No More Learning

His retirement was requisite to enable the government
to stifle every germ of liberty. JSTiemcewicz was
always odious to Pussia, both from his services to
Poland and from his avowed hatred to her oppressors.
His "Lithuanian Letters," published periodically dur-
ing the war of 1812, to promote a revolt in Lithuania,
contributed much toward increasing this feeling. All
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 161
his works aimed at the one point, that of keeping
Polish patriotism alive. His national melodies, his
historical pages glowing with love of his country, and
ingenious allegories equaling La Fontaine's, which his
fertile imagination offered periodically to his country-
men, all breathed the same spirit.
The retirement of Niemcewicz from the directory
did not deprive him of all means of serving his com-
patriots. Called by the choice of the inhabitants of
Warsaw to the presidency of the beneficent society of
that city, he found a sweet pleasure in exercising his
philanthropic feelings. Another proof of public
regard awaited him. The Royal Scientific Society
honored themselves by raising him to the office of
president, vacant by the death of the learned and
philanthropic Stanislaus Staszyc.
Niemcewicz was equally illustrious as historian,
journalist, romancer, and poet. His romances "Dwaj
Sieciechowie" and " Leyba i Siora " (Levi and Sarah)
are of great importance, and were not without influence
on the public mind. Following is a list of his works :
1st. The Secret History of John of Bourbon; trans-
lated from the French in 1779, 2 vols. 8vo.
2d. The History of Margaret of Yalois, Queen of
Navarre; translated in 1781.
3d. Odes on quitting England (1787).
4th. Casimir the Great, a drama in three acts, acted
at Warsaw May 3, 1792.
5th. The Rape of the Lock; translated into Polish
verse from the English of Pope in 1796.
6th. Wladislas, King of Poland, a tragedy, acted
at Warsaw in 1796.
7th. King John Sobieski's Page, a farce, written in
1808.
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? 162 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
8th. Lithuanian Letters, written in 1812.
9th. The Public Prisons, written in 1818.
10th. Keign of Sigismund III, King of Poland
(1819), 3 vols. 8vo.
11th. Two historical romances (1819).
12th. Odes of the Polish Army in 1792.
13th. Historical Melodies in 1819.
14th. Fables and Tales (1820).
15th. Historical Recollections of Poland as it has
been (1822), 4 vols. 8vo.
16th. John de Tenczyn, an historical romance,
translated into German in 1826.
17th. Leyba i Siora, a Jewish romance; translated
into German, English, and Dutch.
18th. What Pleases Ladies, a tale of Voltaire;
translated from the French.
19th. Odes of Pope and of Dry den on music;
translated into verse.
20th. The Miseries of Human Life; translated into
Polish.
1st. Athalia, a tragedy of Racine's ; translated into
verse.
22d. Hedwige, Queen of Poland, an opera in verse;
the music by Kurpin? ski.
23d. The Return of the Representative, a comedy
in three acts, in verse; this work, twenty years after
its publication, excited the resentment of the Grand
Duke Con stan tine.
24th. Traits of the Life of General Washington.
25th. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; translated
from the English.
26th. The Suspicious, a comedy in Hve acts and in
verse, acted during the revolution.
27th. The Yain Man, in five acts.
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 168
28th. Kochanowski, a drama.
And a number of other works of great interest.
In 1830, the day preceding our revolution, the
supreme counsel of the kingdom having felt the neces-
sity of being supported by names dear to the natives,
called upon Niemcewicz to join its ranks. It was to
his venerable appearance, and the words of wisdom
and eloquence that he addressed to the people assem-
bled under the windows of the hall of government, that
the accomplishment of a revolution, unstained by
crimes or excesses, may be in a great measure attrib-
uted. As a member of the national government until
the creation of the dictator, he assisted in all the delib-
erations of the senators, of whom he was the secre-
tary. He had the signal honor of being elected senator
without the formalities prescribed by law, the senate
wishing to confer on him a mark of national gratitude
and veneration. The day of glory again dawned in
Poland, and the veteran of seventy-two embraced with
all the ardor of youth the cause of liberty; but to him
the revolution shone like an expiring lamp> for eternity
was opening before him. With a self-devotion and
energy of mind that neutralized the assaults of age,
Niemcewicz, deputed by the national government,,
undertook a journey to London to interest the British
cabinet in the cause of liberty and of Poland; but the
days of reverses arrived, and, exiled with the more
virtuous among his countrymen, he returned no more
to Poland. After living for a long time in retirement
in London, he went to Paris to rejoin the greater part
of his friends and colleagues, and from time to time
published little tracts or poems analogous to his cir-
cumstances. In 184:1 he ended his career with the
tranquillity resulting from a life of duty. The Polish,
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? 164 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
French, American and English residents in Paris united
in paying him the last tribute of respect due to man,
and accompanied his honored remains to the cemetery
of Montmorency.
