﻿Mr 



LITCHFIBLO. 



LITHUANIA. 



MS 



one piinci)>«I >tre«t with Bcrenl short braoeheai On tb« weatem BiHe 

 of the M]ii>r« ia ■ part of the ancirnt cwitle. At the Muthem 

 approach to the towQ is a fine bri<^e with fire arches, each of SO feet 

 qMUL The parish church is a hanHsome structure, haring a tower 

 ■urmounted with a nrat spire. The Roman Catliolie chapel is a 

 spacious cruciform stractnr'. There are s Clasucal school and two 

 National schools; a ferer hoapitnl, a dispensary, and a bridewell 

 A line of Darintion bj the river Cashen enables boats of 15 tons to 

 eome within 2) miles of ListoweL Salmon are plentiful in the river. 

 Behind the castle are extensive Bour-milla. Quarter sesaions are held 

 in the town and pettjr seuious every Saturday. The market is held 

 on WedneadsT and Saturday, and a corn-market on Friday. Fairs 

 ■n held on May 13tb, July 25th. October 28th, and on the first Wed- 

 nesday of alternate months. The soil around is remarkably fertile, 



LITCHFIELD. [CoxwEcnctrt.] 



LITHUATflA, a large tract of country which now forms part of 

 the Russian empire, but which once constituted an independent and 

 powerful state, until it was united to Poland by the accession of its 

 reigning dynasty to the throne of that country. The early history of 

 Liuioania is unknown. Some conjectore that the Heruli, who destroyed 

 the western empire tmder Odoacer, were inhabitants of Lithuauia, and 

 that after their expulsion from Italy they returned to this country, 

 and brought with them those words resembling the Latin which 

 •bound in the Lithuanian language. The first mention of Lithuania 

 oocurs in the chronicle of Quedlinburg, A.D. 1009. From that time 

 the nHme of Lithuania begins to appear more frequently in Russian 

 chroniclfs, which speak of the Lithuanians as a poor and savage nation, 

 •ome tribes of which were compoUed by the bordering Russian princes 

 to pay a tribute, consisting of the bark of birch-trees for making oil, 

 of ropes made of the bark of lime-trees, and of brooms. 



Towards the year 1200, Albert, bishop of Riga, founded the order 

 of the Knights Sword-Bearers lEnsiferi), in order to conquer the pagans 

 who inhabited the shores of the Baltic from the Curisohe-HafT to the 

 Gulf of Finland. The half-savage barbarians were soon subdued by 

 the valour and military skill of those warrior-monks, and reduced to 

 a state of the most oppressive bondage. Not long after, about 1 220, 

 Conrad, duke of Haxovia, being unable to resist the predatory attacks 

 of the Prussians, a branch of the Lithuanians, called to his assistance 

 the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and granted them a large tract 

 of land, with many castlea Theve knights did the same in Prussia 

 that the Sword-Bearers had done ebewhere. The Lithuanians were 

 •Imoct destitute of defensive armour, and had for the most part no 

 other weapons than spears, clubs, and arrows. In spite of these dis- 

 advantages they not only resisted the German invaiders, but gained 

 noesession of some of those Russian principalities to which they bad 

 Men obli^'ed to pay tribute. The decline of the powerful Russian 

 principality of Halicz by the death of Prince Roman, who was defeated 

 and killed by the Poles in the battle of Zarichust, 1206, delivered the 

 Lithuanians fW>m a formidable enemy, and their predatory incursions 

 began to be more dangerous to the Polish and Russian principalities. 



Ryngold was the first Lithuanian ruler who, after having united uti<Ier 

 his dominion all the principalities of that nation, assumed the title of 

 Grand Duke of Lithuania about 1235. Hi»son Mindog embraced Chris- 

 tianity, and was crowned at Novogrodek in 1252, but soon relapsed 

 into paganism. At the end of the 13th century Witenes established a 

 new dynasty on the throne of Lithuania ; hut the most brilliant era 

 of the history of the country began after the accession of the Qrand 

 Doke Ghedymin in 1315. Ue made most extensive conquests in the 

 ■outh-westem principalities of Russia, and consolidated his power by 

 insuring the most i>erfect protection to the religion, language, customs, 

 and property of the inhabitants of the conquered lands, which were 

 intrasted to the administration of such princes only of the Lithuanian 

 dynasty as had embraced the Christian religion, whilst the sovereign 

 '■till remaine<l an idolater. 



