whole rural population on the side of the
insurgents, and now they merely wait for the days
when the National Government shall command,
and, above all, when they shall have weapons,
to throw themselves en masse upon the savage
enemy.

Lelewel, the fallen leader of the corps, caused
many peasants to go over to the national cause.
He was a native of Cracow, and his real name was
Borelowski. By trade a simple pump-maker, he
spread among his fellow-artisans the light of
truth, and prepared their minds for sentiments
of patriotism. During the years 1861-2, there
was not a man in Warsaw who exercised a
greater influence on the working classes than
he. He went from workshop to workshop,
talked with masters and men, appearing
everywhere as the apostle of instruction and
enlightenment.  When evening schools were
established at Warsaw, it was he who brought in
the greater number of scholars. When also
artisans' libraries were introduced, it was he
who filled them with readers. The working
classes loved him, and he enjoyed their
fullest confidence. In 1861, at the time of the
election of the city and provincial corporation,
a hostile party arose in Warsaw, which
threatened by public demonstration to defeat
the election. But Lelewel called around him
two thousand workmen, distributed them at
the various places of voting, and acted so
judiciously, that the population of Warsaw,
spite of all inimical declarations, voted for the
election. While Poland was preparing herself
for the present revolutionary outbreak, Lelewel
held the post of a popular leader, with a thousand
men under him, and to the very moment of
revolutionary action, was one of the most active
members of the confederacy. His sound judgment
and national instincts always preserved
him within the limits of the national organisation.
The programme and the statutes of the
National Government were drawn up during
July, 1862. From this moment Lelewel was
the most faithful executor of the commands
issued by the central committee. Amid the
storms which arose among the yet unharmonised
parties of the committee, he maintained this
national institution with a fervent zeal. All this
contributed to the still further extension of
Lelewel's influence. It was no longer confined
to Warsaw. It extended over the whole country.
He went from town to town, from village to
village, exercising everywhere his trade, and
never came back to his home without having
advanced the national cause. Even landed
proprietors could not resist the influence of this
simple-hearted man. He was always calm and
collected, with an understanding always clear;
the sight of the enemy could alone awaken a
tumult in his tranquil breast. Misfortunes,
instead of abating his courage, only served to
multiply his efforts. He busied himself in the
most active manner in the casting of type and
the establishment of steam presses for secret
printing; nay, he even attempted the manufacture
of arms. The well-known proclamation of
1861, "To all Fellow-Countrymen," was of his
printing, and was circulated by himself, too, in
all cottages and workshops.

When the insurrection broke out, he was
sent, during February, by the National Government
to Podlachia, to form fresh corps of troops
in place of battalions which went into Lithuania.
From this time he adopted the name of Lelewel,
from the great Polish historian, whom he
admired: in order that by this means a worthy
name might become universally known among
the people. It was in this manner that he
began his military career. Russians alone
could tell how severe were the losses which this
great Polish citizen occasioned them. It was
in the field that Lelewel gave the finest example
of a quiet and modest life, with the most
unwearying activity. He never himself went to
rest without having visited in person the
outposts and sentinels. In the battle he never for
a moment lost his coolness and presence of
mind. Always full of courage, he was the last
to leave a battle-field. Such was the man for
whom all Poland weeps.

But now to return to our soldiers. Exasperation
against the enemy was so great, that
the commander could scarcely impress upon
the rural portion of the troops that they
ought to extend mercy to those who cried
for pardon. Chmielinski's corps and a Russian
corps under Czengiery, lay not far from each
other. A Russian outpost losing his way, fell
in with the Polish videttes. Two scythemen,
who saw him, rushed forward with lifted scythes,
but the fellow cried out, as soon as he saw them,
"Pardon, pardon, brothers!" so pitifully and
yet so comically, that the Poles allowed him to
escape. When at forty paces' distance, happening
to see some comrades, his courage returned,
and, taking aim, he fired, and shot the scythe-man
who a few minutes before had given him
his own life. The Poles who saw this (they
were about ten in number) rushed forward in
fury, and cut the traitor and three other Russians
who had come to his aid, in pieces.

The only worthy opponents of the Poles are
the Russian dragoons, giants all of them, and
well armed. When cavalry are not needed,
they dismount eight and eight, leaving the ninth
to take care of the horses, and so make use of
their muskets. The Cossacks are the hyænas
of war, who attack their enemy from behind.
They are great boasters, which is a Russian
characteristic, and they cry in their flight, when
pursued by the Poles, " We beg pardon!"

As for us, even our boys join in the fight. My
own brother Stanislaus, only fourteen, was killed
in the month of August, after having, with an
Ulan regiment, taken part in four engagements.

The arms now in use are for the most part
of excellent Belgian manufacture, but there
is a great want of ammunition. The largest
quantity of arms, ammunition, and other
material of war which are imported into Poland
pass the Prussian frontiers, because in Prussia
as in Russia, the administration is rotten to the
core. Many a loyal Prussian official first