THE protracted resistance offered by the Poles to the forces which the Russian Government have employed to quell the national movement, and the complicated diplomatic action to which it has given rise, have invested the insurrection with a deeper interest than we were disposed to accord to it when hos tilities first broke out in January last. Even among the Poles themselves there were not many at that time who were sanguine enough to believe that a few scattered bands of ill-armed insurgents could keep at bay the armies of the Czar, except for a month or six weeks; and the Cabinets of Europe, unwilling to commit themselves to the solution of the most difficult question which the nationality problem presents, showed considerable hesitation before they recognised either the necessity or the duty of diplomatic interference. Had it been otherwise, it is probable that the question would ere this have been set at rest, in one sense or the other: unfortunately, the course which the great Powers have pursued throughout has operated in a manner calculated to produce the very result they most wished to avoid; and if the task which must now inevitably sooner or later devolve upon Europe be more encompassed with difficulties than it would have been at the outset, it is to the timid and vacillating policy of the intervening Cabinets that this is due. The insurrection was not three months old when it first fell to my lot to visit Galicia and the kingdom of Poland, and I embodied in the pages of this Magazine* the result of my experiences upon that occasion. It was then evident to the most casual observer that the forces at work were under-estimated

abroad, and that while the Poles could never hope to drive the Russians out of Poland, they could keep the question open, if they met with sufficient applause and encouragement from the great Powers, until the great Powers could not consistently with their dignity refrain from interference. Had that applause and encouragement been withheld, it is probable that long ere this the insurrection in Poland would have collapsed; had, on the other hand, a more threatening attitude been maintained towards Russia, it is no less likely that that Power would have yielded. The middle course taken kept the insurrection upon its legs, and rendered Galicia as interesting a country to visit in September as I had already found it in March. I therefore determined to go over the old ground again, with the view of judging what change six months had worked upon the prospects of the movement, upon the temper of the people, and upon the policy of the Austrian Government.

In the first instance, however, I was anxious to cross the frontier, and traverse the Russian province of Volhynia as far as Kamienetz Podolsky, as the accounts which were published with reference to the condition of that part of the country were most conflicting, the Poles maintaining that the elements of insurrection existed abundantly, and only required encouragement to blaze forth; the Russians, on the other hand, declaring that the province was profoundly tranquil, and that, with the exception of a few landed proprietors, the loyalty of the population was to be thoroughly counted upon. That the Poles were sincere in believing in the possibility of spreading the revolt into

this part of the Russian dominions, is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that they organised a large band under Wysocki for the purpose of invading it; while the disaster which overwhelmed the expedition at its outset strengthened the public conviction in favour of the correctness of the Russian statements on

the subject. In this latter case, however, it would scarcely seem that the internal condition of the province warranted the extreme measures resorted to by the Russians to maintain a tranquillity which, according to their own as sertions, was not in danger; and I was anxious to judge for myself whether the charges of cruelty brought against the Russian administration were true so far as they applied to Volhynia, and to what extent the population sympathised in the national movement. As the scene of my projected expedition was beyond railways, or even the appliances of posting in civilised countries, it became necessary to invest in a carriage at Lemberg; and I employed two mornings, in company with a friend, in investigating the mysterious workings of the Jewish mind in the matter of bargain and sale. Were it not that the greasy fraternity are as ready to prey upon each other as upon the unsophisticated stranger, the case of the latter would be indeed deplorable; fortunately, however, in fighting over his carcass, they devour each other to such an extent, that in the end they become themselves utterly enfeebled and prostrate, and he has only to seize the propitious moment when they are exhausted by the fierceness of their competition and overthrown by mutual treachery, to find them completely at his mercy. There is an exhilarating excitement in secretly conspiring with a Jew in a dark archway as to the best mode of "doing" his brother, which probably arises from the suspicion which haunts you throughout that you are your self the victim. In this case the best plan is again to conspire against

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your late co-conspirator, and so on, until you have a string of traitors. There is no difficulty in effecting this, as they infest the streets; and these ringleted Hebrews, with their big boots, tall hats, and long coats, in every stage of grease, are constantly proffering their services to be employed against each other: indeed, there is something supernatural in their cognisance, not merely of your wants, but of the steps you have already taken to satisfy them, and of the various members of the tribe you have already consulted in the matter. Two qualities only are necessary to enable you to triumph victoriously in the keen and exciting strugglepatience and decision show the slightest anxiety to conclude the bargain, or the slightest hesitation as to whether or not you ought to accept it, and you are irretrievably lost. On the whole, though occasionally victimised, I am decidedly grateful to that section of the race which overruns this corner of Europe. Their powers of performing every description of service, provided they are paid for it, are unlimited without them the traveller would be without a compass on a stormy ocean; with them he has a compass that never deceives him, so long as he has the magnetic pole, in the form of his purse, in his pocket. Thus it was that, after two days of patient, and I may say conscientious, intrigue, and after having explored the recesses of almost every coach-house in Lemberg, we ultimately purchased, for the sum of £9, an excellent, roomy conveyance, with C springs and strong axles, in which we journeyed for more than a month-traversing upwards of a thousand miles, and never once having to do more than tighten the screws. The Jew who ultimately effected this bargain for us received a tenth of the sum as his commission. It took us a night to post from Lemberg to Brody, a Jewinhabited town, containing the usual square, with arcades all round, and arcades forming a marketplace

