Antoninus Pius took a greater Care to Defend the Empire than Inlarge its Bounds and as to Marcus Antoninus the Philosopher he was not able to Compass the Design he had of Reducing Sarmatia into a Province of the Roman Empire Maximin had no better Success against them and since his time the Empire declin'd apace till Probus reviv'd their Spirits again This Great Man Subdu'd the Germans and gave the Sarmatians so many Overthrows that they were forc'd to quit the Territories they had Usurp'd during the Reign of His Predecessors They were again Defeated by Dioclesian and Constantius but it does not appear that they became Subjects to the Romans Valentinian Defeated them some time after in such a Manner that they were forc'd to quit Pannoma and Moesia and Retire into their own Country and Began to Form a Common-wealth under Lochus about the Year of our Lord 550. They have preserv'd their Liberty ever since though they have been often reduc'd to great Extremities but they never paid Tribute to any of their Neighbours 'T is true that their King Michael VVieznowisky had the Weakness to agree to Pay a Yearly Tribute to the Turks but the States of Poland refus'd to Ratify the Treaty and boldly Asserted their Right and Liberty under the Conduct of John Sobiesky Grand Mareshal of the Crown who was afterward Elected King and forc'd the Turks to Renounce the Pretended Tribute that Michael had Promis'd them The Nobility of Poland is so Numerous and Brave that it seems Morally Impossible to Conquer their Country so long as they are well United and the Surprising Progress of Charles Gustavus King of Sweden who in Three Months Time Conquer'd almost that Kingdom signifies nothing in this Case for that Prince was called in by some of the Polanders themselves and the others would not Fight for their King The Precipitated Retreat of the Swedes when the Poles Returned to their Duty sheweth how little they were able to Conquer Poland But I leave off this Subject to speak a word as to this Book The First Part giving an Account of the Constitution of the Polish Government of the State of Poland in respect to its Neighbours of the Prerogative of their Kings of their Dyets Customs Manners Ceremonies Religion Coyns c. is Owing to a Person of Quality who has Resided many years in that Kingdom and who by reason of his Merit as well as Character could better inform himself of the Matters he Treats of than Men of ordinary Birth and Capacity The Appendix containing a Chronological Abridgment of the Kings of Poland some farther Remarks on the Government of that Kingdom the Instrument of the â—bdication of King John Casimire the Rise Progress and Destruction of the Socinians is partly abstracted from History and Private Memoires of Persons that may be depended upon The Account of the late Interregnum and the Election of Frederick Augustus is grounded upon the best Intelligence that it was possible to have from Poland considering the Confusion of the Affairs of that Country and the Pretentions of the Competitors are stated and related as they have been communicated by the Eye-witnesses of those Transactions THE CONTENTS Chap. I. OF the Constitution of the Polish Government and the Principal Officers of State p. 1 Chap. II. Of the Division of Poland into Provinces p. 4 Chap. III. Of the State of Poland with respect to its Neighbours and of the various Success of the VVars in which it has been Engaged with them p. 12 Chap. IV. Of the Tartars their manner of Fighting their Original Division of their Country Manners and History of their Actions and how they became Subject to the Turk p. 27 Chap. V. Of Ukrania and the Cossacks with an Account of the Lithuanians and Livonians p. 37 Chap. VI. Of the State of Poland p. 76 Chap. VII Of the King p. 81 Chap. VIII Of the Senate in General p. 97 Chap. IX Of the Senate an particular and first of the Bishops p. 98 Chap. X. Of the Palatins Castellans and Officers of State who are Senators p. 107 Chap. XI Of the Order of the Nobility and Gentry p. 113 Chap. XII Of the Officers who are not Senators p. 118 Chap. XIII Of the Interregnum p. 120 Chap. XIV Of the Election of a KING p. 124 Chap. XV. Of the Diets in general p. 128 Chap. XVI Of the Diet of the Election p. 137 Chap. XVII Of the Election of a Successor p. 144 Chap. XVIII Of the Pacta Conventa or the Contract betwixt the King and the People p. 147 Chap. XIX Of the Kings Coronation p. 153 Chap. XX. Of the Queens of Poland p. 161 Chap. XXI Of the Polish Army p. 164 Chap. XXII Of the Estates and Revenues of the Polanders p. 174 Chap. XXIII Of the Customs Humours and Inclinations of the Polanders p. 184 Chap. XXIV Of their Religion p. 191 Chap. XXV Of the Administration of Justice p. 194 Chap. XXVI Their Marriages and Funerals p. 196 Chap. XXVII Of the Diet and Entertainment of the Polanders p. 200 Chap. XXVIII Their way of Travelling p. 205 Chap. XXIX Of the Polish Money p. 209. A Chronological Abridgment of the History of Poland p. 212. A Panegyrical Character of the Last King John III. with an Account of his Principal Actions and Death p. 221 Further Remarks on the Government of Poland and the Extraordinary care they take of their Libertys and Priviledges p. 223. The Form of King Casimire's Abdication p. 225. The Instrument of the States Publisht on that Cecasion p. 228. The Rise of Socinianism in Poland and of the Present State of that Sect. p. 230 Edict of King Sigismund against the Socinians p. 233. Edict of King John Casimire against them p. 236. A Letter giving an Account of the Present State of the Socinians p. 238. A Petition of the Socinians sent some years ago into England representing briefly their Miserable Condition p. 248. Where now Setled p. 250. Account of the late Interregnum and Election of the Present King With some further Remarks on the late King and a short Character of the several Candidates for that Crown p. 251 The Proposals made by the Baron de Fleming in behalf of his Master the Elector of Saxony p. 274. The Pacta Conventa Sworn to by the Baron de Fleming in the great Church of Warsaw p. 278 A great Ambassy appointed to go and offer the Crown to the Elector with the Remarkable Speech of the first Ambassador on that Occasion p. 281. The Kings Speech to the Nobility assembled to Congratulate him p. 288. His Corronation p. 293. The Prince of Conty's arrival at Dantzick c. p. 295 THE Present State OF POLAND CHAP. I. Of the Constitution of the Polish Government and the Principal Officers of State POLAND is a Republic compos'd of two Estates the Crown and the great Dutchy of Lithuania The Crown is properly the Kingdom of Poland and the great Dutchy of Lithuania was United to it in the
AN ACCOUNT OF POLAND An Account of POLAND CONTAINING A Geographical Description OF THE COUNTRY THE Manners of the Inhabitants and the Wars they have been Engag'd in the Constitution of that Government Particularly the Manner of Electing and Crowning their KING his Power and Prerogatives With a Brief History of the Tartars By Monsieur Hauteville who Resided about 25 Years in that Kingdom To which is Added A Chronology of the Polish KINGS the ABDICATION of KING John Casimir and the Rise and Progress of SOCINIANISME Likewise a Relation of the Chief Passages during the Last Interregnum and the Election and Coronation of the New KING Frederic Augustus The Whole Comprehending whatsoever is Curious and Worthy of Remark in the Former and Present State of POLAND London Printed for T. Goodwin at the Queens-head in Fleet-street and H. Newman at the Grashopper in the Poultry 1698. To His EXCELLENCY The Earl of GALLWAY Lieutenant General of the King's Armies one of the Lords Justices of Ireland and General of His Majesty's Forces in that Kingdom My Lord THis Treatise I make bold to Present to your Excellency and I hope the Consideration of the Subject it Treats of will make Attonement for the Freedom of it The Republick of Poland is justly Ranked amongst the Greatest Dominions in the World and the Dispute between Two Great Princes who both Pretend to the CROWN draws all the Eyes of Europe on that side Therefore I hope that tho' your Excellency is Perfectly Acquainted with the Laws and Constitutions of all the States in Christendom yet you will please Favourably to Receive this Book which I think gives an Exact Account of Poland and of the Pretentions of the Two Illustrious Rivals who Dispute that Throne However I design not to Prepossess the Wâ—â—â—â—â— in Favour of this Book by the Prefixing of 〈◊〉 Illustrious Name to it I know I could nâ—â— make choice of a Better Protector but I only 〈◊〉 tend to give your Excellency a Publick Mark of my Profound Respect Neither did I propose to my self to make the Eulogy of the Great Virtues which are so conspicuous in your Excellency such an Vndertaking is above Vulgar Pens and too great to be Treated in the narrow bounds of an Epistle Dedicatory Whoever attempts that must give a Relation of the Sieges of Candia Athlone Galway Limerick and Cazal Describe the Bloody Batters of Aghrim and Landen Relate the Important Negotiations committed to your care speak of the Prudence Intrepidity and Bravery you have expressed in the greatest Dangers and commend in Terms suitable to the Subject that admir'd Penetration and Sagacity of your Excellency which discover'd the Secret Intreagues of a Court notwithstanding the most refin'd Dissimulation that ever Italy made use of These great Qualities are so well known that Envy and Jealousie are forced to be silent and dare not attack a Merit esteem'd by all the Princes of Europe and admir'd by all the World I am afraid that I should displease your Excellency by proceeding any farther on this Subject yet I would beg leave to observe that these great Vertues are hereditary in your Excellency and not the effect only of an happy Education My Lord Marquiss of Ruvigny your Father was equally fit for Council and Action His great Courage and Prudence raised him to the Dignity of Lieutenant General of the Armies of the French King and would have certainly advanc'd him to that of Mareschal of France had not his Religion been an Invincible tho' Glorious Obstacle to it Every body own'd he deserv'd that Great Trust and his Prince thought he had no Subject in his Kingdom so fit to Represent His Person in the Courts of the greatest Kings in Europe Your Excellency will pardon me if I cannot forbear to carry the Parallel somewhat further and therefore my Lord give me leave to say That you are like him Pious and Charitable You both Generously quitted a Great Estate and a private Life with the Testimony of a good Conscience had more Charms with you than all the Dignities and Dazling Splendor of a Court. You are as he was Sensible of the Miseries of the Poor They had always Access to your Person and were never sent back without Relief The Widows and Orphans find in your Excellency what they have lost and the Prayers of so many Relieved People sent up to Heaven fall down again upon your Excellency in Showers of Blessings But what shall I say of the Vertues of my Lady Marchioness your Mother It is impossible to draw her Character without Exhausting all the Qualifications ascribed by Solomon to his Virtuous Woman The Merit of your Excellency is so generally known that England and Ireland have Applauded the Choice His Majesty made of you to be one of the Lord Justices of Ireland and every body agrees that the Titles and Employments Conferr'd upon your Excellency are not so much the effect of His Majesty's Favour as the just Reward of your Eminent Virtue and Services That your Excellency may long enjoy that unspotted Fame will be the Constant Prayers of My Lord Your Excellency's most Humble and most obedient Servant THE PREFACE THE Dispute about the Crown of Poland makes now such a Noise in the World that 't is Believ'd an Account of that Country cannot but be Acceptable to the Ingenious Reader This Book which is offer'd to your Consideration is not Exstracted out of several Authors as most Accounts commonly are but contains the Observations of a Person of Quality who Resided 25 Years in Poland and had an Opportunity of Informing himself of every thing worthy a Gentleman's Curiosity being very Intimate with the Ministers and all the Great Men of that Kingdom * See Journaux des Seavans An. 1687. Epâ—em 23. Mots d' Avril Also the Pibliotheq Vniver Tom. 7. p. 574. And the Republiq des Lutres Mots d' Aâ—ust An. 1687. Though Poland is not very Remote from us yet one may say it is almost unknown few Persons going thither to Travel However it deserves our Curiosity it being one of the most Ancient States of the World the only one which has Preserved and Maintain'd the Right of Electing their Monarchs and indeed the only one that was never Conquer'd The Original of the Poles as well as other Nations is very uncertain and Fabulous but the Sarmatians are so Ancient that there is still some Monuments at this day that Jupiter Belvs one of the Assyrian Monarchs made War upon them though Unfortunately The Grecians and Persians were not more Successful against that Warlike Nation nor even the Romans themselves They had nothing to do with them till Augustus's time who Beat them off of the Banks of the Danube Domitian was very Unhappy against them and in short it does not clearly appear that any of the Roman Emperours penetrated into Sarmatia no not Trajan Himself though Eutropius relates he received under his Protection a Sarmatian King Adrian allow'd them a Yearly Pension Marcus
