>iiijriv-iur^ •'OadAIINlliVW ''aUillVJiU '^aujir vWfUNIVER% v;^lOSANCEL%^ I ril33NYS01^ ■^AaaAiNa-awv ^QFCA[IFO% ^QFCAJ ^ A >'''~*^ ^. IDS' * -^ v)r-i.AJ -s^J^iLIBRARYQA ^^WE•UNIVER%. '>L ^\m\\mrj,^ ^iusai '4 UJM» OUI 'OUJ/liMli JIV -WVJIlf*/ 3VI NWEUNIVERo/^ o ^lOSANCElfj> o = <: .- -I ^OFCALIFOff^ ^^OFC ^ AWEUNIVERVa ^lOS o i i^ ^WEUNIVER.V i:?woNvsoi^ ^WEUNIVER: J f >^l•LIBRARV tJ ^ S ^OFCAIIFG aIUB OF-G ^Aavaaiii*^ -^^Aa^ ^ILIBRARYQr ^lllBRARYOr ^^WEUNIVE^/^ ^lOS, m Ml i!^i I(J THADDEUS OF WARSAW. VOL. I. London : Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoodcj New- Street- Square. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. IN THREE VOLUMES. Loin d'aimer la guerre, il Tabhorre ; En triomphant meme il deplore Les desastres qu'elle produit: Et couronn^ par la victoire, II g^mit de sa propre gloire, Si la paix n'en est pas le fruit. BY MISS JANE PORTER. THE ELEVENTI VITION, LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1826. CRITIQUES ON THIS WORK. " Miss Porter has availed herself of a very interesting period in history for the foundation of her tale. Often have we felt our heart rent by indignation and pity, at the dismemberment of Poland and the cruel fate of Stanislaus. Truth and fiction are blended with much propriety in these Volumes ; and we have turned with sincere pleasure the pages that praise the valour of Kosciuszko ; and recount, though but as a novel, the adventures of Sobieski," — Critical Review, Sejyt. 1803. " Thaddeus is a work of genius, and has nothing to fear at the candid bar of taste : he has to receive the precious meed of sympathy from every reader of unsophisticated sentiment and genuine feeling." — Imperial Review, Feb. 1804. O '0 / THADDEUS OF WARSAW. VOL. I. O ! bloodiest picture in the book of time ; Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ! Campbe ll. A 3 DEDICATION TO THE FIRST EDITION THADDEUS OF WARSAW IS INSCRIBED TO SIR SIDNEY SMITH; IN THE HOPE THAT AS SIR PHILIP SIDNEY DID NOT DISDAIN TO WRITE A ROMANCE, SIR SIDNEY SMITH WILL NOT REFUSE TO READ ONE. Sir Philip Sidney consigned his excellent Work, to the Affection of a Sister. I, confide my aspiring Attempt, to the Urbanity of the Brave : to the Man of Taste, of Feeling, and of Candour ; To him, whose Friendship will bestow That Indulgence on the Author, which his Judgment might have denied to the Book ; To him, of whom future Ages will speak with Honour, and the present Times boast as their Glory ! TO Sir Sidney Smith, I submit this humble Tribute of the highest Respect, Which can be offered by a Briton, Or animate the Heart Of his sincere and obliged Servant, THE AUTHOR. A 4. *^0 O- oJ> ja^O THADDEUS OF WARSAW, THE TENTH EDITION, IS HUMBLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY ITS AUTHOR, TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE GENERAL THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO. One view, in the original design of this work, having been to draw a distinguish- ing line between the spirit of patriotism, and that of ambitious public disturbance ; between the disinterested brave man, and a military plunderer ; between true glory, which arises from benefits be- stowed, and the false fame which a cap- A ^ tain of banditti has as much right ta arrogate, as the invader of kingdoms ; to exhibit this radical difference between the hero, and the mere soldier of fortune^ the character of General Kosciuszko presented itaelf as the completest exist- ing exemplar for such a picture. En- thusiasm supplied the pencil of adequate genius. Though the written portraiture be imperfectly sketched, yet its author has been gratified by the sympathy of readers, not only of her own country, but of that of her hero. The work having gone through so many editions, proves that she did not aspire quite in vain ; and that the principles of heroic virtue, which she sought to inculcate in her story of Poland, have been pro- nounced by the great patriot of Poland, as not unworthy his approbation, seem,N now that he is removed from all earthly influences, to sanction her paying that tribute to his memory, which delicacy forbade during his life. 17 XI The first publication of this work, was inscribed to a British hero, whose noble nature well deserves the title bestowed upon it by his venerable sovereign — Cceiir de Lion ! He fully appreciated the character of Thaddeus Kosciuszko ; and the author of this sketch feels that she deepens the tints of honour on each name, by thus associating them togetlier. May the tomb of the British hero be long of finding its place ! That of Kos- ciuszko has already received its sacred d'^eposit ; and, with emotions far from a stranger's heart, this poor offering is laid x)n the grave of him who fought for freedom under the banner of a patriot king; who, when riches and a crown were proffered to himself, declined both, because no price could buy the inde- pendence of an honest man ! Such was General Kosciuszko ! — Such was the model of disinterestedness, valour, and of public virtue, which I set before me in these pages ! — Such was the man who xu honoured the writer of them with his esteem ; and, in that one word, she feels a sufficient privilege to dedicate, with humble and affectionate devotion, these few inadequate pages to his memory ! — Daring to catch at some memorial of herself to after-times, by thus uniting to the name of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, that of his ever grateful JANE PORTER. Long Dittoriy Sept A. 1819. PREFACE THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK. Having attempted a work of Four Volumes, it is natural that the consider- ation of so much time and thought as must have been spent in its execution, should occasion to the Author some anxiety respecting its fate ; therefore, before the Reader favours the tale itself with hiu attention, I beg leave to offer him an account of its design. Agreeably to the constant verdict of good taste, I have ever held the novels of Richardson in the greatest reverence. — Their pure morality, and their unity of plan, which might well entitle them to be called Epic Poems in prose, have XIV PREFACE, equally been the objects of my respect and admiration. I see the trials and triumph of Chastity manifested in the person of Pamela. With the same trials and triumphs, Piety, in her brightest garb, is exhibited in the character of Clarissa. And in Sir Charles Grandison, we have a most attractive and charming example of every Christian virtue. The contemplation of such a model, inspired me with emulation, while 1 remarked, with concern, that these good novels themselves had given place on the family reading-table, to light and often dangerous tales, from the French school, of false sentiment, and headlong passion. Observing also the mistakes which my young contemporaries make in their estimates of character and of life; how much they require that the difference between certain splendid vices, and the brilliant order of virtues, should be distinctly marked, with perhaps a too daring hand 1 here venture to sketch the sacred Hne. PREFACE. XV Wishing to portray a character which prosperity could not inflate, nor adver- sity depress, I chose Magnanimity as the subject of my story. I found the original of my portrait in Poland. — There is a powerful ray of the Almighty in truly great minds : it burns with equal splen- dour in prosperity and in adversity ; its purity as well as its ardour, declares its divine origin. — This is the talisman of those achievements, which amaze every one but their accomplisher. — When the eye is fixed on Heaven, «« Ossa seems a wart." What flattered Alexander into a mad- man, and degraded the high-souled Cagsar into a tyrant, I have selected as the first ordeal of Thaddeus Sobieski. — Placed at the summit of mortal ambition, surrounded with greatness and glory, he shows neither pride nor vanity. And when, in the progress of his second trial, he is plunged into the depths of sorrow ; the weakness of passion never sinks the dignity of his fortitude ^ neither does the XVI PREFACE. firmness of that virtue blunt the amiable sensibility of his heart. This being the aim to which every in- cident in the story ought to tend, it be- came necessary to station my hero amidst scenes, where events might probably arise that were proper to excite his valour and generosity, and to put his moderation to the test. — Poland seemed the country best calculated to promote my intention. Her struggles for inde- pendence, and her misfortunes, afforded me situations exactly fitted to my plan : — and, preferring a series of incidents, which are true and interesting, before a legend of war fabricated by my own hand, I have made no hesitation to accept truth as the helpmate of fiction. I have now described my plan ; if it be disapproved, let the Work be neglected : but, should the Reader be so candid as to wish to proceed, I must beg him to peruse the "whole of the First volume. Aware that war and politics are not promising subjects of PREFACE. XVll amusement, it is requisite to assure him that he needs not to be alarmed at its battles ; they are neither frequent, nor do they last long : and, 1 request him, not to pass over any scene as extraneous, which, though it begin like a state-paper or a sermon, always terminates by cast- ing some new light on the portrait of the hero. — As the three remaining volumes are totally confined to domestic events, they have none of these prejudices to encounter ; but if the Reader do not ap- proach them regularly through all the developement of character opened in the First volume, what they exhibit will seem a mere wilderness of incidents, without interest or end. — Indeed, I have design- ed nothing in the personages of this story beyond the sphere of living evidence. I have sketched no virtue that I have not seen, nor painted any folly from imagin- ation. I have endeavoured to be as faith- ful to reality in my pictures of domestic morals, and of heroic life, as a just painter is to the existing and engaging XVlil PREFACE. objects of nature ; and, on these grounds, I have attempted steadily to inculcate, *« That virtue is the highest proof of understanding, and the only solid basis of greatness ; and that vice is the natural consequence of narrow thoughts ; which begin in mistake, and end in ignominy." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. CHAP. L Ihe large and magnificent palace of Villanow, whose vast domains stretch along the northern bank of the Vistula, was the favourite residence of John So- bieski, King of Poland. That monarch, after having delivered his country from innumerable enemies, rescued Vienna, and subdued the Turks, retired to this place at certain seasons, and thence dis- pensed those acts of his luminous and benevolent mind, which rendered his name great, and his people happy. When Charles the Twelfth of Sweden visited the tomb of Sobieski, at Cracow, he exclaimed, <« What a pity that so great a man should ever die !" Another gene- ration saw the spirit of this lamented hero VOL. T. B 2 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. revive in the person of his descendant, Constantine, Count Sobieski ; who, in a comparatively private station, as Palatine of Masovia, and the friend, rather than the lord, of his vassals, evinced by his actions, that he was the inheritor of his forefather's virtue, as wxll as of his blood. He was the first Polish nobleman, who granted freedom to his peasants. He threw down their mud hovels, and built comfortable villages ; he furnished them with seed, cattle, and implements of husbandry 5 and calling their families to- gether, laid before them the deed of their enfranchisement : But, before he signed it, he expressed a fear, that they would abuse this Uberty, of which they had not had experience, and become licentious. " No ;" returned a venerable peasant, " when we possessed no other property than the staffs which we hold in our hands, we were destitute of all worldly motive for discreet conduct : not having any thing to lose, we acted in too many occasions in THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 3 an intemperate manner. But now that the fruits of our labours are absolutely our own, the care of protecting them will be a sufficient restraint upon our actions." The good sense and truth of this answer were manifested in the event. On the emancipation of these people, they be- came so prosperous in business, and cor- rect in behaviour, that the example of the Palatine was speedily followed by several of the principal nobility. The king's re- form hig spirit moved in unison with that of Sobieski ; and a constitution was given to Poland, to place her in the first rank of free nations. Encircled by his happy tenantry, and within the bosom of his family, this illus- trious man educated Thaddeus, the only male heir of his name, to the exercise of all the virtues which ennoble and endear the possessor. But this reign of public and domestic peace was not to continue. A formida- ble, and apparently friendly, state, envied B 2 * THADDEUS OF WARSAW, the effects of a patriotism it would not imitate ; and in the beginning of the year 1792, regardless of existing treaties, broke in upon the unguarded frontiers of Po- land ; threatening, with all the horrors of a merciless war, the properties, lives, and liberty, of the people. The family of Sobieski had ever been foremost in the ranks of his country ; and at the present crisis, its venerable head did not hang behind the youngest war- rior in preparations for the field. On the evening of an anniversary of the birth-day of his grandson, the Palatine rode abroad with a party of friends who had been celebrating the festival with their presence. The Countess his daugh- ter, and Thaddeus, were left alone in the saloon. She sighed as she gazed on her son, who stood at some distance, fitting to his youthful thigh a variety of sabres, which his servant, a little time before, had laid upon the table. She observed with anxiety the eagerness of his motion, and THADDEUS OF WARSAW. $ the ardour that was flashing from his eyes. " Thaddeus," said she, " lay down that sword ; I wish to speak with you.^' Thad- deus looked gaily up. " My dear Thad- deus !" cried his mother, and tears started to her eyes. The blush of enthusiasm faded from his face ; he threw the sabre from him, and drew near the Countess. " Why, my dear mother, do you distress yourself? When I am in battle, shall I not have my grandfather near me ; and be as much under, the protection of God as at this moment ?" « Yes, my child," answered she, " God will protect you. He is the protector of the orphan, and you are fatherless.*' The Countess paused — " Here, my son," said she, giving him a sealed packet, ** take this : it will reveal to you the his- tory of your birth, and the name of your father. It is necessary that you should know the truth, and all the goodness of your grandfather. Thaddeus received it, 5 3 6 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and stood silent with surprise. Read it, my love," continued she, ** but go to your own apartments : here you may be inter- rupted." Bewildered by the manner of the Coun- tess, Thaddeus, without answering, in- stantly obeyed. Shutting himself within his study, he impatiently opened the pa- pers ; and soon found his whole attention absorbed in the following recital. To my dear Son^ Thaddeus Constantine SobieskL — " You are now, my Thaddeus ! at the early age of nineteen, going to engage the enemies of your country. Ere I re- sign my greatest comfort to the casualties of war, ere I part with you, perhaps for ever, I would inform you, who your fa- ther really was : that father whose exist- ence you have hardly known ; and whose name you have never heard. You be- lieve yourself an orphan ; your mother a widow: but, alas! I have now to tell THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 7 you, that you were made fatherless by the cruelty of man, not by the dispens- ation of heaven, ** Twenty years ago I accompanied my father in a tour through Germany into Italy, Grief for the death of my mother had impaired his health ^ and the physicians ordered him to reside in a warmer climate : accordingly we fixed ourselves near the Arno. During several visits to Florence, my father met, in that city, witii a young Englishman of the name of Sackville. These frequent meet- ings opened into intimacy, and he was invited to our house. " Mr. Sackville was not only the hand- somest man I had ever beheld, but the most accomplished ; and his heart seemed the seat of every graceful feeling. He was the first man for whose society I found a lively preference. I used to smile at this strange delight, or sometimes weep : for the emotions which agitated me were undefinable : but they were enchant- B 4 8 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ing; and unheedingly I gave them in- dulgence. The hours which we passed together in the interchange of reciprocal sentiments; the kind beaming of his looks; the thousand sighs that he breathed; the half-uttered sentences ; all conspired to rob me of myself. " Eight months were spent in these delusions. — During the last three, doubts and anguish displaced the blissful reveries of an infant tenderness. The attentions of Mr. Sackville died away. From being the object of his constant search, he now se- dulously sought to avoid me. When my father withdrew to his closet, he would take his leave, and allow me to walk alone. Solitary and wretched were my rambles. I had full leisure to compare my then dis- turbed state of mind, with the comparative peace I had enjoyed in my own country. Immured within the palace of Villanow, watching the declining health of my mo- ther, I knew nothing of the real world ; the little I had learnt of society, being drawn from books, and uncorrected by ex- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 9 perience, I was taught to believe a perfec- tion in man, which to my affliction, I since found to be but a poet's dream. When I came to Italy, I continued averse to public company. In such seclusion, the presence of Sackville being almost my only plea^ sure, chased from my mind its usual re- serve ; and gradually, and surely, won upon the awakened afiections of my heart. Artless and unwarned, I knew not the nature of the passion which I cherished, until it had gained an ascendency that menaced my life. ** On the evening of one of those days in which I had not seen this too dearly- beloved friend, I strolled out, and hardly conscious of my actions, threw myself along the summit of a flight of steps that led down to the Arno. My head rested against the base of a statue, which, be- cause of its resemblance to me, Sackville had presented to my father. Every re- collected kindness of his now gave me additional torment ; and, clinging to the B 5 10 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. pedestal, as to the altar of my adoration, in the bitterness of disappointment, I ad- dressed the insensible stone ; ' O ! were I pale as thou art, and this breast as cold and still, would Sackville, when he looked on me, give one sigh to the creature he had destroyed ?' My sobs followed this adjuration, and the next moment I felt myself encircled in his arms. I struggled, and, almost fainting, begged to be re- leased. He did release me, and, falling on his knees, implored my pardon for the misery which I had endured. * Now, Therese,* cried he, * all is as it ought to be ! you are my only hope. Consent to be mine, or the world has no hold on me !' His voice was hurried and incohe- rent. Raising my eyes to his, I beheld them wild and bloodshot. Terrified at his look, and overcome by my own emotions, my head sunk on the marble. With in- creased violence, he exclaimed, * Have I deceived myself here too ? Therese, did you not prefer me ? Did you not love me ? — Speak now, I conjure you, by your THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 11 own happiness and mine ! Do you reject me ?' He clenched my hands with a force that made me tremble, and I hardly arti- culated, * I will be yours/ At these words he hurried me down a dark vista, which led out of the gardens to the open country. A carriage stood at the gate. I fearfully asked what he intended. * You have given yourself to me,' cried he, ' and by the Great Lord of Heaven, no power shall separate us until you are mine beyond the reach of man !' Un- nerved in body, and weak in mind, I yielded to his impetuosity ; and, suffering him to lift me into the chariot, was carried to the door of the nearest monastery, where in a few minutes we were married, " I am thus particular in the relation of every incident, in the hope that you will, my dear son, see some excuse for my great imprudence, — in the circum- stances of my youth ; and in the influ- ence, which a man who seemed all ex- cellence, had over my heart. However, my fault went not long unpunished. B 6 12 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " The ceremony passed, my husband conducted me in silence back to the car- riage. My full bosom discharged itself in abundance of tears, while Sackville sat by me, unmoved and mute. Two or three times I raised my eyes, in hopes of dis- cerning in his, some consolation for my hasty acquiescence. But no j his gaze, vacant and glaring, was fixed on the win- dow ; and his brow scowled, as if he had been forced into an alliance with one he hated, rather than had just made a volun- tary engagement with the woman he loved. My soul shuddered at this com- mencement of a contract which I had dared to make unsanctioned by my fa- ther's consent. At length my sighs seemed to startle my husband ; and, turn- ing suddenly round, * Therese,' cried he, 'this marriage must not be told to the Palatine.' 1 demanded a reason for so unexpected a prohibition. * Be- cause I have been precipitate. It would ruin me with my family. Wait, only for one month j and then I will publicly ac- THADDEUS OF WARSAW, 13 knowledge you/ The agitation of his features, the sternness of his voice, and the feverish burning of his hand, which held mine, alarmed me. Trembling from head to foot, I answered, * Sackville ! I have already erred enough in consenting to this stolen union. I will not transgress further, by concealing it. I will in- stantly throw myself at my father's feet, and confess all.' His countenance dark- ened. * Therese,' said he, ' I am your husband. You have sworn to obey me, and I command your silence. Till I allow you, divulge this marriage at your peril.' This last cruel sentence, and the more cruel look that accompained it, pierced me to the heart, and I fell sense- less on the seat. " When I recovered, I found myself at the foot of that statue, beneath which my unfortunate destiny had been fixed. My husband was leaning over me. He raised me with tenderness from the ground ; and conjured me, in the mildest accents, to be comforted ; to pardon the severity of those 14 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. words which had arisen from a fear that, by an imprudent avowal on my part, I should risk both his happiness and my own. He informed me, that he was heir to one of the first fortunes in England ; he had pledged his honour with his fa- ther never to enter into any matrimonial engagement, without first acquainting him with the particulars of the lady and her family. Should he omit this duty, his father declared, that though she were a princess, he would disinherit him, and never again admit him to his presence. " ' Consider this, my dear Therese,' continued he ; * could you endure to be- hold me a beggar, and stigmatized with a parent's curse, when a little forbearance on your part would make all right ? I know I have been hasty in acting as I have done, but now I cannot remedy my error. To-morrow I will write to my father, describe your rank and merits, and request his consent to our immediate marriage. The moment his permission THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 15 arrives, I will cast myself on the Palatine's friendship, and reveal what has passed.' The tenderness of my husband blinded my reason ; and with many tears, I sealed his forgiveness, and pledged my faith on his word. " My dear deceived parent little sus- pected the perfidy of his guest. He de- tained him as his visitor : and often ral- lied himself, on the hold which his distin- guished accomplishments had taken on his esteem. Sackville's manner to me in public was obliging and free ; it was in private only, that I found the tender, the capricious, the, unfeeling husband. Night after night I have washed the me- mory of my want of duty to my father, with bitter tears : but my husband was dear to me, was more precious than my life : one kind look from him, one fond word, would solace every pain, and make me w^ait the arrival of his father's letter with all the gay anticipations of youth and love. 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " A fortnight passed away. A montli, a long and lingering month. Another month, and a packet of letters was pre- sented to Sackville. He was at breakfast with us. At sight of the superscription, he coloured, tore open the paper, ran his eyes over a few lines, and then, pale and trem- bling, rose from his seat, and left the room. My emotions were almost uncon- trollable. I had already half risen from my chair to follow him, when the Palatine exclaimed, < What can be in that letter ? Too plainly I see some afflicting tidings.' And without observing me, or waiting for a reply, he hurried out after him. I stole to my chamber, where, throwing myself on my bed, I tried, by all the delusions of hope to obtain some alleviation from the pangs of suspense. " The dinner bell roused me from my reverie. Dreading to excite suspicion, and anxious to read in the countenance of my husband the denunciation of our fate, I obeyed the summons, and descended to the dining-room. On entering it, my eyes THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 17 irresistibly wandered round to fix them- selves on Sackville. He was leaning against a pillar, his face pale as death. My father looked grave, but immediately took his seat, and tenderly placed his friend beside him. 1 sat down in silence. Little dinner was eaten, and few words spoken. — As for myself, my agitations almost choked me. I felt that the first word I should attempt to pronounce, must give them utterance, and that their vehemence would betray our fatal secret. <* When the servants withdrew, Sack- ville rose, and taking my father's hand, said, in a faultering voice, ' Count, I must leave you.' — * It is a wet evening,' re- plied the Palatine ; * you are unwell — disturbed — stay till tOrmorrow !' — * I thank your Excellency,' answered he, * but I must go to Florence to-night. You shall see me again before to morrow after- noon : all will then, I hope, be settled to my wish.' Sackville took his hat. Mo- tionless, and incapable of speaking, I sat 18 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. fixed to my chair, in the direct way that he must pass. His eye met mine. He stoppedj and looked at me, abruptly caught my hand ; then as abruptly quit- ting it, darted out of the room. I never saw him more. " I had not the power to dissemble another moment. I fell back, weeping, into the arms of my father. He did not, even by this imprudence, read what I almost wished him to guess ; but with all the indulgence of perfect confidence, lamented the distress of Sackville, and the sensibility of my nature, which sympa- thized so painfully with his friend. I durst not ask what was the distress of his friend j abashed at my duplicity to him, and over- whelmed with a thousand dreads, I obtain- ed his permission to retire to my chamber. *' The next day, I met him with a se- rene air ; for I had schooled my heart to endure the sufferings it had deserved. The Palatine did not remark my recovered tranquillity J neither did he appear to 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 19 think any more of my tears ; so entirely was he occupied in conjecturing the cause of Sackville's grief; who had acknow- ledged having received a great shock, but would not reveal the occasion. This ig- norance of my father surprised me ; and to all his suppositions I said little. My soul was too deeply interested in the sub- ject, to trust to the faithfulness of my lips. " The morning crept slowly on, and the noon appeared to stand still. I anxiously watched the declining sun, as the signal for mv husband's return. Two hours had elapsed since his promised time, and my father grew so impatient, that he went out to meet him. I eagerly wished that they might miss each other. I should then see SackviUe a few minutes alone ; and by one word, be comforted, or driven to despair. " I was listening to every footstep that sounded under the colonnade, when my servant brought me a letter which had just been left by one of Mr. Sackville's grooms. I tore open the seal ; and fell senseless on so THADDEUS OF WARSAW. the floor, ere I had read half the killing contents — " Thaddeus, with a burning cheek, and a heart all at once robbed of that elastic spring, which till now had ever made him the happiest of the happy, took up the letter of his father. The paper was worn and blistered with his mother's tears. His head seemed to swim as he contem- plated the hand-writing, and he said to himself, " Am I to respect or to abhor him ?" He proceeded in the perusal. " To Therese^ Couiitess SoUeski, ** How, Therese, am I to address you ? But an attempt at palliating my conduct, would be to no purpose ; indeed it is im- possible. You cannot conceive a viler opinion of me, than I have of myself. I know that I forfeit all claim to honour j that I have sacrificed your tenderness to my distracted passions : But you shall no more be subject to the caprices of a man, who cannot repay your love with his own. — You have no guilt to torture you : and THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 21 you possess virtues which will render you tranquil under every calamity. I leave you to your own innocence. Forget the ceremony which has passed between us : my wretched heart disclaims it for ever. Your father is happily ignorant of it; pray spare him the anguish of knowing that I was so completely unworthy of his kindness ; I feel that I am more than ungrateful to you and to him. Therese, your most inveterate hate cannot more strongly tell me, than I tell myself, that I have treated you like a villain. But I cannot retract. I am going where all search will be vain ; and I now bid you an eternal farewell. May you be happier than ever can be the wretched, self- abhorring Florence. « R. S— .'* Thaddeus went on with his mother's narrative. " When my senses returned, I was lying on the ground, holding the half-perused paper in my hand. Grief and horror locked up the avenues of complaint, and I 22 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. sat as one petrified to stone. My father entered. At the sight of me, he started as if he had seen a spectre. His well-known features opened at once my agonized heart. With fearful cries, I cast myself at his feet, and putting the letter into his hand, clung, almost expiring, to his knees. " When he had read it, he flung it from him, and dropping into a chair, covered his face with his hands. I looked up im- ploringly, for I could not speak. My father stooped forward, and raising me in his arms pressed me to his bosom. * My Therese,' said he, ' it is I who have done this. Had I not harboured this villain, he never could have had an opportunity of ruining the peace of my child.' In return, for the unexampled indulgence of this speech ; and his repeated assurances of forgiveness ; I promised to forget a man, who could have so little respect for grati- tude, or his own honour. The Palatine re- plied, that he expected such a resolution, in consequence of the principles which he had taught me j and to show me how far THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 28 dearer to him was my real tranquillity than any false idea of impossible restitution, he would not remove, even from one princi- pality to another, were he sure by that means, to discover Mr. Sackville, and to avenge my wrongs. My understanding assented to the justice of all his reasoning; but long and severe were the struggles, before I could erase from my soul, the image of that being wlio had been the lord of all its joys and sorrows. " It was not until you, my dear Thad- deus, were born, that I could repay the goodness of my father with the smiles of cheerfulness. — He would not permit me to give you any name, which could remind him, or myselfi of the cruel parent who gave you being ; and by his desire I chris- tened you Thaddeus Constantine, after himself, and his best-beloved friend Ge- neral Kosciuszko. — You have not yet seen that illustrious Polander, whose prescient watchfulness for his coiuitry has always kept him on the frontiers. He is now with the army at Winnica, whither you must 24 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. soon go : In him, you will see a second Sobieski. In him, you may study one of the brightest models of patriotic and martial virtue, that ever was presented to mankind. It may well be said of him, — * That he would have shone with dis- tinguished lustre in the ages of chivalry.' Gallant, generous, and strictly just ; he commands obedience by the reverence in which he is held ; and attaches the troops to his person, by the affability of his man- ners, and the purity of his life. He teaches them discipline, endurance of fatigue, and contempt of danger, by his dauntless example : and inspires them with confi- dence, by his tranquillity in the tumult of action, and the invincible fortitude with which he meets the most adverse strokes of misfortune. His modesty in victory, shows him to be one of the greatest among men ; and his magnanimity under defeat, confirms him to be little less than a god. " Such is the man, whose name you bear : How bitterly do I lament that the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 25 one, to which nature gave you a claim, was so unworthy to be united with it, and that of my no less heroic father ! — " On our return to Poland, the story which the Palatine related, when ques- tioned about my apparently forlorn state, was simply this; — "My daughter was married, and widowed in the course of two months. — Since then, to root from her memory, as much as possible, all recollection of a husband who was only given to be taken away, she still retains my name ; and her son, as my sole heir, shall bear no other," This reply satisfied every one : the King, who was my father's only confidant, gave his sanction to it, and no further enquiries were started. ** You are now, my beloved child, en- tering on the eventful career of life. God only knows when the venerable head of your grandfather is laid in dust, and I, too, have shut my eyes upon you for ever, where destiny may send you ! perhaps to tlie country of your father. Should you VOL. I, c 26 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, ever meet him — but that is unHkely ; so I will be silent on a subject, which nine- teen years of reflection have not yet de- prived of its sting. . " Not to embitter the fresh spring of your youth, my Thaddeus, with the draught that has poisoned mine ; not to implant in your breast, hatred of a parent whom you may never behold, have I written this : but to inform you in fact from whom you sprung. My history is made plain to you, that no unexpected events may hereafter perplex your opinion of your mother ; or cause a blush to rise on that cheek for her, v/hich from your grandfather can derive no stain. For his sake as well as for mine, whether in peace or in war, may the angels of Heaven guard my boy ! This is the unceasing prayer of thy fond mother, •^ <« Therese, Countess Sobip:ski." Villa?iow, March, 179^. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. <27 ' When he finished reading, Thaddeus held the papers in his hand ; but unable to recover from the shock of their con- tents, he read them a second time to the end: then laying them on the table, against which he rested his now aching head, he gave vent to the fulness of his heart. The Countess, anxious for the effect which her history might have on her son, at this instant entered the room. Seeing him in so dejected an attitude, she ap- proached, and pressing him to her bosom mingled her tears with his. Thaddeus, ashamed of his emotions, yet incapable of dissembling them, struggled a few moments to release himself from her arms. The Countess, mistaking his mo- tive, said in a melancholy voice, " And do you, my son, despise your mother for the weakness which she has revealed ? Is this the reception that I expected from a child, on whose affection I reposed ray confidence and my comfort ?" c 2 g8 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " No, my mother/' replied Thaddeus ; " it is your afflictions which have dis- tressed me. This is the first unhappy hour I ever knew, and can you wonder I should be affected ? Oh ! mother," con- tinued he, laying his hand on his father's letter, " whatever were his rank, had my father been but noble in mind, I would have gloried in bearing his name; but now, I put up my prayers never to hear it more." "'Forget him," cried the Countess, hiding her eyes with her handkerchief. " I will !" answered Thaddeus, " and allow my memory, to dwell only on the virtues of my mother." It was impossible for the Countess or her son, to conceal their agitation from the Palatine, who now opened the door. On his expressing alarm at a sight so unusual, his daughter finding herself in- capable of speaking, put into his hand the letter which Thaddeus had just read. Sobieski cast his eye over the first lines ; 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 29 he comprehended their tendency, and seeing the Countess had withdrawn, he looked towards his grandson. Thaddeus was walking up and down the roonj, striving to command himself for the con- versation he anticipated with his grand- father. " I am sorry, Thaddeus," said Sobieski, " that your mother has so abruptly im- parted to you the real name and cha- racter of your father. I see that his villany has distressed a heart, which heaven has made alive to the slightest dishonour. But be consoled, my son ! I have prevented the publicity of his con- duct, by an ambiguous story of your mother's widowhood. Notwithstanding this arrangement, she judged it proper^ that you should not enter general society without being made acquainted with the true events of your birth. I believe my daughter is right. But cheer your- self, my child! you will imbitter the remainder of my days, if you suffer the c 3 30 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. vices of a worthless man to prey upon your mind/' " No, my lord," answered his grand- son ; *' you have been more than a parent to me j and henceforward, for your sake as well as my own, I shall hold it my duty, to forget that I drew my being from any other source than that of the house of Sobieski." " You are right," cried the Palatine, with an exulting emotion, ** you have the spirit of your ancestors ; and I shall live to see you add glory to the name !" The beaming eyes and smiling lips of the young Count, declared that he had shaken sorrow from his heart. His grand- father pressed his hand with delight; and saw in his recovered serenity the sure promise of his fond prophecy. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 31 CHAP. IL The fearful day arrived, when Sobieski and his grandson were to bid adieu to Villanow and its peaceful scenes. The well-poised mind of the veteran, bade his daughter farewell, with a forti- tude which imparted some of its strength even to her. But when Thaddeus, ready habited for his journey, entered the room, at the sight of his military accoutre- ments she shuddered ; and when, with a glowing countenance, he advanced smil- ing through his tears, towards her, she clasped him in her arms ; and ri vetted her lips to that face, the very loveliness of which, added to her affliction. She gazed at him, she wept on his neck, she pressed him to her bosom. <* O ! how soon might all that beauty be mingled with the dust ! c 4 32 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. how soon might that warm heart, which then beat against hers, be pierced by the sword! be laid on the ground, mangled and bleeding, exposed, and trampled on !'* These thoughts thronged upon her soul, and deprived her of sense. She was car- ried away lifeless by her maids, while the Palatine compelled Thaddeus to quit the spot. It was not until the lofty battlements of Villanow blended with the clouds, that Thaddeus could throw off his melancholy. The parting agony of his mother hung on his spirits ; and heavy and frequent were his sighs; as he gazed on the rustic cottages and fertile fields, which reminded him that he was yet passing through the territories of his grandfather. The picturesque mill of Mariemont was the last spot on which his sight lingered. The ivy that mantled its sides, sparkled with the brightness of a shower which had just fallen : and the rays of the setting sun, gleaming on its shattered wall, made it an object of such THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 33 romantic beauty, that he could not help pointing it out to his fellow-travellers. Whilst the eyes of General Butzou, who was in the carriage, followed the direction of Thaddeus, the Palatine observed the heightening animation of his features ; and recollecting at the same time, the trans- ports which he himself had enjoyed, when he visited that place one- and- twenty years ago, he put his hand on the shoulder of the veteran, and exclaimed, " General, did you ever relate to my boy the par- ticulars of that mill ?" "No, my Lord." ** I suppose,'* continued the Palatine, ** the same reason deterred you from speaking of it uncalled for, as lessened my wish to tell the story ? We are both too much the heroes of the tale, to have volunteered the recital." ** Does your Excellency mean," asked Thaddeus, " the rescue of our King from this place?" ** I do." c 5 34 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " I have a very indistinct knowledge of the affair. I remember that it was told me many years ago ; but I have almost forgotten it ; and can only account for my apparent insensibility in never having enquired further, by pleading the happy thoughtlessness in which you have hither- to permitted me to live.'* ** But/' said the Palatine, whose object was to draw his grandson from melan- choly reflections ; " what will you say to me turning egotist ?" " I now ask the story of you," returned Thaddeus, smiling ; " besides, as soldiers are permitted by the fire-side to ^Jight their battles o'er again f your modesty, my dear grandfather, cannot object to re- peat it to me on the way to more." " As a preliminary," said the Palatine, " I must suppose it is unnecessary to tell you, that General Butzou was the brave soldier who, at the imminent risk of his life, saved our sovereign." " Of course, I know that," replied the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 35 young Count ; " and that you, too, had a share in the honour; for when I was yesterday presented to His Majesty, amongst other things which he said, he told me, that he beheved, under heaven, he owed his present existence to General Butzou and yourself." ^ " So very little to me," resumed So- bieski, " that I will, to the best of my recollection, repeat every circumstance of the affair. Should I err, I must beg of you. General," turning to the veteran, ** to put me right ." Butzou, with a glow of honest exulta- tion still painting his face, nodded assent ; and Thaddeus bowing in sign of atten- tion, the Palatine began. " It was on a Sunday night, the third of September, in the year 1771> that this event took place. At that time, instigated by the courts of Vienna and Constantinople, a band of disloyal and confederate Lords of Poland were laying waste their country, and perpetrating all kinds of outrage on c 6 36 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. their fellow subjects who adhered to the King. " Amongst their numerous crimes, a plan was laid for surprising, and taking the royal person. Pulaski was one of the most daring of their leaders ; and assisted by Lukawski, Strawenski, and Kosinski, three Poles of distinction, he resolved to accomplish this design or perish. Ac- cordingly, the three latter, in obedience to his orders, with forty other conspira- tors, met at Czetschokow, and in the presence of their commander, swore with the most horrid oaths, to deliver Stanislaus alive or dead into his hands. " About a month after this meeting, these noblemen, at the head of a band of assassins, disguised themselves as pea- sants ; and concealing their arms in wag- gons of hay, which they drove before them, they entered Warsaw unsuspected. <« It was about ten o'clock p.m., on the Sd of September, as I have told you, that they found an opportunity to execute their THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 37 scheme. They placed themselves under cover of the night in those avenues of the city through which they knew His Ma- jesty must pass in his way from Villanow, where he had been dining with me. His carriage was escorted by four of his own attendants, myself and twelve of my guards. We had scarcely lost sight of Villanow when the conspirators rushed out and surrounded us, commanding the coachmen to stop, and beating down the men, with the butt end of their musquets. Several shot were fired into the coach. One passed through my hat, as I was get- ting out sword in hand, the better to re- pel an attack the motive of which 1 could not divine. A cut across my right leg with a sabre laid me under the wheels ; and whilst in that situation, I heard the shot pouring into the coach like hail, and felt the villains stepping over my body to finish the murder of the King. ** It was then that our friend Butzou (who at that period was a private soldier 38 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. in my service) stood between his sovereign and the rebels. In one instant he received several balls through his limbs, and a thrust from a bayonet in his breast, which cast him weltering in his blood upon me. By this time all the persons who had formed the escort, were either wounded or dispersed. Secure of their prey, one of the assassins opened the carriage door, and with shocking imprecations, seizing the King by the hair, discharged liis pistol so near His Majesty's face, that he felt the heat of the flash. A second villain cut him on the forehead with a sword ; whilst a third, who was on horseback, laying hold of his collar, dragged him along the ground through the suburbs of the city. " During the latter part of this outra- geous scene, some of our frighted people returned with a detachment, and seeing Butzou and me apparently lifeless, carried us to the royal palace, where all was com- motion and distraction. The foot guards followed the track which the conspirators had taken. In one of the streets they THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 39 found the King's hat dyed in blood, and his peUsse perfectly reticulated with bul- let holes. This confirmed their apprehen- sions of his death ; and they came back, filling all Warsaw with dismay. *' The assassins, meanwhile, got clear of the town. Finding, however, that the King, by loss of blood, was not Ukely to exist much longer, if they continued their manner of dragging him towards their em- ployer ; and that delay might even lose them his dead body ; they mounted him, and redoubled their speed. When they came to the moat which surrounds War- saw, they compelled him to leap his horse across it. In the attempt, the horse fell, and broke its leg. They then ordered His Majesty, fainting as he was, to mount another and spur it over. The conspi- rators had no sooner passed the ditch, and saw their king fall insensible on the neck of his horse, than they tore from his breast the ribbon of the black eagle, and its dia- mond cross. Lukawski was so foolishly sure of his prisoner, dead or alive, that 40 THADDEUS OF WARSAW.' he quitted his charge, and repaired with these spoils to Pulaski : meaning to show them as proofs of his success. Many of the other plunderers, concluding that they could not do better than follow their leader's example, fled also ; and left only seven of the party, with Kosinski at their head, to remain over the unfortunate Stanislaus, who shortly after recovered from his swoon. " The night was now grown so dark, they could not be sure of their way ; and their horses stumbling at every step over stumps of trees and hollows in the earth, increased their apprehensions to such a degree, that they obliged the King to keep up with them on foot. He literally marked his path with his blood j his shoes having been torn off in the struggle at the carriage. Thus they continued wander- ing backwards and forwards, and round the outskirts of Warsaw, without any ex- act knowledge of their situation. The men who guarded him, at last became so afraid of their prisoner's taking advantage THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 41 of these circumstances to escape, that they repeatedly called on Kosinski for orders to put him to death. Kosinski re- fused y but their demands growing more imperious, as the intricacies of the forest involved them completely, the King ex- pected every moment to find their bayo- nets in his breast. <' When I recovered from my swoon, my leg was bound up, and I was able to stir. Questioning the officers who stood about my couch, I found that a general panic had seized them. They knew not how to proceed ; they shuddered at leav- ing the King to the mercy of the confe- derates ; and yet were fearful by pursuing him farther to incense them through ter- ror or revenge to massacre their prisoner, if he were still alive. I did all that was in my power to dispel this last dread. Anxious at any rate to make another attempt to preserve him, though I could not ride myself, I strenuously advised an immediate pursuit on horseback ; and in* sisted that neither darkness nor danger 42 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. should be permitted to impede their course. Recovered presence of mind in the nobles restored hope and animation to the terrified soldiers ; and my orders were obeyed. But I must add, they were soon disappointed : for in less than half an hour the detachment returned in des- pair, showing me His Majesty's coat, which they had found in the fosse. I suppose the ruffians tore it off when they rifled him. It was rent in several places, and so wet with blood, that the officer who presented it to me thought they had murdered the King there, and had drawn away his body ; for by the light of the torches, the soldiers could trace drops of blood to a considerable distance. " Whilst I was attempting to invalidate this new evidence of His Majesty's being beyond the reach of succour or of insult, he was driven before the seven conspi- rators so far into the wood of Bielany that not knowing whither they went, they came up with one of the guard-houses, and to their extreme terror were accosted THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 43 by a patrole. Four of the banditti imme- diately disappeared, leaving two only with Kosinski ; who, much alarmed, forced his prisoner to walk faster and keep a pro- found silence. Notwithstanding all this precaution, scarce a quarter of an hour afterwards, they were challenged by a second watch ; and the other two men taking to flight, Kosinski, full of dismay, was left alon e with the Xing. His Maj esty, sinking with pain and fatigue, beseeched permission to rest for a moment; but Kosinski refused, and pointing his sword towards the King, compelled him to proceed. " As they walked on, the unfortunate Stanislaus, who was hardly able to drag one limb after the other, observed that his conductor gradually forgot his vigi- lance, until he was thoroughly given up to thought. The King conceived some hope from this change, and ventured to say, * I see, that you know not how to pro- ceed. You cannot but be aware that the enterprise in which you are engaged, how* 4)4f THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ever it may end, is full of peril to you. Successful conspirators are always jealous of each other : Pulaski will find it as easy to rid himself of your life, as it is to take mine. Avoid that danger ; and I will pro- mise you none on my account. Suffer me to enter the convent of Bielany ; we can- not be far from it ; and then, do you pro- vide for your own safety.' Kosinski, rendered desperate by the circumstances in which he was involved, replied, * No ; I have sworn ; and I would rather sacri- fice my life than my honour.' " The King had neither strength nor spirits to make an answer. They conti- nued to break their way through the un- derwood, until they approached Marie- mont. Here Stanislaus, unable to stir another step, sunk down at the foot of the old yew-tree, and again implored for one moment's rest. Kosinski no longer refused. This unexpected humanity en- couraged His Majesty to employ the minutes they sat together in another attempt to soften his heart j and to con- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 45 vince him, that the oath which he had taken was atrocious, and by no means binding to a brave and virtuous man* " Kosinski heard him with attention ; and even showed he was affected. * But/ said he, * if I should assent to what you propose, and reconduct you to Warsaw, what will be the consequence to me ? I shall be taken and executed.' — * I give you my word,' answered the King, * that you shall not suffer any injury. But if you doubt my honour, escape while you can. I shall find some place of shelter ; and will direct your pursuers to take the opposite road to that which you may choose.' Kosinski, entirely over- come, threw himself on his knees before His Majesty ; and, imploring pardon for what he had done, swore, that from this hour he would defend his King against all the conspirators ; and would trust confidently in his word for future pre- servation. Stanislaus repeated his pro- mise of forgiveness and protection ; and 46 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. directed him to seek refuge for them both in the mill near which they were discoursing. Kosinski obeyed, and knocked ; but no one gave answer. He then broke a pane of glass in the window, and through it, begged succour for a no- bleman who had been way-laid by rob- bers. The miller refused to come out, or to let them in ; telling them it was his belief, that they were robbers themselves ; and if they did not go away, he would fire on them. <* This dispute had continued for nearly an hour, when the King contrived to crawl up close to the windows, and said, * My good friend, if we were ban- ditti as you suppose, it would be as easy for us, without all this parley, to break into your house, as to break this pane of glass ; therefore if you would not incur the shame of suffering a fellow- creature to perish for want of assistance, give us admittance.' This argument had its weight with the man, and opening the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 47 door he desired them to enter. After some trouble, his Majesty procured pen and ink ; and addressing a few hues to me at the palace, with difficulty pre- vailed on one of the miller's sons to carry it ; so fearful were they of falling in w^ith any of the troop, who, they un- derstood, had plundered their guests. " My joy at sight of this note, I can- not describe. I well remember the con- tents ; they were literally these : " ' By the miraculous hand of Provi- dence I have escaped from the hands of assassins, I am now at the mill of Marie- mont. Send immediately, and take me hence. I am wounded, but not danger- ously.' " Regardless of my own condition, I instantly got into a carriage, and, fol- lowed by a detachment of horse, arrived at the mill. I met Kosinski at the door, keeping guard with his sword drawn. As he knew my person, he admitted me directly. The King had fallen into a sleep ; and lay in one corner of the 48 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. hovel on the ground, covered with the miller's cloak. To see the most vir- tuous monarch in the world, thus abused by his ungrateful subjects, pierced me to the heart ; and kneeling down by his side, I took hold of his hand, and in a paroxysm of tears, which I am not ashamed to con- fess, I exclaimed, * I thank thee. Al- mighty God, that I again see my sove- reign alive !' It is not easy to say how these words struck the simple family. They dropped on their knees before the King, whom my voice had awakened, and beseeched his pardon for all their ill-man- ners. The good Stanislaus soon quieted their fears ; and graciously thanking them for their kindness, told the miller to come to the palace the next day, when he would show him his gratitude in a better way than by promises. The officers of the detachment then assisted His Majesty and myself into the carriage ; and, accompanied by Kosinski, we reached Warsaw about six in the morning." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 49 « Yes," interrupted Butzou, ** I re- member my tumultuous joy, when the news was brought to me, in my bed, that I had not in vain received the wounds in- tended for my sovereign ; it ahuost de- prived me of my senses : — and besides, His Majesty visited his poor soldier in his chamber. Does not your Excellency recollect, how he was brought into my room in a chair, between two men ? and how he thanked me, and shook hands with me ? It made me weep like a child." " But," enquired Thaddeus, hardly re- covering from the deep attention with which he had listened to this recital ; " what became of Kosinski ? I suppose the King kept his word." " He did indeed," replied Sobieski ; <* his word is at all times sacred. Yet I believe Kosinski entertained fears tliat he would not be so generous ; for I per- ceived him change colour very often, while we were in the coach. However he was tranquillised, when His Majesty, VOL. I. D 50 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. on alighting at the palace in the midst of the joyous cries of the people, leaned upon his arm, and presented him to the populace as his preserver. The great gate was ordered to be left open ; and never, whilst I live, shall I again behold such a scene ! Every soul in Warsaw, from the highest to the lowest, came to catch a glimpse of their rescued sovereign. See- ing the doors free, they entered without ceremony ; and thronged forwards in crowds to get near enough to kiss his hand, or to touch his clothes ; then, elated with joy, they turned to Kosinski, and loaded him with demonstrations of grati- tude, calling him the ' Saviour of their KingJ Kosinski bore all this with sur- prising firmness ; but in a day or two, when the facts became known, he guessed he might meet with different treatment from the people, and therefore petitioned His Majesty for leave to depart. Stanis- laus consented ; and he retired to Semi- gallia, where he now lives, on a handsome pension from the King." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 51 " Generous Stanislaus !" exclaimed the General ; " you see, my dear young Count, how he has rewarded me, for do- ing that which was merely my duty. He put it at my option, to become what I pleased about his person, or to hold what rank I liked in the army. Love enno- bles servitude ; and, attached as I have ever been to your family, under whom all my ancestors have lived and fought, I vowed in my own mind never to quit it; and accordingly, begged permission of my sovereign to remain with the Count Sobieski. I did remain : but see," cried he, his voice faltering, ** what my benefactors have made of me ! I command those troops, amongst whom, it was once my greatest glory to be a private soldier." Thaddeus pressed the hand of the ve- teran between both his; and regarded him with respect and affection, whilst the grateful old man wiped away a tear from his face. D 2 52 THADDEUS OF WARSAW^ " How happy ought it to make yoLT, my son," observed Sobieski : " that you are called out to support such a sovereign I He is not merely a King, whom you fol- low to battle, because he will lead you to honour. The hearts of his people ac- knowledge him in a superior light ; they look on him as their Patriarchal head ; as a being delegated by God, to study what is their greatest good ; to bestow it ; and, when it is attacked, to defend it. To preserve the life of such a sovereign, who would not sacrifice his own ? *« Yes," cried Butzou ; ** and how ou'oht we to abhor them who threaten his life ! How ought we to estimate those crowned heads, who, under the mask of amity, have, from the year sixty-four when he ascended the throne, until now% been plotting his overthrow or death ! Either calamity, O Heaven, avert ! But his death, I fear, will be a prelude to the certain ruin of our country !" <* Not so/' interrupted Thaddeus, with THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 53 eagerness ; " not whilst a Polander has power to lift an arm, shall it be quite lost." Butzou applauded his spirit ; and was warmly seconded by the Palatine, who, (never weary of infusing into every feeling of his grandson an interest for his coun- try,) pursued the discourse ; and dwelt minutely on the happy tendency of the glorious constitution of 1791, in defence of which they were now going to hazard their lives. As Sobieski pointed out its several excellencies, and expatiated on the pure spirit of freedom which animated its laws, the soul of Thaddeus followed his eloquence ; and with the unrestrained fervour of youth, he branded the names of Catherine, and the faithless Frederick, with some of those epithets, which pos- terity will affix to them for ever. During these conversations, Thaddeus forgot his regrets ; and at noon, on the third day, lie saw his grandfather put himself at the head of his men, and commence a regu- lar march. d3 * 54 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. CHAP. III. The little army of the Palatine passed by the battlements of Chelm ; crossed the Bug into the plains of Volhinia ; and impatiently counted the leagues over those vast tracts, until it reached the borders of Kiovia. When the column, at the head of which Thaddeus was stationed, descended the heights of Lininy, and the broad camp of his countrymen burst upon his sight, his heart heaved with an emotion quite new to him. He beheld with admiration the regular disposition of the entrenchments, the long intersected streets, and the war- like appearance of the soldiers, whom he could descry, even at that distance, by the beams of a bright evening sun which shone upon their arms. THADDEUS OF WARSA 55 In half an hour, his troops descended into the plain ; where, meeting those of the Palatine, and the General, the three columns again united ; and Thaddeus joined his grandfather in the van. " My Lord," cried he, as they met, " can I behold such a sight, and despair of the freedom of Poland !'* Sobieski made no reply ; but giving him one of those expressive looks of ap- probation, which immediately makes its way to the soul, commanded the troops to advance with greater speed. In a few minutes they reached the outworks of the camp, and entered the lines. The eager eye of Thaddeus wandered from object to object. Thrilling with that delight, with which youth beholds wonders, and anticipates more, he stopped with the rest of the party before a tent, which General Butzou informed him belonged to the commander in chief. They were met in the vestibule, by an hussar officer of a most commanding appearance. Sobieski, D 4 56 THAD*DEUS OF WARSAW, and he, having accosted each other with mutual congratulations, the Pala- tine turned to Thaddeus, took him by tiie hand, and presenting him to his friend, said with a smile, " Here, my dear Kosciuszko, this young man is my grandson ; he is called Thaddeus Sobieski ; and I trust, that he will not disgrace either of our names !" Kosciuszko embraced the young Count ; and, with a hearty pressure of his hand, replied, " Thaddeus! if you resemble your grandfather, you can never forget, tiiat tiie only King of Poland who equalled Sta- nislaus, was a Sobieski ; and, as becomes liis descendant, you will not spare your best blood in tiie service of your country." As Kosciuszko finished speaking, an aide-de-camp came forward to lead the party into tiie room of audience. Prince Poniatowski welcomed the Palatine and his suite with the most lively expressions of pleasure. He gave Thaddeus, whose figure and manner instantiy charmed him. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^7 many flattering assurances of friendship ; and promised, that he would appoint him to the first post of honour which should offer. After detaining the Palatine and his grandson half an hour, His Highness withdrew ; and they rejoined Kosciuszko, who conducted them to the quarter where the Masovian soldiers had already pitched their tents. The officers who supped with Sobieski, left him at an early hour, that he might retire to rest ; but Thaddeus was neither able nor inclined to benefit by their con- sideration. He laid liimself on the bed, shut his eyes, and tried to sleep ; but the attempt was without success ; in vain he turned from side to side ; in vain he at- tempted to restrict his thoughts to one thing at once : his imagination was so roused by anticipating the scenes in which he w^as to become an actor, that he found it impossible even to lie stilL His spirits being quite awake, lie determined to rise, and to walk himself drowsy. Seeing his grandfather sound asleep, he D 5 58 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. got Up and dressed himself quietly ; then stealing gently from the marquee, he gave the word in a low whisper to the guard at the door, and proceeded down the lines. The pitying moon seemed to stand in the heavens, watching the awaking of those heroes who the next day might sleep to rise no more. At another time, and in another mood, such might have been his reflections ; but now he pursued his walk with different thoughts : no meditations but those of pleasure possessed his breast. He looked on the moon with transport : he beheld the light of that beautiful pla- net, trailing its long stream of glory across the entrenchments. He perceived a so- litary candle here and there, glimmering through the curtained entrance of the tents ; and thought that their inmates were probably longing, with the same anxiety as himself, for the morning's dawn. Thaddeus walked slowly on ; some- times pausing at the lonely footfall of the centinel, or answering with a start to the sudden challenge for the parole; then THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 59 lingering at the doo'r of some of these canvas dwellings, he offered up a prayer for the brave inhabitant, who, like him- self, had quitted the endearments of home, to expose his life on this spot, a bulwark of liberty. Thaddeus knew not what it was to be a soldier by profession ; he had no idea of making war a trade, by which a man is at any rate to acquire subsist- ence and wealth : he had but one motive for appearing in the field, and one for leaving it : To repel invasion, and to es- tablish peace. — The first energy of his mind, was a desire to assert the rights of his country : It had been inculcated into him, when an infant; it had been the subject of his morning thoughts and nightly dreams ; it was now the passion which beat in every artery of his heart; yet he knew no honour in slaughter ; his glory lay in defence ; and, when that was accomplished, his sword would return to its scabbard, unstained by the blood of a vanquished, or an invaded people. On these principles, he was at this hour full D 6 @Q THADDEUS OF WARSAW. of enthusiasm : a glow of triumph flitted over his cheek, for he had left the indul- gences of his mother's palace, had left her maternal arms, to take upon him the toils of war, and risk an existence just blown into enjoyment. A noble satisfac- tion rose in his mind ; and with all the animation which an inexperienced and raised fancy imparts to that age when boy- hood breaks into man, his soul grasped at every show of creation with the confidence of belief. Pressing the sabre which he held in his hand, to his lips, he half ut- tered, " Never shall this sword leave my arm, but at the command of mercy, or when death deprives my nerves of their strength." Morning was tinging the hills which bound the eastern horizon of Winnica, be- fore Thaddeus found that his pelisse was wet with dew, and that he ought to return to his tent. Hardly had he laid his head upon the pillow, and * lulled his senses in forgetfulnesSy when he was disturbed by the drum beating to arms. He opened his THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 6 1 eyes ; and seeing the Palatine out of bed, lie sprung from his own, and eagerly en- quired the cause of the alarm. " Only follow me directly," answered his grandfather, and quitted the tent. Whilst Thaddeus was putting on his clothes; and buckling on his arms with a trembling eagerness which almost de- feated his haste, an aide-de-camp of the Prince entered. He brought information tliat an advanced guard of the Russians had attacked a Polish out-post, under the command of Colonel Lomza ; and that His Highness had ordered a detachment from the Palatine's brigade to march to its relief. Before Thaddeus could reply, Sobieski sent to apprise his grandson, the Prince had appointed him to be second in command over the troops which were turning out to assist the Colonel. Thaddeus heard this message with de- light: yet fearful in what manner the event might answer the expectations which this high distinction declared, he 62 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. issued from his tent like a youthful Mars ; or rather like the Spartan Isadas, trem- bling at the dazzling effects of his temerity ; and hiding his valour and his blushes be- neath the waving plumes of his helmet. Kosciuszko, who was to head the party, observed this modesty with pleasure, and shaking him warmly by the hand, " Go, Thaddeus," said he, " take your station on the left flank ; I shall require your fresh spirits to lead the charge I intend it to make, and to ensure its success." Thaddeus bowed to these encouraging words, and took his place according to order. Every thing being ready, the detach- ment quitted the camp ; and dashing through the dews of a sweet morning, for it was yet May, in a few hours arrived in view of the Russian battalions. Lomza, who from the only redoubt now in his possession, caught a glimpse of this wel- come reinforcement, rallied his few re- maining men, and by the time that Kos- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 63 ciuszko came up, contrived to join him in the van. The fight re-commenced. Thaddeus at the head of his hussars, in full gallop, bore down upon the enemy. They received the charge with firmness ; but their young adversary, perceiving that extraordinary means were necessary, exerted his voice to the utmost ; calling on his men to follow him, he put spurs to his horse, and rushed into the thickest of the battle. His soldiers did not shrink : they pressed on, mowing down the fore- most ranks : whilst he, by a lucky stroke of his sabre, disabled the sword-arm of the Russian standard-bearer, and seized the colours. His own troops seeing the standard in his hand, with one accord, in loud and repeated cries shouted victory. The reserve of the enemy alarmed at this outcry, instantly gave way j and retreating with precipitation, was soon followed by the rear ranks of the centre ; where Kos- ciuszko had already slain the commander of the attack. The flanks next gave ground 5 and after holding a short stand 64 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. at intervals, at length fairly turned about, and fled, panic-struck, across the country. The conquerors, elated with so sudden a success, put their horses on full speed ; and without order or attention, pursued the fugitives, until they were lost amidst the trees of a distant wood. Kosciuszko called on his men to stop ; but he called in vain : they continued their career, ani- mating each other; and with redoubled shouts, drowned the voice of Thaddeus, who was galloping forwards, repeating the command. At the entrance of the wood they were stopped by a few stragglers, who had formed themselves into a body. These men withstood the first onset of the Poles with considerable steadiness ; but after a short skirmish, they fled a second time, and took refuge in the bushes, where, still regardless of orders, their enemies followed. Kosciuszko, foreseeing the consequence of this rash- ness, ordered Thaddeus to dismount part of his squadron, and march after these headstrong men, into the forest. He came THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 63 up with them on the edge of a heathy tract of land, just as they were closmg in with a band of arquebusiers, who, having kept up a quick running fire as they re- treated, had drawn their pursuers thus far into the thickets. Heedless of any thing but giving their enemy a complete defeat, tlie Polanders went on, never looking to the left nor to the right, till all at once they found themselves encompassed by two thousand Muscovite horse, several battalions of chasseurs, and in front of fourteen pieces of cannon, which tliis dreadful ambuscade opened upon them. Thaddeus threw himself into the midst of his countrymen, and taking the place of their unfortunate conductor, who had been killed in the first sweep of the artil- lery, prepared the men for a desperate stand. He gave his orders with intrepi- dity and coolness, though under a heavy shower of musquetry, and a cannonade, which carried death in every round. For liimself he had no care 5 how to relieve 66 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. the brave Poles from the dilemma into which they had plunged themselves, was the only thought that occupied his mind. In a few minutes, the scattered soldiers were consolidated into a close body, flanked and reared with pikemen ; who stood, like a grove of pines in a day of tempest, only moving their heads and arms. Many of the Russian horse, im- paled themselves on the sides of this little phalanx, which they vainly attempted to shake, although the ordnance was rapidly weakening its strength. File after file, the men were swept down j their bodies making a horrid rampart for their brave comrades, who, rendered desperate, at last threw away their most cumbrous ac- coutrements, and crying to their leader, " Escape or death !" followed him sword in hand; and bearing like a torrent upon the enemy's ranks, cut their way through the forest. The Russians, exasperated that their prey should not only escape, but escape by such dauntless valour. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. &J hung closely on their rear, goading them with musquetry ; whilst they, (like a wounded lion, hardly pressed by the hunters, who retreats, and yet stands proudly at bay,) gradually retired towards the camp with a backward step, their faces towards the foe. Meanwhile, Sobieski, anxious for the fate of the day, mounted the dyke, and looked eagerly around for the arrival of some messenger from the little army. As the wind blew strongly from the south, a cloud of dust precluded his view ; but from the approach of firing, and the clashing of arms, he was led to fear that his friends had been defeated, and were retreating towards the camp. He in- stantly quitted the lines to call out a re- inforcement j but before he could advance, Koscluszko and his squadron on the full charge, appeared in flank of the enemy ; who suddenly halted, and wheeling round, left the harassed Polanders to enter the trenches unmolested. 68 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Thaddeus, covered with dust and blood, flung himself into his grandfather's arms. In the heat of action, his left arm had been wounded by a Cossac. Aware that loss of blood might disable him from further service, at the moment it happen- ed he bound it up in his sash, and had thought no more of the accident until the Palatine remarked blood on his cloak. " My injury is slight, my dear sir ;" said he, " I wish to heaven, that it were all the evil which has befallen us to-day ! Look at the remnant of our brave comrades." Sobieski turned his eyes on the panting soldiers, and on Kosciuszko, who was in- specting them. Some of them, no longer upheld by desperation, were sinking with wounds and fatigues ; these, the good General sent off in litters to the medical department ; and others, who had sus- tained unharmed the conflict of the day, after having received the praise and ad- monition of their commander, were dis« missed to their quarters. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 69 Before this inspection was over, the Palatine had to assist Thaddeus to his tent ; who, in spite of his exertions to the contrary, became so faint that it was necessary to lead him off the ground. A short time restored him. With his arm in a sling, he joined his brother officers on the fourth day. After the duty of the morning, he heard with concern that during his confinement the Russians had augmented their force to so tremen- dous a strength, it was impossible for the comparatively slender force of the Poles to remain longer at Winnica. In conse- quence of this report, the Prince had convened a council late the preceding night, in which it was determined that the camp should immediately be razed, and removed towards Zieleme. This information displeased Thaddeus, who in his fairy dreams of war, had always made conquest the sure end of his battles ; — and many were the sighs he drew, when, at an hour before dawn 70 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. on the following day, he witnessed the striking of the tents, which, he thought, was only the prelude to a shameful flight from the enemy. While he was standing by the busy people, and musing on the nice line which divides prudence from pusillanimity, his grandfather came up. He desired him to mount his horse ; and told him, that owing to the unhealed state of his wound, he was removed from the van guard, and ordered to march in the centre, along with the Prince. Thaddeus remonstrated against this ar- rangement ; and almost reproached the Palatine, for forfeiting his promise, that he should always be stationed near his person. Sobieski would not be moved, either by argument or entreaty ; and Thaddeus, finding that he neither could, nor ought oppose him, obeyed, and fol- lowed an aid-de-camp to His Highness. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 71 CHAP. IV. After a march of three hours, the army came in sight of Volunna, where the advanced column suddenly halted. Thad- deus, who was about half a mile to its rear, with a throbbing heart, heard that a momentous pass must be disputed before they could proceed. He curbed his horse, then gave it the spur ; so eagerly did he wish to penetrate the cloud of smoke which rose in volumes from the discharge of musquetry, on whose wing, at every round, he dreaded might be carried the fate of his grandfather. At last the firing ceased, and the troops were commanded to go forward. On entering the contested defile, Thaddeus shuddered ; for at every step the heels of his charger struck upon the wounded or the dead. There lay his enemies, here 7^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. lay his friends ! his respiration was nearly suspended ; and his eyes clung to the ground, expecting at each moment, to fasten on the breathless body of his grandfather. Again the tumult of battle presented itself. About an hundred soldiers, in one firm rank, stood at the end of the pass, firing on the rear guard of the Russians. Thaddeus checked his horse. Five hun- dred had been detached to this post; how few remained ! Could he hope So- bieski had escaped so desperate a ren- contre ? Fearing the worst, and dreading to have those fears confirmed, his heart sickened when he received orders from Poniatowski to examine the extent of the loss. He rode to the mouth of the defile. He could no where see the Palatine. A few of his hussars, a little in advance, were engaged over a heap of the killed, defending it from a troop of chasseurs, who appeared fighting for the barbarous privilege of trampling on the bodies, THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^S Thaddeus at this sight, and impelled by despair, called out, *' Courage, soldiers ; the Prince is here." The chasseurs looking forward, saw the information was true, and took to flight. Poniatowski, almost at the word, was by the side of his young friend, who, unconscious of any idea but that of filial solicitude had dis- mounted. " Where is the Palatine ?" was his im- mediate enquiry to a soldier who was stooping towards the slain. The man made no answer, but lifted from the heap the bodies of two soldiers ; beneath, Thaddeus saw the pale and deadly fea- tures of his grandfather. He staggered a few paces back : and the Prince thinking he was falling, hastened to support him ; but he recovered himseifi and flew for- wards to assist Kosciuszko, who had raised the head of the Palatine upon hi knee. " Is he alive ?" enquired Thaddeus. *« He breathes." VOL. I. E 74 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Hope was now warm in his breast. The soldiers soon released Sobieski from the surrounding dead ; but his swoon continu- ing, the Prince desired that he might be laid on a bank, until a litter could be brought from the rear ranks to convey him to a place of security. Meantime, Thaddeus and the General bound up his wounds, and poured some water into his lips. The effusion of blood being stopped, the brave veteran opened his eyes ; and in a few minutes, whilst he leaned on the bosom of his grandson, was so far re- stored as to receive, with his usual modest dignity, the thanks of His High- ness for the intrepidity with which he had preserved a passage, which ensured the safety of the whole army. Two surgeons who arrived with the litter, relieved the anxiety of the by- standers, by an assurance that the wounds, which they re-examined, were not dan- gerous. Having laid their patient on the vehicle, they were preparing to retire TH ADDED S OF WARSAW. '^5 with it into the rear, when Thaddeus petitioned the Prince to grant him per- mission to take the command of the guard which was appointed to attend his grandfather. His Highness consented ; but Sobieski positively refused. " No, Thaddeus,'' said he ; *' you forget the effect which this soUcitude about so trifling a matter might have on the men. Remember, that he who goes into battle, only puts his own life to the hazard ; but he that abandons the field, sports with the lives of his soldiers. Do not give them leave to suppose, that even your dearest interest could tempt you from the front of danger, when it is your duty to remain there." Thaddeus obeyed his grandfather in silence ; and at seven o'clock the army resumed its march. Near Zielime, the Prince was saluted by a re-inforcement. It appeared very seasonably ; for scouts had brought in- formation that directly across the plain the Russians, under General Branicki, were E 2 76 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. drawn up in order of battle, to dispute his progress. Thaddeus, for the first time, shuddered at the sight of the enemy. Should his friends be defeated, what might be the fate of his grandfather, now rendered helpless by many wounds ! Occupied by these fears, with anxiety in his heart, he kept his place at the head of the light horse, close to the hill. Prince Poniatowski ordered the lines to extend themselves, that the right should reach to the river ; and the left he covered by a rising ground, on which were mounted seven pieces of ordnance. Immediately after these dispositions, the battle commenced. It continued with violence and unabated fury from eight in the morning until sunset. Several times the Poles were driven from their ground ; but as often recovering themselves, and animated by their commanders, they pro- secuted the fight with advantage. Ge- neral Branicki perceiving that the fortune of the day was going against him, ordered THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 77 up the body of reserve ; which consisted of four thousand men and several cannon. He erected temporary batteries in a few minutes ; — and with these new forces opened a rapid and destructive fire on the Polanders. Kosciuszko, alarmed at perceiving a retrograde motion in his troops, gave orders for a close attack on the enemy in front, whilst Thaddeus, at the head of his hussars, should wheel round the hill of artillery, and with loud cries, charge the opposite flank. This stratagem succeeded. The cossacks who were posted on that spot, seeing the im- petuosity of the Poles, and the quarter whence they came, supposed them to be a fresh squadron ; gave ground, and opening in all directions, threw their own people into a confusion that completed the defeat. Kosciuszko and the Prince were equally successful ; and a general panic amongst their adversaries was the consequence. The whole of the Russian army now took to flight, except a few E 3 78 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, regiments of carabiniers, which were en- tangled between the river and the Poles. These were immediately surrounded by a battalion of Masovian infantry 5 who, enraged at the loss their body had sus- tained the preceding day, answered a cry for quarter, with reproach and de- rision. At this instant, the Sobieski squadron came up 5 and Thaddeus, who saw the perilous situation of these regi- ments, ordered the slaughter to cease, and the men to be taken prisoners. The Masovians exhibited strong signs of dis- satisfaction at such commands ; but the young Count, charging through them, ranged his troops before the Russians, and declared that the first man who should dare to lift a sword against his orders should be shot. The Poles dropped their arms. The poor carabiniers fell on their knees to thank his mercy ; whilst their officers, in a sullen silence, which seemed ashamed of gratitude, surren- dered their swords into the hands of their deliverers. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 79 During this scene, only one very young Russian, appeared wholly refractory. He held up his sword in a menacing pos- ture, when Thaddeus drew near ; and before he had time to speak, the young man made a cut at his head, which a hussar parried, by striking him to the earth, and would have killed him on the spot, had not Thaddeus caught the blow on his own sword : then instantly dismounting, he raised the officer from the ground, and apologised for the too hasty zeal of his soldier. The youth blushed, and bowing presented his sword ; which was received, and as directly returned. " Brave Sir," said Thaddeus, " I con- sider myself ennobled in restoring this sword to him who has so courageously defended it." The Russian made no reply, but by a second bow ; and put his hand on his breast, which was wet with blood. Cere- mony was now at an end. Thaddeus never looked upon the unfortunate as E 4 80 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Strangers, much less as enemies. Ac- costing the wounded officer with a friend- ly voice, he assured him of his services, and made him lean on his shoulder. The young man, incapable of speaking, accepted his assistance ; but before a conveyance could arrive, for which two men were dispatched, he fainted in his arms. Thaddeus being obliged to join the Prince with his prisoners, un- willingly left the young Russian in this situation ; but before he did so, he di- rected one of his lieutenants to take care that the surgeons should pay at- tention to the officer, and have his litter carried next to the Palatine's during the remainder of the march. When the army halted at nine o'clock, preparations were made to fix the camp ; and in case of a surprisal from any part of the dispersed enemy, which might have rallied, orders were delivered for throwing up a dyke. Tiiaddeus, having been assured that his grandfather and THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 8l the wounded Russian, were comfortably stationed near each other, did not hesitate to accept the command of the entrench- ing party. To that end, he wrapped himself loosely in his pelisse, and pre- pared for a long watch. The night was beautiful. It being the month of June, a softening warmth still floated through the air, as if the moon, which shone over his head, emitted heat as well as splen- dour. His mind was in unison with the season. He rode slowly round, from bank to bank ; sometimes speaking to the workers in the fosse : sometimes lingering for a few minutes looking on the ground, he thought on the element of which he was composed, to which he might so soon return ; then gazing up- wards, he observed the silent march of the stars, and the moving scene of the heavens. On whatever object he cast his eyes, his soul, which the recent events had dissolved into a temper not the less delightful for being tinged with £ 5 8€ THADDEUS OF WARSAW, melancholy, meditated with intense com- passion ; and dwelt with wonder on the mind of man ; which, whilst it adores the Creator of the universe, and measures the immensity of space with an expansion of intellect almost divine, can devote itself to the narrow limits of sublunary posses- sions ; and exchange the boundless para- dise above, for the low enjoyments of human pride. He looked with pity over that wide tract of land, which now lay betwixt him and the remains of those four thousand Russians who had fallen victims to the insatiate desires of am- bition. He well knew the difference be- tween a defender of his own country, and the invader of another's. His heart beat, his soul expanded, at the prospect of se- curing liberty, and life, to a virtuous people. He felt all the happiness of such an achievement; while he could only imagme, how that spirit must shrink from reflection, which animates the self-con- demned slave to fight, not merely to THADDEUS OP WARSAW. 83 fasten chains on others, but to rivet his own the closer. The best affections of man having put the sword into the hand of Thaddeus, his principles as a Chris* tian, did not remonstrate against his passion for arms* When he was told the fortifications were finished, he retired with a tranquil step towards the Masovian quarters. He found the Palatine awake, and eager to welcome him with the joyful information that his wounds were so slight as to pro- mise a speedy amendment. Thaddeus asked for his prisoner. The Palatine answered, he was in the next tent, where a surgeon closely attended him ; and who had given a very favourable opinion of the wound, which was in the muscles of the breast, *' Have you seen him, my dear Sir ?" enquired Thaddeus. "Does he appear to think himself well treated ?" "Yes," replied the Palatine; " I was supported into his marquee, before I re» E^6 84 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. tired to my own. I told him who I was, and repeated your offers of service. He received my proffer with expressions of gratitude ; and at the same time de- clared he had nothing to blame but his own folly, for bringing him to the state in which he now lies/* "How, my Lord !" rejoined Thaddeus. ** Does he repent of being a soldier ? or is he ashamed of the cause for which he fought ?" "Both, Thaddeus ; he is not a Russian, but a young Englishman.*' " An Englishman ! and raise his arm against a country struggling for liberty !" " It is very true," returned the Pala- tine : " but as he confesses it was his folly, and the persuasions of others ^\hich impelled him, he may be pardoned. He is a mere youth: 1 think hardly your age. I understand that he is of rank j and having undertaken the tour of Europe under the direction of a travel- ling governor, he took Russia in his THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 85 route. At Petersburg!!, he became in- timate with many of the nobiUty ; par- ticularly with Count Branicki, at whose house he resided : and when the Count was named to the command of the army in Poland, Mr. Somerset, (for that is your prisoner's name,) instigated by his own volatility, and the arguments of his host, volunteered with him ; and so followed his friend to oppose that freedom here, which he would have asserted in his own na- tion." Thaddeus thanked his grandfather for this information ; and pleased that the young man, who had so much interested him, was any thing but a Muscovite, he gaily, and instantly repaired to his tent. A generous heart is as eloquent in ac- knowledging benefits, as it is bounteous in bestowing them ; and Mr. Somerset received his preserver with the warmest demonstrations of gratitude. Thaddeus begged him not to consider himself as particularly obliged, by a conduct whicli 86 THADDEUS OP WARSAW. every soldier of honour has a right to expect from another. The EngUshman bowed his head ; and Thaddeus took a seat by his bed-side. Whilst he gathered from his own lips, a corroboration of the narrative of the Palatine, he could not forbear enquiring how a person of his apparent candour ; and who was also the native of a soil, where liberty had so long been the pal- ladium of its happiness, could volunteer in a cause, the object of which was to make a brave people slaves ? Somerset listened to these questions with blushes ; and they did not leave his face when he confessed, that all he could say in extenuation of what he had done was to plead his youth, and having thought little on the subject. " I was wrought upon,'^ continued he, ** by a variety of circumstances ; first, the principles of Mr. Loftus, my governor, are strongly in favour of the court of Pe- tersburgh : secondly, my father disliked THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 87 the army, and I am enthusiastically fond of it j this was the only opportunity in which I might ever satisfy my passion : and lastly, I believe that I was dazzled by the picture which the young men about me, drew of the campaign. I longed to be a soldier ; they persuaded me ; and I followed them to the field as I would have done to a ball-room, heed- less of the consequence.'* *' Yet," replied Thaddeus, smiling, *< from the intrepidity with which you maintained your ground, when your arms were demanded, any one might have thought that your whole soul as well as your body, was engaged in the cause." ** To be sure," returned Somerset, " I was a blockhead to be there ; but when there, I should have despised myself for ever, had I given up my honour to the ruffians who would have wrested my sword from me ! But when i/ou came, noble So- bieski, it was the fate of war, and I con- tided myself to a brave man." 88 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. CHAP. V. Each succeeding morning, not only brought fresh symptoms of recovery to the two invalids ; but condensed the mutual admiration of the young men, into a solid and ardent esteem. It is not the disposition of youthful minds, to weigh for months and years, the sterling value of those qualities which at- tract them. As soon as they see virtue, they respect it ; as soon as they meet kindness, they believe it ; and as soon as a union of both presents itselfi they love it. Not having passed through the disappointments of a delusive world, they grasp for reality every pageant w^hich ap- pears. They have not yet admitted that cruel doctrine, which, when it takes ef- fect, creates and extends the misery it THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 89 affects to cure. Whilst we give up our souls to suspicion, we gradually learn to deceive ; whilst we repress the fervours of our own hearts, we freeze those which ap- proach us ; whilst we cautiously avoid oc- casions of receiving pain, at every remove we acquire an unconscious influence to inflict it on those who follow us. They again, meet from our conduct and lips the reason and the lesson to destroy the expanding sensibilities of their nature j. and thus the tormenting chain of deceived and deceiving characters is lengthened to infinitude. About the latter end of the month, So- bieski received a summons to court, where a Diet was to be held in consequence of the victory at Zielime, to consider of fu- ture proceedings. In the same packet His Majesty enclosed a collar and inves- titure of the order of St. Stanislaus, as an acknowledgment of service to the young Thaddeus ; and he accompanied it with a note from himselfj expressing his com- mands that the young knight should re- 90 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. turn with the Palatine and other generals, to receive thanks from the throne. Thaddeus, half wild with delight, at the thoughts of so soon meeting his mo- ther, ran to the tent of his British friend to communicate the tidings. Somerset participated in his pleasure ; and with re- ciprocal warmth accepted the invitation to accompany him to Villanow. " I would follow you, my friend," said he, pressing the hand of Thaddeus, <* all over the world." "Then I will take you to the most charming spot in it!" cried he. "Vil- lanow is an Eden ; and my mother, the dear angel, who would make a desert so to me." "You speak so rapturously of your enchanted castle, Thaddeus," returned his friend, " I believe, I shall consider my knight-errantry in being fool enough to trust myself amidst a fray in which I had no business, as one of the wisest acts of my life !" THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 91- " I consider it," replied Thaddeus, "as one of the luckiest events in mine." Before the Palatine quitted the camp, Somerset thought it proper to acquaint Mr. Loftus, who was yet at Petersburgh, of the particulars of his late danger ; and that he was going to Warsaw wdth his new friends, where he should remain for several weeks. He added, that as the court of Poland, through the intercession of the Palatine, had generously given him his liberty, he should be able to see every thing in that country worthy of in- vestigation ; and that he would write to him again, enclosing letters for England, soon after his arrival at the Polish capital. The weather continuing fine, in a few days the party left Zielime ; and the Pala- tine and Somerset being so far restored from their wounds, that they could walk, the one with a crutch, and the other by the support of his friend's arm, they went through the journey with animation and pleasure. The benign wisdom of 9^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Sobieski; the intelligent enthusiasm of Thaddeus ; and the playful vivacity of Somerset; mingling their different na- tures, produced such a beautiful union, that the minutes flew fast as their wishes. A week more carried them into the pala- tinate of Masovia ; and soon afterwards within the walls of Villanow. Every thing that presented itself to Mr. Somerset was new and fascinating. He saw, in the domestic felicity of his friend, scenes which reminded him of the social harmony of his own home. He beheld in the palace and retinue of So- bieski, all the magnificence which be- spoke the descendant of a great King ; and a power which wanted nothing of royal grandeur, but the crown, which he had the magnanimity to think and to declare, was then placed upon a more worthy brow. Whilst Somerset venerated this true patriot, the high tone his mind acquired, was not lowered by associat- ing with characters nearer the common standard. The friends of Sobieski were THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 93 men of tried probity : Men, who, at all times preferred their country's welfare, before their own peculiar interest. Mr. Somerset, day after day, listened with deep attention to these virtuous and ener- getic noblemen. He saw them full of fire and personal courage when the affairs of Poland were discussed ; and he beheld with admiration, their perfect forgetful- ness of themselves in their passion for the general good. In these moments, his heart bowed down before them ; and all the pride of a Briton distended his breast, when he thought that such as these men are, his ancestors were. He remembered, how often their chivalric virtues used to occupy his reflections in the picture gal- lery at Somerset Castle ; and his doubts, when he compared what is, with what was, that history had glossed over the ac- tions of past centuries ; or that a differ- ent order of men lived then, from those which now inhabit the world. Thus, studying the sublime characters of So- bieski and his friends ; and enjoying the 94 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. endearing kindness of Thaddeus and his mother, did a fortnight pass away, with- out his even recollecting the promise of writing to his governor. At the end of that period, he stole an hour from the Countess's society ; and inclosed in a short letter to Mr. Loflus the following epistle to his mother : — " To Lady Somerset ^ Somerset- Castle, Leicestershire, " Many weeks ago, my dearest mother, I wrote a letter of seven sheets from Pe- tersburgh"; which long ere this time, you and my dear father must have received. I attempted to give you some idea of the manners of Russia ; and my vanity whis- pers, that I succeeded tolerably well. The court of the famous Catherine ; and the attentions of the hospitable Count Bra- nicki ; were then the subjects of my pen. " But, how shall I account for my being here ? How shall I allay your sur- prise and displeasure, on seeing that this THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 95 letter is dated from Warsaw ! I know that I have acted against the wish of my father, in visiting one of the countries he proscribed. I know that I have dis- obeyed your commands, in ever having at any period of my Hfe taken up arms without an indispensable necessity ; and I have nothing to allege in my defence. I fell in the way of temptation, and I yielded to it. I really cannot enumerate all the things which induced me to vo- lunteer with the Russians ; suffice it to say, that I did so ; and that we were de- feated by the Poles at Zielime : and as Heaven has rather rewarded your prayers, than punished my imprudence, I trust you will do the same, and pardon an in- discretion I vow never to repeat. " Notwithstanding all this, I must have lost my life through my folly, had I not been preserved, even in the moment when death was pending over me, by a young officer with whose family I now am. The very sound of their title will create your 96 TH ADDED S OF WAIISAW. respect ; for we of the Fatrician order, have a strange tenacity in our behef that virtue is hereditary ; and in this instance our creed ii> duly honoured. The title is Sobieski : the family which bears it, is the only remaining posterity of the great mo- narch of that name ; and the Count, who is at its head, is Palatine of Masovia; which, next to the throne, is the first dig- nity m the state. He is one of the warm- est champions of his country*s rights : and though born to command, has so far transgressed the golden adage of despots, * Ignorance and subjection,^ that through- out his territories, every man is taught to worship his God with his heart as well as with his knees. The understandings of his peasants are opened to all useful know- ledge. He does not put books of science and speculations into their hands, to con- sume their time in vain pursuits ; he gives them the Bible ; and implements of indus- try \ to afford them the means of know- ing, and of practising their duty. All THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 97 Masovia, around his palace, blooms like a garden. The cheerful faces of the farmers ; and the blessings which I hear them implore on the family, when I am walking in the fields with the young Count, (for in this country, the sons bear the same title with their fathers,) have even drawn a few delighted drops from the eyes of your thoughtless son! I know that you think I have nothing senti- mental about me ; else you would not so often have poured into my 7iot inattentive earSy * that to estimate the pleasures of earth and heaven, we must cultivate the sensibilities of the heart. Shut our eyes against them, and we are merely nicely constructed speculums, which reflect the beauties of nature, but enjoy none.' You see, mamma, that I both remember and adopt your lessons. <*Thaddeus Sobieski is the grandson of the Palatine, and the sole heir of his illustrious race. It is to him that I owe the preservation of my life at Zielime; VOL. I. F 98 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and much of my happiness since ; for he is not only the bravest, but the most amiable young man in the kingdom ; and he is my friend. Indeed, as things have happened, you must think that out of evil has come good. Though I have been disobedient, my fault has intro- duced me to the affection of people whose friendship will hence forward con- stitute the greatest pleasure of my days. The mother of Thaddeus is the only daughter of the Palatine ; and of her, I can say no more, than that nothing on earth can more remind me of you ; she is equally charming; equally tender to your son. " Whilst the Palatine is engaged at the Diet, Her Excellency, Thaddeus, and myself, with now and then a few visitors from Warsaw, form the most agreeable parties you can suppose. We walk to- gether, we read together, we converse together, we sing together : at least, the Countess sings to us ; which is all the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 99 same: and you know, that time flies swiftly on the wings of harmony. She has an uncommonly sweet voice ; and a taste which I never heard paralleled. By the way, you cannot imagine any thing more beautiful than the Polish music. It partakes of that delicious languor so distinguished in the Turkish airs ; with a mingling of those wander- ing melodies, which the now-forgotten composers must have caught from the Tartars. In short, whilst the Countess is singing, I hardly suffer myself to breathe ; and I feel, just what our poetical friend William Scarsdale said a twelvemonth ago at a concert of yours, * I feel as if love sat upon my heart, and flapped it with his wings.' ** I have tried all my powers of per- suasion, to prevail on this charming Coun- tess to visit our country. I have over and over again told her of you, and described you to her ; that you are near her own age 5 (for this lovely woman, though she F ^ 100 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. has a son nearly twenty, is not more than forty ; ) that you are as fond of your or- dinary boy, as she is of her 'peerless one ; that, in short, you and my father will re- ceive her, and Thaddeus, and the Pala- tine, with open arms and hearts \ if they will condescend to visit our humble home at the end of the war. I believe I have repeated my entreaties both to the Coun- tess and my friend, regularly every day since my arrival at Villanow ; but always with the same issue ; she smiles, and re- fuses ; and Thaddeus * shakes his ambro- sial curW with a very * godlikefro^wn^ of denial ; I hope, it is self-denial, in com- pliment to his mother's cruel and un- provoked negative, " Before I proceed, I must give you some idea of the real appearance of this palace. I recollect your having read a superficial account of it in a few slight sketches of Poland which have been pub- lished in England ; but the pictures they exhibit are so faint they hardly resemble THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 101 the original. Pray do not laugh at me, if I begin in the usual descriptive style ! You know, there is only one way to de- scribe houses, and lands and rivers ; so no blame can be thrown on me for tak- ing the beaten path where there is no other. To commence — *« When we left Zielime, and advanced into the province of Masovia, the coun- try around Prague rose at every step in fresh beauty. The numberless chains of gently swelling hills, which encompass it on each side of the Vistula, were in some parts chequered with corn field^S meadows, and green pastures covered with sheep, whose soft bleatings thrilled in my ears, and transported my senses into new regions ; so different was my charmed and tranquillized mind, from the tossing anxieties attendant on the horrors I had recently witnessed. Surely there is nothing in the world, short of the most undivided reciprocal attach- ment, that has such power over the F 3 102 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. workings of the human heart, as the mild sweetness of nature. The most ruffled temper, when emerging from the town, will subside into a calm at the sight of a wide stretch of landscape reposing in the twilight of a fine evening. It is then that the spirit of peace settles upon the heart, unfetters the thoughts, and elevates the soul to the Creator. It is then that we behold the Parent of the universe in his works ; we see his grandeur, in earth, sea, and sky ; we feel his affection, in the emotions which they raise 5 and, half :/i.ortal, half etherealized, forget where we are, in the anticipation of what that world must be, of which this lovely earth is merely the shadow. «< Autumn seemed to be unfolding all her beauties, to greet the return of the Palatine. In one part, the hay-makers were mowing the hay, and heaping it into stacks ; in another, the reapers were gathering up the wheat ; with a troop of rosy little gleaners behind them, each THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 103 of whom might have tempted the proud- est Palemon in Christendom, to have changed her toil into * a gentler duty? Such a landscape, intermingled with the little farms of these honest people, whom the philanthropy of Sobieski has rendered free, (for it is a tract of his extensive domains I am describing,) reminded me of Somerset. Villages repose in the green hollows of the vales j and cottages are seen peeping from amidst the thick umbrage of the woods, which cover the face of the hills. The irregular forms and thatched roofs of these simple habitations, with their infant inhabitants playing at the doors, composed such lovely groups, that I wished for our dear Mary's pencil and fingers, (for alas ! that way mine are motionless !) to transport them to your eyes. " The palace of Villanow, which is castellated, and stands in the midst of a fortress, now burst upon my view. It rears its embattled head from the sum- F 4" 104 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. mit of a hill that gradually slopes down towards the Vistula, and borders to the south the plain of Vola ; a spot long fa- mous for the election of the kings of Poland. On the north of the building the earth is cut into natural ramparts, which, rise in high succession, until they reach the foundations of the palace, where they terminate in a noble terrace. These ramparts, covered with grass, overlook the stone-outworks, and spread down to the bottom of the hill j which being clothed with fine trees and luxurant underwood, forms such a rich and ver- dant base to the fortress as I have not language to describe ; were I privileged to be poetical, I would say, it reminds me of the god of war, sleeping amid roses in the bower of love. Here, the eye may wander over the gifts of boun- teous nature, arraying hill and dale in all the united treasures of spring and au- tumn. The forest stretches its yet un- seared arms to the breeze ; whilst that THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 105 breeze comes laden with the fragrance of the tented hay, and the thousand sweets breathed from flowers, which, in this deHcious country, weep honey. " A magnificent flight of steps led us from the foot of the ramparts, up to the gate of the palace. We entered it ; and were presently surrounded by a train of attendants in such sumptuous liveries, that I found myself all at once carried back into the fifteenth century ; and might have fancied myself within the courtly halls of our Tudors and Planta- genets. You can better conceive, than I can paint, the scene which took place between the Palatine, the Countess, and her son. I can only repeat, that from that hour I have known no want of happiness ; but what arises from regret that my dear family are not partakers with me. " You know that this stupendous building was the favourite residence of John Sobieski j and that he erected it F 5 106 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. as a resting place from the labours of his long and glorious reign. I cannot move without meeting some vestige of that truly great monarch. I sleep in his bed-chamber : there hangs his portrait, dressed in the robes of sovereignty ; here, are suspended the arms with which he saved the very kingdoms which have now met together to destroy his country. On one side, is his library ; on the other, the little chapel in which he used to pay his morning and evening devotions. Wherever I look, my eye finds some ob- ject to exite my reflections and emula- tion. The noble dead seem to address me from their graves ; and I blush at the inglorious life I might have pursued, had I never visited this house and its inhabit- ants. Yet, my dearest mother, I do not mean to reproach you ; nor to insinuate that my revered father, and brave ances- tors, have not set me examples as bright as man need follow ; but human nature is capricious j we are not so easily sti- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 107 mulated by what is always in our view, as with sights, which rising up when we are removed from our customary asso- ciations, surprise and captivate our at- tention. Villanow has only awakened me to the lesson, which I conned over in drowsy carelessness at home. Thad- deus Sobieski is hardly one year my se- nior ! but, good heaven ! what has he not done ? What has he not acquired ? Whilst I abused the indulgence of my parents, and wasted my days in riding, shooting, and walking the streets, he was learning to act as became a man of rank and virtue ; and by seizing every opportunity to serve the state, he has obtained a rich reward in the respect and admiration of his country. I am not envious, but I now feel the truth of Caesar's speech, when he declared, * the reputation of Alexander would not let him sleep.