Volume II. Guth na Bliadhna ' leabhar II.]
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| to avert the final calamity of annihilation with which they were threatened; and for over thirty years they have with one accord continued to work to that end. In this defensive warfare both their past history and present conditions of existence afford them many advantages; and they have hitherto been so far successful that Polish nationality is now, we may boldly say, an absolutely impregnable fortress. Never, at any epoch in its history, was Poland so united, so strong in adversity, so prudently determined, so firm to resist attacks as it is now.
It is true that on entering the Polish provinces of East Prussia we find the German language exclusively taught in every school; German names given to Polish towns; priests forbidden by the police to give children Polish names at their baptisms ; the language prohibited in public meetings ; tickets refused at railway stations, if they are asked for in Polish ; and great tracts of land bought up by the Government, to be sold only to German settlers, and under the condition that they shall never under any circumstance pass into the hands of a Pole. And yet it is also true that the very school children refuse to learn their catechism, when forced to learn it in German. Polish, taught privately and furtively out of school hours, is all the dearer to them for the additional labour it has cost. For the student, the scientific superiority of German education has no charm; the young Pole who leaves college admits indeed the high standard of the training he has gone through, but hates it none the less. No one speaks German in the bosom of his family, or to a stranger with whom he can converse in any other language; and even settlers from Suabia or Westphalia who, as often happens, have married Polish women, learn to speak Polish, and with their children swell the Polish ranks ; this is a fact which Prussian ministers have stated publicly to justify their repressive acts. But repression only creates greater bitterness ; it cannot crush, it can only exasperate the feelings of the people. To cite but one palpable proof of the vitality of the language, it is in those very provinces that Polish newspapers are most eagerly read by workmen and peasants ; it is there that the ratio of subscribers to the total population is highest. Let us now cross the Russian frontier. The characters of the Cyrillic alphabet are to be seen side by side with Polish on every shop front in Warsaw; posters must be in Russian, though Polish is tolerated; even a bill announcing " Rooms to let" cannot be put up without its Russian translation. But were the police to take away its hand, where would those signs of Muscovite domination be to-morrow ? Spies swarm on all sides, carefully scenting out forbidden books; even the harmless Messenger of the Sacred Heart, imported from Austrian Poland, is among these, and recently a seminary for priests was closed, merely because a few copies of it were found there. Yet not only this, but many other forbidden books find their way in by thousands, no one knows how ; and the police are powerless to prevent their entrance. One part of the population (the so-called Uniates) is considered by the Russian law to belong to their Established Church, because three centuries ago their forefathers left that Church to become Catholies! They are therefore forbidden even to enter a Catholic place of worship, much more to confess to a CathoUc priest, or receive Communion at his hands, or the Sacrament of Matrimony; severe penalties attend both priest and Uniate, if discovered in their transgression. Yet every year multitudes of poor men pass the Austrian frontier in order to obey the precepts of the Catholic Church. The Polish clergy is indeed ruled with a rod of iron. Any infraction of police regulations is punished by a fine often amounting to a whole year's stipend on the first occasion ; a second or a third would, if grave, entail the loss of the priest's benefice, or even worse. All sermons (at least in large towns) must be read, and read as they were written, censored, and allowed to be preached. Without formal leave obtained from the Governor, no priest may go to Rome, or visit his bishop, or so much as call on another clergyman in the next district, were he on his deathbed and the other his confessor. It sounds incredible, but every one who lives in Poland knows that it is true. Yet, much as these and other harsh laws fetter the influence of the clergy, it is still great; possibly greater than in provinces where there is no persecution. They are indeed unable to render spiritual assistance to the Uniates without danger to themselves and therefore to their own flock. But, to make up for their forced inaction, there are missionaries from beyond the frontier who enter the land in secret, with the threat of Siberian mines hanging over their heads, if discovered by the police. They are sent to comfort and