
 tention to his subjects, and his domestic jealousy, made him little 
 regretted by those nobles whom he had no power to command, 
 while his mind was too inferior to acquire their friendship and 
 esteem. Dupe to Jesuits, and of the courts of Vienna and Madrid^ 
 he lost two crowns, that of Russian and Sweden, which a more 
 prudent king might have secured. He weakened Poland both 
 morally and physically, during his unfortunately long reign of forty- 
 five years. 
 
 The exploits of the Polish Grand Generals made his reign re-
 
 159 
 
 nowned ; they added illustrious brightness to the fame of the 
 Polish sword, whereas the king's sins were ruinous to the future 
 fate of Poland. 
 
 1633. YLADISLAS VII., 
 
 Son of Sigismund, was elected to the throne of the Republic in 
 1633. The Moscovites made several incursions upon the provinces 
 of Lithuania, and took Smolensk. Vladislas, at the head of a small 
 army, retook it, and drove the Moscovites into their wild forests, 
 where he kept them for five months, when they surrendered. The 
 Czar begged for peace, and it was granted ; he then ceded all his 
 pretensions to Livonia, Esthonia, Courland, Smolensk, Severia, and 
 Czernichow. Scarcely had this happened, before the Tartars, at 
 the instigation of the Turks, invaded Podolia, which they traversed 
 with barbarous fury. The Polish sabres soon thinned their ranks 
 on the plains of Moldavia, — they flew and left their semi-barbarous 
 friends — the Turks — who came to assist them, to the angry and 
 vindictive army of the Poles, who, without losing time, fell upon 
 the army of Amurath IV., and conquered him entirely ; he sued 
 for peace ; and throwing the whole blame of the expedition upon 
 his pashas, murdered several of them, and promised most solemnly 
 to regard the stipulated treaties better in future. Vladislas was 
 no less fortunate in conquering the Swedes, under the dominion of 
 the infant Christina. 
 
 Intoxicated with glory, and their brilliant exploits, the nobles of 
 the Republic, burning with the desire of liberty, fell into the illusion, 
 that everything on earth should yield to their power and opinion, 
 which they considered the best, and independent of all control. 
 
 Great nations, like great men, have their moments of folly and 
 weakness, when, banishing for a time reason and justice, they crave 
 only to quench their daring passions, regardless of every obstacle 
 under heaven. So did mighty Poland now revel. The great to-
 
 160 
 
 lerators of universal religious freedom, became now the tools of the 
 Jesuits, and arbiters of a Catholic sect. The tenets of Anabaptists 
 and Socinians were promulgated by the unjust laws of the Diet ; 
 the followers of the Greek church were insulted, denounced, and 
 exasperated ; and although their numbers were small, yet their 
 sufferings were great. But above all, the brave and free Cossacks, 
 the most faithful and worthy friends of the Republic, now witnessed 
 the contempt thrown upon the haughty and bigoted nobles ; and 
 their persecutions having now become hateful to the Jesuits, who 
 strove in vain to reform them in favour of the Romish church, 
 they were under the control and stewardship of the Jews, whose 
 impostures knew no bounds ; whilst their proprietors, the nobles, 
 residing chiefly at Cracow or Warsaw, were deaf to their com- 
 plaints. The Cossacks thought that the surest way to obtain re- 
 dress, would be to procure for their chiefs a seat in the diet. Their 
 demand was rejected with derision by the haughty nobles. They 
 complained to the king, but it was beyond his reach to alleviate 
 their suffering ; all he could do was to advise. He once said to 
 their messengers, " have you no sabres ?" The hint was not for- 
 gotten ; and when the yoke of servility was weighing over them 
 most oppressively and most unjustly, their sabres were speedily 
 drawn, and with good success too. They were degraded to the 
 meanness of serfs, and life itself became at last a burden to them. 
 They rose in desperate combination, and extorted a promise of re- 
 dress from the diet, which was soon forgotten. They rose again, 
 and the whole of the Grand Duchy felt it, for incredible devastation, 
 already committed, now covered the country with dread and fear. 
 In the midst of this revolt, a private wrong set on fire the volcano, 
 which was so long in fomenting its boisterous fury. The act of 
 another Wat T^/e?' proclaimed the hour of vengeance, — the volcano 
 burst, and Poland was shaken to its very foundations. 
 
 " There was an old Cossack, Bogdan Chmielnickl, who hold a 
 conspicuous station among his countrymen, and whose valoui' was
 
 161 
 
 known far beyond the confines of his nation. He had conceived 
 the plan of proceeding with an armament of 600 vessels to blockade 
 Constantinople ; while Vladislas, taking the opportunity presented 
 by the siege of Canady, was, with the aid of the Venetians, to ad- 
 vance by land, to lay siege to the Turkish capital. Twenty years 
 before, he had magnanimously defended Zolkiew against the Tar- 
 tars, and preserved the life and honour of the mother of John So- 
 bieski, — this feat had given celebrity to his name. The old man 
 had a windmill, with some land, at Czechryn, near the banks of 
 Borysthenes, which the steward of Koniecpolskis, lord of all this 
 country, desired to possess. The best way, he thought, to obtain 
 his end, was to ruin the veteran ; so, on some frivolous charge, he 
 cited him before Koniecpolski, Grand Ensign of the Crown, by 
 whom he was loaded with chains, thrown into prison, and would 
 have been hung but for the interposition of James, the father of 
 John Sobieski, and Castellan of Cracow. But his protector died, 
 and the old man's mill was unceremoniously seized, while his com- 
 plaints were answered with blows, and attempted assassination. 
 He fled, and received an asylum from the Khan of the Tartars, 
 when he was horror-struck on hearing that the infamous steward 
 had outraged his wife, fired his dwelling, and murdered one of his 
 sons over the body of his mother, while another was publicly 
 scourged. With a reed in his hand — the symbol of command — 
 Bogdan traversed the Cossack hordes and tribes of Tartary ; and 
 at the head of 300,000 men began his terrible march towards the 
 Republic, swept away two successive armies like dust before his 
 path, led their generals and officers into captivity, and consigned 
 70,000 peasants to hopeless bondage." 
 
 At this time, king Vladislas died ; and an interregnum offered 
 to the Cossacks a good opportunity for devastation and war. 
 
 " The whole of Kijovia was in insurrection ; and Anabaptist and 
 Arian, robber and gentleman, served in the same ranks with their 
 peasants, that they might wreak their vengeance upon their common
 
 162 
 
 enemy — the Republic. They could not find torments sufficiently 
 excruciating for either the Jesuits or the Jews. All Podolia, Po- 
 kusia, Volhynia, with the Ukraine and Russia, were made sub- 
 servient to the authority of Bogdan. Thousands flocked from 
 Lithuania to his standard ; and the Tartars of Bessarabia and the 
 Crimea determined to lay aside all religious differences, that they 
 might assist in annihilating the Republic. This combination of 
 Mussulmen, Socinians, Greeks, and Tartars, all animated by the 
 same spirit of implacable revenge, committed horrible excesses, — 
 they levelled the Catholic churches and monasteries with the 
 ground ; nuns were violated, and priests forced, under fear of instant 
 death, to contract marriages, and were then sacrificed to the popular 
 fury. The whole body of nobles were doomed to destruction, under 
 the most lingering and excruciating torture. Their wives and 
 (laughters were stripped naked before the eyes of their husbands 
 and fathers ; and after violation, were whipped to death by the in- 
 furiated followers of Bogdan. He advanced into Red Russia, broke 
 the fetters, and proclaimed himself the champion of the libei'ated 
 peasants. The Polish army were struck w'ith panic, and fled in 
 precipitation from the approaching footsteps of their antagonists. 
 The town of Leopol opened its gates ; the whole palatinate acknow- 
 ledged his power, except the fortress of Zamosc, wherein the rem- 
 nant of the republican forces had shut themselves, with the deter- 
 mination of suffering every extremity, rather than submit to the 
 foe. This resolution would have proved useless, had not the Tar- 
 tars abandoned Bogdan, for the purpose of disposing their stolen 
 treasures and captives in their own country, which disabled him to 
 prosecute the siege with vigour." 
 