in the centre, where only this one class of the population buzz and swarm, and almost forcibly drag you into odoriferous corners to buy things you don't want, and where the women, with greasy plaits of false hair, which last them a lifetime, twined round their heads, try to persuade you, with soft glances, to leave some of your riches on their counter. As we were both ignorant of Russian, we had procured a servant at Lemberg, a snubnosed individual, who gave a somewhat indistinct account of his former life, was vague as to his nationality, and incoherent in his general conversation. However, we were obliged to close with him at the last moment for want of a better; and with this questionable addition to our party we started about ten o'clock one fine autumn morning for the Russian frontier; four little rats of ponies dragged us painfully across the sandy plain, which extends eastward, and which near the frontier is covered with a dense pine-forest. Here the deep sand forces us to walk, and our coachman explains to us that in these extensive woods the ill-fated expedition of Wysocki collected prior to their attack upon Radziviloff. Emerging from their dark recesses, we debouch upon a plain which was the scene of the disaster. But first we are detained at the Austrian frontier, and go through the necessary passport formalities; a mile beyond it is the first Russian picket, where an ill-looking Mongol is keeping guard over a sentry-box made of the boughs of trees: in the distance a group of Cossacks, with long lances and shaggy ponies, are straggling over the plain towards the town of Radziviloff, now visible in the distance. In crossing this piece of country the Poles suffered severely from the Russian artillery, but they were not finally checked as we were at the barrier. This is placed on a narrow strip of land which divides a marshy pond from a reedy lake-a dismal swamp extending indefinitely round the po

sition, and rendering it, in every respect, one most undesirable to attack, and easy to defend.

We were detained for some time outside the high gate which, flanked by stiff palisades and guarded by a couple of sentries, barred our further progress; and if we could only have foreseen the annoyance to which we were to be exposed upon the other side, we should not have been so anxious to pass through: however, we waited patiently, until, at the expiration of an hour, we received permission to drive on, when the gates were instantly closed behind us, and we found ourselves impounded in an enclosure, the exit from which was also a guarded gate, while there was just room on the causeway for a custom-house and guard - room. We were instantly surrounded by half-a-dozen officials, and our luggage was soon ranged in the verandah for inspection, and became a centre of attraction for other wayfarers, impounded like ourselves, waiting for their passports, and who were glad of the distraction which the examination of our effects afforded. These were, for the most part, Jews or peasantsthe former especially swarmed here as elsewhere. Meanwhile the carriage was being minutely examined, the pockets and lining were carefully inspected, and then the attention of the authorities was concentrated upon ourselves. Just as the operation was beginning, however, our feelings received a sudden shock by the announcement that our servant was found to be a compromised person, if not an actual insurgentthat his name was down in the police records, that he was a Russian subject, and that we should, in all probability, be deprived of his services, after having enjoyed them only a few hours. In vain did he protest that they must have mistaken him for somebody else; his forbidding countenance seemed to give the lie to his assertions; and we felt that his connection with us threw a serious doubt over the

respectability of his masters. All this time our clothes were being taken out of our portmanteaus, and, after being separately examined, thrown in a pile in the yard. The shirts were carefully shaken out, the lining of the coats was felt; a piece of old newspaper, in which boots had been wrapped up, was laid on one side for further inspection; a very harmless map of the country, a Bradshaw's Railway Guide,' a French novel, and half a sheet of note-paper, which was written over, and which I had accidentally left in my blotting-book, were all placed together as objects of suspicion. Still we were sanguine as to the ultimate result, when suddenly a breast-pin - which I had bought some months previously, on account of its antique form, at Cracow-was seized upon triumphantly. I could not deny that the device was a Polish eagle; and when I offered to present it to the inspector as a proof of the little value I placed upon it, he shrank back with horror. From this moment the chain of evidence against us was complete; a rebel servant, a map, a breast-pin, and a 'Bradshaw.' Our treacherous intentions were indeed made so clear by these last three articles that the servant was no longer necessary, and the head official frankly told us that it was all a mistake, and that he was not known to them at all. It was evident that they had begun with securing something fatal against us, in case they should fail in seizing anything really dangerous; but having got the breast pin, it was no longer necessary to assert that we had an insurgent for a domestic. Our fate was already sealed; still our ordeal was not ended. Leaving our raiment piled outside, we were now each ushered separately into a small room, and, accompanied by an inspector and a searcher, were submitted to a close personal examination. Every pocket was turned out, our arms and legs carefully felt, strange hands dexterously explored hidden recesses under