Among the spectators at this melancholy scene we
iind Mr. Gibbs, an American gentleman, who thus said
to the assembled friends of the deceased: "Gentlemen,
the noble Polander to whom we pay the last tribute has
the sympathy of all my fellow-countrymen; as to the
American citizen, companion of Kos? ciuszko and to the
friend of liberty, I outrun, I am sure, and express their
wishes, when in their name and mine I pay to his
memory due tribute of profound esteem. Firm in his
principles, magnanimous and unconcerned for himself
in the hopes of prosperity for the cause of mankind,
his memory deserves the eulogies of good men of all
countries. His name will be placed among those of my
fellow-countrymen who are honored with the name of
benefactors of mankind. "
The professors and members of the Princeton Col-
lege (X. J. ), at a meeting called expressly for that pur-
pose, passed the following resolutions:
Resolved, That this society has learned with pro-
found grief of the death of their respected member,
Julian Ursin Niemcewicz;
Resolved, That this society, with numerous friends
of the departed, mourn his death, and as a proof of his
services and regard to his memory will wear usual
mourning for thirty days;
Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be sent to
the "Princeton Whig," "National Intelligencer" and
"New York Journal of Commerce. "
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 165
In a poetical epistle addressed to his old friend, Gen.
Kniaziewicz, thus he describes
AMERICA AND GENERAL WASHINGTON.
With my wounded commander* compelled to depart
From thee, oppressed Poland, the pride of my heart;
An asylum I sought o'er the dark rolling sea,
In the land of the noble, the brave and the free ;
But e'en there the sad thought of my country would rise,
And the tears of deep anguish would roll from my eyes.
In boundless savannas, where man never strayed,
Amid woods that ne'er echoed the axe's keen blade;
In the foaming abyss, where the clouds of bright steam
Round the falls of the roaring Niagara gleam;
And on the deep sea, when the white sails are spread,
Lo! the shade of my country, all gory and dead.
Full of bliss to my heart is the thought of that day
When to Washington's mansion I wended my way;
To visit the warrior, the hero and sage,
Whose name is the day-star to each coming age;
By his valor the new world rose happy and free,
And her glory his endless memento shall be.
His features are still on my memory denned,
With the fadeless and delicate colors of mind.
Full, noble, majestic, with a crown of swan-hair.
And a brow deeply writ with the finger of care:
Old Roman simplicity marked his fine face,
Expressive of dignity, grandeur and grace.
How oft on his accents with rapture I hung.
While wisdom and kindness distill'd from his tongue;
Kos? ciuszko.
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? 166 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
And whene'er the sad tale of our fall I'd relate --
How brilliant our struggle, yet awful our fate --
A sweet tear-drop of sympathy stole down his cheek --
Better pledge of affection than language could speak.
Precious tear ! a rich proof of his sorrow for thee,
Loved home of my fathers ! once peaceful and free.
And oh, could I that gem which so peerlessly grows,
In some costly and beautiful crystal enclose,
So priceless a treasure a witness I'd keep,
That o'er Poland's sad ruin a great man could weep.
And further down, such a picture he makes of his
abode in the
UNITED STATES:
When an exile from home, with deep sorrow oppressed,
In the new world a pilgrim, unknown and unblessed,
With no light to illumine the shadows that spread
Like the gloom of the sepulcher over my head,
My lonely condition made woman's bright eye
Mould the beautiful tear-drop of sweet sympathy.
But the feelings of pity were soon changed to love,
That bright seraph of mercy bequeathed from above !
With the gift of her fond heart she sweetened my woe,
Making hope's dying embers with sweet brightness glow;
Since then my neat cottage, the meadow, parterre --
Rich pleasures of freedom ! -- have been my sole care.
How oft has Aurora, from his soft couch of blue,
Found me cutting fresh grass, all so pearly with dew;
Or engrafting a shoot on the thriving young tree,
While nature was smiling in beauty and glee.
