chosen victims were persons eminent for their rank, attainments, virtues, and patriotism; not that noisy and presumptuous quality miscalled patriotism, which displays itself in idle declamation and useless turbulence, but in that silent devotion to the best interests of their country, illustrated by improving its condition and by promoting every measure calculated to benefit the people. The individuals so arrested were declared by an imperial ordinance to be guilty, in defiance of an acquittal by the senate, which alone could legally investigate the charges. The imperial decree then issued, condemning the accused to imprisonment, exile, and every penalty that unprincipled caprice could suggest. In this career of criminal folly a singular step was taken, without the chief movers conceiving it possible to important effects in the sequel.

produce some most

The whole of the

alleged offences were published, the defence suppressed; but, as these offences involved only what every Pole felt to be a sacred duty, the disclosure produced fresh ardour in the cause, and led to the establishment of innumerable other associations, all of which conduced mainly to the recent explosion.

Among the illustrious men there is a gentleman, now in London, whose personal sufferings may be considered a fair example of the system pursued. His career may be described as one of pain and misery. His father a distinguished champion of the liberties of his country at the period of the last partition was expatriated: being accompanied with his

wife, the subject of the present detail was born during their flight, and was seized with his father's property by the government! He was placed with a man who appears to have possessed some of the feelings of humanity; for on the death of his own child, he reported the stranger to be dead, at the same time restoring him to his parents. Subsequently to the establishment of the Duchy of Warsaw, he entered the service of Napoleon, and served with distinction, but was taken prisoner in 1812, and was three years in prison. After the cession to Russia, and the establishment of the kingdom, he wished to retire from military life; and, after fourteen refusals to accept his resignation, the permission to retire was most ungraciously granted. His pertinacity had offended, and his integrity made him a marked man.

Accord

ingly, on the occasion of which we speak, he was arrested, (having at that time previously spent about seven years in Russian prisons,) and without condemnation placed in a dark dungeon, where for eleven months he neither saw the face of man nor the light of day. At the expiration of that time he, with others, was suddenly taken from their cells, thrown into common carts, and conveyed under a burning sun to St. Petersburg, where he was kept in rigorous custody, until he had completed his fourth year of additional captivity. Almost at the moment of his arrest he had been married to a lovely and amiable female he had no intercourse with his family during his wearisome confinement; and when he returned to

be cheered by domestic affection, he found that he had become a father, but that his wife, worn out by her feelings, was no longer the beautiful partner of his hopes and fears, but an exhausted being, dropping fast into her grave.-She died in two months! Acts like these necessarily roused that spirit, which has since spoken in the voice of thunder to the oppressor. The suppressed indignation burst forth on the 30th of November 1830, in the following manner :-The police of the Grand Duke, ever on the alert to render themselves acceptable to their master, by affording him objects on which he might wreak his ruthless passions, planned an association for the purpose of involving the most respectable and distinguished persons in Poland; and for that purpose inveigled a number of ardent youths, just after the revolution in Paris, to attend meetings, and to avow patriotic opinions. The prime conspirator, either from indolence, or a belief that there might be danger in devising a new organisation for the association, used that which had been discovered during the early proceedings against the patriots. A copy of this scheme falling into the hands of some of the members of the actual associations, excited a suspicion that they had been betrayed; and the recollection of former horrors decided them to take instant measures for liberating themselves from their detestable thraldom.

Constantine had established a school for the education of inferior officers, with a view to destroying the national character in the army. The numbers at

this establishment were at this time 180, of whom not more than six or eight were parties to the association. These however, early in the evening of the day already mentioned, went into their barrack, addressed their comrades, explained their views, and without a single dissentient, not even excepting one individual who was sick in bed, they armed themselves, and commenced their operations.

In order to understand their proceedings, it is necessary to give a short account of local circumstances. The Grand Duke, though affecting a reckless courage on all occasions, did not choose to incur the risk of living in the centre of Warsaw, but established himself at the palace of Belveder in the outskirts of the city, having at a short distance the barracks of three regiments of Russian guards. From some whimsical motive he surrounded the barrack with a wide and deep ditch, over which some very narrow bridges were thrown, so that by boats it was most conveniently crossed. Constantine had no guards about his residence, but the disguised spies were so numerous, that no stranger could approach beyond the outer gate without interruption. The habits of the Grand Duke, too, favoured the plan of the conspirators. His usual practice was to rise at four, to appear among the troops and in public until his hour of dinner, which is two in the afternoon; then to retire to bed, sleep until seven or eight o'clock, then rise again and devote himself to amusement for the evening. The hour chosen for proceeding to his palace,

for the purpose of making him a prisoner to be detained as an hostage, was seven. At that time the young soldiers proceeded to the bridge of Sobieski, where the main body posted themselves, while a dozen of the most determined pressed forward to complete their object. They forced their way into the palace, where they were first opposed by the director of the police, one Lubowidizki, who fled on being wounded: next they encountered the Russian General Gendre, a man infamous for his crimes; he was killed in the act of resisting. Lastly, when on the point of reaching the bedchamber of the Grand Duke, who alarmed had just risen, they were stopped by the valet-dechambre Kochanowski, who by closing a secret door enabled his master to escape undressed through the window. He fled to his guards, who instantly turned out. Disappointed in their prey, the devoted band rejoined their companions at the bridge of Sobieski, where they had been awaiting the result of the plan. On finding that the first object had failed, they resolved on returning into the city. In doing this, it was necessary to pass close to the barracks, where the soldiers were already mounted, but unable to cross the ditch from the precautionary arrangements of the small bridges. They could therefore only fire on the hostile party, who from being thus peculiarly situated, returned the fire so briskly that they killed 300 before they retreated, carrying off only one of their party wounded. On reaching the city, they instantly liberated every state prisoner,