cold. He immediately made several feigned | mander, Sobieski was employed in re-forming assaults to distract the attention of the enemy, the ranks of the assailants, disordered by and directed against the palisades, by which the assault and their success, and preparing he intended to enter, the fire of a battery for a new battle in the midst of that city of already erected. The soldiers immediately tents, which, though surprised, seemed not recollected that the preceding evening they subdued. had made the utmost efforts to draw the cannon beyond that point, but that a power apparently more than human had chained them to the spot, from whence now they easily beat down the obstacles to the army's advance, and cleared the road to victory. Who was so blind as not to see in that circumstance the miraculous intervention of Gregory of Tours!

"At that moment the army knelt down to receive the benediction of Father Pizeborowski, confessor of the Grand Hetman; and his prayer being concluded, Sobieski, dismounting from his horse, ordered his infantry to move forward to the assault of the newlyopened breach in the palisades, he himself, sword in hand, directing the way. The armed valets followed rapidly in their footsteps. That courageous band were never afraid to tread the path of danger in the hopes of plunder. In a moment the ditches were filled up and passed; with one bound the troops arrived at the foot of the rocks. The Grand Hetman, after that first success, had hardly time to remount on horseback, when, on the heights of the entrenched camp, were seen the standard of the cross and the eagle of Poland. Petrikowski and Denhoff, of the royal race of the Piasts, had first mounted the ramparts, and raised their ensigns. At this joyful sight, a hurrah of triumph rose from the Polish ranks, and rent the heavens; the Turks were seized with consternation; they had been confounded at that sudden attack, made at a time when they imagined the severity of the weather had made the Christians renounce their perilous enterprise. Such was the confusion, that but for the extraordinary strength of the position, they could not have stood a moment. At this critical juncture, Hussein, deceived by a false attack of Czarnicki, hastened with his cavalry to the other side of the camp, and the spahis, conceiving that he was flying, speedily took to flight.

"But the astonishment and confusion of the besieged, the cries of the women, shut up in the Harems, the thundering charges of the heavy squadrons clothed in impenetrable steel, and composed of impetuous young men, gave the Turks no time to recover from their consternation. It was no longer a battle, but a massacre. Demetrius and the Lithuanian met at the same time in the invaded camp. A cry of horror now rose from the Turkish ranks, and they rushed in crowds to the bridge of boats which crossed the Dniester, and formed the sole communication between Kotzim, and the fortified city of Kamaniek. In the struggle to reach this sole outlet from destruction, multitudes killed each other. But Sobieski's foresight had deprived the vanquished even of this last resource. His brother-in-law, Radziwil had during the tumult glided unperceived through the bottom of the ravines, and at the critical moment made himself master of the bridge, and the heights which commanded it. The only resource of the fugitives was now to throw themselves into the waves. 20,000 men perished at that fatal point, either on the shores or in the half-congealed stream. Insatiable in carnage, the hussars led by Maziniki pursued them on horseback into the bed of the Dneiper, and sabred thousands when struggling in the stream. 40,000 dead bodies were found in the precincts of the camp. The water of the river for several leagues ran red with blood, and corpses were thrown up with every wave on its deserted shores.

