Litchfield enquirer., 1863-06-04
Alisfella,,p.
Poor POIand.

l 0ASSOAk1&SSttye
 -~>~~~~~>->~--.o,-,e--. -.--,->oooooo>>>,o,
 s Poor Poland. 1s
 The western corner of the map. of Rssi i small projecting spot, inscribed Kingdbsao
 Poland because it has no king): and is al which is apparent in name, of the goodly terri. tory known as Poland previous to l772. This Russian province resembles the summit of hill overlapping the waters of a mighty inun dation. It is the Ararat of the Polish world All the rest of the ti.ular country has been sub merged and swamped by the encroaching wavei of Q threefold deluge. Posen. volhynia. Cali cia, and the rest, are no longeraP Polish. bat re spectively Prussian. Russian and Austrian. Pc land is victim, whose members have been swallowed by three separate political boa con strictors. Are reunion and resuscitation possi ble? or is she digested and dead2 are the leading questions of the day.
 1 Poland is cut of from Western Europe not only by gegraphical distance, but also by. the peculiarities of her language which is so com plex and difficult that Poles are apt to say that no foreigner ever can learn it thoroughly. They vaunt its richness, variety and power; and it is still living language. and bond of union among those who speak it. On the other hand the Poles are admirable inguists with regard to languages not their own. .-s.5'.s- Old national customs are cherished. The dances and fetes are completely national; no thing is borrowed, all is original. The Swie- cone, or Blessing, is one of their most interes- ting customs. It is repast served after Mass on Easter Sunday, of which the whole family partakes standing. Most of the dishes prepared beforehand, are served cold. It is not permit ted to taste of the feast before the benediction by the priest; whence the name. The tables are sometimes laid and garnished several days beforehand, in rooms carefully locked to keep out intruders. On Easter Day after the bless ing, everybody wishes everybody . happy year. Before the beginning of the meal, the host of fers blessed eggs to his guests, who are obliged to accept them. aa
 The partition of Poland is historical event with which our readers are familiar and for nearly one hundred years the Muscovite gov srnment has been striving to obliterate the
 rndmarks which divide it from its share of the spoil. All methods have been tried except im- partial and liberal treatment. Polish Patriots now hold that any compromise with Russia would be the worst step that Poland could take: and they give their reasons. They are obliged to arrive at the conviction that the object of their oppression is not to conquer the nsurrec. ton, but to crush the country utterly! One general has been publicly accused of ofsring five roubles labout sixteen shillings) for every insurgents head brought to him by the peas ants. For him, of course, one head is as good as another, provided 1t only be Polish. Supe- rior officers in the Russian service, who still have hearts. prefer suicide to the execution of orders which degrade both the Russian army and it's leaders,
 One instance will illustrate the animus of Russia towards Poland. The mother of an in- surgent who had been taken prisoner, lately inn plored the grand dukes clemency. The prince perhaps touched with pity. perhaps conscious that tyranny must have its limits, referred the case to General Rozimof and inquired whether he might be allowed to do anything for the pri soner. The General replied that the man be- longyd to the very worst class of offenders, and that he had killed three Russians in skirmish The mother rejoined that it was false; for the Dziepnik Pouwszeckny (the official journal). had stated that no Russian had perished in that encounter. IA
 The mask has fallen, and Russia once more shows herself the same as she was under Cath erne, Suwarrow and Nicholas. Count Andre Zameyski. torn from his dying wife, was trans ported to St. Petersburg and sent into exile.- Count Roniker, Marshal of the nobility of Po- dolia and all the marshals of the districts of that province, was arrested and imprisoned. But the ukase concerning discretional recruit- ing in Poland (the discretion being exercised by the Russian authorities) is what has made ths yoke unbearable.
 Polish women have always been gifted with q certain dash of military spirit; and they are manifesting it now. There ars many women in the insurgent camp taking part in the war Many families, who sought refuge in Gaiatia at the outbreak of the troubles, have returned to- Poland and joined the insurgents. Que whole family is cited; the father. mother. son and two daughters have all enlisted.
 Catherine the Second boasted that she had abolished the punishment of death. and she bu- ried her victims alive in the mines of Siberia The Poles would prefer sacrificing their heads on the scaffold, to the death by inches inflicted on them while spending the best portion of their lives in the Russian service. For them to serve in the Russian army, under the conditions there inevitable, is more than equivalent to the punishment of death. Russia is not so short sighted as to excite the indignation of Europe by shedding torrents Of human blood. She <<,E Esll <.s,scxl,v +h., .l,.