^V'-/iJl-■ 
 
 w^-.k^.:^:J^^ 
 
 
 -^'i**^' 
 
 r 
 
 :^ t«*^ 
 
 '^Z 
 
 '^«M«. 
 
 t-v^ 
 
 :v%.M^' 
 
DK 
 5'// 
 L Z 
 Q99 
 
 The date showa when this volume was taken. 
 
 To renew this book Copy the call No. and give to -^ 
 the librarian. 
 
 t j.^ 
 
 APJi S=ra59HP" 
 
 D 
 
 pr-H-"?n(r' 
 
 
 i 
 
 HOME USE RULES. 1 
 
 All Bookt subjeisf to Rncall. 
 
 All books must be 
 returned at end of col- 
 lege year for inspec- 
 tion and repairs. 
 
 Students must re- 
 turn all books before 
 leaving town. Officers 
 should arrange for 
 the return of books 
 wanted during their 
 absence from town. 
 
 Books needed by 
 more than one person 
 are held on the reserve 
 list. 
 
 Volumes of periodi- 
 cals and of pamphlets 
 are held in the library 
 as much as possible. 
 For special purposes 
 they are given out for 
 a limited time. 
 
 Borrowers should 
 not use^their library 
 privileges for the bene- 
 fit of other persons. 
 
 Books of special 
 value and gift books, 
 when the giver wishes 
 it, aire not 'allowed to- 
 circulate. 
 
 Readers are asked 
 to report all cases of 
 books marked or muti- 
 lated. 
 
 Do not deface books by marks and writing:. 
 
 7583 
 
LITHUANIA 
 
 RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT 
 
 John Szlupas, M. D. 
 
 Member of the Lithuanian Society of Science. 
 
 3? 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 Published by the Lithaanian Press Association of America. 
 
 1915. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028382962 
 
LITHUANIA 
 
 IN 
 
 Retrospect and Prospect 
 
 BY 
 
 John Szlupas, M. D. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 The Lithuanian Press Associatl<flA>f America. 
 
 1915. 
 
K^bK^io 
 
THE LITHUANIAN AUTONOMY FUND. 
 
 Dr. John Szlupas, Pres., Mr. Thomas Pauxtis, Treas., 
 
 1419 N. Main Ave., 13 Mill St., 
 
 Scranton, Pa. Pittston, Pa. 
 
 To Mr. J. O. Sirvydas, Sec'y, of the Lithuanian Autonomy 
 
 Fund, Nos. 120-124 Grand St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I desire to contribute to the Lithuanian Autonomy Fund 
 
 and enclose herewith I do this 
 
 with the understanding that the Lithuanian Autonomy 
 Fund shall in no way compromise the neutrality of the 
 United States of America. 
 
 Name 
 
 (If lady state whether Mrs. or Miss) 
 
 Address 
 
 Date 
 
 A contributor who does not wish to have his or her name 
 published can add here the initials or pseudonym under 
 which the contribution is to be acknowledged. 
 
 Initials or Pseudonym 
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 
 
 In this, the first complete, though brief, account of the 
 history of Lithuania in the English language, the story of 
 the struggle for existence of a small nation cannot help but 
 grip the interest of the reader. 
 
 No one is better fitted to relate the story than Dr. John 
 Szlupas who is distinguished as a historian and lecturer 
 among the Lithuanians, and who has himself been in large 
 measure responsible for the reawakening of the nation which 
 occurred in the early eighties. 
 
 A word about the pronunciation of a few of the letters 
 used in the text and map may not be amiss : 
 
 C is pronounced like ch in chat; 
 
 § is pronounced like sh in show; 
 
 7i and %h are pronounced like g in the French word 
 argent. 
 
 E is pronounced like e in effort. 
 
For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, 
 
 Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would 
 be; 
 
 Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails. 
 
 Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly 
 bales ; 
 
 Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain'd a 
 ghastly dew 
 
 From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue ; 
 
 Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing 
 warm, 
 
 With the standards of the peoples plunging thro' the thun- 
 derstorm ; 
 
 Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle-flags 
 were furl'd 
 
 In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. 
 
 There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm 
 
 in awe. 
 And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law. 
 
 — Alfred Lord Tennyson. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 9 
 
 I. The Lithuanians of Antiquity 12 
 
 II. The Lithu-Letts of the Middle Ages 18 
 
 III. The Rise and Decline of Lithuania 23 
 
 IV. The Hardships of Protestantism in Lithuania 38 
 
 V. The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. . 43 
 VI. Lithuania During the Reigns of Catherine II. 
 
 and Paul 63 
 
 VII. Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alex- 
 ander I 65 
 
 VIII. Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Nicholas 
 
 I 69 
 
 IX. Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alex- 
 ander II 77 
 
 X. Four Decades of Contention and Suffering. 83 
 
 XL The Outlook 91 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 There is something wrong with most of the world be- 
 cause might is right. In the past, great and greedy nations 
 were created, and, by the use of cunning in addition to their 
 strength, these nations were able, with but a small expendi- 
 ture of effort, to dominate or subjugate smaller nationalities. 
 Hence blood-shed, persecution, the poverty and spiritual 
 stagnation of the weaker races; hence bloody wars of ex- 
 termination between the states in their competition for 
 world supremacy. The great powers, then, have been guilty 
 not of oppression alone, but also of trampling upon the fun- 
 damental rights of humanity. 
 
 And yet all races are "equally worthy though they do 
 not possess an equal degree of civilization. The differences 
 amongst them can be characterized as being those of age 
 and opportunity. In vain the great nations strove to annihi- 
 late the individuality of smaller races ; since the French Rev- 
 olution which awakened the peoples to democracy, Europe 
 presents scores of revived races, but no example of a dead 
 one." "Not all of the smaller races," as Luigi Villari beau- 
 tifully puts it, "have behind them the splendid record of 
 great achievements in literature, in art, in government, 
 which in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and England in- 
 spires national feeling. But they have the recollection of 
 a tenacious adherence to their faith and language through 
 centuries of grievous oppression, mingled with the traditions 
 of their ancient days of independence, and brightened by 
 the hope of a national life in the future." 
 
 How can the present deplorable state of affairs be rem- 
 edied? 
 
 The writer believes that a revision of the principles of 
 conduct is necessary. Might must be supplanted by justice 
 
10 Introduction. 
 
 not only in theory, but in practice also. Instead of free- 
 dom for a few greedy states alone, there should be freedom 
 for aU races and nationalities. Should not every race enjoy 
 liberty so that, through moral elevation, it might become a 
 worthy member of hvunanity? 
 
 A few basic principles of law should be recognized by 
 every nation. 
 
 Every nation should provide for the protection of life, 
 liberty and property; every nation should encourage the 
 pursuit of happiness. And the application of such principles 
 of law is what the writer calls justice. 
 
 After all, races or nations consist of human beings more 
 or less artificially grouped. If the principles of justice can 
 obtain in one nation between its individuals, there seems to 
 be no reason why the principles of justice could not be ap- 
 plied between races and between nations, thus rendering op- 
 pression and war unnecessary. 
 
 Dr. James Brown Scott, the great authority on interna- 
 tional law, says in substance that 
 
 The protection of life, in terms of international 
 law, should mean the right of a nation to exist. 
 
 In terms of international law the protection of 
 liberty should mean the right of each race and na- 
 tion to be independent, to grow and develop with- 
 out interference or control from without. 
 
 And in terms of international law protection of 
 property should mean the right of a race and na- 
 tion to own property and have jurisdiction within 
 its own boundaries. 
 
 To this should be added equality before the law, 
 for races and nations should be equal members of 
 the society of nations. 
 For the application of the basic principles nations have 
 already established courts of justice. Cannot nations estab- 
 lish an international tribunal with competent judges ap- 
 pointed by agreement for the interpretation and the appli- 
 cation of international law in all disputes between races and 
 nations? 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 11 
 
 The existence and successful operation of courts of law 
 have created an orderly and regulated course of conduct 
 even in those transactions of life which are not controlled 
 by law. Can we not reasonably expect races and nations to 
 agree to the development of a system of law to regulate the 
 conduct of races and their states as members of the society 
 of nations on the basis of the fundamental principles? 
 
 The existent nations have already agreed to the forma- 
 tion of some fifty public unions. One of the best examples 
 of such unions is the Universal Postal Union. Cases of dis- 
 pute among its members are referred for arbitration by this 
 Postal Union to a board consisting of three members. There 
 is a permanent bureau connected with the union to provide 
 for the execution of certain formal duties. 
 
 Is it unreasonable, then, to assume that races and nations 
 should agree to form a union of justice? By means of, say, 
 the Hague Conferences, races and nations could certainly 
 agree upon the principles of law applied by such a tribunal, 
 and the law of this tribunal would be the law of races and 
 nations, for the reason that they would be made by and for 
 all the races and nations. 
 
 And to preclude the possibility of a war between races 
 and nations in the future, all nations, by mutual agreement, 
 should disarm, and hand the control of the production of 
 arms to the international tribunal itself. The production 
 of engines of destruction should be made an international 
 monopoly. 
 
 For the enforcement of its decrees, the international tri- 
 bunal should have an international police force on land and 
 sea at its disposal. For the maintenance of such a police 
 force each nation should be subject to a levy, payable in 
 proportion to the number of its population. 
 
 In the following pages the reader will find an exposi- 
 tion of the causes which have led the Lithuanians of Europe 
 and America to embrace the principles here succinctly laid 
 down. 
 
12 The Lithuanians of Antiquity. 
 
 I. THE LITHUANIANS OF ANTIQUITY. 
 
 Philologists are agreed that the Lithuanian language is 
 very closely related to the Sanskrit and the ancient Greek 
 in vocabulary, forms and structure. But why the language 
 of a people living along the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea — 
 far from India or Greece — should possess so much in com- 
 mon with the other languages of antiquity, is a problem 
 which has baffled men of science even to this day. 
 
 In order to arrive at a satisfactory solution of this prob- 
 lem, it is not sufficient to have studied the Lithuanian lan- 
 guage and its relations to the other languages of antiquity 
 alone, as most philologists have done, but it is equally im- 
 portant to have something more than a superficial knowl- 
 edge of the folk-lore, the customs and the traditions, and the 
 history of the Lithuanian people as well. 
 
 In times before our present era, the Lithu-Lett family 
 of the Indo-European race inhabited considerable territory 
 in Asia Minor and southeastern and eastern Europe, al- 
 though it was not known under a comprehensive name. The 
 ancient Lithu-Lett people were known as Geta, Kheta, Hit 
 or Chittim, and they came in contact with Nineveh, Baby- 
 lonia, and Egypt. They formed the powerful nation of the 
 Hittites whose inscriptions were discovered in Asia Minor 
 by Wright, Sayce, and others. These people exerted their 
 influence from the mountains of Taurus westward to the 
 Aegaean Sea. Later we hear of them as the Massa-getae, 
 the Thyssa-getae and as the Getae from along the banks 
 of the Danube river and among whom the Roman poet 
 Ovidius Naso spent his days of exile. 
 
 The Getae were not only warlike, but extremely relig- 
 ious. Lucian was a witness to their gorgeous ceremonies in 
 the Temple of the Sun at Mabog. Their religious ideas 
 were pictured in the bas-reliefs at Eyuk and Bohazkoei. 
 The Amazons who were a militant caste of priestesses suc- 
 ceeded in spreading their religious ecstasies as far as 
 Ephesus. 
 
 Herodotus tells us* that there is an ethnical relationship 
 between the Getae and the Thracians, Kappadokians, Bithy- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 13 
 
 nians, Phrygians (Bryges), Lydians, Kaunians, Lycians, 
 Trojans, etc. When the Getae represented an essentially 
 pastoral race, the Thracians, inhabiting what is now known 
 
 * The testimony of Herodotus is very important, and can, in tiie writer's 
 opinion, be corroborated by the Lithuanian language. Anyone who knows the 
 Lithuanian language can explain without difficulty the meaning of the names of 
 numerous ancient races, people or places which are dealt with in this work; e. g. 
 Kappadokians (kapas -j- doka) means the interpreters of the life after death, 
 Geta — a herdsman, Thracian — one who lives upon cleared land, Bithynian — bee- 
 keeper, Sarmatians (the Sauromatae of Herodotus) — the narrow-sighted 
 (minded), Laomedon — the lion-hunter, Euxine Sea — the golden sea, Aegaean Sea 
 — the navigable sea, etc. 
 
 Every philologist and historian must be struck by the fact that many of the 
 names of the ancient peoples or places of Asia Minor are duplicated in the dis- 
 tant Lithuania of to-day — more than 2,000 years later. The writer appends here 
 a short list of names selected at random with their modern Lithuanian equiva- 
 lents : 
 
 Ancient Ancient 
 
 Gyges Sipyles 
 
 Kroizos Ilion 
 
 Zipoites Sardes 
 
 Seuthes Ister or Inster 
 
 Boteiros Hyllos 
 
 Lykia Priene 
 
 Kaunos Myrkinos 
 
 Lida Modern 
 
 Modern Sipyliai 
 
 Gugis Yliuona 
 
 Kraziai, Krazys Sartininkai 
 
 ^ibaitis Insrute (Ystrute) 
 
 Siautys Gilius 
 
 Botyrius Prienai 
 
 Luke or Luoke Merkine, 
 
 Kaunas Etc. 
 
 Lida 
 as the Balkan Peninsula, were tilling the soil as they had 
 done from time immemorial. Herodotus, Thucydides, 
 Pliny, Strabo and other authors of antiquity mention about 
 fifty names of tribes which, taken together, constituted the 
 race known as the Thracian. But few of the tribes organ- 
 ized themselves into a state as did the Odrysae. The Da- 
 cians, struggling for their homes and liberty under the lead- 
 
14 The Lithuanians of Antiquity. 
 
 ership of Decebalus, became well known to the Romans. 
 Other races of the same family, such as the Aisti, Gytones, 
 Kassini (the present Polonized Kaszuby), Scyrri, Heruli, 
 Geloni, Agathyrsae, Pagirytae, Krivicii (Krobydzoi), 
 Getvingi (Jatviagi), Boroussi, Samogetae, Semigalli, Selii, 
 Letgalli, etc., occupied the plains stretching from the Laba 
 (now known as the Elbe) eastward to the river Tanais (the 
 present Don), and from the Euxine Sea northward as far 
 as Lake Peipus and the Baltic Sea. 
 
 The ancient Greeks were a maritime and colonizing na- 
 tion. Their earliest colonies were established on the shores 
 of the Aegaean Sea both in Europe (Byzantion, Abderos, 
 Mesembria, etc.) and in Asia Minor (Miletus, Kyme, Ad- 
 ramyttion, etc.) among the friendly Lithu-Lett races, and 
 a vigorous trade was carried on between them for centuries. 
 Even intermarriages with the various tribes must have been 
 not uncommon when such men like Themistocles and Thu- 
 cydides were "tainted" by having some Thracian blood 
 course through their veins. Those intimate relationships be- 
 tween the Greeks and the aborigines explain not only the 
 similarities in language, but especially the influences at work 
 in religion, poetry and music, for which the Greeks are 
 greatly indebted to the early inhabitants of Asia Minor and 
 that part of Europe now known as the Balkan Peninsula. 
 Not only is Ares, the Greek god of war, supposed to have 
 dwelt in Thrace, but types of musical instruments, mys- 
 teries, and especially, exciting ceremonies such as the Lamp- 
 adophoria, were borrowed from the song-loving peoples of 
 Asia Minor. Orpheus and Musaeus are said to have been 
 born in Thrace, while Dionysos, Semele, and the Oracle of 
 Dodona, etc., are undoubtedly of Lithu-Lett origin. 
 
 Some races in Asia Minor were reduced to slavery by 
 the Persians, the kings of Pontus, the kings of Pergamus, 
 or the successors of Alexander the Great, etc., while others 
 lost their language and individuality by becoming Helle- 
 nized. In the times of the Apostle Paul one could still hear 
 the old idioms spoken in Lykaonia. In Europe the Thra- 
 cians came under the sway of the Romans (168 B.C.), and 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 15 
 
 in later centuries their abode was frequently preyed upon 
 by the Goths, Sarmatians and other intruders. The Getae 
 crossed the Danube and by joining with the Dacians formed 
 a mighty state which was able to carry on many exhausting 
 wars with the Roman Empire until the year 104 A.D., when 
 their principal city, Sarmisegethusa, was stormed and the 
 strength of the nation thereby broken. Later we find the 
 Dacians living on both banks of the upper and central Nie- 
 men, where they are at present known as the Dzukai, while 
 the Getae who settled on the right bank of the lower Vis- 
 tula gave birth to the celebrated race of the Boroussi or 
 Prutteni — the Old Prussians. The Krobydzoi, who in the 
 second century B.C., lived in the vicinity of Varna on the 
 Black Sea, are later found in what is now White Russia, and 
 where they eventually lost their national traits and became 
 Russianized (VIII — X century). 
 
 In short, the great migration of nations, started from the 
 north by the Teutonic tribes (Ostrogoths, Visigoths), and 
 from the east by the Hunno- Slavic races, completed the 
 work of extermination. That which remained unabsorbed 
 by the Romans, the new invaders either annihilated or com- 
 pelled to join their own forces, and we see the Lithu-Lett 
 race gradually dwindling away to such an extent that only 
 mere fragments remained in the confines between the Vis- 
 tula, the Dnieper, and the Duna. The Bulgars and other 
 Slavs, the Magyars, and the Germans, settled in countries 
 previously occupied by the Lithu-Lett tribes, and having 
 assimilated the former inhabitants, left only a reminiscence 
 of their nationality in the names of seas (Euxine, Aegaean) ; 
 mountains (Ida, Skombros, Balkans, Carpathians, etc.) ; 
 rivers (Danube or Ister, Vistula, etc.) ; towns (Ilion, 
 Priene, Myrkinos, Warsaw, Cracow, etc.) ; deities (Dzie- 
 wanna and Dzidzielia of the Poles, Vanda, Perun or Per- 
 kun, etc. ) , and in the sounds q and ^ in the Polish and the 
 ancient Bulgarian languages, and in the sounds c and dz 
 in the Polish tongue as well as in several other characteristics 
 of the Slavs. 
 