"At the news of this extraordinary triumph, the Captain Pacha, who was advancing with a fresh army to invade Poland, set fire to his camp, and hastened across the Danube. The Moldavians and Walachians made their submission to the conqueror, and the Turks, recently so arrogant, began to tremble for their capital. Europe, electrified with these successes, returned thanks for the greatest victory gained for three centuries over the infidels. "But the Janizzaries were not yet van-Christendom quivered with joy, as if it had quished. Inured to arms, they rapidly formed just escaped from ignominy and bondage."— their ranks, and falling upon the valets, who | II. 130—153. had dispersed in search of plunder, easily put "But while Europe was awaiting the intelthem to the sword. Fortunately, Sobieski had ligence of the completion of the overthrow of had time to employ his foot soldiers in level- the Osmanlis, desertion and flight had ruined ling the ground, and rendering accessible the the Polish army. Whole Palatinates had approaches to the summits of the hills. The abandoned their colours. They were desirous Polish cavalry came rushing in with a noise to carry off in safety the spoils of the East, and like thunder. The hussars, the cuirassiers, to prepare for that new field of battle which with burning torches affixed to their lances, the election of the King of Poland, who died scaled precipices which seemed hardly acces- at this juncture, presented. Sobieski remained sible to foot soldiers. Inactive till that mo- almost alone on the banks of the Dniester. At ment, Paz now roused his giant strength. the moment when Walachia and Moldavia Ever the rival of Sobieski, he rushed forward were throwing themselves under the protec with bis Lithuanian nobles in the midst of tion of the Polish crown, when the Captain every danger, to endeavour to arrive first in Pacha was flying to the foot of Balkan, and the Ottoman camp. It was too late; already Sobieski was dreaming of changing the face the flaming lances of the Grand Hetman of the world, his army dissolved. The Turks, gleamed on the summits of the entrenchments, at this unexpected piece of fortune, recovered d ever attentive to the duties of a com- from their terror; and the rule of the Mussul

men was perpetuated for two centuries in Europe."-II. 165.

This victory and the subsequent dissolution of the army, so characteristic both of the glories and the inconstancy of Poland, great as it was, was eclipsed by the splendours of the deliverance of Vienna. The account of the previous election of this great man to the throne of Poland is singularly characteristic of Polish

manners.

"The plain of Volo to the west of Warsaw had been the theatre, from the earliest times, of the popular elections. Already the impatient Pospolite covered that vast extent with its waves, like an army prepared to commence an assault on a fortified town. The innumerable piles of arms; the immense tables round which faction united their supporters; a thousand jousts with the javelin or the lance; a thousand squadrons engaged in mimic war; a thousand parties of palatines, governors of castles, and other dignified authorities who traversed the ranks distributing exhortations, party songs, and largesses; a thousand cavalcades of gentlemen, who rode, according to custom, with their battle-axes by their sides, and discussed at the gallop the dearest interests of the republic; innumerable quarrels, originating in drunkenness, and terminating in blood: Such were the scenes of tumult, amusement, and war,-a faithful mirror of Poland,-which, as far as the eye could reach, filled the plain.

crown. Sobieski had previously occupied the bridge over the river by a regiment of hussars, upon which the Lithuanians seized every house in the city which wealth could command. These hostile dispositions were too significant of frightful disorders. War soon ensued in the midst of the rejoicings between Lithuania and Poland. Every time the opposite factions met, their strife terminated in bloodshed. The hostilities extended even to the bloody game of the Klopiches, which was played by a confederation of the boys in the city, or of pages and valets, who amused themselves by forming troops, electing a marshal, choosing a field of battle, and fighting there to the last extremity. On this occasion they were divided into corps of Lithuanians and Poles, who hoisted the colours of their respec< tive states, got fire-arms to imitate more completely the habits of the equestrian order, and disturbed the plain everywhere by their marches, or terrified it by their assaults. Their shock desolated the plain; the villages were in flames; the savage huts of which the suburbs of Warsaw were then composed, were incessantly invaded and sacked in that terrible sport, invented apparently to inure the youth to civil war, and extend even to the slaves the enjoyments of anarchy.