Two nations of a different origin and creed thus became soon blended 

 together, and the Russian Christians were always the roost loyal sub- 

 jeeta of the pagan grand dukes of Lithuania. The Russian became 

 the official language of Lithuania, and continued so till the middle of 

 the 17tb c<-ntury, when it was suprrseded by the Polish language. 



The government of Lithuania was in some degree feudal : each 

 |Wovinoe was given in fief, generally to a prince of the reigning family. 

 After its anion with Poland, Lithuania was governed by the same 

 /orma a* that country. 



^ Ghed ymin was killed in 1828 at the siege of the fortress of the 

 Oermu knights. He divided his empire among his several sons ; but 

 •AMr^oma oontention one of them, called Olgherd, asanmed the 



■ father: 

 I become 



.._ .- ._J banks of 



Hm Don and to l&e ahorea of the Black Sea. The republics of Novo- 

 IMod and Pskow acknowledged bis supremacy, and he presented 

 himaelf in triumph Iwfore the gates of Moscow in the yean 1368, 1370, 

 ■ad 1873. He died in 1381 in the faith of the Orek Church, which 

 be embraced on his Heath-l>ed at the noliciutlons of his wife, who was 

 • Boariao prinnas of Twer. OlgUerd's sou and suocissor, Yaguellon, 

 married in 1885 Hedvige of Anjou, queen of Poland, and, having been 

 haptiaed, aaoended the throne of that country. From that time 

 LithnaaU wm united with Poland. 



■nCTaoBia contenuon one or them, called Olgherd, aiaame 

 wveralgo power. He proved a worthy successor to his glorious t 

 be defeated the Tartan, and compelled those of the Cnmea to t 

 Ui veaeala, having extoided the limiU of Lithuania to the bs 



Yaguellon, having beoome a Christian, exerted tiimaeU snooess- 

 fully for the conversion of his pagan subjects, who however long 

 retained many ritea and oustoma derived from their idolatrooa fore- 

 fathers. 



By the accession of YsgueUon to the throne of Poland the two 

 conntriea became united, but it often happened that the kings of 

 Poland of the Yagiiellunian family, who were hereditary sovereigns in 

 Lithuania and elective in Poland, after their aeoeaaion to the throne of 

 the latter country, gave up the government of Lithuania to a prinoe 

 of their family, but still retained the sovereignty. The miut cele- 

 brated of thcw princes was Vitold (1430). A kind of union of the 

 two countries was effected at the diet of Lublin in 1569. The throne 

 of Lithuania became elective like tiiat of Poland. The diets of the 

 two countries were held in common, but the laws, finaucea, and 

 armies remained separate. 



Lithuania lost a great part of its dominions under the reign of 

 Casimir III., king of Poland and grand-duke of Lithuania, and on 

 several subsequent occasions. At the time of the first dismember- 

 ment of Poland in 1772, Lithoaoia was divided into the following 

 palatinates or counties: — Vilna, Troki, Novogrodek, Bzeso, Vitepsk, 

 Polozk, Hohiiew, and the duchy of Samogitia. Of tiiia territory 

 Russia got Mohilew and Polozk in 1792, and all the remainder in 1793, 

 with the exception of the territory which forms the Prussian govern- 

 ment of Gumbinneo. The territory of Lithuania was formed into 

 the RuHsian govemmenta of — 1, VUna; 2, Orodno; 3, Bialystock ; 

 i, Minsk; 5, Mohilew; 6, Vitepsk; and, 7, the palatinate of Augus- 

 tovo. With the exception of Bialjstock, incorporated with Grodno 

 we believe in 1842, and Augustovo, now comprehended in the king- 

 dom of Poland, these divisions still subaiat. The area of the duchy 

 exceeded 110,000 square miles, and its population in 1846 was above 

 6,000,000. 