18 The Lithu-Letts of the Middle Ages. 
 
 II. THE LITHU-LETTS OF THE MIDDLE 
 
 AGES. 
 
 In the Middle Ages we find the Lithu-Lett race sur- 
 rounded by Germans in the West, by Poles and the Russian 
 duchies in the south and east. The struggle for existence 
 continued without cessation, and the brunt of the racial 
 defence had to be borne by those races which came directly 
 in contact with the invaders. 
 
 The first to feel the sting of inroads and destruction were 
 the Get-vingi whom V. Kadlubek calls a branch of the Getae 
 {Gete dicti fuere Jaswenze) ; they were a rich and warlike 
 race, eager to die for their country, knowing that in so doing 
 they would be glorified in their Damo* (Ballads). Vladimir 
 the Saint devastated their country in 983, and, from that 
 time on, either the Russian dukes (Jaroslav, Daniel, Lev, 
 etc), or the Polish rulers (Boleslav the Bold, Casimir the 
 Righteous, etc.) committed ceaseless incursions and depre- 
 dations upon them until the year 1264 when Boleslav the 
 Bashful killed so many people that even the name of the 
 Get-vingi disappears from history; the siu-vivors fled into 
 Sudavia where the Teutonic Knights utterly destroyed them 
 in the year 1283. 
 
 Not less tragic was the fate of the Letts who dwelt on 
 both banks of the Duna — the Semigallia on the left bank, 
 the Letgallia on the right. In 1159 German merchants in 
 company with armed men came from Bremen, and "not long 
 after followed missionaries who began the work of convert- 
 ing the natives to Catholicism. Eventually this led to the 
 conquest of the Letts. Bishop Albert built the city of Riga 
 in 1201, and immediately made it the headquarters for the 
 Knights of the Sword. German fortresses were erected all 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 19 
 
 over Lettland, and the Knights of the Sword defeated and 
 subjugated the inhabitants, one part of whom were exterm- 
 inated by the Germans, another fled to Lithuania, while the 
 remainder were forced to bear the yoke of a terrible eco- 
 nomic exploitation. The final resistance of the people was 
 broken in 1276, since which time Livland and Courland 
 shared in the fortunes of the Knights of the Sword. A 
 feudal system was set up, and the Letts, being mercilessly 
 exploited by the feudal lords, grudgingly bore the yoke of 
 their conquerors. And yet the Letts, this state of slavery 
 notwithstanding, have survived to this day and have attained 
 a high state of culture. 
 
 Even more horrible is the story of the Old Prussians 
 whose country was divided into eleven provinces. The mis- 
 sionaries Adalbert of Prague, who was kiUed in the year 997, 
 Bonifacius, and Bruno of Magdeburg (1009) came early, 
 but they labored in vain for the conversion of the heathen. 
 Christian of Oliva eventually succeeded in converting sev- 
 eral of the nobles and was rewarded by being ordained as 
 the bishop of the Prussians by the Pope in 1215. But the 
 Mazovians looked upon the Prussian lands with longing 
 eyes, and not infrequently pillaged Prussian villages. The 
 Prussians in their turn ravaged Mazovia and killed the 
 Catholic priests. The Pope thereupon issued a proclama- 
 tion to all parts of Europe for crusades against the Prus- 
 sians. These crusades were only temporary, however, and 
 afforded but meager protection to the Poles against Prus- 
 sian severity. Christian then conceived the idea of estab- 
 lishing an order of knights whose sole aim and end was to 
 be the pacification and the conversion of the Prussians. Con- 
 rad of Mazovia donated a stretch of land together with the 
 fortress Dobryn to this new organization and invited Her- 
 mann Salza to take possession of it. This is the way the 
 Order of the Teutonic Knights was started. But it was 
 not long before the Teutonic Knights began to erect one 
 fortress after another (Vogelsang, Thorn, Althaus, etc.), 
 and the Prussians soon became aware of their dangerous 
 new enemy. The provinces of Kulm and Pomesania were 
 
20 The Lithu-Letts of the Middle Ages. 
 
 soon in their possession. Their greatest support came from 
 the Pope who damned the Prussians and urged people in 
 all parts of Europe to join the crusaders, assuring them that 
 in so doing they could attain eternal life for their souls. 
 People flocked to the assistance of the Teutonic Knights 
 who now began to hinder even the evangelical work of 
 Bishop Christian. Pogesania was conquered in 1237, and 
 hunger and pestilence swept over the devastated land of the 
 heathens. The province of Varmia, defended by Piopsys 
 and Glottiner and their men, was the next to fall, and many 
 new fortresses (Braunsberg, Heilsberg, Kreutzburg, Bar- 
 tenstein, etc.) were erected. 
 
 The Prussians revolted. Mindove of Lithuania and 
 Svatopolk of Pomerania came to their assistance. But the 
 Pope of Rome sent new armies of crusaders, while the Teu- 
 tonic Knights stirred up Svatopolk's brothers Sambor and 
 Racibor to revolt, and so the revolutionists had to sue for 
 peace. Four bishoprics, the smallest of which was allotted 
 to Bishop Christian who died of grief in the year 1241, were 
 already established. 
 
 War broke out anew when the Teutonic Knights kept 
 Svatopolk's son Mestvin as hostage. But new hordes of 
 crusaders came along, and Natangia together with a part of 
 Barthenia submitted to the German yoke : the Prussians had 
 to pay tithe, erect twenty-two churches, and, in case they 
 died childless, will their property to the Order of the Teu- 
 tonic Knights. Under threat of excommunication by the 
 Pope, Svatopolk was obliged to make peace. 
 
 Sambia was next to be conquered. Otto of Bohemia led 
 an army of 70,000 crusaders against it; Romove, the sacred 
 center of paganism, fell in ruins, and in Otto's honor the 
 fortress of Konigsberg was erected in the year 1255. The 
 submission of Nadrevia, where Duke Tirskus became a 
 traitor to his people and voluntarily handed over the for- 
 tresses Velove, Kapostete, Gundava, etc., soon followed 
 (1256). In the meantime the spirit of the crusades began 
 to diminish, and the Pope not only made access to the ranks 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 21 
 
 of the Teutonic Knights easier, but also added to the privi- 
 leges of its members. 
 
 The subjugated people complained bitterly of the heavy 
 tribute in grain, but their leaders were treacherously incin- 
 erated at a banquet given in their honor. A revolt followed. 
 Henry Monte, a brave Natangian, defeated the Knights 
 and the crusaders at Pokarvis in the year 1262, but the Sam- 
 ians were routed with a loss of 3,000 men. Yet under 
 Nalube's leadership they laid siege to Konigsberg, until, be- 
 ing caught unawares, they lost 5,000 men; among the slain 
 were Glande, Svaynis and other leading men. The Sam- 
 ians, overpowered, were transported to remote regions. 
 
 In Barthenia Divone tried to exterminate the Christians, 
 and at first was quite successful; the fortress Vystote, Val- 
 levona and Kreutzburg were overpowered, and the Teutonic 
 Knights suffered a bitter defeat near Loebau. The crusaders 
 from Bartenstein sought refuge in Elbing or Konigsberg. 
 But the Samians were defeated near Schoenwik, while the 
 Sudavians were repulsed at Wehlau. Pope Urban, as well 
 as his successor Clemens IV., again came to the rescue by 
 urging a crusade. Yet Glappas stormed the fortress of 
 Brandenburg, while Divone and Linkas devastated the land 
 of Kulm; but Divone soon lost his life at the siege of the 
 fortress Schoensee. The Teutonic Knights then formed a 
 federation with Boleslav of Poland and Mestvin of Pomer- 
 ania; Pope Gregory X. once more urged a crusade against 
 the Prussians and increased the privileges of the Order. No 
 wonder Linkas was soon defeated and cruelly murdered, 
 while Henry Monte, losing 12,000 men, hid himself in the 
 forests, where he was discovered and cruelly murdered; 
 Glappas was captured by means of trickery and hanged. 
 Auktumas alone remained active. The crusaders and the 
 Teutonic Knights had converted the country into a desert: 
 most of the men were killed, while the women and children 
 were removed to other parts. The fortress of Marienburg 
 was now built. Nadrevia was wiped out in the year 1276. 
 The efforts of Stenegaudis and Soreka in Scalovia were ex- 
 pended in vain; some of the population escaped to Lithu- 
 
22 The Lithu-Letts of the Middle Ages. 
 
 ania, while their native soil became the abode of wild beasts. 
 The Sudavians offered but feeble resistance to the en- 
 croachments made upon them by the Teutonic Knights; 
 wherever the Knights were unable to overcome them by 
 means of the sword, they resorted to the so-called Strutters, 
 who secretly set fire to dwellings or the crops in the fields. 
 Skomant, a leader of the people, emigrated to Lithuania, 
 but returned in the year 1284 and accepted baptism. Vadole, 
 another leader, fell in battle. Kantegerdis capitulated with 
 1,600 men. At the conclusion of several unsuccessful cam- 
 paigns, Gedetis also surrendered. Skurdas made ready to 
 leave the country, and Sudavia, a rich province heretofore, 
 remained a desolate land for many years. The haughty 
 Knights made the air resound with their shouts of merriment 
 as they traversed the fields, overstrewn with cemeteries, and 
 haunted only by the cursing spirits of an extinguished na- 
 tion. Even the name of the unfortunate country was stolen 
 by the Teutons. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 23 
 
 III. THE RISE AND DECLINE OF 
 LITHUANIA. 
 
 Being in danger of destruction, the Samogetians and 
 the Lithuanians were stirred up to such an extent that they 
 organized into a state to resist the invaders. Bingaudas was 
 the first man to advocate the unification of the race, and soon 
 not only were the Ruthenians subdued at Mohilno (1234), 
 but the Knights of the Sword also were so thoroughly 
 defeated (1236), that they were forced to seek for their 
 safety in a union with the Teutonic Knights. Mindove ex- 
 erted his energy against the Slavs in the south, and against 
 the Germans in the west, and, having to contend with various 
 factions at home, he accepted Christianity and the king's 
 crown in the year 1252. During his struggles with the Rus- 
 sian princes, the Teutonic Knights, and the domestic fac- 
 tions, the great king found his death at the hand of an as- 
 sassin in the year 1263. 
 
 The sequel to this was a veritable turmoil in the land, 
 until Lutavaras succeeded in establishing his claim to the 
 throne of the Grand Dukes. The House of Lutavaras 
 brought a period of splendor and expansion to the country. 
 His son Vytenis established many fortresses and a standing 
 army, and only by deceit were his enemies occasionally able 
 to make incursions into the interior of the country (1301- 
 1307). Gedyminas, a brother of Vytenis, not only proved 
 himself to be a great warrior by keeping the Teutons in 
 check, but showed himself to be a great statesman also by 
 founding such cities as Trakai and Vilnius, and by establish- 
 ing diplomatic relations with western Europe. The Lithu- 
 anian State was extended to the south almost as far as Kiev 
 and to the east as far as Smolensk. His policies prevailed 
 
24 .The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 in the great city of Novgorod, in Riga, and in Poland where 
 his daughter, Aldona, was given in marriage to Casimir with 
 the release of 24,000 slaves — truly one of the grandest dow- 
 ries the world has ever seen. Following his death (1340), 
 the youthful Jaunutis was unable to cope with the Teutonic 
 enemies, and so the great Olgerd and Kynstut established 
 a dual government for the benefit of the country : Kynstut — 
 to fight against the Teutonic Order; Olgerd — against the 
 Ruthenians and Poles. Many of the undertakings of Kyn- 
 stut — some successful, some disastrous, as at Strava (1348) 
 and Rudava (1370) — were truly amazing. The Teutons 
 made several raids almost every year, leaving the country 
 behind them a desolate waste — yet they were always held at 
 bay by the mighty and righteous Kynstut who, though made 
 prisoner several times, was each time successful in eluding 
 his captors. Cool-headed Olgerd fought successfully against 
 Pskov, Smolensk, Briansk, and even Moscow, which was 
 obliged several times to accept Olgerd's terms of peace at 
 its very gates. The provinces of Kiev and Podolia also had 
 to submit to Lithuanian supremacy. Prior to his death in 
 the year 1377, Olgerd victoriously carried on long, strength- 
 sapping wars with Poland for Volynia as the prize. Hav- 
 ing acquired many Russian lands in this manner, Lithuania 
 became a vast country. 
 
 Unfortunately for Lithuania, however, the great Olgerd 
 was succeeded by the treacherous Jagiello who, by fiendish 
 machinations, soon overpowered, imprisoned, and finally 
 strangled the aged hero Kynstut in the fortress of Kreva. 
 Being Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1382 to 1392, Jagiello 
 did little else than persecute the adherents of Kynstut dur- 
 ing this decade. But Kynstut's son, Vijtautas, escaped and 
 found refuge with the Teutonic Order. After numerous 
 vicissitudes and reconciliations, Jagiello finally married the 
 Polish Princess Hedvig in 1386, promising to deliver Lithu- 
 ania to Poland and to convert the country to Catholicism. 
 The Ruthenians, being Orthodox Greeks, were naturally ex- 
 cluded from equal rights. The bishopric of Vilnius was in- 
 stituted, and even a college for Lithuanian proselytes was 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 25 
 
 established in Prague. Vytautas was slighted by the hand- 
 ing over of Lithuania to the Pole Nicolas Moskorzevski, and 
 he again had to seek safety in a flight to the Teutonic Order. 
 In the year 1392, however, Vytautas took possession of the 
 Grand Duchy by a display of force, whereas his two sons 
 at the same time were poisoned at Konigsberg. 
 
 Vytautas (1392-1430), being the equal of Gedyminas 
 and Olgerdas in wisdom and in action, was soon able to 
 pacify the whole country. But in 1399 he led an army of 
 crusaders against the Tartars and he was utterly defeated on 
 the river Vorskla. This defeat placed Lithuania in a pre- 
 carious situation, and Vytautas was obliged to enter into a 
 humiliating treaty with Jagiello and the Poles at Vilnius in 
 the year 1401 ; even Samogetia was given over to the Teu- 
 tonic Knights. 
 
 Misunderstandings with the Teutons soon loomed up. 
 The Poles had an unsuccessful war with them, and Vytautas 
 was drawn into it. Leading a composite army of Lithuan- 
 ians, Poles, Ruthenians, Czechs and Tartars, he met the 
 Teutons at Grunwald and Tannenberg where he routed 
 them utterly (1410) with a slaughter of at least 50,000 of 
 the enemy. Failing to receive adequate support Vytautas 
 forsook the Poles with whom, however, the Teutons had to 
 make peace at Thorn in 1411, The German Drang nach 
 Osten had now been effectually halted, while the peace at 
 Lake Meln in 1422 broke the power of the Germans. 
 
 Through the efforts of Vytautas, Samogetia was con- 
 verted to Christianity in 1413, and a bishopric of seven par- 
 ishes was established at Medininkai (Varniai). In the very 
 same year, however Vytautas entered into another highly 
 unsatisfactory treaty with Jagiello at Horodlo: Lithuania 
 was to remain in union with Poland. In order to bring 
 about greater uniformity among his subjects, Vytautas 
 strove to unite the Western and the Eastern churches 
 (1418), but he did not live long enough to see the fruits of 
 his labor. But this was not all. He conferred great privi- 
 leges upon the Jews trading in town and country; he wielded 
 his enormous influence upon the Tartar hordes with sue- 
 
26 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 cess, often giving them Chans, and settling many of them on 
 the lands in Lithuania; and he established numerous cities, 
 ports (Ocakov, Odessa, Tjagin) on the Black Sea, and 
 many fortresses which stopped the Tartars from overrun- 
 ning Europe. His realm stretched from the shores of the 
 Baltic Sea to those of the Black, and from the vi^estern Bug 
 to the river Oka. In 1422 he commissioned Sigismund Kary- 
 but with 5,000 men to aid the Hussites in a campaign against 
 the Poles, who were putting into practice the policy of col- 
 onizing various tracts of Lithuania for which reason the dif- 
 ferences between the two races gradually grew in magni- 
 tude. To insure the future independence of Lithuania, 
 Vytautas conceived the idea of becoming King of Lithuania, 
 and he was supported in this endeavor by Sigismund, Em- 
 peror of the Holy Roman Empire. At Luzk, in 1429, there 
 was a splendid gathering of the nobility and of representa- 
 tives from abroad, but to the consternation of all, the Poles 
 had intercepted the royal sceptre, and the coronation had to 
 be postponed. Soon after Vytautas suddenly fell ill and, to 
 the jubilation of the Poles, died in Trakai, Oct. 27, 1430, 
 not, however, without suspicion of foul play by Jagiello. 
 