O delightful employment ! -- with pleasure how rife
Are the exquisite scenes of a pastoral life.
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? NIEMCEWICZ. I fi 7
Far away from the crowd of the giddy and vain,
From the thraldom of tyrants, the rude and profane;
From the folly of idlers that cumber the earth,
Wasting life's precious season in profitless mirth-
Ambition and av'rice disturb not the breast,
While hope points the soul to the realms of the blest.
So pure were the joys and so peaceful the life
That I shared with my lovely and beautiful wife,
I might have been happy, could man but forget
When his country with deadliest foes is beset.
But too oft the sad thoughts would convey me away
In the stillness of midnight, the bustle of day,
Thro' the foam-crested waves of the dark rolling sea,
To thee, distressed Poland -- once peaceful and free !
DUMA. *
GLIN? SKI. t
"W okropnych cieniach pieczaro? w podziemnych. "
In a dark, dreary dungeon, where the beam,
The cfladdenincf beam of sunlight never shone:
Where from the dismal roof its little stream
Of twilight pour'd a pendent lamp; -- alone
And conscience-tortured -- sat, to misery bound,
Glin? ski -- in victory and in crime renown'd.
His forehead years and grief had furrow'd o'er.
His grey hair hung disorders on his brow ;
His bloody sockets saw the light no more;
Plough'd were his wasted cheeks with scars and woe.
He sat and lean'd upon his hand: -- his groans
Were echoed by the dungeon's gloomy stones.
* A Duma, an elegiac poem; a plaintive song
t Glin? ski was a Polish chief who flourished at the beginning of
the sixteenth century. The events referred to in this Elegy took
place in 1515.
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?
168 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND-
With him his only child, his daughter fair,
A very gem of virtue, grace and youth.
She left the smiling world and the free air,
Her miserable father's woes to soothe;
Pleased in that fearful solitude to stay,
While life's young bloom fled silently away.
" Father! I pray thee by these tender tears " --
So spake the maid -- " be comforted, and chase
Despair; though chains hang heavy on thy years,
Yet hope deserts not e'en this desert place.
Time may smile upon thee; thou may'st rest
Thy gray old age upon thy country's breast. "
" My country! breathe not that dread name to* me,
For crimes rush down upon my tortured thought.
And wakened conscience gnaws the memory,
And gentle sleep these eyes will visit not.
Did I not head her foes! -- And can the name
Of * traitor ' but be link'd to death and shame?
"AH that can raise a man above mankind, --
All that is good and great in war or peace, --
Power -- riches -- beauty -- courage -- strength of mind,--
Yes! nature gave me these, and more than these.
I wanted nought but laurels -- which I found --
And glory's trophies wreathed my temples round.
" The locust-swarming hosts of Tartans broke
Upon Lithuania and Volhynia's land,
Plundering, destroying; their terrific yoke
Spared neither sex nor age ; the fiery brand
Of desolation swept the country o'er --
Children and mothers drown'd in fathers' gore.
" I sought the invaders' ravage to withstand.
Proud of their strength, in widespread camps they lay;
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 169
But they were scattered by my victor hand.
The misty eve look'd on the battle fray,
While corpses on the Niemen's waters rode,
And Infidel blood the thirsty fields o'erflow'd.
" When Alexander on his dying bed
Lay, mourn'd by all his children-subjects, came
The news that the defeated Tartars fled,
Upon his clouded brow joy's holy flame
Kindled sweet peace. ' Now let me, let me die,
For I bequeath to Poland victory ! '
" My deeds, my monarch's praises, warm'd my breast,
And love of daring violence grew. The fame
Of Zabrzezynki oft disturb'd my rest.
I -- a most foul and midnight murderer -- came
And butcher'd all in sleep. My Poles rebell'd --
I join'd with Poland's foes, by rage impelled.
"Flagitious sin, and memory's fiercest smart;
The eagle blended with the hurrying steed *
From cruelty and crime won not my heart,
Nor sheath'd the sword that did the cruel deed.
The foemen Russ I bent to my control,
And fought 'gainst Poles -- e'en I -- e'en I -- a Pole!
" I look'd upon the battle-field; I saw
Many a well-known corpse among the dead.
