Historical
Recollections
of Poland as it has
been (1822), 4 vols.
been (1822), 4 vols.
Poland - 1881 - Poets and Poetry of Poland
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? TREMBECKI. 153
the French court of Louis XV. He fought thirty duels,
the cause of almost every one being women. Returning
to his country he became chamberlain to King Stanis-
laus Augustus; from this time hence he lived at War-
saw, and was engaged in the, composition of different
kinds of verses. After the abdication of King Ponia-
towski he remained with him continually at Grodno
and St. Petersburg. After the king's death he resided
at Tulczyn, in the Province of Podolia, at Count
Potocki' s manor. For thirty years he never ate meat
nor drank any wine. Toward the end of his life he
associated with but very few, and scarcely left his
house. He spent one clay in the week giving alms.
He died in 1812.
All his works were published in 1828, in two vol-
umes, at Breslau, and in Leipsic in 1806 and 1836.
Quite a learned dissertation on Trembecki's poetry was
published by Hippolitus Klimaszewski in 1830. "Zo-
fio? wka" was translated into French by De Lagarde.
BALLOON.
Where the eagle in his rapid flight
With strong pursuit the birds do scare --
And lurid thunderbolts with angry might
Rush through the regions of the air.
A strange pair whom fear has never checked,
Resolved to o'ercome Nature's laws;
And striking the road where Icarus wrecked,
Soared through the clouds without a pause.
With gas the vehicle the pair innate,
Upward the air its course inclines --
Its chains are threads, its rudder is fate,
They are competing with the winds.
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? 154 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
The lofty, gorgeous houses, one by one,
Lessen and disappear from sight,
And looking from the trap of the balloon --
A ruined heap they all unite.
The broad Vistula, so august and grand,
Looked like a stream whose drops would fail,
Its width like a finger from a child's hand,
Though it flowed grandly in the vale.
Yet some attribute wonders strangely great
To this unsafe and crazy craft,
Perhaps 'tis so, yet I may truly state,
Wise men have at their judgment laughed.
Yet we admit that Nature's giant might
Has burst strong walls of stone and steel,
Man's wisdom, too, all obstacles shall smite --
But give him time with work and zeal.
With gallant ships his fertile brain has filled
The stormy and the pathless main,
Of gems to rob the ocean he is skilled --
Eternal rocks he rends in twain.
The mighty elements their wrath forego
Under his skilled and wise command;
He bids the waters leave the valleys low,
And mountains sink to level land !
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? NIEMCEWICZ.
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 157
NIEMCEWICZ.
With pleasure Heaven itself surveys
A brave man struggling in the storms of fate,
And greatly falling with the falling state. Pope.
Julian Ursin Niemcewicz, secretary to the senate of
the kingdom of Poland, and soon after a senator,
president of the Royal Society of Science of Warsaw,
and member of many literary societies in Europe and
America, was born of an ancient and respectable family
in Lithuania, in the year 1T5S. As citizen, statesman,
author, historian, and poet, he shone with an eclat
unparalleled since the clays of Crichton. While still
very young he was elected representative of the palati-
nate of Polish Livonia to the diets of 1788 and 1792.
Much civil courage was requisite in those assemblies to
combat the menaces and intrigues of the factions, and
much activity to repress the turbulence of the people;
for in addition to the dangers to be apprehended from
exterior enemies, the ambition, interest, and prejudices
of the great, and the ignorance of the people, were
opposed to the efforts of the patriots.
The young Niemcewicz, endowed with a generous
mind and superior talents, knew how to merit this
doubje praise. Amidst the representatives of his
country his eloquence was poured forth in defense of
the sacred cause of rational liberty, and sustained the
rights of the peasant against the usurped privileges of
the aristocrat when this important question was before
the house. To disseminate his principles he united
with two of his colleagues, -- the castellan Thadeus
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? 158 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
Mostowski, and the representative of Livonia, Joseph
Weyssenhoff, in publishing a political journal; and
notwithstanding the s-hort duration of " The Foreign
and National Gazette " (1st January, 1791), it rendered
important service to the public cause. The muse of
Niemcewicz, by chanting in spirited strains the exploits
of the heroes of his country, kindled the torch of
patriotism in the breasts of their compatriots. The
laurel that entwines the brow of the hero would wither
in his tomb if, like that of Achilles, it were not pre-
served by the bard in unfading freshness. Niemcewicz
also made the theater subservient to his ruling passion.