 Svytrigela, the successor of Vytautas, immediately came 
 into conflict with the Poles concerning the possession of Po- 
 dolia. A war was imminent, but Jagiello succeeded in estab- 
 lishing a conspiracy whereby Svytrigela was overthrown 
 (1432). Svytrigela escaped to Polotzk, while his throne 
 was occupied by Kynstut's son, Sigismund, who not only 
 swore allegiance to Jagiello, but even ceded the provinces of 
 Volynia and Podolia to Poland. In an effort to regain the 
 throne, Svytrigela suffered defeat as well as desertion from 
 his allies — the Teutonic Knights. Not long after, early in 
 the year of 1434, Jagiello died, and Svytrigela tried once 
 more to regain his crown, but again he was defeated with a 
 great loss of men; whereupon be fled to foreign countries 
 never to regain the coveted throne. He died at Luzk in the 
 year 1452. Sigismund was willing to harness the power of 
 the aristocracy and to better the conditions of the peasantry. 
 The magnates, however, being staunch adversaries to such 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 27 
 
 reforms, fomented a successful plot against the life of the 
 Grand Duke, who fell a victim to an assassin's hand in the 
 city of Trakai, March 20, 1440, 
 
 Contrary to the wishes of the Poles, Andrew Casimir 
 Jagiellon (1440-1492) was elevated to the throne of Lithu- 
 ania. A civil war ensued, and Sigismund's son, Michael, be- 
 ing defeated, fled for safety to Muscovy, where he was 
 poisoned in the year 1452. When Vladislas III., King of 
 Poland, fell in the battle of Varna, the Poles tendered An- 
 drew Casimir an invitation to mount their throne, and to 
 affect a union between Poland and Lithuania. The Lithu- 
 anians objected to the incorporation of Lithuania into 
 Poland and to the alienation of Podolia and Volynia. The 
 Diet convened very frequently to discuss the proposed union, 
 but its efforts were expended in vain — the Lithuanians had 
 reason to remain loyal to their cause, the more so when later 
 the king upheld under oath the privileges of the Polish gen- 
 try. A war with the Teutonic Knights (1454-1466), in 
 which the Lithuanians gave substantial aid to Poland, broke 
 out, yet the Poles showed themselves to be as relentless as 
 ever in their demand that Lithuania be merged into Poland. 
 Peasants in the vicinity of Merkine revolted, but were 
 forcibly subdued (1483). In 1457 the Ruthenian nobles 
 were the recipients of substantial grants of land, and a code 
 of laws — Sudebnik — was promulgated. Lithuanian cities 
 were given the Magdeburgian legal code in addition to 
 numerous concessions. Not even the Jews were forgotten 
 (1441). On account of its quarrels with Poland, however, 
 Lithuania was not able to offer adequate protection to its 
 southern provinces against the Tartars who made frequent 
 raids there. The Teutonic Order becoming greatly en- 
 feebled. Western Prussia was ceded to Poland, which thus 
 became a power in Europe, while Lithuania was slighted. 
 In the meantime the Muscovites had exterminated the 
 Golden Horde of the Tartars and had proclaimed their in- 
 dependence (1480). In the year 1478 great Novgorod fell 
 into the talons of the Muscovites who thereby became very 
 dangerous to the Lithuanians among whom the Feudal Sys- 
 
28 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 tem already bore evidences of decay. Many of the dukes 
 left their native land and emigrated into Muscovy. Andrew 
 Casimir separated the metropoly of Kiev from that of Mos- 
 cow in an endeavor to protect his realm from the influences 
 emanating from Moscow. Upon his demise, the union with 
 Poland was severed and his son, Alexander, became the 
 ruler of Lithuania, while John Olbracht was chosen to sit on 
 the throne of the Poles. 
 
 But Alexander (1492-1506) proved to be an incapable 
 monarch. Through his marital relation with the Grand 
 Duke of Moscow the commerce between the two nations was 
 increased, yet, when Ivan broke off commercial relations 
 with the Hanseatic League, the trade in raw materials with 
 Novgorod ceased altogether. The year 1498 was one of 
 famine, and lues venerea was transplanted from Poland into 
 Lithuania about this time. Some Lithuanian dukes seceded 
 and joined Moscow, thus causing an inevitable war in which 
 the Tartars of Mengli Girey aided the Muscovites. The 
 enemy gained a victory at Viedrosa, Smolensk and Mstislav 
 were besieged, and Lithuania's ally Sich- Ahmed was left to 
 his fate. 
 
 John Olbracht who, in 1496, performed the double task 
 of depriving the cities of Poland of their right to possess 
 landed estates and of imposing a condition of servitude upon 
 the peasantry, died in the year 1501, whereupon Alexander 
 was elected King of Poland. 
 
 Walter von Plettenberg, in alliance with Lithuania, suc- 
 cessfully continued the war against Moscow, but the Poles 
 gave Lithuania no assistance. Cessation of hostilities fol- 
 lowed for six years from the year 1503. 
 
 The nobility received new privileges at Piotrkov in 
 1504, and from the year 1505 the Diet became the organ of 
 legislation. In the meantime the Muscovites incited the 
 Crimean Tartars to rise up in arms against the Lithuanians 
 whose nobility took no interest in the affairs of the state and 
 whose fortresses lay in ruins; they laid waste the country, 
 burned down towns and villages, and plunged thousands of 
 people into slavery. M. Glinsky alone fought valiantly 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 29 
 
 against the Tartars and succeeded in liberating 40,000 pris- 
 oners at Klezk in the year 1506. 
 
 The Grand Duke prescribed the best men — Zabrzezinski, 
 Glebovic' and Goztovt, kept Sich- Ahmed in captivity, and, 
 in 1495 and 1506, tried to expel the Jews from Lithuania, 
 whereas M, Glinsky, being a favorite of his, did as he 
 pleased. 
 
 Sigismundus {II.) the Old (1506-1544) now occupied 
 the thrones of Lithuania and Poland, and at once directed his 
 attention to the shattered condition of the finances of the 
 country. He elevated the Jew, Abraham Ezofovicz, to the 
 portfolio of the Minister of Finance. M. Glinsky killed 
 Zabrzezinski, the Palatine of Trakai, and went to Moscow. 
 Many of the magnates followed him thither. But Sigismun- 
 dus was successful in a war with Moscow, and peace was 
 finally restored. 
 
 On hearing the rumor that Alexander's widow, Helen, 
 had died in seclusion, the Muscovites decided to declare war 
 and to occupy Smolensk and Polotzk. Smolensk fell through 
 bribery, and M. Glinsky, not being made its palatine, turned 
 traitor to the Muscovites. He was apprehended, however, 
 shackled and brought to Moscow where he died in the year 
 1534. At Orsa the Lithuanians defeated an army of 80,000 
 men. In 1518 the Muscovites suffered defeat at Polotzk. 
 Finally, in 1521, a peace for five years was agreed upon, and 
 later this was extended for six additional years. 
 
 In 1529, Sigismundus, at the Diet of Vilnius, willed his 
 crown to his son, Sigismundus Augustus, who thus became 
 co-regent and who not long after was crowned King of Po- 
 land. In 1534, during the reign of Telepnev-Obolenski, and 
 at the time when S. Bielski and J. Lacki sought refuge in 
 Lithuania from Muscovite terrorism, a war with the Mus- 
 covites again broke out. It was in this war that the Lithu- 
 anians used gunpowder for the first time. The Poles gave 
 the Lithuanians no assistance. In 1537 an armistice to last 
 five years was agreed upon, and this was extended for seven 
 additional years at its expiration. 
 
 In 1544 Sigismundus II. retired from active participa- 
 
30 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 tion in the government with the title of Supremus Dux Lithu- 
 aniae. The young Sigismundus Augustus married the beau- 
 tiful Barbara Radzivill, to the consternation of the Poles, 
 who demand that he divorce the Lithuanian princess. The 
 aged King Sigismundus II. who boasted that he could rest 
 peacefully on the lap of any of his subjects — a boast which 
 but few, if any, of the present-day monarchs could lay claim 
 to — died in the year 1548. There was now no opposition in 
 Lithuania to the marriage of the Grand Duke to Barbara 
 Radzivill. 
 
 In the time of Sigismundus II. we meet, for the first 
 time, the Cossacks of the Dnieper. They lived by hunting, 
 fishing and the depredation of neighboring lands. They 
 were often used in the wars against the Tartars whose ex- 
 peditions of devastation became disagreeably frequent. The 
 Cossack Attaman, E. Daszkevicz, attained renown as a 
 leader. 
 
 Following the treaty of Thorn, the Teutonic Knights, 
 being shorn of considerable power, strove to intrigue with 
 Moscow against Lithuania and Poland. For this they were 
 punished by John Radzivill, and a truce for four years re- 
 sulted. The Germans, being busy with the Reformation, 
 were unable to render any substantial aid. Albrecht pro- 
 claimed himself Duke of Prussia under the suzerainty of 
 Sigismundus II. While the Order disappeared as such in 
 Prussia, the Knights of the Sword continued to exist in 
 Livonia. Owing to the fact that numerous German artisans 
 and merchants lived in Lithuania and the fact that many 
 of the inhabitants were already acquainted with the teach- 
 ings of John Huss, the Reformation found easy access into 
 the country. Even the Jews and the Ruthenians felt the 
 throb of religious unrest. Evangelists like Knopken, Teget- 
 mejer, Hoffman and others soon took up their work in 
 Livonia. The Lithuanian magnates sent their children 
 abroad to be educated. Lithuanian translations of the 
 literature of the Reformation began to circulate from Kon- 
 igsberg where St. Rapelagen and Ab. Kulva taught phi- 
 lology and theology at the new university (1544) . Sigismun- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 31 
 
 dus Augustus was a patron of the Reformation in the city 
 of Vilnius where, in 1539, Ab. Kulva had established a 
 school. Neither the censorship of the clergy, raids upon the 
 homes of the heretics, nor the ban placed on study in foreign 
 universities availed, for the court of Sigismundus Augustus 
 lent a willing ear to the teachings of Luther, Melanchton, 
 Buzer, Calvin and others. 
 
 Sigismundus II. rendered another service to the coun- 
 try: he assigned M. Goztovt to incorporate the civil and the 
 criminal laws into one book which came to be known as the 
 Lithuanian Statute (1529). According to this code only 
 nobles could participate in the Diet, the gentry was given 
 civil liberty, while the peasantry was left to the mercy of 
 the ruling class. By means of the second and the third edi- 
 tions of the Statute slavery and cabbala were stricken out 
 and the constituents of both placed in a single category — 
 that of subjects. The third edition of the Lithuanian 
 Statute remained in force until the year 1840. The upper 
 classes now began to imitate the Poles even in their speech, 
 while the lower classes were obliged to go without any edu- 
 cation. Only seldom was a school (such as the one in Taur- 
 age by J. Bartasinas, or by the priest M. Lanckis in Jon- 
 iske, or like that instituted by V. Goztovt at Trabai in 1534) 
 erected for the benefit of the people. The inhabitants, espe- 
 cially those of Samogetia, continued to worship their Pagan 
 gods as of old. The Polonization of the Lithuanians 
 estranged them from the Ukrainians, and the Catholic clergy 
 did its utmost to abridge the rights of the Greek Catholic 
 Church. The Polonized magnates, together with the Polish 
 aristocracy, began to persecute the Ukrainian nationality. 
 Hence the Ukrainians turned their eyes eastward to Mus- 
 covy for help. Such were the fruits of the Jagiellonian 
 policies, the most important of which was the Polonization 
 of the Lithuanian nobility. Many Poles, especially the 
 Polish clergy, came into the land and disseminated the Po- 
 lish language, spirit and nationalism. They were none other 
 than the clandestine enemy which proved to be the true ex- 
 terminator of Lithuania. Besides, large numbers of Jews 
 
32 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 came from Poland, and the Lithuanian townsmen, under the 
 direction of the nobility, became Polonized or were crowded 
 out. The Lithuanian nation was on the wane: Smolensk 
 was lost, and no small part of Ukraina was never recovered. 
 While the magnates grew in wealth, the gentry became stub- 
 born and did not hesitate to disobey the government when 
 the boundaries of the country were threatened. 
 
 Sigismundus Augustus (1544-1572) was the last Grand 
 Duke of Lithuania to receive the crown of Gediminas. He 
 was an indolent ruler, and though thrice married, he left no 
 offspring. 
 
 In 1551 the Diet of Vilnius passed a decree calling for 
 a standing army in regular uniform and in which only the 
 members of the nobility could serve as officers. From the 
 year 1553 a regular tax of sixty Lithuanian grasiai was 
 levied for the maintenance of this army. A Jewish bour- 
 geoisie arose in the cities. Foreign industry, handicraft and 
 trade were protected. Exports in grain rose. The com- 
 merce of the country, especially of the cities Kaunas and Vil- 
 nius, showed a decided increase. But the condition of servi- 
 tude grew more irksome among the peasantry. Printing 
 establishments were opened in Vilnius, Brest, and Nesviezh, 
 the two latter by Protestants. The number of schools was 
 increased; public schools were established in Kaunas, Vil- 
 nius, Vitebsk and Merkine; a school of surveying was in- 
 stituted at Tykocin, while a school of law was opened in 
 Vilnius. And at this time Mat. Stryjkovski wrote a history 
 of Lithuania. 
 
 When Ivan IV. during the reign of Sigismundus 
 Augustus, renewed his pretensions to Lithuanian lands, the 
 whole Lithu-Lett race became united. In Livonia, FUr- 
 stenberg not only accepted the teachings of the Reforma- 
 tion, but even carried on a war against Bishop Wilhelm 
 whom he later imprisoned. Sigismundus Augustus made 
 ready for war and assembled an army of 100,000 men. This 
 act frightened Fiirstenberg into paying all the expenses and 
 damages incurred. Moreover, he swore allegiance to the 
 Grand Duke and promised to help in case of war with Mus- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 33 
 
 coyy. When D. Visnioviecki promised the aid of the Uk- 
 rainian Cossacks to the Czar of Muscovy, in case he wished 
 to conquer Lithuanian Ukraina, the latter sought and found 
 a pretext to declare war on Livonia, which country he laid 
 waste in the year 1558. Through the intervention of Sigis- 
 mundus Augustus, an armistice of brief duration was agreed 
 upon. Kettler of Livonia then turned to Lithuania for aid, 
 and, having received financial assistance from the German 
 emperor in addition, renewed the war. Sweden occupied 
 Esthonia. The Muscovites found it expedient to raise the 
 siege of Wenden on the approach of the Lithuanian army. 
 But Livonia was again devastated. Then Kettler signed 
 the pacta subjectionis to Sigismundus Augustus: the re- 
 ligion of the Protestants was to be safeguarded, the title 
 of Duke of Courland and of Semigallia was bestowed upon 
 Kettler, and Livonia was incorporated into Lithuania (Nov. 
 28, 1561) . The Knights of the Sword ceased to exist. The 
 war with Muscovy continued with indifferent success, ex- 
 cepting that Polotzk was taken by the Czar (1563). The 
 Muscovites suffered a great loss at Orsa. Many magnates 
 (D. Visnioviecki, the Czerkaski brothers. And. Kurbskij, 
 and others), forsook the Czar and fled into Lithuania. The 
 war lasted till the year 1569. Livonia and the eastern parts 
 of Lithuania suffered terrible devastation. People in Lithu- 
 ania and in Muscovy died by the thousands from hunger and 
 disease; it is claimed that even the bodies of the dead were 
 used as a means of subsistence. Following an armistice, 
 peace was concluded. Lithuania retained possession of 
 Livonia but lost Polotzk to the Czar. Thus the Czar failed 
 in an attempt to obtain access to the Baltic Sea. The Letts 
 and the Lithuanians were united. But the Polonized Lithu- 
 anian nobility took no interest whatever in the revival of the 
 Letts, while Sigismundus Augustus confirmed German rule 
 in Lettland as laid down in Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti, 
 so that Lithuania did not profit by the unification of the 
 whole Lithu-Lett race. 
 
 The Poles insisted upon the removal of boundaries be- 
 tween Lithuania and Poland. They wished to open the road 
 
34 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 leading to Lithuanian estates and offices. They did not hesi- 
 tate to utilize religion and the Catholic clergy as they pleased 
 in their efforts to fulfill their purpose. 
 
 Sigismundus Augustus favored the reformation of the 
 church, was inclined to introduce the national language into 
 the services, and planned a national synod; his lack of 
 energy, however, led him to forget these necessary reforms. 
 In his stead, Lithuania had a staunch leader of the Reforma- 
 tion in the person of the Palatine of the city of Vilnius 
 Nicholas Radzivill (the Black) , who built a church in Vilnius 
 (1561), and placed it in charge of the learned And. Volan. 
 Radzivill induced Kryskovski to come to Nesviezh, Fal- 
 conius to Klezk, Vendrychovski and Czechovicz to Vilnius, 
 etc. At his behest, the country folk flocked to the Reformed 
 church by the thousands, so that only seven Roman Catho- 
 lic priests remained in the diocese of Samogetia under the 
 jurisdiction of Bishop Melchior Giedraitis. Calvinism was 
 soon embraced by the families of the magnates (Kiska, 
 Chodkievicz, Sapiega, Voina, Pac, Oginski, etc). Only the 
 Greek Catholics remained loyal to their old faith. Churches 
 were soon erected or Catholic churches were transformed 
 into Calvinistic places of worship, and a Synod was held in 
 Vilnius in the year 1557. And Lutheranism, too, became the 
 vogue, especially in Vilnius where John Winkler and Mor- 
 styn labored with devotion for the cause. 
 
 The Catholics strove to stem the tide by means of the 
 Holy Inquisition, but the Papal delegate was helpless. V. 
 Protasevic, the Catholic bishop of Vilnius, however, was 
 an energetic worker. Stankar, Blandratha and Gonesius, in 
 spreading heresies concerning the Holy Trinity, rendered 
 a most welcome service for the cause of Catholicism since 
 their labors were rewarded by the formation of a schism in 
 the ranks of the Calvinists. Sigismundus Augustus, how- 
 ever, set aside the statute of Jagiello by which heretics could 
 be deprived of office or honor (1563) . 
 
 Not long after, Nicolas Radzivill Rufus became the 
 leader of the Calvinists in Lithuania, while John Kiska of 
 Ciechanoviec was acclaimed the leading patron of Unitar- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 35 
 
 ianism, disseminated by the Socinus brothers in Lithuania 
 and by Th. Kosoi in Ukraina. Quarrels between the various 
 sects grew in pitch and frequency and synods were con- 
 vened several times in an effort to allay the discord. 
 
 The Reformation brought a new life into the country. 
 The Calvinists erected many schools, as in Vilnius, Brest, 
 Nesviezh, Sidlava, Birzei, Kedainei, Sluzk, etc.; the Socin- 
 ians had several schools also, of which the one at Rakov at- 
 tained no mean reputation. In 1570, Simon Budnis pub- 
 lished a translation of the Bible at Nesviezh. The following 
 religious writers are also worthy of mention: A. Volan, St. 
 Kosutski, Kr. Krainski and Bienias. 
 