* Nevertheless, I dearly love my friend. I murmur at my own demerits, not at his worth. p 6 108 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " I have scribbled over all my paper ; otherwise, I verily believe I should write more ; however I promise you another letter in a week or two. Meanwhile I shall send this packet to Mr. Loftus, who is at Petersburgh, to forward it to you. Adieu, my dear mother -, I am, with re- verence to my father and yourself, " Your truly affectionate son, " Pembroke Somerset. ** Villanow, ** August, 1792.'' ^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 109 CHAP. VI. ** To Lady Somerset, Somerset Castle, ' England. [Written three weeks after the preceding.] ** You know, my dear mother, that your Pembroke is famous for his ingenious mode of showing the full value of every favour he confers ! Can I then relinquish the temptation of telling you, what I have left to make you happy with this epistle ? " About five minutes ago, I was sitting on the lawn at the feet of the Countess, reading to her, and the Princess Ponia- towski, the charming poem of * The Pleasures of Memory J" As both these ladies understand English, they were ad- miring it, and paying many comphments 110 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. to the graces of my delivery, when the Palatine presented himself, and told me, if I had any commands for Petersburgh, I must prepare them, for a messenger was to set off on the next morning by day-break. I instantly sprang up, threw my book into the hand of Thaddeus ; and here I am in my own room, scrib- bling to you ! ** Even at the moment in which I dip my pen in the ink, my hurrying imagina- tion paints on my heart, the situation of my beloved home, when this letter reaches you. I think I see you and my good aunt seated on the blue sofa in your dressing-room, with your needle-work on the little table before you ; I see Mary in her usual nook, the recess by the old harpsichord; and my dear father, bringing in this happy letter from your son ! I must confess this romantic kind of fancy- sketching makes me feel rather oddly ; very unlike what I felt a few months ago, when I was a mere coxcomb j in- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Ill different, unreflecting, unappreciating, and fit for nothing better than to hold pins at my lady's toilet. Well, it is now made evident to me, that we never know the blessings of existence until we are separated from the possession of them. Absence tightens the string which unites friends, as well as lovers ; at least, I find it so ; and though I am in the fruition of every good on this side the ocean, yet my happiness renders me ungrateful ; and I repine, because I enjoy it alone. Positively, I must bring you all hither to pass a summer ; or come back at the ter- mination of my travels, and carry away this dear family by main force to Eng- land. " Tell my cousin Mary, that either way, I shall present to her esteem the most accomplished of human beings ; but I warn her not to fall in love with him, neither hi propria persona, nor by his public fame, nor with his private character. Tell her, * he is a bright and 112 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. particular star^* neither in her sphere, nor in any other woman's. In this way, he is as cold as ' Dian's Crescent / and to my great amazement too ; for when I throw my eyes over the many lovely young women who at different times fill the drawing-room of the Countess, I cannot but wonder at the perfect in- difference with which he views their (to me) irresistible attractions. " He is polite and attentive to them all ; he talks with them, smiles with them, and ti'eats them with every active com- placency : but they do not live one in- stant in his memory. I mean, they do not occupy his particular wishes ; for with regard to every respectful senti- ment towards the sex in general, and esteem to some amiable individuals, he is as awakened, as in the other case he is still asleep. The fact is, he has no idea of appropriation ; he never casts one thought upon himself: kindness is spontaneous in his nature ; his sunny eyes THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 113 beam on all with modest benignity ; and his frank and glowing conversation is directed to every rank of people. They imbibe it with an avidity and love, which makes its way to his heart without awaken- ing his vanity. Thus, whilst his fine per- son, and splendid actions, fill every eye and bosom, I see him moving in the cir- cle, unconscious of his eminence, and the interest he excites. *« Drawn by such an example, to which his high quahty, as well as extraordinary merit, gives so great an influence, most of the younger nobility have been led to enter the army. These circumstances, added to the detail of his bravery and uncommon talents in the field, have made him an object of universal regard ; and, in consequence, wherever he is seen he meets with applause and acclamation : nay, even at the appearance of his carriage in the streets, the passengers take off their hats, and pray for him till he is out of sight. It is only then, that I perceive 114 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, his cheek flush with the conviction that he is adored. " * It is this, Thaddeus,' said I to him one day, when walking together we were obHged to retire into a house from the crowds that followed him : * It is this, my dear friend, which shields your heart against the arrows of love. You have no place for that passion; your mistress is glory, and she courts you/ " < My mistress is my country,' replied he ; 'at present I desire no other. For her, I would die ; for her only, I would wish to live.' Whilst he spoke, the energy of his soul blazed in his eyes : I smiled. ** * You are an enthusiast, Thaddeus.' " * Pembroke!' returned he, in a sur- prised and reproachful tone. " ' I do not give you^that name, oppro- briously,' resumed I, laughing; * but there are many in my country, who, hearing these sentiments, would not scruple to call you mad.' THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 115 " * Then I pity them,' returned Thad- deus. * Men who cannot ardently feel, cannot taste supreme happiness. My grandfather educated me at the feet of patriotism ; and when I forget his pre- cepts and example, may my guardian angel forget me !' " ' Happy, glorious, Thaddeus !' cried I, grasping his hand ; « how I envy you your destiny ! — To live as you do, in the lap of honour ; virtue and glory, the aim and end of your existence !' *' The animated countenance of my friend changed at these words, and laying his hand on my arm, he said, * Do not envy me my destiny. Pembroke, you are the citizen of a free country, at peace with itself J insatiate power has not dared to invade its rights. Your King, in happy security, reigns in the hearts of his people; whilst our anointed Sta- nislaus is baited and insulted, by oppres- sion from without, and ingratitude with- in. Do not envy me : I would rather 116 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. live in obscurity all my days, than have the means which calamity has bestowed, of acquiring celebrity over the ruins of Poland. O ! my friend, the wreath that crowns the head of conquest is thick and bright ; but that which binds the olive of peace on the bleeding wounds of my country will be the dearest to me.' "Such sentiments, my dear madam, have opened new lights upon my poor mistaken faculties. I did not consider the subject so maturely as my friend has done ; victory and glory were with me synonymous words. I had not learnt, until frequent conversations with the young, ardent, and pious Sobieski taught me, how to discriminate between ferocity and valour ; between the patriot and the assassin ; between the defender of his country, and the ravager of other states. In short, I see in Thaddeus Sobieski all that my fancy hath ever pictured of the heroic character. Whilst I contemplate the subUmity of his sentiments, and the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 117 tenderness of his soul, I cannot help thinking, how few would believe that so many admirable qualities could belong to one mind ; and yet that mind remain unacquainted with the throes of ambition or the throbs of vanity." Pembroke judged rightly of his friend ; for if ever the real, disinterested amor patrice glowed in the breast of a man, it animated the heart of the young Sobieski. At the termination of the foregoing sen- tence in the letter to his mother, Pem- broke was interrupted by the entrance of a servant, who presented him a packet, which had that moment arrived from Petersburgh. He took it, and laying his writing materials into a desk, read the following epistle from his governor. ** To Pembroke Somerset, Esq, ** My dear Sir, " I have this day received your letter, enclosing one for Lady Somerset. You must pardon me, that I have detained it ; 118 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and will continue to do so until I am favoured with your answer to this ; for which I shall most anxiously wait. " You know, Mr. Somerset, my repu- tation in the sciences j you know my depth in the languages ; and besides, the Marquis of Inverary, with whom I tra- veiled over the Continent, offered you sufficient credentials respecting my know- ledge of the world, and the honourable manner in which I treat my pupils. Sir Robert Somei^set, and your lady mother, were amply satisfied with the account, which His Lordship gave of my character ; but with all this, in one point every man is vulnerable. No scholar can forget those lines of the poet, Felices ter, et amplius, Quos irrupta tenet copula ; nee malis Divulsus quaerimoniis, Suprema citius solvet amor die. It has been my misfortune that I have felt them. " You are not ignorant, that I was known to the Branicki family, when I THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 119 had the honour of conducting the Mar- quis through Russia. The Count's ac- compHshed kinswoman, the amiable and learned widow of Baron SurowkofF, even then took particular notice of me : and when I returned with you to St. Peters- burgh, I did not find that my short ab- sence had obliterated me from her me- mory. " You are well acquainted with the dignity of that lady's opinions, on political subjects. She and I coincided in ardour for the cause of insulted Russia ; and in hatred of that leveUing power which per- vades all Europe. Many have been the long and interesting conversations we have held on the prosecution of those schemes, which her late husband had so principal a hand in laying, for the sub- version of the miserable kingdom in which you now are. " The Baroness, I need not observe, is as handsome as she is ingenious ; her un- derstanding is as masculine, as her person 120 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. is desirable ; and I had been more, or less than man, if I had not understood that my figure and talents were agreeable to her. I cannot say that she absolutely promised me her hand, but she went as far that way as delicacy would permit. I am thus circumstantial, Mr. Somerset, to show you that I do not proceed without proof. She has repeatedly said in my presence that she would never marry any man, unless he were not only well-look- ing, but of the profoundest erudition, united with an acquaintance with men and manners, which none could dispute. * Besides,' added she, ' he must not differ with me one tittle in politics ; for on that head I hold myself second to no m.an or woman in Europe.' And then she has complimented me, by declaring, that I possessed more judicious senti- ments on government, than any man in St. Petersburgh ; and that she should consider herself happy on the first vacancy in the Imperial College, to introduce me THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 121 at court ; where she was sure the Empress would at once discover the value of my talents : ' but/ she continued, * in such a case, I will not allow, that even Her Majesty shall rival me in your esteem.' The modesty natural to my character, told me these praises must have some other source than my comparatively une- qual abilities ; and I unequivocally found it in the partiality with which Her Lady- ship condescended to regard me. " Was I to blame, Mr. Somerset? Would not any man of sensibility and honour have comprehended such advances from a woman of her rank and reputation ? I could not be mistaken, her looks and words needed no explanation, which my judgment could not pronounce. Though I am aware, that I do not possess that lumen purpureum juventce which attracts very young, uneducated women, yet I am not much turned of fifty ; and from the Baroness's singular behaviour, I had every reason to expect handsomer treat- VOL. I. ' G 122 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. raent than she has been pleased to dis- pense to me since my return. " But to proceed regularly ; (I must beg your pardon for the warmth which has hurried me to this digression,) you know. Sir, that from the hour in which I had the honour of taking leave of your noble family in England, I strove to impress upon your rather volatile mind, a just and accurate conception of the people amongst whom I was to conduct you. When I brought you into this extensive empire, I left no means unexerted to heighten your respect, not only for its amiable sovereign, but for all regal powers. It is the characteristic of genius to be zealous : I was so, in favour of the pretensions of the great Catharine, to that paltry country in which you now are, and to which she deigned to offer her protection. To this zeal, and my unfor- tunate, though honourable devotion to the wishes of the Baroness, I am con- strained to date my present dilemma. 19 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 123 ** When Poland had the insolence to rebel against its illustrious mistress, you remember, that every man of rank in St. Petersburgh was highly incensed. The Baroness Surowkoff declared herself fre- quently, and with vehemence ; she ap- pealed to me ; my veracity and my prin- ciples were called forth, and I confessed, that I thought every friend to the Tza- ritza ought to take up arms against that ungrateful people. The Count Branicki was then appointed to command the Russian forces ; and Her Ladyship, very unexpectedly on my part, answered me, by approving what I said ; and saying, that of course I meant to follow her cousin into Poland ; for that even she, as a woman, was so earnest in the cause, she would accompany him to the fron- tiers, and there await the result. " What could I do ? How could I withstand the expectations of a lady of her quality, and one who, I believed, loved me? However, for some time I VOL. I. * G 2 124 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. did oppose my wish to oblige her ; I urged my cloth ; and the impossibility of accounting for such a line of con- duct to the father of my pupil? The Baroness ridiculed all these arguments, as mere excuses : and ended with say- ing, ' Do as you please, Mr. Loftus. I have been deceived in your character ; the friend of the Baroness SurowkofF must be consistent ; he must be as will- ing to fight for the cause he espouses as to speak for it ; in this case, the sword must follow the oration, else we sjiall see Poland in the hands of a rabble.' " This decided me. I offered my ser- vices to the Count, to attend him to the field. He, and the young lords, per- suaded you to do the same; and as I could not think of leaving you, when your father had placed you under my charge, I was pleased to find that my approval confirmed your wish to turn soldier. I was not then acquainted, Mr. Somerset, (for you did not tell me of THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 125 it until we were far advanced into Po- land,) with Sir Robert's and my Lady's dislike of the army. This has been a prime source of my error 5 had I known their repugnance to your taking up arms, my duty would have triumphed over even my devotion to the Baroness : but I was born under a melancholy horo- scope ; nothing happens as any one of my humblest wishes might warrant. " At the first onset of the battle, I became so suddenly ill, I was obliged to retire; and on this unfortunate event, which was completely unwilled on my part, (for no man can command the pe- riods of sickness,) the Baroness founds a contempt which has disconcerted all my schemes. Besides, when I attempted to remonstrate with Her Ladyship on the promise which, if not directly given, was implied, she laughed at me j and when I persisted in my suit, all at once, like the rest of her ungrateful, undistinguishing sex, she burst into a tempest of invec- tives, and forbade me her house. G 3 1^6 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " What am I now to do, Mr. Somer- set? This inconsistent woman has be- trayed me into a conduct diametrically opposite to the commands of your fa- mily. Your father particularly desired that I would not suffer you to go either into Hungary or Poland. In the last instance I have permitted you to disobey him. And my Lady Somerset, (who lost both her father and brother in diiSferent engagements,) you tell me, hath declared that she never would pardon the man who should put mihtary ideas into your head. " Therefore, Sir, though you are my pupil, I throw myself on your generosity. If you persist in acquainting your family with the late transactions at Zielime, and your present residence in Poland, I shall finally be ruined. I shall not only for- feit the good opinion of your father and mother, but lose all prospect of the liv- ing of Somerset j which Sir Robert was so gracious as to promise should be mine on the demise of the present incumbent. You know, Mr. Somerset, that I have THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 127 a mother and six sisters in Wales ; whose support depends on my success in life ; if my preferment be stopped now, they must necessarily be involved in a distress which makes me shudder. " I cannot add more, Sir ; I know your generosity ; and I therefore rest upon it. I shall detain the letter, which you did me the honour to inclose for my Lady Somerset, till I receive your deci- sion ; and ever, whilst I live, will I hence- forth remain firm to my old and favourite maxim, which I adopted from the glo- rious epistle of Horace to Numicius. Perhaps you may not recollect the lines ? They run thus : Nil admirari, prope res est una, Numici, Solaque, quae possit facere et servare beatura. ** I have the honour to be, " Dear Sir, *« Your most obedient servant, " Andrew Loftus. *^St» Pefersburgh, Septemhevy 1792.'* G 4 128 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. "P. S. Just as I was sealing this packet, the EngUsh ambassador for- warded to me a short letter from your father, in which he desires us to quit Russia ; and to make the best of our way to England, where you are wanted on a most urgent occasion. He explains himself no farther ; only repeating his orders in express commands that we set off instantly. I wait your directions." This epistle disconcerted Mr. Somer- set. He always guessed the Baroness SurowkofF was amusing herself with his vain and pedantic preceptor ; but he never entertained a suspicion that Her Ladyship would carry her pleasantry to so cruel an excess. He clearly saw that the fears of Mr. Loftus, with regard to the displeasure of his parents, were far from groundless ; and therefore, as there was a probability from the age of Dr. Manners, that the rectory of Somerset would soon become vacant, he thought it better to oblige his poor governor, and THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 129 preserve the secret for a month or two, than to give him up to the indignation of Sir Robert On these grounds, Pem- broke resolved to write to Mr. Loftus, and ease the anxiety of his heart. Al- tJiough he ridiculed his vanity, he could not help respecting the affectionate soli- citude of a son and a brother ; and, as that plea had won him, half angry, half grieved, and half laughing, he dispatched a few hasty lines. *' To the Reverend Andrew Loftus^ St, Petersburgh. ** What whimsical fit, my dear Sir, has seized my father, that I am recalled at a moment's notice ? Faith, I am so mad at the summons ; and at his not deigning to assign a reason for his order, — that I do not know how I may he tempted to act. " Another thing ! you beg of me not to say a word of my having been in Po- land ; and for that purpose, you have G 5 ISO THADDEUS OF WARSAW. withheld the letter which I sent to you to forward to my mother ! You offer far- fetched, and precious excuses, for having betrayed your own wisdom, and your pupil's innocence, into so mortal an offence. One cause of my being here you say was your * ardour in the cause of insulted Russia ; and your hatred of that levelling potver which pervades all Europe*' " Well, I grant it. I understood from you and Branicki, that you were leading me against a set of violent, discontented men of rank, who, in proportion as they were inflated with personal pride and in- solence, despised their own order ; and under the name of freedom, were intro- ducing anarchy throughout a country which Catharine would graciously have protected. All this I find is false. But both of you may have been misled ; the Count by partiality ; and you by misre- presentation : therefore I do not perceive why you should be in such a terror. The THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 131 wisest man in the world may see through bad lights; and why should you think my father would never pardon you for having been so unlucky ? " Yet to dispel your dread of such tidings ruining you with Sir Robert, I will not be the first to tell him of our quixoting. Only remember, my good Sir ! — though to oblige you I withhold all my letters to my mother ; and when I arrive in England shall lock up my lips from mentioning Poland y yet positively I will not be mute one day longer than that in which my father presents you with the living of Somerset : then, you will be independent of his displeasure ; and I may, and will, declare my everlast- ing gratitude to this illustrious family, " I am half mad when I think of leaving them, I must tear myself from this mansion of comfort and affection, to wander with you in some rumbling old barouche * over brake and through briar /' Well, patience ! Another such G 6 132 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. drubbing given to my quondam friends of the Neva, and with * victory perched like an eagle on their laurelled brows/ I may have some chance of wooing the Sobieskis to the banks of Thames. At present, I have not sufficient hope to keep me in good humour. ** Meet me this day week at Dantzic : I shall there embark for England. You had best not bring any of the servants with you ', they might blab ; discharge them at Petersburgh, and hire others for yourself and me when you arrive at the sea-port. " I have the honour to remain, " Dear Sir, " Your most obedient servant, *' Pembroke Somerset, ** Villanow, September, 179^.'* When Somerset joined his friends at supper, and imparted to them the com- mands of his father, an immediate change THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 133 was produced in the spirits of the party. During the lamentations of the ladies and the murmurs of the young men, the Countess tried to dispel the effects of the information, by addressing Pem- broke with a smile, and saying, " But we hope that you have seen enough at Villanow, to tempt you back again at no very distant period ? Tell Lady So- merset you have left a second mother in Poland, who will long to receive an- other visit from her adopted son." " Yes, my dear Madam," returned he ; " and I shall hope before a very dis- tant period to see those two kind mo- thers united as intimately by friendship, as they are in my heart." Thaddeus listened with a saddened coun- tenance. He had not been accustomed to disappointment ; and when he met it now, he hardly knew how to proportion his uneasiness to the privation. Hope and all the hilarities of youth flourislied in his soul ; his features continually 134> THADDEUS OF WARSAW. glowed with animation, whilst the gay beaming of his eyes ever answered to the smile on his lips. Hence the slight- est veering of his mind was perceptible to the Countess, who turning round, saw him leaning thoughtfully in his chair; whilst Pembroke, with increasing ve- hemence, was running through various invectives against the hastiness of his recall. " Come, come, Thaddeus !" cried she, " let us think no more of this separation until it arrives. You know that anticipation of evil is the death of happiness ; and it will be a kind of suicide, should we destroy the hours we may yet enjoy together, in vain complainings they are so soon to ter- minate.'* A little exhortation from the Coun- tess, and a maternal kiss which she im- printed on his cheek, restored him to cheerfulness ; and the evening past away pleasanter than it had portended. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 135 Much as the Palatine esteemed Pem- broke Somerset, his mind was too deeply absorbed in the losses of his country, to attend to less considerable cares. He beheld his country, even on the verge of destruction, awaiting with firmness the approach of the earthquake which was to ingulph it in the neighbouring nations. He saw the storm lowering ; but he de- termined, whilst there remained one spot of vantage ground above the general wreck, that Poland should yet have a name and a defender. These thoughts pos- sessed him ; these plans engaged him 5 and he had not leisure to regret pleasure, when he was struggling for existence. The Empress continued to pour her armies into the heart of the kingdom. The King of Prussia, boldly flying from his treaties, refused it his succour ; and the Emperor of Germany, following the example of so great a Prince, did not blush to show that his word was equally contemptible. 136 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Dispatches daily arrived, of the villages being laid waste : that neither age, sex, nor situation prevented their unfortu- nate inhabitants becoming the victims of cruelty; and that all the frontier pro- vinces were in flames. The Diet was called, and the debates agitated with the anxiety of men,^ who were met to decide on their dearest in- terests. The bosom of the benevolent Stanislaus bled at the dreadful picture of his people's sufferings ; and hardly able to restrain his tears, he answered the animated exordiums of Sobieski for re- sistance to the last, with an appeal im- mediately to his heart. " What is it that you urge me to do, my Lord ?" said he. " Was it not to secure the happiness of my subjects, that I laboured ? and finding my design im- practicable, what advantage would it be to them, should I pertinaciously oppose their small numbers, to the accumulated hordes of the north? What is my kingdom, THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 137 but the comfort of my people? What will it avail me, to see them fall around me, man by man ; and the few who re- main, hanging in speechless sorrow over their graves ? Such a sight would break my heart. Poland without its people, would be a desart ; and I a hermit rather than a King." In vain the Palatine combated this argument, and the quiet which a peace would aftbrd, by declaring it could only be temporary. In vain he told His Majesty, that he would purchase safety for the present race, at the vast expense of not only the liberty of posterity, but of its probity and happiness. ** However you disguise slavery," cried he, " it is slavery still. Its chains, though wreathed with roses, not only fasten on the body but rivet on the mind. They bend it from the loftiest virtue, to a de- basement beneath calculation. They dis- grace honour ; they trample upon justice. They transform the legions of Rome 1S8 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. into a band of singers. They prostrate the sons of Athens and of Sparta at the feet of cowards. They make man abjure his birthright, bind himself to another's will, and give that into a tyrant's hands, which he received as a deposit from heaven — his reason, his conscience, and his soul. Think on this, and then, if you can, subjugate Poland to her enemies." Stanislaus, weakened by years, and sub- dued by disappointment, now retained no higher wish than to save his subjects from immediate outrage. He did not answer the Palatine ; but with streaming eyes, bent over the table, and annulled the glorious constitution of 1791. Then with emotions hardly short of agony, he signed an order presented by a Russian officer, which directed Prince Poniatowski to deliver the army under his command into the hands of General Branicki. As the King put his signature to these papers, Sobieski, who had strenuously withstood each decision, started from his THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 139 chair, bowed to his sovereign, and in silence left the apartment. Several no- blemen followed him. These pacific measures did not meet with better treatment from without. When they were noised abroad, an alarm- ing commotion arose amongst the inha- bitants of Warsaw ; and nearly four thou- sand men of the first families in the king- dom assembled themselves in the park of Villanow, and with tumultuous eagerness, declared their resolution to resist the power of their combined ravagers to the utmost. The Prince Sapieha, Kosciuszko, and Sobieski, were the first who took the oath of eternal fidelity to Poland ; and they administered it to Thaddeus, who kneeling down, called on heaven to hear him, as he swore to assert the freedom of his country to the last gasp of its existence. In the midst of these momentous af- fairs, Pembroke Somerset bade adieu to his friends; and set sail with his go- vernor from Dantzic for England. 140 TH ADDED S OF WARSAW. CHAP. VII. Those winter months, which before this year had been at Villanow the season for cheerfulness and festivity, now rolled away in the sad pomp of national debates and military assemblies. Prussia usurped the best part of Pome- relia, and garrisoned it with troops ; Catharine declared her dominion over the vast tract of land which lies between the Dwina and Borystenes ; and Frederic William marked down another sweep of Poland, to follow the fate of Dantzic and of Thorn. Calamities, insults, and robberies, were heaped, day after day, on the defenceless Poles. The Deputies of the provinces were put into prison ; and the Russian ambassador had the insolence, even to THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 141 interrupt provisions intended for the King's table, and appropriate them to his own. Sobieski remonstrated on this outrage; but incensed at reproof, and irritated at the sway which the Palatine still held at court, he issued an order for all the Sobieski estates in Lithuania and Podolia to be sequestrated, and di- vided between four of the Russian ge- nerals. In vain the Villanow confederation en- deavoured to remonstrate with the Em- press. Her ambassador, not only refused to forward the dispatches, but threatened the nobles, *' if they did not comply with every one of his demands, he would lay all the estates, possessions, and habitations, of the members of the Diet under an immediate military execution. Nay, punishment should not stop there ; for if the King joined the Sobieski party, (to which he now appeared inclined,) the royal domains should not only meet the same fate, but harsher treatment should 142 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. follow, until both the people, and their proud Sovereign, were brought into sub- jection." These menaces were too arrogant, to have any other effect upon the Poles, than that of giving a new spur to their resolu- tion. With the same firmness, they re- pulsed similar fulminations from the Prussian ambassador ; and with a cool- ness which was only equalled by their intrepidity, they prepared to resume their arms. Hearing by private information that his threats were despised, next morning before day-break the insolent Russian surrounded the building were the con- federation was sitting, with two battalions of grenadiers and four pieces of cannon ; and then issued orders, that no Pole should pass the gates without being fired on. General Rautenfeld, who was set over the person of the King, declared that not even His Majesty should stir, until the Diet had given an unanimous THADDEUS OF WARSAW, 143 and full consent to the Empress's com- mands. The Diet set forth the unlawfulness of signing any treaty, whilst thus withheld from the freedom of will and debate. They urged that it was not legal to enter into deliberation, when violence had re- cently been exerted against any individual of their body ; and how could they do it now, deprived as they were of five of their principal members, whom the am- bassador well knew he had arrested in their way to the senate ? Sobieski and four of his friends, being the members most inimical to the wishes of Russia, were these five. In vain their liberation was required; and enraged at the per- tinacity of this opposition, Rautenfeld repeated his former threatenings with the addition of more ; swearing they should take place without appeal, if the Diet did not, directly and unconditionally, sign the pretensions both of his court, and that of Prussia. 