 An extraordinary diet assembled in the meantime, to elect a 
 king out of four candidates, — Czar Alexis, father of Peter the 
 Great ; Ragotski, Voyvode of Transylvania ; and two sons of Si- 
 gismund, who were both ecclesiastics. With the permission of the 
 Pope, they both resigned. The eldest cardinal assumed the here-
 
 163 
 
 ditary title of king of Sweden ; the youngest bishop was elected to 
 the throne of the Republic. The first public act the king did, was 
 to write letters to Bogdan, before leading an army against him, 
 promising to forget the past, to restore their rights and privileges, 
 and deliver the baton of a Hetman to himself. 
 
 " The old man pressed the royal missive to his lips in submis- 
 sion, and countermanded the assault he had ordered against the 
 walls of Zamosc. Negotiations for peace were then opened, whilst, 
 unfortunately, the imprudent Jeremy Wiesniowiecki, General of Li- 
 thuania, and whose cruelties towards the Cossacks had essentially 
 embittered their vows of vengeance, unmindful of national as well 
 as personal honour, surprised the camp of the unsuspecting Bogdan, 
 and committed a horrible slaughter. The Hetman retreated to- 
 wards VoDiynia and the Ukraine, his heart bursting with fury, and 
 the stern resolve of opening a new campaign. He refused all 
 further communication with people of such unparalleled perfidy. 
 The king upbraided his nobles for their want of faith, and endea- 
 voured to avert the evils of civil war — but in vain. He was com- 
 pelled to share in the perils of the campaign. Bogdan, with his 
 powerful ally, the Tartar Khan Islaf, at the head of 60,000 men, 
 invested the treacherous Jeremy in an entrenched camp on the 
 plains of Zborow. With only 20,000 men, John Casimir could not 
 hope to form a junction with the besieged, who were 9,000 in 
 number ; but, by a contrivance, he freed the country from tlie im- 
 pending danger. The Tartar Khan was persuaded, by the ofier of 
 the restoration of the annual tribute formerly paid by the Poles, to 
 withdraw from the confederacy. Bogdan, rendered feeble by his 
 separation, was induced to accept the king's terms. Peace was 
 accordingly made, but it was of short duration. The nobles could 
 not brook the memory of the degradation they had undergone, in 
 submitting to those whom they had always been accustomed to 
 contemn. Bogdan returned to his own country, and was speedily 
 made acquainted with the determination of the diet ; instead, how-
 
 164 
 
 ever, of arming' immediately against them, he resolved on an act of 
 private reprisal against Jeremy Wiesniowiecki. The lovely Rosanda 
 of Moldavia, daughter of the Voyvode, had been sought in 
 marriage by all the neighbouring princes, but had been betrothed 
 to Jeremy. Timeon Chmielnicki had seen and become enamoured 
 of her ; and Bogdan speedily overran Moldavia, dictated a peace 
 at Jassi, and compelled the Voyvode to promise his daughter to his 
 son. Every noble of Poland felt this audacious act of the old and 
 despised Cossack as a personal insult, and sought to wipe it out 
 with blood. Bogdan called around him all the dissidents, of what- 
 ever denomination, and made his enterprise assume the character 
 of a crusade, for securing the triumph of the Greek church. He 
 determined to create a sovereignty of his own, and obtained from 
 the Porte his recognition as prince of the Ukraine. As such he 
 swore fealty to the sultan. But the Cossack received no other 
 succour from the Moslems, save a sacred sabre, (if a Turkish 
 sabre may be called so,) with other relics, and a host of mission- 
 aries were transmitted from the venerable Greek patriarch. The 
 monks of Mount Athos, led on by the archbishop of Corinth and 
 an Athenian abbot, traversed Volhynia, Podolla, Black Russia, 
 and the Lithuanian provinces, where they preached the word of 
 vengeance, exhorting their hearers to be merciless to the nobles, 
 and to burn their habitations to the ground. 
 
 In the meantime, 100,000 nobles, on horseback, awaited the first 
 sound of the trumpet, to draw their swords against the furious 
 Cossacks and their allies ; whilst Casimir called to his standard 
 50,000 of the disbanded veterans of Wallenstein and Montecuculi. 
 The eyes of all Europe were now turned upon those military pre- 
 parations, which were to prove more terrible than any crusade, 
 from the spirit of vengeance and valour which animated both sides. 
 The Pope blessed with his benediction the Polish king, and sent 
 him a casque and a consecrated sword, with wliich Casimir 
 made a pilgrimage to the miraculous chapel at Zurowik, to have
 
 165 
 
 spiritual intercourse with heaven. Lithuania resounded with the 
 clashing of arms, and preparations of war were shaking the whole 
 country. The Socinian gentry, even at Cracow and Posen, availed 
 themselves of this ojiportunity, to stir the peasantry against their 
 masters and their religious oppressors, — every inch of Poland 
 seemed in flames. Bogdan's tremendous army was stationed at 
 Zbarras, near the limits of Galicia. The chivalry of Poland halted 
 at Berestecko. The hour of fate was speedily approaching when 
 this terrible conflict would decide whether the Poles or the Cossacks 
 were to enjoy the degrading power of swaying with oppression. 
 After incredible wonders of bravery, fury, and tremendous slaughter, 
 the Cossacks of Bogdan were routed ; and so forcibly were they 
 pressed by the Poles, that they were obliged to leave behind all 
 their baggage and pillaged booty. The rebels of Lithuania, 
 Cracow, and Posen, immediately surrendered, and begged for par- 
 don ; this was granted, and the Equestrian order of nobles dispersed 
 homewards, as they generally did ; and this tremendous campaign 
 began and terminated in one day ! It was not very wise, yet like 
 the custom of the Poles. 
 
 " Bogdan, in his flight, was made prisoner by his treacherous 
 ally, the Khan, and carried into the Crimea; but soon escaping, by 
 a bribe, he speedily gathered the fragments of his army together, 
 and made a formidable stand behind the Boi'ysthenes. He took 
 a fierce revenge on the wife of his old enemy, the steward, for, hav- 
 ing first ravished her, he put her to an excruciating death ; then, 
 gathering the Cossacks and Moscovites around his person, he once 
 more appeared in formidable aspect before the Poles ; for while his 
 son Timeon was proceeding into Moldavia, for the purpose of 
 espousing his affianced bride, 40,000 of Casimir's troops fell be- 
 neath the Cossacks' arms. Poland was in consternation, and many 
 of her best children fled, principally into Dantzic and Germany. 
 The choicest of the nobility had fallen, among whom was Mark 
 Sobieski, brother of the bi-ave John Sobieski. The diet threatened
 
 166 
 
 to wreak ample vengeance, but had not an army wherewith to fulfil 
 its purpose ; and a year was suffered to elapse, amid increasing- 
 confusion. At length, feeling their feebleness, they appealed for 
 aid to the Diet of Ratisbon. Bogdan, breathing fury, and incensed 
 by the loss of his son in battle, determined to avenge himself on the 
 Poles, as well as on the Tartar Khan, by offering allegiance to 
 Alexis, father of Peter the Great. The Czar listened to the pro- 
 position. The acquisition of the territory from the lake Ilmen to 
 the Black Sea (for Bogdan had become master of that exclusive 
 district) confirmed the resolution ; and their allied arms won back 
 Smolensk©, Witepsk, Polock, Mohilow, Severia, Semigallia, Haman, 
 and Brotslaw. Thus the Poles lost the Cossacks, their generals 
 were defeated, their armies exterminated, and enslavement to the 
 Moscovites seemed ready to be added to the list of their dis- 
 graces." 
 
 Yet, dreadful as was its condition. Heaven protected Poland. 
 The future sun of her salvation was rising, in the person of So- 
 bieski. 
 
 1648. 
 