 The Reformation rendered a patriotic service to Lithu- 
 ania, and, with a continuation of its aid, its inhabitants would 
 have undoubtedly been able to withstand the onslaughts of 
 Polish machination. But Jesuits came to the aid of the 
 Poles, and the waves of Polonization swamped the religious 
 fervor. Notwithstanding the fact that, in the year 1572, 
 Sigismundus Augustus had acknowledged equal rights to 
 all denominations, the Jagiellon policy of Polonization 
 proved to be the stronger. 
 
 The aristocracy of Lithuania was rich and influential. 
 The Poles strove to sow discord among the Lithuanians. 
 The aristocracy wielded considerable power throughout the 
 land since they alone made up the membership of the Diet. 
 In 1559, however, the gentry was also allowed to participate 
 in the deliberations of the Lower House of the Diet. But 
 the magnates, by their political education and by their wealth, 
 were able to overwhelm the gentry. The Poles, therefore, 
 suggested that equality was feasible only through a union 
 with Poland, whereupon the gentry became a strong sup- 
 porter of the political union. The Diet was frequently 
 called together for the discussion and the formation of this 
 union, without which the Poles declined to support the Lithu- 
 anians in their wars with Muscovy or the Tartars. 
 
 In the years 1564 and 1565, respectively, the gentry was 
 granted many new privileges. But the aristocracy, fearing 
 an immigration of Poles with the consequent occupation of 
 
86 The Rise and Decline of Lithuania. 
 
 dignities and estates, was adverse to the union. Nicolas 
 Radzivill Rufus, a leader among the aristocracy, proved to 
 be a tireless foe of the union until his death in 1565. While 
 such vigorous leaders as J. Chodkievicz and Eust. Volovicz 
 still remained, the schism between the various Protestant de- 
 nominations weakened the aristocracy at home and tempered 
 their relations with the Russian magnates abroad. 
 
 After numerous futile efforts, Sigismundus Augustus 
 finally convened the Diet at the City of Lublin in December, 
 1568. The Lithuanians being unwilling to participate, held 
 their meetings separately. At these meetings they drafted 
 their own conditions of the union and recalled with solemn 
 emphasis the fact that Sigismundus Augustus at his corona- 
 tion had sworn not to diminish the dignity, prerogatives or 
 the boundaries of the Lithuanian nation. The discussion of 
 both the Poles and the Lithuanians took on a vehement 
 character; especially so when the Poles sought to dictate 
 not only the conditions of the union, but demanded even the 
 incorporation of Podolia, the Ukraine, and the duchies of 
 Kiev and Volynia into Poland. On March first, 1569, in 
 the expectation that the Diet would be abrogated, the Lithu- 
 anians suddenly left Lublin. Since they were unwilling to 
 go to war with the Poles, their hopes were flung to the winds. 
 By his own authority, the king sundered Volynia and Pod- 
 lasia from Lithuania and incorporated them into Poland. 
 Furthermore, he threatened to deprive the Lithuanians of 
 their offices and estates, if they refused to participate in the 
 Diet. On the fifth of April, 1569, the delegates from the 
 Lithuanian Senate arrived and told the Poles that they were 
 not empowered to negotiate for a "brotherly" union which 
 was to deprive them of their privileges and their lands. In 
 an effort to intimidate the Lithuanians, the king deprived 
 some of the dignitaries of their offices. On the twentieth 
 of May the Volynians returned and were sworn in together 
 with the Podlasians. On the first of June the king pro- 
 claimed the province of Braclav a part of Poland. Kiev suf- 
 fered the same fate on the fifth day of the same month. In 
 this way "the wings of Lithuania had been cut off." The 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 87 
 
 Lithuanians returned to the Diet and demanded equality 
 with Poland, but, on the twenty-seventh of June, they knelt 
 before the king and begged him, with tears streaming from 
 their eyes, to preserve their good name. Catholicism and 
 Polish policy had throttled their valor. Yet the king de- 
 manded of them by the very power of his crown that they 
 accept the conditions of the union as laid down by the Poles, 
 which were these: 
 
 1. Poland and Lithuania form one indivisible body. 
 
 2. Both live under one sovereign. 
 
 3. There shall be no separate coronation for the Grand 
 
 Duchy of Lithuania. 
 
 4. The right of the Jagiellons to succession is abrogated. 
 
 5. After the coronation, all privileges shall be sanc- 
 
 tioned by the king. 
 
 6. Diets shall be convened in common. 
 
 7. Treaties shall be made in common. 
 
 8. Moneys shall be common and of the same denomi- 
 
 nations. 
 
 9. All tariffs between both peoples are abrogated. 
 
 10 The Poles are at liberty to settle freely in Lithuania ; 
 the Lithuanians are accorded the same privilege in 
 Poland. 
 
 11. Lithuania's dignities and offices shall be conserved. 
 
 12. Volynia, Podlasia and Kiev belong to Poland, while 
 
 "Inflanty" becomes the common property of both 
 
 Lithuania and Poland. 
 On July first, 1569, both the Lithuanians and the Poles 
 confirmed this union under oath, and therewith the history 
 of independent Lithuania came to a close. Lithuania was 
 flung open to the ambitions of the Poles. The patriotism of 
 the aristocracy of Lithuania vanished, and petty partisan- 
 ship began to prosper. Yet Poland, contrary as it may 
 seem, did not gain in strength, but gradually began to 
 weaken. Poland had not even the most fundamental laws 
 for the existence of a constitutional government. 
 
88 The Hardships of Protestantism in Lithuania. 
 
 IV. THE HARDSHIPS OF PROTESTANTISM 
 IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Finding that the Catholic Church was unable to cope 
 with the growing of heresy, Bishop Protasevic enlisted the 
 aid of the Jesuits, who, after a secret journey, arrived safely 
 at Vilnius where in 1570, they opened a school. The Jesuits 
 arranged public debates, visited the homes of the gentry and 
 the magnates under various pretexts, and, by their eloquence 
 and elegance, were able to win over many of the dissenters. 
 Aroused by the impending danger, Volan and others 
 planned for a political union with the Polish Protestants. 
 
 Following the death of Sigismundus Augustus, the dis- 
 senters launched the Confederation of Warsaw for the pro- 
 tection of their privileges and liberties. In the reign of 
 Stephen Batory, (1574-1586), while a war with Moscow 
 was in progress, the dissenter's places of worship were set 
 afire while their pastors were compelled to suffer many in- 
 dignities at the hands of a mob made up of students and 
 hoodlums. The king elevated the Jesuit school at Vilnius 
 to the grade of an academy and was instrumental in the es- 
 tablishment of other Jesuit academies at Polotzk, Riga, Dor- 
 pat, and Grodno. Peter Skarga was successful in convert- 
 ing Christopher Radzivill ("the Orphan") to Catholicism. 
 The Calvinistic pastors had to flee from Nesviezh, Klezk, 
 Olyka, etc., and the printing establishment at Brest was 
 confiscated. Funeral processions of the Protestants were 
 not permitted to pass before any Catholic church, and when 
 the dissenters paid no heed to such stupid orders, they were 
 stoned by mobs made up of Jesuit students and rowdies. 
 In the year 1584, Nicolas Radzivill died at Vilnius where 
 his armed bodyguard kept the Jesuits at bay. George 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 39 
 
 Cardinal Radzivill burned heretical books in public, while, in 
 various meetings, he endeavored to make a laughing stock 
 of the dissenters and their leaders. The houses of Pac, Wolo- 
 wicz, L. Sapiega, and Radzivill of Nesviezh had renounced 
 Calvinism prior to the death of Stephen Batory in 1586. 
 
 Sigimundus III. (1587-1632) , a pupil of the Jesuits who 
 received him in Vilnius with unprecedented pomp and ac- 
 claim, conceived a plan wherewith to exterminate the dis- 
 senters. The king at once forbade the opening of the Cal- 
 vinist's higher schools in Vilnius and rewarded apostates 
 with offices and favors. 
 
 The Jesuits now began discussions with the adherents 
 of the Greek Orthodox Church also. They attracted the 
 youth of the Dis-Uniates into their schools, and conceived 
 a plan to unite the Eastern and the Western Churches 
 (1594). Dissenting bishops were excommunicated, and a 
 most unjust persecution of the Dis-Uniates ensued. While 
 Constantine Ostrogski established new schools and printing 
 houses and entered into more intimate relationship with 
 Christopher Radzivill, Palatine of Vilnius, and with Abra- 
 hamovicz. Palatine of Smolensk, his efforts proved futile. In 
 an effort to escape persecution and intimidation, the gentry 
 flocked to the standards of Catholicism by the thousands. 
 The Dis-Uniates stirred up the Cossacks to defend Greek 
 Orthodoxy, but their leader, Nalevaiko, was defeated and 
 killed. An attempt to unite the Dis-Uniates and the dis- 
 senters in the year 1599 met with failure. The Calvinistic 
 Senators who were the pillars in their church, died one after 
 another, while their seats were given to the Catholics. The 
 learned men who were capable of withstanding the on- 
 slaughts of Jesuit eloquence and logic, also passed away 
 without leaving equally capable successors. Was it any won- 
 der, then, that Janusz Radzivill joined the revolt of 
 Zebrzydowski? But his joining this revolt furnished a pre- 
 text for the persecution of the dissenters. Because of an 
 alleged insult to Bishop Voina, Francus di Franco had his 
 tongue torn from his mouth and his body hacked to pieces 
 in the year 1611. Not long after, Jesuit students attacked 
 the Calvinistic congregation, and, applying the torch, con- 
 
40 The Hardships of Protestantism in Lithuania. 
 
 verted the church and the sehoolhouse into a heap of smoul- 
 dering ruins. The Jesuits justified the acts of their students 
 in their writings. Instead of punishing the criminals, the 
 king forbade the Calvinists to rebuilding their church, school, 
 and the dwellings of their ministers and teachers. Since the 
 lives of the dissenting ministers were at the mercy of the 
 frenzied mob, made up of ruffians and Jesuit students, they 
 began to fall off in numbers and experienced a dearth of 
 polemic literature as well. A large number of their churches 
 were forcibly restored to the Catholics under cover of the de- 
 cree of the Tribunal dating 1588, which prohibited the 
 alienation of church property. Janusz Radzivill, who had 
 erected a higher grade school, died in 1620. An assault upon 
 the Metropolitan Pociey and the assassination of Bishop 
 Kuncevicz — retaliatory measures, both of them — failed to 
 help the cause of the Calvinists. So the dissenters turned 
 their attention to their internal affairs. They reprinted 
 books, renewed their affiliations with the Calvinists of Po- 
 land, aided their exiles, and presented their grievances be- 
 fore the Diet, all of which proved of no avail. In 1632 Sig- 
 ismundus III. died with the conviction that he had stamped 
 heresy out of the country, whereas in truth he but compelled 
 the dissenters to seek aid abroad. 
 
 During the interregnum which prevailed, the dissenters 
 demanded that freedom of conscience be guaranteed and that 
 their rights and property be restored. Bloodshed was averted 
 with difficulty, and under pressure, concessions were affirmed 
 — salvis juribus Ecclesiae Romanae — in the Electoral Diet. 
 Moreover, the situation did not change much under Vlad- 
 islav IV (1632-1648). The Jesuits rendered all the con- 
 cessions to the dissenters null and void, and soon found a 
 pretext to inflict a severe blow upon them. The Jesuit stu- 
 dents accompanied an infuriated mob once more in an at- 
 tack upon the Calvinistic church and its pastors. An in- 
 vestigation by the judiciary followed. The Catholic clergy 
 protested loudly against sacrilege perpetrated by the Cal- 
 vinists; (boys shooting arrows at birds perched on the steeple 
 of St. Michael's Church constituted the sacrilege) ; they held 
 that the accusations of the dissenters were pure fiction and 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 41 
 
 nothing else. In 1640, the Diet, basing its judgment on 
 evidence given by nuns, decreed that the Calvinists had for- 
 feited their right to hold services in the city of Vilnius for- 
 ever. Furthermore, permission to establish schools and hos- 
 pitals were withdrawn, and an order was issued to execute 
 the pastors of the church. The pastors Labencki, Jurski, 
 and Hartlib fled for their lives to the Elector of Branden- 
 burg, while Christopher RadziviU, Palatine of Vilnius, on 
 whom they had pinned their uttermost hope, died from 
 grief. 
 
 In order to put an end to this domestic discord, and to 
 prevent the dissenters from seeking aid abroad, King Vladis- 
 lav IV invited the Lithuanian and the Polish dissenters to 
 attend an amicable colloquy with the Catholics at Thorn. 
 Unwilling to insult their king, the dissenters agreed to do so, 
 not, however, with any hope of success. Indeed, the friendly 
 conference at Thorn succeeded only in aggravating the 
 existent tense situation between the religious denominations. 
 The king failed also to reconcile even the Uniates and the 
 Dis-Uniates. 
 
 In the reign of John Casimir (1648-1668) the dissenters 
 at first tried to strengthen their organization at home. They 
 restored some of their schools, and, with Minor Poland, they 
 accepted the Sandomir Concensus. But, when the Swedes 
 overran both Lithuania and Poland in the year 1656, Het- 
 man Janusz Radzivill together with his cousin Boguslav 
 Radzivill joined the ranks of King Charles Gustavus and 
 fought against their own country. The dissenters had to 
 seek shelter at Konigsberg. The treaty of Oliva (1660) 
 brought the Lithuanians no relief since their country re- 
 mained in the hands of the Muscovites who vexed the Unia- 
 tes and the dissenters in no uncertain manner. Through this 
 war the Calvinists lost more churches than heretofore. 
 Janusz Radzivill, the last of the dissenting senators of Lith- 
 uania, died during the siege of Tykocin. Marie Anna, his 
 only daughter, was espoused by Boguslav Radzivill, now the 
 Grand-regent of Eastern Prussia, under whose protection 
 
42 The Hardships of Protestantism in Lithuania. 
 
 the dissenters restored several churches and prepared a trans- 
 lation of the Bible into the Lithuanian language. 
 
 When John Casimir abdicated the throne in 1668, the 
 predicament of the Calvinists was sad indeed. They were 
 excluded from offices, both high and low; they were prose- 
 cuted before the consistories for alleged blasphemy of the 
 Catholic saints; their ministers were not permitted to offi- 
 ciate at services; their dead were not infrequently exhumed 
 and mutilated ; their churches were set afire, and their dwell- 
 ings were attacked and robbed. To all of which were added 
 the additional horrors of wars with the Muscovites, the Cos- 
 sacks and the Swedes, with pestilence trailing in their wake, 
 and the survivors wallowing in the dregs of misery and 
 destitution. 
 
 In the Diet convened for the election of a new king, the 
 dissenters tried to secure a statute which would insure them 
 civil equality and peace at home. When, in 1670, Boguslav 
 Radzivill died, leaving his only daughter, Caroline Louisa, 
 the heiress of his immense estates in Lithuania, the dissenters 
 endeavored to renew their previous intimate relations with 
 the Lutherans. Boguslav Radzivill was the last of the dis- 
 senting magnates of great influence. In 1682 the dissenters 
 procured funds for the support of twelve Lithuanian stu- 
 dents of theology at the German Academies of Konigsberg, 
 Frankfort on the Oder, and Berlin; in addition, Caroline 
 Louisa provided scholarships at Oxford. 
 
 In 1682 the dean of the Academy of Vilnius instigated 
 a riot against the dissenters. The Calvinists' church was 
 raised to the ground, and even graves were mutilated; the 
 pastors, however, escaped. The work of destruction lasted 
 two days. The Calvinists were terror-stricken. They now 
 strove to interest the Protestant courts abroad and suc- 
 ceeded in having King John Sobieski III. (1674-1696) ap- 
 point a commission of investigation. The Jesuits helped 
 the criminals to escape save one — the leader — who was 
 placed on the proscription list. Although the Calvinists were 
 given permission to rebuild their churches and other struc- 
 tures, yet the Catholics now, more openly than ever before, 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 48 
 
 used force in the conversion of the populace to their faith. 
 They added the converts and their churches to their own 
 parishes. CaroKne Louisa, the last heiress of the Calvinist 
 Radzivills at Birzei, died in 1695. 
 
 V. THE DECLINE AND THE PARTITIONS OF 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 The ambition of Frederick Augustus II. of Saxony 
 (1697-1733) was to make Poland over into a monarchy and 
 an heirloom of his family. He therefore paid heed to what 
 John R. Patkul had to say against the policy of Charles 
 XII. of Sweden. At this time a civil war, which culminated 
 with the expulsion of the Sapiega family, was raging in 
 Lithuania, wherefore the Sapiegas supported the deposi- 
 tion of the Saxon king. When, in 1704, Leszczynski was 
 proclaimed king of Poland, Frederick Augustus offered to 
 divide Poland among his allies. Everything hinged on the 
 success of Charles XII. But Charles was defeated at Pol- 
 tava (1709), and fled to Turkey. In 1710, Peter the Great, 
 Czar of Russia, obtained the title to the guardianship of the 
 Dis-Uniates in Poland. The Poles demanded the with- 
 drawal of the Saxon army from Poland, and Peter the Great 
 made a compact with the King of Prussia in Berlin in the 
 year 1719 wherewith he hoped to thwart the selfish plans of 
 Frederick Augustus, to find a means of attaining better 
 treatment of the dissenters, and to maintain the republican 
 form of government in Poland. 
 
