Thee, Niemciewitz,[90] whose song of stirring power
The Czar forbids to sound in Polish lands;
Thee, Czartoryski, in thy banished bower,
The patricide, who in thy palace stands,
May envy; proudly may Polonia’s bands
Throw down their swords at Europe’s feet in scorn,
Saying—“Russia, from the metal of these brands
Shall forge the fetters of your sons unborn;
Our setting star is your misfortune’s rising morn.”
[90] This venerable man, the most popular and influential of Polish poets, and president of the Academy of Warsaw, was in London when this poem was written; he was seventy-four years old; but his noble spirit was rather mellowed than decayed by age. He was the friend of Fox, Kosciusko, and Washington. Rich in anecdote like Franklin, he bore also a striking resemblance to him in countenance.