Year 1386. by the Duke de Jagillon who embrac'd the Christian Religion that he might marry Hedwige Daughter to Lewis King of Poland and Hungary and who with his Religion changed also his Name and was called Viadislaus For the Polanders were Christians long before having received the Faith of Christ ann 964 in the Reign of Miecislans I. who after he had divorced seven Pagan Wives was converted and marry'd the Daughter of Boleslaus King of Bohemiae who was a Christian These two Estates are contiguous to one-another and are now but one Body being united in the same Interest under the Government of the same King and in the Profession of the same Religion especially since the Diet held at Grodeck on the River Bug between the Polanders and the Lithuanians in the year 1413. where the Union was renew'd and where it was concluded that for the future they should have the same Laws and Privileges and that the King should be elected by the joint Consent of the Nobility of the two Estates which was ratified and signed by all the Senators of Poland and Lithuania Nevertheless they are governed by distinct Officers each of them having a Grand Marshal and a Petty or Sub-Marshal whom they call the Marshal of the Court a Chancellor Vice-Chancellor and Treasurer who are all Senators those of the Crown for Poland and those of the Dutchy for Lithuania and are equal in Dignity and Power only those of the Crown take place of those of the Dutchy The Office of the Grand Marshal is to keep the Peace and prevent Tumults or Disturbances both in the Diets and in the King's Houshold to punish Offenders even with death and without Appeal from his Judgement except in cases of great Importance which may be brought before the King He has also Power to command Silence to give leave to speak to introduce Ambassadors to appoint them their Lodgings and to fix the prices of all Commodities and Merchandizes This last Branch of his Authority is extreamly advantageous to him for the Merchants give him very Considerable Presents that they may have leave to sell their Goods at exorbitant Rates The Chancellors and the Vice-Chancellors of the Crown are chosen by turns out of the Clergy and Laity But those of the Dutchy are always Lay-men The Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor make use of the same Seals and either of them may be used indifferently for they have both an equal Authority only the latter gives place to the former and never gives judgement but in his absence The Chancellor by his Office is the Judge of all Civil Affairs and matters relating to the Kings Revenue 'T is also his Duty to take Care that nothing be done contrary to the Laws or Injurious to the Liberty of the People and that the Intrigues of Foreigners may not be prejudicial to the Republick The Authority of the Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors is so great that in several cases they may affix their Seals without the Kings Order and refuse to seal such things for him as are contrary to the Constitutions of the State 'T is the Office of the Chancellor or in his Absence of the Vice-Chancellor to answer all the Harangues that are made to the King by Ambassadors and he of the two who is a Clergyman hath power over the Secretaries Priests and Preachers of the Court and over the Ceremonies of the Church The Treasurer is properly the Keeper of the publick Treasure which is brought to him by four other Officers who keep an exact Account of it and are obliged to give one Copy to the King and another to the Treasurer His Office impowers him to prevent the wasting or embezelling of the Revenues of the Republick and of those which are appointed for maintaining the King's Table and therefore he ought to sign all the Contracts the King makes which otherwise would be void He ought also to take care that the Republick do not sustain any damage by the Contracts that are made for the Coyning of New Money When the Treasurer is called to an Account the General Diet orders a Committee of a certain Number of Persons to examine his Accounts and to give him an Acquittance without which the Republick may still call him to an Account for the Administration of his Imployment And therefore since this Acquittance is of such vast importance to the Grand Treasurer great Interest is always made about the Nomination of the Commissioners that are appointed to examine his Accounts because he is obliged not only to entertain the Commissioners but also to give them considerable Presents to obtain his discharge The Petty or Sub-Marshal or the Marshal of the Court who is the last of the five Officers that are Members of the Senate executes the Office of the Grand Marshal in his absence and in case of the Death or Demise of that Officer he succeeds in course as the Vice Chancellor is in such cases promoted to the dignity of the Chancellor So that before a Man can be Grand Marshal or Chancellor he must first be Petty Marshal or Vice Chancellor CHAP. II. Of the Division of Poland into Provinces THE Kingdom of POLAND formerly contained Fifteen great Provinces which the King retains still in his Title as King of Poland Duke of Lithuania Russia Prussia Massovia Samogitia Livonia Volhinia Kiovia Podolia Podlassia Smolensko Siâ—eria and Czerniechovia But at present there are no more than nine Provinces subject to the Crown of Poland viz. Great and little Poland the great Dutchy of Lithuania Russia Prussia Massovia Samogitia upper Volhinia and Podlassia or Podlachia Great POLAND is so called because Lechus first King of the Polanders settled his Residence at Gnesna in this Province It is also called Lower Poland and Posnania is the principal City This Province contains eight Palatinates viz. Posnâ—â—â— Kalisch Lencici Brest Inowlocz Siradiae Kawa and Ploosko It is bounded on the North with Prussia on the South with Little Poland on the East with Massovia and on the West with Silesia and the New Marquisate of Brandâ—nburg The River Warta runs through the middle of the Province Little POLAND which is also called Upper POLAND contains three 〈◊〉 Cracow Saâ—domir and Lublin It borders with Massovia and Great Poland on the North Mount Crapat on the South Black Russia on the East and Silesia on the West and the River Vistula runs through it The City of Cracow is the Metropolis of this Province and of the whole Kingdom The Starosta of Cracow is not only Governour of the Castle but also the Defender of the Peace and of the publick Tranquility which entitles him to a large Jurisdiction both over the Inhabitants of Towns and the Gentry As for the great Dutchy of Lithuania tho Jagillon began to unite it to the Crown of Poland Anno 1386 and tho that union was afterwards renew'd in the Diet held at Grodeck between the Polanders and the Lithuanians in 1413 yet it still retained its own Dukes and
the Russians that they could never afterwards be reconcil'd And this was one of the principal causes of the Revolt of the Cossacks and of all the Disasters with which Poland was afterwards harass'd Such was the dismal effect of that Change of Religion and of those Ceremonies which the Polish Gentry would have introduc'd into their Territories in Russia they ought to have consider'd that the best Innovations are frequently attended with fatal Consequences and their own Country might have furnish'd 'em with a very instructive Example of this nature The Lutheran Doctrin was introduc'd into Riga by a Sedition of the meaner sort of people in the Year 1586 not long after the Reformation of the Kalendar made by Pope Gregory XIII had been publish'd there Some persons resolving to celebrate the Feast of our Saviour's Nativity according to the ancient Kalendar the Governor of the City imprison'd the Principal of the College because he was the first who acted contrary to the Decree of the Senate which rais'd so great an Uproar in the City that the People in the night-time broke open the Prison and pull'd down the Houses of the Curate and of the Governor And even the disorder was so great that almost all the Inhabitants took up Arms against those who defended the Roman-Catholick Religion and especially the Jesuits whom King Stephen Battori had settl'd there in the year 1582 after he had given 'em certain Revenues and a Church which belong'd to the Canons During the heat of the tumult the incens'd People imprison'd some of the Senators and put some others to death so that being sensible of their Guilt and despairing of Pardon they put themselves under the protection of other Lutherans and never afterwards return'd to their ancient Religion Thus 't is plain that the restraining of the Cossacks from making Incursions and the Change of Religion which the Lords of Poland would have introduc'd into their Territories in Russia and Vkrania were the two principal Causes of that Peoples revolt But there was also another reason that caus'd that fierce and untractable Nation to rebel The Gentry of Vpper Volhinia were so addicted to Tyranny and Oppression that they could not endure the Cossacks because their neighbourhood gave a bad Example to all their Subjects and dispos'd 'em to shake off the insupportable Yoke of Servitude for they thought it better to live like the Cossacks at Liberty and without Constraint than to work and till the Ground for the use of their Oppressors so that the tyranny of the Gentlemen augmented the number of the Cossacks by forcing the Peasants to forsake their Habitations and retire to them The fourth reason that the Cossacks had to complain of the Gentry proceeded from the sordid Usury and insatiable Avarice of the Jews who are very numerous in Poland except in the Province of Massovia where they are only permitted to remain when there is a Dyet sitting at Warsaw They live miserably thro the whole Kingdom because they are oppress'd and squeez'd by the Gentry they are usually the persons who sell Aqua-Vitae and Beer and farm the Customs of the Lords which they do for the most part at an excessive price and this is the reason why they make bad Brandy and Beer They were first introduc'd into Poland by a Duke of Kalisch who brought them from Germany and establish'd them in his and some other Cities of Lower Poland from whence they spread themselves throughout the whole Kingdom they have the Privilege not to acknowledge any Judge but only the Palatins whom they easily soften not to say corrupt by the Presents they make them Their Usury and Exactions upon the People have sometimes risen to such an exorbitant height that they have obtain'd a Prohibition for any private person to brew Beer not even for themselves by which means they oblig'd all the Inhabitants of the Kingdom to buy it of them at what price they pleas'd to impose upon it The Son of King Vladislaus dying in the Year 1647 the Cossacks began again to revolt under the command of one Chemeinski who was the first that made the Cossacks joyn the Tartars notwithstanding the mortal Enmity that was formerly betwixt 'em by reason of the great difference of their Language Manners and Religion After they were thus united in the Year 1648 they made a terrible havock in Poland But before I proceed to relate their Barbarities it will not be improper to give a short Character of Chemelnski He understood War very well and was once Secretary to the Army he was also a man of Learning and had studied with the Jesuits at Leopold he knew the weak side of the Court of Poland having been several times there in the quality of an Envoy he was so exasperated by the loss of an Estate which a Polish Lord had taken from him by a Law-suit that immediately he had recourse to force and having gather'd out of the Isles of the Boristhenes a multitude of People like himself and corrupted the Cossacks in the Polish Army he soon after prevail'd with the neighbouring Tartars to joyn him with whose assistance he fell unexpectedly upon the Polanders who guarded the Frontiers of the Kingdom and afterwards cut in pieces part of their Army and sent the rest with their Commanders into Slavery to Tartary From that time he so manag'd the Republick that sometimes he suffer'd himself to be appeas'd by Promises and then rais'd a new Insurrection according to the posture of his Affairs 'T is true he was sometimes beaten by the Polanders but 't is no less certain that he always kept the Advantage over 'em either by his own dexterity or by the Divisions or Neglect of the Polish Generals who could not make a right use of their Victories He was often reconcil'd to the Republick but never trusted in them He was naturally of a turbulent Spirit keeping his Men always in Arms against Poland and fortifying his Interest by the Affiance of some potent Neighbour for 't was his constant practice to change his Affies according to the state of his Affairs Thus after the Tartars had concluded a Peace with King John Casimir he implor'd the Protection of the Duke of Muscovy so that Poland could hardly entertain any Hope of being able to reduce the Cossacks during the life of so politick a General After the death of Vladislaus IV May 30 1648 John Casimir his Brother was chosen King of Poland Nov. 17 in the same Year He immediately apply'd himself to remedy the ill state of the Republick and to repair the Losses it had sustain'd by the Irruption which the Cossacks and Tartars had made even into the very Heart of the Kingdom after the Defeat at Pilaveze Sept. 29 1648. The greatest part of the Polish Army was compos'd of new-rais'd Soldiers and of Militia they were encamp'd near the Cossacks end had even obtain'd some Advantages over them but those Revolters having made a great noise in the Evening with