 Under the rule of the gentry and the clergy, the coun- 
 try suffered great loss in territory. Livland was ceded to 
 Sweden, and, in 1701, the Elector of Brandenburg pro- 
 claimed himself king of Prussia, receiving the crown in Kon- 
 igsberg. The dim intellectual atmosphere created by the 
 Catholic reaction veiled the origin of the existent evil. Un- 
 der the leadership of the clergy and the monks, society was 
 thrust into religious fanaticism and into the horrors of witch- 
 
44 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 craft. The literature was pre-eminently theological, and was 
 made up largely of panegyrics, the lives of saints and ser-' 
 mons. Western Europe's contributions to philosophy, as- 
 tronomy and physics were unheard of in Lithuania. Men 
 of learning did not dare to voice their views, for the coun- 
 try seemed as if haunted with the apparitions of the mar- 
 tyred heretics of days gone by. Public education — the au- 
 thor wonders if it existed at all 1 Darkness reigned supreme. 
 Is it any wonder, then, that the persecution of the heretics 
 should be continued during such a state of affairs? In 1698, 
 Calvinistic churches were burned down in Gruzdzei and 
 Krosnogaliske. Lisiecki, the pastor at Salamiestis, was 
 abused and then killed by Lipauskis, a priest of the Catholic 
 Church. The churches at Gelava, Linkuva, Venusova, and 
 Zamelis were taken away from the Calvinists, while that of 
 Pamusis was plundered. When complaints made to the 
 Senate of Lithuania availed nothing, the Calvinists asked 
 the king of Prussia for protection. Some even joined the 
 regiments of the Sapiegas, although Charles XII. displaj^ed 
 no compassion on them. Even the Kalmucks and the Cos- 
 jsacks plundered their property and assaulted their women. 
 At Kedainei the Carmelites erected a church and a convent 
 in the midst of the dissenters whose protests were unheeded. 
 The synods drafted many projects. The Senior Bythner, who 
 died in the year 1710, and pastor Rekutis made appeals to 
 the court at Berlin. When, contrary to the desires of Fred- 
 erick Augustus and the Saxon army, the Confederation of 
 Tarnogrod was formed, dissenters Volkas and Estka joined 
 them. But the condition of the dissenters remained un- 
 changed, and the Confederates plundered their estates. 
 Then the Calvinists eagerly supported the Czar of Russia 
 and were confident that his guarantees were genuine. In 
 the year 1717, however, their rights were abridged; they 
 were prohibited from erecting new churches and even the 
 holding of private services was denied them under penalty 
 of fine or imprisonment. With the removal from office of 
 their deputies to the Lithuanian Tribunal, the Calvinists had 
 lost all their privileges. The dissenters became so despond- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 45 
 
 ent that they decided to emigrate en masse to Eastern Prus- 
 sia or to Muscovy. But they again came to an understand- 
 ing with the Polish dissenters whereupon they presented 
 their grievances before the Diet of Grodno in the year 1718. 
 Thanks to the agitation carried on by Bishop Brzostowski, 
 even this effort bore no fruit; the dissenters were not per- 
 mitted to baptize, bury their dead, or marry without the 
 consent of the Catholic priest (as at Vengrovo), while their 
 pastors were not permitted to wear their customary garb. 
 But the dissenters were not the sole denomination to suffer. 
 The Catholics persecuted the Dis-Uniates, whose adherents 
 had to waive their right of holding office. In 1722, two of 
 the churches of the Dis-Uniates were confiscated in Pinsk. 
 
 In 1724, the dissenters presented a petition to the king 
 and the Diet at Warsaw. In this document they enumerated 
 the damages they had sustained and called attention to their 
 truly wretched plight under forty-nine different headings. 
 The Diet paid no attention to this. The Catholic church 
 kept up its work of persecution with undiminished ardor, 
 so, in 1725, the dissenters avenged themselves by demolish- 
 ing the monastery at Thorn, wherefore the Catholics con- 
 demned the burgomaster and ten other citizens to death and 
 demanded an idemnity of 22,000 silver coins from the town 
 itself. Had Peter the Great not died soon after, the neigh- 
 boring states would undoubtedly have gone to war as they 
 had already begun their preparation for one. Nor did the 
 Diet, convened at Grodno in the year 1726, alter the status 
 of the dissenters. In 1729, the Catholics of Salamiestis, led 
 by their priest, Gruzdis, looted the Calvinist rectory and 
 church, and hacked the people, who strove to stop their 
 sacrilegious work, with swords. In 1730, the Calvinist church 
 at Lubefi was set afire while the faithful, assembled for serv- 
 ices in a neighboring manor-house, were attacked in the fol- 
 lowing year. 
 
 Very frequently, dissenters from all over Lithuania were 
 impeached before the clerical Tribunal {forum compositi 
 judicii). It is hardly necessary to state that the verdicts 
 were most unjust. The case of Oskierka, Castellane of 
 
46 The Decline and the Partitiona of Poland. 
 
 Novogrodek, became especially famous. Oskierka, himself 
 a Catholic, married Anna Grabauskas, an adherent of the 
 Calvinist faith. Their son was raised in the Helvetic con- 
 fession. The Jesuits endeavored to get possession of the 
 child, but his mother, scenting danger, sent him to Konigs- 
 berg. For this the father was condemned by the Tribunal 
 to lose his office, estates, and head. The son, fortunately, 
 returned prior to the fulfillment of the execution: by re- 
 nouncing Calvinism, the son saved the life of his parent. The 
 boy later went to Berlin where he joined the Prussian serv- 
 ice and published a pamphlet on the sufferings of his family. 
 
 But the dissenters persisted in petitioning foreign courts 
 for intervention. In 1730, they sent Senior Jacob Gordon 
 to England and to Berlin, but he met with no success. In 
 the meantime Frederick Augustus died (1733). Having 
 lost their political rights and being leveled down to the status 
 of the lower classes, the dissenters now became a mass of 
 malcontents who continually sought aid abroad in a vain 
 endeavor to win back their prerogatives. 
 
 In 1733, the General Confederation interdicted the dis- 
 senters from making complaints to foreign monarchs. A 
 tax of 60,000 silver coins were levied upon the non-Catholic 
 clergy of Lithuania. On his being chosen King of Poland, 
 Augustus III. convened the Diet of Warsaw with the idea 
 of pacifying the contending factions; the dissenters, how- 
 ever, gained nothing thereby. 
 
 Emissaries were again sent to foreign courts. The en- 
 voys pastor Sartorius, Ulevicius of the Dis-Uniates, and 
 Senior Gordon, presented to Czarina Anna at St. Peters- 
 burg, a most humble petition wherein they descanted on the 
 previous rights of the dissenters and of which they had been 
 so unjustly deprived, as well as the hardships from which 
 they were at that very moment suffering. They also out- 
 lined the means by which it would be possible to restore to 
 them their previous status. The Czarina threatened to sta- 
 tion her armies in Lithuania and Poland until the rights of 
 the dissenters shall have been restored, but the Diet paid 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 47 
 
 no heed to the commands emanating from foreign court cir- 
 cles. The Czarina did not carry out her threat. 
 
 The persecutions continued. In 1734, the pastor of Lu- 
 bec was dragged before the forum compositi judicii for 
 wearing his ministerial garb. The repairing of churches was 
 prohibited by the Bishop of Vilnius. In 1739, the Bishop of 
 Samogetia seized Protestant girls and cast them into a nun- 
 nery. From the year 1731, the pastors of the Neuburg es- 
 tates were denied their income, yet they had to keep on pay- 
 ing their taxes just as if nothing had happened. The dis- 
 senters intrigued at the foreign courts without cessation, 
 paying no heed whatsoever to the impending misfortunes of 
 the country. 
 
 The country was in a state of turmoil. The gentry 
 brandished the sabre. The Jesuits oppressed the men of 
 arts and science. The common people, being treated like so 
 many beasts, left the fields untilled. The country's com- 
 merce fell into the hands of the Jews who exploited the vil- 
 lagers. The magnates did their buying abroad. Everyone 
 was looking out only for himself. No attention whatsoever 
 was paid to the Russian armies which passed through Polish 
 territory in 1739 on their way to meet the Turks, or to the 
 Seven- Years' War with Austria. The bishops fumed 
 against the order of Freemasons, prohibited the sale of 
 heretical books, and denied any one the right to work for 
 Jews or to be treated by Jewish physicians. 
 
 Because of the incessant persecutions of the dissenters, 
 Russia became involved in the affairs of Courland. Duke 
 Biron spent his time in St. Petersburg or in Siberia, until 
 Catherine II. of Russia again installed him at Mitau. As 
 a matter of fact, Courland was lost to Poland. Prussia and 
 Russia agreed that henceforth a Pole shall sit upon the 
 Polish throne but that the dissenters shall remain under the 
 protection of both Prussia and Russia. In the meantime Po- 
 land was rent with the gamut of human passions; courage 
 and despondency, heroism and cowardliness, impudence and 
 shame, arrogance and ambition, credulousness and timidity, 
 hypocrisy and cunning, loyalty and treason, virtues and 
 
48 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 vices which dragged her to the head of the incline upon 
 which she began her slow but certain journey downward. 
 
 When St. Konarski proposed his school reforms, an in- 
 tellectual movement seemed to have sprung up in Warsaw, 
 Th. ^ebrauskas taught astronomy at the Academy at Vil- 
 nius and his observatory was equipped with newer instru- 
 ments. Rev. Luskinas derided astrology. St. Leszczynski 
 demanded freedom for the peasantry. Others advocated 
 the starting of a home industry and expanding the commer- 
 cial relations, and condemned the election of the king and 
 the liberum veto of the Diet. The Czartoryskies endeavored 
 to place the reforms on a practicable basis ; they hoped, with 
 the aid of Russia, to form a confederation and to dethrone 
 Augustus III. But the king died in Dresden in 1763. 
 
 The Diet of Convocation was held in May, 1764, under 
 the protection of the Russian army. Here, Hetman Bran- 
 icki and Radzivill (Panic Kochanku), Palatine of Vilnius, 
 were impeached for alleged injustices and coercion, where- 
 upon they left the country. The power of the clergy was 
 limited, the dignity of the king enhanced, and the libenivi 
 veto restrained. Through the support of Russia and Prus- 
 sia, Stanislav August Poniatovski (1764-1795) was elected 
 king of Poland and Lithuania. Through Repnin, Russia 
 renewed the affairs of the dissenters. Notwithstanding the 
 vigorous protests of the clergy and the gentry, the Diet of 
 Warsaw restored the liberty of holding services in church 
 and home, returned the churches which had been taken away 
 from the dissenters, permitted burial in the cemeteries, de- 
 livered the dissenters from the jurisdiction of the Catholic 
 Church, and freed the pastors from the imposts on their of- 
 fice. But the liberum veto was sustained. 
 
 The dissenters formed a confederation in Poland, and 
 another, under Grabovski, in Lithuania. They then ap- 
 pealed to foreign court circles asking for aid in their quest 
 for equal rights. The Catholic gentry formed a confedera- 
 tion to oppose the moves of the dissenters, and, at the sug- 
 gestion of Repnin, the envoy of Russia, Radzivill, who had 
 been exiled, was made Marshal of the Lithuanian Confed- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 49 
 
 eration. Radzivill's estates and offices were restored to him. 
 In 1767, a confederation to wrest equal rights for the dis- 
 senters from the existent powers was instituted at the city 
 of Radom, and Russia was asked to guaranty the liberties 
 in Poland. The Diet of Warsaw was compelled to ratify 
 their demands. A few changes in the relations of master 
 and serf were decided upon also: the privilege of deciding 
 upon the life or death of the serf was taken away from the 
 lord. Russia's guaranty was asked for in the assurance of 
 equality of rights for the dissenters and in the granting to 
 them of the fundamental rights (election of kings, liberum 
 veto, and the prerogatives of the gentry). This guaranty 
 took the form of a treaty between Poland and the Czarina, 
 and could only be changed with Russia's consent. 
 
 The gentry was angered by the intervention of Russia. 
 Heeding the exhortations of Bishop Krasinski, the gentry 
 demanded the deposition of the king and the restoration of 
 the previous exclusive privileges to Catholicism. Some of 
 them even armed themselves and mobilized at Bar where 
 they formed a confederation for the defence of Catholicism 
 and the old liberties of the republic (1768) . The dissenters 
 and the Dis-Uniates were not admitted. In addition, a so- 
 ciety bearing the name of the Knights of the Holy Cross 
 was formed to defend Catholicism even at the cost of blood 
 and life. 
 
 The king and the senators sought Repnin's assistance. 
 The Russian army overpowered some of the confederates 
 and dispersed the remainder. While all this was taking 
 place, Cossacks had already begun the extermination of the 
 Catholics in the Ukraine, beginning their work with the 
 massacre of 20,000 people in the town of Human. But the 
 Russians suppressed the revolt once more, and handed the 
 guilty leaders over to Poland for punishment. 
 
 At this time other confederations in Poland came to life. 
 S. Kossakovski, Kozello, Medeksa, and others were active 
 in Lithuania. Everywhere bands of adventurers roved about 
 making depredations, for which reason a war between Rus- 
 sia and Turkey broke out. The hope of victory exalted the 
 
50 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 spirit of the confederates. Following the recall of Repnin, 
 the king intended to arrest Duke Volkonskij. Since the 
 dignitaries of the confederation despised the king, they ar- 
 ranged for a meeting in Biala, where, in 1770, they pro- 
 claimed the deposition of Stanislav Augustus, The king 
 again asked Russia's aid, and the Polish army, led by Bran- 
 icki, marched against the confederates. 
 
 Seeing the lack of unity within the nation, foreign 
 powers decided to partition Poland. The Czarina sent the 
 energetic Baron Saldern to Warsaw with the demand that 
 the confederates lay down their arms. At Lanzkorona, 
 Suvorov defeated the stubborn confederates who were sup- 
 ported by France. In 1771, the confederates decided to 
 seize the king at Warsaw. This served as a pretext for in- 
 tervention by Prussia and Austria. Russia appropriated 
 Livland, Polotzk, Vitebsk, and a part of Minsk — a total of 
 1,692 square miles; Austria took Osviecim and Zator with 
 Red Russia — a total of 1,508 square miles; Prussia received 
 Varmia and Pommerania — a total of 660 square miles. Po- 
 land lost her grain commerce and 4,000,000 of her inhabi- 
 tants. All of the provinces were occupied without resistance 
 since the inhabitants were eager to be relieved of the chaotic 
 state of affairs. This cession of territory had to be ratified 
 by the Diet. Of the 111 delegates to be elected, many were 
 the recipients of money from foreign potentates, among such 
 were Ad. Poninski and Bishop Massalski. These delegates 
 signed the treaties. Only Turkey protested against the first 
 partition of Poland. 
 
 In the meantime. Pope Clemens XIV. announced the 
 cassation of the Jesuit order. The Commission of Educa- 
 tion was established on the motion of J. Chreptovicz, and the 
 possessions and relics of the Jesuits were handed over to 
 this commission. 
 
 In 1775, the Diet deliberated on the new constitution. 
 The fundamental rights were added to, but the rights of 
 the dissenters were abridged; their participation in the Diet 
 was limited to three delegates, one from each province. The 
 ringing of bells in new Calvinist churches was forbidden. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 51 
 
 Baron Stackelberg approved of all this, because the Diet 
 was always submissive to Russia in more important matters. 
 A Permanent Council was instituted for the government of 
 the country. It was made up of the king, eighteen senators 
 and a like number of representatives of the gentry. It had 
 five distinct departments: 1. The Department of Foreign 
 Affairs; 2. the Department of Police; 3. the Department 
 of War; 4. the Department of Justice; and 5. the Depart- 
 ment of the Treasury, The king's power was limited by the 
 powers given the Permanent Council. In giving this Con- 
 stitution the Diet did not forget its own members ; some re- 
 ceived high titles, others enjoyed large incomes from monop- 
 olies, stewardships or from the Jesuit estates. Thus Ponin- 
 ski not only paid off his debts, but soon accumulated over 
 3,000,000 ducats in money. Bishop Massalski frequently 
 lost 300,000 ducats at cards. Warsaw was never so gay as 
 it was during the sessions of this Diet. 
 
 But Branicki, Hetman Oginski, and other magnates 
 were dissatisfied with the Permanent Council. At the same 
 time Stackelberg and the king worked in favor of enlarging 
 the Council's power. Ex-Chancellor Zamoyski was ordered 
 to draft a new project of the legal code and judicial pro- 
 cedure. He advised the prohibition of witchcraft. So, the 
 Diet of 1776 made some additions to the constitution which, 
 thanks to the guaranties of the Czarina, lasted twelve years. 
 
 Some of the magnates, Hetman Branicki and Sev. 
 Rzevusld especially, attacked the Permanent Council and 
 the king. These attacks were symbolic of the anarchical 
 spirit the magnates displayed toward the public order. But, 
 even so, the government was able to work for the moral, in- 
 tellectual and material elevation of the nation. The king, 
 too, in conjunction with some of the magnates, expended 
 no little effort in establishing libraries, museums and schools. 
 The Cormnission of Education was especially activ^e in its 
 attempt to rid the schools of church influence — a uniform 
 program was worked out, and lay teachers were employed. 
 The Academies of Cracow and Vilnius were reorganized. 
 In Vilnius the chairs of natural science, chemistry and anat- 
 
52 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 omy were occupied by learned aliens. Teacher's seminaries 
 were opened and a society for the preparation of elementary 
 text-books was established. In 1783, the by-laws concerning 
 the national system of education were prepared by G. Pira- 
 movicz and accepted by the Commission of Education. 
 Elementary schools were established in towns and villages, 
 and the pupils received instruction in horticulture, husbandry 
 and hygiene as well as in arithmetic, reading and writing. 
 The Commission kept the schools under close scrutiny. Gen- 
 eral inspectors made annual reports on the progress of the 
 work. The Freemasons and other secret societies exerted 
 themselves in spreading humanitarian ideas. 
 
 Improvements were made in agriculture, industry and 
 towns began to prosper, commerce was revived and even 
 the number of inhabitants showed an increase. Some of the 
 landlords abolished serfdom and substituted quintrent in its 
 stead. Jews were driven from the inns. But the constitution 
 was not favorably disposed toward the cities ; it annulled the 
 German law which prevailed in the Lithuanian cities; the 
 Department of Police, however, enhanced the cities' protec- 
 tion against fire, numbered their houses and improved the 
 streets. 
 