instruct such of the Uniates as still cling to their faith ; and they belong for the most part, if not exclusively, to an order whose name need not be stated here, but may easily be guessed. I myself know a Father who was betrayed to the Russians by the Jewish innkeeper at whose house he was staying, disguised as a colporteur; and had not the Emperor of Austria interceded for him, he would certainly have met his death long ago beyond the Ural mountains. As it was, he spent five years in prison. All, however, are not so unfortunate, and it space and due regard for the serious character of this article permitted, I could relate many entertaining facts about other missionaries, their presence of mind in danger, their readiness of resource in outwitting the police, and their adventures and embarrassments, often not without a comical side, sometimes ending in a tragedy. Of course their work is aided and abetted by the whole population; not only by educated men, who—even such as are indifferent where faith alone is in question—know that Catholicism in Poland is the element which above all sustains the vitality of the nation, and act accordingly; but also by the lower classes and the -peasants, now fully awakened to a sense of their nationality by the proceedings of the Government itself. They were at one time unconcerned and even somewhat hostile to those whom they called the " Patriots " ; but since the ark of religion has been touched and they are molested because they are Catholics, they now feel that, being Catholics, they are Poles. It would be unjust, however, to pass over in silence a most significant political fact which has just occurred, and which seems to point to a hope of better days in store for Poland. The new Minister of the Interior, Prince Swiatopelk-Mirski, a man of liberal ideas, lately invited a group of influential Poles to send him a memorial containing their aspirations; a thing unheard of for many a year, and, were it not for the late Japanese successes, absolutely impossible even now. This memorial has therefore been published, and as it sheds considerable fight on the present condition of Russian Poland, it is as well to give its substance in few words. It commences by pointing out with plenty of proofs at hand, that the system of " Russification " hitherto employed, has been very far from attaining its end, and that all it has done is to establish certain outward appearances of submission at the cost of material and moral ruin in many parts of the country. Such, I may say here by the way, was the system, relentlessly pursued for a long time, of removing all Poles even from positions on private railways, and substituting Russians in their stead, by means of constant pressure and vexation on the part of the Government. The memorial points out in detail the results of the system both in the schools and in public life, the oppression of the Catholic Church and persecution of the Uniates which I have related above. The kingdom of Poland, though possessing its own ancient civilisation and culture, has been deprived of the most essential social rights of civilisation, and of every legal guarantee which makes for progress. Not only so, but the exceptional and repressive laws and edicts which have been issued diminish yet further the sphere of individual freedom and open the door to every abuse of an arbitrary administration. The memorial goes on to enumerate and discuss all these laws and edicts, and after showing how Poles are excluded from every Government institution, and even from many companies that are not under direct Government control; after pointing out the tyranny of the censorship, the fetters laid on all attempts to found societies and companies of any sort, and a great many other similar abuses, it comes to the conclusion that " for more than forty years Poland has been in a state of war ", The second part of the memorial deals with the changes considered necessary by public opinion; and here a great many Poles blame it as being far too moderate. But the authors of the memorial no doubt considered that it is better to ask for little, with the hope of getting it, than to demand more, and get nothing. In the first place, a series of laws and ukases, both those general to the whole empire and specially promulgated for Poland, are mentioned ; all of them forming as it were the basis of the present Polish demands, and a guarantee of equal treatment between Poles and Russians ; they have been suspended for forty years, but their suspension has always been considered by the Tsars as provisional and temporary. Starting from this principle, the memorial proceeds to claim:— (1) That the Polish language be once more taught in all schools, elementary, secondary and higher, as the means of instruction (not separately, twice a week, as a foreign language, explained by Russian teachers in Russian); that it be also re- stored in the courts of law, in the local ad- ministrative bureaux, and in all public offices and institutions.