then they make nothing of entring their Huts and plundering what they can The poor Rusticks have no admittance into their Lord's Presence without Presents and if it be their Fortune to have access to them they are commonly directed to make their complaint to the Judges who are sure to do them but little good unless the Plaintifs bring them Presents to recommend their Petitions so that every word of the Judge in Lithuania is money Four days commonly and sometimes five or six in a week the Wretches must work for their Lords On Mundays they are allowed to drudge for themselves and as they have not time enough on other days they frequently do all manner of work on sundays for the Peasants keep no manner of Saints Holy-days there having that also particular to them with the Russians that if you ask them why they presume to work on the Lord's day they will answer you with this question whether they must not eat on the Lord's day They are oblig'd to pay a Tax three or four times a year towards defraying the charges of guarding the Frontiers besides several other heavy Impositions of their Lord 's devising Their Bread is the brownest and coursest the Wheat and Ears of Corn being commonly ground together They have very little Horses which yet are excellent for service either in War or Husbandry They do not plough the Ground with Iron but with Wood which seems the stranger because their soil is generally hard and not sandy When they go to plough they take along with them several pieces of Wood which they use instead of Plough shares and when one is broken they presently clap another into the Plough A certain great man to ease those poor men in that hard labour caus'd several Iron Plough-shares to be fabricated but as the following years by reason of the badness of the weather there were no plentiful Harvests they Peasants positively ascribed the sterility of the Ground to those Iron Plough-shares insomuch that to avoid a sedition they were permitted to use their old Way Their Dress is generally a course Ash-colour'd Habit with a sort of Buskings or Boots made of the skins of Beasts after they have taken off the hair They have a sort of light Carts about which they make use of no manner of Iron-work and as they never grease them when many of them are driven together the Axel-trees make a strange uncouth sort of a Noise In some places in the Country if any one of the Peasants has committed a Crime for which his Lord thinks fit to condemn him to die the Criminal is obliged to hang himself and be his own Executioner and if he refuses he is compell'd to do it with Threats and Blows As 't is not many hundred years since the Lithuanians became Christians there are some of the meaner sort still in the Country so stupidly ignorant as to retain many things of their Ancestors Idolatrous Worship these keep a sort of swarthy serpents which they look upon as their tutelary Divinities feeding them with great Care and Respect and attributing their ill Fortune to their neglect of those Animals Not long ago the Lithuanian Rusticks us'd to offer sacrifices about the latter end of October to an imaginary Deity whom they called Ziemiennick Those of Samogitia and Russia us'd to do the like Neither were those of Livonia less idolatrous having been taught Christianity not only by preaching and apostolical Admonitions but also by force of Arms. This gave Birth to the Order of Livonian Knights who first styl'd themselves Sword-bearing Fryers or Brothers and these finding themselves unable to fight the Livonians out of their ancient Belief and Liberty in time call'd in the Teutonick Knights of Prussia to their assistance by which means they at last prevailed Being at last incorporated with them by Pope Gregory IX the Livonian Masters were oblig'd to pay homage and certain Tributes to the Masters of Prussia till the time of Albert Marquess of Brandenburg who about the year 1513 parted with that yearly Tribute and Homage for a large summ of Money Thus the Livonian Knights by degrees and also the several Bishops and Arch Bishops became so many Soveraigns till after many Wars the whole Country of Livonia was subdued by Sigismund Augustus King of Poland tho' since it has been quitted to the Swedes who are now Masters of it CHAP. VI. Of the State of POLAND THe Polanders have at all times had an Inclination to War Insomuch that at first they continually went arm'd as if they had been just ready to engage their Enemies and indeed all their business was to rove about and change their Station from time to time more like Shepherds than like setled Inhabitants of any particular Place neither were they ever in safety for they were on one side always ready to be attacked by the Germans and by the Scythians on the other So that they had many Wars and bloody Conflicts with both those Nations Yet tho' there never was any solid Friendship between them and the Germans at last their way of Living and the Care they took to keep their word to one another made them Accustom themselves more to them than to the Scythians In the beginning the Polanders had neither Laws nor Princes to govern them and liv'd after an uncontroul'd manner but as no Nation can remain long without Rulers principally in time of War they afterwards us'd to chuse among themselves a Chief who was commonly the most Famous person for Valour among them and they us'd to obey him as a Leader but his Authority lasted no longer than the War All the People resolutely followed him Arm'd with Bows and Arrows Partisans and long Launces the Women attended their Husbands pretending to witchcraft the Knowledge of the future Events of Battles The Men never us'd to betake themselves to flight whosoever ran away was never suffer'd to return to his Party This being esteem'd the greatest shame and ignominy among them They came in time to have Knights which was the next Dignity to their Chief Captain and those were also never chosen but out of the Bravest after they had signaliz'd their Valour against the Enemy They Worship'd the Sun the Moon Mars and diverse other false Divinities having certain Places and Rites appropriated to pay them their Adoration They buried the dead in Forests and Fields laying high heaps of stones over their Tombes as may be still seen in many places in Russia others according to the Roman way us'd to burn the dead Bodies and layd up the ashes in Urns Few things satisfi'd them for their Food They had nothing which they properly call'd their own except their Bow their Partisan and Launce They purchased what ever they wanted of others by the way of Barter or Exchange They wore course Garments made of the skins of Wild Beasts down to their heels despising all Rich Dresses Treasures Houses and possessions They made an end of all private
hundred thousand Livres all this provided he might marry Hedwige and be elected King of Poland These advantageous Proposals were hearkened to and granted and accordingly he was elected King By these means Lithuania was in time united to Poland and from an Hereditaty State is become a part of an Elective Republick Which change some of the Kings of the race of Jagello did not altogether approve nor can it be said that it was fully effected till the Extinction of that Family for being unwilling to deprive their Heirs of an Hereditary Right by submitting to make Lithuania elective they still delayed the Confirmation of the Convention alledging that the Nobility and people of Lithuania would never suffer it lest by such an Union they should lose their antient degree and dignity Things remain'd in this condition while there were Princes of that Family to be elected At last the Lithuanians perceiving that it was extinct as to Males after the death of King Sigismund Augustus and being afraid of Irruptions from their incroaching Neighbours the Muscovites they consented to an Union The Example of Stephen Batori verifies also what we have already said of the regard which the Poles have to the Royal Family in point of Election For that Prince was chosen King of Poland only upon Condition that he should marry the Princess Anne Sister to Sigismund Augustus who dyed without Issue and was the last of the Family of the Jagellones I must own that there were several Reasons which concur'd to cause the Polanders to impose that Condition on Stephen Batori for thus they did not only express their respect to the Jagellonian Family but avoided the Expences which they must otherwise have been at for the maintaining of two Princesses But that which engaged them the rather to act thus was the Abdication of Henry of Valds King of Poland who had refused to marry her for that Prince having received the News of the death of Charles IX his Brother privately left Poland the 18 of June 1574 and returned to France after he had been crown'd at Cracow the 24 of February and had remain'd five months with the Republick The Polanders therefore believing that they would thus more strongly bind Stephen Batori to their Interest oblig'd him to marry the Princess Anne tho' she was somewhat elderly But this prov'd of a very unhappy Consequence for all the Church of Sweden For Stephen Battori dying afterwards at Iroane on the 12 of December 1586 without leaving any Issue the Republick still having a regard to the Family of the Jagellones chose Sigismund the third the Son of John King of Sweden and of Catharine Sister to Sigismund Augustus and thus Nephew to Queen Anne Stephen Battoris's Widow By reason of which Election Sigismund being oblig'd to make Poland the place of his residence left the Government of Sweden to his Unkle the Duke of Sudermania who afterwards made himself Master of the Kingdom where he abolished the Roman Religion and establish'd the Lutheran which he publickly profest What I have said of the Polanders as to their preferring the Offspring of their Kings before others is so true that from the beginning of their acknowledging a Regal State even at a time when they were all strangers to the Christian religion they chose Venda to be their Queen being the only person that was left of the Line of Cracus their third King Long after this Lewis King of Poland and Hungary having chosen for his Successor Sigismund Marquess of Brandenburg who had wedded his eldest Daughter the Republick met at Radom in the year 1312 and the Diet past a Constitution whereby Sigismund was excluded however declaring at the same time that there should be a due regard had to the Princess his Wife The Great Men of the Kingdom gave afterwards their Votes for Ziemowitz Duke of Masovia upon condition he would wed Hedwige who was King Lewis's Daughter But Queen Elizabeth her Mother would not consent that her Daughter should marry so inconsiderable a Prince as was the Duke of Masovia tho' he was of the Royal House of Casimir the Great I have said that the Polanders have not only some Consideration for all those of the Royal Family but that they have also a great regard to the Widows of their Kings It was for this reason that they oblig'd King John Casimir to marry Queen Maria Aloisia the Widow of Vladislaus the fourth his Brother who died without Issue This will further appear by the Proposal that was made to Queen Eleonor of Austria the Widow of King Michael during the Diet of Election in the year 1674. For the Poles insisted upon that Queen's marrying the Prince of Newburg for whom the French us'd their Interest insomuch that on the 18 of May four Bishops came to that Queen and assur'd her that provided she would consent to wed that Prince he would certainly be elected and that by this means the minds of all the different parties would be re-united But Queen Eleonor who is the Emperors Sister and who then did nothing but by the Advice of Chancellor Patz and the motions of the Ministers of the Court of Vienna made them no other answer but that she had some Friends in the Diet who would take care of her Interest A drew Trezebsckâ— Bishop of Cracow was one of the four that were deputed on that account to the Queen and afterwards to Chancellour Patz who as I have said was her chief Councellor But that Chancellor who had a mind the Election should fall on Prince Charles of Lorrain whom the Emperor did very earnestly recommend made answer That he would have no other but the Prince of Lorraine and not the Prince of Newburg The event soon convinc'd him of his error and made him know that he had taken wrong Measures and not understood his true Interest For as he had govern'd King Michael and still had an absolute sway over the mind of the Queen he might easily have govern'd also the Prince of Newburgh who was young and whom his Queen might have enclin'd as she would have thought fit The Chancellor Batz was so positive in his Opinion that it was a very difficult matter to make him alter it He was a Man of his word and when ever he had engag'd it to any body he was sure to keep it inviolably his own Intrest not being able to make him Recant And indeed the Conference which he had with the Prince of Newburgh's Embassador at Belveder whither I kept him Company made it plainly appear that his own Interest alone was not sufficient to make him alter his Measures For I understood afterwards from him that considerable Offers had been made him and that it had been Represented to him what Advantages the Election of the Prince of Newburgh would bring to all his Family But all this did not in the least affect him and so that Conference was to no purpose neither for him nor for the Prince of Newburgh
Nay even his Lady tho' a French-woman of the House of Mailly could never be brought to side with the French Faction tho' very Advantageous Offers were made to her She was Lady of Honour to Queen Eleonor and had promis'd her to be faithful to her which she did Inviolably This unshaken Fidelity in an Austrian French-woman was such that even the French themselves could not but admire and esteem it it being their Nature to Prefer that Vertue to all the Advantages that can be propos'd to them to engage them to part with it France had then almost all the Princes of Europe its Enemies but was still so Fortunate that Heaven would not somuch as suffer her to compass those Things which She most Earnestly desir'd when in process of Time those Things might have been Prejudicial to her Interest Thus the Divine Providence would not permit the Prince of Newburgh to be chosen King of Poland tho' France us'd all her Indeavours to make the Choice fall upon him which if it had taken effect would undoubtedly have been disadvantageous to that Nation for that Prince would not have fail'd to have prov'd her Enemy as did his Father soon after having Married his Daughter to the Emperor I return now to what I have already said that it is in the King of Poland's Power to dispose of all the Places and Offices in the Kingdom and Dutchy Those on whom he bestows them ought not only to be Gentlemen of Poland but ought also to be possest of some Estate in Land in the State or Country to which the said Place or Office Properly belongs So that a Gentleman whose Estate lyes all in the Kingdom of Poland cannot have an Office in the Dutchy of Lithuania neither can he whose Estate is altogether in the Dutchy have an Office in the Kingdom which Order is regularly observ'd tho' the Polanders and the Lithuanians are now properly but one Body and are no more than one People differing but in few things as to their manner of Living Nevertheless in the time that I liv'd in Lithuania I have observ'd that the Politer part of the Lithuanians come nearer to to the French than the Polanders do in all their wayes and particularly in their Briskness and Gayty tho' Lithuania is remoter from France than Poland When the King of Poland enters a City