Lithuania is generally a flat and low country, although there are 

 some hilh in the environs of Vilna. The north-western part, com- 

 prehending the duchy of Samogitia, is very fertile, an I celebrated 

 particularly on account of its flax. The banks of the Niemeu are 

 also generally fertile, and in many parta very picturesque. But the 

 greater part of this country is covered vrith sand, marshes, and fens. 

 Ferruginous ochre is found in all the peat-moasea, but the quantity of 

 iron is very limited ; and many iron-works which formerly exixted 

 are now abandoned in consequence of the cheaper rate at which iron 

 can be got from the mines in the north of Russia and Siberia. Blocks 

 of granite and pudding-stone are scattered over many diatricts. The 

 large forests abound in fine timber, and contain a great quantity of 

 wild animals, such as elks, wild hogs, beara, wolves, foxes, Jtc. An 

 animal peculiar to Lithuania is the uroehs, or bison, which was 

 formerly found in many forests of Poland and Germany, but is now 

 confined to a single spot in Lithuania, called the forest of Biala Vieja. 

 The climate is extremely cold in winter and very hot in summer. 

 There are scarcely any manufactures in the country, and its exports 

 consist chiefly of flax, hemp, corn, timber, honey, and wax. 



The principal rivers which water Lithuania are the Niemen, the 

 Dnie|>cr, Berezina, Villia, Ac. The chief towns are Vilna, its andent 

 capital ; Grodno, Minsk, Mohilew, Vitepsk, Ac 



The Lithuanians remained idolaters till the end of the 14th oentnry. 

 Their chief deity was Perictinas, the god of thunder, besides some 

 other divinities presiding over seasons, elements, and particular 

 occupations. They posaessed also sacred groves and fountains, and 

 worshipped fire and consecrated snakes. The population is com- 

 posed of Lithuanians, Lithuano-Russians, Poles, Jews, and Tartars. 

 Adclung and Vater define the Lithuanians to be a Germano-Slavio 

 natiiin, and say that two-thirds of their language are Slavonian ; and 

 Balbi adds that the remaining thinl may be traced to the Finnish, 

 Gothic, and German. The recent researches of some distinguished 

 German philologists, and particularly those of Bopp and Bohlan, have 

 proved that the Lithuanian language ia closely allied to the Sanscrit, 

 that it has a common origin with the Latin, German, and Slavonic 

 languages, but that it ia not derived from them. Professor Boblen 

 of Konigsberg thinks that it bears a stronger reeemblanoe to the 

 Sanscrit than to any other known language. 



The Lithuanian language maybe divided into two principal dialects, 

 the Lithuanian proper and the Lettonian, or Uivonian, both of which 

 may be subdivided into smaller ones. The Lithuanian proper contains 

 the following dialects : — 1. The old Prussian, which had been xpoken 

 in Prussia previoualy to the arrival of the Knights of St John of 

 Jerusalem, who tried by all means to extirpate it It wsa still in 

 general use at the time of the Reformation, but ia now entirely extinct 

 as a living language. It differs from other Lithuanian dialects in 

 having a greater admixture of German than Slavonian words. A 

 catechism compiled about 1645, and an Enchiridion, or church 

 service (Konigsberg, 1661), are the only extant roounmenta of that old 

 language. 2. The Pniseo Lithuanian dialect, which is now spoken 

 about Insterburg and Memel, is the nearest to the old Prussian, but 

 it has received a great admixture of Polish worda A Bible, trftuslated 

 into that language by Qnaudt, was published at Konigsberg, 1755. 

 The Polish.Lithuanian, or Samogitian language, which is spoken in 

 the north-western part of Lithuania, and particularly in the province 

 of Samogitia, diflbra from the Pnueiao diateotin being more free from 

 the admixtars of German word*; and it i* certainly the pureet of oU 