Then did fierce agony my bosom gnaw;
Then burning tears of conscious guilt were shed:
And I implored forgiveness -- from my king, --
Forgiveness for a vile and outcast thing.
" I told my penitent tale. My foes had wrought
Upon the czar, and roused him to distrust.
* The arms of Poland are a ichiie eagle. Those of Lithuania are a
horse galloping, with a rider holding a sword ready to strike. The
latter is called Pogon, from pursuing. Gonic means to pursw.
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? 170 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
He met indignantly my honest thought,
Dash'd my awakening virtue to the dust;
Bid them tear out my eyes, and bind me here
In galling fetters to this dungeon drear.
" Ten years have pass'd; and yet I live. The sun
And the gay stars shine on, but not for me.
Darkness and torments with my being run;
My strength decays; my blood flows freezingly
Through my chill'd veins; and death -- not gentle death
Lays its rude hand upon my weakening breath.
" Yet a few days -- this corpse, my grief's remains,
Will ask a handful of unfriendly earth.
Leave then, my child, these foul and foreign plains,
Blest who can claim the country of his birth.
The Poles forgive, -- and thou shalt be forgiven.
My child, be blest, and I be left to heaven.
" Yes! thou shalt see thy country, and its smile
Shall chase the memory of these gloomy days;
Thy father's princely hall shall greet thee, while
Thy thought o'er long-departed glory strays;
Thy friends, thy countrymen, shall welcome thee,
Give thee their love, -- but pour their curse on me.
" Yet e'en my death may hallow'd thoughts inspire ;
From this scathed trunk may wisdom's blossoms grow.
My history shall check revengeful ire, --
None other Pole shall join his country's foe.
Why should a traitor live when he hath bound
His veil'd and sorrowing country to the ground? "
Thus spake the miserable man. A groan,
A dark and hollow groan the dungeon fill'd;
On her pale breast his snow-white head was thrown ;
Death's shade o'ershadow'd, -- and all was still'd.
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 171
So died the mighty Glin? ski: -- better lot
Might have been his, -- but he deserved it not.
This Duma is one of the most popular in Poland. It
is also the subject of one of the best of the Polish trag-
edies by Wenz? yk.
DUMA.
POTOCKI.
" S? uchajcie rycerze m? odzi. "
Come, listen youthful warriors, now,
While my sad tale of grief is told;
And let it kindle glory's glow
While it records the deeds of old.
For I will sing the glorious wreath
Which erst the patriot hero wore
Who nobly died a hero's death
While crown'd with laurel'd victory o'er.
Chmielnicki's fierce and savage band
Had ravaged our Podolia's vales;
The cries of mothers fill'd the land,
Wide-echoed round from hills and dales.
Our ploughmen from their fields are torn,
Our maidens shameless slavery prove,
Our shepherds are to exile borne, --
Not to be exiled from their love.
Potocki -- old and hoary -- stood
Proud in felicity and fame,
When the loud shrieks, the cry of blood,
Like soul-disturbing tempests came.
He sigh'd; a stream of tears roll'd down
His venerable cheeks, while thought
Rush'd on the brighter moments gone.
But age had come, and left him -- nought.
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? 172 POETS AND POETKY OF POLAND.
The will, but not the power, was there.
Down dropp'd the falchion from his grasp.
But see his hero son appear --
Spring on his steed -- the war-brand clasp.
Why should he waste in ease and sloth
The brightness of his morning star,
When virtue and when valor both
Had charm'd his ear with tales of war?
" My son," -- his eyes with tears were fill'd --
"Thy country groans! Go, warrior! be
Thy bosom now thy country's shield, --
Be worthy of thy sires and me !
Go ! -- for thy country live ! Be blest
With triumph glorious and renown'd!
So calmly shall I sink to rest
When I have seen thee victory-crown'd. "
A fond farewell sent forth his son,
When he had bound him to his breast.
He put the heavy armor on;
The while a golden helmet prest
The raven ringlets of his hair:
Yet ere he sought his warriors he
Saw midst many a maiden fair
His maiden at a balcony.
She was a maid of beauty rare --
The loveliest maid Podolia knew --
Fair as the morning rose is fair
When blushing and when bathed in dew.
And she was true to love and fame,
And young, -- and pledged her hand and heart
To him whose valiant sword should claim
In battle fray the bravest part.