the Magistrates ought alwayes to bring him the Keys and he has power to make his own Regiment of Guards keep watch at the Gates The Citizens of Dantzick alone have the priviledge of Guarding their own Gates when the King enters that City nay they have a Right to hinder any Forces from entering with the King and to go the Rounds all Night in the Streets as long as he stays within their Walls But it must indeed be Acknowledg'd that Dantzic which is one of the most Considerable Hans-Towns is properly a free Republic under the Protection of Poland Consequently it has all the marks of an Entire Sovereignty For it condemns to Death without Appeal even the Gentlemen of Poland themselves if they happen to commit any Crime there that deserves a Capital Punishment It has a Mint of its own and Coyns its own Mony without any previous Leave or Permission obtain'd from the Republic of Poland tho' they Stamp the Kings Image upon it and they are not Oblig'd to take in payment the base Mony of that State however tho' the people of Dantzic may thus be reckon'd a Republic and particular Soveraign State they are nevertheless Oblig'd to send to the Diet some Deputies who never fail to speak in the Name of the Senate of Dantzic and who Consequently never fail to be Interrupted by the Chancellor who always desires them to be Silent forbidding them to take that Quality upon them which yet they are sure to take afterwards in the following Diets Dantzic is Scituated about a League from the Baltic Sea and almost at the mouth of the River Vistula That City till the Year 1170 consisted only of some Fishermen's Cottages but has rais'd it self since that time to such a height of Greatness that it passes now for one of the Principal Cities of Europe It must indeed be own'd that it is a Fine and Stately Place and its Port or Harbour very Famous but of difficult Access because the Vistula divides it self into several Branches before it discharges it self into the Sea and that Branch which goes to Dantzic is one of the least of them which is the reason that Great Ships have not Water enough to Anchor with their Lading thro' that Branch into the Harbour of Dantzic Between the Mouth of the River and the Port there lyes a Fort which is call'd the Light-house because there is a Beacon in it where there is a Light every Night that the Ships which are coming into the Harbour may discover it a far off Dantzic is the Town of the Greatest Trade in all Prussia most of which Trafick consists in Corn as doth almost all the Trade of Poland The Dantzickers have such a priviledge that none but themselves can be allowed to buy any Corn of the Polanders when once it is enter'd in their Port whether vast Quantities are brought to them from all Parts by the Vistula half the Revenue of the Port belong'd to the King of Poland since the time that King Sigismund Augustus oblig'd the Dantzickers to grant him that Tribute for their presumption in proposing some Provoking Conditions to him before they would suffer his Deputies to come into their City Dantzic is the Capital City of all Prussia 't is about Seven Leagues from Elbing and Twenty Six from Thorn 't is well enough Fortifi'd considering the Country since the Irruption which the Sweedes made into Poland in the Year 1655. But there are some Grounds that overlook and command it on the West-side From this Town the Polanders draw what Goods they want of Foreign Growth and Manufacture as Cloth Silks Stuffs Leather Paper Sugar Oyls and all the Spices which they use in very great quantities to Season their Fish and other Meat I do not speak of the Wines and Brandy nor of the Salt which is brought thither from France and worth but a Crown the French Muid or Hogshead because as for Wine the Poles like no other but that of Hungary as for Brandy they make it at home with Corn and as for Salt their Countrey abounds with it Thus the Wines Brandy and Salt that come from France to Dantzic serve only for Prussia however there are such considerable quantities of other Goods exported from Dantzic to Poland and so great a Return made from that Kingdom thither in Corn Money and other Things that as it is the only Place from which they draw all their Necessaries and to which they Trade 't is not in the least to be admir'd how that Town is come to be so Rich and Considerable All the Dantzickers were formerly Roman Catholicks But they Embraced the
which they may rise to that of Chancellour and both those Officers must be Ecclesiasticks Next to the Great Secretaries are the Referendaries of the Crown and Dutchy there are Two of them in each State one a Lay-man and the other an Ecclesiastick They present Petitions to the King and return His Majesty's Answer And tho' they are not Members of the Senate they have a Privilege to sit by the Senators in Judgements of Processes upon Information to give their Advice and afterwards to Pronounce the Sentence that is given 'T is to be observ'd that all the Judges and Officers of Justice all the Advocates Proctors Registers and Notaries wear a Sabre or Scimitar by their side and do not lay it aside either when they Judge or Plead a Cause and that they have no other Garb than what they usually wear There are Four General Officers of the Army in Poland 2 for the Crown and 2 for Lithuania viz. A Great General and a Petty or Lieutenant-General Those Generals of the Army have no Place in the Senate unless they be Palatines or Castellans or be possest of some of those Offices which Entitle 'em to a Place in the Senate The Great General Commands the Whole Army and has Power to Quarter the Troops where he pleases the King himself not being able to hinder him And this Power is so considerable that it makes a Great General formidable to all the Nobility His Office is to take care that the Soldiers which are Levy'd for the Service of the Republick commit no Disorders that the Members of the Diets may not be over-aw'd by the Army He Helds the Army Orders its Encampments puts it in Battalia and gives the Signal of Battel and of Retreat he takes care of the Convoys and Ammunitions sets a Price on every thing that is Sold in the Army Regulates the Weights and Measures and Punishes Offenders The Office of the Petty General is to take Care of those who are appointed for Guards and of the Parties that are sent out to discover the Enemy He Commands the Foreign Troops and even the Whole Army in the absence of the General and succeeds him in course upon the occasion of a Vacancy There are many other Offices in the Army the most considerable of which is that of the Great Standard-bearer and the next that of Great Master of the Artillery As for the Offices of the Court the most Considerable are those of the Great Chamberlain Great Master of the Horse and the Steward or Master of the Houshold Besides all those Offices there are others in the Palatinats as Chamberlains Masters of the Houshold and many others for the Provinces of Poland were formerly divided among several Princes each of whom had their particular Officers and tho' those Provinces have been long since Re-united to the Crown yet the Officers still contiâ—â—e and enjoy certain Honorary Privileges the chief of which is that they serve the King in their Palatinates when the Officers of the Court are absent CHAP. XIII Of the Interregnum AN Interregnum may happen Four several ways by the Death of the Prince by His voluntary and Public Abdication by His Forc'd and Iavoâ—â—ntary Deposition or by His Flight 〈◊〉 Going out of the Kingdom but the most usual is by the Death of the King whose Body is immediately laid upon a Bed of State and some Senators both Ecclesiastick and Secular are chosen to attend him In the mean time the Republick Orders all the Necessary Expences for the Ceremony to be taken out of the Treasures left by the Deceased King The same Honours are also given to the Queens after their Decease as I had occasion to observe at the Death of Queen Mary Louise who dy'd at Warsaw May 10. 1667. in the Palace which King John Casimir her Husband had in the Suburbs The next day She was carry'd to the Castle where She was expos'd on a Bed of State till She was remov'd to Cracow to be Interr'd She Dy'd about the end of a Diet and almost suddenly of a Defluxion upon Her Lungs occasion'd by a too long and earnest Dispute with General Patz about an Affair She had propos'd to him which he would not consent to For that Princess was so fond of Intriguing and so desirous to Govern the State alone that She was in a manner Jealous of the King her Husband who durst not speak to any Woman in private least she shou'd imagine that he was Govern'd by another This troublesome Constraint made him so uneasie that he was not much afflicted at Her Death for the same Night he return'd from the Diet to the Palace to see a Person whom He had Lov'd before but durst never entertain during the Queens Life The Interregnum may also happen by a Voluntary Abdication when a King freely Resigns the Crown into the Hands of the Republick But 't is very rare to see a King Descend Voluntarily from the Throne and few will imitate the Example of King John Casimir who after he had Reign'd Twenty years with the Love of all the Nobility made a Publick Resignation in St. John's Church at Warsaw Septemb. 16. 1668. Notwithstanding the Earnest Solicitations of the Whole Senate and of all the Nobility to make Him alter His Resolution and the Tears that were shed by all the People at the Sight of so Dismal a Revolution For he was so Universally Belov'd by the Nobility and Senate that they voluntarily Assign'd Him a Yearly Pension of 50000 Crowns as a Testimony of their Acknowledgment towards a Prince who had Govern'd them so well Nevertheless that Pension was never Paid tho it was afterwards Inserted in the Pacta Conventa which King Michael Swore to observe after His Election The Abdicated King went to France where he died at Nevers December 16. 1672. I cannot on this occasion forbear taking notice of an odd Circumstance in the Fate of that Prince and His Queen for the latter quitted France and went to Poland where She dy'd in Her Husband's City and the former left Foland and went to France where he dy'd in His Wive's City Innovation are always dangerous to a State and threaten it with some Fatal Revolution which the Polanders considering endeavour'd to prevent the consequences of so unusual an Action causing an Article to be Inserted into the Pacta Conventa which they made King Michael Swear to observe That never any King should be suffered to Abdicate for the future but that Article was left out in the Pacta which King John the IIId Swore after his Election in the Church of St. John at Warsaw June 5. 1674. An Interregnum may be also occasion'd by the Deposing of a Prince either for Heresie or some other Notorious Crime as in the Case of Locticus who was Depos'd for his excessive Debauchery and Succeeded by Wenceslaus King of Bobemia was chosen King of Poland in the Year 1300. But those Instances are very rare as well as the Examples of a
Prince's Flying from His Kingdom like Henry II. King of Poland and III. of France who having receiv'd Advice of the Death of Charles the IXth His Brother by a Courier that was dispatch'd to Him by the Queen His Mother secretly departed from Cracow after he had enjoy'd the Crown of Poland Five Months with the Love of all the Nobility who were so troubl'd at His Flight and the loss of so good a Prince that they Wrote on the 12th of May 1574. a very Pressing and Respectful Letter to perswade Him to Return The Polanders look upon the Interregnums as the most Favourable Occasions to confider of the Surest and Most Effectual Ways to Preserve their Liberties and though the Royal Authority is then properly Lodg'd in the Senate 't is in some measure Represented by the Archbishop of Gnesna as Primate of the Kingdom and the First of all the Senators as I intimated before During the Interregnum some of the Senators and Noblemen are sent to the Generals of the Army to stay with them and to assist them with their Advice in Matters relating to the War Some Senatours are also Deputed to the Castle of Cracow to Visit the Treasury of the Crown and to make an Inventary of it with those that have the Keys which they present at the next Coronation Commissioners are also appointed to enquire into the State of the Revenue that is set apart for the King's Table and to give an Account of it to the Republick During the Interregnum and till the New King be Proclaim'd the Republick pretends that all Soveraign Princes and even Crown'd Heads themselves are obliged to give them the Title of Most Serene But when the King of France Writes to the Republick Assembl'd in a Diet of Election he makes no mention of Serenity and only Writes in these Terms To our most Dear and Great Friends Allyes and Confederates the States of the Kingdom of Foland and Great Dutchy of Lithuania Nor is it reasonable that a King of France should give the Republick of Poland the Title of Most Serene since they do not give their own King either the Title of Most Serene or of Majesty I shall only observe further on this Subject that as soon as the Archbishop of Gnesna has Notify'd by his Circular Letters that the King is Dead all the Courts of Justice are shut up and are not open'd again till after the Coronation of the New Elected King except the Marshal's Court which continues open and another which is establish'd for deciding Controversies that may happen during the Diet of the Election But as for all other Causes and private Law-Suits they are not Try'd till after the King's Coronation CHAP. XIV Of the Election of a King SINCE the Kingdom of Poland is Elective all Christian Princes may Pretend to the Succession and send Ambassadours thither whether they be Catholicks or not But those who Aspire to that Crown must either profess the Roman Catholick Faith or resolve to Embrace it after their Election for otherwise he cannot be Chosen and 't is only for this Reason that the Pope sends a Nuncio to the Diet of Election that he may represent to the Republick that 't is the Interest of the Whole Church that they should Chuse a Catholick Prince who is a zealous Assertor of the True Faith of Christ The Polanders usually Chuse a Foreign Prince for their King because