One of his comedies, the "Return of the Representa-
tive," displays equally his talents and public spirit.
During the public fetes on the anniversary of the 3d
of May, 1791, a new drama (Casimir the Great) had
the honor of embellishing the national rejoicings,
adding to his fame, and acquiring lasting and deserved
popularity. The memorable day on which it was
enacted was the last of Poland's happiness. A handful
of traitors, bribed by the empress, Catharine III, sup-
ported by her troops, and encouraged by the shameful
irresolution of King Stanislaus Augustus, with the deadly
blight of their treason blasted the councils of the
brave, and prepared for the ruin of their unfortunate
country. But Poland did not yield without covering
herself with immortal glory during the last moments
of her political existence. The illustrious Kos? ciuszko
raised the standard of independence, and placed him-
self at the head of those brave men who resolved to
bury themselves under the ruins of their country. The
young Niemcewicz became aid-de-camp to the general-
issimo. It was he who composed the proclamations,
orders of the day, and bulletins of the battles, -- all
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 1 59
dictated by ardent love for Poland and for glory. But
when, after unhoped-for success, the fatal day of the
10th of October, 1794, covered Poland with mourning,
and Kos? ciuszko, pierced with wounds, fell into the
hands of the enemy on the field of Macieiowice, the
brave Niemcewicz, also grievously wounded, shared
his fate. They were sent, with a number of other
illustrious victims, to the dungeons of St. Petersburg.
In their solitary confinement they mourned over the
fate of Poland until the accession of Paul I to the
throne of Russia restored 14,000 Polanders, dispersed
through Siberia and the different strongholds of the
vast Russian empire, to liberty. But the virtuous
Niemcewicz seemed destined to form an exception to
the amnesty of 1797. Niemcewicz still inspired the
new czar with suspicion. "I fear," said Paul, "that
his ardent mind, vast intellectual powers, and persua-
sive eloquence will excite new troubles in my empire. "
The entreaties of Kos? ciuszko overcame the fears of the
czar, and Niemcewicz followed his immortal friend into
that refuge of oppressed virtue, the hospitable land
of America. In exile, as well as in captivity, he found
in letters his chief consolation. It was in his Russian
prison that he composed his beautiful translation of the
"Rape of the Lock," and of "Racine's Athalia. "
Desirous of seeing his family he sailed for Warsaw in
1809, and there published his works in twelve volumes.
Received into the Scientific Society, he joined in their
labors, and wrote some political tracts, which are
greatly esteemed. It was in Paris, in 1803, that he
was invited into Russia, where the government offered
him employment; but disdaining to serve the spoilers
of his country, he refused the offers of Alexander, and
returned to America, where he married a lady native of
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? 160 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
]STew Jersey, whose talents and agreeable qualities
formed the frequent theme of his muse during his short
visit to Europe. During his former visit to America
he had, with his general, Kos? ciuszko, been admitted into
the friendship of the immortal Washington. In the verd-
ant groves of his charming residence in Mount Yernon,
and on the banks of the superb Potomac, Niemcewicz
mused on the condition of his beloved Poland, or con-
templated the august' figure of the most virtuous of
Americans, until his sentiments of respect and venera-
tion for this hero found utterance in his biography of
George Washington. The events of 1806, the creation
of the grand duchy of Warsaw, and their hopes of
the complete restoration of Poland, caused many of
her patriots to return thither, and among the rest
JN? iemcewicz, who was nominated . secretary to the
senate -- an office he filled until 1830. The muses
were his relaxation, science and his duties as a states-
man his occupation, and the veneration of his com-
patriots his solace. Frederick Augustus, King of
Saxony and Grand Duke of Warsaw, conferred upon
him the order of St. Stanislaus. He was afterward
nominated a member of the Directory of Public In-
struction; he devoted himself to this honorable office,
which he retained until 1821, when an absolute system
adopted anew by Stanislaus Grabowski, senator and
minister of public instruction, made him resign it.