144 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. After a hard contention of many hour^, at last the members agreed amongst them- selves, to make a solemn public protest against the present tyrannous measures of the Russian ambassador 5 and seeing that any attempt to inspire him even with decency was useless, they determined to cease all debate, and keep a profound silence when the marshal should propose the project in demand. This sorrowful silence was commenced in resentment, and retained through des- pair ; this sorrowful silence was called by their usurpers a consent ; this sorrow- ful silence is held up to the world, and to posterity, as a free cession of the Poles, of all those rights, which they had re- ceived from nature, and defended with their blood. The morning after this dreadful day the senate met at one of the private palaces : and indignant, and broken- hearted, they delivered the following de- claration to the people : THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ] 45 " The Diet of Poland, hemmed in by foreign troops, menaced with an invasion, which would be attended by universal ruin, and finally insulted by a thousand outrages, have been forced to witness the signing of a treaty with Prussia. ** They strenuously endeavoured to add to that treaty, some conditions to which they supposed the lamentable state of this country would have ex- torted an acquiescence, even from the heart of power. But the Diet were de- ceived : they found, that power was un- accompanied by humanity : they found, that Prussia, having thrown his victim to the ground, would not refrain from exulting in the barbarous triumph of trampling upon her neck. " The Diet rely on the justice of Po- land ; rely on her beUef, that they would not betray the citadel she confided to their keeping ; her preservation is dearer to them than their lives ; but fate seems to be on the side of their destroyer. VOL. 1. H 146 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Fresh insults have been heaped upon their heads, and new hardships have been imposed upon them. To prevent all deliberations on this debasing treaty, they are not only surrounded by foreign troops, and dared with hostile messages, but they have been violated by the arrest of their prime members; whilst those who are still suffered to possess a per- sonal freedom, have the most galling shackles laid upon theu' minds. " Therefore, I, the King of Poland, enervated by age, and sinking under the accumulated weight of afflictions ; — and also, we, the members of the Diet, — de- clare, that being unable, even by the sa- crifice of our lives, to relieve our country from the yoke of its oppressors, we con- sign it to posterity. " In another age, means may be found to rescue it from chains and mi- sery ; but such means are not in our power. Other countries neglect us ; whilst they reprobate the violations THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 147 which a neighbouring nation is alleged to have committed against rational li- berty, they behold not only with apathy but with approbation, the ravages which are desolating Poland. Posterity must avenge it ; we have done. We accede, for the reasons above mentioned, to the treaty laid before us ; though we declare, that it is contrary to our wishes, to our sentiments, and to our rights." Thus, in November, 1793, — compress- ed to one-fourth of her dimensions, within the lines of demarcation drawn by her enemies, — Poland was stripped of her rank in Europe : the lands of her nobles given to strangers ; and her citi- zens left to perish in chains. Ill-fated nation ! Posterity will weep over thy wrongs ; whilst the burning blush of shame, that their fathers witnessed such wrongs unmoved, shall cause the tears to blister as they fall. During these transactions, the Coun- tess Sobieski continued in solitude at H 2 148 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Villanow, awaiting with awful anxiety the termination of those portentous events, which so deeply involved her own comforts with those of her country. Her father was in prison, her son at a distance with the army. Sick at heart, she saw the opening of that spring, which might be the commencement only, of a new season of injuries : and her fears were prophetic. Those soldiers who had dared to retain their arms in their hands, were again or- dered by the Russian ambassador to lay them down. Some few^ thinking denial vain, obeyed ; but bolder spirits followed Thaddeus Sobieski into South Prussia; whither he had directed his steps on the arrest of his grandfather ; and where he had gathered, and kept together, a handful of brave men still faithful to their liberties. His name alone collected numbers in every district through which he marched. Persecution from their advei^ary, as well as admiration of THADDEUS OF WARSAW, 149 Thaddeus, gave a resistless power to his appearance, look, and voice ; all which had such an effect on the people, they crowded to his standard by hundreds ^ whilst their lords, having caught a simi- lar fire from the ardour of the young Count, committed themselves without reserve to his sole judgment and com- mand. The Empress, hearing of this, ordered Stanislaus to command him to disband his troops. But the King re- fusing, she augmented the strength of her own forces ; and enraged at so stub- born a resistance, renewed the war witli redoubled horrors. The Palatine remained in confinement, hopeless of obtaining release without the aid of stratagem. The emissaries of Catharine were too well aware of their interest to give freedom to so active an opponent. They loaded him with irons and insult ; — but in spite of their arts this patriotic victim to vindictive tyranny received every consolation which can H 3 150 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. soothe a brave man, (his own arms being tied from serving his- country,) in the in- formation which the bKnd maHce of his jailors hourly brought to his ears. They told him, " that his grandson continued to carry himself with such insolent op- position in the south, it would be well if the Empress, at the termination of the war, allowed him to escape with eternal banishment to Siberia." Every reproach which was levelled at the Palatine, he found had been bought by some new conquest of Thaddeus ; and instead of permitting their malignity to intimidate his age, or alarm his affection, he told the officer, (whose daily office was to at- tend and to torment him,) that — if his grandson were to lose his head for fide- lity to Poland, he should behold him, with as proud an eye, mounting the scaffiDld, as entering the streets of War- saw with Russia at his chariot wheels. " The only difference would be,'' con- tinued Sobieski, " that, as the first can- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 151 not happen until all virtue be dead in this land, I should regard his last gasp as the expiring sigh of that virtue, which, by him, had found a triumph even under the axe. And for the second, — it would be joy unutterable, to behold the victory of justice over rapine and murder! But, either way, Thaddeus Sobieski is still the same ; ready to die, or ready to live, for his country — and equally worthy of the eternal halo, with which posterity will encircle his name." Indeed the accounts which arrived from this young soldier, who had formed a junction with General Kosciuszko, were in the highest degree formidable to the coalesced powers. Having gained seve- ral advantages over the Prussians, his troops were advancing towards Inow- lotz, when a large and fresh body of the enemy appeared closely on their rear. The fugitives on the opposite bank of the river, (whom the Poles were driving before them,) at sight of this reinforce- H 4 152 THADBEUS OF WARSAW. ment suddenly rallied; and to retard the approach of their pursuers, and en- sure their defeat from the army in view, they broke down the wooden bridge by which they might have escaped. The Poles were at a stand. Kosciuszko pro- posed swimming across ; but owing to the recent heavy rains the river was so swoln and rapid that the young men to whom he mentioned the project, terrified by the blackness and dashing of the water, drew back. The General per- ceiving their panic, called Thaddeus to him, and both plunged into the stream. Ashamed of hesitation, the others now tried who could first follow their exam- ple ; and after hard buffeting with the waves the whole army gained the oppo- site shore. The Prussians who were in the rear, incapable of the like intrepidity, halted ; and those in the van, intimi- "Sated at the daring courage of their ad- versaries, concealed themselves amidst the thickets of an adjoining valley. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 153 The two friends proceeded towards Cracow, carrying redress and protection to the provinces through which they marched. But they had hardly rested two days in that city before dispatches were received, that Warsaw was lying at the mercy of General Branicki. No time could be lost, officers and men had set their lives on the cause ; and they re- commenced their toils, with a persever- ance which brought them before the ca- pital on the I6th of April. Things were in a worse state than even was expected. The Russian am. bassador, with his usual arrogance, had not only demanded the surrender of the national arsenal ; but subscribed his or- ders with a threat, that whoever of the nobles presumed to dispute his authority should be arrested and put to death ; and if the people should dare to murmur, he would immediately command General Branicki to lay the city in ashes. H 5 154 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. The King remonstrated against such oppression ; and to " punish his pre- sumption,''^ this proper representative of the Imperial Catharine, ordered that His Majesty's garrison and guards should be instantly broken and dispersed. At the first attempt to execute this mandate, the people flew in crowds to the palace ; and falling on their knees, implored Stanislaus for permission to avenge the insult offered to his troops. His Ma- jesty looked at them with pity, gratitude, and anguish ; for some time his emotions were too strong to allow him to speak ; at last in a voice of agony, which was wrung from his tortured heart, he an- swered, " Go, and defend your honour 1" The army of Kosciuszko marched into the town at this critical moment ; they joined the armed citizens ; and that day, after a dreadful conflict, Warsaw was rescued from the immediate grasp of Russia. During the fight, the King, THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 155 who was alone in one of the rooms of his palace, sunk almost fainting on the floor ; he heard the mingling clash of arms, the roar of musquetry, and the cries and groans of the combatants ; ruin seemed no longer to hover over his kingdom, but to have pounced at once upon her prey. At every renewed vol- ley, which followed each pause in the fir- ing, he expected to see his palace-gates burst open, and himself^ then indeed made a willing sacrifice to the fury of his enemies. Whilst he was yet upon his knees, pe- titioning the God of battles for a little longer respite from that doom, which was to overwhelm devoted Poland — Thad- deus Sobieski, panting with heat and toil, flew into the room ; and before he could speak a word, was clasped in the arms of the agitated Stanislaus. " Are my people safe ?" asked the King. H 6 156 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " And victorious !" returned Thad- deus. " The foreign guards are beaten from the palace ; — your own have re- sumed their station at the gates." At this assurance tears of joy ran over the venerable cheeks of His Majesty ; and again embracing his young deliverer, he exclaimed, " I thank Heaven, my un- happy country is not bereft of all hope ! Whilst Kosciuszko and a Sobieski live, she will not quite despair." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 157 CHAP. VIIL Thaddeus was not less eager to release his grandfather, than he had been to relieve the anxiety of his sovereign. He hastened at the head of a few troops to the prison of Sobieski, and gave him liberty amidst the acclamations of his soldiers. The universal joy at these prosperous events did not last many days : it was speedily terminated by information, that Cracow had surrendered to a Prussian force ; the King of Prussia was advanc- ing towards the capital ; and that the Russians, more implacable, in conse- quence of the late treatment their gar- rison had received at Warsaw, were pouring into the country like a deluge. 158 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. At this intelligence, the consternation became dreadful. The Polonese army, worn with fatigue and long services, and without clothing or ammunition, were not in any way, excepting courage, fitted for the field. The treasury was exhausted ; and means of raising a supply, seemed im- practicable. The provinces vere laid waste, and the city had already been drained of its last ducat. In this exigency, a council met in His Majesty's cabinet, to devise some expedient for obtaining resources. The consultation was as de- sponding as their situation, until Thad- deus Sobieski, who had been a silent observer, rose from his seat. Sudden in- disposition had prevented the Palatine attending, but his grandson knew well how to be his substitute. Whilst blushes of awe and eagerness crimsoned his cheek, he advanced towards Stanislaus ; and taking from his neck, and other parts of his dress, those magnificent 18 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 159 jewels it was customary to wear in the presence of the King, he knelt down, and laying them at the feet of His Ma- jesty, said in a suppressed voice, " These are trifles ; but such as they are, and all of the like kind which I possess, I be- seech Your Majesty to appropriate to the public service/' " Noble young man!" cried the King, raising him from the ground ; " you have indeed taught me a lesson : I accept these jewels with gratitude. Here," said he, turning to the treasurer, «« put them into the national fund; and let them be followed by my own, with my plate ; which latter, I desire may be instantly sent to the mint. One half, the army shall have ; the other w^e must expend in giving some little support to the surviving families of the brave men who have fallen in our defence." The Pa- latine readily united with his grandson, in the surrender of all their personal property, for the benefit of their country: 160 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and according to their example, the treasury was soon filled with gratuities from the nobles. The very artisans offered their services gratis ; and, all hands being employed to forward the preparations, the army was soon enabled to take the field, newly equipped, and in high spirits. The Countess had again to bid adieu to a son, who was now become as much the object of her admiration, as of her love. In proportion as glory surrounded him, and danger courted his steps, the strings of affection drew him closer to her soul : the " aspiring blood" of the Sobieskis, which beat in her veins, could not drown the feelings of a parent; could not cause her to forget, that the spring of her existence now flowed from the fountain, which had taken its source from her. Her anxious and waiting heart paid dearly in tears and sleepless nights, for the honour with which she was saluted at; every turning, as the mother of Thaddeus : THADDEUS OF WARSAW. l6l that Thaddeus, who was not more the spirit of enterprise, and the rallying point of resistance, than he was to her, the gentlest, the dearest, the most amia- ble of sons. It matters not to the un- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. lated meadows which intervened between Prague and Villanow. Thaddeus was met at the gate of the palace by General Butzou ; who having learnt the fate of Prague from the noise and flames in that quarter, anticipated the arrival of some part of the victorious army before the walls of Villanow. When the Count crossed the draw-bridge, he saw that the worthy veteran had pre- pared every thing for a stout resistance ; the ramparts were lined with soldiers, and well mounted with artillery. " Here, my dear Lord," cried he, as he conducted the Count to the keep, *« let the worst happen, here I am re- solved to dispute the possession of your grandfather's palace, until I have not a man to stand by me !" Thaddeus strained him in silence to his breast ; and after examining the force and dispositions, he approved all, with a cold despair of their being of any effec- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 195 taal use ; and went to the apartments of his mother. The Countess's women, who met him in the vestibule, begged him to be care- ful how he entered Her Excellency's room ; for she had only just recovered from a swoon, occasioned by alarm at hearing the cannonade against the Polish camp. Thaddeus waited for no more ; but regardless of their caution, threw open the door of the chamber ; and hastening to his mother's couch, cast himself into her arms. She clung round his neck : and for a while joy stopped her respiration, till bursting into tears she wept over him, incapable of express- ing by w^ords her tumultuous gratitude of again beholding him alive. He looked on her altered and pallid features. ** O ! my mother," cried he, clasping her to his breast, " you are ill; and what will become of you ?" ** My beloved son," replied she, kissing his forehead through the clotted blood K 2 196 THADDEUS OE WARSAW. which oozed from a cut on his temple; " my beloved son, before our cruel mur- derers can arrive, I shall have found a refuge in the bosom of my God." Thaddeus could only answer with a groan. She resumed. " Give me your hand. I must not witness the grandson of Sobieski, given up to despair : let your mother incite you to resignation. You see, I have not breathed a com- plaining word, although I behold you covered with wounds." As she spoke, her eye pointed to the sash and hand- kerchief which were bound round his thigh and arm, " Our separation will not be long ; a few short years, perhaps hours, may unite us for ever in a better world." The Count was still speechless ; he could only press her hand to his lips. After a pause, she proceeded. — " Look up, my dear boy ! and attend to me. Should Poland become the pro- perty of other nations, I conjure you, if THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 197 you survive its fall, to leave it. When reduced to slavery, it will no longer be an asylum for a man of honour. I be- seech you, should this happen, go that very hour to England : That is a free country : and I have been told, the peo- ple are kind to the unfortunate. Thad- deus ! Why do you delay to answer me ? Remember, these are your mother's dying prayers." " 1 will obey you." " Then," continued she, taking from her bosom a picture, " let me tie this round your neck. It is the portrait of your father." Thaddeus bent his head, and the Countess fastened it under his neckcloth : " Prize this gift, my child ; it is likely to be all that you will now inherit either from me, or that father. Try to forget his injustice, my dear son ; and in memory of me never part with it. O, Thaddeus ! since the moment in which I first received it, until this in- stant, it has never been from my heart !" K 3 198 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " And it shall never leave mine," an- swered he, in a stifled voice, " whilst I have being." The Countess was preparing to reply, when a sudden volley of fire-arms made Thaddeus spring upon his feet. Loud cries succeeded. Women rushed into the apartment, screaming, " The ram- parts are stormed !" and the next mo- ment that quarter of the building rocked to its foundation. The Countess clung to the bosom of her son ; Thaddeus clasped her close to his breast, and cast- ing up his petitioning eyes to Heaven, *< O God !" cried he, " can I not find shelter for my mother !" Another burst of cannon was followed by a heavy crash, and the most piercing shrieks echoed through the palace. ** All is lost!" cried a soldier, who appeared for an instant at the room door, and vanished. Thaddeus, overwhelmed with despair, grasped his sword, which had fallen to THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 199 the ground, and crying, " Mother, we will die together!" would have given her one last and assuring embrace, when his eyes met the dreadful sight of her before agitated features, now tranquillized in death. She fell from his palsied arms back on the sofa, and he stood gazing on her, as if struck by a power which had benumbed all his faculties. The tumult in the palace encreased every moment ; but he heard it not, until Butzou, followed by two or three of his soldiers, ran into the apartment, calling out, ** Count, save yourself!'* Sobieski still remained motionless. The General caught him by the arm, and covering the body of the deceased Coun- tess with the mantle of her son, hurried his unconscious steps, by an opposite door, through the state chambers into the gardens. Thaddeus did not recover his recollec- tion until he reached the outward gate ; then breaking from the hold of his friend, K 4 200 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. was returning to the sorrowful scene he had left, when Butzou, aware of his in- tentions, just stopped him time enough to prevent his rushing on the bayonets of a party of Russian infantry who were pursuing them at full speed. The Count now rallied his distracted faculties ; and making a stand with the Ge- neral and his three Poles, they compelled this merciless detachment to seek refuge among the arcades of the building. Butzou would not allow his young Lord to pursue the wretches, but hurried him across the park. He looked behind him ; a column of fire issued from the south towers. Thaddeus sighed as if his life were in that sigh ; ** All is indeed over ;" and pressing his hand to his forehead, in that attitude followed the steps of the General towards the Vistula. From the wind's being very high, the flame spread itself over the roof of the palace ; and catching at every combusti- ble in its way, the Russians became so THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 201 terrified at the quick progress of a fire wliich threatened to consume themselves as well as their plunder, that they quitted it with precipitation ; and descrying the Count and his soldiers at a little distance, directed all their malice to that point. Speedily overtaking the brave fugitives, they blocked up the bridge by a file of men with fixed pikes ; and not only me- naced the Polanders as they advanced, but derided their means of resistance. Sobieski, indifferent alike to danger and to insults, stopped short to the left, and follow^ed by his friends, plunged into the stream amidst a shower of musket balls from the enemy. After hard buffet- ing with the torrent, lie at last reached the opposite bank ; and was assisted from the river by some of the weeping inha- bitants of Warsaw ; who had been watch- ing the expiring ashes of Prague, and the flames which were feeding on the boasted towers of Villanow. K 5 202 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Emerged from the water, Thaddeus stood to regain his breath 5 and leaning on the shoulder of Butzou, he pointed to his burning palace with a smile of agony, "See what a funeral pile. Heaven has given to the manes of my dear mother !" The General did not speak, for grief stopped his utterance; but motioning the two soldiers to proceed, he supported the Count into the citadel. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 203 CHAP. X. TROM the termination of this awful day, in which a brave and virtuous people were consigned to slavery, Thaddeus was confined to his apartment in the garrison. It was now the latter end of November. General Butzou supposing that the illness of his lord might continue some weeks, and aware that no time ought to be lost in maintaining all that was yet left of the kingdom of Poland, obtained his per- mission ; and quitting Warsaw, joined Prince Poniatowski, who was yet at the head of a few troops near Sachoryn. Not long afterwards, the young Count finding himself tolerably restored, ex- cept in those wounds of the heart, which time only can heal, was enabled to leave his room, and breathe the fresh air on the K 6 504^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ramparts. His appearance was greeted by the officers, with melancholy congra- tulations ; but their replies to his eager questions, displaced the faint smile which he tried to spread over his countenance ; and with a contracted brow, he listened to the following information. Prague was not only razed to the ground : but upwards of thirty thousand persons, besides old men, women, and defenceless infants, had perished by the sword, the river, and the flames. All the horrors of Ismail were re-acted by Suwarrow on the banks of the Vistula. The citizens of Warsaw, intimidated bv such a spectacle, assembled in a body, and driven to desperation, repaired to the foot of the throne. On their knees they implored His Majesty to forget the contested rights of his subjects ; and in pity to their wives and children, allow them by a timely submission, to save those dear relatives from the ignominy and cruelty which had been wreaked THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 205 upon the inhabitants of Prague. Sta- nislaus saw that opposition would be fruitless. The walls of his capital were already surrounded by a train of artillery, ready to blow the town to atoms ; the fate of Poland seemed inevitable : and with a deep sigh the King assented to the pe- tition, and sent deputies to the enemy's camp.- "Suwarrow," continued the officer, ** demands that every man in Poland shall not only surrender his arms, but sue for pardon for the past. This is his re- ply to the submission of the King, and these hard conditions are accepted." " They never shall be by me," said Sobieski ; and turning from his informer, hardly knowing what were his intentions, he walked towards the royal palace. When His Majesty was apprized that the young Count Sobieski aw^aited his commands in the audience chamber, he left his closet, and entered the room. Thaddeus with a swelling heart would 206 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. have thrown himself on his knee, but the King prevented him and pressed him with emotion in his arms. " Brave young man !" cried he, " I embrace in you the last of those Polish youth, who were so lately the brightest jewels in my crown." Tears stood in the monarch's eyes, as he spoke; and Sobieski, with hardly a steadier utterance, answered, " I come to receive Your Majesty's commands. I will obey them in all things, but in sur- rendering this sword (which was my grandfather's) into the hands of your enemies." " I will not desire you, my noble friend," replied Stanislaus ; "by my ac- quiescence with the terms of Russia, I comply only, with the earnest prayers of my people; I do not wish them to be slaves. I shall not ask you to betray your country; but alas! you must not throw away your life in a now hopeless cause. Fate has consigned Poland to sub- 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 207 jection ; and when Heaven in its all-wise though mysterious decrees confirms the destruction of kingdoms, man's duty is resignation. For myself, I am ordered by our conqueror to bury my griefs and indignities in the castle of Grodno." The blood rushed over the cheek of Thaddeus at this meek declaration, to which the proud indignation of his soul could in no way subscribe ; with a heated and agitated voice, he exclaimed, " If my Sovereign be already at the command of our oppressors, then indeed is Poland no more ! and I have nothing to do, but to perform the dying will of my mother. Will Your Majesty grant me permission to set off for England, before I can be obliged to witness the last calamity of my wretched country ?" " I would to Heaven," replied the King, " that I, too, might repose my age and sorrows in that happy kingdom ! Go, Sobieski j my prayers and blessings shall follow you." 208 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Thaddeus pressed His Majesty's hand to his lips. " Beheve me, my dear Count," con- tinued Stanislaus, "my soul bleeds at this parting. I know the treasure which your family has always been to this na- tion : I know your own individual merit : I know the wealth which you have sacrificed for me, and my subjects : and I am powerless to express my gratitude." ** Had I done any thing more than my duty," replied he, "such words from Your Majesty's lips, would have been a reward adequate to every privation : but, alas, no ! I have perhaps performed less than my duty ; the blood of Sobieski ought not to have been spared one drop, when the liberties of his country pe- rished!" Thaddeus blushed whilst he spoke ; and almost repented the too ready zeal of his friends, in having saved him from the general slaughter at Villanow. The voice of the venerable Stanislaus became fainter, as he resumed — THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^09 "Perhaps, had a Sobieski reigned at this tune, these horrors might not have been accompHshed! That tyrannous power, which has crushed my people, I cannot forget is the same which put the sceptre into my hand. Catharine misunderstood my principles : She calculated on giving a traitor to the Poles ; but when she made me a King, she could not oblite- rate the stamp which the King of Kings had graved upon my heart : I believed myself to be his vicegerent ; and to the utmost, I have struggled to fulfil my trust." ** Yes, my sovereign !" cried Thad- deus, " and whilst there remains one man on earth, who has drawn his first breath in Poland, he will bear witness in all the lands through which he may be doomed to wander, that he has re- ceived from you the care and affection of a father. O ! Sire, how will future ages believe, that in the midst of civi- lized Europe, a brave people and a vir- 210 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. tuous monarch, were suffered unaided, undeplored, to fall into the grasp of usurpation and murder?" Stanislaus laid his hand on the arm of the Count. ** Man's ambition and baseness," said he, "are monstrous to the contempla- tion of youth only. You are learning your lesson early : I have studied mine for many years, and with a bitterness of soul, which in some measure prepared me for the completion. My kingdom has passed from me, at the moment you have lost your country. Before we part for ever, my dear Sobieski, take with you this assurance ! — You have served the unfortunate Stanislaus, to the latest hour in which you beheld him. That which you have just said, expressive of the sentiments of those who were my subjects, is indeed a balm to my heart 5 and I wdll carry its consolations to my prison." The King paused j Sobieski, agitated THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 211 and incapable of speaking, threw himself at His Majesty's feet, and pressed his hand with fervency and anguish to his lips. The King looked down on his graceful figure; and pierced to tlie soul, by the more graceful feelings which dic- tated the action, the tear which stood on his eye-lid rolled over his cheek, and was fbllow^ed by another, before he could add, " Rise, my young friend, and take this ring. It contains my picture ; wear it in remembrance of a man who loves you; and who never can forget your worth, or the loyalty and patriotism of your house." The Chancellor at that moment be- ing announced, Thaddeus rose from his knee ; and was preparing to leave the room, when His Majesty perceiving his intention, desired him to stop. « Stay, Count !" cried he, " I will bur- then you with one request. I am now a King without a crown, without sub- 212 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. jects, without a foot of land, in which to bury me when I die ; I cannot reward the fidehty of any one of the few friends of whom my enemies have not deprived me ; but you are young, and Heaven may yet smile upon you in some distant nation. Will you pay a debt of gratitude for your poor Sovereign? Should you ever again meet with the good old But- zou, who rescued me when my preserv- ation lay on the fortune of a moment, remember, that I regard him as the sa- viour of my life ! I was told to-day, that on the destruction of Prague, this brave man joined the army of my brother. It is now disbanded ; — and he, with the rest of my faithful soldiers, is cast forth in his old age on the bounty of a pityless world. Should you ever meet him, So- bieski, succour him for my sake.'* " As Heaven may succour me !" cried Thaddeus ; and putting His Majesty's hand a second time to his lips, he bowed THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 213 to the Chancellor, and passed into the street. When the Count returned to the cita- del, he found that all was as the King had represented. The soldiers in the garrison were reluctantly preparing to give up their arms : and the nobles, in compassion to the cries of the people, were trying to humble their necks to the yoke of the ravager. The magis- trates lingered, as they went to take the city keys from the hands of their good King ; and with bitter sighs anticipated the moment in which they must surrender them and their rights into the power of Suwarrow, and that ^foul woman of the Northy^ who exulted in nothing more than devastation. Poland was now no place for Sobi- eski. He had survived all his kindred. He had survived the liberties of his country. He had seen the King a pri- soner; and his countrymen trampled on by deceit and cruelty. As he walked 214 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. on, musing over these circumstances, he met with Httle interruption j for the streets were deserted. Here and there a poor miserable wretch passed him, who seemed by his wan cheeks and haggard eyes, already to repent the too success* ful prayers of the deputation. The shops were shut. Thaddeus stopped a few minutes in the great square, which used to be crowded with happy citizens, but now, not one man was to be seen. An awful and expecting silence reigned over all. He sighed ; and walking down the east street, ascended that part of the ramparts which covered the Vistula. He turned his eyes to the spot, where once stood the magnificent towers of his paternal palace. ** Yes," cried he, ** it is now time for me to obey the last command of my /mo- ther! Nothing remains of Poland, but its soil; nothing of my home but its ashes !" The Russians had pitched a detach- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. S15 ment of tents amidst the ruins of Villa- no w ; and were at this moment busying themselves in searching amongst the stupendous fragments for what plunder the fire might liave spared. ** Insatiate robbers !" exclaimed Thad- deus, " Heaven will requite this sacri- lege." He thought on the Countess, who lay beneath the ruins, and tore him- self from the sight, whilst, he added, *vFarewell for everj farewell, tliou be- loved Villanow, in which I have spent so many blissful years ! I quit thee, and my country for ever!" As he spoke, he raised his hands and eyes to Heaven, and pressing the picture of his mother to his lips and bosom, turned from the parapet; determining to prepare that night, for his departure the next morning. He arose by day-break: and having gathered together all his little wealth ; the whole of which was compressed with* in the portmanteau that was buckled on his horse; precisely two hours before 216 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. the triiimplial car of General Suwarrow entered Warsaw, Sobieski left it ; and as he rode along the streets, he bedewed its stones with his tears. They were the first that he had shed, during the long series of his misfortunes ; and they now flowed so fast from his eyes he could hardly discern his way out of the city. At the great gate his horse stopped. " Poor Saladine !" said Thaddeus, stroking his neck, " are you so sorry at leaving Warsaw, that like your unhappy master you linger to take a last look !" His tears redoubled ; and the warder, as he closed the gate after him, implored permission to kiss the hand of the noble Count Sobieski ere he should turn his back on Poland never to return. Thad- deus looked kindly round, and shaking hands with the honest man, after saying a few friendly words to him, rode on with a loitering pace till he reached that part of the river which divides Masovia from the Prussian dominions. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 217 Here he flung himself off his horse ^ and standing for a moment on the hill that rises near the bridge, retraced with his almost blinded eyes the long and desolated lands throiigli which he had passed; then involuntarily dropping on his knees, he plucked a tuft of grass, and pressing it to his lips, exclaimed, " Farewell, Poland ! Farewell all my earthly happiness !" Almost stifled by emotion, he put this poor relict of his country into his bosom ; and remounting his horse, crossed the bridge. As one, who flying from any particu^ lar object, thinks to lose himself and his sorrows, when it lessens to his view, Sobieski pursued the remainder of his journey with a speed which soon brought him to Dantzic. Here he remained a few days, and during that interval the firmness of his mind was restored. He felt a calm aris- ing from the conviction, that his affiic'. VOL. I. L 218 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. tions had gained their summit ; and that, however heavy they were, Heaven had laid them on him as a trial of faith and virtue. Under this belief he ceased to weep ; but he never was seen to smile. Having entered into an agreement with the master of a vessel to carry him across the sea, he found the strength of his finances would barely defray the charges of the voyage. Considering this circumstance, he saw the impossi- bility of taking his horse to England. The first time this idea presented it- self, it almost overset his determined re- signation. Tears would have started into his eyes, had he not by force with- held them. ** To part from my faithful Saladine,'^ said he to himself, *'that has borne me since I first could use a sword ; that has carried me through so many dangers; and has come with me, even into exile ; it is painful, it is ungrateful !" He was 4n the stable when this thought assailed THADDEUS OF WARSAW, ^19 him ; and as the reflections followed each other, he again turned to the stall ; ** But, my poor fellow, I will not barter your services for gold. I will seek for some master who may be kind to you, in pity to my misfortunes." He re-entered the hotel where he lodged, and calling a waiter, enquired who occupied the fine mansion and park on the east of the town. The man re- plied, *'Mr. Hopetown, an eminent Bri- tish merchant, who has been settled at Dantzic above forty years." ** I am glad he is a Briton!'' was the sentiment which succeeded this in- formation, in the Count's mind. He immediately took his resolution, but hardly had prepared to put into exe- cution, when he received a summons from the captain to be on board in half an hour, as the wind was set fair. Thaddeus, rather disconcerted by this hasty call, with a depressed heart wrote the following letter: — L S Q20 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " To John Hopetown, Esq. "Sir, " A Polish officer, who has sacrificed every thing but his honour to the last in- terests of his country, now addresses you. " You are a Briton ; and of whom can a victim to the cause of freedom with less debasement solicit an obligation ? " I cannot afford support to the horse which has carried me through the battles of this fatal war, I disdain to sell him ; and, therefore, I implore you, by the respect that you pay to the memory of your ancestors ; who struggled for, and retained that liberty, in defence of which we are thus reduced ! I implore you, to give him an asylum in your park, and to protect him from injurious usage. «* Perform this benevolent action. Sir, and you shall ever be remembered with gratitude, by an unfortunate " POLANDER. " DantziCi ''November, 1794»" THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 221 The Count having sealed and directed this letter, went to the hotel-yard, and ordered that his horse might be brought out A few days of rest had restored him to his former mettle; and he appeared from the stable, prancing, and pawing the earth, as he used to do when Thad- deus was to mount him for the field. The groom was striving in vain to re- strain the spirit of the horse, when the Count took hold of his bridle. The noble animal knew his master, and be- came gentle as a lamb. After stroking him two or three times, with a bursting heart he returned the reins to the man's hand, and at the same time gave him the letter. ** There," said he, " take that note, and the horse, directly, to the house of Mr. Hopetown. Leave them ; for the letter requires no answer.'