The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-09-08
Close-Up OF Poland
DR.. Arthur Coleman Pens Letter to Reveal Inside
Story of Europe's Storm Center - Claims
Country Greatly Misunderstood in Present
World Crisis

My interest In Poland began very
early because of the fact that many
OF the workmen employed by my
father in Connecticut were Poles,
but none Of my boyhood friends
took any interest In the Polish Ian
guage. There was legend, how
ever, that my grandmother used TO
tell, of certain learned black
smith" of a neighboring town who
learned forty languages so that he
could read them fluently, and all
while he was earning his living at
the arduous task Of forging cow
bells! I didn't know then whether
my grandmother's story was true
or not, but found out later 1t was:
that the learned blacksmith" was
the famous Peace Crusader Elihu
Burritt, that he did learn all those
languages, studying them from
pieces of paper that he kept in his
hat, while he was forging cow-bells
and that, most interesting to all Of
us, Polish was one Of Burritt's forty
languages.
Also 1t might interest you to know
that another American besides the
Learned blacksmith" Burritt, studied
Polish, I did not know about this
one myself until few years ago
when my wife discovered him, quite
by accident. This other ancestral
student" OF Polish was James Gates
Percival, our first professional poet
In America and man very famous
hundred years ago. Percival, like
Elihu Burritt, was also a native OF
my own state Of Connecticut, but he
was not, like Burritt, a laborer with
his hands. He was by tempera-
ment and practice a scholar. A grad
uate Of Yale University and OF Yale
Medical School, he ended up by be-
coming a famous and respected
geologist. but what he really loved
to do best was retire TO his lonely
room and struggle there with the
study OF languages. The first Of the
Slavonic group Percival attempted
to master and translate from was
Serbian from this he passed to Rus
sian and thence to Polish. Only in
Polish, out Of the four Slavonic
tongues which he studied, did he
come to know the very best literary
works OF his day: for in Polish he
was able to secure, through an en-
terprising bookseller in Boston, the
works Of Mickiewicz and Slowacki.
Percival read widely In both these
poets and he even translated several
poems from them. The interesting
thing Is that he never heard a word
Of Polish pronounced by anyone who
really knew how to pronounce 1t.
He simply stutSed the sounds and
figured out for himself how 1t ought
to be spken, yet in his writings he
repeatedly commented on the soft
ness" and musical quality" of the
Polish tongue.
To An Outsider
It takes foreigner a long, long
time really to know and understand
country. Therefore, when you ask
me to tell you how Poland looks to
an outsider, ! have to go back to the
beginning, and show how my ideas
gradually unfolded and developed.
I first came to Poland In 1880 to
represent Columbia University at
the 400th anniversary Of the birth
of John Kochanowski, Poiand's great
poet, Of the time OF Queen Elizabeth.
That was a wonderful introduction
to Poland and her culture. Among
other things, not only saw with
what artistry Polish drama could be
presented, but I met Poland In the
zenith OF her Golden Age, so to
speak.
That same summer had the good
fortune later on to take O wonder
full trip all over the country with a
group OF foreigners who were study
ing Polish agriculture. We visited
model farms, club Of farm boys and
girls, peasant cottages, and finally
a magnificent estate, which, while
It is operated In the most up-to-date
manner. still preserves the glamor
and charm OF the old Polish way OF
living. Thus I became acquainted
with the Polish countryside = and
whoever thinks he can know Poland