332 Anecdotes of John Sobieski, King of Poland. 
that,” added he, “ you cannot say ofme 
what the Tartar wives do when their 
husbands return empty-handed. ‘ You 
are not men, since you return without 
plunder,’” 
The inhabitants of Vienna received 
their deliverer with the most lively de- 
monstrations of gratitude; and shouts of 
joy accompanied him to the cathedral of 
that city, where lie went to return thanks 
to the God of battles, for the glorious 
success of his arms: he himself pitched 
the key of the Ze Deum, which was 
chaunted: the text of the sermon was, 
8 Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat 
Joannes.” 
The joy which the delivery of his ca- 
pital afforded Leopold, was checked by 
the humiliation of seeing a foreign mo- 
narcl: triumphant. He passed several 
days in. deliberating upon the ceremony 
which, in his quality of emperor, it was 
proper he should observe towards So- 
bieski, who was an elective king; and, 
according to the German pretentions, a 
vassal of the empire. In vain did the 
duke of Lorraine advise him to forget, for 
a short time, the usual etiquette, and 
receive him with open arms, Leopold 
had not sufficient greatness of soul to 
follow such counsel. In order to remove 
all difficulties, 1t was at last decided that 
the interview should take place on horse- 
back, in the open country, and as if by 
mere accident. 
When the two monarchs met, Leo- 
pold; after having.in general terms ad- 
verted to the services which the Republic 
of Poland had rendered to Christianity, 
in speaking of the deliverance of Vienna, 
happened to mention the word “ grae 
titude.” Sobieski, immediately inter- 
rupting him in the most elegant and 
graceful manner, replied, ‘ Believe me, 
brother, I feel happy in, having contri- 
buted to render you this trifling service.” 
He then presented his son, Prince James 
Sobieski, adding, “This is a young prince 
whom I have brovght up to the service 
of Christianity.” One of the palatines 
alighted from his horse to kiss the em- 
peror’s boot: Sobieski, who observed the 
action, stopped him; “ Hold, palatine, 
(said he) no degradation ;” and respect- 
fully saluting the emperor, put an end 
to the interview: thus sparing the haughty 
monarch any further opportunity of 
offering thanks. But, previous to his 
putting his army in motion to return to 
Poland, he took out of the imperial ar- 
chives, all those humiliating and burden- 
some concessions, which his predecessor, — 
King John Casimir, had been compelled. 
to sign in Silesia. He obtained also the 
title of Majesty for the kings of Po- 
land; and that of Most Serene, for the 
Republic: the whole of this brilliant ex-. 
pedition was, however, attended with no 
real benefit to Poland. ‘ 
The Poles in particular blamed the 
policy of Sobieski, who, by the treaty of 
1686, ceded to Russia the cities of Smo- 
lensko and Kiowe, the palatinate of 
Czerniechow, and the duchy of Nov- 
gorod Sceivierz, provinces which were 
already in their possession. __tussia, by 
way of compensation, promised the king. 
to aid him in his conquest of Moldavia 
and Wallachia. The Republic, never 
having ratifiéd this treaty, the authentic 
copies of it are only to be found in the 
archives of Moscow—a _ circumstance 
which Catharine IT. turned to advantage, 
in order to give to certain articles a la- 
titude and extension, which they most 
probably would never have had in the 
originals. On the other hand, the ad- 
vantages which Sobieski had hoped for, 
from the alliance with Russia, succes-- 
sively evaporated by the obstacles which 
the want of provisions opposed to the 
march of the allied armies, and by the 
revolutions which took away the supreme. 
power from the princess Sophia, and her 
favourite Gallitzin, the real author of all. 
these projects. | | 
In the interior, every nemination to a 
high office became an opportunity for’ 
the king to increase the number of the. 
ungrateful and discontented. The op- 
position, become every day more numes 
rous in the diets; thought only of throws 
ing fresh obstacles in the way of the 
king. The animosity of party was car- 
ried to such a height, that a bishop, with= 
out any explanation previous, dared to. 
_ say to the king, “Be just, or cease to- 
reign.” This was, of course, treason; but 
the opposition pretended to excuse the 
bishop. The diet-of 1689 spent - their 
time in quarrelsome debates, and nege’ 
lected to provide for the payment of the. 
army, and even. of the corps of 12,000: 
Poles, who had_gained a complete victory 
over 40,000 Turks. Weshall here cite: 
another instance, characteristic of the. 
Polish anarchy. The army-of Lithuania, 
having no means of subsistence, took up 
their quarters in the estates belonging to 
the clergy. The bishop of Wilna, aftér 
repeated but vain representations to the 
general in chief to withdraw his troops, 
: at 