they cannot without Reluctancy submit to those who were formerly their Equals They esteem it their happiness that they have the Liberty to Chuse such a Prince as they please But 't is certain that their Liberty is frequently the Cause of Fatal Divisions They will not Choose a Prince who is King of another Realm least after his Election and after he has remain'd for some time among 'em he should leave them to Return to his own Country 'T was for this Reason that after the Death of Casimir III they would not Chuse Vladislaus his Son because he was King of Hungary and Robemia and this was also one of the Reasons which in a Diet held at Radom in the Year 1382 made the Republick Exclude Sigismund of Luxemburg Marquess of Brandenburg who pretended to the Crowns of Poland and Hungary as having Marry'd the Eldest Daughter of Lewis King of those Two Kingdoms Before the Ambassadours come to Warsaw they are to Notifie their Arrival to the Archbishop of Gnesna who appoints Lodgings for 'em at some distance from the City and sends a Polish Gentleman to each of 'em to observe their Actions and to hinder them from making Parties But those Rules are seldom put in Execution for the Ambassadours of Princes live openly at Warsaw 't is true there is a Polish Gentleman appointed to attend every one of 'em during the Diet that the Republick may be inform'd of their Proceedings and that they may not have an opportunity to Bribe or Corrupt the Deputies But this is an Inconveniency that cannot be avoided by all these Precations for the desire of Money is so reigning a Vice in Poland and attended with so little Scandal and Infamy that the Fidelity which a Polish Gentleman owes to his Country would not be Proof against 1000 Crowns 'T is the Interest of the Ambassadours to Manage all the Senators and the whole Order of the Nobility since the disobliging of one of them may render 'em incapable of Compassing their Designs Thus the Quarrelling with Chancellour Patz in the Diet of the Election Anno 1668. was the true reason why the Duke of Newburg was Excluded and Michael Vicznowieski was Elected King In the mean time it must be acknowledg'd that the Election was Tumultuary that the Nobility had not a Free Vote and that they were in a manner hurry'd away by the Violence of the Multitude which was so great that Prasmowski Archbishop of Gnesna was forc'd to Proclaim Him which he was unwilling to do because he was sensible of the Dangers that threatn'd the Republick in that Juncture and of the great need they had of a Rich and Valiant Prince At the same time he knew that King Michael wanted both those Qualities For he was so poor that during the Life of Queen Mary Louise he had nothing to subsist upon as I intimated before but a Pension which She allow'd him of 6000 Livres a Year And as for his Courage it may be guess'd at by what happen'd immediately after his Election when he durst not resent the Affront he receiv'd from the Marquiss of Brandenburg who without asking his Permission caus'd a Prussian Gentleman who had fled to Poland for Protection to be seiz'd and carryd away before the King's eyes and almost under the Windows of His Palace 'T is plain then that the Polanders ought to have Chosen a Prince that was equally Brave and Rich and able to Support their Tottering State For if they had consider'd their true Interest in the choice of a Soveraign the Turks wou'd never have had the
Circular Letters to Summon the Nobility and to notify the Day of the General Diet And in those Circular Letters he mentions every thing that is to be Treated of in the General Diet All the Gentlemen in Poland have the Privilege to assist at the Petty Diets where they Chuse their Nuncio's or Deputies to whom they give Instructions Containing all they ought to grant or refuse in the General Diet. Those Nuncio's were first establish'd in the Reign of Casimir III. who to raise Money for the Payment of his Army order'd all the Palatinats to send their Deputies to the General Diet to find out the most proper Means to supply his Necessities and since that time no General Diet can be held without Deputies from all the Palatinats The General Diets are wont to depute 16 Senators who are Chosen among the Bishops Palatins and Castellans 4 of whom are to be always with the King to take care that nothing be done contrary to the Laws and since the Year 1649 they have joyned to them a Deputy of the Nobility who is chosen by all the Palatinats Every thing that is concluded and ordain'd by those Deputies with the King's Approbation has the force of a Law and if they neglect to reside at Court or to perform their Duty they are Fin'd a Lay-man in 2000 Livres and an Ecclesiastick in 6000. All the General Diets are begun by the Election of a Speaker or Marshal of the Deputies who must be Chosen out of one of the three Nations First Among the Deputies of Upper Poland Secondly Among those of Lower Poland And in the Third and last place among those of Lithuania which frequently occasions Debates that lasts for several days The Marshal of the Deputies being Chosea the King gives him his hand to kiss and afterwards makes the same Compliment to all the Deputies After which the Chancellor Proposes the Points that are to be consider'd of in the Diet which are always different according to the various occasions of the Republick In the mean time I cannot forbear observing that the Polanders spend more time in Drinking than in Deliberating concerning their Affairs for they never enter upon Business till they begin to want Money to buy Hungary Wine After the Chancellor has in the King's Name proposed to the Diets all the Articles they are to Deliberate upon the Speaker or Marshal of the Deputies acquaints the King in the Name of the Nobility with what they desire of him which is to Redress the Grievances and Regulate the Abuses committed either against the State or Particular Persons to dispose of the Royal Gifts the Benefices and Offices that are vacant and to distribute them according to the Laws which forbid the bestowing of Two of them that are Inconsistent to one Person After which the Chancellor makes Answer for the King That His Majesty will satisfie 'em after he has taken the Advice of the Senators The Marshal of the Deputies has a great Authority over them in the Diet For 't is he who Imposes Silence and Speaks to the King and Senate And consequently since his Authority enables him either to Animate or Moderate their Heats he is always extreamly respected and the Court is particularly kind to him 'T is no wonder then that there is so much Intriguing at his Election and that the Contest is usually so hot For 't is the business of the Court to procure a Marshal that will promote their Designs in the Diet and on the other hand the Deputies who chose him have a different Interest from that of the Court and are always afraid of losing their Liberties or of seeing their Privileges abridg'd by some New Laws Those different Interests are frequently the reason that there are some Deputies who regarding only their private advantage oppose the Election of him whom the Court would have Chosen that the King may Bribe them with some Benefice Employment or Royal Gift and there are not only Deputies who make a Noise at the Election of the Marshal but during the whole Progress of the Diet that they may extort Favours from the Court Nay there are some who force the King to comply with 'em by threatning to break up the Diet if he does not answer their Expectations For there are so few of 'em that have a sincere regard to the true Interest of the Republick that there is scarce one to be found among 'em that is capable of resisting the Temptation of 2000 Crowns Thus the Court may purchase the Votes of the Members or dissolve an over-bold and obstinate Diet by seattering sufficient Sums among the Mercenary Deputies And even not only the Neighbours but the Enemies of the Kingdom may by the same means procure a Rupture in the Diet when they find the honest Party resolv'd to take effectual Measures for the security of the Republick Before any thing can be resolv'd in the Diet it must be propos'd by the Deputies and approv'd by the King and Senate And before it can pass into a Law it must be revis'd by the Marshal of the Deputies and two of the Deputies besides or else by three Senators and six Deputies After which it must be read in the Senate in the King's Presence and the Chancellors must ask with a loud Voice Whether the King Senators and Deputies will have the Seal put to it Then 't is seal'd and inserted in the Registers of Warsaw or in those of the Chancery of the Kingdom and one of the King's Secretary's takes care to get it Printed at the Charge of the Publick Treasury that it may be sent to the Petty Diets and to the Courts of all the Palatinats They Treat in all Diets not only of the Affairs of the Republick but also of particular Persons Thus in one of the Diets they took cognizance of the difference betwixt the Order of Maltha and Prince Demetrius Vicznowieski who took possession of an Estate which the Duke Ostrog his Brother-in-Law had given to that Order And in another Diet those who Murder'd Gonczeski Petty General of Lithuania were Prosecuted and Condemn'd to be Beheaded But in cases of Treason against the King the Polanders pretend that neither His Majesty nor the Order of the Nobility ought to be present at the Judging and Determining of the Cause and 't was on this score that the Marshal Lubomiski complain'd against K. John Casimir who caus'd him to be Condemn'd for Contumacy in the Diet held at Warsaw Anno 1664. Nevertheless in a Diet held in the same City 1582. King Steven Batteri brought several Deputies into the Senate to be present at the Tryal and Judgment of Sborowski who was accus'd of Treason against the King Which that Great Prince did that all the Nobility might be Witnesses of the Justice of his proceedings 'T is in a General Diet that they give the Indigenat that is the Right of Nobility to Strangers which renders 'em capable of Possessing some small Pensions or Gifts of the
Republick That right is now given to those who are in Favour at Court or Protected by some Great Lord whereas formerly it was granted only to Officers as a Recompence for their Services done to the State Those who are not Officers and yet pretend to the Indigenat by the favour of the King or of the Marshal of the Deputies procuring their Names to be inserted in the Instructions of the Army that is among the Names of the Officers who demand to be made Gentlemen of Poland and every one of the Pretenders gives in an account of his Genealogy Name Sirname Family and Services and puts his Coat of Armes in the middle And after they have been receiv'd by the Diet and their Pattents Seal'd they take an Oath of Fidelity before the Marshal of the Deputies by which they Swear to be faithful to their Country and to the King and the Marshal gives 'em a Certificate declaring that the Diet has receiv'd such a one for its Natural Son and that he has taken the Oath of Fidelity before him Yet tho' a stranger be made a Gentleman of Poland the King cannot bestow any considerable Employment or Consistorial Benefices on him or his Children to the third Generation For the Republick has made this Provision that they may be the better assured of the Fidelity of those who are entrusted with any Office or enjoy any Benefices According to the Constitutions and Laws of Poland a Diet must not sit above Six Weeks and the Nobility are so fond and jealous of their Privileges that when the King endeavours to prolong the Session of a Diet and even when the Interest of the State requires the Sitting of that Assembly the Deputies are always ready to oppose such an Innovation and Charge their Marshal to Acquaint the King that they will immediately leave the Diet as soon as they perceive that he intends to keep them longer than usually I shall only mention one Instance of this Unaccountable Obstinacy which happen'd in the Diet Assembled at the Coronation of King John Casimir in the Year 1649. The Defeat of the Polish Army at Pilaveze and afterwerds the Dreadful Irruption of the Cossacks and Tartars into the very heart of the Kingdom had reduc'd the Republick almost to the last extremity and since the Diet had been so busy'd in determining particular affairs that they had not time to consider of the Means to raise a sufficient Army to oppose the progress of so Barbarous and formidable an Enemy till the very day before the breaking up of the Diet the King and the Senators endeavour'd to find out a way to avoid the terrible danger that threatned 'em and for that end resolv'd to Prolong the Diet But as soon as the Deputies were inform'd of this Resolution they sent their Marshal to the Senators to put 'em in mind of the Law which forbids the prolonging of Diets and afterward to take leave of the King The Marshal to execute his Commission went to the Senate and began to thank the King and to take leave of Him in the Name of all the Nobility whereupon the Senators rising up desir'd that they wou'd condescend to sit only one day longer representing the Pressing Exigencies of the present Juncture The Chancellor seconded these Intreaties with a very Moving and Pathetick Harangue After which the Marshal having resum'd his Character which he had already laid down went back to the Deputies and pray'd them to give their Opinion concerning the Prolongation which the King and Senate desir'd The Deputies met again at the return of their Marshal and were at last prevail'd with tho' not without a great deal of difficulty to consent that the Diet should be prolong'd but upon this condition that every one of them should obtain whatever his Palatinat had charg'd him to ask CHAP. XVI Of the Diet of the Election THE General Diet for the Election of a King is always held in the open Field about half a League from Warsaw near the Village of Vola where they erect a sort of Booth cover'd with Boards at the Publick Charge which in the Polish Language is called Szopa or a Shelter from bad Weather This place is built and prepar'd by the Treasurer of the Crown 't is surrounded with a Ditch and has Three Doors The Day appointed for the Diet being come the Senate and the Nobility go to St. John's