 Fanaticism, however, did not sleep. Progressive books 
 and papers had to be printed in secrecy. Teachers and pu- 
 pils had to attend church. Ignorance was still prevalent 
 among the gentry. Reforms were necessary if progress was 
 to dawn. In 1778, Zamoyski, Wybicki, and other jurists 
 had finished their reformed code of laws for villagers and 
 townsmen; but Stackelberg refused to sanction the reforms 
 since the Czarina had ordered him to stand by the constitu- 
 tion of 1775 literally. Thus her guarantee turned out to be 
 an obstacle to domestic development. 
 
 The Czarina, involved in a war with Turkey, sent Stack- 
 elberg the conditions for a new treaty with Poland. At the 
 time, there were three parties (the Russian, Prussian, and 
 the Patriotic) among the Poles and the Lithuanians. All 
 three parties stood for an increase in the army. The Great 
 or Four- Year Diet was convened (1788-1792). All the 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 53 
 
 parties joined in a confederation and agreed that all im- 
 portant questions were to be decided by a majority vote — 
 the ballots to be open or secret. This was a decided advan- 
 tage for the Patriots. 
 
 Ambassador Buchholtz of Prussia proffered a defensive 
 alliance with Prussia and at the same time warned Poland 
 not to become involved in a war with Turkey. The mem- 
 bers of the Diet, imagining themselves freed from the domi- 
 nation of Stackelberg, decided to increase the army to 100,- 
 000 men, and, despite Stackelberg's protests, rid themselves 
 of the Department of War and reestablished the old Military 
 Commission in its stead. When Buchholtz gave assurances 
 that Prussia would not interfere with Poland's internal re- 
 forms the Diet, in 1789, annulled the Permanent Council 
 which restrained the independence of the gentry, and which 
 had done the country good service. The gentry was not ad- 
 verse to taxation now, and agreed to the levying of various 
 imposts. 
 
 A delegation from 141 towns and cities assembled in 
 Warsaw where the so-called Black Procession demanded the 
 rehabilitation of their old rights. In compliance with the 
 demand of the Lithuanians, the Civil and the Military Com- 
 missions for the preservation of order in the country were 
 established. Russia removed all her storehouses from Po- 
 land, and her transports avoided transit over Polish territory. 
 The Diet forbade even the exportation of Polish products 
 across the Dnieper, because the Poles had placed such im- 
 plicit faith in the promises of Buchholtz's successor Luc- 
 chesini. A treaty for mutual defense was entered into with 
 Prussia (1790), and Stackelberg was replaced by Bulgakov. 
 The Patriots had triumphed. Russian adherents left the 
 country. Poninski was removed from office, shorn of his 
 titles, and imprisoned. The Diet's actions were applauded 
 by the press whose influence had now become important. The 
 progressives advocated succession of the throne, annulment 
 of the liberum veto, the placing of the townspeople on an 
 equal footing with the gentry, and reforms for the villagers 
 and the Jews. The Patriots formed a political club. But 
 
54 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 Austria and Prussia held a convention in Reichenbach 
 whereby the Prusso-PoHsh treaty of 1790 was weakened. 
 It was now evident to the Poles that they had to defend their 
 country without the assistance of foreign powers. The Diet 
 insisted on the wholeness and the independence of the coun- 
 try in the Cardinal Laws, and repudiated Russia's guaran- 
 ties of 1768 and 1775. The elective throne became one of 
 succession, and Frederick Augustus of Saxony was to be 
 the next Idng. The palace which had been bought for Stack- 
 elberg, was taken over by the Department of the Treasury 
 as a sign of the contempt of previous servility to Russia. The 
 Diet then decreed that only the landed gentry could partici- 
 pate in the government. In 1791, many townspeople were 
 elevated to the ranks of the nobility, towns received home 
 rule and were liberated from the jurisdiction of the gentry. 
 But the townspeople were not the equals of the gentry in 
 legislative matters. The reforms made headway very slowly, 
 because the conservatives and the Russian Party, together 
 with Bulgakov, put many obstacles in the way. The Pa- 
 triot's Club then decided to accelerate matters by "steam- 
 roller" methods. In the Diet they hoped to pass a new con- 
 stitution by acclamation and without discussion. Deputy 
 Suchorzewski of Kalish and Bulgakov protested. On May 
 third, 1791, the new constitution was rushed through and 
 the king vowed under oath to stand by it as did the Senators 
 and the Deputies. All present affixed their signatures. The 
 Deputies and some of the Oppositionists who were absent 
 added their signature on May fifth. 
 
 The new constitution retained the old social system with 
 its distinctions between the gentry, the townspeople, and the 
 serfs, although the townspeople were brought somewhat 
 nearer to the gentry. The legislators feared a revolt of the 
 gentry. The whole country, with the exception of the serfs, 
 received the new constitution with enthusiasm. While it 
 represented an improvement, it did not give equal rights to 
 all the inhabitants. The legislators were afraid of civil war 
 as well as a possible intervention by foreign thrones. They 
 desired, above all, to preserve the wholeness, the entireness, 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 55 
 
 of the fatherland without injury to any one. Was it any won- 
 der, then, that the Elector of Saxony refused to accept the 
 crown? Within a year, the Diet had accomplished every- 
 thing in the establishment of the new government and in the 
 operation of the new order of things according to the new 
 constitution with the exception of the organization of the 
 Commission of Education and the code of laws, and the reg- 
 ulation of the Jewish affairs. Furthermore, the Diet made 
 an effort to strengthen Poland by an intimate administrative 
 relationship with Lithuania, i. e., by making uniform the 
 administrative, police and the fiscal departments. Instead of 
 a separate double commission (e. g. Police and Treasury) 
 for both Lithuania and Poland respectively, they appointed 
 single committees for both Lithuania and Poland together. 
 With this, Lithuania became fully incorporated into Poland. 
 
 S. Potocki and S. Rzevuski, both of them antagonists- to 
 the idea of succession, turned to the Russian potentate Po- 
 temkin. The latter parleyed with the Turks at Jassy, and, 
 when he died, the former two turned to Potemkin's succes- 
 sor, Bezborodko. For this the Diet removed them from of- 
 fice. They then journeyed to St. Petersburg where they 
 were joined by Branicki. In order to overthrow the con- 
 stitution it was agreed that the formation of a confederation 
 and Russia's aid were necessary. On May eighteenth, 1792, 
 Bulgakov handed Chreptowicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 a statement that Russia's armies were already on Polish soil. 
 The Diet came to an end. The country was unprepared for 
 defense. The treasury was depleted and only 57,000 men 
 were available for war. 
 
 Two armies invaded the country: General Kochovski, 
 with 64,000 men, entered Ukraina, while Krecetnikov, with 
 his 30,000, pushed on into Lithuania. The St. Petersburg 
 Confederates and their friends, thirteen in all, announced 
 their confederation and invoked the intervention of the Czar- 
 ina at Targovica. In Ukraina, Joseph Poniatovski re- 
 treated with his 16,000 men toward Lublin. Ludwig of 
 Wiirtemberg, having made up his mind to turn traitor, in- 
 tentionally scattered his 15,000 men all over Lithuania. For 
 
56 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 this he was dismissed. Joseph Judicki, suffering defeat at 
 Mir, retreated toward Grodno where he handed his army to 
 Zabiella. But the latter was also defeated and forced to re- 
 tire to Vengrovo. King Stanislav Augustus, deserted by 
 Austria and Prussia, signed the Targovica Confederation, 
 entered into parlies with the Czarina, and ordered the army 
 to cease fighting. The privileged classes were indifferent 
 as were the serfs who did not find it to their interest to de- 
 fend the constitution. Poniatovski and 200 officers handed 
 in their resignation. The war came to end. Nevertheless, 
 Kochovski entered Warsaw with his army. The confed- 
 erates in Lithuania and Poland compelled the gentry to 
 join the confederation of Targovica. When the Russians 
 occupied Vilnius, the general confederation of Lithuania 
 proclaimed as Hetman S. Kossakovski whose brother, Bis- 
 hop Jos. Kossakovski, thereupon chanted the Te Deum in 
 the Cathedral. 
 
 The government of the country was now turned over to 
 the "illustrious" confederation which was formed at Brest- 
 Litovsk in September. The government was transferred 
 to Grodno where The Diet was to convene in an extra ses- 
 sion. The Patriots' Club was done away with and its mem- 
 bers deprived of their political rights. All aliens were placed 
 under the surveillance of the police. A censorship was es- 
 tablished. The Commission of Education was censured for 
 its activity. Public property was pillaged. The cynical 
 Kossakovski brothers held their heads high. 
 
 In the meantime, Russia, Prussia and Austria deliberated 
 on the partition of Poland at Luxembourg. In 1793, a 
 Prussian army entered Great Poland and occupied Thorn, 
 Posen, Danzig and Czenstachowo. Prussia appropriated 
 1,060 square miles; Russia took "Inflanty," a part of the 
 Palatinate of Vilnius, the Palatinate of Minsk, Voljniia, 
 Kiev, Podolia, etc., a total of 4,550 square miles. There re- 
 mained for Poland but 3,830 square miles of territory and 
 4,000,000 inhabitants. Under Sievers' pressure, the Per- 
 manent Council was restored and the Diet was convened in 
 extra session. The Confederates and their tools who had 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 57 
 
 begged for Russia's intervention, became despondent, re- 
 nounced their offices, and left the country. Adam Poninski 
 had all his honors reconferred upon him. 
 
 The final Diet convened at Grodno in June, 1793. 
 Sievers controlled the Diet and arrested refractory Depu- 
 ties. The Diet first ratified the treaty with Russia, and, 
 when that body refused to do likewise with the treaty with 
 Prussia, Sievers enveloped the building with his army and 
 artillery. A "silent session" ensued, and, since no one pro- 
 tested, the ratification became an accomplished fact. A new 
 confederation — that of Grodno — was started. The Russian 
 army now remained in Poland which country was not al- 
 lowed to enter into diplomatic communication with foreign 
 courts. The Polish army was reduced to 15,000 men. The 
 new form of government was dominated by Sievers and was 
 not very unlike that which prevailed under the constitution 
 of Stackelberg in 1775. 
 
 Neither Prussia nor Russia can boast of the Diet at 
 Grodno. It would indeed be impossible to find an analogy 
 in the history of the whole world to the infamy, treason, lies 
 and coercion which both governments were guilty of in these 
 few months. It is a pleasure to note that the civilized world 
 never gave its approval to the decisions of this Diet. 
 
 Baron Igelstrom now had an army of 30,000 men in Po- 
 land. The Patriots, among whom were the shoemaker J. 
 Kilinski, and the banker, A. Kapostas, in Warsaw, and K. 
 Prozor and F. Jelski in Lithuania, were now laying the foun- 
 dations of a new revolt from which they secretly sought aid 
 in England, Turkey and Sweden. They were afraid to dis- 
 turb the social relations of the inhabitants for which reason 
 they shunned revolutionary France. They promised under 
 oath to restore the constitution of May third, and, if neces- 
 sary, to fight for the same. They made some secret prom- 
 ises to the serfs, but the latter were loathe to believe in the 
 empty phrases of the emissaries. T. Kosciuszko, a Lithuan- 
 ian gentleman, was appointed leader and dictator of the re- 
 volt. He had seen service in America and had not long 
 before distinguished himself at Dubienka. He was a sin- 
 
58 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 cere leader and a daring soldier, but he lacked decision and 
 determination. He trembled at the thought of the impend- 
 ing civil strife and greatly feared that it might turn into a 
 revolution. He expected the devotion of the villagers, the 
 gentry, and even the Russian sympathisers to the cause. But 
 in this he deceived himself. He now had unlimited power 
 over life and property — a power which had never been en- 
 trusted to any man in Lithuania or Poland previous to this 
 time. 
 
 Madalinski, the Polish general, marched against Cracow 
 where he defeated General Tormansov. In Cracow, on 
 IMarch twenty-fourth, 1794, Kosciuszko gave out a procla- 
 mation to the whole nation in which he promised to remun- 
 erate honesty and devotion to the country's cause, to pun- 
 ish villainy, and to run down every traitor. The landowners 
 had to pay a progressive tax for the support of the father- 
 land. Leading an army composed of only 4,000 regulars 
 and of 2,000 villagers who were armed with scythes, Kos- 
 ciuszko met General Tormansov at Raclavice and gained a 
 brilliant victory. At Chelmno, the Polish army elected 
 Grochovski as its leader. Igelstrom feared that a revolution 
 might break out. In Warsaw, on April eighteenth, 1794, 
 the revolutionists, led by the priest Joseph Meyer, and the 
 shoemaker, J. Kilinski, expelled the Russian army and in- 
 stalled the Representative Council. Mazovia joined the re- 
 volt and established a Commission for the maintenance of 
 Order and a Criminal Court. But the king, who was an 
 agent of the Czarina, was not disturbed in Warsaw; in fact, 
 the Representative Council even sought his advice in na- 
 tional matters. 
 
 General Chlevinski expelled the Russians from Samo- 
 getia; the peasants, proclaiming their independence, fought 
 for four months against the combined forces of the gentry 
 and of Muscovy, until they met defeat at Meskuicei, and 
 their leaders — seven in all — were put to death. In Vilnius 
 Jacob Jasinski, with 300 men, disarmed the Russians and 
 arrested Hetman Kossakovski whom the Criminal Court 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 59 
 
 sentenced to death. He was later hanged in the market- 
 place at Vilnius. 
 
 Not long after, on May ninth, a mob, led by the priest 
 Meyer, and K. Konopka, compelled the Criminal Court at 
 Warsaw to condemn to death those who were in the pay of 
 the Russian government. Among those executed were Het- 
 man Ozarovski, Hetman Zabiella, Bishop Kossakovsld and 
 Ankvic, a member of the Permanent Council. Shouts of 
 "Long Live the Revolution" went up following the execu- 
 tions. 
 
 In the meantime Kosciuszko encamped at Polanec, near 
 Sandomir, where he squandered much precious time. In- 
 stead of attacking the retreating army by a series of quick 
 onslaughts, he endeavored to enlarge his army. The gentry 
 were slow in supplying recruits, and the serfs, noticing the 
 slothfulness of the landlords, did not take up arms. For 
 this reason Kosciuszko issued a manifesto on May seventh, 
 giving the serfs some relief. Each serf was given personal 
 liberty, and they were allowed to move if they had paid off 
 their debts and capitation. The serfs who took up arms were 
 freed from statute labor, but on their return they were to be 
 serfs still. The consequence was that the landlords fell into 
 a rage, while the serfs remained indifferent, so that it proved 
 difficult for Kosciuszko to provide for whatever army he was 
 able to muster. When a landlord gave a bushel or two of 
 grain, he did it grudgingly and stated that a famine was 
 staring him in the face. 
 
 Then Kosciuszko established a national council in Poland 
 and one in Lithuania in the interests of administration and 
 justice. Finally, he was ready to take up the offensive. 
 Since he intended to fight only Russia, he gave strict orders 
 to keep away from the territory of the other neighbors. At 
 Szczekocin, the Prussians, without having declared war, sent 
 an army to aid the Russians. Kosciuszko lost that battle as 
 well as two generals ( Vodzicki and Grochovski) . Not long 
 after, Zaj^cek was defeated by the Russians at Chelmno 
 Kosciuszko retreated to Kielce, while Zaj^cek withdrew 
 with his army toward Lublin, where the Royal Commission 
 
60 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 had indeed assembled 30,000 serfs as had been ordered. But 
 the serfs were persuaded to disperse during the night. Thus 
 was the spirit of the revolt betrayed and the cause of Rus- 
 sia espoused. 
 
 On June thirteenth, an Austrian army surged into Po- 
 land. The National Council put forth an appeal urging the 
 people to join in a general revolt. Col. Vieniavski soon sur- 
 rendered Cracow to the Prussians without even firing a shot. 
 This was a moral blow to Kosciuszko. People began to 
 grumble about treason in the administration and the army. 
 But Kosciuszko allowed the suspects to retain their office 
 and removed even a staunch patriot like Jasinski from office. 
 In Warsaw a mob, led by K. Konopka, erected a gallows and 
 hanged Duke Czetvertynski, Bishop Massalski and five 
 others. Kosciuszko censured the excesses, Konopka and the 
 priest !Meyer were turned over to the Criminal Court, and 
 6,000 of the "wags" were arrested at night, pressed into 
 service and sent to the front. 
 
 Kosciuszko approached Warsaw, which was threatened 
 by the Prussians and a Russian army, led by General Fer- 
 sen. Once more the mob threatened the undesirable element 
 with the gallows. Primate Poniatovski took poison, the Tar- 
 govicians were hanged in effigy, while the death sentence of 
 Bishop Skarsevski was commuted to life imprisonment. 
 Even King Stanislav Augustus was accused of having re- 
 ceived bribes from Russia. After a siege of two months, the 
 enemy had to retire because K. Dabrovski and D. Mnievski 
 had succeeded in stirring up a revolt in Great Poland, and, 
 after having taken some towns, they had cut off the entire 
 transport of ammunitions destined for the Prussians on the 
 Vistula. 
 
 Although Jasinski had defeated the Russians in three 
 battles in Lithuania, Kosciuszko disliked his being a terrorist 
 and gave the command first to M. Wielhorski and then to 
 Mokronowski. But the Russians took Vilnius and were now 
 able to attack Poland from Lithuania as a base. 
 
 New armies of the enemy were approaching from all 
 sides. Suvorov defeated Sierakovski's division at Terespol. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 61 
 
 Fersen cut off the road along which provisions were carried 
 to Warsaw. On October tenth, Kosciuszko met Fersen's 
 army at Maciejovice, but was completely routed. Kosci- 
 uszko himself, wounded and unconscious, was taken prisoner. 
 
 The situation was now a desperate one. The inhabitants 
 of Warsaw made ready for a last stand. Suvorov was ap- 
 proaching Praga and incidentally he defeated the Lithuan- 
 ian army led by Molo-onovski. Soon Praga was stormed. 
 Jasinski was one of her 8,000 defenders to breathe his last. 
 
