NICHOLAS CHOPINʼS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. ZYWNY. ELSNER.
N the year 1787 Warsaw was in a state of unwonted excitement, for the thoughts of the people were attracted to and concentrated upon the Diet, that was shortly to assemble for the purpose of preserving the Polish nation from the miseries incident to anarchy, for upholding the Republic, remodelling old and defective laws, and framing new ones in harmony with the requirements of the times.
A radical reform of the effete Constitution was considered by high State functionaries, the clergy, and by the old nobility, to be necessary. Admittedly, the Republic ought to be strong enough to protect itself against hostile foreign influence, or a repetition of the dismemberment of 1773. Consequently, an imposing standing army was organized, and, for the purpose of raising the status of the citizens, special privileges were granted to the trading classes, and the serfs were emancipated. Indeed, the patriots were desirous of making all classes politically equal.
The election of members for the Diet was conducted in a spirit of true patriotic zeal, and nearly all classes in Warsaw were taking part in the necessary arrangements. Many of the noblest families removed to the capital. Foreign ambassadors attended the palace to ascertain the intentions of King Stanislas Augustus respecting the thorough reforms required by the people. The chariots of the highest official functionaries, Wojewoden, and Kastellane, frequently accompanied by outriders in their gorgeous national costume, and carriages, filled with elegantly dressed ladies, rolled along the streets; while everywhere there prevailed a bustle and excitement long unknown in Warsaw.
The whole nation was inspired by the hope of a brighter future. The nobility were to aid a peaceful revolution by voluntarily renouncing their privileges in favour of a younger generation. The future Republic was viewed in the most glowing light. Notwithstanding the recent partition which had rent the very heart of the country, and narrowly circumscribed its boundaries, every patriot believed that Poland would now rise from the degradation caused by long years of anarchy, and, strengthened with new energy, defy every danger.
No wonder the inhabitants of the capital witnessed the preparations for the important Diet with enthusiasm, or that the streets were thronged with people. Members of the aristocracy, famous for their patriotism and willing self-sacrifice for the good both of the people and the Republic, were universally greeted with genuine esteem and affection. Such was the scene of stirring activity presented by the capital during the preparations for the quadrennial Diet.
Among the crowds which thronged the chief thoroughfares was a young Frenchman, just arrived from his own country. Everything that met his eye—from the dress of the burgher to the gorgeous apparel of the rich noble, who at that time generally wore the picturesque national costume—fixed his attention, and appeared to him unusually interesting and original. This stranger was Nicholas Chopin, father of the renowned pianist and tone-poet.
NICHOLAS CHOPIN. Nicholas Chopin was born at Nancy, in Lorraine, April 17th, 1770. The duchies of Lorraine and Bar passed, as is well-known, by the peace of Vienna, in 1735, into the possession of the King of Poland, Stanislas Leszczynski, after whose death they reverted to France.
Stanislas Leszczynski, a constant friend to science and art, made great efforts for the spread of general culture among his people; he founded, at Nancy, the still-existing “Academie Stanislai,” and by his just and mild rule won the undivided esteem and affection of his subjects. Nicholas Chopin was born when the remembrance of this prince and philosopher was still in its first freshness. It had long been the desire of Chopin, and many other educated Lorrainers, who knew something of the history of Poland, to visit the country of the exiled monarch who ruled their own little land, and to become acquainted with a nation which, despite its own needs, was ever ready to assist the wants of others.