 CASIMIR v., THE ABDICATOR, 
 
 Second son of Sigismund, was elected in 1648. As we have pre- 
 viously observed, he was a Jesuit by principle, education, and cha- 
 racter, and a great bigot ; consequently, his reign was not eminently 
 useful. He devoted himself more to ecclesiastical affairs than those 
 of the government, and was unfit to gain the friendship of the 
 nobles. He permitted them to tyrannize over the Cossacks, which 
 involved him in a war with Russia, whose aid and assistance they 
 had implored. This, however, was not all the misfortunes he 
 brought upon Poland. The intriguing Jesuits prevailed upon him 
 to protest against the accession of Charles Gustavus. Charles 
 then marched against Casimir with 60,000 men through Pome- 
 rania. He called on the Greeks, Cossacks, and dissidents to join
 
 167 
 
 his crusade, to provoke the Jesuits and Pope, for he proclaimed 
 himself the champion of Protestantism. He was not long In taking 
 Warsaw, and next Cracow ; and now the whole of Poland was in 
 his power. Casimir fled to Silesia, where he signed his resignation 
 to the Swedish crown, and the county of Livonia. But what was 
 still worse was, that the oflfended Swede formed the first plot of 
 dismembering Poland ; and sent an ambassador to propose a secret 
 treaty to be entered into between Austria, Prussia, and Sweden, 
 for that very purpose. The idea of this plan was seized on after- 
 wards by Peter of Russia, and executed by Catharine. Nor was 
 this all ; for his libertinism was setting a bad example ; in particu- 
 lar, an affair with the wife of his vice-chancellor raised him a host 
 of enemies. The infuriated husband was banished by Casimir from 
 Poland, and sought refuge from Christine of Sweden. It is sup- 
 posed that a phantom of vengeance caused this guilty officer to pre- 
 vail upon Gustavus to assail Casimir. It is also supposed that the 
 indifference of some nobles to his wrongs, induced him to invent 
 the project of the partition of his country. But the ills of his 
 conduct did not terminate with this, for it seemed as if evil spirits 
 were united to wreak their fury on Poland. 
 
 The most curious and fatal anomaly in the constitution of Poland, 
 now occurred, and was exercised under Casimir ; — this was the 
 Liherum vetOy or the privilege of a single individual in the senate to 
 break up the whole assembly and their proceedings, by exclaiming 
 " ego veto" or, " I disagree." The diet was summoned for the pur- 
 pose of providing remedies for the threatened kingdom ; whilst now, 
 a single Individual nullified the entire proceedings. The conse- 
 quences were dreadful to those who availed themselves of such a 
 privilege ; for it often happened that he paid the forfeit of his life 
 by assassination ; and it proved to be pernicious to Poland. Well 
 might the nobles of Poland have said, that they had no equals under 
 heaven ; for one of them, a proprietor of only five acres of land, had 
 more power in the diet than any king of Europe. Be that as it
 
 168 
 
 might, it was ridiculous and imprudent ; yet, the idea of establish- 
 ing it, is, in another view, so great and sublime, that humanity 
 bows with veneration to the nobility of Poland. What! to endow 
 a single individual with the mighty power of annulling the whole 
 assembly of the Republic, was to lavish on him a sacred dignity, 
 superior to that of any monarch of Europe, — to ascribe to him the 
 wisdom of a perfect philosopher, and equal to that of the apostles 
 of Christ, — it was to credit him with the possession of a virtue 
 which he could not, and would not abuse, like another Regulus ! — 
 it was covering him with the unlimited honour of a great and 
 honest individual, and rendering him more sacred in Warsaw than 
 any saint in Rome !• — it was pouring into his heart and mind the 
 ideas and energies that made him a moral giant, — had he dared to 
 abuse it ; his countenance was like that of Medusa, petrifying the 
 morality of those who gazed on him ; and then his existence was 
 doubtful. The magnanimous deeds of ancient philosophers regu- 
 lating human society, can hardly match this great principle of the 
 Polish senators ; the actions of the former are often the effect of 
 authors of high fancy, and owe their existence to the mighty power 
 of their pens ; but the idea of the Liberutn veto gives to the Polish 
 senate the credit of a sublime idea in attempting perfection. 
 Heaven ! is it possible, that a country which struggled to become 
 virtuous, religious, and honest, should be doomed to eternal slavery 
 and degradation ? Ah, no ! all-wise Providence ordained the fall 
 and crucifixion of Poland, for the national redemption of all 
 Europe. 
 
 To rule over such a people, required a prudent and a virtuous 
 king ; but Casimir was entirely at the mercy of his queen, and of 
 the Jesuits ; he was very much disliked by the Polish nobles, who 
 wished to be governed neither by woman nor the Pope, though they 
 submitted to both. So, in the diet of IGGI, they openly proposed 
 a new election, for a king that could rule them better. The hon- 
 oui', however, was left to Casimir to propose first, which he did.
 
 169 
 
 Singular enough, in this diet Casimir prophesied mysteriously the 
 dismemberment of Poland, in the following words : — 
 
 " I hope I may be a false prophet in stating, that you have to 
 fear the dismemberment of the Republic. The Russians will at- 
 tempt to seize the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as far as the rivers 
 Bug and Narew, and almost to the Vistula. The elector of Bran- 
 denburg will have a design on Great Poland and the neighbouring 
 palatinates, and will contend for the aggrandizement of both Prus- 
 sias. The house of Austria will turn its attention to Cracow, and 
 the adjacent palatinates." 
 
 It is therefore evident that those apprehensions were already 
 existing, and were not confined to Casimir alone. How singular 
 was the warning of Vladislas IV. to Casimir the Great ; and the 
 prophesy now uttered ; — alas ! both accomplished. Tired of trou- 
 bles, which he could not remedy, and of reproaches from the nobles 
 which he could not endure, he abdicated his crown, and thus ad- 
 dressed the Polish senate : — 
 
 People of Poland, 
 
 " It is now two hundred and eighty years that you have 
 been governed by my relations. The reign of my ancestors is 
 past, and mine is about to expire. Fatigued by the toils of war, 
 the cares of the cabinet, and the weight of age ; oppressed with the 
 burdens and solicitudes of a reign of more than twenty-one years, 
 I, your king and father, return into your hands, what the world 
 esteems above all things — a crown, and choose for my throne six 
 feet of earth, where I shall sleep in peace with my fathers." 
 
 After his abdication, he retired to France, where he was made 
 an abbot of the monastery of Saint Germain-des-Pres. 
 
 In the reign of this monarch, the nobles of Poland, after gaining 
 all necessary privileges from their kings, without humbling- their 
 dignity or due honours — after showing to the world their mighty 
 
 y
 
 170 
 
 power of deposing an inefficient king" ; and considering that foreign 
 princes did not understand the station of a king, and regarded 
 more the honour of a crown, and the benefit of the treasury, than 
 the happiness of the Republic, thought seriously of re-establish- 
 ing a hereditary monarchy. This desire manifested itself at the 
 election of the fourth king, Vladislas IV., (1625) fifty years after 
 the introduction of elections ; but now the system was strongly 
 riveted ; the Vice-chancellor of the Polish senate, who followed the 
 hereditary party, wrote to the French minister, De Lumbres, in 
 1657, "that the liberty of the Poles was prejudicial to them, and 
 that it was necessary we should have an hereditary king," Besides, 
 General Sobieski, who belonged to the same party, that is, the 
 order of higher nobles, who were intriguing against the inferior 
 nobles, wrote to the king of France, Louis XIV., in one of his 
 letters, 14th July, 1672,* begging him to deliver the Republic from 
 the absurd tyranny of a plebeian aristocracy, and to name the king, as 
 some of the Poles wished for the prince of Conde. However, they 
 afterwards changed their minds, and Sobieski, with his party, per- 
 suaded the Poles to reject the foreigner, and choose a Piast. In 
 consequence of this, the next elected king was — . 
 