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.
? TREMBECKI. 153
the French court of Louis XV. He fought thirty duels,
the cause of almost every one being women. Returning
to his country he became chamberlain to King Stanis-
laus Augustus; from this time hence he lived at War-
saw, and was engaged in the, composition of different
kinds of verses. After the abdication of King Ponia-
towski he remained with him continually at Grodno
and St. Petersburg. After the king's death he resided
at Tulczyn, in the Province of Podolia, at Count
Potocki' s manor. For thirty years he never ate meat
nor drank any wine. Toward the end of his life he
associated with but very few, and scarcely left his
house. He spent one clay in the week giving alms.
He died in 1812.
All his works were published in 1828, in two vol-
umes, at Breslau, and in Leipsic in 1806 and 1836.
Quite a learned dissertation on Trembecki's poetry was
published by Hippolitus Klimaszewski in 1830. "Zo-
fio? wka" was translated into French by De Lagarde.
BALLOON.
Where the eagle in his rapid flight
With strong pursuit the birds do scare --
And lurid thunderbolts with angry might
Rush through the regions of the air.
A strange pair whom fear has never checked,
Resolved to o'ercome Nature's laws;
And striking the road where Icarus wrecked,
Soared through the clouds without a pause.
With gas the vehicle the pair innate,
Upward the air its course inclines --
Its chains are threads, its rudder is fate,
They are competing with the winds.
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? 154 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
The lofty, gorgeous houses, one by one,
Lessen and disappear from sight,
And looking from the trap of the balloon --
A ruined heap they all unite.
The broad Vistula, so august and grand,
Looked like a stream whose drops would fail,
Its width like a finger from a child's hand,
Though it flowed grandly in the vale.
Yet some attribute wonders strangely great
To this unsafe and crazy craft,
Perhaps 'tis so, yet I may truly state,
Wise men have at their judgment laughed.
Yet we admit that Nature's giant might
Has burst strong walls of stone and steel,
Man's wisdom, too, all obstacles shall smite --
But give him time with work and zeal.
With gallant ships his fertile brain has filled
The stormy and the pathless main,
Of gems to rob the ocean he is skilled --
Eternal rocks he rends in twain.
The mighty elements their wrath forego
Under his skilled and wise command;
He bids the waters leave the valleys low,
And mountains sink to level land !
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? NIEMCEWICZ.
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 157
NIEMCEWICZ.
With pleasure Heaven itself surveys
A brave man struggling in the storms of fate,
And greatly falling with the falling state. Pope.
Julian Ursin Niemcewicz, secretary to the senate of
the kingdom of Poland, and soon after a senator,
president of the Royal Society of Science of Warsaw,
and member of many literary societies in Europe and
America, was born of an ancient and respectable family
in Lithuania, in the year 1T5S. As citizen, statesman,
author, historian, and poet, he shone with an eclat
unparalleled since the clays of Crichton. While still
very young he was elected representative of the palati-
nate of Polish Livonia to the diets of 1788 and 1792.
Much civil courage was requisite in those assemblies to
combat the menaces and intrigues of the factions, and
much activity to repress the turbulence of the people;
for in addition to the dangers to be apprehended from
exterior enemies, the ambition, interest, and prejudices
of the great, and the ignorance of the people, were
opposed to the efforts of the patriots.
The young Niemcewicz, endowed with a generous
mind and superior talents, knew how to merit this
doubje praise. Amidst the representatives of his
country his eloquence was poured forth in defense of
the sacred cause of rational liberty, and sustained the
rights of the peasant against the usurped privileges of
the aristocrat when this important question was before
the house. To disseminate his principles he united
with two of his colleagues, -- the castellan Thadeus
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? 158 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
Mostowski, and the representative of Livonia, Joseph
Weyssenhoff, in publishing a political journal; and
notwithstanding the s-hort duration of " The Foreign
and National Gazette " (1st January, 1791), it rendered
important service to the public cause. The muse of
Niemcewicz, by chanting in spirited strains the exploits
of the heroes of his country, kindled the torch of
patriotism in the breasts of their compatriots. The
laurel that entwines the brow of the hero would wither
in his tomb if, like that of Achilles, it were not pre-
served by the bard in unfading freshness. Niemcewicz
also made the theater subservient to his ruling passion.