* This last pang mastered, he walked out of the yard towards the quay. The wind continuing fair, he entered the ship, and within an hour set sail for England* 22^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. CHAP. XI. SoBiESKi passed the greater part of each- day, and the whole of every night, on the deck of the vessel. He was too much absorbed in himself to receive any amuse- ment from the passengers ; who observ- ing his melancholy, thought to dispel it by their company and conversation. When any of these people came upon: deck, he walked to the head of the ship, took his seat upon the cable which bound the anchor to the forecastle ; and while their fears rendered him safe from their well-meant persecution, he gained some respite from vexation, though none from misery. The ship having passed through the Baltic, and entered on the British sea, the passengers running from side to side of the vessel pointed out to Thaddeus THADDEUS OF WARSAW, 223 the distant shore of England lying like a hazy ridge along the horizon. The happy people, whilst they strained their eyes through glasses, desired him to observe different spots on the hardly perceptible line, which they called Flamborough Head, and the hills of Yorkshire. His heart turned sick at these objects of pleasure, for not one of them raised a corresponding feeling in his breast. Eng- land could be nothing to him ; if any thing, it would prove a desart, which con- tained no one object for his regrets or wishes. The image of Pembroke Somerset rose in his mind, like the dim recollection of one who has been a long time dead. Whilst they were together at Villanow, they loved each other warmly j and when they parted, they promised to correspond. One day, in pursuit of the enemy, Thad- deus was so unlucky as to lose the pocket-book which contained his friend's address 5 but yet, uneasy at his silence, L 4 224 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. he ventured two letters to him, directed merely to Sir Robert Somerset's, Eng- land. To these he received no answer ; and the Palatine evinced so much dis- pleasure at Pembroke's neglect and in- gratitude, that he would not suffer him to be mentioned in his presence ; and indeed Thaddeus, from disappointment and regret, felt no inclination to trans- gress the command. When the Count remembered these things, he found little comfort in re- collecting the name of that young Eng- lishman: and now that he was visiting England as a poor exile, with indignation and grief he gave up the wish with the hope of meeting Mr. Somerset. Sensible that Somerset had not acted as became the man to whom he could apply in his dis- tress ; he resolved, unfriended as he was, to wipe him at once from his memory. With a bitter sigh he turned his back on the land to which he was going, and fixed his eyes on the tract of sea which THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 2Q5 divided him from all that ever had given him delight. " Father of Heaven !'* murmured he, in a suppressed voice, "what have I done to deserve this misery ? Why have I been, at one stroke, deprived of all that rendered existence estimable ? Two months ago, I had a mother, a more than father, to love and cherish me ; I had a country, that looked up to them and to me, with veneration and confidence j now, I am bereft of all j I have neither father, mother, nor country, but am going to a land of strangers." Such impatient adjurations were never wrung from Sobieski by the anguish of sudden torture, without his ingenuous and pious mind reproachmg itself for repining. His soul was soft as a woman's ; but it knew neither effeminacy nor de- spair. Whilst his heart bled, his coun- tenance retained its serenity. Whilst affliction crushed him to the earth, and nature paid a few hard wrung drops to L 5 226 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. her expected dissolution, he contemned his tears, and raised his fixed and con- fiding eye to that power which poured down its tempests on his head. Thad- deus felt as a man, but received conso- lation as a Christian. When the ship arrived at the mouth of the Thames, the eagerness of the passen- gers increased to such an excess, that they would not stand still, nor be silent a moment; and when the vessel, under full sail, passed Sheerness, and the dome of St. Paul's appeared before them, their exclamations were loud and incessant. " My home ! my parents ! my wife ! my friends!" were the burthen of every tongue. Thaddeus found his irritable spirits again disturbed ; and rising from his seat he retired unobserved by the people, who were too happy to attend to any thing which did not agree with their own trans- ports. The cabin was as deserted as him- self. Feeling that there is no solitude THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 227 like that of the heart, when it looks around and sees in the vast concourse of human beings, not one to whom it can pour forth its sorrows ; and in return re- ceive the answering sigh of sympathy ; he threw himself on one of the lockers, and with difficulty restrained the tears from gushing from his eyes. He held his hand over them, while he contemned himself for a weakness so unbecoming his character. He despised himself: but let not others despise him. It is difficult for those who are in prosperity ; who lie morning and evening in the lap of indulgence j to con- ceive the misery of being thrown out into a bleak and merciless world : it is im- possible for the happy man, surrounded by luxury and gay companions, to figure to himself the reflections of a fellow- creature, who, having been fostered in the bosom of affection and elegance, is cast at once from society, bereft of home, of comfort, of ^^ every stay^ save innocetice and L 6 ^28^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Heaven,^ ^ None but the wretched can imagine what the wretched endure, from actual distress; from apprehended mis- fortune ; from outraged feelings ; and ten thousand nameless sensibilities to in- jury, which only the unfortunate can conceive, dread, and experience. Such were the anticipating fears of the Count. Books, and report, led him to respect the English : Pembroke Somer- set, at one time, would have taught him to love them : but the nearer he ad- vanced towards the shore, the remem- brance that it was from this country his father came, made him doubt the hu- manity of a people, of which his own parent and forgetful friend were such detestable specimens. The noise redoubled above his head ; and in a few minutes afterwards, one of the sailors came rumbling down the stairs. " Will it please Your Honour,'' said he, " to get up ? That be my chest, and I 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^29 want my clothes to clean myself before I go on shore ; mother, I know, be wait- ing me at Blackwall." Thaddeus rose, and seeing that quiet was not to be found any where, again ascended to the deck. On coming up the hatchway, he saw that the ship was moored in the midst of a large city ; and was surrounded by myriads of vessels, from every quarter of the globe. Sobieski leaned over the railing, and in silence looked down on the other passengers, who were bearing off in boats, and shaking hands with the people who came to receive them. " It is near dark. Sir,'' said the captain j " mayhap you would like to go on shore ? There is a boat just come round, and the tide won't serve much longer ; and as your friends don't seem to be coming for you, you are welcome to a place in it with me." The Count thanked him ; and after de- fraying the expenses of the voyage, and 230 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, giving money amongst the seamen, he desired that his portmanteau might be put into the wherry. The honest fellows, in gratitude to the bounty of their pas- senger, struggled who should obey his commands ; when the captain, angry at being detained, snatched away the baggage, and flinging it into the boat, leaped in after it, and was followed by Thaddeus. The taciturnity of the sailor, and the deep melancholy of his guest, did not break silence, until they reached the Tower-Stairs. " Go, Ben, fetch the gentleman a coach." The Count bowed to the captain, who gave the order; and in a few minutes the boy returned, saying there was one in waiting. He took up the portmanteau, and Thaddeus followed him to the Tower- Gate, where the carriage stood. Ben threw in the baggage : the Count put his foot on the step. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 231 " Where must the man drive to ?" Thaddeus drew it back again. ** Yes, Sir/' continued the lad ; " where is Your Honour's home ?" " In my grave," was the response his aching heart made to this question. He hesitated before he spoke. ** An hotel," said he, flinging himself on the seat, and throwing some silver into the sailor's hat. « What hotel, Sir ?" asked the coach- man, " Any." The man closed the door, mounted his box, and drove off. It was now near seven o'clock, of a dark December evening. The lamps were lighted ; and it being Saturday night, the streets were crowded with people. Thaddeus looked at them as he was driven along : " Happy creatures !" thought he, ** you have each a home to go to ; you have each expecting friends to welcome youj every one of you knows 232 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. some being in the world, who will smile when you enter ; whilst I, unhappy man ! am shut out from every social comfort. Wretched, wretched Sobieski ! where are now all thy highly prized treasures ; thy boasted glory; and those beloved friends who rendered that glory most precious to thee ? Alas ! all are withdrawn ; vanished like a dream of enchantment ; from which I have indeed awakened, to a frightful solitude." His reflections were broken by the stopping of the carriage. The man opened the door. " Sir, I have brought you to the Hum- mums, Covent Garden : it has as good accommodations as any in town. My fare is five shillings." Thaddeus gave the demand ; and fol- lowed him, and his baggage, into the coffee-room. At the entrance of a man of his figure, several waiters presented themselves, begging to know his com- mands. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^83 " I want a chamber." He was ushered into a very handsome dining-room, where one of them laid down the portmanteau, and then bowing low, enquired whether he had dined. The waiter having received his orders, (for the Count saw that it was necessary to call for something,) hastened into the kitchen to communicate them to the cook. " Upon my soul, Betty," cried he, " you must do your best to-night, for the chicken is for the finest looking fel- low you ever set eyes on. By heaven, I believe him to be some Russian noble- man ; perhaps the great Suwarrow him- self." " A prince you mean, Jenkins !" said a pretty girl, who entered at that mo- ment: *' since I was born I never see'd any English lord walk up and down a room with such an air ; he looks like a king. For my pai't, I should not wonder if he was one of them there emigrant 234" THADDEUS OF WARSAW. kings ; for they say there is a power of them now wandering about the world." " You talk like a fool, Sally,'* cried the sapient waiter. " Don't you see that his dress is military ? Look at his black cap, with its long bag and great feather, and the monstrous sabre at his side ; look at them, and then if you can, say I am mistaken in pronouncing that he is some great Russian commander, — most likely come over as ambassador !" " But he came in a hackney coach,'* cried a little dirty boy in the corner. " As I was running up stairs with Colonel Leeson's shoes, I see'd the coachman bring in his portmanteau." " Well, Jack-a-napes, what of that ?" cried Jenkins : " Is a nobleman always to carry his equipage about him, like a snail with its shell on its back ? To be sure, this foreign lord, or prince, is only come to stay here, till his own house is fit for him. I will be civil to him." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 235 " And so will I, Jenkins,'* rejoined Sally, smiling ; "for I never see'd such handsome blue eyes in my born days ; and they turned so sweet on me, and he spoke so kindly when he bade me stir the fire ; and when he sat down by it, and throw' d off his great fur cloak, he showed a glittering star ; and a figure so noble, that indeed, cook, I do verily believe he is, as Jenkins says, an en- throned king !" " You and Jenkins be a pair of fools,'* cried the cook, who, without noticing their description, had been sulkily bast- ing the fowl : " I will be sworn he'a just such another king, as that palaver- ing rogue was a French duke, who got my master's watch, and pawned it 1 As for you, Sally, you had better beware of hunting after foreign men-folk : it's not seemly for a young woman, and you may chance to rue it." The moralizing cook had now brought the whole kitchen on her shoulders^ 236 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. The men abused her for a surly old maid ; and the women tittered, whilst they seconded her censure, by cutting sly jokes on the blushing face of poor Sally, who stood almost crying, by the side of her champion Jenkins. Whilst this hubbub was going forward below stairs, its unconscious subject was, as Sally had described, sitting in a chair close to the fire, with his feet on the fender, his arms folded, and his eyes bent on the flames. He mused j but his ideas followed each other in such quick and confused succession, that it hardly could be said he thought of any thing. The entrance of dinner roused him from his reverie. It was carried in by at least half a dozen waiters. The Count had been so accustomed to a nu- merous suite of attendants, he did not observe the parcelling out of his tem- perate meal ; one bringing in the fowl, another the bread, his neighbour the so- litary plate ; and the rest in like order : THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 237 SO solicitous were the male listeners in the kitchen, to see this wonderful Rus- sian. Thaddeus partook but lightly of the refreshment. Being already fatigued in body, and dizzy with the motion of the vessel, as soon as the cloth was with- drawn he ordered a night-candle, and desired to be shown to his chamber. Jenkins, whom the sight of the em- broidered star, confirmed in his decision that the foreigner must be a person of consequence, with increased agility whipped up the portmanteau, and led the way to the sleeping-rooms. Here, curiosity put on a new form ; the women- servants, determined to have their wishes gratified as well as the men, had ar- ranged themselves on each side of the passage through which the Count must pass. At so strange an appearance, Thaddeus drew back ; but supposing that it might be a custom of the coun- try, he proceeded through this fair bevy ; 238 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and bowed as he walked ak)ng, to the low curtsies, which they continued to make until he entered his apartment and closed the door. The unhappy are ever restless : they hope in every change of situation to ob- tain some alteration in their feelings. Thaddeus was too miserable awake, not to view with eagerness, the bed on which he trusted that for a few hours at least, he might lose his consciousness of suffering, with its remembrance. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 239 CHAP. XII. When he awoke in the morning, his head ached, and he felt as un refreshed as when he had lain down ; he undrew the curtain, and saw from the strength of the Hght, it must be mid-day. He got up ; and having dressed himself, de- scended to the sitting-room 5 where he found a good fire, and the breakfast al- ready placed. He rang the bell ; and walked to the window, to observe the appearance of the morning. A heavy snow had fallen during the night; and the sun, ascended to its meridian^ shone through the thick atmosphere, like a ball of fire. All seemed comfortless v/ithout; and turning back to the warm hearth, which was blazing at the other end of the 240 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. room, he was reseating himself when Jenkins brought in the tea-urn. «' I hope, my Lord,'* said the waiter, <« that Your Lordship slept well last night ?" " Perfectly, I thank you," replied the Count, unmindful that the man addressed him according to his rank ; ** when you come to remove these things, bring me my bill." Jenkins bowed and withdrew ; congra- tulating himself on his dexterity in hav- ing saluted the stranger with his title. During the absence of the waiter, Thaddeus thought it time to examine the state of his purse : he well recol- lected how he had paid at Dantzic ; and from the style in which he was served here, he did not doubt but that to defray what he had contracted, would nearly ex- haust his all. He emptied the contents of his pocket, into his hand ; a guinea, and some silver, was all that he possessed. A flush of terror suffused itself over his THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 241 face ; h^ had never known the want of money before, and he trembled now, lest the charge should exceed his means of payment. Jenkins entered with the bill. On the Count's examining it, he was pleased to to find it amounted to no more than the only piece of gold his purse contained. He laid it upon the tea-board, and put- ting half-a-crown into the hand of Jen- kins, who appeared waiting for some- thing, ^wrapped his cloak round him, and was walking out of the room. " I suppose, my Lord," cried Jenkins, pocketing the money with a smirk, and bowing with the things in his hands, " we are to have the honour of seeing Your Lordship again, as you leave your portmanteau behind you ?" Thaddeus hesitated a few seconds, then again moving towards the door, said, " I will send for it." " By what name, my Lord ?" " The Count Sobieski." VOL. I. M 24i2 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Jenkins immediately set down the tea- board, and hurrying after Thaddeus along the passage and through the coffee-room; darted before him, and opening the door for him to go out, ex- claimed loud enough for every body to hear, " Depend upon it. Count Sobi- eski, I will take care of Your Lordship^s baggage." Thaddeus, rather displeased at his noisy officiousness, only bent his head, and proceeded into the street. The air was piercing cold ; and on his looking around, he perceived by the dis- position of the square in which he was, that it must be a market-place. The booths and stands were covered with snow ; whilst parts of the pavement were rendered nearly impassable by heaps of black ice which the market-people of the preceding day had shovelled up out of their way. He now recollected that it was Sunday, and consequently the im- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 243 probability of finding any lodgings on that day. He stood under the piazzas for two or three minutes, bewildered on the plan he should adopt ; to return to the hotel for any purpose but to sleep, in the present state of his finances, would be impos- sible : he therefore gave himself up, in- clement as the season was, to walk the streets until night. He might then go back to the Hummums to his bed-cham- ber ; but he resolved to quit it in the morning, for a residence more suitable to the reduction of his fortunes. The wind blew a keen north-east, ac- companied with a violent shower of sleet and rain ; yet such was the abstraction of his mind, that he hardly observed its bit- terness, but walked on, careless whither his feet led him, until he stopped oppo- site to St. Martin's church. " God is my only friend,'* said he to liimself ; *' and in his house, I shall surely find shelter !" M 2 244 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. He turned up the steps, and was en- tering the porch, when he met the con- gregation thronging out of it. "Is the service over?" he enquired of a decent old woman, who was passing him down the stairs. The woman started at this question, asked her in English by a person whose dress was so completely foreign. He repeated it; and smiling and curtseying, she replied — " Yes, Sir ; and I am sorry for it. Lord bless your handsome face, though you be a stranger gentleman, it does one's heart good to see you so devoutly given !" Thaddeus blushed at this personal compliment, though it came from the lips of a wrinkled old woman ; and beg- ging permission to assist her down the stairs, he asked when service would be- gin again. «« At three o'clock, Sir, and may Heaven bless the mother who bore so pious a son !" As the poor woman spoke, she raised THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 245 her eyes with a melancholy resignation. The Count touched with her words and manner, almost unconsciously to himself, continued by her side as she hobbled down the street. His eyes were fixed on the ground, until, as he walked forward, somebody pressing against him, made him look round. He saw that his aged companion had just knocked at the door of a mean- looking house ; and that his new ac- quaintance and himself were surrounded by nearly a dozen people, besides boys, who through curiosity had followed them from the church porch. << Ah ! sweet Sir," cried she ; " these folks are staring at so fine a gentleman taking notice of age and poverty.'* Thaddeus was uneasy at the inquisi- tive gaze of the bye-standers ; and his companion observing the fluctuations of his countenance, added, as the door was opened by a little girl ; *« Will Your Honour walk in out of M 3 246 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. the rain, and warm yourself by my poor fire?" He hesitated a moment ; then, ac- cepting her invitation, bent his head to get under the humble door-way ; and following through a neatly-sanded pas- sage, entered a small but clean kichen. A little boy, who was sitting on a stool near the fire, uttered a scream at the sight of a stranger ; and running up to his grandmother, rolled himself in her cloak, crying out ; " Mammy, mammy, take away that black man !" " Be quiet, William ; it is a gentleman, and no black man. I am so ashamed. Sir ; but he is only three years old." ** I should apologise to you," returned the Count, smiling, <* for introducing a person so hideous as to frighten your family." By the time he finished speaking, the good dame had pacified the screaming child y who stood trembling, and looking THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^47 askance, at the tremendous black gentle- man stroking the head of his pretty sister. " Come here, my dear !'' said Thad- deus, seating himself by the iire, and stretching out his hand to the child. It instantly buried its head in its grand- mother's apron. " William ! William !" cried his sister, pulling him by the arm, «« the gentleman will not hurt you." The boy again lifted up his head. Thaddeus threw back his long sable cloak, and taking offhis cap, whose hearse- like plumes, he thought, might have terrified the child, he laid it on the ground ; and again stretching forth his arms, called the boy to approach him. Little William now looked stedfastly in his face, and then on the cap, which he had laid beside him ; and then, whilst he grasped his grandmother's apron with one hand, he held out the other, half assured, towards the Count. Thaddeus took it, and pressing it softly, pulled 31 4 S48 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. him gently to him, and placing him on his knee, " My little fellow,'* said he, kissing him, *' you are not frightened now ?'' *' No," said the child ; " I see you are not the ugly black man, who takes away naughty boys. The ugly black man has a black face, and snakes on his head ; but these are pretty curls !*' added he, laugh- ing, and putting his little fingers through the thick auburn hair, which hung in neglected masses over the forehead of the Count. ** I am ashamed Your Honour should sit in a kitchen," rejoined the old lady 5 ** but I have not a fire in any other room." " Yes," said her grand-daughter, who was about twelve years old, " grand- mother has a nice first floor up stairs; but because we have no lodgers, there be no fire there." " Be silent, Nanny Robson," said the dame : ** your pertness teases the gentle- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^49 ** O, not at all/' cried Thaddeus ; '* I ought to thank her, for she informs me you have lodgings to let ; will you allow me to engage them ?" " You, Sir," cried Mrs. Robson, thun- derstruck, "for what purpose? Surely so noble a gentleman would not live in such a place as this." *< I would, Mrs. Robson : I know not where I could live with more comfort; and where comfort is, my good madam, what signifies the costliness or plainness of the dwelling ?" " Well, Sir, if you be indeed serious ; but I cannot think you so : you are cer- tainly making a joke of me, for my boldness in asking you into my poor house." <« Upon my honour, I am not, Mrs. Robson. I would gladly be your lodger, if you will admit me ; and to convince you that I am in earnest, my portmanteau shall this moment be brought here." *< Well, Sir," resumed she, " I shall be honoured in having you in my house ; M 5 ^50 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. but I have no room for any one^ but yourself, not even for a servant." " I have no servant." " Then I will wait on him, grandmo- ther," cried the little Nanny ; " do let the gentleman have them, I am sure he looks honest." The old woman coloured at this last ob- servation of the child, and proceeded. " Then, Sir, if you should not disdain the rooms when you see them, I shall be too happy in having so good a gentleman under my roof. Pardon my boldness. Sir ; but may I ask ? I think by your dress, you are a foreigner ?" " I am," replied Thaddeus, the ra- diance which played over his features contracting into a gloom ; " if you have no objection to take a stranger within your doors, from this hour I shall con- sider your house as my home ?" " As Your Honour pleases," said Mrs. Robson ; ** my terms are half a-guinea a week ; and I will attend on you, as fHADDEUS OF WARSAW. 251 though you were my own son ! for I can- not forget, excellent young gentleman, the way in which we first met." " Then I will leave you for the pre- sent," returned he, rising, and putting down the little William ; who had been amusing himself with examining the sil- ver points of the star of St. Stanislaus, which the Count wore on his breast : " In the mean while," said he, *' my pretty friend," stooping to the child, " let this bit of silver," was just mount- ing to his tongue, as he put his hand into his pocket to take out half-a-crown ; but he recollected that his necessities would no longer admit of such gifts ; and draw- ing his hand back, with a deep and bitter sigh, he touched the boy's cheek with his lips, and added, '' let this kiss remind you of your new friend." This was the first time the generous spirit of Sobieski had been restrained ; and he suffered a pang, for the poignancy of which he could not account. His had M 6 ^5^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. been a life accustomed to acts of munifi- cence. His grandfather's palace, was the asylum of the unhappy ; his grand- father's purse, a treasury for the unfor- tunate. The soul of Thaddeus did not degenerate from his noble relative : his generosity, begun in inclination, was nurtured by reflection, and strengthened with a daily exercise, which rendered it a habit of his nature. Want never ap- peared before him, without exciting a sympathetic emotion in his heart, which never rested until he had administered every comfort in the power of wealth to bestow. His compassion and his purse were the substance and shadow of each other. The poor of his country thronged from every part of the kingdom, to re- ceive pity and reUef at his hands. With these houseless wanderers, he peopled the new villages, his grandfather had erected in the midst of lands, which in former times were the haunts of wild beasts. Thaddeus participated in the hap- 14 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 253 piness of his grateful tenants ; and many were the old men, whose eyes he had closed in thankfulness and peace. These honest peasants, even in their dying moments, wished to give up that life in his arms, which he had rescued from misery. He visited their cottage ; he smoothed their pillow ; he joined in their prayers : and when their last sigh came to his ear, he raised the weeping family from the dust ; and cheered them with pious exhort- ations, and his kindest assurances of pro- tection. How often has the Countess clasped her godlike son to her breast, when after a scene like this, he had re- turned home, the tears of the dying man and his children yet wet upon his hand ! how often has she strained him to her heart, whilst floods of rapture have poured from her own eyes ! Heir to the first fortune in Poland, he scarcely knew the means by which he bestowed all these benefits ; and with a soul as boun- teous to others, as Heaven had been '254f THADDEU^ OF WARSAW. munificent to him, wherever he moved, he shed smiles and gifts around him. How frequently has he said to the Pala- tine, when his carriage- wheels were chased bythe thankful multitude; "O, my father! how can I ever be sufficiently grateful to God, for the happiness he hath allotted to me, in making me the dispenser of so many blessings ! The gratitude of these people overpowers and humbles me in my own eyes ; what have I done to be so eminently favoured of Heaven ? I tremble, when I ask myself the ques- tion." — *'You may tremble, my dear boy," replied his grandfather, " for in- deed the trial is a severe one: prosperity, like adversity, is an ordeal of conduct. Two roads are before the rich man; vanity or virtue : You have chosen the latter, and the best : and may Heaven ever hold you in it ! May Heaven ever keep your heart generous and pure ! Go on, my dear Thaddeus, as you have com- menced ; and you will find, that your THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 9,55 Creator hath bestowed wealth upon you, not for what you have done, but as the means of evincing how well you would prove yourself His faithful steward." This "was the fortune of Thaddeus ; and now, he who had scattered thousands without counting them, drew back his hand with something like horror at his own injustice;pwhen he was going to give away one little piece of silver — which he might want in a day or two, to defray some indispensable debt. «< Mrs. Robson," said he, as he replaced his cap upon his head, ** I shall return before it is dark." '' Very well, Sir ;" and opening the door, he went out into the lane. Ignorant of the town, and thanking Providence for having prepared him an asylum, he directed his course towards Charing Cross. He looked about him with deepened sadness ; the wet and plash y state of the streets gave to every object so comfortless an appearance he 256 THADBEUS OF WARSAW. could scarcely believe himself to be in that London, of which he had read with so much delight. Where were the mag- nificent buildings, he expected to see in the emporium of the world ? Where that cleanliness ; and those tokens of great- ness and splendour, which had been the admiration and boast of travellers ? He could no where discover thelti ; all seemed parts of a dark, gloomy, mean-looking city. Hardly heeding whither he went, he approached the Horse-Guards ; a view of the Park, as it appears through the wide porch, promised him less unpleasantness than the dirty pavement, and he turned in, taking his way along the Bird- Cage Walk. The trees, stripped of their leaves, stood naked, and dripping with melted snow. The season was in unison with the Count's fate. He was taking the bitter wind for his repast ; and quenching his thirst with the rain that fell on his pale and feverish THADDEUS OP WARSAW. 25? lip : he felt the cutting blast enter his breast ; and shutting his eye-lids, to repel the tears which were rising from his heart, he walked faster ; but in spite of himselfi their drops mingled with the wet that trickled from his cap upon his face. One melancholy thought intro- duced another, until his agitated soul lived over again, in memory, every cala- mity which had reduced him from hap- piness to misery. Two or three heavy convulsive sighs followed these reflec- tions; and quickening his pace, he walked once or twice quite round the Park. The rain ceased. Hardly observing the peo- ple who passed, he threw himself down upon one of the chairs ; and sat in a musing posture, with his eyes fixed on the opposite tree. A sound of voices approaching, roused him ; turning his eyes, he saw the speak- ers were two young men, and by their dress, he judged they must belong to the 258 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. regiment of the centinel who was patrol- Hng at the end of the Mall. '^ By Heavens, Berrington," cried one, " it is the best shaped boot I ever beheld ! I have a good mind to ask him, whether it be English make!" " And if it be," replied the other with a sneer, " you must ask him who made his legs ; that you may send yours to be mended." " Who the devil can see my legs through that boot ?" " Oh, if to hide them be your reason, pray ask him immediately." *« And so I will, for I think the boot damned handsome." At these words, he was making to- wards Sobieski with two or three long strides, when his companion pulled him back. " Surely, Harwold, you will not act so ridiculously ? He appears to be a fo- reigner of rank : and he may take offence, and knock you down." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 259 " Curse him and his rank too ; he is some paltry emigrant, I wan-ant ; and may the devil fly away with my legs, if I don't ask him who made his boots !'' As he spoke, he would have dragged his companion along with him, but Ber- rington broke from his arm ; and the fool, who now thought himself dared to it, strode up close to the chair, and bowed to Thaddeus, who (hardly crediting that he could be the subject of this dialogue) returned the salutation with a cold bend of his head. Harwold looked a little confounded .at this haughty demeanour ; and once in his life blushing at his own insolence, he roared out, as in defiance of shame : ** Pray, Sir, where did you get your boots?" " Where I got my sword, Sir,'* replied Thaddeus, calmly : and, rising from his seat, he darted his eyes disdainfully on the coxcomb, and walked slowly down the Mall. Surprised and shocked at 260 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. such' behaviour in a British officer, as he moved away, he distinctly heard Ber- rington laughing aloud, and ridiculing the astonishment, and set-down air, of h^'s impudent associate. This incident did not so much ruffle the temper of Thaddeus, as it amazed and perplexed him. " Is this a specimen,'' thought he, ** of a nation which on the Continent is venerated for courage, manliness, and generosity ? Well, I find I have much to learn. I must go through the ills of life, to estimate myself thoroughly ; and I must study mankind in themselves, and not in their history, to have a true knowledge of what they are.'