 1670. MICHAEL KORIBUT ¥IESNIO¥IECKI. 
 
 He was descended from Jagiellons, was an obscure, unknown, 
 and deformed person, who had shut himself up in a monastery at 
 Warsaw. He was really dragged to the throne, and wept when 
 the nobles told him, " Serenissimo, you shall reign over us." Thus 
 he gave another proof to the world, in Polish history, of indiffer- 
 ence to a crown, which in Poland was not, indeed, joined to a bed 
 of roses, but which at this election was most ardently aspired for, 
 by the eldest son of the Czar, the duke of Neuburg, Prince Charles 
 of Lorraine, and the Prince of Conde. Wiesniowiecki was so unfit 
 
 ' Ehuliere.
 
 171 
 
 for the throne, that when Caslmir the Abdicator heard of his elec- 
 tion, he said, " What ! have they placed the crown upon that poor 
 fellow?" The Mahometans, in 1672, came, as usual, to plunder 
 Poland ; and they so alarmed Michael, that without the knowledge 
 of the senate, he entered into a treaty with them, by which he 
 ceded Ukraine and Podolia, and promised in addition to pay 20,000 
 ducats annually (£11,000) to the Sultan, — thus becoming his 
 vassal. For this act he was strongly reprimanded by the nobles ; 
 and when the Turks came to Chocim in 1673, with an army, de- 
 manding the stipulated money, General Sobieski paid them with 
 his sword, killing 40,000 of their number, — a victory which paved 
 his way to the Polish throne ; for, after the death of Wiesniowiecki, 
 which happened in the same month, the Poles elected for their 
 king— 
 
 1673. JOHN III. SOBIESKI, THE SAVIOUR. 
 
 This great general distinguished himself already, under the reign 
 of Casimir, by frequent defeats of the Russians, and under that of 
 Koribut, by conquering the Turks once at Kamieniec, and after- 
 wards at Chocim, and, regaining all the Polish provinces from the 
 invaders, he slew 40,000 of them, with an army of only 30,000 
 Poles. Before the crown was set on his brow, he was obliged to 
 march against the invading Turks with 15,000 Poles, and encoun- 
 tered them near Leopol, the capital of Gallcia, which they kept in 
 siege with 60,000 Turks. A battle ensued. In which he slew 
 10,000 of the enemy, whom he treated so kindly in their retreat, 
 that the Mussulmen fled before the pursuing Sobieski, as many 
 miles in one day as in their march thither they travelled In three. 
 Scarcely was the coronation over when the spiteful Tui'ks marched 
 against Poland, to the number of 200,000. Sobieski, with 30,000 
 Poles, went to an interview, and met them at Zurawno, where he
 
 172 
 
 stopped their farther approach, and forced them to a treaty very 
 honourable to the Poles. 
 
 The great uncivility and tyranny shown by Leopold, em- 
 peror of Germany, over his brave subjects, the Hungarians, 
 drove them to such despair, that they threw themselves for redress 
 upon the Turks, who were only longing for a pretence to renew 
 the war with the Christians, and take possession of long sought 
 Vienna. These Mahometans were always Inimical to the cause 
 of Christianity, and constantly aiming at the invasion of 
 Europe, and the destruction of Rome. The Poles were their only 
 obstacle, whose valour they could not overcome, and whom they 
 dreaded. Deeming, now, that a favourable opportunity presented 
 itself to realise their barbarous project, and having made a treaty 
 of peace for a few years with Poland, they became fearless. Con- 
 sequently the Ottoman Porte, in 1683, gathering all her disposable 
 forces, formed a tremendous army of 300,000 well-mounted Turks, 
 full of a vicious desire to overthrow Vienna, subvert Rome, and 
 invade the whole of central Europe. This army of Mussulmen, 
 armed with dreadful weapons, animated with fanaticism, and ardent 
 for booty, pressed in heavy columns, which extended along a distance 
 of six miles, to devour the city of the Christian's God. Unrestrained 
 in their stormy career, they glided under the walls of Vienna, 
 around which sprung up an enormous city of tents, and a forest of 
 banners, sparkling with crescents ; and there the intoxicated infidels 
 were anticipating the fatality of the terrified inhabitants of Vienna, 
 upon whose Christian crosses, reared to heaven, they were gazing 
 with contempt and rage. Three hundred cannons, pregnant with 
 death, were pointed at the mansions of the metropolis. One single 
 battle was to decide the fate of Austria, and of Christianity. 
 
 As people on a stormy shore, unable to render assistance, look in 
 pity upon the labouring vessel, which the tempestuous waves 
 threaten momentarily to sink, so Europe in deadly silence looked 
 upon Vienna, which seemed to stand in the midst of this furious
 
 173 
 
 ocean of Mussulraen. None were now to be found of those bold 
 champions who had before so ardently enrolled themselves in cru- 
 sading expeditions. Throughout the whole of Christian Europe, 
 there was no general bold enough to face the present danger. So- 
 bleski was the only one to whom Rome and Vienna looked with 
 hope ; and he, though personally inimical to the tyranny of the 
 German emperor, who gave rise to the present calamity, pitied the 
 position of the Austrlans, and, with the piety of a true Christian, 
 nobly resolved to defend the church. Quick and energetic, Sobieski, 
 now in his fifty-fourth year, placed himself at the head of 24,000 
 Poles, and hastened to the relief of Vienna. On his arrival, he 
 joined the emperor Leopold's army ; and at the head of only 
 70,000 men, and 28 artillery pieces, was bent on defeating 300,000 
 men, with 300 cannon. The German generals were doubtful of his 
 success ; but Sobieski told them, " consider the general you have 
 to deal with, and not the multitude he commands." Then taking 
 his station upon an eminence, he said, "this man is badly encamp- 
 ed ; he knows nothing of war ; I shall certainly beat him in one hour." 
 The skirmishing commenced early in the morning of Sunday, the 
 12th September, 1683, and the battle itself at 5 p.m., when Sobieski 
 secured a commanding position with the Polish infantry ; and or- 
 dering a charge of his whole cavalry upon the centre, shook the 
 formidable ranks of the Turks, which, pressed by the remaining 
 German troops, fled in various directions in the greatest disorder, 
 leaving king Sobieski, at 6 p.m., master of the whole Turkish camp. 
 The ungrateful emperor now took from his face the mask of hypo- 
 crisy, and treated Sobieski, his generals, and his army, with the 
 utmost indifference, — so much so, that Sobieski wrote, in a letter to 
 his queen, " everything is suddenly changed ; it is as if they did not 
 know us any longer .... They give us neither forage nor pro- 
 visions." On the following day, when king John entered the 
 cathedral at Vienna, to return thanks to the Almighty for enabling 
 him to conquer the infidels, the preacher chose the following text
 
 174 
 
 for the occasion : — " There was a man sent from God whose name 
 was John." But when Sobieski retired with his army, Pope Inno- 
 cent II. and the emperor Leopold were made the heroes of the grand 
 day of Vienna. Leopold ordered medals to be struck of himself, 
 a^ saviour of the empire ; and the silly old Pope ordered a solemn 
 procession, with holy banners, bearing his and the emperor's like- 
 nesses, as saviours of Christianity. It has been well said, " that 
 Poland saved a serpent from death, which afterwards turned and 
 stung her for her kindness." 
 
 This is the third instance of the ingratitude of our neighbours, 
 the Austrians, tvho, to their eternal disgrace, entered into a 
 league, in 1772, ivith the two others of an ungrateful trio, and 
 espoused the criminal plot to dismember Poland, and overthroiv 
 the nation that once saved them from utter destruction ; and 
 deprive her in return of all those privileges and freedom that con- 
 stitutes the worth of a inan's existence. 
 
 Had Sobieski been a wise politician, he ought to have allowed 
 the Turks to destroy Vienna, and even instigate and encourage 
 them to burn Rome to ashes ; and then fell upon the exhausted 
 Mahometans with the rage of a lion. Had he done so, both he and 
 Poland would have commanded a better respect of Europe, which 
 covered herself with the darkest ingratitude. " How quietly those 
 petty politicians sat in their chimney corners when the Turks 
 looked at Vienna ; but when the danger was over, they sneered at 
 Sobleski's defeat at Barcan, caused by the treachery of his German 
 auxiliaries, a few days after the deliverance of Vienna." All that 
 Poland gained was the alteration of the title inclyta republica, to 
 serenissima ; and that of king John, to legitimate sire. Thus 
 Sobieski and his kingdom were rewarded for saving Austria and 
 eastern Europe, by two empty titles ! 
 