Church at Warsaw to hear the Mass of the Holy Ghost and to beg the Grace of God in order to the Electing of a New King who may have all the Qualitys necessary to defend the Interests of the Church and of the Republick After which they go to the Szopa where the Order of the Nobility elects the Marshal of the Deputies that were sent by the Petty Diets who being Chosen by Plurality of Voices and having taken the Oath goes to Salute the Senators and to be confirm'd by their Approbation After these Preliminaries the Orders of the Senate and Nobility enter into an Union or Association which they Ratifie and Confirm with an Oath Not to separate from one another not to Name any person for King Nor acknowledge him as such till he be Elected by the unanimous consent of 'em all They swear also to preserve all the Rights Privileges and Immunities of the Republick and that he who shall do otherwise shall be declar'd an enemy to his Country They Promise reciprocally neither to give their Voices for an Election nor to enter into any Agreement with the Candidates or their Ambassadors till all the Irregularities and Disorders that have been committed either in the Kingdom or Dutchy be consider'd and redress'd They annul and make void all the Decrees of the Tribunals and even the Statutes of the Kings that are found to be contrary to their Liberties and Promise to make a Law to that Purpose They declare That all the Judgements given before the Publication of the Interregnum shall be valid and that they will approve of all that shall be done by the Court of Justice establish'd during the Interregnum which is called Kaptur and is design'd for the defence of the Country for Coyning of Money for raising of Soldiers and for maintaining the Laws They forbid any person to come to the Diet with Strangers or with Fire-Arms They ordain that the Generals of the Army shall take an Oath before Commissioners to discharge the Trust that is repos'd in 'em with all possible fidelity to make no other use of their Troops than to oppose the Enemies of the Nation To defend the Frontiers of the Kingdom and to secure the Honour and Liberties of the Republick They oblige 'em also to Swear to Assert the Publick Interest in case of a Sedition or Revolt To restrain the Souldiers from injuring any person To receive no Money either from the Clergy or Laity and to hinder the Soldiers from receiving any After which they forbid the Officers of the Army to March with their Forces into
on them and to all the Cities according to what has been ordain'd in the preceding Diets and to what shall afterwards be ordained in the following Diets shall be inviolably kept and preserv'd and that he shall issue out his Letters Pattents to Confirm them in all their Clauses and Conditions They also frequently add several other Articles according to the exigency of the present Juncture and the Quality and Circumstances of the Elected Prince As for the Ceremonies that are used when they make the King Swear the Capitulation The Arch-bishop and the Marshal of the Deputies carry it before him after the Mass is said and require him to take an Oath to observe it according to his promise Then the King being upon his Knees before the Great Altar says after the Chancellor We N. Chosen King of Poland and Great Duke of Lithuania Russia Prussia Massovia Samogitia Kiovia Volhinia Podolia Podlassia Livonia Smolensko Siberia and Czernichovia Promise to Almighty God and Swear upon the Holy Evangelists of Jesus Christ to observe maintain and accomplish all the Conditions agreed upon at our Election by our Ambassadors with the Senators and Deputies of Poland and of the Great Dutchy of Lithuania and Confirmed by the Oath of our Ambassadors and to perform the same according to all the Clauses Points Articles and Conditions mention'd therein and in such sort that the speciality cannot derogate from the generality nor the generality from the speciality All which we promise to Ratifie by our Oath on the Day of Our Coronation After the King has Sworn to keep the Pacta Conventa the Chancellor gives him the Decree of his Election Written in Parchment and Signed by the Senators and Deputies The Republick of Poland uses these Precautions at the Election of their King that if afterwards he should act contrary to what he promises to obsorve the Senators may have a right to put him in mind of his duty It was the breach of one of those Articles which gave the Polanders occasion to complain of King Michael for in the Pacta Conventa which he Swore to observe they had Inserted this Article That he should not Marry any Princess without the Consent of the Republick Nevertheless without asking their Consent he Marry'd the Emperor's Sister and the Party that was form'd against him look'd upon this as a sufficient ground to compel him to Abdicate If the Prince who is Elected be not present at Warsaw he takes the Oath in the presence of the Deputies whom the Republick sends for that purpose and obliges himself before them to observe all the Articles of the Capitulation 'T was thus that Sigismond the Third Swore to keep the Pacta Conventa in the Abby of Oliva near Dantzick Anno 1587. as they were drawn up by the Senate and the Nobility 'T is the Custom in Poland that the Great Marshal or in his absence the Petty Marshal carries the Staff erect before the King when he goes to any Ceremony But 't is observable that from the time of his Election to his Coronation they carry the Staff bow'd down that when the King Issues out any Letters Orders or Constitutions he only assumes the Quality of King Elect and that no Dispatches can be Sealed but with the little Seal of the Closet which is a sign that the Election is perfected by the Coronation which is as it were the Seal of it CHAP. XIX Of the King's Coronation A KING of Poland cannot exercise the Royal Authority before his Coronation for he can neither dispose of any Office nor Benesice nor so much as grant any Favour nor use the Great Seal of the Chancery and the Courts of Justice which ought to be kept in his Name and are shut up at the beginning of the Interregnum cannot make a Decree till after his Coronation T is the New King who appoints the Day for this Ceremony which must be perform'd at Cracow in the Cathedral Church in the Castle This City takes its Name from King Cracus who built it in the Year 700 after he had left Gnesna which was formerly the Capital City of the Kingdom It is scituated on the Vistula in Upper Poland 'T is the Seat of a Bishop who is a Suffragan of the Arch-Bishop of Gnesna The City is very large fine and well-built but the Streets are ill Paved as in most other Cities of that Country However the Streets are very broad and straight with a great Square in the middle where the Town-house is built The Castle or the King's Palace is seated upon a little Eminence or Rock the Foot of which is washed by the Vislula The Circumference of this Eminence is very small and consequently the Palace is of no very great Extent and as for the Church tho it be the Cathedral of a great Diocess and the Burying-place of the Kings of Poland 't is one of the smallest and least Beautiful Structures of that kind that I have had occasion to see in that Country It must be acknowledg'd that the King's House is really well built but besides the extraordinary smallness and obscurity of the Court it has neither Garden Wood nor Water nor is it adorn'd with any Walls or Avenues It was formerly a strong place when the strength of places consisted in the height of their Scituation but 't is now only fit to refist some flying Parties of Horse 't is here where the Jewels of the Crown are kept with the Royal Ornaments that are used at the King's Coronation There is also to be seen in the Little Hill or Rising Ground on which it stands the Cave or Den of that Furious Dragon which made such a terrible havock in all the Neighbouring places and which 't is said Cracus killed by laying some Meat for him mixt with Pitch and Brimstone When the Coronation-Day draws near the King makes his Entry into Cracow on Horseback the Sheriffs of the City carrying a Canopy of State before him The Troops both Horse and Foot March before with their Officers and are follow'd by the Palatines Bishops and Ambassadors on Horseback The Ceremony is doubtless very Splendid and I know not where a Traveller can have occasion to see a more Magnificent Cavalcade A Man who rides on Horseback before the King scatters some small pieces of Silver stampt with the Effigies of the New King among the People in the Streets but this Liberality costs him so little that I do not believe there are a hundred Crowns distributed Thus the King is conducted from the City Gate to the Castle passing thro the publick place where there are several Triumphal Arches adorn'd with Statues Devices and various Inscriptions On the day that precedes the Coronation which is called the day of Expiation they perform the Funeral of the Deceased King whose Body is carry'd to the Church of St. Stanislaus at Schalka where the Marshalls break their Staves and the Chancellors their Seals against the King's Coffin The New King goes also thither
which he restores the Keys and makes some of the Burgesses of the City or of some other place Golden Knights by striking them softly with his Naked Sword upon the Shoulders This done the Treasurer of the Crown scatters some Pieces of Silver among the People at the same time the King goes to a House that looks into the Square and afterwards returns to the Castle with the same Train that Accompany'd him to the Town-house I have already observ'd that 't is the Interest of the King of Poland to get himself Crown'd as soon as 't is possible and I shall take this occasion to shew what advantage he receives by it 'T is certain that assoon as the Polish Noblemen have Chosen their King they begin to look upon him as an Usurper of their Liberties and on the other hand the King looks upon the Nobility as a Formidable Body that opposes all his Designs Now he cannot either weaken them or strengthen himself more effectually than by making 'em pay dear for the Favors he bestows upon ' em For 't is in his power to dispose of all the Offices Benesices and Royal Gifts which amonnt to a third part of all the Revenues of the Kingdom which he cannot do till after his Coronation Nevertheless the late King was so far from observing this Maxim that tho' he might have been Crown'd immediately after the Day of his Election which was May 19. 1674. he did not appoint the Day for his Coronation till Feb. 2. 1676. during which time he made Two Campagnes one in Vkrania and the other in Podolia As for that in Vkrania he set out from Warsaw August 22. 1674. and advanc'd towards Leopold where his Army was to Rendezvous There he was inform'd that the Queen his Wife lay sick at Casimirs upon the Vistula Whereupon he left the Camp at Leopold and arriv'd at Casimirs on the 8th of October Not long after he return'd to the Army because the Nights began to grow so cold that the Turks who are not accustom'd to such a Cold Climate began to think of retiring After the Turks had withdrawn their Forces the King led the Army of the Crown and that of Lithuania which both together amounted to about 30000 Men into Vkrania where he kept them so long that the Lithuanian Troops under the Command of the Great General Patz abandon'd him to avoid the Miserable Fate of the Polish Army which was so harass'd with Hunger and Cold that it was reduc'd to less than 3000 Men for the King staid in Vkrania till April and arriv'd on the 25th of that Month at Sloczow whither the Queen was come to receive him The Turks understanding that the Polish Army was ruin'd in Vkrania that the King was gone back with the Miserable Remnants of his Forces and that those of Lithuania had left him against his will they return'd with a Great Army in the beginning of July 1675 when the King was at Jawarow thinking of nothing but to refresh himself after the Fatigues of the Preceding Campaign But upon the first Advice of the March of the Ottoman Army which consisted of 30000 Turks and 80000 Tartars he set out from Jawarow the 10th of July and Marched in hast to Leopold which the Turks threatned to Besiege He Encamp'd near the City with about 3000 Men whom he had drawn together and the Turks being inform'd of his weakness sent a Body of 14000 Tartars to force his Camp but they durst not Attack him 'T was given out that a great number of Tartars were killed on the 24th of August 1675 in the Attack of the Camp at Leopold tho' 't is certain that there was only one Horse wounded with an Arrow For the Tartars retir'd without losing one of their Men or wounding one of their Enemies The Turks as I intimated before are not able to bear the extream coldness of the Winter in Poland for having once enter'd Russia with a formidable Army and not returning soon enough they were surpriz'd with so violent a Cold that above 40000 of 'em were Frozen to death and many were found dead in their Horses Bellies into which they had crept to secure themselves from the Cold. And 't is this that obliges them to retire out of Poland by the end of October at farthest CHAP. XX. Of the Queens of Poland HAVING Discours'd at length of the Kings of Poland and of their Election and Coronation it will not be improper to give some account of the Queens 'T is certainly of great Importance to the Republick that a King when he Marries should choose a Princess whose Alliance may be advantageous to the State And therefore this Article is inserted in the Paeta Conventa which the New King Swears to observe that he shall not Marry without the Consent of the Republick For they are as much concern'd as the King himself in the Choice of a Queen tho' the Polish Nobility are not oblig'd to Choose any of his Children to Succeed him So that a King of Poland cannot Marry without the Consent of the Republick unless he resolve to violate his Oath and expose himself to the Jealousy and Hatred of His people who are not easily pacify'd on such occasions Thus when Sigismund III. Marry'd Ann of Austria without the Consent of the Republick and caused her to be Crown'd at Cracow in the Year 1592 he met with so much opposition in the Diet that was afterwards held at Warsaw that he was forc'd to acknowledge his Fault As a King of Poland cannot Marry without the Consent of the Republick so he cannot Divorce his Wife without the same Approbation For when Sigismund Augustus the last of the Race of the Jagellons separated from Elizabeth of Austria because of a Crime with which she was falsly charg'd and after her Death Marry'd one Radziwill a Widow of a Palatin of Troki The Senators were so exasperated that they had almost proceeded to declare the Throne Vacant because he slighted his Fair and Chast Queen and Wife and Marry'd the Widow of a simple Palatin without the Consent of the Republick But Vladislaus the IV. pursu'd wiser Maxims He was sensible of the danger of Irritating a stubborn and seditious People and had a more tender regard to the Articles he had Sworn to observe For when the King of England offer'd him his Niece the Elector Palatine's Daughter in Marriage he declin'd the Match and declar'd that he neither cou'd nor wou'd Marry without the Consent of the Republick which in that case he could not expect to obtain because the Princess was a Protestant When a King of Poland Marries after his Coronation the Queen cannot be Crown'd without the Consent of the Republick But if he be Marry'd before he may cause her also to be Crown'd without asking their Consent So that the Report which was spread abroad after the Election of the late King John III was false and groundless for 't was given out That the Queen his Wife would
