New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-06-14

charge that if the Poles were to regain
| their freedom they are by nature unified 10
yiye as a separate state in these busting days.
II must go against the grain to say this but say
it he does. and forcefully:
The Poles are as vfvacious az southerners.
but they are not politically prudent people.
educated in the school Of MachiaVelI Ike the
Italians who understood how to make the
French pull the chestnuts out Of the fire for
them They are people whose legiOns Napoleon
inJnced to shed their blood hundred battle
fields merely by holding the white eagle before
them and a people whose battallons Steinmetz.
in 1870 induced to storm the terrible heights at
Snicberen by allowing the Prussian bands to
pIay the melody of the national song, "Jescze
Polska ME zginela," which IS PROMPTED IN
Posen in time of peace. Such a youthful or
childish enthusiasm is certainly not sustaining
element in the great struggle Tor lie OF the
nations in industrial and unitarian ages IL
5oas not flourish in conjunction with thrift, in
dustry discipline moderation and civil prudence,
qualities which insure the continuance OF the
individual and of the state
In another chapter DR.. Brandes shows that,
although oppression has resulted in the unihca-
ton of the Poles of Austrian. Russian and Prus-
sian Poland so far as the national sentiment -
concerned there is not the slightest political CO.
operation between the three provinces: that they
! have not even common measures. coins or
STAMPS: that they have not a man who. as a
politician is popular in all three countries; in
short that it would be impossible for them TO
act in concert The unfortunate thing, from The
standpoint of the veteran patriots, is that the
younger generation, seeing this strange diver
sity tends to grow sceptical, to become Indlf-
ferent to the fatherlands future, and 10 lose all
hope of the kingdoms ultimate restoration But
the veteran patriots need not be alarmed More
than offsetting this is the influence Of the
mothers of Poland Despite all political dis
union so long as a Polish woman lives the love
Of freedom and hatred of the oppressors must
flourish throughout the country. Bismarck re-
garded the women of Poland as far more dan
gerous than the men and went so far as 70 issue
certain DEGREES which. in his opinion. would
undermine their influence to a large extent Al
ways gallant. Dr. Brandes rings true in his eulogy
of the women Of KOsciuskO's country IN all
that relates to the contest for the preservation
of the national spirit" we find him saying, they
are the marrow of the land" OF the women OF
the aristocracy he says: They are women who
are born to rule and who even in narrow and
straitened circumstances preserve the grand
self-esteem which runs in their blood" Ihey
are proud. they are beautiful They pass their
days in this fashion,:
The lady of position rises between II and IL
o'clock in the forenoon and goes to bed at 4
o'clock in the morning; she drives from one vlslt
to another and from party to another But
in reality she labOrs every day for public and
national interests. Eyerything-the most inno-
q
hospital, sewing school. no matter what IT is
is made to strengthen the Polish cause -Four
ladies do not meet a charity committee with
out promoting the national cause under its
cover.
1t is small wonder that, although clearly rec
ognizing the terrible force of the blows dealt On
the anvil of Poland by the hammers of Europe,
Dr. Brandes cannot but exhale from first to last
the national sentiment: 1T is not yet all over
with Poland not so long live|" Turning
from the people the Copenhagen critic proceeds
to discuss the literature of Poland and in this
respect the book must be looked upon valu-
able addition TO his series. Main Currents in
Nineteenth Century Literature" Scholarship
stands revealed in every line. We quote at
random:
The Polish literature Of this century bears q
peculiar stamp, apart from the peculiarites issu-
that it developed in a country which had re-
Gently ceased to exist as an independent state
The literature. and especially the poetry, came
on this account to supply, as it were, the place
of all the organs of q national life which were
lost at the partition of the state. 1t gains
thereby in spiritual exaltation, but necessarily
loses in variety.
Here. indeed. is far reaching analysis. terse1y
expressed. All through this section OF the work
we find similar characterizatiOnS. Speaking OF
the three great romantic poets. DR.. Brandes
terms Mickiewicz the eagle, Krasinski the swan
and Slowacki the peacock among the winged
1