28th March-6th Oct. 1768.

and it was also he that contrived that wonderful plan of suddenly snapping up King Stanislaus from the streets of Warsaw one night,37 and of locking him away (by no means killing him), as the source of all our woes. Oh my Pulawskis, men not without manhood, what a bedlam of a Time have you and I fallen into, and what Causes of Freedom it has got in hand!

Bar, a poor place, with no defences but a dry ditch and some miserable earthworks, the Confederates had not the least chance to maintain; Kaminiec, the only fortress of the Province, they never even got into, finding some fraction of royal soldiery who stood for King Stanislaus there, and who fired on the Confederates when applied to. Bar a small Russian division, with certain Stanislaus soldieries conjoined, took by capitulation; and (date not given) entered in a victorious manner. The War-Epic of the Confederates, which Rulhière sings at such length, is blank of meaning.

Of "Cloister Czenstochow," a famed feat of Pulawski's, also without result, I could not from my Rulhière discover (what was altogether an illuminative fact to me!) that the date of Czenstochow was not till 1771. A feat of "Cloister Berdiczow," almost an exact fac-simile by the same Pulawski, also resultless, I did, under Hermann's guidance, at once find;-and hope the reader will be satisfied to accept it instead: Cloister Berdiczow, which lies in the Palatinate of Kiow; and which has a miraculous Holy Virgin, not less venerated far and wide in those eastern parts, than she of Cloister Czenstochow in the western: this Cloister Berdiczow and its salutary Virgin, Pulawski (the Casimir, now of Charlestown Harbour) did defend, with about 1,000 men, in a really obstinate way. The Monastery itself had in it gifts of the faithful accumulated for ages; and all the richest people in those Provinces, Confederate or not, had lodged their preciosities there, as in an impregnable and sure place, in those times of trouble. Intensely desirous, accordingly, the Russians were to take it, but had no cannon; desperately resolute Pulawski and his 1,000 to defend. Pulawski and his 1,000 fired intensely, till their cannonballs were quite done; then took to firing with iron-work, and hard miscellanies of every sort, especially glad when they could

373d November 1771.'

28th March-6th Oct. 1768.

get a haul of glass to load with;—and absolutely would not yield till famine came; though the terms offered were good,—had they been kept. So that Pulawski, it would appear, did Two Cloister Defences? Two, each with a miraculous Holy Virgin; an eastern, and then a westerly. This of Berdiczow, not dated to me farther, is for certain of the year 1768; and Pulawski, owing to famine, did yield here. In 1771, at miraculous Cloister Czenstochow, in the western parts, Pulawski did an external feat, or consented to see it done,-that of trying to snuff out poor King Stanislaus on the streets (3d November, 10 P.M., "miraculously" in vain, as most readers know),—which brought its obloquies and troubles on the Defender of Czenstochow. Obloquies and troubles: but as to surrendering Czenstochow on call of obloquy, or of famine itself, Pulawski would not, not he for his own part; but solemnly left his men to do it, and walked away by circuitous uncertain paths, which end in Charlestown Harbour, as we have seen. Defence of Czenstochow in 1771 shall not concern us farther. Truly these two small defences of monasteries by Pulawski are almost all, I do not say of glorious, but even of creditable or human, that reward the poor wanderer in that Polish Valley of Jehosaphat, much of it peat-country; wherefore I have, as before, marked the approximate localities, approximate dates, for behoof of ingenuous readers.

The Russians, ever since 1764, from the beginnings of those Stanislaus times, are pledged to maintain peace in Poland; and it is they that have to deal with this affair, they especially, or almost wholly, poor Stanislaus having scarcely any power, military or other, and perhaps being loth withal. There was more of investigating and parleying, bargaining and intriguing, than of fighting, on Stanislaus's part. 'June 11th, 1768,' says a Saxon Note from Warsaw, 'Mokranowski, Stanislaus's General' (the same that was with Friedrich), 'has been sent down to Bar to 'look into those Confederates. Mokranowski does not think 'there are above 8,000 of them; about 3,000 have got their death 'from Russian castigation. The 8,000 might be treated with, 'only Russians are so dreadfully severe, especially so intent on 'wringing money from them. Confederates have been complain

28th March-6th Oct. 1768.

'ing to the Turk; Turk ambiguous; gives them no definite ground of hope. "What, then, is your hope?" I inquired. “Little or none, except in Heaven," several answered: “it is 'for our religion and our liberty:" religion cut to pieces by this 'Dissident Toleration-blasphemy; liberty ditto by the Russian guarantee of peace among us: I what can we do but trust in 'God and our own despair?" "38 "Prave worts, Ancient Pistol," -but much destitute of sense, and not to be realised in present circumstances. Here is something much more critical:

66

June-July 1768. The peasants in the Southern regions, 'Palatinates Podol, Kiow, Braclaw, called Ukraine or Border'Country by the Poles, are mostly of Greek and other schismatic 'creeds. Their Lords are of an orthodox religion, and not distinguished by mild treatment of such Peasantry, upon whom civil 'war and plunder have been latterly a sore visitation. To com'plete the matter, the Confederates in certain quarters, blown upon by fanatical priests, set about converting these poor peasants, or forcing them, at the point of the bayonet, to swear 'that they adopt the "Greek united rite," which I suppose to 'be a kind of halfway house towards perfect orthodoxy. In one "Village, which was getting converted in this manner, the military party seemed to be small; the Village boiled over upon it; trampled orthodoxy and military both under foot, in a violent ' and sanguinary manner; and was extremely frightened when it had done. Extremely frightened, not the Village only, but the schismatic mind generally in those parts, dreading vengeance 'for such a paroxysm. But the atrocious Russians whispered them, "We are here to protect you in your religions and rights, ' in your poor consciences and skins." Upon which hint of the ❝ atrocious Russians, the schismatic mind and population one and all rose; and, "with the cannibal's ferocity, gave way to their appetite for plunder !"