"On the day of the elections the three orders mounted on horseback. The princes, the palatines, the bishops, the prelates, proceeded towards the plain of Volo, surrounded by eighty thousand mounted citizens, any one of whom might, at the expiry of a few hours, find himself King of Poland. They all bore in their countenances, even under the livery or ban

ruinous privilege. The European dress nowhere appeared on that solemn occasion. The children of the desert strove to hide the furs and skins in which they were clothed under chains of gold and the glitter of jewels. Their bonnets were composed of panther-skin, plumes of eagles or herons surmounted them: on their front were the most splendid precious stones. Their robes of sable or ermine were bound with velvet or silver: their girdle studded with jewels; over all their furs were suspended chains of diamonds. One hand of each nobleman was without a glove; on it was the splendid ring on which the arms of his family were engraved; the mark, as in ancient Rome, of the equestrian order. A new proof of this intimate connection between the race, the customs, and the traditions of the northern tribes, and the founders of the Eternal City.

"The arena was closed in by a vast circle of tents, which embraced, as in an immense girdle, the plain of Volo, the shores of the Vistula, and the spires of Warsaw. The horizon seemed bounded by a range of snowy moun-ners of a master, the pride arising from that tains, of which the summits were portrayed in the hazy distance by their dazzling whiteness. Their camp formed another city, with its markets, its gardens, its hotels, and its monuments. There the great displayed their Oriental magnificence; the nobles, the palatines, vied with each other in the splendour of their horses and equipage; and the stranger who beheld for the first time that luxury, worthy of the last and greatest of the Nomade people, was never weary of admiring the immense hotels, the porticoes, the colonnades, the galleries of painted or gilded stuffs, the castles of cotton and silk, with their draw-bridges, towers, and ditches. Thanks to the recent victory, a great part of these riches had been taken from the Turks. Judging from the multitude of stalls, kitchens, baths, audience chambers, the elegance of the Oriental architecture, the taste of the designs, the profusion "But nothing in this rivalry of magnificence of gilded crosses, domes, and pagodas, you could equal the splendour of their arms. would imagine that the seraglio of some Double poniards, double scymitars, set with Eastern sultan had been transported by en- brilliants; bucklers of costly workmanship, chantment to the banks of the Vistula. Vic-battle-axes enriched in silver, and glittering tory had accomplished this prodigy; these were the tents of Mahomet IV., taken at the battle of Kotzim, and though Sobieski was absent, his triumphant arms surmounted the crescent of Mahomet.

"The Lithuanians were encamped on the opposite shores of the Vistula; and their Grand Ifetman, Michel Paz, had brought up his whole force to dictate laws, as it were, to the Polish

with emeralds and sapphires; bows and arrows richly gilt, which were borne at festivals, in remembrance of the ancient customs of the country, were to be seen on every side. The horses shared in this melange of barbarism and refinement; sometimes cased in iron, at others decorated with the richest colours, they bent under the weight of the sabres, the lances, and javelins by which the senatorial order

Polish hero.

marked their rank. The bishops were distin- | Before his arrival discord reigned in their guished by their gray or green hats, and yellow camp, but all now yielded obedience to the or red pantaloons, magnificently embroidered with divers colours. Often they laid aside their pastoral habits, and signalized their address as young cavaliers, by the beauty of their arms, and the management of their horses. In that crowd of the equestrian order, there was no gentleman so humble as not to try to rival this magnificence. Many carried, in furs and arms, their whole fortunes on their backs. Numbers had sold their votes to some of the candidates, for the vanity of appearing with some additional ornament before their fellowcitizens. And the people, whose dazzled eyes beheld all this magnificence, were almost without clothing; their long beards, naked legs, and filth, indicated, even more strongly than their pale visages and dejected air, all the miseries of servitude."-II. 190—197.

The achievement which has immortalized the name of John Sobieski is the deliverance of Vienna in 1683-of this glorious achievement M. Salvandy gives the following interesting account:

"The Duke of Lorraine had previously constructed at Tulin, six leagues below Vienna, a triple bridge, which Kara Mustapha, the Turkish commander, allowed to be formed without opposition. The German Electors nevertheless hesitated to cross the river; the severity of the weather, long rains, and roads now almost impassable, augmented their alarms. But the King of Poland was a stranger alike to hesitation as fear; the state of Vienna would admit of no delay. The last despatch of Stahremborg was simply in these words: There is no time to lose.'-There is no reverse to fear,' exclaimed Sobieski; 'the gene ral who at the head of three hundred thousand men could allow that bridge to be constructed in his teeth, cannot fail to be defeated.'