of a certain number of Gentlemen both of the Clergy and Laity who are chosen in each Palatinat the Lay-members once in Four Years and the Ecclesiasticks every Two Years The Judgments are given by Plurality of Voices but in Matters that are purely Ecclesiastical the Number of the Ecclesiastical Judges must be equal to that of the Secular There are also Two Courts for Affairs relating to the Finances one at Radom in Upper Poland and the other at Vilna The Palatins take Cognizance of nothing but such Matters as relate to the Jews The Marshals give Final Judgment without further Appeal in all Causes both Civil and Criminal relating to the Officers of the King's Houshold and to the Domestick Servants of the Senators who remain with the King The Jurisdiction of the Marshals extends over the Merchants and over all Forreignners who are scarcely able to procure Justice in this Countrey The Chancellors only determine such Causes as are brought before them by Appeal as the Judgments of the Magistrates of Cities and of Palatins when the Difference is between a Christian and a Jew The Punishments of Malefactors are of several kinds some for Example are Hang'd and others Beheaded The variety of Punishments does not proceed from the different Qualities of the Criminals but from the difference of the Crimes For they Hang a Robber of what Quality soever he be and they Behead all sorts of Persons for all other Crimes but Robbery unless for some Enormous Villanies which are Punish'd by Breaking the Malefactor on the Wheel or by Cutting off two Thougs or Long Pieces of the Skin of his Back Masters have also a power to Correct and Chastise their Servants which they do in this manner if the Servant that is to be Punish'd be a Gentleman they make him lye down upon his Belly on a Carpet that is spread upon the Ground then a Man Beats him on the Back with a Cord or Stick giving him as many Blows or Lashes as the Master who is usually present orders after which he who is Beaten embraces the Knees of him who caused him to be Beaten and calls him his Benefactor This Correction seems a little too severe but the Humour of the People makes it Necessary Since I have mention'd the way of Punishing Servants who are Gentlemen 't will not be improper to observe that Polish Gentlemen may serve as Coachmen Grooms Cooks and do all the meanest Offices without derogating from their Nobility or rendring 'em incapable of the Highest Preferment For I have known some of them who after they had been Foot-boys to some Great Lord and others who after they had been Drummers to a Company of Dragoons were advanc'd to the Dignity of Senators And in the General there is nothing but a Handicraft-Trade that derogates from Nobility in this Countrey CHAP. XXVI Of Marriages and Funerals MArriages and Funerals are extreamly Chargeable in Poland For when a Gentleman Marries whether he be Rich or Poor the Wedding must last three days The Marriage of a Waiting-Gentlewoman puts her Lady to almost the same charge as if one of her own Daughters were Marry'd As for the Marriages at Court of the Queen's Maids of Honour or of the Daughters of some Great Lords on the first and second day the King makes the Wedding-Feast which is held in a Great Hall where Three Tables are spread the King and Queen sit at the first fronting all the rest of the Hall the Bride and Bridegroom are Seated by the Queen's side and the Pope's Nuncio and Archbishop of Gnesna sit next the King The Ambassadors are also seated at the same Table opposite to the King and Queen so that they are all under the Canopy of State Yet there are some Examples to the contrary For at the Feast which Sigismund III. made at Cracow upon occasion of His Marriage with Constance of Austria in the Year 1606 he caused the Cardinal Maciejowski the Pope's Nuncio who was nominated to the Archbishoprick of Gnesna to be remov'd from under the Canopy The Ladies Senators and all the Officers except those who are to serve the King are seated on both sides of the other two Tables which are very long Before they sit down they are all call'd over in order that they may take their Places according to their Rank The Feast begins usually about Four or Five a Clock in the Afternoon and they continue Drinking and Dancing till Two in the Morning The Senators rise from time to time from the Table and go before the King to Drink His Health and do Him Obedience by bending the Knee Tho the Tables are cover'd with all sorts of Provisions yet they Eat but little at those Feasts but they Drink abundance of Hungary Wine which is very Excellent and one may say that tho 't is very dear 't is more common and less spared than Water and there is not a Lady at Table who has not before her a Dozen of Glasses of Wine of all the Healths that were Drank round For their Modesty obliges 'em only to touch the Glass with their Lips so that they spill more Wine upon the Tables and in the Dishes than they Drink After the Entertainment has lasted Five or Six hours they begin to Dance to the Musick of several Violins and small portable Organs All sorts of People Dance in Poland both the Old the Young the Poor and the Rich. The Old Senators and the Old Ladies begin the Dance which they do so softly and modestly that one would think it was a Company of Monks and Nuns walking in Procession But the Exercise grows warm by degrees and ends at last with a Great Noise On the Second Day every one Presents the Bride with a Piece of Plate all those Presents are made before the Queen and the Bride who sits by her Those who Present 'em make Harangues which are oftentimes long and troublesom and the Queen's Chancellor Answers them all So that this Ceremony which commonly does not begin till Noon lasts sometimes till Three a Clock after which they begin to place themselves at the Tables On the Third Day the Ceremony of the Marriage is perform'd all the Young People Accompanying the Bridegroom and Bride to Church on Horseback In their return they pass before the King's Pallace the Trumpets and Kettle-drums continually Sounding from the Balconies on each side After which the same Train Conducts the King and the Queen with the Bride to the Bridegroom's House where there is a Magnificent Entertainment prepar'd for them After they rise from the Table they Dance and the Ball being over every one retires Then the Bride begins to Weep for 't is the Custom of all the Polish Gentlewomen to shed Tears on that occasion and to seem very much afflicted because otherwise they would run the hazard of being lookt upon as Impudent and Shameless Women Having given an Account of the Weddings I proceed to speak something of the Funerals which are so Pompous and
the said Deputy Who being Ask'd why he thus Dissented Answer'd That he did it that by this means the Privileges of the Nobility might be safe and lodg'd within his Power tho all the rest of the Nobility were corrupted Having said this and caused his Protestation to be enter'd into the Records and Archives of the Kingdom he presently consented with the rest to the Election of Vladislaus the Fourth The Polish Nobility being endow'd with so many Privileges and the Deputies having always a free Vote the Aristocratical State of Poland cannot well be chang'd by any of the Kings of Poland into an Absolute Monarchy For whosoever offers to do this is declar'd by the Senate to be Perjur'd and no more a King which appears by the late King John the Third's Oath in Harnoc Besides the Nobility uses immediately to complain in the open Senate of the Tyranny of those that attempt such Innovations as did a certain Deputy out of the Palatinate of Posnania King Stephen Bathori after many Victories which he gain'd and several Provinces with which he enlarg'd the Kingdom of Poland began at last to endeavour to make himself Absolute Monarch of Poland whereupon this Deputy exprest himself in a Speech with so much Freedom Boldness and Vehemence that the King Ambitious and Passionate in his Nature not being able to let the Deputy run on any longer upon that Topic interrupted him in these words Hold your Tongue you Rascal To which the Deputy made Answer I am no Rascal but a Gentleman of Poland an Elector of Kings and a Deposer of Tyrants Whereupon the King said to him If I were not a King And the Deputy Answer'd If you were not By which Imperfect Reply the Deputy hinted to the King that he did not want Courage to engage with him hand to hand for Liberty if he had not been check'd by his Respect for the Majesty of Kings The King afterwards having buried all His Resentments advanc'd him to the Highest Dignities nor did he believe that this had any ways lessen'd His Majesty on the contrary he always esteem'd him one of the Best Patriots and Lovers of his Country If any of the Kings of Poland aim at Arbitrary Government or Act contrary to the Religion and Laws of the Country he is immediately Depos'd or forc'd to Abdicate the Throne The Form which King Casimire us'd in His Abdication is as follows WE make known and Declare to all the World that being sensible of our Weakness which grows daily upon us with our Age we are unable any longer to bear up under the Burden of so great Weight as the Government of this State is Wherefore we voluntarily and of our own accord have resolv'd upon Abdicating the Throne that we wight spend the remainder of our declining Life quietly and in private and in preparing for a better Life that never ends For this reason having call'd a full Senate at Warsaw on the Twelfth of June in this paesent Year we open'd our Mind to our Senators and Counsellors Who being struck with the Greatness and Novelty of the Affair and reverencing the Laws of their Country and referring the Consideration of the whole matter to all the Kingdom we accordingly appointed a General Diet of all the Orders of our Kingdom to be held on the Six and Twentieth day of August and at the first opening of the Diet made known our Intention of Abdicating the Throne We have had Experience of the Love and Affection of our Loyal Citizens and Subjects who bearing a Grateful Memory of the Deserts and Good Actions of our most Serene Predecessors and paying a Deference to the Great Cares Troubles and Dangers me underwent for Twenty Years together in Various Turns of Fortune in so many Camps and in so many Diets endeavour'd by importunate Intreaties and earnest Requests to keep us upon the Throne But forasmuch as we constantly persisted in our Resolution it was agreed that we should make our Abdication or Resignation of the Polish Crown in a Real and Solemn Manner Vpon Mature and Serious Deliberation and by the Consent of all Orders of the State we being in full souundness of Body and Mind do freely and without constraint Abdicate from this time and for ever the Kingdom of Poland the Great Dutchy of Lithuania and the Principalities thereunto annex'd We restore in full form into the hands of the Senate of the Marshals and of the State our Regal Dignity and whatsoever else of Ancient Right does belong to the Kings of Poland and the Great Dukes of Lithuania We Absolve all the States and Orders and every one of our Subjects from the Oath of Allegiance taken to us and we release them from the Obligation of Homage and Fealty The Duke of Prussia as to what concerns us only we declare free from all Obligation due to us upon the account of any Contract made for the Dukedom of Prussia and upon the account of any Right of Fealty for Bitovia and Lawenburgh and the Duke of Kureland we likewise declare freed from Homage and all other Obligations whatsoever The Authentick and Original Grant of our Election made in the Year 1648 We Restore Cancel and Annul without pretending to claim any or the least Right of Soveraignty to our selves or any of our Heirs within the Kingdom of Poland the Great Dukedom of Lithuania and the Principalities thereunto annex'd By which Abdication or Resignation of the Regal Power rightly and lawfully made and ratify'd by these Presents it shall be and is within the Power and Authority of the most Reverend Father in Christ the Arch-bishop of Gnesna Primate of Poland and Chief Minister of State to declare the Throne Vacant and to perform all that of Right and Custom does belong to the Archbishop of Gnesna during the Interregnum And the States of the Kingdom are empower'd to proceed to the Election of a New King according to the Laws and Customs of Poland And we further Promise that we will by no means hinder it from being a very Free Election that we will not promote the Interest of any Candidate and that during the time of the Election we will remove and abide at a distance from the Place of Election In Testimony and Confirmation thereof we have commanded these our Letters Patents to be Published under the Royal Seal Dated at Warsaw at the General Diet of the Kingdom Sept. 16. This Solemn Abdication made by King Casimire was afterwards Publish'd by the Senate of Poland The Substance of which I thought fit to Insert here that so the Abdication and Vacancy of the Throne after the Departure of King James II. Publish'd by the Parliament of England might not seem a Novelty and it is as follows WE the Senate and Officers both of Church and State within the Kingdom of Poland and the Great Dutchy of Lithuania and the Marshals of both Countries being Assembled in the Diet do manifest and Declare That after the Examples of our Predecessors
