When, on the sixth of December, the national government notified Chlopicki of his nomination as generalissimo, he replied, that they had no power to place him in that station; that in such critical times the civil and military power ought to be vested in one person, and that he felt himself entitled, by his long services, to nominate himself Dictator. His powers, he said, he would lay down on the assemblage of the Diet. In the afternoon of the next day he was proclaimed Dictator in the Champ de Mars, amidst the acclamations of an immense multitude. After this, he took a public oath to act in accordance with the spirit of the people, and to defend the rights and privileges of Poland.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] The details of the Grand Duke's march may not be uninteresting to the reader, and at the same time they will serve to refute the false report that he was pursued by the Poles.
Early in the morning of the third of December, the Grand Duke left his camp at Mokotow, and marched on the route of Kosienice and Pulawa. Agents had been sent in advance in this direction, to procure for him every convenience, which he found uniformly prepared. In a village between Kosienice and Graniza, where he halted with his troops, he met intendant general Wolicki, who was on his way from Lublin to Warsaw. Wolicki waited on the Grand Duke, in the hope that he might render him some service. Constantine had quartered himself in the house of the curate of the village, and received the intendant general in the parlor, where the Grand Duchess Lowicz was present. Wolicki requested his orders with regard to the accommodation of the troops. Constantine coldly thanked him, and immediately began to complain of the Poles; in which he was joined by his lady. He reproached the nation with the benefits he had conferred on them, and seizing Wolicki violently by the hand, added, 'And for all this they wanted to assassinate me!' When Wolicki, in the most delicate manner, represented that his residence had been entered with the best intentions toward his person, the Grand Duke, with yet greater exasperation and fury, exclaimed, 'They have chased me out of the country—but I shall soon return.' In his rage he again seized Wolicki's hand, saying, 'You shall stay with me, as a hostage for my generals retained in Warsaw.' Notwithstanding the expostulations of Wolicki, he was arrested and detained. He however was not long a prisoner, for he soon found means to regain his liberty. The Grand Duke passed that night at the village of Graniza, some of the inhabitants of which Wolicki knew. He found opportunity to speak with one of them in the night, told him what had befallen, and desired him to raise a false alarm, as if the Poles were at hand. It was done. The citizens began to shout in the streets, and Wolicki, profiting by the fright and disorder of the Russians, escaped.
He arrived at Warsaw on the following day, and related his adventure, which was published as an illustration of the Grand Duke's perfidy and inconsistency. This conduct, together with his threats, would have justified the Poles in pursuing and taking him, with his whole army, prisoners. But the nation generously suffered this opportunity for revenge to pass by, and adhered to the promise of a free passage.
On his arrival in Pulawa, Constantine was received by the princess Czartoriska in the most friendly manner, as he also was in Lubartow by the princess Lubomirska. In the latter place, general Rosniecki, who accompanied the Grand Duke, demanded an apartment in a pavilion adjoining the palace, which was designed for the suite of Constantine. The princess answered, in the presence of the Grand Duke, 'There is no room for traitors to their country in my house.'
On the way to Lenczna, the Russian army met a division of Polish lancers, marching to Siedlec. They halted in order to go through the ceremony of saluting. The Grand Duke, with his suite, approached them with an air of perfect friendship, shook hands with several, and endeavored to persuade them to return with him. 'Hulans,' said he, 'do not forget your duty to your monarch, but set your comrades a good example.' He then offered them money and other rewards. Indignant at his proposals, the lancers replied, 'Prince, we thank you for the money and promises you offer us, but there is no command more sacred in our eyes than the call of our country; no greater reward than the privilege of fighting in her cause!' With this, they wheeled, and continued their march past the Russian troops, singing patriotic songs.
The Grand Duke passed the frontier with his forces on the thirteenth of December, and crossing the Wadowa, entered Volhynia, an ancient Polish province, now incorporated with Russia.
I cannot forbear to record the noble conduct of colonel Turno, a Pole, and aid-de-camp to the Grand Duke. This officer had been fourteen years with Constantine, and was one of the few honest men in his suite. His long endurance of his chief's follies and rudeness could have had no other motive than the hope of doing good to others, and preventing mischief. Constantine loved him, valued him highly, and was firmly convinced that Turno would remain with him. What was his surprise, when, at the frontier, Turno rode up to take his leave! At first, he was unable to answer. After some time he said, with an expression of heartfelt grief, 'Turno, and will you leave me—you, upon whom I had placed my greatest hopes—whom I loved so much—who have been with me so long?' Turno answered, with dignity, 'Your Highness may be assured that I am sorry to part with you. I have certainly always been your friend, and I am so still. I should never leave you in another cause—no, not in the greatest distress: on the contrary I should be happy to share every misfortune with you. But, your Highness, other circumstances and duties call me now—the highest and weightiest duty—the duty a man owes to his country. Your Highness, I have done all that honor and duty commanded as your aid-de-camp—I have accompanied you to the frontier, that I might be your guide as long as you should remain on Polish ground, and preserve you from every possible danger. Now you need me no longer. You are in your own country, and my duty as your aid-de-camp being at an end, it is now my sacred duty as a Pole to return at the summons of my country.'
The Grand Duke marched with his corps towards Bialystok, where he remained till the beginning of the campaign. In the war, he was not ashamed to accept the command of a corps of the army, and to fight against those who had treated him so generously, his promises to the contrary notwithstanding.