One of his comedies, the "Return of the Representa-
tive," displays equally his talents and public spirit.
During the public fetes on the anniversary of the 3d
of May, 1791, a new drama (Casimir the Great) had
the honor of embellishing the national rejoicings,
adding to his fame, and acquiring lasting and deserved
popularity. The memorable day on which it was
enacted was the last of Poland's happiness. A handful
of traitors, bribed by the empress, Catharine III, sup-
ported by her troops, and encouraged by the shameful
irresolution of King Stanislaus Augustus, with the deadly
blight of their treason blasted the councils of the
brave, and prepared for the ruin of their unfortunate
country. But Poland did not yield without covering
herself with immortal glory during the last moments
of her political existence. The illustrious Kos? ciuszko
raised the standard of independence, and placed him-
self at the head of those brave men who resolved to
bury themselves under the ruins of their country. The
young Niemcewicz became aid-de-camp to the general-
issimo. It was he who composed the proclamations,
orders of the day, and bulletins of the battles, -- all
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? NIEMCEWICZ. 1 59
dictated by ardent love for Poland and for glory. But
when, after unhoped-for success, the fatal day of the
10th of October, 1794, covered Poland with mourning,
and Kos? ciuszko, pierced with wounds, fell into the
hands of the enemy on the field of Macieiowice, the
brave Niemcewicz, also grievously wounded, shared
his fate. They were sent, with a number of other
illustrious victims, to the dungeons of St. Petersburg.
In their solitary confinement they mourned over the
fate of Poland until the accession of Paul I to the
throne of Russia restored 14,000 Polanders, dispersed
through Siberia and the different strongholds of the
vast Russian empire, to liberty. But the virtuous
Niemcewicz seemed destined to form an exception to
the amnesty of 1797. Niemcewicz still inspired the
new czar with suspicion. "I fear," said Paul, "that
his ardent mind, vast intellectual powers, and persua-
sive eloquence will excite new troubles in my empire. "
The entreaties of Kos? ciuszko overcame the fears of the
czar, and Niemcewicz followed his immortal friend into
that refuge of oppressed virtue, the hospitable land
of America. In exile, as well as in captivity, he found
in letters his chief consolation. It was in his Russian
prison that he composed his beautiful translation of the
"Rape of the Lock," and of "Racine's Athalia. "
Desirous of seeing his family he sailed for Warsaw in
1809, and there published his works in twelve volumes.
Received into the Scientific Society, he joined in their
labors, and wrote some political tracts, which are
greatly esteemed. It was in Paris, in 1803, that he
was invited into Russia, where the government offered
him employment; but disdaining to serve the spoilers
of his country, he refused the offers of Alexander, and
returned to America, where he married a lady native of
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? 160 POETS AND POETRY OF POLAND.
]STew Jersey, whose talents and agreeable qualities
formed the frequent theme of his muse during his short
visit to Europe. During his former visit to America
he had, with his general, Kos? ciuszko, been admitted into
the friendship of the immortal Washington. In the verd-
ant groves of his charming residence in Mount Yernon,
and on the banks of the superb Potomac, Niemcewicz
mused on the condition of his beloved Poland, or con-
templated the august' figure of the most virtuous of
Americans, until his sentiments of respect and venera-
tion for this hero found utterance in his biography of
George Washington. The events of 1806, the creation
of the grand duchy of Warsaw, and their hopes of
the complete restoration of Poland, caused many of
her patriots to return thither, and among the rest
JN? iemcewicz, who was nominated . secretary to the
senate -- an office he filled until 1830. The muses
were his relaxation, science and his duties as a states-
man his occupation, and the veneration of his com-
patriots his solace. Frederick Augustus, King of
Saxony and Grand Duke of Warsaw, conferred upon
him the order of St. Stanislaus. He was afterward
nominated a member of the Directory of Public In-
struction; he devoted himself to this honorable office,
which he retained until 1821, when an absolute system
adopted anew by Stanislaus Grabowski, senator and
minister of public instruction, made him resign it.
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.