* This strange rencontre was of service to him, by diverting his mind from the intense contemplation of his situation ; and as the dusk drew on, he turned his steps towards the Hummums. On entering the coffee-room he was met by the obsequious Jenkins ; who THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 26l being told by Thaddeus, that he wanted his baggage, and a carriage, went for the things himself, and sent a boy for a coach. A man drest in black was standing by the chimney, and seemed to be eye- ing Thaddeus, as he walked up and down, with great attention. Just as he had taken another turn, and drew near him, the stranger accosted him rather abruptly. ** Pray, Sir, are there any news stirring abroad ? you seem. Sir, to be come from abroad." *« None, that I know of; Sir." " Bless me, that's strange. I thought, Sir, you came from abroad, Sir ; from the Continent, from Poland, Sir ? at least the waiter said so. Sir." Thaddeus coloured : " The waiter. Sir ?" *« I mean, Sir," continued the gentle- man, visibly confused at the dilemma into which he had brought himself. ^262 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " the waiter said that you were a Count, Sir ; a Polish Count ; indeed the Count Sobieski ! Hence I concluded that you are from Poland. If I have offended, I beg pardon, Sir ; but in these times we are anxious for every intelligence." Thaddeus made no other reply, than a slight inclination of his head ; and w^alking forward, to see whether the coach were arrived, he thought, — what- ever travellers had related of the Eng- lish, they were the most impertinent people in the world. The stranger would not be contented with what he had already said, but plucking up new courage, pursued the Count to the glass-door through which he was looking, and resumed. " I believe. Sir, I am not wrong ? you are the Count Sobieski ; and I have the honour to be now speaking with the bravest champion of Polish liberty !" Thaddeus again bowed ; " I thank you. Sir, for the compliment you intend me ; THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^63 but I cannot take it to myself; all the men of Poland, old and young, nobles and peasants, were her champions, equally sincere, equally brave." Nothing could silence the inquisitive stranger : the coach drew up, but he went on. ''Then I hope, that many of these patriots, besides Your Excellency, have taken care to bring away their wealth from a land which is now abandoned to destruction ?" For a moment Thaddeus forgot him- self in his country j and all her rights, and all her sufferings, rose in his counte- nance. *' No, Sir! Not one of those men; and least of all, would I have drawn one vital drop from her heart! I left in her bosom all that was dear to me ; all that I possessed ; and not until I saw the chains brought before my eyes, that were to lay her in irons, did I turn my 264 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. back on calamities, I could no longer avert or alleviate." The ardour of his manner, and the elevation of voice, had drawn the atten- tion of every person in the room upon him, when Jenkins entered with his bag- gage. The door being opened, Sobi- eski got into the coach, and gladly has- tened from a conversation which had awakened all his griefs. " Ah, poor enthusiast !" exclaimed his inquisitor, as the carriage drove off: " It is a pity that so fine a young man should have made so ill a use of his buth, and other advantages !" " He appears to me," observed an old clergyman, who sat in an adjoining- box, " to have made the best possible use of his natural advantages ; and had I a son, I would rather hear him utter such a sentiment as that with which he quitted the room, than see him master of millions." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 265 " May be so," cried the questioner, with a disdainful glance, " * different minds incline to different objects /' His, has de- cided for ' the W07iderful, the wild ;' and a pretty end he has made of his choice I" ** Why to be sure," observed another spectator, " young people should be brought up with reasonable ideas of right and wrong, and prudence : neverthe- less, I should not like a son of mine, to run harum scarum, through my property, and his own life ; and vet one cannot help, when one hears such a brave speech, as that from yon Frenchman, just gone out, — I say, one cannot help thinking it very fine." " True, true," cried the inquisitor, ** you are right, Sir ; very fine, indeed, but too fine to wear ; it would soon leave us naked, as it has done him ; for it seems by his own confession, he is penny- less ; and I know, a twelvemonth ago, he was a master of a fortune which, how- ever incalculable, he has managed with all his talents to see the end of." VOL. I. N <266 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " Then he is in distress!" exclaimed he clergyman, " and you know him : What is his name ?" The man coloured at this unexpected inference ; and glad the company had not attended to the part of the dialogue in which the name of Sobieski was men- tioned, — he stammered some indistinct words ; took up his hat ; and looking at his watch, begged pardon for having an appointment; — and hurried out of the room without speaking farther ; although the good clergyman, whose name was Blackmore, hastened after him, request- ing to know where the young foreigner lived. " Who is that coxcomb ?" cried the disconcerted doctor, as he returned from his unavailing application. " I don't know, Sir," replied the waiter : " I never saw him in this house before last night, when he came in late to sleep ; and this morning he was in the coffee-room at breakfast, just as that fo- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 267 reign gentleman walked througli ; and Jenkins, bawling his name out very loud, as soon as he was gone, this here gentle- man asked him, who that Count was. I heard Jenkins say some Russian name ; and tell him, he came last night, and likely would come back again ; and so, that there gentleman has been loitering about all day till now when the foreign gentleman coming in, he spoke to him." " And don't you know any thing further of this foreigner ?'' " No, Sir ; I forget what he is called ; — but I see Jenkins going across the street ; shall I run after him and ask him ?" " You are very obliging,'* returned the old man ; " but does Jenkins know where the stranger lives ?** " No, Sir ; I am sure he don't.'* " I am sorry for it," sighed the kind questioner : " then your enquiry would be of no use ; his name will not do, with- out his direction. — Poor fellow ! He has N 2 ^68 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. been unfortunate, and I might have be- friended him." " Yes, to be sure, Doctor,'' cried the first speaker, who now rose to accompany him out : " it is our duty to befriend the unfortunate ; but charity begins at home ; and as all's for the best, perhaps it is lucky we did not hear any more about this young fellow. We might have in- volved ourselves in a vast deal of unne- cessary trouble ; and you know people from outlandish parts have no claims upon us." ** Certainly," replied the Doctor, <* none in the world, excepting those which no human creature can dispute ; the claims of nature. All mankind are born heirs of suffering ; and as joint in- heritors, if we do not wipe away each other's tears, it will prove but a comfort- less portion." ** Ah ! Doctor," cried his companion, as they separated at the end of Charles- street, " you have always the best of THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 269 the argument : you have logic and Aris- to tie at your finger ends." ** No, my friend ; my arguments are purely Christian. Nature is my logic, and the Bible my teacher." ** Ah, there you have me again. You parsons are as bad as the lawyers ; when once you get a poor sinner amongst you, he finds it as hard to get out of the church as out of the chancery. However, have it your own way ; charity is your trade, and I won't be in a hurry to dispute the monopoly. Good day. If I stay much longer, you'll make me believe that black is white." Dr. Blackmore shook him by the hand, and wishing him a good evening, re- turned home, pitying the worldliness of his friend's mind ; and musing on the interesting stranger, whom he admired, and compassionated with a lively sorrow, for he believed him to be virtuous, un- happy, and unfortunate. Had he known that the object of his solicitude was the N 3 TjO THADDEUS OF WARSAW. illustrious subject of many a former eu- logium from himself, how encreased would have been his regret ; — that he had seen the Count Sobieski ; that he had seen him in distress ; and that he had suffered him to pass from the reach of his services ! THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 271 CHAP. XIII. 1 HE Count Sobieski was cordially re- ceived by his worthy landlady ; indeed he never stood in more need of kindness. A slow fever, which had been gradually creeping over him since he quitted Po- land, settled on his nerves ; and reduced him to such weakness, that he pos- sessed neither strengtli nor spirits to stir abroad. Mrs. Robson was greatly distressed at the illness of her guest : her own son, the father of the orphans she protected, had died of a consumption ; and any ap- pearance of that cruel disorder, was a certain call upon her compassion. Thaddeus gave himself up to her management : he had no money for N 4 272 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. medical assistance ; and, to please her, he took what little medicines she pre- pared. According to her advice, he re- mained for several days shut up in his chamber, with a large lire, and the shut- ters closed, to exclude the smallest por- tion of that air, which the good woman thought had already stricken him with death. But all would not do ; her patient be- came worse and worse. Frightened at the symptoms, Mrs. Robson begged leave to send for the apothecary who had at- tended her deceased son. In this in- stance only, she found the Count obsti- nate : no arguments, nor even her tears, could move him. When she stood weep- ing, and holding his burning hand, his answer was constantly the same. ** My excellent Mrs. Robson, do not grieve on my account ; I am not in the danger you think ; I shall do very well with your assistance." " No, no j I see death in your eyes. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^2^3 Can I feel this hand, and see that hectic cheek, without beholding your grave, as it were, opening before me ?" She was not much mistaken ; for dur- ing the night after this debate Thaddeus grew so delirious, that no longer able to subdue her terrors, she sent for the apo- thecary to come instantly to her house. " O ! Doctor," cried she, as he as- cended the stairs, " I have the best young gentleman ever the sun shone on, dying in that room ! He would not let me send for you ; and now he is raving like a mad creature.'' Mr. Vincent entered the Count's hum- ble apartment, and undrew the curtains of the bed. Exhausted by delirium, Thaddeus had sunk senseless on the pillow. At this sight, supposing him dead, Mrs. Robson uttered a shriek, which was echoed by the cries of the little William, who stood near his grand- mother. ** Hush, my good woman," said the N 5 274^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. doctor, " the gentleman is not dead ; leave the room till you have recovered yourself, and I will engage that you shall see him alive when you return." Considering his words as oracles, she quitted the room with her grandson. On entering the chamber, Mr. Vin- cent had felt that the hot and stifling state of the room must augment the fever of his patient ; and, before he at- tempted to disturb him from the tempo- rary rest of insensibility, he opened the window-shutters, unclosed the room-door wide enough to admit the air from the adjoining apartment, and pulling the heavy clothes from the Count's bosom, raised his head on his arm, and poured some drops into his mouth. Sobieski opened his eyes, and uttered a few inco- herent words : but he did not rave, he only wandered ; and appeared to know that he did so ; for he several times stopped in the midst of some confused THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 275 speech, and laying his hand on his fore- head, strove to recollect himself. Mrs. Robson soon after entered the room, and poured out her thanks to the apothecary, whom she revered as almost a worker of miracles. <* I must bleed him, Mrs. Robson," continued he ; " and for that purpose shall go home for my assistant and lan- cets ; but, in the meanwhile, I charge you to let every thing remain in the state I have left it. The heat alone would have given a fever to a man in health." When the apothecary returned he saw that his commands had been strictly obeyed ; and finding that the change of atmosphere had wrought some alteration in his patient, he took his arm without any difficulty, and bled him. At the end of the operation Thaddeus again fainted. " Poor gentleman !" cried Mr. Vin- cent, binding up the arm : ** look here, N 6 (^76 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. Tom," pointing to the scars on the Count's shoulder and breast ; ** see what terrible cuts have been here ! This has not been playing at soldiers! Who is your lodger, Mrs. Robson ?" " His name is Constantine, Mr. Vin- cent. But, for Heaven's sake, recover him from that swoon." Mr. Vincent poured more drops into his mouth ; and a minute afterwards, he opened his eyes, divested of their fever- ish glare, but still dull and heavy. He spoke to Mrs. Robson by her name ; which gave her such delight, that she caught his hand to her lips, and burst into tears. The action was so instanta- neous and violent, that it made him feel the stiffness of his arm ; and, casting his eyes towards the surgeons, he conjec- tured what had been his state, and what the consequence. ** Come, Mrs. Robson," said the apo- thecary, " you must not disturb the gen- tleman. How do you find yourself, Sir ?" THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 277 As the deed could not be recalled, Thaddeus thanked the doctor for the service he had received ; and said a few kind and grateful words to his good hostess. Mr. Vincent was glad to see so promis- ing an issue to his proceedings, and soon after retired with his assistant and Mrs. Robson, to give further directions. On entering the kitchen, she threw herself into a chair, and broke into a paroxysm of lamentations. << My good woman, what is all this about ?" enquired the Doctor. " Is not my patient better ?" " Yes," cried she, drying her eyes ; *' but the whole scene puts me so in mind of the last moments of my poor misguided son, that the very sight of it goes through my heart like a knife. Oh ! had my boy been as good as that dear gentleman, had he been as well prepared to die, I think I would scarcely ^278 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. have grieved ! Yet Heaven spare Mr. Constantine. Will he Hve ?" " I hope so, Mrs. Robson ; his fever is high ; but he is young, and with ex- treme care we may preserve him." " The Lord grant it !" cried she, *« for he is the best gentleman I ever beheld. He has been above a week with me ; and till this night, in which he lost his senses, though hardly able to breathe or see, he has read out of books which he brought with him ; and good books too : for it was but yesterday morning that I saw the dear soul sitting by the fire with a book on the table, which he had been studying for an hour : as I was dusting about, I saw him lay his head down on it, and put his hand to his temples. ' Alas ! Sir,' said I, * you tease your brains with these books of learning, when you ought to be taking rest.' — ' No, Mrs. Robson,' returned he, with a sweet smile, ' it is this book which affords me rest — I may amuse myself THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 279 with Others ; but this alone contains per- feet beauty, perfect wisdom, and perfect peace. It is the only infallible soother of human sorrows.' He closed it, and put it on the chimney-piece ; and when I looked at it afterwards, I found it was the Scriptures. — Can you wonder that I should love so excellent a gentleman?'* " You have given a strange account of him," replied Vincent : " I hope he is not a methodist ; if so, I shall despair of his cure, and think his delirium had another cause besides fever." ** A methodist ! No, Sir : he is a Chris- tian; and as good a reasonable sweet- tempered gentleman, as ever came into a house. Alas ! I believe he is more like a papist ; though they say papists don't read the Bible, but worship images." " Why, what reason have you to sup- pose that ? He's an Englishman, is he not?" ** No, he is an emigrant." **An emigrant ! O, ho!" cried Vincent, ^80 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. with a discontented and contemptuous raise of his eye-brows ; what, a poor Frenchman ! Good Lord, how this town is overrun with these fellows !" " No, Doctor," exclaimed Mrs. Rob- son, much hurt at this affront to her lodger, whom she really loved, " whatever he be, he is not poor^ for he has a power of fine things : he has got a watch all over diamonds, and diamond rings, and diamond pictures without number. So, Doctor, you need not fear you are at- tending him for charity j no, I would sell my gown first." " Nay, don't be offended, Mrs. Rob- son ! I meant no offence," returned he, much mollified by this explanation ; " but really, when we see the bread that should feed our children, and our own poor, eaten up by a parcel of lazy French drones, who cover our land and destroy its produce like a swarm of filthy locusts, we should be fools not to murmur. But, Mr. — y Mr. — , what did you call him, THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 281 Mrs. Robson ? is a different sort of a body." ** Mr. Constantine/' replied she, " and indeed he is ; and no doubt, when you recover him, he wdll pay you as though he were in his own country." This last assertion banished all remain- ing suspicion from the apothecary ; and, after giving the good w^oman what orders he thought requisite, he returned home, promising to call in the evening. Mrs. Robson went up stairs to the Count's chamber, with other sentiments towards her sapient doctor than those with which she came down. She well recollected the substance of his dis- course ; and she gathered from it, that however clever he might be in his pro- fession, he was a hard-hearted man, who would rather see a fellow-creature perish, than administer relief to him without a reward. But here Mrs. Robson was mistaken. She did him justice in esteeming his me- 282 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, dical abilities, which were great : he had made medicine the study of his Hfe ; and, not allowing any other occupation to dis- turb his attention, he became master of that science, but remained ignorant of every other with which it had no con- nection. He was the father of a family j and, in the usual acceptation of the term, a very good sort of a man ; he preferred his country to every other, because it was his country : he loved his wife and his children : he was kind to the poor, to whom he gave his advice gratis, and let- ters to the Dispensary for drugs; and when he had any broken victuals to spare, he desired that it might be divided amongst them ; but he seldom caught his maid obeying this part of his com- mands, without reprimanding her for her extravagance in giving away what ought to be eaten in the kitchen : — "in these times it was a shame to waste a crumb ; and the careless hussey would come to THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 283 want, for thinking so lightly of other people's property." Thus, like many in the world, he was a loyal citizen by habit, an affectionate father from nature, and a man of charity, because he now and then felt pity, and now and then heard it preached from the pulpit. He was exhorted to be pious, and to pour wine and oil into the wounds of his neighbour ; but it never once struck him, that piety extended farther than going to church, mumbling his prayers, and forgetting the sermon, through most of which he generally slept : and his commentaries on the Good Samaritan were not more exten- sive ; for it was so difficult to make him comprehend who was his neighbour, that the object of the argument might have been sick, dead, and buried before he could be persuaded that he had any claims on his care. Indeed, his " cha- rity began at home ;'' and it was so fond of its residence, that it ** stopped there." Q84f THADDEUS OF WARSAW. To have been born on the other side of tlie British Channel, spread an ocean between the poor foreigner and Mr. Vin- cent's purse, which the swiftest wings of charity could never cross. *' He saw no reason," he said, " for feeding the na- tural enemies of our country. Would any man be mad enough to take the meat from his children's mouths, and throw it to a swarm of wolves just landed on the coast ?" These wolves were his favourite metaphors, when he spoke of the unhappy French, or of any other pennyless foreigners that came in his way. After this explanation, it will appear paradoxical to mention an inconsistency in the mind of Mr. Vincent, which never permitted him to discover the above Cainish mark of outlawry, upon the wealthy stranger of whatever country. In fact, it was with him as with many : riches were a splendid and thick robe that concealed all blemishes j take it THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^85 away, and probably the poor stripped wretch would be treated worse than a criminal. That his new patient possessed some property, was sufficient to ensure the re- spect and medical skill of Mr. Vincent ; and when he entered his own house, he told his wife he had found " a very good job at Mrs. Robson's, in the illness of her lodger." When the Count Sobieski quitted the Hummums on the evening in which he brought away his baggage, he was so dis- concerted by the impertinence of the man who accosted him there, that he deter- mined not to expose himself to a similar insult by retaining a title which might subject him to the curiosity of the insolent and insensible ; and, therefore, when Mrs. Robson asked him how she should address him, as he was averse to assume a feigned name, he merely said Mr, Constantine, Under that unobtrusive character, he hoped in time to accommodate his ^qqU Q86 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. iiigs to the change of fortune which Pro- vidence had allotted to him. He must forget his nobility, his pride, and his sen- sibility; he must earn his subsistence. But by what means ? He was ignorant of business ; and he knew not how to turn his accomplishments to account. — Such were his meditations, until illness and delirium deprived him of them and of reason together. At the expiration of a week, in which Mr, Vincent attended his patient very regularly, Sobieski was able to remove into the front room ; but uneasiness about the debts he had so unintentionally incurred, retarded his recovery ; and made his hours pass away in cheerless meditation on the means of repaying the good widow, and of satisfying the avidity of the apothecary. Pecuniary obligation was a load to which he was unaccustomed ; and once or twice the wish almost escaped his heart, that he had died. 19 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ^87 Whenever he was left to think, such were his reflections. Mrs. Robson dis- covered that he appeared more feverish and had worse nights after being much alone during the day, and therefore con- trived, though she was obliged to be in her little shop, to leave either Nanny to attend his wants, or little WiUiam to amuse him. This child, by its uncommon quick- ness, and artless manner, gained upon the Count, who was ever alive to helplessness and innocence. Children and animals had always found a friend and protector in him. From the ^^ majestic war-horse, with his neck clothed in thunder ," to " the poor beetle that we tread upon ;" every creature of creation, met an ad- vocate of mercy in his breast: and as human nature is prone to love what it has been kind to, Thaddeus never saw either children, dogs, or even that poor .slandered and abused animal, the cat, ^88 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. without showing them some spontaneous act of attention. Whatever of his affection he could spare from memory, the Count lavished upon the little William. He hardly ever left his side, where he sat on a stool, prattling about any thing that came into his head ; or, seated on his knee, followed with his eyes and playful fingers the hand of Thaddeus, as he sketched a horse or a soldier for his pretty companion. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 289 CHAP. XIV. . JDY these means Thaddeus slowly ac- quired sufficient strength to allow hun to quit his dressing-gown, and prepare for a walk. A hard frost succeeded to the chilling damps of November ; and looking out of tlie window, he longed, almost eagerly, again to inhale the fresh air. After some tender altercations with Mrs. Robson, who feared to trust him even down stairs, he at length conquered ; and taking the little William in his hand, folded his pelisse round him, and promising to venture no farther than the King's Mews, was suffered to go out. As he expected, he found the keen breeze act like a charm on his debilitated frame ; and with braced nerves and ex- hilarated spirits he walked twice up and down the place, whilst his companion VOL. I, o 290 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. played before him, throwing stones and running to pick them up. At this mo- ment one of the King's carriages, pur- sued by a concourse of people, suddenly drove in at the Charing-cross gate. The frightened child screamed and fell. Thaddeus darted forward, and seizing the heads of the horses, which were within a yard of the boy, stopped them ; meanwhile, the mob gathering about, one of them raised William, who con- tinued his cries. The Count now let go the reins, and for a few minutes tried to pacify his little charge ; but finding that his alarm and shrieks were not to be quelled, and that his own figure, from its singularity of dress, (his high cap and feathers adding to his height,) drew on him the whole attention of the people, he took the trembling child in his arms, and walking through the Mews, was followed by some of the bye- standers to the very door of Mrs. Rob- son's shop. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 291 Seeing the people, and her grandson sobbing on the breast of her guest, she ran out, and hastily asked what had happened. Thaddeus simply answered, the child had been frightened. But when they entered the house, and he had thrown himself exhausted on a seat, William, as he stood by his knee, told his grandmother, that if Mr. Constantine had not stopped the horses, he must have been run over. The Count was now obliged to relate the whole story; which ended with the blessings of the poor woman, for his goodness in risking his own life for the preservation of her dar- ling child. Thaddeus in vain assured her the ac* tion deserved no thanks. " Well," cried she, " it is like your- self, Mr. Constantine : you think all your good deeds nothing ; and yet any little odd thing that I can do out of pure love to serve you, you cry up to the skies. However, we won't fall out ; I say, Hea- o ^ 292 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ven bless you, and that is enough ! — Has your walk refreshed you? But I need not ask ; you have got a fine colour." " Yes," returned he, rising and taking off his cap and cloak, ** it has put me in a glow, and made me quite another creature." As he finished speaking, he dropped the things from the hand that held them, and staggered back a few paces against the wall. **Good Lord! what is the matter?" cried Mrs. Robson, looking in his face, which was now as pale as death ; « what is the matter ?" "Nothing, nothing," returned he, re- covering himselfj and gathering up the cloak he had let fall, " don't mind me, Mrs. Robson ; nothing :" and he was leaving the kitchen, but she followed him, terrified at his look and manner. " Pray, Mr. Constantine !" "Nay, my dear madam," said he, lead- ing her back, "I am not well; I believe my walk has overcome me. Let me be THADDEUS OF WARSAW. J293 a few minutes alone, till I have recovered myself. It will oblige me." •* Well, Sir, as you please !" and then, laying her withered hand fearfully upon his arm, "forgive me, dear Sir,'* said she, " if my attentions are trouble- some. Indeed, I fear, that sometimes great love appears like great imperti- nence ; I would always be serving you, and therefore I often forget the wide difference between Your Honour's station and mine." The Count could only press her hand gratefully, and with an emotion that made him hurry up stairs. When in his own room, he shut the door, and cast a wild and inquisitive gaze around the apartment ; then throwing himself into a chair, he struck his head with his hand, and exclaimed, ** It is gone ! What will become of me? Of this poor woman, whose substance I have consumed?" It was true, the watch, by the sale of which he had calculated to defray the o 3 294< THADDEUS OF WARSAW. charges of his illness, was indeed lost. A villain, in the crowd, having perceived the sparkling of the chain, had taken it unobserved from his side; and he knew nothing of his loss, until feeling for his watch to see the hour, he discovered his misfortune. The shock went like a stroke of elec- tricity through his frame; but it was not until the last glimmering of hope was ex- tinguished, on examining his room where he thought he might have left it, that he saw the full horror of his situation. He sat for some minutes, absorbed, and almost afraid to think. It was not his own, but the necessities of the poor woman, who had, perhaps, incurred debts on herself to afford him comforts, which bore so hard upon him. At last, rising from his seat, he exclaimed, " I must determine on something. Since this is gone, I must seek what else I have to part with, for 1 cannot long bear my present feelings." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 295 He opened the drawer which contained his few valuables. With a trembling hand he took them out one by one. There were several trinkets which had been given to him by his mo- ther ; and a pair of inlaid pistols, which his grandfather put into his belt on the morning of the dreadful tenth of October ; his miniature lay beneath them : the mild eyes of the Palatine seemed beaming with affection upon his grandson : Thaddeus snatched it up, kissed it fervently, and then laid it back into the drawer, whilst he hid his face with his hands. When he recovered himself, he replaced the pistols, believing that it would be sa- crilege to part with them. Without al- lowing himself time to think, he put a gold pencil-case and a pair of brilliant sleeve-buttons into his waistcoat-pocket. He descended the stairs with a soft step, and passing the kitchen-door un- perceived by his landlady, crossed through a little court j and then anxiously look- o 4 296 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ing from right to left, to find any place in which he might probably dispose of the trinkets, he took his way up Castle- street, and along Leicester-square. When he turned up the first street to his right, he was impeded by two persons who stood in his path, the one selling, the other buying a hat. The thought immediately struck Thaddeus of asking one of these men (who appeared to be a Jew and a vender of clothes) to pur- chase his pelisse. By parting with a thing to which he annexed no more value than the warmth it afforded him, he should possibly spare himself the pain, for this time at least, of sacrificing those gifts of his mother which had been be- stowed upon him in happier days, and hallowed by her caresses. He did not permit himself to hesitate, but desired the Jew to follow him into a neighbouring court. The man obeyed ; and having no ideas independent of his trade, asked the Count what he wanted to buy ? THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 297 " Nothing : I want to sell this pe- lisse,'* returned he, opening it. The Jew, without any ceremony, inspected the covering and the fur. " Aye, I see it is black cloth, lined with sable; but who would buy it of me? It is embroidered, and nobody wears such things here." ** Then I am answered," replied Thad- deus. "Stop, Sir," cried the Jew, pursuing him ; ** what will you take for it ?" " What would you give me ?" ** Let me see. It is very long and wide. At the utmost I cannot offer you more than five guineas." A few months ago, it had cost the Count a hundred ; but glad to get any money, however small, he readily closed with the man's price y and, taking off the cloak, gave it to him, and put the guineas into his pocket. He had not walked much farther, be- fore the piercing cold of the evening, o 5 298 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. and a shower of snow, which began to fall, made him feel the effects of his loss ; however that did not annoy him ; he had been too heavily assailed by the pityless rigours of misfortune, to regard the pelting of the elements. Whilst the wind blew in his face, and the sleet fall- ing on his dress, lodged in its embroi- dered lappels, he went forward, calcu- lating whether it were likely that this money, with the few shillings he yet pos- sessed, would be sufficient to discharge what he owed. Unused as he had been to all kinds of expenditure which re- quired attention, he supposed from what he had already seen of a commerce with the world, that the sum he had received from the Jew was not above half what he wanted; and with a beating heart he walked towards, one of those shops, which Mrs. Robson had described, when speaking of the irregularities of her son, who had nearly reduced her to beggary,. The candles were lit. And, as he ho- 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 299 vered about the door, he distinctly saw the master through the glass, assorting some parcels on the counter. He was a gentleman-like man ; and the Count's feelings took quite a different turn from those with which he had accosted the Jew J who, being a low sordid wretch, looked upon the people with whom he trafficked as pieces of wood. Thaddeus felt little repugnance at bargaining with him : but the sight of a respectable per- son, before whom he was to present him- self as a man in poverty, as one who in a manner appealed to charity, all at once overcame the resolution of Sobieski, and he debated whether or not he should re- turn. Mrs. Robson, and her probable distresses, rose before him j and, fearful of trusting his pride any farther, he pulled his cap over his face, and entered the shop. The man bowed very civilly on his eii- trance, and requested to be honoured with his commands. Thaddeus felt his o 6 300 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. face glow; but indignant at his own weakness, he laid the gold case on the counter, and said, in a voice which, not- withstanding his emotion, he compelled to be without appearance of confusion, "I want to part with this.'* Astonished at the dignity of his air, and the nobility of his dress, for the star did not escape the shopkeeper's eye, he looked at him for a moment, holding the case in his hand. Hurt by the steadiness of his gaze, the Count rather haughtily repeated what he had said. The man hesitated no longer. He had been ac- customed to similar requests from the emigrant French noblesse : but there was a loftiness, and an air of authority in the countenance and mien of this person, which surprised and awed him ; and with a respect which even the application could not counteract, he opened the case, and inquired of Thaddeus, what was the price he affixed to it. '< I leave that to you," replied he. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 301 " The gold is solid," returned the man, " but it is very thin ; I cannot give more than three guineas. Though the workmanship is tine, it is not in the fashion of England, and will be of no benefit to me till it is melted. " You may have it," said Thaddeus, hardly able to articulate, as he saw the gift of his mother pass into a stranger's hand. The man directly paid him down the money, and the Count with a bursting heart darted out of the shop. Mrs. Robson was shutting up the win- dows of her little parlour, when he hastily passed her, and glided up the stairs. Hardly believing her senses, she hastened after him, and just got into the room as he drank off a glass of water. ** Good Lord, Sir," cried she; ** where has Your Honour been? I thought you were all the while in the house, and I would not come near, though I was very uneasy ; and there 302 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. has been poor William crying himself blind, because you desired to be left alone." Thaddeus was unprepared to make an answer. He was in hopes to have gotten in as he had stolen out, undiscovered ; for he determined not to agitate her good mind, by the history of his loss. He would not allow her to know any thing of his embarrassments, from a sentiment of jus- tice, as well as from that pride, which all his sufferings and philosophy could not wholly subdue. " I have been taking a walk, Mrs. Robson." " Dear heart! I thought when you staggered back, and looked so ill, after you brought in William, you had over- walked yourself!'