 This victory afterwards involved Sobieski in a war with Turkey,
 
 175 
 
 and forced him to enter into a degrading treaty with the Russians 
 against the Turks, confirming to the former the alienation from 
 Poland, of Smolensko, Czerniechow, Kijov, and Severia, which 
 caused this man, the greatest then in Europe, to be called by the 
 nobles of Poland, "an infringer of the laws — an enemy to his 
 country," for Sobieski did it without the consent of the senate. 
 
 Sobieski was a great promoter of learning and the sciences ; but 
 although in his reign more books were printed, and literary writers 
 were more numerous than under preceding monarchs, yet all this was 
 the monastic learning of the Jesuits, who now possessed great power 
 in Poland. He descended into the grave of his fathers in 1696; 
 and it seems, alas ! that he took with him all the glory of Poland. 
 
 1697. FREDERIC AUGUSTUS II., THE USURPER, 
 
 Elector of Saxony, ascended the throne of Poland in 1697. The 
 whole country was divided betwixt two powerful parties — one 
 for a hereditary monarchy, the other for an elective republic. 
 Accordingly, the first party elected the Prince of Conde, the second, 
 Frederic Augustus ; and strange to add, both classes of electors 
 proclaimed their king on the same day, the 27th of June, the first 
 by the archbishop, the second by the bishop of Kujavia. But 
 Augustus settled the question ; for he came to take possession of 
 the throne with 10,000 Saxons. There was some diflficulty in per- 
 forming the coronation ceremonies. " All the regalia were locked 
 up in the treasury at Cracow, in the keeping of officers in Conde's 
 interest. The law forbade breaking up the doors ; but the Saxons 
 laughed at locksmiths, and broke down the wall. It was also ne- 
 cessary that the archbishop should perform the ceremony, but he 
 too was in the other interest ; the diocese was therefore declared 
 vacant, and filled anew. There was still another impediment: 
 the funeral of the late king ought to precede the inauguration, and 
 the coi-pse was in the hands of Conde's party at Warsaw ; but the
 
 170 
 
 Saxons substituted an effigy, so that the coronation was solemnised, 
 and the king proclaimed, who fainted during the formalities, as if 
 his heart failed him at the thoughts of the charge he was taking 
 on himself."* This was the first disgraceful and forced election in 
 Poland, which laid the yoke on the necks of her sons ; for this fatal 
 example emboldened the other sovereigns to imitate it, and since 
 that time the kings were placed on the throne of Poland at the 
 point of the bayonet. Augustus, afraid to lose his crown, kept 
 his Saxon army about him, contrary to Pacta Conventa, to which 
 he swore ; therefore he found an excuse, and marched with them 
 to regain Livonia from the Swedes, to whom it had been ceded by 
 John Casimir. The bishop who crowned him, as if inspired with 
 the spirit of divination, told Augustus that "his attack on Sweden 
 was a gross violation of the rights of nations, and of equity, which 
 the Almighty would not fail to punish." Shortly after, Augustus, 
 being unable to attain his aim alone, called on Peter the Great 
 to assist him, (the very thing Peter desired for a long time.) Both 
 monarchs met in 1701 at Birze, a small town near Wilna, where 
 the mighty restorer of Russia and the usurper Augustus remained 
 for a fortnight in a state of revelling and drunkenness, during which 
 they plotted that iniquitous war, which afterwards ruined thousands 
 of families, and gave such a strong impulse to further aggressions 
 and retaliations. The youthful Swedish king of eighteen^ appre- 
 hensive of the assault, started first, routed the Russians at Narva, 
 and shortly after took the Moscovite empire. The vindictive 
 Charles reached Birze, where the plot was raised against him, and 
 in the very same castle resolved to avenge himself of Peter, and to 
 dethrone Augustus ; consequently, he entered Poland, as a friend 
 to the Poles, but as an enemy to the usurping king. Augustus 
 fought for his crown, at the head of 24,000 Saxons, on the plain of 
 Klissow. This was the first war for the crown of Poland. He 
 lost the battle, and went to Cracow; fought again with his Saxons, 
 
 • Fletcher.
 
 177 
 
 for the Poles would not aid him ; was again defeated, and fled to 
 Saxony. Charles XII. wished to give the crown to Alexander, the 
 third son of Sohieski, for Augustus took the precaution to secure 
 the persons of the two eldest sons, James and Constantino ; but he 
 gave the fourth example to the world of his indifference for the 
 crown. The Poles begged Charles to take it, but he even refused, 
 so that the neighbouring princes, says Voltaire, knew not whom to 
 admire most, the king of Sweden, who, at the age of twenty-two 
 years, gave away the crown of Poland, or the prince Alexander, of 
 twenty-eight, who refused it. Charles then proposed Stanislas Les- 
 zczynski, a nobleman of a distinguished family ; but the intrigues of 
 Russia and some of the Poles opposed it; the Swedish arms, however, 
 seated him on the throne. Charles of Sweden left Poland, and 
 Augustus, with 20,000 Saxons, regained his crown, and dethroned 
 Leszczynski, who with his family fled to Charles. Charles returned 
 with his army, overtook Augustus in Posnania, defeated him, entered 
 Saxony, and forced him to resign the Polish crown, and to become 
 his friend. Leszczynski was again king of Poland. When Charles 
 was in Saxony, Peter sent his troops to Poland ; they plundered 
 and robbed the property of the party opposed to Augustus, but fled 
 before approaching Charles, who followed them to Pultowa ; a 
 battle ensued between Peter of Russia and Charles of Sweden, in 
 which the latter was defeated, and lost his surname of " the Invin- 
 cible," which he gained in nine years' conquests, and was con- 
 strained to seek an asylum in Turkey. Augustus now marched 
 again to Poland, re-dethroned Stanislas, and re-ascended the throne. 
 The intriguing Charles prevailed upon the Turks to take up 
 arms against Russia ; he commanded them, defeated Peter on 
 the river Pruth, in 1711, and extorted from him a promise to 
 withdraw his troops from Poland, which he never fulfilled, and to 
 let him pass safely to Sweden, which Peter did. Peter and Charles 
 soon became very good friends. The Russ promised the Swede to 
 reinstate Leszczynski, for Peter now obtained all the Livonian 
 
 z
 
 178 
 
 provinces he so long aimed at, and adjoined them to Russia ; and 
 they both now, with compliance to the Swedish minister's schemes, 
 were preparing to make a descent on England; in fact, that Peter 
 might become the arbiter of Europe : but the unexpected death of 
 Charles, in I7l8, prevented further attempts. 
 
 Such was the issue of an unjust attack upon Livonia, plotted at a 
 drunken revel at Birze. Charles lost his glory, Stanislas his 
 throne, Augustus the affections of his people ; and though he 
 recovered the crown, it was by the perfidious breach of an oath, and 
 by treachery, and he became lowered to the grade of a mere Rus- 
 sian viceroy. Peter gained all. 
 
 Augustus died in 1733, having injured both the kingdom of 
 Poland and his electoral dominions. There never was a similar 
 set of crowned adventurers living together, and swaying the fate 
 and happiness of 80,000,000 of people. Historians may call them 
 great men, — ^they were but silly ones : Augustus, who gave to 
 Frederic William of Prussia, one of his most dangerous neigh- 
 bours, his finest regiment of dragoons, in exchange for twelve 
 porcelain vases. Charles, an adventurer of a limited mind, who 
 could only speak about his jack-boots and gilt buttons. Peter, 
 who, reaping his instructions amongst the working men of different 
 countries, knew only how to build ships and dress his soldiers. 
 It is true that he improved the Russian costume, and shaved by 
 force the beards of two-thirds of his subjects — that he improved 
 mechanics, architecture, and the army ; but it is equally true, that 
 what he never understood nor conceived — that is, morals, justice, 
 honesty, and personal liberty — he never dreamed of improving, and 
 left Russia as perverted and degraded as he found it.* These 
 were the three powerful monarchs who ruled eastern Europe. 
 Strange, yet true ! 
 