 Terror-stricken Warsaw decided to capitulate. The 
 bridge across the Vistula, which was burned down during 
 Vavrzecki's retreat, had to be rebuilt by the inhabitants, 
 whereupon Suvorov led his army into the city. Vavrzecki, 
 pursued by the Russians, dismissed his army at Radoszyce. 
 With Kosciuszko, Kilinski, Kapostas and many others, 
 Vavrzecki was exiled to Russia. KoU^tay and Zajg,cek be- 
 came prisoners of Austria. Madalinski fell into the hands 
 of the Prussians. 
 
 Such was the outcome of Kosciusko's revolt. The mag- 
 nates had stood aloof of the General who had donned the 
 garb of the serf. The villagers had failed to revolt en masse 
 because no proclamation of equality had been given out. 
 The gentry was unwilling to contribute voluntarily and to 
 sacrifice its interests, Warsaw alone was sincere in its efforts 
 to obtain liberty. 
 
 That Kosciuszko, the Lithuanian, "rose and saved the 
 honor of the country in the hour of her peril and with it the 
 magnificence and peace of conscience for the future genera- 
 tions of the Polish nation," is at present acknowledged by 
 the Poles themselves. 
 
 King Stanislav Augustus went to Grodno where the 
 aged Duke Repnin persuaded him to abdicate on November 
 twenty-fourth, 1795. 
 
 Russia, Prussia and Austria now struck a bargain and 
 Poland suffered her third partition. Russia took possession 
 of Lithuania and Lettonia — the cities Vilnius, Kaunas, 
 Grodno, Brest and Mitau — a total of 2,183 square miles; 
 Austria appropriated Cracow, Kielce, Radom, Lublin and 
 
62 The Decline and the Partitions of Poland. 
 
 Zamosc— a total of 835 square miles; Prussia's share 
 amounted to 697 square miles of territory which lay between 
 the Pilica, Bug and Niemen rivers, together with the city of 
 Warsaw. Europe said not a word. Turkey alone did not 
 approve of the destruction of Poland and Lithuania. 
 
 Catherine II. considered the Poles and the Lithuanians 
 criminals and treated them accordingly. Thousands upon 
 thousands groaned in Siberian wildernesses or in the prisons 
 of St. Petersburg and Moscow. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 63 
 
 VI. LITHUANIA DURING THE REIGNS OF 
 CATHERINE II. AND PAUL. 
 
 In 1796, the governments of Vilnius and Slonim were 
 combined into one and called the Lithuanian. In 1801 this 
 Lithuanian government was cut in twain and the names Gov- 
 ernment of Vilnius and Government of Grodno given to its 
 component parts. 
 
 Eleven thousand people who had taken part in Kosci- 
 uszko's revolt were sent either to Siberia or to the prisoner's 
 "battalions." Zubov, Repnin, Suvorov, Fersen, and others, 
 received large estates upon which the villagers had to per- 
 form the statute labor — not by the farm, but according to 
 the number of souls. Recruits had to serve in the army for 
 a period of twenty-five years. Schools established by the 
 Commission of Education were closed. The Lithuanian 
 Statute remained in force, as did the national elective judi- 
 ciary and assemblies, which chose the judiciary. The coun- 
 try was ruled by governors and Russian officials. The clergy 
 was forbidden to have direct communication with Rome ; the 
 Jesuits remained intact and opened a novitiate at Polotzk. 
 The Uniates were forced into the Greek Orthodox Church 
 at the point of the bayonet or by threats of confiscation of 
 their lands. The villagers had to pay capitation. The 
 landed gentry increased the size of their estates by depriving 
 the villagers of their farms. The villagers were often 
 flogged for not working harder. The Jews were excluded 
 from Russia Proper. A strict censorship of books was es- 
 tablished in Lithuania. 
 
 Czar Paul (1796-1801) released Kosciuszko and many 
 other prisoners. Stanislav Augustus was allowed to live in 
 
64 Lithuania During Reigns of Catherine II. and Paul. 
 
 St. Petersburg where he died in 1798. The gentry was 
 freed from compulsory service in the army. In Poland and 
 in Lithuania secret societies sprang up in great abundance. 
 For this reason about seventy people were imprisoned in Vil- 
 nius. In 1797, the priests Ciecierskis, D^brovski, Ziolkovski 
 and Judicki were flogged and sentenced to hard labor in 
 Siberia. 
 
 Paul, being afraid of freethought, in particular, not only 
 increased the number of dioceses, but even renewed two Uni- 
 ate bishoprics. He bestowed special favors upon the Jesuits 
 who were allowed to hold chairs in the Academy at Vilnius. 
 Even the estates of the Jesuits were about to be returned to 
 them; but before this was done, the Russian aristocracy had 
 strangled Czar Paul. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 65 
 
 VII. LITHUANIA DURING THE REIGN OF 
 CZAR ALEXANDER I. 
 
 Alexander (1801-1825), moved by a youthful spirit of 
 liberalism, established a college for the regulation of the 
 Latin and the Uniate clergy. The teaching, was entrusted 
 to laymen. The organization of the school system in Lithu- 
 ania was undertaken by Adam Czartoryski who, in 1803, had 
 been made the Curator of the district. The Academy at Vil- 
 nius was reorganized and made over into a university. Here 
 the youths of Samogetia and of Lithuania were made to 
 drink deep of the cup filled to the brim with Polish spirit. 
 The university did have a few good teachers, however. 
 Among such were Jundzila and Lelevel. The institution 
 ,-prepared teachers and programs for schools and published 
 text-books. Jesuit wealth was to be used for the advance- 
 ment of education. While the college at Polotzk was 
 raised to the rank of an academy, it was still the seat of 
 obscurantism. Because the Jesuits were successful in con- 
 verting some of the aristocracy to their faith, they in- 
 curred the wrath of the Greek Catholic Church. In 1820, 
 they were expelled from Russia. 
 
 Lithuanian as well as Polish emigrants (Prozor, Gen. 
 Giedraitis, etc.) established what was known as the "Polish 
 Deputation" in Paris. M. Oginski and Gen. Rimkevicz or- 
 ganized regiments in Turkey. Gen. Kniazevicz joined the 
 Polish legions in Italy. Gen. Rimkevicz fell in battle when 
 Suvorov swept over the Cisalpine Republic. Many members 
 of the Legions were sent by Napoleon to Hayti where they 
 perished. From this time on, a feeling of sympathy for Al- 
 exander began to be felt, and not a few returned to their 
 homes, especially on occasions when the Czar spoke of the 
 
66 Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alexander I, 
 
 restoration of Poland. Napoleon made the very same prom- 
 ises, and many Poles and Lithuanians joined his army dur- 
 ing his war with Prussia. Following the Treaty of Tilsit 
 (1807), the Duchy of Warsaw was established and a consti- 
 tution was given to the Poles ; the Palatinate of Augustovo 
 was added to the duchy, and so the Lithuanians living on 
 the left bank of the Niemen river were separated from the 
 Lithuanians living on the right bank. 
 
 When the supplying of the army became unnecessary 
 and the ports were closed to England, the Lithuanian gentry 
 complained bitterly of the economic depression; moreover, 
 many of the villagers fled across the Niemen, and the gentry 
 were held responsible for the fugitives. Duke Lubecki was 
 sent to St. Petersburg where the Czar, expecting a war with 
 Napoleon, received him with great kindness. He did the 
 same with M. Oginski, the organizer of the Legions. The 
 Lithuanian Circle of St. Petersburg was asked to work out 
 two projects for the organization of the country; one for the 
 Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the other for Poland. When 
 the war of 1812 broke out, Lubecki and Vavrzecki took 
 charge of provisioning the great Russian army, and the Czar 
 participated in a ball held in Vilnius where he simply dazzled 
 the Lithuanian gentry by his kindness and promises. But 
 Napoleon arrived not long after, and the people were com- 
 pelled to supply his army. The gentry's sympathies were 
 on the side of the Czar. The serfs alone greeted the French 
 army with hopes of liberation. Napoleon, however, did not 
 reciprocate their confidence, and gave Lithuania a provis 
 ional government under leadership of the harsh Gen. Hogen- 
 dorp. This new government, made up of magnates, re- 
 newed the Act of the Union of Lublin and sent it to the Po- 
 lish Diet at Warsaw. Bishop Dederka, Duke Radzivill and 
 Duke Giedraitis were among the few to join the French 
 with their regiments of infantry and cavalry. 
 
 Napoleon left Lithuania without covering up the tracks 
 of his army, so, when he was forced to beat a retreat from 
 Moscow, he found the bridges over the Berezina destroyed. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 67 
 
 While the temporary government at Vilnius had stored up 
 provisions, there was no army stationed in Lithuania, for 
 Napoleon distrusted the gentry. The aristocrats (K. Czar- 
 toryski, E. Sanguszko, etc.,) forsook his ranks and made 
 overtures to the Czar. On the retreat from Moscow to Vil- 
 nius, 300,000 dead were found by the roadsides. In Vilnius 
 the French burned their transports, and the treasury of the 
 army fell into the hands of the Russians. The Lithuanian 
 government fled to Cracow. The Czar gave amnesty to all ex- 
 cepting a few (D. Radzivill and others). Vavrzecki and 
 Lubecki were sent to govern the Duchy of Warsaw. Lithu- 
 ania, stripped of everything by both the French and the Rus- 
 sian armies, awaited the impending reprisals for disloyalty. 
 Whosoever had arms in his possession or sheltered fugitive 
 prisoners was punished by having his property confiscated 
 or by being exiled to Siberia. Rimskij-Korsakov was lord 
 and master of every person's life. 
 
 Czartoryski and Kosciuszko attended the Congress of 
 Vienna in the interests of Poland and Lithuania (1815). 
 After much strife, Russia retained Lithuania as a conquered 
 province, and changed the Duchy of Warsaw into the King- 
 dom of Poland under Russian suzerainty, but permitted the 
 kingdom to retain its parliamentary form of government. 
 Lithuania's sole gain was the stationing of an army corps 
 under the command of Grand Duke Constantine at Vilnius ! 
 The Palatinate of Augustovo, with its capital at Suvalkai, 
 was once more added to Poland. 
 
 Because several magnates (Lubecki, Sulistrovski, Niem- 
 cevicz, Gizycki) were made governors, the gentry expected 
 that Lithuania would soon be made a part of Poland. The 
 youth of the gentry in Lithuania were fired with Polish pa- 
 triotism. 
 
 But Novosilcov at St. Petersburg altered Russia's policy, 
 and, what was still worse, Karamzin published his History 
 of Russia wherein he contended that Lithuania, Volynia, and 
 Podolia were countries "Russian from time immemorial and 
 redeemed only by Catherine II." Was it to be wondered at, 
 then, that even the mentioning of the Constitution of the 
 
68 Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alexander I. 
 
 third of May in the schools was followed by investigations, 
 expulsion, and corporal punishment? 
 
 When the Czar began to abridge the constitutional rights 
 in Poland, the gentry of Lithuania turned its attention to the 
 villagers. The provincial Diets of the gentry decided to 
 send a delegation to the Czar with a request for the liberation 
 of the serfs. The Russian magnates alone refused to sign 
 the request. Alexander Skirmunt endeavored to extend the 
 home industry. Count K. Brzostovski abolished serfdom 
 from his estates and established schools, country stores, loan- 
 shops, which lent the villagers money without security, dis- 
 tilleries, breweries, machine shops, glass factories, etc., all for 
 the benefit of the villagers. Mickievicz, in his "Ode to the 
 Youth," expressed the sentiments of the young gentry. In 
 "Grazyna" and "Konrad Wallenrod," the same writer re- 
 minded them of their nation's noble past. D. Poskevicius 
 and Velenavicius wrote some excellent patriotic verse in Li- 
 thuanian and Simon Stanevicius published collections of the 
 peasants' songs. The historians of the University of Vilnius 
 — Lelevel, Danilevicz, Onacevicz and Jaroszevicz — dissemi- 
 nated far and wide the love of studying the nation's history. 
 
 The Czar feared death at the hand of an assassin. When 
 he was informed of the tragic deaths of Kotzebue and of 
 Duke Berry abroad, his fear became still greater. Follow- 
 ing the year 1817, there was a rise in the influence of Arak- 
 ciejev who disliked the Poles and who was adverse to the 
 combining of the Lithuanian government to that of Po- 
 land — a thing which the gentry of Lithuania greatly desired. 
 Alexander decided against such a combination and left Lith- 
 uania at the mercy of Novosilcov, Baikov and Pelican. 
 
 In 1822, Lubecki presented a project of the Augustovo 
 canal. If realized, it would have joined the Niemen, Vistula 
 and the Venta, and could easily have been extended to the 
 Duna. The purpose was to direct the commerce of Poland 
 away from Danzig and Elbing, provided Prussia refused to 
 contract a commercial agreement. In 1824, Pradzynski per- 
 fected the plan and supervised the work. In 1826, however, 
 he was imprisoned and his laboratories were confiscated by 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 69 
 
 Gen. Malletski. The whole work was halted during the 
 Polish insurrection. By means of this canal, the country 
 could have had direct communication with England and 
 other countries of Western Europe. 
 
 In 1823, the Czar issued certificates which had to be filled 
 out for all goods imported into Russia from Poland. The 
 Polish industry was in danger. Lithuania now had an op- 
 portunity to develop an industry in its larger and smaller 
 centers. Two Lithuanian magnates, Lubecki and Grabov- 
 ski, saved the situation for Poland to the detriment of Lith- 
 uania. The Prussian tariff of 1823 was also detrimental to 
 Lithuania who exported her produce to Konigsberg and to 
 Memel (Klaipeda). Only the new commercial treaty of 
 1825 raised the prices which had previously fallen to a very 
 low level. According to this tariff, woolen goods could not 
 be exported from Lithuania, and a reasonable charge was 
 made on the exportation of metals, hides and linen. 
 
 Secret societies now began to flourish all over Russia, 
 which aimed at overthrowing the dynasty. They even had 
 members in the army and the aristocracy. The Czar in- 
 tended to abdicate, but he died shortly after at Taganrog 
 from poison. 
 
 VIII. LITHUANIA DURING THE REIGN OF 
 CZAR NICOLAS I. 
 
 On the very day that Nicolas I. (1825-1854) ascended 
 the throne, the conspirators known as the Dekabrists re- 
 volted under the leadership of K. Rylejev, a pronounced 
 democrat ; but their regiments were overpowered, their dead 
 thrust under the ice of the Neva, and their leaders extermi- 
 nated. Many aristocratic families were involved in the trial 
 of the Dekabrists, especially after the Polish Duke Jablon- 
 ovski had volunteered to tell all he knew. Arrests followed 
 in Warsaw, Kiev, Vilnius, and even in Lvov and Thorn. 
 
 From that time on, Nicolas was obsessed with the idea 
 of insecurity and hoped to avert every danger by relentless 
 
70 Lithuania During the Reign of Nicholas I. 
 
 repressions. His was a crushing tyranny. He endeavored 
 to keep the people away from revolution and unbelief, and 
 his hate of liberalism grew into a mania. In order to divert 
 attention from internal weakness and disorder, he, like all 
 despots, discovered pretexts for wars, first with Turkey, 
 whereby Serbia and Greece gained their independence, and 
 then with Persia. In 1830, when in Warsaw, he crowned 
 himself King of Poland. Students and cadets would have 
 shot the Czar had it not been for the counsels of the aged 
 Lithuanian gentleman Niemcevicz, who persuaded the youth 
 to reconsider their step. 
 
 In 1830 the revolutionists expelled King Charles X. from 
 France, and Belgium broke away from Holland. Since 
 Nicolas considered himself the guardian of Europe, he made 
 ready to go to war against France. The Poles then pre- 
 pared an insurrection at home because the Czar paid little 
 heed to their constitution and abridged their rights. The in- 
 surrectionists appointed Gen. Chlopicki commander in chief. 
 On November twenty-ninth, 1830, Grand Duke Constantine, 
 who had flogged the Polish students, was expelled from 
 Warsaw. The Poles demanded that their constitution be 
 guaranteed and that Lithuania and the Ukraine be joined 
 to Poland. The Russian government replied with a demand 
 of submission. War ensued. But Chlopicki, after a par- 
 leying with the Czar, resigned his dictatorship, and the Diet 
 appointed M. Radzivill as his successor. In the meantime. 
 Field-marshal Diebich overran the whole of Lithuania with 
 his forces and thus restrained the Lithuanian army corps 
 from joining the insurrectionists. On January twenty-fifth, 
 1831, the Diet dethroned Nicolas. After defeating the Rus- 
 sians at Stoczek and at Grochovo, the morale of the Polish 
 army improved. But the second battle at Grochovo proved 
 indecisive. Since the gentry were confident in their ability 
 of defeating the Russians without the aid of the serfs, the 
 Diet refused to recognize the rights of the villagers to prop- 
 erty and did not release them from the execution of statute 
 labor. The insurrection in Volynia, stirred un by Czacki, 
 Olizar and Worcell, was a total failure. Diebich received 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 71 
 
 reinforcements early in the spring, but his subordinates, Geis- 
 mar and Rosen, were defeated. 
 
 Grand Duke Michael was approaching Diebich's army 
 with which he joined forces at Nadbory, and together they 
 defeated Skrzynecki at Ostrolenka where the Poles lost 270 
 officers and 8,000 men. Not long after, Diebich and Grand 
 Duke Constantine died of cholera. 
 
 Although a state of war existed in Lithuania and the in- 
 habitants were terror-stricken, a revolt was started by the 
 Samogetians. Later, peasants from the district of Asmene 
 joined the struggle, and soon the whole of Lithuania was 
 burning with the spirit of insurrection. Matusevicz occupied 
 Trakai. Przezdziecki took Asmene which was later retaken 
 by the Russians who slaughtered old men and women and 
 children who sought shelter in a church. BUevicz defeated 
 Gen. Bezobrazov near Vilnius. Emilia Plater and Maria 
 Rasanovic directed the movements of the insurrectionists in 
 the vicinity of Dunaburg. 
 
