The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-02-18
Description of Cracow.

, from the recent Work OF MIR. AaVler Mar
mics:
CrAcow is a city, the aspect of which is at
once majestice and painful to contemplate
1t is the cradle of monarchy, and the tomb
of a nation; the town in which kings were
crowned,a and where they are now buried the
capital Of a powerful empire, and the power
less head Of a narrow district the first page
of heroic epoch, and the last line OLA dsas-
trous history 1t is Il monument of splendor
and nothingness. Nature adds to these cons
trasFs by her freshness and brightness. APP
preaching Cracow from Warsaw, nothing
meets the eye but large green valley, fer
tile as the Touraine in France and strewed
with trees as in Normandy. The Vistula wa
tiers if, meanGering amongst gold crops, and
at the horizon are seen the varied lines of
those great chains of mountains which spread
from the Black Sea to the Danube. In the
centre Of this vast valley rises the Gothic
peaks Of the churches of Cracow, the black
ened walls Of its ranparts, and the creviced
towers OF its castles. the decrepit works ofman
side by side with the eternal youth OF nature.
In the interior of the town,as well as the coun-
try which surrounds it, there is not one mon.
ument which is not illustrated by some noble
"Reminiscences not Il brook, not a vac, not a
hill. which does not recall to mind historical
tradition or fabulous legend. On the steep
summit of the Wawull Cracus, the founder
OF the Polish monarchy. constructed fort
ress, and gave his name to the city which
sprel itself before him. Near the village of
MoLila, are buried the remains Of the heroic
Wanda, the first Queen of Poland, daughter
of Cracus, beautiful as an angel, according to
the old chronicles, and proud and courageous
e., Il. Il
the end of the seventh century, was the resi-
dence of kings till the commencement of the
seventeenth, at which epoch Slgismund III,
established himselfa Warsaw, and until 164
preserved the privilege of browning the SOW
ereign of Poland. All in town bears an i'm.
posing character Of age. A rampant sur
rounds it yet,as it did in the tine when it WAS
the buckler of Poland. The streets are most
ly tortuous and dark, like those Of the middle
ages and houses have tcstooned gables, like
Augsburg or Nuremburg, Here one sees
gates adorned with small columns and cover
ed by vines, as they are in the pleasant villa
ges along the Rhine; there are statues Of
saints, and further the PATHS of the bishops,
whose favors were long since courted by
kings, and the old Universty-the first of
the old Sclavonic universities, after Prague
ed crosses meet the eye. There are no less
than thirty-eight churches in Cracow, all re-
markabe; some by their architecture, others !
by their pious traditions That of Notre
Dame dates from the thirteenth century it !
contains thirty marble affairs that of St. Pc
ter and St. Paul was reconstructed by Sigis-
mnnd III, on the model of St.Peter at Rome :;
that of the Dominicans, founded in 1920, pos
sesSes double row of stalls of sculptured oak,
wrought admirably. The long political vicis-
STUDIES which have desolated and oppressed |
the people of Cracow have not yet extin-
guished their religious feelings. One Sun
day saw the artizans Of the city, the peas
ants from the country, with their wide blue
dresses adorned with red borders, and the
women with pieces of white linen, which they
throw in shawl-fashion over their shoulders,
running from church to church, prostrating
themselves in the squares before them, and
kissing the marble floors of the naves.
One day crossed the market place at the
moment when priest was about to take the
last sacrament to a dying man; he walked
under canopy held over him by attendants,
four soldiers escorted him, and young Choir
lister went in front ringing a bell. At the
sound Of the bell the passers by stopped, took
off their hats and the greater part threw
themselves on their knees | followed the
pious coliege as far as the house which they
entered The four soldiers established them
selves as sentinels at the door, and upwards
of hundred persons were there, kneeling,
with their hands crossed on their breasts, and
praying in low voice, until the priest came
out. When we remember what these poor
people have suffered it is gratifying to think
that in the midst Of their sufferings they have
preserved the pety which consoles the heart,
and the faith which strengthens it. !,
In the centre of the city, upon high rock
which looks down upon the distant plain rises
the old castle OF their kings, rebuilt by CAST
mcr the Great enriched by his successors and
devastated by the Austrians. In ascending
the stair case, and traversing the galleries Of
the castle, we find no traces left Of the orna-
ments described in such glowing terms of adj
miration by the travellers Of the seventeenth
century; but its thick walls, its old towers,
which still gave it so imposing an appearance,
and the recollections of its former heroic
jewellers, have given, stamped on it a charac-
ter of snblimity. This castle has seen six
powerful dynastIes pass beneath its vau)ted I
roofs. 1t has seen one Of our princes seated
on tho throne OF the Jagellons, and two
French women, Marie de Gouzague and S
Marie d'Arquin, wear the sceptrc of Polands
crown. The descendants of the Great Gus
tavus Vasa received there the cnsigns of
royalty; then the descendants of the Flee t
tors of Saxony; then the noble Stanislaus I
Lcsczynski, whose memory is still blessedin
one Of our provinces ;and finally, the lover of
the Emprc5s Catharine. Now all is over with
those days of Sncndor, with those national
festivities, which attracted the attention of
the whole of Europe. The castle has been !
lespoilcd of its wealth, and robbed of the
crown of the kings, preserving only their
tombs. There rcpose all those whose heart /
onrc beat high beneath the robes of ROYALTY;
under that sepulrhral stone lies the entire his
tory Of five centuries sometimes fatal in its S
aspects, often sublime. There are the monu- {
a,ont. IL Rnlnslns of Cns;lnnr tEn Crnnt .E ,