 * Here rests the secret cause of Russia becoming so oppressive to her sur- 
 rounding neighbours, which was, that she had grown rapidly formidable and 
 powerful, without a corresponding advancement of tlie people in civilization, 
 morals, and justice.
 
 179 
 
 After the death of Augustus, the Poles ardently looked upon 
 Leszczynski, whose public and private virtues, as well as his elevat- 
 ed mind, and his kind and benevolent disposition, were very pro- 
 mising. He was an exile in France, and his daughter became 
 queen of France, by her marriage with Louis XV. He refused to 
 accept the crown, (being the fifth Pole who declined it ;) but the 
 unanimous voice and petition of 60,000 nobles had a good eflect, 
 and he became obedient to their wishes. 
 
 1733. • STANISLAS LESZCZYNSKI 
 
 Came to assume the reigns of government, and was proclaimed 
 in 1 733. Had this king remained on the throne, and the nation 
 enjoyed half a century of peace and judicious administration, not 
 only would Poland have been to-day in a different state, but the 
 whole of Europe would present a very different aspect. But Aus- 
 tria and Russia trembled when they saw this virtuous and patriotic 
 noble ascending the Polish throne ; and they resolved at every 
 hazard to prevent his arrival, and in this manner excite the people 
 to disorder, which might enable them to force the election of 
 Augustus HI., son of Augustus II. With this object, they took 
 the most careful precaution to Intercept Leszczynski. The Russian 
 fleet was cruising on the Baltic, whilst the authorities of Germany 
 were ordered to cut off any approach by land ; but a well-invented 
 stratagem annihilated the barbarous attempt. It was announced in 
 France that Leszezynski would go by sea, and to give the report a 
 plausible appearance, the Chevalier de Thaings, who strongly re- 
 sembled him, embarked at Brest, with all the formalities of royalty, 
 and set sail for Danzic, under his name ; whilst Leszczynski, in 
 disguise, accompanied by two gentlemen, in the character of mer- 
 chants, took a route through Germany. 
 
 Russia was in favour of the son of Augustus, for he promised to 
 resign Courland to Russia ; whilst Austria wished the same, that
 
 180 
 
 she might become mistress, and guide by her inliuence the elector of 
 Saxony, her dependant, and the adjacent country, and display her supe- 
 riority to her rival France. Austria, therefore, threatened the Poles ; 
 whilst Russia sent an army of 60,000 to force the election of Au- 
 gustus, and to prove to the Poles that her influence, once felt, is not 
 to be thought momentary. The Polish army, of 15,000 volunteers, 
 were not able to oppose them. Stanislas fled to Danzic, then a 
 fortress, which defended him for five months. During the siege, 
 upwards of 10,000 Russians were killed. Treachery at last de- 
 livered the town into the hands of the enemy. In the meantime, 
 the Russian authorities forced a small number of the Polish nobles, 
 some of whom they brought in chains, to sign the election of Au- 
 gustus III. ; and although the list of signatures was small, not ex- 
 ceeding 300, Augustus was crowned, Danzic taken by assault, and 
 Leszczynski obliged to depart, in the disguise of a peasant, to the 
 Duchies of Loraine and Bar, which were given to him by the French 
 crown ; and where he devoted himself to literature and philo- 
 sophy. 
 
 Leszczynski, therefore, was the last king of Poland, upon whom 
 the unanimous suff'rages of G0,000 nobles placed the crown in 1733, 
 and whom 60,000 Russian soldiers hurled from the throne, and 
 drove into exile. 
 
 Here Poland may solemnly ask the whole of Europe, what right 
 had Russia and Austria to interfere with the elections of the Polish 
 nobles ? What right had they to force upon the Polish throne a 
 vassal, congenial to their wicked views ? Upon what principle — 
 upon what basis did they dare to dethrone a legitimate and right- 
 ful king, and so inundate the whole country with their mercenary 
 satellites? Was it to check disorder in Poland, as they were in use 
 to complain ? Was it to suppress a restless party, in order to pro- 
 tect the rightful one ? Was it to abolish the Republic, and re- 
 instate the monarchy ? No ; it was to undermine the whole nation? 
 to sow the seeds of discord, to foment the spirit of the parties, in
 
 181 
 
 order to suppress the only constitutional nation in the East, and to 
 crush the righteous laws of a free and enlightened people ; it was 
 to banish freedom from Poland, and to plunge her in distress, in 
 order to hasten her fall, that the unlimited neighbouring despots 
 might sway their iron sceptres of tyranny without fear. They 
 knew Leszczynski was a man of intellect, and about to re-establish 
 the standing army, which the treacherous Saxon, Augustus, dis- 
 banded, replacing it with 15,000 undisciplined militia; and had 
 Leszczynski followed the advice of Sapieha, the bishop of Kijov, 
 and grand treasurer of Lithuania, who sent him a memorial in 
 1735, signed by 244 other Polish nobles, he might have mounted 
 the throne of Poland over the slain of Russia. But unfortunately 
 Leszczynski was not an enterprising man ; he was a Pole, and 
 therefore not a man of blood. " Imitate my example," said he, in 
 answering Bishop Sapieha and the nobles ; " lay down your arms, 
 and do not subject yourselves, by useless obstinacy, to the reproach 
 of wishing to perpetuate trouble among your brothers." Poland 
 had no warrior: thus she fell. 
 
 Such were the Kings of Poland. They do not shine in history 
 by deeds of extraordinary conquest or foreign aggression ; they do 
 not astonish the world with marvellous undertakings ; they do not 
 stupify Europe with crossing of Alps or Pyrenees; they did not 
 fight pharsalian battles, nor make the nations tremble before their 
 fury ; — there were among them no ambitious Alexanders, usurping 
 Caisars, ferocious Tamerlanes, — no fanatic Edwards, no despotic 
 Napoleons, — none ; — there were no conquerors In Poland, but only 
 the noble defenders of their own country. Inferior in vain ambi- 
 tion, and superior in honest feeling, to all other crowned potentates, 
 they willingly assisted their neighbours In the hour of need, yet 
 punished them severely in their unjust aggressions and invasions. 
 
 Come forth from your graves, ye sanctified manes of the Polish 
 kings, — rank yourselves before the majestic tribunal of mankind.
 
 182 
 
 and let your grave and mournful voice solemnly proclaim the con- 
 duct of the Polish nation ! Did a vindictive or despairing hand of 
 the people ever threaten a deadly blow ? — did the voice of rage and 
 distress ever resound in peals of insults ? — or, did machiavelic plots 
 ever raise their heads, hydra-like, to destroy your lives, to insult 
 your dignity, or to overthrow your power ? Never ! — other fri- 
 volous nations, placing no bounds to their praising or condemning ; 
 with the one hand, raised their kings to the sky, — made them 
 saints, — fraternised them with divinity, — connecting their relation- 
 ship with the sun, moon, and stars, — whilst, with the other, they 
 were thrusting them down to the dark regions of Pluto, torturing 
 them in subtei'ranean graves, or driving them upon terrible scaffolds, 
 where they were condemned in cold blood to martyrdom. Let us 
 turn our eyes to the gloomy aspect presented by the history of 
 foreign nations, and we shall see whether the sad fate of many a 
 sovereign would not terrify our minds, and make our hearts sick. 
 
 Tell, then, ye manes of the Polish kings, — did the Poles ever 
 perform similar tragedies ? — did they ever display such monstrous 
 wickedness ? — did they ever prove so ignorant, so malicious, and so 
 barbarous as to grant the sublime dignity, to abuse it afterwards 
 — to trample upon their own oath, and to condemn their own elec- 
 tion and choice ? Nay, wedding their kings at the altar of the 
 nation, their solemn oath of love, honour, and obedience, was never 
 broken. With the prudence and affection of an honest husband, 
 they would rather have suffered patiently the faults, follies, and 
 weakness of their better, though feebler part, than to disgrace 
 themselves with the cruel abuse of a defenceless individual. 
 
