796 



POLAND. 



but there are no other manufactures except domestic fabrics. The government is an aristoci-ai 

 ical repubhc. The assembly or legislative body consists of the representatives of the corpo- 

 rations, the clergy, and the university ; the executive authority is vested in a senate chosen for 

 life by the asserrtbly, and a president chosen by the same body for two years. The chief 

 magistrate is a President, chosen every 3 years. The revenue is 133,248 dollars ; the debt 

 10,000 dollars. The inhabitants are mostly Poles, and the Polish language is everywhere pre- 

 dominant. The religion is Roman Catholic, but all sects are tolerated. There is no distinc- 

 tion of rank among the inhabitants, except that the members of the chapter of the cathedral 

 and of the university possess a few unimportant privileges. 



This little community owes its existence to the disputes of the three despotic powers, that 

 partitioned the kingdom of Poland. In 1815, when the final destiny of Poland was decided at 

 the congress of Vienna, the Austrian and Russian tnonarchs respectively laid claim to the city 

 and territory of Cracow, situated at the point where the newly acquired territories of these two 

 powers join those of Prussia. To this fortunate position, Cracow is indebted for its exemp- 

 tion from the fate of the rest of Poland. The holy allies, unable to determine which of their 

 number had the best right to the territory, resolved that neither should possess it ; and Cra- 

 cow was declared a republic under the protection of the three surrounding powers. 



CHAPTER CXXV. POLAND. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. The present kingdom of Poland is bounded north by Prussia, 

 east by Russia, south by Galicia and Cracow, and west by Prussia. It is nearly a square of 

 200 miles in extent, and contains 48,000 square miles. 



2. Rivers. This country is intersected by the Vistula and its head streams, the Bug, JVa- 

 rew, and Pelica. The J^ieman forms a part of the northern boundary. There are a variety 

 of smaller streams, and the country is in general well watered. 



3. Soil, Productions, &c. The soil is generally thin and sandy. There are many marshy 

 tracts, and the face of the country is diversified with fruitful fields, steppes, heaths, impenetra- 

 ble forests, and wide moors. The forests are sometimes 15 or 20 miles in extent, and a great 

 part of the country is covered with wood. The general aspect of the country is that of an 

 unbounded plain ; there is hardly a hill or mountain in the whole territory. Poland, in the 

 Sclavonian language, signifies a plain, or flat country. The climate is everywhere temperate, 

 but as the land lies open to the north wind, the air is not so mild as in the neighboring parts of 

 Germany. 



4. Divisions. This kingdom is divided into eight palatinates or waiwodships : Cracovia, 

 Sandomir, Kalisch, Lublin, Plock, Masovia, Podlachia, and Augustow. 



5. Cities. Warsaw, the capital, stands on a bank of the Vistula, on a rising ground. It is 

 very irregularly built, and has several suburbs, the principal of which is Praga, with which it is 

 connected by a pontoon bridge. The city presents a heterogeneous aspect. It has above 100 

 splendid .palaces, surrounded by a mass of wretched huts. Streets of noble dimensions, and 

 adorned with edifices in the finest Italian style, are contrasted with groups of beggarly wooden 

 piles, threatening every moment to fall. The palace of Sigismund is very spacious, and has a 

 colossal bronze statue of the Emperor Sigismund the Third. The Marieville is a large build- 

 ing, constructed on the plan of the Palais Royal, at Paris, and contains the exchange, and up- 

 wards of 300 booths, for the sale of goods. Warsaw contains a university and several con- 

 vents and hospitals. Its population is as grotesque as its architecture, and resembles a perpet- 

 ual masquerade ; long-bearded Jews ; monks in the garb of every order ; veiled and shrouded 

 nuns, self secluded and apart ; bevies of young Polesses, in silk m.antles of the brightest 

 colors, promenading the broad squares ; the venerably ancient Polish noble, with mustaches, 

 caftan, girdle, sabre, and red or yellow boots ; the new generation equipped to the highest pitch 

 of Parisian dandyism, with Turks, Greeks, Russians, Italians, Germans, and Frenchmen, in 

 an ever-changing throng. Warsaw has a considerable commerce by the Vistula, and manufac- 

 tures of cloth, linen, carpets, stockings, carriages, and harnesses. The population is about 

 150,000, including the garrison and 30,000 Jews. The other towns of Poland are small. 

 Kalisch is a handsome and regularly built city, with manufactures of cloth and linen ; popula- 

 tion, 10,000. Lublin has a population of 12,000 souls. 



6. Agriculture. Poland is a country of great agricultural resources. The productions are 