(4) That an assurance be given to the United Greeks (Uniates) of entire liberty of conscience as regards their choice of a religion ; that full freedom be restored to the Catholic clergy, both within the country, and as regards their relations with the Head of the Church; and also that the Catholic Academy, or Theological College, be allowed to return to Warsaw (it has been transferred to St. Petersburg ever since 1867). The memorial closes by quoting the words of Alexander II. in a rescript addressed in 1863 to the Grand Duke Constantine, then Governor of Poland: " When order is again restored, and it is possible to continue the work begun by you ; when circumstances permit the working of the institutions which I have granted to Poland, and most ardently and sincerely desire to see at work, then you will all, I trust, once more be able to share in the performance of those things I have at heart, and to aid me by devoting yourselves to my service ". The principal defects in this memorial are said to be those of omission. Not a word is said about the constitutional movement in Russia; no demand is made for a separate -constitutional government in Poland. But it is a moot question whether, setting aside the uncertainty of such a demand being considered at all by the Government, the Russian public would view with pleasure such a Separatist claim. And it is still more doubtful whether, if Poland sent deputies to a possible Russian Parliament of the future, this would not be yet more dangerous for her national existence than the present state of open oppression. But there is one point which all parties agree to praise: it is that which concerns the Catholic Church. Neither the restoration of the Polish language to its former position, nor autonomy granted either in the modest way suggested by the memorial, or under the far-reaching form of a Constitution granted to Poland, could do so much for the nation as the freedom of the Church. What' indeed could she not do when free, if now, chained and fettered as she is, she does so much for the nation ? Catholicism thus asserts itself as a great preserving and vital force; and the more it is persecuted, the more do Poles cling to it. More especially do they cling to such forms and ceremonies as are peculiar to the Polish Church, and of these there are very many. The time has of course gone by when noblemen hearing Mass, as soon as the Sequentia sancti Evangelii resounded, would draw their swords and hold them uplifted, as-knights of the faith, whilst the Gospel was intoned. Such an act would be rebellion, as would also be the old invocation, " Queen of the Realm of Poland," formerly added to the litany of Loretto. But on Christmas Eve, for instance, the national custom, tolerated by the Government, is strictly maintained in great numbers of families. Nothing is eaten all day, till the first star appears. Then a solemn banquet, comprising various sorts of fish, dressed after the national fashion, begins; hay is placed under the table-cloth and a sheaf of wheat stands in a corner of the room; the servants sit down first to table, and the masters, after breaking an altar-bread with each, and exchanging good wishes, serve them at dinner, in memory of t Master who came to serve. Afterwards, all the company sit together, and with little wax candles of different colours lighted in front of each guest, they sing Kolenda (Christmas carols) until the time comes lor midnight Mass. On Easter Sunday there is a still more venerated family rite, of which the well-known "Easter eggs" form only a part. These, together with a large number of baked meats and cakes, are called the Swiecone, or " The Consecrated Meal". It dates, I am told, from the time of the pagan feasts in honour of the Goddess of Spring, which were not abolished but Christianised by the Church. On Holy Saturday a priest goes round to every family and blesses the morrow's food with a special paschal benediction; even the poorest have a little meat and cake to be blessed. Once I happened to be present at a very painful scene in connection with this ceremony. The priest came to a farmhouse where I was staying, but he was not allowed by the gendarmes to bless the food of the peasantry that had collected outside with bundles and baskets. The reason given was that, there being some Ruthenians or Uniates in the district, the people must show proof that they were Poles before they could be suffered to share in a Roman Catholic ceremony. As the poor folks had not brought any certificates of baptism with them, they had to return home with food unblessed, and the greatest feast of the year was thus turned into mourning for them. I cannot describe their misery and their indignation, and surely it was just. By this prohibition there was indeed no essential harm done to religion: but the national feeling, the feeling that they were Poles, had been cruelly wounded. That same year I was in a parish where the priest had been forbidden to bury a certain man whom the police chose to regard as a non-Catholic, c because a name like his grandfather's had been found in the Uniate register of baptisms. Hia widow buried him in the Catholic graveyard with her own hands. She was taken before a magistrate and severely questioned, not so much with a view of punishing her as of implicating the parish