POTOCKI POT-POURRI. 



67J 



pupils. All his works, except tlie Pandects, are 

 contained in the edition of Siffrein (Paris, 1821 23, 

 17 vols., 8vo.) 



POTOCKI ; the name of an ancient Polish family, 

 of which we shall here mention several of the most 

 distinguished members. 



1. Count Paul was an illustrious statesman and 

 scholar of the seventeenth century, whose works 

 were published by Zaluski, with the addition of a 

 Genealogia Potochiana. 



2. Count Anthony, grandson of the preceding, 

 was ambassador of Augustus II. to Russia, and, in 

 the reign of Augustus III., marshal of the nobility. 

 H is masterly speeches are, in part, given in Daney- 

 kowicz's Sitaila Polona. 



3. Count Stanislaus Felix, the commander of the 

 Polish artillery, acted an important part in the 

 troubles of 1788. He adhered pertinaciously to the 

 old constitution of the republic, and exerted his 

 influence against the constitution of May 3, 1791. 

 (See Poland.) Potocki so far forgot his duty to his 

 country as to form connexions with Russia, and, in 

 May, 1792, joined with Rzewuski and Branicki in 

 the declaration at Targowicz against the constitu- 

 tion. He then united himself with the Russian 

 army, and was one of the leaders of the diet of 

 Grodno, which abolished the constitution, and sub- 

 scribed the act for the partition of the country. 

 (See Poniatowski.) He was thought to aspire to 

 the crown, and received several important appoint- 

 ments from Catharine II. When the Cracow con- 

 federation, under Kosciusko, Kolontay, Ignatius 

 Potocki, &c., had occasioned the expulsion of the 

 Russians from Warsaw and Wilna,he fled to Russia, 

 and was condemned by the suprenu tribunal of the 

 republic as a traitor to his country, and his estates 

 were confiscated. Catharine, however, restored his 

 estates, and made him comniander-in-chief. He 

 died in 1803. 



4. Count Ignatius, his cousin, born 1751, grand 

 marshal of Lithuania, united with Malachowski, 

 Kolontay, and other patriots in support of the con- 

 stitution of May 3, 1791. He also procured the 

 declaration of the king in favour of it, and, in 1792, 

 went to Berlin for the purpose of inducing the 

 Prussian court to protect the Poles from Russia. 

 When the Russian troops took possession of the 

 country, Potocki fled to Dresden, and was deprived 

 of his estates. In 1794, he returned to Warsaw to 

 engage in the attempt of Kosciusko, was appointed 

 general and member of the supreme national coun- 

 cil. After the capture of Warsaw, he remained in 

 the city, trusting to the capitulation concluded with 

 Suwarroff, but he was arrested in December, and 

 confined as a state prisoner in Russia, until he was 

 released by Paul in 1796. In 1806, he again en- 

 gaged in public affairs, and exerted himself to effect 

 the abolition of slavery, and to promote the pro- 

 gress of education among the people. He died in 

 1809. 



5. Count Stanislaus Kost&a, his brother, was al- 

 ways faithful to the cause of his unfortunate coun- 

 try. He distinguished himself greatly by his infor- 

 mation and his eloquence, in the various diets which 

 were held between 1788 and 1792. In the latter 

 year he became general of artillery. When the king 

 acceded to the confederation of Targowicz, and by 

 that false step consummated the ruin of Poland, 

 count Potocki retired into Austria ; but he was ar- 

 rested there, and imprisoned in a fortress. On 

 being restored to liberty, there being no hope of 

 breaking the chains of his countrymen, he retired 

 to his estate, and devoted himself to the sciences and 

 arts. When, however, the French penetrated, in 

 1807, into Poland, he rallied around him the friends 



of independence ; and, on the grand- duchy of War- 

 saw being established, he was chosen one of thu 

 plenipotentiaries to Napoleon. While the grand- 

 duchy existed, he held various high offices. When 

 Napoleon meditated the restoration of the ancient 

 kingdom of Poland, Potocki's talent and influence 

 were called into action by him ; and the abbe de 

 Pradt pays to the count a warm tribute of praise on 

 this occasion. In 1815, count Potocki was appointed 

 minister for ecclesiastical affairs and public instruc- 

 tion, and was afterwards chosen president of the 

 senate. He died in 1822. He was the author of 

 a work on eloquence, and of a Polish translation of 

 Winckelmann's work on art. 



POTOMAC ; a river which rises in the Alle- 

 ghany mountains, and forms, through its whole 

 course, the boundary between Maryland and Vir- 

 ginia. It passes by Shepherdstown, Georgetown, 

 Washington city, Alexandria, and other places, and 

 flows into Chesapeake bay, between point Look-out 

 and Smith's point. It is seven and a half miles 

 wide at its mouth, and one and a quarter at Alex- 

 andria, 290 miles from the ocean. The termination 

 of the tide water is above 300 miles from the sea, 

 and the river is navigable for the largest ships 

 through nearly that distance. Its junction with the 

 Shenandoah, at Harper's ferry, is regarded as a 

 great curiosity. (See Harper's Ferry.) The river 

 is seven fathoms deep at its mouth, five at St 

 George's island, three at Swan's point, and thence 

 to Alexandria. Above Washington city, there are 

 many obstructions to the navigation. 



POTOSI; a city of Bolivia (q. v.), in the pro- 

 vince of the same name ; lat. U) 34' S.; Ion. 67 

 22' W. It was founded in 1547 ; the royal mint 

 was established in 1562, and the population in- 

 creased so rapidly, that in 1611 it amounted to 

 160,000, but in 1S26 had sunk to 11,200. The 

 mountain of Potosi is 16,250 feet high ; and the city 

 stands on a plain 11,000 feet above the sea. The 

 streets are narrow and irregular; the houses are 

 built of stone or brick, of only one story, with bal- 

 conies of wood, but without chimneys. The city 

 contains three monasteries, five convents, an hospi- 

 tal, a college, nineteen parish churches, and a mint. 

 The mines were discovered by Diego Hualca, an 

 Indian peasant, when pursuing wild goats. Arriv- 

 ing at a steep place he laid hold of a small shrub 

 to prevent himself from falling ; but the shrub, 

 being unable to support his weight, was torn up by 

 tlit: roots, and disclosed to the hunter a rich mass of 

 silver, lumps of which adhered to the earth that 

 came away with the plant. Not long afterwards 

 the discovery was made known, and the mine was 

 opened in 1545. From the time of the first disco- 

 very to 1803, these mines supplied 1,095,500,000 

 piastres, or 237,358,334 sterling, which paid the 

 royal duties ; and this only includes silver. If the 

 gold and smuggled metals were included, the 

 amount would be much greater. According to the 

 official statement, the amount coined from 1790 to 

 1794, inclusive, was 27,967.566 dollars, i. e. on an 

 average, 5,593,513 dollars yearly. The present 

 diminution of the quantity of silver from what it 

 was formerly, is stated by Pazos as four to one ; by 

 Humboldt the diminution is stated to be greater ; 

 but they are still the richest mines in South America. 

 The number of mines worked was formerly 300 ; 

 in 1803, only ninety-seven. According to Helms, 

 nothing can equal the ignorance with which 

 the mining operations are conducted ; if judi- 

 ciously managed, the quantity of silver might be 

 doubled. 



POT-POURRI (French) signifies the same as 

 olla podrida, (q. v.) It also signifies a vessel con. 



