GALLICIA AND LODOMERIA. 481 



About the end of June a manifesto was published by the emperor s 

 on the occasion of his troops entering Poland. On the 12th of July, 

 the head-quarters of the king and prince of Prussia were only three or 

 four leagues from Warsaw, whence they issued a placard, stating that 

 the enemy had lied before them in their progress. In the mean time, 

 however, Kosciusko (who had eluded the Prussian troops,) by a brave > 

 attack, had defeated the forces which, opposed him, and had thrown ' 

 himself into Warsaw. On the 31st of June, the Prussians began to at- 

 tack the city by a heavy cannonade, and several hundred bombs were 

 in the course of the day thrown into Warsaw; a dreadful fire was 

 kept up on the besiegers by night and by day, and an incredible num- 

 ber of lives were lost. The king and the prince-royal are both said to 

 have been in imminent danger at this time. On the 2d of August* 

 his Prussian majesty, whose hopes of success had probably been a lit- 

 tle damped, attempted to open a negociation Ayith the king of Poland 

 for the surrender of the capital, which was rejected. About the middle 

 of this month, accounts were transmitted to the Prussian camp, of in- 

 surrections having arisen in South Prussia (formerly Great Poland) of 

 which his Prussian majesty had taken possession the preceding year; 

 and on the night of the 5th of September, the Prussian and Russian for- 

 ces abandoned the siege of Warsaw, after a fruitless attack of two 

 months, much weakened by the diseases and desertions which prevail- 

 ed in their camps, and disabled from the want of provisions and am- 

 munition. 



In the course of the same month, the Russian grand army, consist- 

 ing of 20,000 men, arrived in Poland, and on the 18th a severe engage- 

 ment took place near Brzese, in which the Poles lost very considerable 

 numbers, and were compelled to retreat across the Bog. On the 10th 

 of October another battle was fought between the Russians, under ge- 

 neral Ferfen, and the troops under Kosciusko. The Russians advanced 

 twice to the attack, but were repulsed by the Poles, who, however, un- 

 fortunately, not contented with the advantages they had gained, aban- 

 doned their favourable position on the heights, and pressed on to the 

 attack in their turn. This movement threw the troops into some con- 

 fusion; and the Russians forming themselves anew, the rout soon be- 

 came general. The battle, which began at seven in the morning, did 

 not end till noon. Kosciusko flew from rank to rank, and was continual- 

 ly in the hottest part of the engagement. At length he fell, and a 

 Cossack, who did not know him in the peasant's dress which he con- 

 stantly wore, wounded him from behind with a lance. He recovered, 

 and advanced a few steps, but was again knocked down by another Cos- 

 sack, who was preparing to give him a mortal blow, when his arm was 

 stopped by a Russian officer, who is said to have been general Chrno- 

 zazow, to whose wife Kosciusko had a short time before politely given 

 leave of departure from Warsaw to join her husband. The unfortu- 

 nate Kosciusko implored the officer, if he wished to render him a ser- 

 vice, to allow the .soldier to put an end to his existence ; but the latter 

 chose rather to make him a prisoner. The Polish infantry defended 

 themselves with a bravery proportioned to that of their general, and 

 faught with a degree of valour almost approaching to fury. 



The Russians under general Ferfen soon afterwards summoned 

 Warsaw to surrender ; and on being refused, after the junction of the 

 different corps under Ferfen, Dernfeldt, Dernifow, and Suwarrow, pro- 

 ceeded on the 4th of November to attack the suburb of Praga, or 

 Prague, separated from Warsaw by the Vistula, which was defended by 



Vol. \ 3 Q 