 No Edward II. assassinated, by order of his mother-in-law, 
 Isabel, to place her paramour Mortimer on the throne. No Richard 
 dying in agony, under barbarous goalers, in the fortress of Austria, 
 — no Edward V., with his brother put to death in the tower, — no 
 Richard II., murdered in Pontafrac prison, — no Charles II., ex- 
 piring on a scaffold, — no Anne Boleyn, nor Mary Stuart, — .no
 
 183 
 
 Louis XVI., humbled by a mob, with a republican bonnet placed 
 by them on his head, and forced to drink whisky from their common 
 bottle, — no Louis XIV., — no Czars hung*, strangled, or poisoned, 
 like the uninterrupted picture presented by the throne of Russia, 
 from Peter the Great to Alexander, — no such acts to be found 
 staining the pages of Polish history. Every one of their kings 
 died, anointed in the presence of their relations and friends, on his 
 royal bed ! 
 
 Here is shown the superiority of the Polish nation, which never 
 stained its hand with the blood of its sovereign ; and in preserving 
 God's holy commandment, " Thou shalt not kill." And if the nobles 
 of Poland reprimanded their kings with an open and honest voice 
 in the senate, theirs was the voice of loving sons, reminding their 
 fathers of their duty, for the fulfilment of which both were answer- 
 able to Almighty God ! In this light. 
 
 Where is the laNGDOM to be compared with Poland ? 
 
 A nation, therefore, that with so sacred a solemnity, 
 
 PROFESSED ITS OWN FAITH, RESPECTED AND TOLERATED, WITHOUT 
 EXCEPTION, ALL OTHER CHRISTIAN CREEDS, AND PROTECTED THE 
 PERSECUTED, A NATION THAT WITH SUCH DIGNITY AND FRANK- 
 NESS TREATED ITS KINGS, AND WITH SUCH A GRANDEUR AND DE- 
 VOTEDNESS RESPECTED AND SUPPORTED THE SUPREME POWER, IS 
 CERTAINLY PREDESTINED TO STAND AS A PATTERN FOB IMITA- 
 TION IN THOSE AGES THAT WILL BE ABLE ENOUGH TO VALUE, 
 AND MORAL ENOUGH TO FOLLOW, SUCH VIRTUES !
 
 I 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 
 
 KINGS OF POLAND.
 
 
 
 18(5 
 
 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 
 1 
 
 Names. 
 
 SCENAMES. 
 
 Family Descent 
 
 Ascent. 
 
 Descent 
 
 
 
 Son of Zicmovmsl, fifth successor 
 
 
 
 MlECZYSLAS I. 
 
 
 of Piast's family. 842. 
 
 962 
 
 990 
 
 BOLESLAS I. 
 
 Great, 
 
 Son of INIicczyslrts & Dombrowka. 
 
 009 
 
 1025 
 
 MlECZYSLAS TT. 
 
 Idle, 
 
 Son of Boleslas the Great. 
 
 1025 
 
 1034 
 
 
 
 INTERREGNUM. 
 
 1034 
 
 1041 
 
 Castmir T. 
 
 Restorer, 
 
 Son of Miezyslas II. 
 
 1041 
 
 1058 
 
 BoLESLAS II. 
 
 Bold, 
 
 Son of Casimir I. 
 
 DUKEDOM OF POLAND. 
 
 1058 
 
 1081 
 
 Vladislas I. 
 
 Careless, 
 
 Son of Casimir T. 
 
 1091 
 
 1103 
 
 BOLESLAS III. 
 
 Wrjmoutli 
 
 Son of Vladislas I. 
 
 POLAND DIVIDED BETWEEN 
 POUR PRINCES. 
 
 1103 
 
 1139 
 
 Vladtslas II. 
 
 " 
 
 Son of Bolesla.? Til. 
 
 1139 
 
 1146 
 
 BOLESLAS IV. 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 1146 
 
 1173 
 
 IMlECZTSLAS III. 
 
 Old, 
 
 Do- do. 
 
 1174 
 
 1178 
 
 Henry. 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 Died. 
 
 
 Casimir II. 
 
 Just, 
 
 Do do. 
 
 1178 
 
 1194 
 
 Lesko. 
 
 White, 
 
 Son of Casimir II. 
 
 1104 
 
 119() 
 
 MlECZYSLAS III. 
 
 Old, 
 
 Ai^ain. 
 
 119G 
 
 1202 
 
 Vladislas III. 
 
 
 Son of Mieczyslas III. 
 
 1202 
 
 120(1 
 
 Lesko. 
 
 White, 
 
 Again. 
 
 120(> 
 
 1228 
 
 BOLESEAS V. 
 
 Chaste, 
 
 Son of Lesko White. 
 
 1228 
 
 1279 
 
 Lesko. 
 
 Black, 
 
 Son of Casimir II. 
 
 1279 
 
 1289 
 
 • 
 
 
 INTERREGNUM. 
 
 During which Boleslas, Duke of 
 INIazovia, Ilonry, Dukeof Bre.sla\v, 
 Vla<lislas, brother of Lesko Black, 
 and N'cnczcslas, King of Bohemia, 
 aspirers to the crown, were de- 
 posing each other from the throne. 
 
 1289 
 
 1295
 
 187 
 
 
 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 
 
 
 Namk. 
 
 Surnames. 
 
 Family Descent. 
 
 Ascent. 
 
 Descent 
 
 
 
 
 KINGDOM OF POLAND. 
 
 
 
 
 Pbzemyslas. 
 
 
 Duke. 
 
 139.5 
 
 1306 
 
 
 Vladislas IV. 
 
 Dwarf, 
 
 Brother to Lesko Black. 
 
 1306 
 
 1307 
 
 
 
 
 A Bohemian Prince, brother-in- 
 
 
 
 
 Yenczeslas. 
 
 
 law to Przemyslas by marriage. 
 
 1307 
 
 1310 
 
 
 Vladislas IV. 
 
 Dwarf, 
 
 Again. 
 
 1310 
 
 1333 
 
 
 Casimiu III. 
 
 Great, 
 
 Son of Vladislas IV. 
 
 1333 
 
 1370 
 
 
 Lewis. 
 
 
 Son of Casimir's III. Sister. 
 
 1370 
 
 1382 
 
 
 Hedwig. 
 
 
 Thegranddaughter of Casimir III. 
 
 1382 
 
 13S6 
 
 
 Vladislas V. 
 
 Jagiello, 
 
 Son of Olgerd, Duke of Lithuania. 
 
 1386 
 
 lUi 
 
 
 Vladislas VI. 
 
 of Varna, 
 
 Son of Jagiello. 
 
 liU 
 
 1445 
 
 
 Casimir IV. 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 lUo 
 
 1492 
 
 
 John Albert. 
 
 
 Son of Casimir IV. 
 
 U92 
 
 1501 
 
 
 Alexander. 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 1501 
 
 1507 
 
 
 SiGISMUND I. 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 1507 
 
 1548 
 
 
 Sigismund II., Augustus. 
 
 
 Son of Sigismund I. 
 
 REPUBLIC OP POLAND. 
 
 Elective Kings. Intekuegnum. 
 
 1548 
 
 1572 
 
 
 Henry de Valois. 
 
 Deserter, 
 
 Son of Catharine de Medicis. 
 Son of Duke of Transylvania, bro- 
 
 1574 
 
 1575 
 
 
 Stephen Batory. 
 
 
 ther-in-law to Sigismund Augus- 
 tus by marriage. 
 
 1575 
 
 1587 
 
 
 Sigismund III. 
 
 
 Swedish royal prince. 
 
 1587 
 
 1633 
 
 
 Vladislas A''II. 
 
 Vasa, 
 
 Son of Sigismund III. 
 
