The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-19

the Poles,

=
Although about one-third OF tho vol
rne entitled Poland. by GEoRo BRASDEs
tho Macmillan Company. the well-knowr
Danish man OF letters. is devoted to q
< survey Of Polish literature In the nine
teonth century, tho author also records
the impressions made upon him by the in
habitAnts OF Russian. Prussian and Aus
TRAN Poland during four visits. Of which
the drst was made In 1885 and the last In
1850. II II be fact. as Lowell used TO say
that the truth about given person can be
best disoerned and told by those who APP
proach him with preconceived sympathy
u would be hard to find anybody better
qualified than Mr.. Brandes to describe the
Polish people. He himself holds that
while the first condition to speaking the
truth is to know 1t. the next Is that one
ehould be able to speak without fear or
favor. The second condition can hardly
be complied with by ono who has been
brought into close contact with all the
leading percentages In a country. and who
has mt with the most cordial hospitality
from them. This has been our authors
experience. He comes to his task with
friendly prepossessioR, and, therefore, as a
critic Ii bound to be on his guard against
the promptings OF gratitude. Not only
have the Poles shown him more kindness
and affection than any other people in the
world. but before he visited their country
he regarded IL with interest. He strikes
the keynote Of his book when he says
II love the Poles. not only because their
tate has been 10 sad and because the his
torical injustice they have suffered is so
great. but because something In their
entity strongly attracts me. Now and then
have been praised in Poland because,
while others do homage to the great peoples
Of tho earth. have preferred to court
misfortune. But 1t IL not only the calamity
Of Poland which has won me TO the land
and its inhabitants. Among the develop
ments OF the human plant, manifold as they
are. the perfect blossom OF the Slavonic
race is the flower that most enchants me-
At the same time. he has striven not to show
himself entirely blind to the sell confessed
shortcomings OF the Poles and to heed the
injunction laid upon him by the mater OF
the university in the capital OF Galicia
when the latter said: we certainly hope
that you will write about us. but we do not
ask for praise. We only desire the truth,
Tell the truth about us, however the words
may sound. and we shall be thankful to
you.'
It used to be, and still is. common to hear
the Poles described by superficial observers
~ the French Of eastern Europe. There Is
no doubt that Warsaw In many ways affects
the foreigner almost as II 1t were q French
city. French Ii the auxiliary language OF
the Poles. the language which among the
higher classes all know perfectly. the Ian
Guage which ia spoken a. fuently as the
mother tongue, and. according to Mr..
Brandes, even better than the Russians
speak It. In ar.stocratic circles Poles
frequently converse with one another in
French. a state of things which from the
beginning OF the nineteenth century was
promoted not only by the continual in
tellectual intercourse with France and the
emigration of many Poles thereto, but By
The need Of being able to meet the Russians
on neutral territory so far as language was
concerned.
The Poles themselves conceive that they
are closely related to the French through
their defects. which they themselves char
acterise a. Inconsistency and instability. and
the foreign visitor Is continually asked II he
does not see great and lamentable SINH
larity' between the Poles and the French.
In our authors opinion, the similarity is
skin deep rather than profound and per-
vasive. The likeness. 20 far a. 1t exists,
~ noticeable In q oognate capacity for
swift euthusiasms and violent revulsions
Of feeling. In q craving for adventures
and emotions. and In a love Of fame and
chow. There Ia, on the other hand. funda-
mental difference. The rationalistic. argu-
mentstive basis Of the French character
Il absent in the Poles. The algebraic,
arithmetcal basis OF the French manner
Of thought 10 wholly wanting. The French
man 10 great writer Of prose; the Pole is
q poet. For this reason the stronghold
OF the French world Of letters Is prose;
and that Of Polish literature poetry. Then.
again. nothing can be less French than the
continual and almost perfect use OF foreign
languages and the remarkable knowledge
Of foreign authors which are continually
encountered In Poland. Young girls OF
twenty that speak six languages exceIlently
and without accent are met with In Poland,
but certainly not In France. The passion
ate fondness for travel and the versatility
Of the resultant culture which characterize
the Poles are In the highest degree un-
French. As rule. the Frenchman Is either
ignorant or . specialist.
On the other hand, 30 far Is the kind OF
instability imputed to the Poles In CON-
- hoS w cOuueoi poIt ~ TIC
The Instability Of the French shows itself
almost exclusively In public life. especially
where they are collected In masses. as In
public meetings or mobs. II depends on
Z sudden change Of mood, for which no single
person feels himself responsible. The insta-
bility OF the Poles is personal. depending
partly on IN innate propensity to change. |
and partly on an instructive inclination |
TO universally All careful observers Of |
French life concur with Mr.. Brandes in |
asserting that In France the ruling prin- |
cple 10 q prudent. and sometimes subtle |
egoism, which runs in the family. and Is /,
inherited by the children. which IL i'm |
pressed upon them from the outset. and. |
q Q rule, directs their lives. French par |
sntA do not. a. in England and tho United !
States. strive first to develop a youth into |
. capable man. able to help himself. but |
they try to smooth his path in life. TO pro-
euro for him favors, connections, patronage.
and thus to assure his future or his ad- |
vancement. II the path be smooth. the |
young man will not willingly abandon his |
career before the highest rung Of the ladder |
OF honor IL reached. The situation Ia en- |
tirely different In Poland. where the young |