[5] The Polish florin is worth twenty cents.
[6] At the end of the fourteenth century these two countries were united by the marriage of Hedvig, queen of Poland, with the prince of Lithuania Jagellon.
[7] Stanislaus Leszczynski, surnamed the "most virtuous of men," king of Poland before Augustus II., was dethroned by the Saxon party. He had Lorraine allotted to him, and is still remembered there as the "good King Stanislaus." His daughter Maria was married to Louis XV. of France.
[8] An old Polish custom, by which a young girl was to prove whether she was patient enough to meet the trials of married life.
[9] Son of a castellan.
[10] Two feet.
[11] It was a generally observed custom to serve a goose with dark gravy as a polite but positive answer that the proposal of marriage was not accepted. A pumpkin put in the carriage of the young man when he was leaving had the same meaning. Until now the saying "He received a pumpkin," or "He was treated to a goose fricassee," is often used.
[12] That place is now Lazienki, with a park and a charming little palace built by the last Polish king, Stanislaus Poniatowski, for his summer residence.
[13] The Prince Charles Radzivill had the habit of beginning each sentence with the exclamation "My love!" and therefore he himself was generally called, "the Prince My-love." He was the wealthiest magnate of Lithuania. After the dismemberment of Poland, when all his estates were confiscated, he emigrated to Paris and there bought the whole street between his palace and the market, in order, as he said, that his Polish cook might not lose his way. That street, near the Louvre, has still the name of "Rue Radzivill."
[14] The Easter dinner, or the "consecrated meal," is still a special feature in Poland, and an elaborate affair even among the poorer people. During several days meat and pastry are prepared, and on Holy Saturday the tables are set, with the symbolical lamb in the middle, and every dish garnished with sprays of boxwood. Then a priest is summoned, who puts on a white surplice, and saying the appointed prayers he sprinkles the table with holy water.