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REGNARD’S JOURNEY TO LAPLAND: 217
King propofed at the laft diet that they fhould recognife his fon as his fucceffor ; but the
Poles faid that they could only recognife him as fon of the Grand Marfhal, his father
filling that office when he was born. ‘The troops are raifed and paid at the expence of
the republic, which fupports only five or fix thoufand men, for the purpofe of protecting
the frontiers from the incurfions of the Tartars. ‘They have fome regiments of huffars,
who are men armed in avery particular manner. ‘To equip one of thefe huffars cofts
more than two thoufand livres: they have large horfes, and carry a tiger’s {kin upon
their fhoulders, a quiver and arrows behind their back, a coat of mail upon their head,
a fabre, piftols, and a cutlafs. The fervants of thefe men precede the fquadron on
horfeback, with a lance in their hand; and it is very fingular that thefe people have
wirzs fixed to their backs: they ruth occafionally into the midft of their enemies, and
frighten their horfes, who are unaccuftomed to thefe vifions, and make way for their
mafters, who clofely follow them. ‘The republic has alfo fome Tartars whom it fup-
ports in time of peace, who are like the Swifs, willing to hire themfelves out to thofe
who will pay them: thefe are in other refpects the worlt troops in the world: they
fhewed clearly that their horfes were better than themfelves, when obferving the Swedes
pafling the Viltula, they chofe rather to avoid than to await them, and left King Cafimir,
who had only leifure to help the Queen into her chariot, and who faw from his refi-
dence the Swedes pafs the river, and enter into Warfaw ; and, on the other hand, ob-
ferved the Poles and the Tartars flying {wifter than the wind. They ravaged the whole
city, conducted by Guftavus Charles, father of the prefent King, who gave a wifhed-for
permiffion to his foldiers to carry away the beautiful column at the entrance of the gate
of Warfaw, provided they removed it without breaking it.
In the laft diet it was refolved that no candles fhould be lighted there, to prevent
thofe who flept from being feen; for it often happens that as the Poles go to the diet at
three or four o’clock, after dinner, when they have drank too freely, others took the
opportunity of pafling fome refolutions, while they knew thofe who were of an oppofite
opinion were afleep, and which confequently pafled unanimoufly : it is on this account
that they have been anxious to banifh light from their affembly, that the confufion in it
may be increafed, if indeed it could be greater, and that thofe who flept might not be
obferved.
Warfaw is in Mazovia, the capital of Upper Poland, and is the place where the diets
are held every three years. ‘This city is fituated upon the Viftula, which comes from
Cracow, and on which a great quantity of commodities are conveyed from Hungary,
and chiefly wine, the moft excellent which can poflibly be drunk. It contains nothing
worthy of obfervation, except the ftatue of Sigifmond the Third, erected by his fon
Uladiflas, which is placed at the entrance of the gate on a pillar of jafper, at which the
Swedes fired feveral cannon; the gilding of the figure is deeper than the thicknefs of a
ducat. ‘The city is very dirty and very {mall, and, properly {peaking, confifts folely of
the great fquare, in the middle of which the town-houfe is fituated, and around it there
are numbers of fhops kept by Armenians, very richly furnifhed with {tuffs and merchan-
dife, in the Turkifh manner, fuch as bows, arrows, quivers, fabres, carpets, knives, and
others: here they havea great number of churches and convents. We faw the Cafli-
merian palace, built by the late queen, which is at prefent fo much neglected, that every
part of it is falling to decay : we faw there feveral of thofe chairs by means of which
they afcend and defcend from one chamber to another. It was from this palace that
the queen beheld the Swedes pafs over the river, which wathes the feet of the walls ;
and it was here where M. Bethune dwelt.
We went to pay a vifit to M, Lubomirfky, grand Marfhal, who is one of the richeft
VOL, I. FF princes
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