 1C33 
 
 1048 
 
 
 John Casimir V. 
 
 Abdicator, 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 1618 
 
 1668 
 
 
 Michael KoriuutWies- 
 niowiecki. 
 
 
 Son of a Polish Noble. 
 
 1668 
 
 1073 
 
 
 John Sobieski. 
 
 Saviour, 
 
 Son of a Polish Noble. 
 
 1673 
 
 1690 
 
 
 Frederic Augustus I. 
 
 Usurper, 
 
 Elector of Saxony 
 
 1696 
 
 1700 
 
 
 Stanislas Leszczynski. 
 
 
 Son of a Polish Noble. 
 
 1707 
 
 1708 
 
 
 Frederic Augustus I. 
 
 Usurper, 
 
 Again. 
 
 1708 
 
 1732 
 
 
 Frederic Augustus II. 
 
 Vasal, 
 
 Son of Frederic Augustus I. 
 
 INTERREGNUM. 
 
 1733 
 
 1763 
 
 
 Stanislas Augustus Po- 
 
 Vasal, 
 
 Son of a Polish Noble. 
 
 1763 
 
 1772 
 
 
 NIATOWSKI. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 THREE PARTITIONS OF POLAND— 1772, 1793, 1790 
 
 
 
 
 DTCHY OF WARSAW ELECTED, 1813. 
 
 
 
 
 FOURTH PARTITION OF POLAND, 1815. 
 
 
 
 
 Alexander. (Tyrant, | Son of Paul, Emperor of Russia. 
 
 1815 
 
 1825 
 
 
 Nicolas. JTyrant, | Do. do. do. do. | 
 
 1825 
 
 1831 
 
 
 FIFTH PARTITION OF POLAND, 1832. 
 
 

 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 Address to the Ladies of England, _ _ , . . <j 
 
 Introduction, - - - - - - - - 19 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Mythology of the Slavonians, - - - - - - 29 
 
 Introduction of Christianity, by Cyrillusand Methodius, to Bulgaria, IVIo- 
 
 ravia, Bohemia, and Poland, - - - - - - 31 
 
 Introduction of Roman Catholicism to Poland, by Dombrowka, - 3^ 
 
 State of Religion under Boleslas the Great, first King of Poland — His 
 
 relation to Otto, Emperor of Germany, - _ . - 34 
 
 The Pope Excommunicates and Dethrones Boleslas the Bold, - 37 
 
 State of Religion under Boleslas III., (Wrymouth) — The Knights of St 
 
 John invited to Poland, ...... 39 
 
 Casimir the Great, King of Peasants — Origin of the privileges given to 
 
 the Jews in Poland, .---.-.40 
 Queen Hedwig introduces Christianity to Lithuania — Her marriage with 
 
 Jagiello, and religious cares — Symptoms of Reformation, - - 43 
 
 Reformation, ...--.-.49 
 
 The introduction of Reformation to Poland — Sects of Pirnenses, Flagel- 
 lants, Fratricelli, Wyckliffites, Hussites, - ... 53 
 Reform in the Church, proposed to the Polish Diet by John Ostrorog, 
 
 Voyvode of Poznania, ------ o7 
 
 Rapid progress of the Reformation under Sigismund I., - - 01 
 
 Farther progress of Reformed doctrines, under Sigismund Augustus II , 65 
 
 Proposed Reform of the Roman Cathohc Church, by Andreas Frycz 
 
 Modrzewski, --------09 
 
 The celebrated Polish Reformers — Stanislas Orzechowski, Laski, Lis- 
 
 manini, .-.-.-..7^ 
 
 Intrigues of Rome to check the progress of the Reformation, - - 81 
 
 Concensus Sandomiriensis, or Union of all the Reformed Churches in 
 
 Poland, .-------83 
 
 Introduction of the Jesuits — Charactcrof the first Jesuit, Ignatius Loyola, 85 
 
 Religious Persecutions by the Russian dynasty in Poland striving to 
 
 abolish both Church and Religion— Pitiful condition of the Polish 
 
 clergy, -.-.--..90 
 
 Religious Anecdotes. - - - - - - -108
 
 KINGS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Micczyslas I.. -------•• J*' 
 
 Boleslas I., the Great. • - - - - - - 1^^ 
 
 Boleslas II., the Bold, - - - - - - - US 
 
 Vladislas I., 121 
 
 Boleslas III., (Wrymouth) ..---- 122 
 
 Boleslas lY., 123 
 
 Casiniir II., the Just, ..----- 123 
 
 Boleslas V., the Chaste, - - - ~ - - - 125 
 
 Vladislas IV., the Dwarf, 123 
 
 Casimir III., the Great, King of Peasants— Casimir's Code of Laws, - 126 
 
 Jjoms, Pacta Co7iventa, or Magna Chartu of Poland, - - 128 
 
 Vladislas V., Jagiello, .------ 130 
 
 Vladislas VI., of Varna, ------ 131 
 
 Sigismund I., -------- 133 
 
 Origin and power of the Teutonic Knights, - . - - 131 
 
 The real causes which induced the nobles to change the Hereditary INIo- 
 
 narchy to an Elective Republic, ----- 139 
 
 The Republic of Poland— Description of Elections, - . . 114 
 
 Henry de Valois, the Deserter, - - - - • 1-lB 
 
 Stephen Batory, - - - - - - - - 14'.1 
 
 Origin of the Cossacks, ------- l.'iO 
 
 Sigismund III., ---•.••--- 131 
 
 History of Russian Demetrius, ----- - 1.53 
 
 Great Generals of Republic, under Sigismund HI.— Zamoyski, Zolkiew- 
 
 ski, Chodkiewicz, Lubomirski, from 153 to - - - - 1 38 
 
 Vladislas VII., . - - 159 
 
 History of dreadful Bogdan Chmielnicki, - . - - lOO 
 
 Casimir V., the Abdicator, ------ 
 
 Liberum Veto, .--.--- 
 
 Michael Koribut AViesniowiecki, - - •■ - - '70 
 
 John III. Sobieski, the Saviour, - - - - 171 
 
 Battle of Vienna, - - - - - - - 17^ 
 
 Frederic Augustus II., the Usurper, • - - - - '73 
 
 Charles XII., King of Sweden, invades Poland, ■ - 177 
 
 Stanislas Leszczynski, - - - - - - - 179 
 
 Exiled by Russia, - - - - - - • 1^1 
 
 The Chronological Tabic of the Polish Kings, , . . 1S5 
 
 IGG 
 167
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE SECOND PART 
 
 ■" OF TOE 
 
 EPITOME OF THE HISTORY OF POLAND, 
 
 Now in the Press, and to appear earlij in 1843, 
 
 WILL CONTAIN 
 
 The Decline of Poland under those Kings who were forced upon the Throne 
 by the three inimical Powers; and who, thus gaining the influence and power, 
 executed the five Dismemberments of the Country. The real motives of this, 
 and its future consequences — Noble resistance of the Polish Patriots, Mokra- 
 nowski, Branicki, Eadziwill, Pulawski, Krasinski, Potocki, and Pac. — Con- 
 federacy of Bar,— Reyten and Zamoyski.— Constitution of 3d May. — Ogiuski, 
 Kosciuszko, Kilinski, Dombrowski, and Poniatowski.— The sixty years' struggle 
 to regain the Independence of Poland.— The last attempt in 1831.- Particular 
 description of the Battle of Grochow and Siege of Warsaw.— The ultimate Fall of 
 Poland.— Historical sketch of her 10,000 Exiles ; their proceedings and patriotic 
 attempts in various Countries, especially in France.— Emigration to England.— 
 Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart.— Prospects of the Restoration of Poland. — Pro- 
 posal, and Appeal to the British Nation. 
 
 This Volume will contain upwards of 250 pages, and be embellished with a 
 Map, pointing out the gradual Dismemberments, and sketches of the Battle of 
 Grochow and Siege of Warsaw. 
 
 Price, to Subscribers, Half-a-Guinea. 
 (A Lift of the Subscribers will ht- included.) 
 
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