Then drew the ardent hero nigh,
And lowly bent on reverent knee:
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 173
"O thou, my heart's felicity,
All, all life's sweets I owe to thee!
Now bless me in the field of death,
And smile upon me, struggling there.
My heart's best blood, my latest breath,
I'll pour for fame and thee, my fair! "
His heart was full -- he spoke no more.
Her eyes were wet -- the maid unbound
The snow-white scarf her bosom wore,
And girt the hero's shoulders round.
" Go! rescue what is lost! My vow
By this pure pledge shall fail thee never!
Be crown'd with bright affection now,
Be crown'd with bliss, with fame, forever! "
Meanwhile the piercing clarions sound,
The dust-clouds o'er the plains arise;
The troops of warriors gather round.
While helms and armor dim the eyes.
The courts, the gates, the lofty walls
A thousand anxious gazers show.
The slow-descending drawbridge falls,
While to the gory fight they go.
? Twas evening. Through a gloomy night
Toward the Yellow Lake they sped.
The morning came, but not in light, --
'Twas wrapp'd in clouds opaque and red.
The mighty army of Bogdan
Spread countless o'er the extended land;
The brave Potocki led the van,
To smite the innumerable band.
Then dreadful havoc's reign was spread,
The murd'rous fires of death were there;
Swords cleft the helm and helmed head,
And hissing arrows fill'd the air.
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? 174 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
The dauntless chieftain fought, -- he press'd
The foremost on the foe, -- when deep
A deadly arrow pierced his breast;
He fell, -- fell lock'd in endless sleep.
Yet victory crown'd our arms. 'Twas vain; --
It was no triumph ; -- He away,
Courage and joy were turn'd to pain.
They throng'd around him in dismay:
They bathed his wounds; they wash'd the gore
With tears, -- while round the corpse they stand
Then on their shields that corpse they bore,
Their hope -- and of their fatherland.
And on a green and woody glade
'Neath a proud tomb his dust they set;
They hung his armor and his blade,
And that white scarf, -- with blood 'twas wet.
And there through many a day forlorn,
His joy-abandon'd maiden went;
And from the evening to the morn
She pour'd -- she wept -- love's sad lament.
Sleep, noble hero! sweetly sleep
Within this dark and sacred wood;
The silent moon her watch shall keep
Upon thy gravestone's solitude.
And should some future warrior come,
And the decaying trophies see,
His eye may linger on thy tomb,
And learn to fight and die from thee.
* Translation of the four lines on the frontispiece :
Ye exiles, roaming through the world so helplessly and long,
When will your weary feet find rest, O broken-hearted throng !
The wild dove finds its hidden nest, the worm its native clod,
But Poland's son can only claim of earth a burial sod!
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? FASTI DI ANA. 175
FASTIDIAKA.
(GUZDRALSKA. )
A HUMOROUS TALE OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
In an old tatter'd chronicle, whose pages
Had been defaced and stain'd by ruthless time,-
A dusty fragment of departed ages,
When Casimir, the monk, o'er Poland's clime
As sovereign ruled, -- but older far than he, --
I found this strange, recorded history.
Near ? enczyca, upon a flowery mound,
A proud and noble mansion look'd around, --
Its name I have forgotten; and 'twere vain
To rack my broken memory again.
But an old manuscript that long was hid,
Moth-eaten, 'neath a crumbling coffer-lid;
It tired my weary, eyes, -- though I possess'd
A microscopic glass, -- the brightest, best,
Which magnified a hundredfold, at last
Gave me some light, -- and my reward was vast.
There lived a noble, whose proud wish aspired
To honor, -- and he found what he desired.
A Truchses* now, -- and next a Stolnikf. His
Were piles of wealth, -- and towns and palaces.
That matters not: his pride, his boastings were
Of his fair daughter. She was passing fair;
And bounteous Nature o'er that maiden threw
All charms man loves, and all he honors too.
She was a very queen of grace, whose skill
Play'd with the heart and wielded it at will.
* Wine-bearer: f Plate-bearer; -- titles at court.
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? 176 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
The story of her beauty, like a breeze
That bears perfume, spread through the provinces, --
Spread o'er the land ; and many a raptured youth
Laid at her feet the vows of love and truth.
They saw her, and were lost: a single glance
Of that bright, lovely, laughing countenance
Won all the soul. No wonder; -- the control
Of wit and beauty ever wins the soul.
And was she faultless ? No !