* " No; I fancy my fears had a little discomposed me j and I hoped that more air might do me good ; I tried it, and it has : but I am grieved for having alarmed THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 303 This ambiguous speech satisfied his kind landlady ; and, fatigued by a bodily exertion, which, in the present feeble state of his frame, nothing less than the perturbation of his mind could have car- ried him through, Thaddeus went di- rectly to bed ; where tired nature soon found temporary repose in a profound sleep. 304f THADDEUS OF WARSAW; CHAP. XV. 1\ext morning, Sobieski found himself rather better than worse by the exertions of the preceding day. When Nanny ap- peared as usual with his breakfast, and little William, (who always sat on his knee, and shared his bread and butter,) he desired her to request her grand- mother to send to Mr. Vincent with his compliments, and to tell him, he was so well at present as to decline any farther medical aid, and therefore wished to have his bill. Mrs. Robson, who could not forget the behaviour of the apothecary, undertook to deliver the message herself, happy in the triumphs she should enjoy over the littleness of Mr. Vincent's suspicions. After the lapse of a quarter of an hour, THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 305 she re-appeared in the Count's rooms with the apothecary's assistant ; who, with many thanks, received the sum total of his accompt, which amounted to three guineas for ten days' attendance. The man having withdrawn, Thaddeus told Mrs. Robson, he should next defray the smallest part of the vast debt, he must ever owe to her parental care. " O, bless your Honour ; it goes to my heart to take a farthing of you ! but •these poor children," cried she, laying a hand on each, and her eyes glistening ; " they look up to me as their all here j and my quarter-day was yesterday, else, dear Sir, I should scorn to be like Doctor Vincent, and take your money the moment you offer it." « My good madam," returned Sobieski, giving her a chair, "I am sensible of your kindness : but it is your just due j and the payment of it can never lessen my gratitude for the friendship which you have shown to me, a poor stranger," 306 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " Then, there, Sir," said she, look- ing almost as ashamed as if she were robbing him, when she laid it on the table ; " there is my bill. I have regu^ larly set down every thing. Nanny will bring it to me." And quite disconcerted, the good woman hurried out of the room. Thaddeus looked after her with admir- ation and reverence. " There goes," thought he, " in that lowly and feeble frame, as generous and noble a spirit as ever animated the breast of a princess ! — Here, Nanny," said he, glancing his eye over the paper, «« there is the gold, with my thanks ; and tell your grandmother I am astonished at her economy." This affair over, the Count was re- lieved of a grievous load 5 and turning the remaining money in his hand, how he might replenish the little stock before it were expended, next occupied his attention. Notwithstanding the pawn* THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 307 broker's civil treatment, he recoiled at again presenting himself at his shop. Be- sides, should he dispose of all that he pos- sessed, it would not be of sufficient value to subsist him for a month. He must think of some source within himself that was not likely to be so soon exhausted. To be reduced a second time to the misery which he had endured yesterday, from suspense and wretchedness, appeared too dreadful to be hazarded, and he ran over in his memory the different merits of his several accomplishments. He could not make any use of his mu- sical talents, for at public exhibitions of himself, his soul revolted ; and as to his literary acquirements, his youth, and be- ing a foreigner, precluded all hopes on that head. At length he found that his sole dependence must rest on his talents for painting. Of this art he had always been remarkably fond ; and his taste easily perceived that there were many drawings exhibited for sale, much in^ 308 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ferior to those which he had executed for mere amusement. He decided at once ; and purchasing, by the means of Nanny, pencils and In- dian ink, he set to work. When he had finished half-a-dozen drawings, and was considering how he might find the street in which he had seen the print-shops, the recollection oc- curred to him of the impression his ap- pearance had made on the pawnbroker. He perceived the wide difference between his apparel and the fashion of England ; and seeing with what security from im- pertinence he might walk about, could he so far cast off the relics of his former rank as to change his dress, he got up with an intention to go out and purchase a surtout coat and hat, for that purpose; but catching an accidental view of his figure and the star of St. Stanislaus, as he passed the glass to the door, he no longer wondered at the curiosity which such an appendage, united with poverty^ THADDEUS OF WARS AW. S09 had attracted. Rather than again sub- ject himself to a similar situation, he summoned his young messenger ; and, by her assistance, furnished himself with an English hat and coat, whilst, with his penknife, he cut away the embroidery of the order, from the cloth to which it was affixed. Thus accoutred with his hat flapped over his face, and his great coat wrapped round him, he put his drawings into his bosom, and about eight o'clock walked out on his disagreeable errand. After some wearying search, he at last found Great Newport-street, the place he wanted ; but as he advanced, his hopes died away, and his fears and reluctance awakened. He stopped at the door of the nearest print-shop. All that he had suffered at the pawnbroker's re-assailed him with redoubled violence. What he presented there possessed a fixed value, and was at once to be taken or refused ; but now he 310 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. was going to offer things of mere taste, and he might meet not only with a denial, but affronting remarks. He walked to the threshold of the door, then as hastily withdrew, and hurried two or three paces down the street. «* Weak, contemptible that I am!" said he to himself, as he again turned round, " where is all my reason and rectitude of principle, that I would rather endure the misery of dependence and self-reproach, than dare the attempt to seek support from the fruits of my own industry ?" He quickened his step, and started into the shop, almost fearful of his former irresolution. He threw his drawings in- stantly upon the counter. " Sir, you purchase drawings. I have these to sell. Will they suit you ?'* The man took them up without deign- ing to look at the person who accosted him, and turning them over in his hand, " One, two, three, hum ! there is half-a- dozen. What do you expect for them?'* THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 311 "I am not acquainted with the prices of these things." The printseller, hearing this, thought, by managing well, to get them for what he liked, and throwing them over with an air of contempt, resumed, " And pray, where may the views be taken ?" " They are recollections of scenes in Germany." " Ah," replied the man, "mere drugs] I wish, honest friend, you could have brought subjects not quite so threadbare, and a little better executed ; they are but poor things ! But every dauber, now- a-days, sets up for a fine artist ; and thinks tjoe are to ^ay him for idleness and conceit." Insulted by this speech, and, above all, by the manner of the printseller, Thad- deus was snatching up the drawings to leave the shop without a word, when the man observing his design, and afraid to 31^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. lose them, laid his hand on the heap, ex- claiming, ** Let me tell you, young man, it does not become a person in your situation to be so huffy to their employers. I will give you a guinea for the six, and you may think yourself well paid." Without further hesitation, whilst the Count was striving to subdue the choler w^hich urged him to knock him down, tlie man laid the gold on the counter, and was slipping the drawings into a drawer ; but Thaddeus snatching them out again, suddenly rolled them up, and walked out of the shop as he said : " Not all the money, of all your tribe, would tempt an honest man to pollute himself by exchanging a second word with one so contemptible." Irritated at this unfeeling treatment, he returned home too much provoked to think of the consequences which might Ibllow a similar disappointment. THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 313 Having become used to the fluctu- ations of his looks and behaviour, the widow ceased altogether to tease him with enquiries she saw he was loth to answer. She now allowed him to walk in and out without a remark ; and silently contemplated his pale and melancholy countenance, when, after a ramble of the greatest part of the day, he returned home exhausted and dispirited. William was always the first to welcome his friend at the threshold, by running to him, taking hold of his coat, and asking to go with him up stairs. The Count usually gratified him ; and brightened many dull hours, with his innocent caresses. This child was literally his only earthly comfort ; for he saw that in him, he could still excite those emotions of hap- piness which had once afforded him his sweetest joy. William ever greeted him with smiles ; and when he entered the kitchen, sprang to his bosom, as if that VOL. I. p 314 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. were the seat of peace, as it was of virtue. But, alas ! fate seemed averse to lend any thing long to the unhappy Thaddeus, which might render his deso^ late state more tolerable. Just risen from the bed of sickness, he required the hand of some tender nurse to restore his wasted vigour, instead of being reduced to the hard vigils of poverty and want. His recent disap* pointment, added to a cold which he caught, increased his fever and debility ; yet he adhered to the determination, not to appropriate to his own subsistence, the few valuables he had assigned as a deposit for the charges of his rent* During a fortnight he never tasted any thing better than bread and water ; but this hermit's fare was accompanied by the thought, that if it ended in death, his sufferings would then be over ; and the widow amply remunerated by what little of his property remained. In this state of body and mind he re* THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 315 ceived a most painful shock, when one evening returning from a walk of many hours, in the place of his little favourite, he met Mrs. Robson in tears at the door. She told him William had been sickening all the day, and was now so delirious, that neither she nor his sister could hold him quiet. Thaddeus went to the side of the child's bed, where he lay gasping on the pillow, held down by the crying Nanny. The Count touched his cheek. " Poor child," exclaimed he, " he is in a high fever. Have you sent for Mr, Vincent ?" " O, no J I had not the heart to leave him," " Then I will go directly," returned Thaddeus ; *' there is not a moment to be lost." The poor woman thanked him. Hasten- ing through the streets with an eagerness which nearly overset several of the foot- passengers, he arrived at Lincoln's Inn p 2 316 THADDEUS OF WARSAW, Fields J and in less than five minutes after he had quitted Mrs. Robson's door, he returned with the apothecary. On Mr. Vincent's examining the pulse and countenance of his little patient, he declared the symptoms to be the small- pox, which some casualty had repelled. In a paroxysm of distress, Mrs. Robson recollected that a girl had been brought into her shop three days ago, just re* covered from that frightful malady. Thaddeus tried to subdue the fears of the grandmother ; and at last succeeded in persuading her to go to bed, whilst h€5. and Nanny would watch by the pillow of the invalid. Towards morning the disorder broke out in tlie child's face, and he recovered his recollection. The moment he fixed his eyes on the Count, who was leaning over him, he stretched out his little arms and begged to lie on his breast. Thad- deus refused him gently, fearing that by any change of position, he might catch THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 31^' cold, and so again retard what had now so fortunately appeared ; but the poor child thought the denial unkind, and began to weep so violently, that his anxious friend believed it better to gra- tify him than hazard the irritation of his fever by agitation and crying. Thaddeus took him out of bed, and, rolling him in one of the blankets, laid him in his bosom, and drawing his dress- ing gown, to shield his little face from the fire, held him in that situation asleep &r nearly two hours. When Mrs. Robson came down stairs at six o*clock in the morning, she kissed the hand of the Count as he sustained her grandson in his arms; and, almost speechless with gratitude to him, and so- licitude for the child, waited the arrival of the apothecary. On his second visit, he said a few words to her of comfort ; but whispered to the Count, as he was feeling William's pulse, P 3 318 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. that nothing short of the strictest care could save the boy, the infection he had received having been of the most malig- nant kind. These words fell like an unrepealable sentence on the heart of Thaddeus. Looking on the discoloured features of the patient infant, he fancied that he al- ready beheld his clay-cold face, and its little limb stretched in death. The idea was bitterness to him ; and pressing the boy to his breast, he resolved that no at* tention should be wanting on his part, to preserve him from the grave. And he kept his- promise. From that hour until the day in which the poor babe expired in his arms, he never laid him out of them for ten mi- nutes together : and when he did breathe his last sigh, and raised up his little eyes, Thaddeus met their dying glance with a pang, which he thought his soul had long lost the power to feel. His heart seemed to stop ; and covering the motionless face THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 319 of the dead child with his hand, he made a sign to Nanny to leave the room. The girl, who from respect had been accustomed to obey his slightest nod, went to her grandmother in the shop. The instant the girl quitted the room, with mingled awe and grief the Count lifted the Httle corpse from his knee; and without allowing himself to cast another glance on the face of the poor infant now released from suffering, he put it on the bed, and throwing the sheet over it, sunk into a chair and burst into tears. The entrance of Mrs. Robson in some measure restored him ; for the moment she perceived her guest with his handker- chief over his eyes, she judged what had happened, and with a piercing scream flew forward to the bed, where pulling down the covering, she uttered another shriek, and must have fallen on the floor had not Thaddeus and little Nanny, who p 4 320 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. ran in at her cries, caught her in their arms and bore her to a chair. Her soul was too much agitated to allow her to continue long in a state of insensibility ; and when she recovered, she would again have approached the deceased child, but the Count withheld her, and, trying by every means in his power to soothe her, so far succeeded as to melt her agonies into tears. Whilst she concealed her venerable head in the bosom of her grand-daughter, he once more lifted the remains of the little William j and thinking it best, for the tranquillity of the unhappy grandmother, to take him out of her sight, carried him up stairs and laid him on his own bed. By tlie time he returned to the humble parlour, one of the female neighbours having heard an unusual outcry, and sus- pecting the cause, kindly stepped in to offer her consolation and services. Mrs. Robson could only reply by sobs, which were answered by the loud weeping of THAI>DEUS OF WARSAW. 321 poor Nanny, who lay with her head against the table. ^ When the Count came down he thanked the good woman for her bene- volent intentions, and took her up stairs into his apartments. Pointing to the open door of the bed-room, '« There^ Madam," said he, " you will find the remains of my dear little friend. I beg you will direct every thing for his inter- ment, as you think will give satisfaction to Mi's. Robson. I would spare that ex- cellent woman every pang in my power." All was done according to his desire j and Mrs. Watts, the charitable neighbour, excited by a good disposition and rever- ence for " the extraordinary young gen- tleman who lodged with her friend," performed her task with kindness and activity. <* O ! Sir," cried Mrs. Robson, weep- ing afresh as she entered the Count's room, " O ! Sir, how shall I ever repay all your goodness ? and Mrs. Watts ? She F 5 322 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. has acted like a sister to me. But in- deed, indeed, I am yet the most miser- able woman that lives. I have lost my dearest child, and must strip his poor sister and myself to bury him. That cruel Dr. Vincent, though he might have imagined my distress, sent his accompt late last night, saying he wanted to make up a large bill, and he wished I would let him have all or part of the payment. Heaven knows, I have not a farthing in the house ; but I will send poor little Nanny to pawn my silver spoons ; for, alas ! I have no other means of satisfying the cruel man." " Rapacious wretch !" cried Thad- deus, rising indignantly from his chair, and for a moment forgetting how inca- pable he was to afford relief: " you shall not be indebted one instant to his mercy. I will pay him." The words had passed his lips : he could not retract, though conviction im- mediately followed, that he had not the THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 3Q3 means ; and he would not have retracted even should he be necessitated to part with every thing he most valued. Mrs. Robson was overwhelmed by this generous promise, which indeed saved her from ruin. Had her little plate been pledged, it could not have covered one half of Mr. Vincent's demaud, who, to do him justice, did not mean to cause any distress. But having been so readily paid by Thaddeus for his own illness, and observing his great care and affec* tion for the deceased child, he did not doubt, that rather than allow Mrs. Rob- son a minute's uneasiness, her lodger would defray his bill. So far he calcu- lated right ; but he had not sufficient sagacity to foresee, that in getting his money this way, he should lose the future business of Mrs. Robson and her friend. The child was to be buried on the mor- row ; the expenses of which event, Thad- deus saw he must discharge also ; — and he had engaged to pay Mr. Vincent that p 6 324 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. night. He had not a shilling in his purse. Over and over, he contemplated the im- practicability of answering these debts 5 yet he could not for an instant repent of what he had undertaken : he thought he was amply recompensed for bearing so heavy a load, in knowing that he had taken it off the worn- down heart of an- other. THADDEtlS OF WARSAW. 3^5 CHAP. XVI. feiNCE the Count's unmannerly treatment at the printseller's, he had not sufficiently conquered his pride, to attempt an appli- cation to another. Therefore, he had no prospect of collecting the money he had pledged himself to Mrs. Robson to pay, but by selling some more of his valuables to the pawnbroker. For this purpose he took his sabre, his pistols, and the fated brilhants he had brought back on a similar errand. — He drew them from their deposit with less reluctance than before. They were now going to be devoted to gratitude and benevolence ; an act which he knew his parents, were they alive, would warmly approve ; and here he allowed the end to sanctify the means. About half after six in the evening, he 326 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. prepared himself for his task. Whether it be congenial with melancholy to seek the gloom, or whether the Count found himself less observed under the shades of night, is not evident ; but since his exile, he preferred the dusk to any other part of the day. Before he went out, he asked Mrs, Robson for Mr. Vincent's bill. Sinking with obligation and shame, she put it in- to his hand, and he left the house. When he approached a lighted lamp, he opened the paper to see the amount ; and find- ing it was almost two pounds, he has- tened forwards to the pawnbroker's. The man was in the shop alone. Thad- deus thought himself fortunate ; and, after subduing a few qualms, entered the door. The moment he laid his sword and pistols on the counter, and declared his wish, the man, even through the disguise of a large coat and slouched hat, recollected him. — This honest money-lender carried sentiments THADDEUS OF WARSAW. S^^ in his breast above his occupation. He did not commiserate all who presented themselves before him, because many ex- hibited, too evidently, the excesses which brought them to his shop. — But there was something in the figure and manner of the Count Sobieski, whick struck him at first sight ; and by continuing to pos- sess his thoughts, excited such an inter- est in his mind, as to produce pleasure when he discerned the noble foreigner in the person before him. Mr. Burket (for so this money-lender was called) asked him what he demanded for the arms. " Perhaps more than you would give. But I have something else here," laying down the diamonds 5 "I want eight guineas." Mr. Burket looked at them, and then at their owner, hesitated, and then spoke. " I beg your pardon. Sir ; I hope I shall not offend you, but these things appear to have a value independent of 828 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. their price — they are inlaid with crests and cyphers." The blood flushed over the cheeks of the Count. He had forgotten this cir- cum stance ; — unable to answer, he waited to hear what the man would say further. " I repeat, Sir, I mean not to offend, but you appear a stranger to these trans- actions. I only wish to suggest, that, in case you should ever like to repossess these things, had you not better pledge them?" " How ?'* asked Thaddeus, irresolutely, and not knowing what to think of the man's manner. At that instant some other people came into the shop ; and Mr. Burket, gathering up the diamonds and the arms in his hands, said, " If you do not object, Sir, we will settle this business in my back parlour ?" The delicacy of this behaviour pene- trated the mind of Thaddeus ; and, 16 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 329 without demurring, he followed him into a room. As Mr. Burket offered his guest a chair, the Count took off his hat, and laid it on the table. Burket contem- plated the saddened dignity of his coun- tenance, with renewed interest and re- spect ; and, entreating him to be seated, resumed the conversation. " I see, Sir, you do not understand the meaning of pledging, or pawning, for it is one and the same thing ; but I will explain it in two words. If you leave these things with me, I will give you a paper in acknowledgment, and lend on them the guineas you request ; which, when you return to me with a stated interest, you shall have your de- posit in exchange." Sobieski received this offer with plea- sure and thanks. He had entertained no idea of any thing more being meant by the trade of a pawnbroker, than a man who bought what others wished to sell. 330 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " Then, Sir," continued Burket, open- ing an escrutoire, " I will give you the money, and write the paper I spoke of/* As he put his hand to a drawer, he heard voices in an adjoining passage; and instantly shutting the desk, caught up the things on the table, threw them behind a curtain, and hastily taking the Count by the hand, " My dear Sir," cried he, *' do oblige me, and step into that closet! you will find a chair. A person is coming, whom I will dispatch in a few seconds." Thaddeus, rather surprised at such hurry, did as he was desired j and the door was closed on him just as the par- lour door opened. Being aware from such concealment that the visitor came on secret business, he found his situation not a little awkward. Seated behind a curtained window, which the lights in the room made transparent, he could not THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 331 avoid seeing, as well as hearing, every thing that passed. " My dear Mr. Burket,'* cried an ele- gant young creature, who ran into the apartment, " positively without your as- sistance I shall be undone." " Any thing in my power. Madam,'* returned Mr. Burket, with a distant, re- spectful voice : " will Your Ladyship sit down ?** " Yes ; give me a chair : I am half dead with distraction. Mr. Burket, I must have another hundred upon those jewels." " Indeed, My Lady, it is not in my power ; you have already had twelve hundred ; and, upon my honour, that is a hundred and fifty more than I ought to have given." <* Pugh, who minds the honour of a pawnbroker !" cried the lady, laughing : <* you know very well you live by cheat* jng." 33^ THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " Well, Ma'am," returned he, with a good-natured smile, " as Your Ladyship pleases." " Then I please that you let me have another hundred. Why, man, you know you lent Mrs. Hinchinbroke two thousand upon a case of diamonds not a quarter so many as mine." " But consider. Madam, Mrs. Hinch- inbroke's were of the best water." ** Positively, Mr. Burnet," exclaimed Her Ladyship, purposely miscalling his name, " not better than mine ! The King of Sardinia gave them to Sir Charles when he knighted him. I know mine are the best, and I must have another hundred. Upon my soul, my servants have not had a guinea of board wages these four months, and they tell me they are starving. Come, make haste, Mr. Bur- net, you cannot expect me to stay here all night ; give me the money." *« Indeed, My Lady, I cannot." " Heavens, what a brute of a man you THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 338 are ! There," cried she, taking a string of pearls from her neck and throwing it on the table, ** lend me some of your trumpery out of your shop, for I am go- ing immediately from hence to take up the Misses Dundas to the play ; and so give me the hundred on that, and let me go." ** This is not worth a hundred.'* " What a teasing man you are !'* cried Her Ladyship angrily. " Well, let me have the money now, and I will send you the bracelets which belong to the necklace to-morrow.'' " Upon those conditions I will give Your Ladyship another hundred." " O, do ; you are the veriest miser I ever met with. You are worse than Shylock, or, — Good Lord ! what is this," exclaimed she, interrupting her- self, and taking up the draft he had laid before her ; "and have you the conscience to think, Mr. Pawnbroker, that I will offer this at your banker's? that I will 3S4f TIIADDEUS OF WARSAW. expose myself so far ? No, no ; take it back, and give me gold. Come, dis- patch ! else I cannot go to the play. Look, there is my purse," added she^ showing it, " make haste and fill it." After satisfying her demands, Mn Burket handed Her Ladyship out the way she came in, which was by a private passage ; and, having seated her in her carriage, made his bow. Meanwhile the Count Sobieski, wrap- ped in astonishment at the profligacy which the scene he had witnessed im- plied, remained in concealment until the pawnbroker returned and opened the closet-door. " Sir," said he, colouring, ** you have undesignedly, on your part, been privy to a very delicate affair ; but my credit, Sir, and your honour " " Shall both be sacred," replied the Count, anxious to relieve the poor man from his perplexity, and forbearing to express surprise : — but Burket per- THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 335 ceived it in his look ; and before he pro- ceeded to fulfil his engagement with him, stepped half way to the escrutoire, and resumed. " You appear amazed, Sir> at what you have seen. And, if I am not mistaken, you are from abroad?'* ** Indeed I am amazed,'* replied So- bieski ; " and I am from a country, where the slightest suspicion of a transaction such as this, would brand the woman with infamy." '' And so it ought," answered Burket : " though by that assertion I speak against my own interest; for it is by such as Lady Villiers we make our money. Now, Sir," continued he, drawing nearer to the table, *' perhaps, after what you have just beheld, you will not hesitate to credit what I am going to tell you. I have now in my hands, the jewels of one duchess, of three countesses, and of women of fashion without number. When these ladies have an ill run at playi they apply 336 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. to me ill their exigencies ; they bring their diamonds here, and, as their occa- sions require, on this deposit I lend them money ; for which they make me a hand- some present when the jewels are re- leased." ** Gracious Heaven 1'* exclaimed Thad- deus, " what a degrading system of de- ceit must govern the lives of these women !" " It is very lamentable," returned Burket, " but so it is. And they con- tinue to manage matters very cleverly. By giving me their note or word of ho- nour, (for if these ladies are not honour- able with me, I know by what hints to keep them in order,) I allow them to have the jewels out for the birth-days, and receive them again when their exhi- bition is over. As a compensation for these little indulgencies, I expect con- siderable additions to the present at the end." Thaddeus could hardly believe such a THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 337 liistory of those women, whom travellers mentioned as not only the most lovely, but the most amiable creatures in the world. *« Surely, Mr. Burkef cried he, "these women must despise each other, and be- come contemptible even to our sex.*' ** O, no,'' rejoined the pawnbroker, " they seldom trust each other in these aflairs. All my fair customers are not so silly as that pretty little lady who just now left us. She and another woman of quality, have made each other confidants in this business. And Lord have mercy upon me when they come together ! They are as ravenous of my money as if it had no other use but to supply them. As to their husbands, brothers, and fathers, they are usually the last people who suspect or hear of these matters : their applications, when they run out, are made to Jews and professed usurers, a race completely out of our line.'* VOL. I. Q SS8 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. " But are all English women of quality of this disgraceful stamp ?" " No, Heaven forbid !'* cried Burket : ** if these female spendthrifts were not held in awe by the dread of superior characters, we could have no dependence on their promises. O, no ; there are ladies about the court, whose virtues are as eminent as their rank : women, whose actions might all be performed in mid- day, before the world 5 and them, I never see within my doors.' ' " Well, Mr. Burket," rejoined Thad- deus, smiling, " I am glad to hear that. Yet I cannot forget the unexpected view of the so famous British fair, which this night has offered to my eyes. It is strange \" ** It is very bad, indeed, Sir," returned the man, giving him the money and the paper he had been preparing ; " but if you should have occasion to call again upon me, perhaps you may be astonished still farther." THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 339 The Count bowed ; and, thanking him for his kindness, wished him a good evening, and left the shop. It was about seven o'clock when Thad- deus arrived at the apothecary's. Mr. Vincent was from home. To say the truth, he had purposely gone out of the way. For though he did not hesitate to commit a shabby action, he wanted cou- rage to face its consequence ; and to avoid the probable remonstrances of Mrs. Robson, he commissioned his assistant to receive the amount of the bill. Without making an observation, the Count paid the man ; and was returning homeward along Duke-Street and the Piazzas of Drury-Lane Theatre, when the crowd pressing round the doors constrained him to stop. After two or three ineffectual attempts to get through the bustle, he retreated a little behind the mob at the moment when a chariot drew up, and a gentleman stepping out with two ladies, darted with Q 2 340 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. them into the house. One glance was sufficient for Sobieski, who recognized his friend Pembroke Somerset, in high dress, gay, and laughing. The heart of Thaddeus sprang to him at the sight ; and forgetting his neglect, and his own misfortunes, he ejaculated, " Somerset !" Trembling with eagerness and pleasure, he pressed through the crowd, and en- tered the'^ passage at the instant a green door within shut upon his friend. His disappointment was dreadful. To be so near Somerset, and to lose him, was more than he could sustain. His bounding heart recoiled ; and the chill of despair running through his veins, turned him faint. Leaning against the door, he took his hat off to give himself air. He scarcely had stood a minute in this situation revolving whether he should follow his friend into the house, or wait until he came out again, when a gentleman begged him to make way for THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 341 a party of ladies that were entering. Thaddeus moved on one side ; but the opening of the green door casting a strong light both on his face and the group behind, his eyes and those of the impertinent inquisitor of the Hummums met each other. Whether the man were conscious that he deserved chastisement for his former insolence, and dreaded to meet it now, cannot be explained ; but he turned pale, and shuffled by Thaddeus, as if he were fearful to trust himself within reach of his grasp. For the Count, he was too deeply interested in his own pursuit, to waste one surmise upon him. He continued to muse on the sight of Pembroke Somerset, which had conjured up ten thousand fond and distressing re- collections ; and with impatient anxiety, determining to watch till the perform- ance was over, he thought of enquiring his friend's address of the servants ; but 342 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. on looking round for that purpose, he perceived the chariot had driven away. Thus foiled, he returned to his post near the green door ; which was opened at intervals, by footmen, passing and re- passing. Seeing the chamber within was a lobby, in which it would be less likely he should miss his object, than if he stood without, he entered with the next person that approached ; and finding seats along the sides, sat down on the one nearest to the stairs. His first idea was to proceed into the play-house. But he considered the little chance of discovering any particular in- dividual in so vast a building, as not equal to the expense he must incur. Besides, from the dress of the gentlemen who entered the box-door, he was sensi- ble his great coat and hat were not ad- missible. Having remained above an hour with his eyes invariably fixed on the stairs, he observed that same curious person who THADDEUS OF WARSAW. 343 had passed almost directly after his friend, come down the steps and walk out of the door. In two minutes he was returning with a smirking countenance, when his eyes accidentally falling on the Count, (wlio sat with his arms folded, and almost hidden by the shadow of the wall,) he faltered in his walk ; and stretching out his neck towards him, the gay grin left his features -, and exclaiming in an impatient voice, " Confound him !" he hastened once more into the house. This rencontre with his Hummums ac- quaintance, affected Thaddeus as slightly as the former; and, without annexing even a thought to his figure as it flitted by him, he remained watching in the passage until half after eleven. At that hour, the doors were thrown open, and the company began to pour forth. The Count's hopes were again on his lips and in his eyes. With the first party who came down the steps, he rose ; and planting himself close to the bottom stair drew his hat over his face, and 344 THADDEUS OF WARSAW. narrowly examined each group as it descended. Every set that approached, made his heart palpitate : how often did it rise and fall, during the long succes- sion which continued moving for near half an hour ! By twelve, the house was cleared. He saw the middle door locked ; and motion- less with disappointment, did not attempt to stir, until the man who held the keys told him to go, as he was about to fasten the other doors. This roused Thaddeus ; and as he was preparing to obey, he asked the man, if there were any other passage from the boxes. " Yes," cried he, " there is one into Drury-Lane." " Then, by that I have lost him !" was the reply which he made to himself. And returning homewards, he arrived there a few minutes after twelve. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LoKDON : Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode, New- Street- Square. 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