priest in her disobedience : but to no purpose. Church services in Poland are distinguished by the very great use of the Polish language at services in which the vernacular is severely prohibited in other countries. Rome has never, so far as I know, protested against this custom, wisely thinking that such a privilege need not be denied to such a nation. Yet any one acquainted with the jealous care with which Rome excludes the popular language from Benediction, Vespers and Mass, will be surprised to learn that in many churches the whole of the Benediction, from " 0 Salutaris " to " Tantum Ergo" inclusively, is sung in Polish, only the Collect chanted by the priest being in the Latin tongue. Vespers, at least in the country and in small towns, are generally in Polish likewise ; and even at High Mass I have always heard the choir continue in the vernacular the chant of " Gloria " and " Credo " intoned in Latin by the priest, while Polish hymns and chants fill up other portions of the service. This is a special privilege, highly valued and zealously adhered to, which almost makes Polish the fourth of the "sacred languages," and which inspires the people with love and reverence for this inheritance of their ancestors. The influence of the Church, however, as guardian of the language, goes much further. It is a known fact that the greater part of the book trade is done in prayer-books and religious works and periodicals. I have already noticed the Messenger of the Sacr Heart; this publication is issued in over 150,000 copies; and the circulation of other religious periodicals is in proportion: this alone would prevent the language from dying out, if the educated classes had become indifferent to its existence. But they are the very reverse of indifferent. These classes are not great readers, nor are they nearly so well off as the corresponding social grades in England, France, or Germany; they mostly know French, German or Russian, and naturally are obliged to purchase and read some books in these languages. But here the spirit of patriotism asserts itself; many a Polish book that can barely be afforded is bought simply for the sake of the national cause, and in order to encourage good literature. Translations from foreign languages abound for the use of such as may happen to be ignorant of these. Shakespeare and Byron are translated, I need hardly say, and well translated; for the genius of the language is very adaptable not only to poetry, but to the severest prose. Spencer, Mill, and Bain exist in Polish versions; at least some of their works do. I have seen Jevon's Primer of Logic also in a Polish version. Naturally Scott and Dickens, Dumas and a great many French writers are almost as well known here as in their own countries. Then there is the institution of feuiUetons in every newspaper, which has the great advantage of seciiring a place where native talent can be set forth and presented to the public. Editors naturally give it the preference, when they can; and when it fails it is always possible to fill the place with contemporary fiction. This encouragement of the press has been the means of forming a band of writers, daily increasing in number. Sienkiewicz (who began by a series of short sketches in the Czas feuilleton) and his by no means servile imitators; the " decadent" writers, whose very aberrations have increased the riches of the national literature to no small extent; and the authors of the naturalistic school, whose style and language is elaborated with the care of a Maupassant or of a Stevenson--all attest tha high literary possibilities of their native tongue, and also the patriotism of those who in spite of the cosmopolitan influences which surround them, still prefer the writers of their own people, and make literature not indeed a lucrative, but a possible avocation. And not only is Polish literature thus sustained by the feeling that the life of the nation depends upon it, but the same feeling tends instinctively to encourage (though of course in a lower degree) all forms of strictly Polish ornamental and decorative art. There is in Cracow a museum devoted to these productions, which I have often visited; it] is filled with original work taken from patterns gleaned amongst the peasants with long and patient toil, and carefully and tastefully chosen. I do not here allude to the curious wood-carvings which are made in many country places; these are ornamental indeed, and every family that visits a watering-place in the Carpathians takes home to Lithuania or Posen, or the Ukraine, some souvenirs of dainty handiwork and real artistical value : but] they are more or less of the same type as those of other countries. The museum I speak of contains large chests covered with sculptured and painted patterns and arabesques, quaint both in design and in colour; specimens of native pottery that in the opinion of judges well qualified to decide, only lack proper advertisement to command high prices, so exquisitely are they tinted and shaped; rugs and wall-hangings woven in native factories with designs taken exclusively from those affected by the peasantry in their apparel, bedding, etc., simply graceful, purely national and with no admixture Yüklə 1,92 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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