Meads about it quickly drew thither Faustus Socinus Cousin German to Lelius with several others Hereupon several Books were Publish'd and spread over the whole Kingdom and the Chief not only of Catholicks but also of Lutherans and Calvinists embracing the Opinion of Socinus drew every day great Numbers to their Party Whereupon the Republick for fear least the Sparks already kindled should set the Whole Nation in Flames and least the Plague which had Infected many of the Members should at length destroy the Whole Body by the Incitement of the Bishops and several other Religious Orders oblig'd the King Augustus to Banish Lismaninus the Queens Confessor out of the Court and induc'd him to issue forth the following Edict against the Growing Heresies in Poland The EDICT of King Sigismund against the Socinians WHereas all Humane things are altogether vain and unprofitable unless Govern'd by the Laws of God and establish'd by the Integrity and Union of Religion Therefore We Sigismund Augustus by the Grace of God King of Poland do Publish and Declare to all and every person that is or may be concern'd that We being inform'd by Our Counsellors of Church and State that several Heresies are every where hatch'd within Our Kingdom and that not only New Doctrines and Ceremonies are Introduc'd but also that several of our unthinking Subjects do openly profess and instruct the same We following the Examples of our Predecessors whose chiefest care and study was to Propagate and Protect the Christian Faith and to cut off all occasion of Quarrel among our Subjects and of Disturbance in the State which always attends Dissensions in Religion And thinking this to be the proper Duty of Christian Kings and Princes do by these Our Letters Patent Testify and Promise That We out of Respect to the Christian Religion and out of Love to the Holy Church will Profess and Maintain to the utmost of our Power within all Our Dominions the Truth and Sincerity of the Ecclesiastical Doctrine and of the Christian Catholick and Apostolick Faith as it is professed by the Holy Church of Rome and as it has been Receiv'd and Profess'd constantly by Our Predecessors As for the Enemies thereof as well Pagans who are the Profess'd Enemies of Christianity as Hereticks who under the pretence of being Christians and by a false Interpretation of Scripture destroy Christianity and shew themselves to be alienated from the Faith and the Religion once deliver'd by the Apostles and hitherto Profess'd by the Roman Catholick Church These We shall take care to Suppress and to Banish out of Our Kingdom Nor will We ever admit into Our Royal Council and Senate nor bestow any Places of Honour or Trust on any who are tainted with Heresy provided We are satisfy'd of it If any shall be accus'd before Us We will take care by the Divine Assistance that the Statutes of our Realm shall with the utmost diligence be put in Execution against them that so they may be for ever Branded Stigmatiz'd and Banish'd their Country unless they shall desire to be Reconcil'd to their Holy Mother the Church The Ecclesiasticks together with their Laws Immunities and Privileges both Publick and Private We will Defend Maintain and Protect to the utmost of our Power To all our Officers and Governors We give it strictly in Charge and Command them under the Penalty of our Severe Displeasure that they be not Negligent or Remiss in Prosecuting and Apprehending such Offenders Whereas on the contrary if any of them shall be Charg'd before Us with being false to his Trust and to Our Commands he shall be brought to Condign Punishment For the Due Performance of all the Premisses We have Ingag'd Our Word to the Reverend Father in Christ Nicolas Ziergowski Lord Arch-bishop of Gnezna and to other of his Bishops and Our Counsellors and by the Oath of Our Royal Trust taken to Our Subjects at Our Coronation We design the Whole shall be faithfully put in Execution In Testimony whereof we have Issu'd forth these Our Letters Patent Dated at Cracow In the Year of Our Lord 1550. And in the Second Year of Our Reign This Edict or rather Manifesto of King Augustus was interpreted by the Nobility to be directly opposite to their Interests Whereupon several of the Chief among them began to stir up Commotions and rise in Arms. And the Hatred of the Romish Ecclesiasticks against the Socinians increas'd every day more and more Hence sprung many Murders constant Fewds between the Nobles and abundance of Bloodshed throughout the whole Kingdom The State being engag'd in a foreign War could not then prevent these great disorders but partly fearing a Civil War and partly trusting to the Vigilance and Pastoral Care of the Ecclesiasticks for the present forbear'd putting in Execution the severe Laws of Jagello against Hereticks But at last they work'd their own Ruin For being by degrees divided into the Factions of Servetus and Samosatanus they too far trespass'd on that Indulgence the State allow'd them Several Statues of our Saviour upon the Cross were broken by the Students of Racovia and several Blasphemies were utter'd in their Books against Christ and for these things being severely check'd by the Decrees and Edicts of John Casimire and King John III. all those who would not Embrace the Roman Faith were to depart the Kingdom within two or three Years Since those Decrees of the King and Republick against the Socinians are still in force it will not be amiss to insert them here and they are as follow John Casimire by the Grace of God King of Poland and Great Duke of Lithuania c. THo' the Being and Propogation of the Arian or as some call it the Socinian Heresy in Our Dominions has been always prohibited by Us yet because the aforesaid Sect which Robs the Son of God of his Praeeternity has by a strange misfortune fatal to the State begun to spread it self for a long time in Our Dominions as well of Poland as of the Great Dutchy of Lithuania We therefore reassuming and leaving in its full force the Statute of Jagello our Predecessor enacted against them do by the Consent of all Orders Enact concerning Hereticks that if any such shall dare to Confess Propagate or Preach the said Arian Heresy or to protect and countenance it or its Promoters within our Dominions of Poland the Great Dutchy of Lithuania and the Provinces thereunto annex'd and shall be thereof lawfully convicted every such Person shall forthwith according to the intent of the aforesaid Statute be Beheaded by our Captains and their Officers upon forfeiture of their Commission for the neglect But whereas We are Willing to extend Our Clemency as far as can be if any one refuses to renounce his Heresy We do hereby grant him the space of three years for the selling off his Goods his Estate and getting in his Debts In which time No Assemblies of the aforesaid Sect shall be held nor shall they undertake any publick
to this particular Point That every Native of the Country shall be excluded from the Crown Therefore the States Ingage themselves by this Association to look upon every Native of this Country who shall Aspire to the Crown as a Publick Enemy and likewise all such as shall Acknowledge him for their King 5. If any Forreign Potentate or Grandee of Poland shall endeavour to Advance any one to the Throne by Foul or Unlawful Means to the Destruction of the Priviledges and Immunities of their Country the States shall Unite themselves from this time forward against all such Potentates and Promise Joyntly to venture their Lives and Fortunes in Defence of their Liberties 6. We will preserve an Inviolable Peace with those who Profess a Religion different from that of the Kingdom and every one shall be maintained in their Rights and Priviledges except the Quakers and Mennonites 7. The time of the Election is sixed from the 15th of May to the 26th of June inclusively 8. The Pretentions of the Royal Family shall be remitted to the Dyet for the Election 9. The usual Place appointed for the Election between Warsaw and Woba shall be Fortify'd according to Custom there shall be Erected a Building for the Deputies and all requisite Preparations taken for the Security of their Persons either going in or coming out 10. Whereas the Army has entred into a Confederacy for want of Pay and that it is necessary that their Association should be broken we not only Promise them a speedy Payment but Authorize the Particular Dyets to find out necessary Funds for that purpose 11. Because the New Regulation drawn up for the Charge of the Artillery is not sufficient the Treasurer of the Crown shall supply what is wanting by vertue of the Establishment made in the Year 1659. 12. The Cardinal shall during his Regency Choose for his Counsellors some of the Senate and Nobility Lastly Deputies shall be Chosen to appoint good Winter Quarters to such of the Souldiers as shall give Obedience to the Crown General and to Pay them what is their Due to Reckon with the Army and Regulate all Affairs which concern the Salt-Mines Deputies were immediately sent to the Army to endeavour to break the Union and oblige them to return to the Obedience of Count Jablonowsky Mareshal of the Crown They offered to Pay their Arrears provided they would Disunite themselves But they returned Answer That though they should receive full Satisfaction upon their Demands they would not break off their Confederacy before the Election of a New King Whereupon the Treaty broke off and the Deputies of the Republick retir'd to Leopold where they made a Solemn Protestation against the Proceedings of the Army which being sent to the Primate was Printed and Dispersed into all the Provinces of the Kingdom to let them see they had left no Stone unturn'd to bring the Rebels to the Obedience of the Republick The Cardinal held a Great Council upon this Subject where it was Resolv'd That no Quarters should be allow'd to any Troops but those who remained Faithful under the Command of the Crown General and then if the Confederated Troops offer'd to take up their Quarters near Leopold or elsewhere they should be driven out by Force This Resolution did not Discourage the Confederated Army they gave an Oath of Fidelity to their New General Baronowsky who caused a New Standard to be made like that of the Crown General having Painted upon it Two Griffins holding Two Scimitters in their Claws with these Words Pro Patria under one of them and Pro Exercitu under the other The Tartars being got together to the Number of 30000 Men Introduc'd a great Convoy of Provision into Caminieck and having notice of the Confusion of the Affairs of Poland made an Invasion into Volhinia carrying away a Great Number of People into Slavery But the Confederate Troops having pursued them Charged them with so much Vigour that they Routed them and Retook a good Part of the Booty and of the Poor People design'd for Captivity The Lithuanians had Confederated themselves as well as the Poles and had refused the same offers which exasperated Prince Sapieha their General to such a degree that he undertook to Reduce them to their Duty by Force but the Confederates defended themselves with so much Bravery that Prince Sapieha was forced to return with considerable Loss This Disgrace put him upon Negociations and having gained Monsieur Crispin Vayvode of VVitepsc one of the Chiefs of the Army the rest followed his Example and the Lithuanian Army returned to their Duty upon the following Conditions 1. That there should be a Perpetual Amnesty for all that had been done to that very instant 2. That the Prince should forthwith Pay them the one half of their Arrears due from the Republick out of his own Revenues 3. That the General should Promise upon his Honour not to Molest any one of the Fraternity from the Highest Officer to the Meanest Souldier 4. That on their side they should ingage by an Authentick Writing immediately to quit the Confederacy into which they were entred 5. And to submit themselves to the Grand Marshal and obey his Orders 6. And lastly That for the future they should never enter into any other Confederacy This Treaty was executed on the 27th of November and all the Officers and Soldiers made their Submission to Prince Sapieha This Reunion of the Lithuanians weakned very much the Confederated Troops and disposed them to hearken to some new Terms that were offer'd them sometime after and to return to the Obedience of their former General as it will be hereafter mention'd All the World was surpris'd at the Proceedings of the Poles and few would have thought that the miserable condition of their Affairs absolutely requiring a King a Private Interest would have prevailed so far upon them as to oblige them to defer the Election of a Successor to Sobiesky till May next The Poles may say what they please to justifie this Resolution all their Reasons are but a thin Varnish over a Private Sordid Interest which Ruled them for the true Grounds of this Delay was only to give time to many Princes to put in for their Crown and make an Interest with them to obtain it which cannot be done without squandring away amongst them Vast Sums of Money This Consideration moved sometime ago a Grave Senator to Propose in the Dyet to follow the example of Cardinals who Chose always an Old Pope and to set forth in a very Eloquent Speech the Advantage that the Nobility would receive from Frequent Elections But he was Answer'd That he was mistaken in his Politicks for no Old Man would spend such Sums of Money he had spoken of and therefore his Project was Impracticable The Inconveniencies of Elections and Interregnums are so great that 't is likely the Poles would have long ago made the Crown Hereditary in one Family under a very Limitted Power were it not