our waistcoats and between our shoulders; but the only objects found in my pocket were a metallic note-book, and a note containing a few simple lines of introduction to a gentleman in Volhynia who has never taken part in the movement, and is still residing at large on his property. With these trophies added to the list, the inspector took his final leave, and we returned to sit in our carriage and await the result. The process above described had already lasted three hours, and time wore on without any prospect of release. Our only amusement was watching the inspection of fresh passengers, as others had done to us. We saw sacks of produce prodded with iron rods, and an admonitory prod given to the owner as a finish; we saw one male stripped after another, for the common herd were not treated as we were to a private room, but made to undress unceremoniously in the road; and we saw females subjected to examination in public

not, indeed, to the extent of undressing, but of a personal inspection too minute to be pleasant, while every article of their wearing apparel was shaken out as ours had been for the benefit of the bystanders. And we saw Jews kicked and cuffed more heartily than usually falls even to their lot; but they drive a thriving traffic on these frontiers in times too trying for any other merchant; and if they receive abundance of kicks, they make halfpence to an extent which fully compensates them, and thus reverse the old proverb. But even these scenes after a time become monotonous, and the feeling of indignation they occasionally roused was not calculated to allay our growing impatience. We had arrived at the frontier at mid-day, and had now been just eight hours confined to our carriage. We could hear nothing as to our fate; the evening was rapidly closing in; it was twelve hours since we had eaten a light breakfast; and what with hunger, vexation, and uncertainty, the stock of phi

losophy which had supported us through the trials of the day was beginning to be exhausted. Then we were objects of derision, curiosity, or compassion to the crowd, according to the temperament of the individuals who composed it. The soldiers grinned at us in evident amusement at our predicament, until we came to hate them separately and collectively. I can even now recall to my recollection the repulsive lineaments of their respective Tartar physiognomies. The employés looked at us with curiosity, wondering what on earth induced two Englishmen to place themselves voluntarily in their clutches, a sentiment in which I began equally to share the Christian passengers felt for us probably as much compassion as we did for them; while the Jews vainly strove to hit upon some device by which we might be turned to pecuniary account.

At last came a message from the general commanding in chief, to the effect that he would be glad to see us. The long-closed portals opened wide to let us through, and we found ourselves in the broad muddy streets of the straggling Russian town. Upon reaching the General's residence, we were given to understand by an aide-de-camp that the eight hours' delay had been caused by a deliberation on the part of General Kreuter as to whether, considering our evidently dangerous character, he could permit us to enter the country, and that he had reluctantly been compelled to decide against our admission. As this seemed scarcely warranted by the objects found in our luggage, we asked permission to see his Excellency, who shortly afterwards appeared himself, and informed us that the only concession he could make in our favour was to send us to Kief, the seat of government, to which city the breast-pin, the piece of old newspaper, the Bradshaw,' the sheet of note-paper, the map, the French novel, and the metallic note-book, would be safely forwarded, and there delivered to us,

VOL. XCV.-NO. DLXXIX.

if in the opinion of General Annenkoff, the Governor, we deserved to have them back. We now began to suspect the real cause of the delay. It was evident that General Kreuter and General Annenkoff had been in hot telegraphic communication on our account, and that the result was the alternative now presented to us, of proceeding to Kief or returning to Austria. As Kief was distant about four days' journey in exactly the opposite direction to that in which we wished to go, we declined the opportunity afforded to us of seeing this part of Russia, and requested to know exactly the reason of our not being allowed to go to Kamienetz. Even the General could hardly venture to find in the confiscated articles alone a sufficient cause for our prohibition, so he added to it a paternal solicitude for our safety. The country, he said, was in such a disturbed condition that he could not answer for our safety. As at this time the St Petersburg journals were insisting that Volhynia was profoundly tranquil, we were rather surprised to find the assertions of the Poles to the contrary thus strongly corroborated by so good an authority-at the same time, we expressed our willingness to incur the risk. It did indeed seem curious, if, as was assumed, we were dangerous Polish emissaries, that our safety should be a matter of much concern to the Russians; while it was evident that in that character the only thing we had to fear was from their own soldiery, who, if they murdered two unarmed travellers, would fully justify the reports which were current of their cruelty. However, we did not think it expedient to submit these arguments; probably the order, and not the logic, had been transmitted by telegraph, and both we and the General had to obey it: indeed, we had no reason to complain of the latter, who had treated us with much civility, and most likely exceeded his instructions when he good-naturedly gave us permission

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