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tentions, and restore the interrupted happiness of his subjects. Accordingly, the new emperor signed a treaty with Great Britain, in which the English gave up some of their claims; the right of search was limited, and the articles deemed contraband in war were diminished, and more clearly ascertained and defined.

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POLAND.

(NOW PART OF THE RUSSIAN, PRUSSIAN, AND AUSTRIAN DOMINIONS.)

CHAP. I.

Description of Poland, and its History till the Extinction of the Family of Fiastus.

OLAND, which is denominated by the natives Poloka, a Sclavonian word, signifying a level or champain country, is composed of vast plains, which were anciently covered with woods that abounded with wild beasts and game of every kind. In its original extent, Poland, with the annexed duchy of Lithuania, was bounded on the north by Livonia, Muscovy, and the Baltic sea; on the east by Muscovy; on the south by Hungary, Turkey, and little Tartary; and on the west by Germany and extended from forty-seven degrees and forty minutes to fifty-six degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude; and from sixteen to thirty-four degrees of east longitude from London. Its greatest length was about seven hundred miles, and its breadth, at a medium, about five hundred; and had the form of its goverment been as perfect as its situation was compact and favourable for commerce, it might, perhaps, have been one of the richest, happiest, and most powerful kingdoms in the universe.

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As this is an extensive and champain country, the air, as might naturally be expected, is salubrious, but cold, especially in the more northern districts. The summits of the Carpathian mountains, which form a barrier between Poland and Hungary, are covered with eternal snow, that not unusually falls in the middle of summer. The climate, however, is generally temperate and settled, and the weather is less variable, either in summer or in winter, than in most of the hyperborean regions.

The principal rivers in Poland are the Duna, which rising in Russia, discharges its waters into the Baltic; the Memel, which has its source in the palatinate of Novogrodac, and empties itself into the Baltic; the Wiesel or Vistula, which issuing from the Carpathian mountains, at last enters the Baltic; the Niester, which rises in a lake among the Carpathian mountains, and falls into the Black Sea; and the Nieper, or Bo risthenes of antiquity, which has its source in Russia, and after a course of nearly a thousand miles, discharges itself into the Black Sea.

The natives of Poland have long been celebrated for their personal strength, courage, and longevity. There are few nations in which the people enjoy a greater share of health; which may undoubtedly be ascribed to the temperature of the climate, the sobriety of the people, and their constant habits of exercise. They also inure themselves to the use of the cold bath, which produces the same effects, and conduces to the vigour of the body. In their general character, the nobles are open, affable, liberal, and hospitable; polite to strangers, rigid to their vassals and dependants, delicate in points of hoN 3

nour,

nour, and vain, ostentatious, and magnificent, in their manner of living, apparel, and equipage. Though their country is naturally fertile, the nobles are poor, and despise the idea of improving their fortunes by trade and industry. They are, perhaps, the only people of the universe, who, by an express law, prohibited the formation of a marine establishment. The nobles are from their infancy instructed in literature, and are able to speak the latin language, but not with great correctness. With regard to the commonalty, they are ignorant, mercenary, mean, indigent, and were formerly slaves in the full extent of the term; being liable to imprisonment, sale, barter, stripes, nay death itself, at the will of their unfeeling and tyrannical masters. But though these are the general leading features of this nation, it would be unjust and uncandid not to suppose, that there are many, even in the lower ranks of life, who are distinguished for their probity, learning, and humanity.

To the account which we have already given of the love of splendour which prevails among the Polish nobility, it may not be improper to add, that whenever they dine or sup, trumpets and other music usually play, and a number of gentlemen attend them, all of whom behave with the greatest obsequiousness and respect. This is a consequence of superior opulence; for, though the whole nobility of Poland are considered as equal, and on a level, yet wealth creates a manifest and real distinction, and those who are in indigent circumstances, are frequently compelled to serve the rich. Notwithstanding, however, this difference on

account

account of opulence, the patron generally treats his inferiors with great apparent civility, permits the senior to sit with him at table without his cap, and grants to each of them a menial servant who waits on him, and who is maintained at the expence of the master of the fam ily.

The inhabitants of Poland, who have an almost insuperable aversion to living or sleeping above stairs, have chiefly only ground floors in their houses. The part which they inhabit generally fronts the gate, and the kitchens and offices occupy one side, and the stables the other. The materials, with which they usually build their houses, are wood; but some of the finest dwellings are made of brick or stone, and formed after the Italian stile of architecture. The most elegant, however, of their habitations, though richly furnished, are destitute of their principal ornament, having seldom any gardens or orchards, which even in less fertile countries are seldom neglected. The dwellings of the peasants are in every respect mean and disagreeable, and are only circular huts built with poles, and left open at the top in order to emit the smoke and admit the light. These habitations are covered with thatch, or boards; and as they frequently consist of only one room, the master, his family, and cattle, generally repose in peaceful association.

The Poles commonly travel on horseback, and so fond are they of this conveyance, that they will not undertake the shortest journey without it. They are extremely hardy, and frequently sleep on the ground in frost and snow, without

any

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