*

'Nay, the Russian Government' (certain Russian Officials hard pressed) 'had invited the Zaporavian Cossacks to step over 'from their Islands in the Dniester, and assist in defending their 'Religion' (true Greek, of course); 'who at once did so; and not ' only extinguished the last glimmer of Confederation there, but

เ

38 Essen's Report, 11th June 1768' (in Hermann, v. 441).

28th March-6th Oct. 1768.

'overwhelmed the Country, thousands on thousands of them, ' attended by revolted peasants,-say a 20,000 of peasants under 'command of these Zaporavians,-who went about plundering and burning. That they plundered the Jew pothouses of their 'brandy, and drank it, was a small matter. Very furious upon 'Jews, upon Noblemen, Landlords, upon Catholic Priests. "On 'one tree" (tree should have been noted) "was found hanged a specimen of each of those classes, with a Dog adjoined, as fit 'company." In one little Town, Town of Human' (so-called in that foreign dialect), 'getting some provocation or other, they set 'to massacring; and if brandy were plentiful, we can suppose 'they made short work. By the lowest computation the number ' of slain Jews and Catholics amounted to 10,000 odd39—Rulhière says "50,000, by some accounts 200,000." This I guess to have been at its height about the end of June; this leads direct to the Catastrophe, as will presently be seen.

Foreign States don't seem to pay much attention,—indeed, what sane person would like to interfere, or hope to do it with profit? France, Austria, both wish well to Poland, at least ill to Russia; Choiseul has no finance, can do nothing but intrigue, and stir up trouble everywhere: a devout Kaiserin goes with Holy Church, and disapproves of these Dissident Tolerations: it is remarked that all through 1768 the Confederates of Bar are permitted to retire over the Austrian Frontier into Austrian Silesia, and find themselves there in safety. Permitted to buy arms, to make preparations, issue orders: at Sulkowski's Bilitz, in the Duchy of Teschen, supreme Managing Committee sits there; no Kaunitz or Official person meddling with it. About the beginning of next year (1769), it is, ostensibly, a little discountenanced; and obliged to go to Eperjes, on the Hungarian Frontier40 (as a more decent, or less conspicuous place),—such trouble now rising; a Turk War having broken out, momentous not to the Confederation alone. March 1769, the ever-intriguing Choiseul,-fancy with what rapturous effect,-had sent some kind of Agent or Visitor to Teschen; Vergennes in Turkey, from the beginning of these things, has been plying night and day his

29 Hermann, v. 444; Rulhière, iii. 93.

See Büsching: for Eperjes, ii. 1427; for Bilitz, viii. 885.

28th March-6th Oct. 1768. diplomatic bellows upon every live-coal ("I who myself kindled this Turk-War!" brags he afterwards);-not till next year (1770) did Choiseul send his Dumouriez to the Bilitz neighbourhoods; not till next again, when Choiseul was himself out, did his Vioménil come:42 neither of whom, by their own head alone, without funds, without troops, could do other than with fine effort make bad worse.

41

It is needless continuing such a subject. Here is one glimpse two years later, and it shall be our last: 'Near Lublin, 25th Sep'tember 1770. It is frightful, all this that is passing in these parts, about the Town of Labun, for example. The dead 'bodies remain without burial; they are devoured by the dogs ' and the pigs.' 'Everywhere reigns Pestilence; nor 'do we fear contagion so much as famine. Offer 100 ducats for a fowl or for a bit of bread, I swear you won't get it. • General von Essen' (Russian, we will hope) 'has had to escape 'from Laticzew, then from' some other place, 'Pestilence chasing him everywhere.'

To apply to the Turks,-afflicted Polish Patriots prostrating themselves with the hope of despair, "Save us, your sublime Clemency; throw a ray of pity on us, Brother of the Sun and Moon: oh, chastise our diabolic oppressors !"-this was one of the first resources of the Bar Confederates. The Turks did give ear; not inattentive, though pretending to be rather deaf. M. de Vergennes, of whose 'diplomatic bellows' we just heard (in fact, for diligence in this Turk element, in this young time, the like of him was seldom seen; we knew him long afterwards as a diligent old gentleman, in French Revolution days),—M. de Vergennes zealously supports; zealous to let loose the Turk upon Anti-French parties. The Turks seem to wag their heads, for some time; and their responses are ambiguous. For some time, not for long. Here, fast enough, comes, in disguised shape, the Catastrophe itself, ye poor plaintive Poles!

"Thrown out, '2d December 1770,'-by Louis's new Pompadour.

42 Hermann, v. 469-471; in Rulhière (iv. 241-289), account of Dumouriez and his fencings and spyings, still more of Vioménil, who had "French Volunteers," and did some bits of real fighting on the small scale.