"On the following day the liberators of Christendom passed in review before their allies. The Poles marched first; the spectators were astonished at the magnificence of their arms, the splendour of the dresses, and the beauty of the horses. The infantry was less brilliant; one regiment in particular, by its battered appearance, hurt the pride of the monarch-Look well at those brave men,' said he to the Imperialists; it is an invincible battalion, who have sworn never to renew their clothing, till they are arrayed in the spoils of the Turks.' These words were repeated to the regiments; if they did not, says the annalist, clothe them, they encircled every man with a cuirass.

"After a siege of eight months, and open trenches for sixty days, Vienna was reduced to the last extremity. Famine, disease, and the sword, had cut off two-thirds of its garrison; and the inhabitants, depressed by incessant toil for the last six months, and sickened by long deferred hope, were given up to despair. Many breaches were made in the walls; the massy bastions were crumbling in ruins, and entrenchments thrown up in haste in the streets, formed the last resource of the German capital. Stahremborg, the governor, had an- "The Christian army, when all assembled, nounced the necessity of surrendering if not amounted to 70,000 men, of whom only 30,000 relieved in three days; and every night signals were infantry. Of these the Poles were 18,000. of distress from the summits of the steeples, The principal disquietude of the king was announced the extremities to which they were on account of the absence of the Cossacks, reduced. whom Mynzwicki had promised to bring up to "One evening, the sentinel who was on the his assistance.-He well knew what admirable watch at the top of the steeple of St. Stephen's, scouts they formed: the Tartars had always perceived a blazing flame on the summits of found in them their most formidable enemies. the Calemberg; soon after an army was seen Long experience in the Turkish wars had preparing to descend the ridge. Every tele- rendered them exceedingly skilful in this scope was instantly turned in that direction, species of warfare: no other force was equal and from the brilliancy of their lances, and the to them in seizing prisoners and gaining insplendour of their banners it was easy to see telligence. They were promised ten crowns that it was the Hussars of Poland, so redoubt- for every man they brought in after this manable to the Osmanlis, who were approaching. ner: they led their captives to the tent of their The Turks were immediately to be seen divid-king, where they got their promised reward, ing their vast host into divisions, one destined and went away saying, 'John, I have touched to oppose this new enemy, and one to continue the assaults on the besieged. At the sight of the terrible conflict which was approaching, the women and children flocked to the churches, while Stahremborg led forth all that remained of the men to the breaches.

"The Duke of Lorraine had previously set forth with a few horsemen to join the King of Poland, and learn the art of war, as he expressed it, under so great a master. The two illustrious commanders soon concerted a plan of operations, and Sobieski encamped on the Danube, with all his forces, united to the troops of the empire. It was with tears of joy, that the sovereigns, generals, and the soldiers of the Imperialists received the illustrious chief whom heaven had sent to their relief.

my money, God will repay you.'-Bereaved of these faithful assistants, the king was compelled to expose his hussars in exploring the dangerous defiles in which the army was about to engage. The Imperialists, who could not comprehend his attachment to that undisciplined militia, were astonished to hear him incessantly exclaiming, 'Oh! Mynzwicki, Oh' Mynzwicki.'"

A rocky chain, full of narrow and precipitous ravines, of woods and rocks, called the Calemberg in modern times, the Mons Etius of the Romans, separated the two armies: the cause of Christendom from that of Mahomet. It was necessary to scale that formidable barrier; for the mountains advanced with a rocky front into the middle of the Danube. Fortunately, F

the negligence of the Turks had omitted to | paces to give time to those behind, who were fortify these posts, where a few battalions retarded by the difficulties of the descent, to might have arrested the Polish army.