 The Polish government made a grave mistake in its ap- 
 peal of May thirteenth to the generosity of the gentry of 
 Lithuania, instead of proclaiming the emancipation of the 
 serfs. Gen. Chlopicki was sent to encourage the revolt which 
 was brewing in Lithuania. Following the battle of Ostro- 
 lenka the Polish forces joined at Kedainei, and A. Gelgud 
 and Dembinski came to Lithuania. But Gelgud was beaten 
 at Vilnius. Chlopicki crossed the Prussian frontier and was 
 disarmed. Gelgud, suspected of treason, was shot by one of 
 his own officers. Dembinski alone, without money and am- 
 munition, turned back at Poneviezh with 3,500 men and ar- 
 rived safely in Warsaw. 
 
 Field-marshal Paskevic, profiting by the inactivity of 
 Skrzynecki, now marched on Warsaw where riots broke out 
 and 300 people were put to death because of alleged treason. 
 The National Counsel appointed Pr§.dzynski Commander in 
 Chief. But Warsaw fell on September eighth. The leaders 
 were sent to Siberia, while the people were impressed into the 
 army or committed to serfdom. The Polish constitution was 
 annulled, and Poland made a part of Russia. Lithuania was 
 
72 Lithuania During the Reign of Nicholas 1. 
 
 doomed to suffer Russianization. In 1832 the University of 
 Vilnius was closed, and Russian was made the official lan- 
 guage of the country. The Russian Code supplanted the 
 Lithuanian Statute. An academy for the Roman Catholic 
 clergy was started in Vilnius, but this was transferred to St. 
 Petersburg in 1842. 
 
 The villagers were turned into slaves, and the relations 
 between master and slave were never more brutal than in the 
 days of Nicolas I. The gentry who were not enrolled in 
 the Book of Heraldry before October the sixteenth, 1831, 
 automatically were barred from the ranks of the nobility. 
 Some 45,000 families of the gentry were sent to Caucasus 
 and turned into Cossacks by compulsion. Graft prevailed 
 everywhere. The term Western Provinces of Russia was 
 everywhere substituted for the term Lithuania in official 
 documents. A catechism printed in 1832 for use in schools, 
 taught the children that Russia was their fatherland and that 
 "reverence, obedience, loyalty, tribute, service, good- will and 
 prayer to God" be offered to the Czar of the Russias. An 
 intricate system of espionage was evolved. Schools were 
 closed — out of 394 only 92 remained; corporal punishment 
 and espionage flourished. Whoever spoke Polish in the com- 
 mon lodgings of the students, was flogged. M. Volovicz, 
 who returned from abroad and urged the villagers to revolt, 
 died heroically on the gallows at Grodno in 1833. Simon 
 Konarski was very active in the interests of the serfs and en- 
 joyed a large following among the women and students of 
 the gentry. He established many secret revolutionary 
 groups in Lithuania with headquarters at Vilnius. Revo- 
 lutionary societies prevailed even in the army. Eventually 
 the leaders were apprehended. Konarski was first terribly 
 tortured and then shot in the city of Vilnius on February 
 twenty-seventh, 1839. Novicki, Brynk, Rodzevicz and many 
 others were exiled to Siberia or Caucasus. Over 200 officers 
 of Gen. Geismar's army corps were arrested and cast into 
 subterranean dungeons. In 1839 the townsfolk and the vil- 
 lagers were prohibited from wearing the Polish costume un- 
 der penalty of being flogged, whereas anyone who donned 
 the Russian costume received a gift of one ruble. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 73 
 
 The work of the Democrats in Lithuania and in White 
 Russia was facilitated and made more effective through the 
 government's policy of persecuting the Uniates and other 
 religious denominations — a policy which roused the common 
 people. In 2urovice, in the government of Grodno, Bishop 
 Joseph Siemasko gradually introduced the Greek Orthodox 
 services. Priests who objected to the innovation were sent 
 away, while the people who rioted were calmed by the lash. 
 Aged men and women were ready to die for their faith. In 
 1839, an Act combining the Greek Catholic and the Greek 
 Orthodox Churches was announced at Polotzk, and upwards 
 of 2,500,000 people were compelled to join the Orthodox 
 church in fear of being lashed by the Cossacks and the police. 
 Many reluctant villagers — women as well as men — were 
 flogged to death. 
 
 Protestants also suffered from the whims of Greek Or- 
 thodoxy. The Bible Society of Vilnius, founded in 1812, 
 was abolished in 1828. A promise of land to the peasants of 
 the Baltic Provinces lured thousands of Letts and Esthon- 
 ians into the Church of Russia. As soon as the peasants be- 
 came aware of the deceit, however, their religious fervor 
 quickly vanished and they lent a willing ear to voices eman- 
 ating from the cradle of Socialism. 
 
 In 1832 all the monasteries in the government of Kaunas 
 were closed and most of the churches were turned into houses 
 of worship for the Orthodox Russians. In 1842, the govern- 
 ment confiscated the property — estates and moneys — of the 
 church and clergy of Lithuania, a confiscation which 
 amounted to 171,845,000 rubles. 
 
 From the year 1827, the children of peasants were barred 
 from higher institutions of learning. For this reason many 
 of the peasants changed their names to make them sound like 
 those of the gentry, e. g., Senkus became Sienkievicz, Jonkus 
 became Jankovski. Some even endeavored to buy them- 
 selves into the ranks of the gentry. Many taught their chil- 
 dren reading and writing at home. From 1837 peasants 
 were denied admission into clerical seminaries; this decision 
 was rescinded later, however, but only where the consent of 
 
74 Lithuania During the Reign of Nicholas I. 
 
 the landlords and the governor was given, could a peasant 
 enter such an institution. The Lithuanian Library and 
 Museum at Vilnius were plundered, and all precious books 
 and manuscripts were taken to St. Petersburg and Moscow. 
 
 By means of its industrial and commercial policies, the 
 government strove to create a new and wealthy class which 
 would be grateful for its state of well-being and hence ut- 
 terly averse to any revolutionary movement. For this rea- 
 son Russian capitalists were attracted to the provinces of 
 the Northwestern Territory and given special privileges un- 
 der the Act of 1841. The gentry, on the other hand, were 
 transported to Caucasus and Cherson by thousands — an ef- 
 fort by means of which it was hoped to eradicate the Polish 
 element. But even the Russians were unable to compete 
 with the Jews who got control of the local trade and industry. 
 The Jews were prohibited from wearing their customary 
 garments, their peyzahs were pulled out, their spiritual books 
 were revised by the censors, and their uncensored books con- 
 fiscated. The Act of 1843 demanded that the Jews serve in 
 the army instead of paying the Recruit's Tax as had been 
 the case before. The local element were cast out of the higher 
 offices. The centralization policy of the Russian bureaucracy 
 began to be felt in evergrowing circles. In 1843, the gov- 
 ernment of Kaunas was instituted. P. J. Preiss, in his let- 
 ters from Konigsberg to the Minister of Instruction, in 1840, 
 demanded that experts in Slavic philology be directed to 
 study the Lithuanian language ; he endeavored to show that 
 the Lithuanians were members of the Greek Orthodox 
 Church prior to the arrival of the Germans into the Baltic 
 Provinces and mentioned the necessity of compiling an his- 
 torical dictionary of the localities inhabited by the Slavs and 
 Lithuanians in common. Like Karamzin, Preiss was a mas- 
 ter at presenting falsified accounts of the history of the Li- 
 thuanian nation. 
 
 It is not astonishing, then, that the country fell into a 
 torpor ; the mucky intellectual atmosphere had devitalized the 
 old gentry. The younger and more progressive people were 
 sent to the Caucasus to fight against Shamyl and to subju- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 75 
 
 gate the races of that region. From the times of Konarski, 
 the agitation carried on among the villagers gave the govern- 
 ment no rest, so, in 1842, Nicholas I permitted the landed 
 proprietors to enter into contracts with their serfs. In this 
 way the so-called obligatory peasantry was created. But the 
 serfs looked upon this new condition as liberation from bond- 
 age, and a series of riots and insurrections followed. In 
 1844, commissions were appointed to take the inventory of 
 the estates of the gentry. Whenever the peasantry, craving 
 liberty, started riots, they were either flogged to death or sent 
 in groups to Siberia. The propaganda of the Democrats 
 caused the government much anxiety — it anticipated a gen- 
 eral political propaganda on a huge scale. Any one who 
 had in his possession literature of liberal tendencies was in 
 constant peril of search by the gendarmery. The students 
 were placed under special surveillance. The gjrmnasiums at 
 Seinai, Lukovo and Kielce were closed. The uncovering of 
 Rev. Sciegienny's Conspiracy near Kielce in particular 
 struck terror into the heart of the government at St. Peters- 
 burg (1844). Rev. Sciegienny advocated the establishment 
 of a republic in which the clergy and the villagers were to 
 be the ruling element. For this he was sentenced to hard 
 labor in the quarries of Nerchinsk, where he organized a 
 secret commune among the exiles. The villagers were 
 flogged and clubbed. Needless to say, the number of vic- 
 tims was very great. 
 
 The effect of the abolition of the Republic of Cracow was 
 felt in Lithuania also; John Rohr was bastinated with 1,500 
 strokes. Dr. Renier, Boguslavski and others were adorned 
 with foul inscriptions and paraded by the soldiers through 
 the streets of Vilnius, and then sent to Siberia. 
 
 In 1847, whole villages of peasants from the government 
 of Vitebsk started westward with all their belongings. The 
 army, however, flogged them back to their homes. By this 
 time the Czar realized that something had to be done for the 
 peasants, compulsory labor was shortened to 150 days in the 
 year, peasants were granted the legal ownership of their 
 
76 Lithuania During the Reign of Nicholas I. 
 
 land, and gratuitous labor for landed proprietors was abol- 
 ished. But personal liberty was not acknowledged. 
 
 The Magyar revolution of 1848 was but another con- 
 flagration which threatened to spread into the dominions of 
 the Czar, who hastened to assist the Emperor of Austria 
 "against the common foe." Conspirators in Warsaw and 
 Vilnius were eagerly awaiting the outcome of this rebellion, 
 which, unfortunately, came to an unsuccessful conclusion 
 when Gorgoi laid down his arms at Vilagos. And when the 
 Revolution in Berlin broke out the National Committee of 
 Poland intended to send an army corps into Lithuania and 
 Samogetia; but Mieroslavski was unwilling to carry on a 
 partisan war, the Polish gentry feared a repetition of the 
 "Galician carnage," and the peasants of Lithuania laid down 
 their arms, together with their leader Ancyp. Thanks to 
 the efforts of Pastor Gisevius and Mrongovius, the ideas of 
 democracy reached Varmia and Eastern Prussia also; but 
 the spirit of nationalism was soon throttled by the endeavors 
 of Pangermanic patriots. The patriots of Poland dreamed 
 now not only of the federation of Poland, Lithuania and 
 Russia, but of all the Slav races. They hoped to attain a 
 federation with a central government for common weal, yet 
 each race was to have equal rights and independence; and 
 each race was to have its own autonomous government. The 
 United States of America was taken as an example. The 
 Poles had many followers in Lithuania, especially among the 
 students and the younger gentry. From 1850 to 1854 the 
 police made many arrests. The Russian government sen- 
 tenced hundreds to be bastinaded and exiled to Nerchinsk. 
 In Vilnius, the students of the gymnasium were flogged pub- 
 licly in the market-place, and then impressed into the army. 
 The requirements for entrance into the schools were made 
 more difficult, and many books which previously had been 
 approved by the censors were removed from the shelves of 
 the libraries. Writers who advocated the abolition of serf- 
 dom were especially persecuted. 
 
 In the winter of 1854, while the Crimean War was still 
 in progress. Czar Nicolas I. committed suicide by drinking 
 poison. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 77 
 
 IX. LITHUANIA DURING THE REIGN OF 
 CZAR ALEXANDER II. 
 
 The reign of Alexander II. (1854-1881) was a period 
 devoted to the consideration of various projects of reform. 
 It was necessary to release the serfs from their condition of 
 servitude. In the times of Nicolas I. there were 556 revolts 
 and the assassination of 144 landed proprietors occurred in 
 the last twenty years of his reign. In an address given to 
 the gentry in Moscow in 1858, Alexander II. stated that this 
 reform must come from above, or else it would be realized 
 from below. The novelist Jos. Ig. Krasevski and the poet 
 L. Kondratovic directed the attention of the gentry to na- 
 tional interests. In 1857, when the gentry of Lithuania 
 demanded the abolition of servitude, the Czar ordered the 
 appointment of commissions, which were to work for the 
 realization of this demand. The adherents of the idea of 
 democracy carried on a spirited propaganda, and the Czar, 
 in his Ukase of March third, 1861, hastily proclaimed the 
 abolition of serfdom. In this Ukase he promised much and 
 gave little. The peasants of Lithuania became owners of 
 their land after forty-nine years' payment of ground rent. 
 In 1862, privileged jurisdiction was abolished, trial by jury 
 for criminal cases was instituted, and, half a vear later, cor- 
 poral punishment was done away with. But Lithuania, un- 
 like Russia, did not receive the Zemstvo — a species of local 
 civil administration. 
 
 The Polish revolution of 1863 interfered with the normal 
 progress of reform in Russia. The agitators desired that the 
 peasantry renounce obedience to the clergy and the gentry. 
 Revolutionary demonstrations were begun in the churches 
 of Poland. Russia had entered into a convention with Prus- 
 
78 Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alexander II. 
 
 sia in 1858, and was thus secure so far as her western neigh- 
 bor was concerned; yet the Czar cautioned the Poles "point 
 des reveries!" before he committed the leaders of the excesses 
 to prison. While the Poles had great faith in Napoleon 
 III., they sent Zamoyski on a mission concerning Poland's 
 autonomy to St. Petersburg. Constantine was made Vice- 
 roy, and the aged Wielopolski was to be his counsellor. Her- 
 zen supported Poland's cause warmly. France now de- 
 manded that the independence of Poland be recognized. Dur- 
 ing the conscription, Wielopelski enrolled the dangerous 
 youth into the army. A revolt followed. Nazimov, the Gov- 
 ernor-General of Lithuania, had two divisions of cavalry and 
 one of infantry at his disposal, and soon after another divi- 
 sion of infantry was added to his forces. The troops were 
 concentrated in the towns. Many oiScers, however, deserted 
 the army and went into the forests, where they, together 
 with the clergy, who were awaiting them, organized the army 
 of the insurrectionists. The organization of this army was 
 facilitated by the fact that the civil offices of the country were 
 held by Poles and Lithuanians. The Red and the White 
 parties were united. The peasants were promised perpetual 
 grants of land, free from taxation, provided they joined in 
 the uprising. The unfaithful were imprisoned or made to 
 suffer in some other way. On May tenth, 1863, the Polish 
 National government granted the peasants the right to own 
 land, and proclaimed the independence of Poland, Lithuania 
 and Ukraina, with equality for all before the law, and with 
 full liberty for each to develop its nationality and language. 
 Lithuania and Ukraina were to be the equals of Poland. 
 
 The rebels occupied the villages and forests and had es- 
 tablished an extensive organization. When Plater captured 
 a transport of arms in the vicinity of Dunaburg, Muravyov 
 (the "Hangman") was appointed dictator of Lithuania. He 
 divided the country into military districts. In Vilnius, the 
 owners of property and the clergy were made responsible for 
 those who fled to join the ranks of the rebels. Not long after, 
 two priests — Isora and Ziemacki — were shot. Bishop Kra- 
 sinski was sent to Viatka, where he was kept under strict sur- 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 79 
 
 veillance. The jails were filled with rebels. Capt. Sierakov- 
 ski and Kolysko were hanged. Commissions of information 
 and investigation were established in every district. In the 
 villages an armed guard of the peasantry was established to 
 assist the Russian army in exterminating the rebels. Every- 
 where Muravyov posed as the protector of the peasantry 
 against the gentry and the clergy. Many Lithuanian offi- 
 cials were either exiled or jailed, e. g., Lappo of Minsk was 
 sent to Perm, Starzenski of Grodno was court-martialed and 
 exiled to the fortress of Bobruisk. 
 
 The Lithuanian peasantry, with but few exceptions, re- 
 mained loyal to Russia. Hence Muravyov temporarily per- 
 mitted the teaching of the Lithuanian language in the schools 
 and even promised to publish a newspaper, entitled the "Peo- 
 ple's Friend." 
 
 Small bands of the rebels terrorized the inhabitants. The 
 so-called "hangman-gendarmes" attained considerable no- 
 toriety. Muravyov ordered them to be shot on the spot if 
 captured. Secret agents came to Vilnius from Warsaw to 
 murder Muravyov and Domeyko, the latter having signed 
 a petition to the government begging for clemency. Most 
 of these conspirators were apprehended and hanged. Bishop 
 Valancaukas aided Muravyov by entreating the people to 
 lay down their arms, and many leaders (Bitis, Puidokas, 
 Rev. Dembskis and others) of the bands left the country. 
 Rev. Mackievicz, a staunch and energetic insurrectionist, 
 was hanged in the city of Kaunas. The revolt soon died 
 down in Minsk, Grodno and Augustovo, and by the end of 
 1863 it was over. Const. Kalinovski, the chief organizer of 
 the revolt in Lithuania, was hanged in Vilnius on March 
 second, 1864. 
 
 Muravyov imported Russians to fill all of the offices. He 
 erected Greek Orthodox churches and Russian schools. Sep- 
 arate courts of justice were established for peasants and for 
 the gentry, and the latter had to pay a heavy indemnity. Fol- 
 lowing the pacification of the country, the martial court and 
 the commissions of investigation were retained. Muravyov 
 
80 Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alexander II. 
 
 exterminated at least 9,000 people and exiled many, many 
 thousands to Siberia. 
 
 In order to get a firmer grip on the clersry, Muravyov 
 ordered the abolition of the Temperance Society, the Vin- 
 centine Society of Charity, the Society of Charity for the 
 Poor, and all the organizations of the Sisters of Mercy. The 
 Greek Orthodox clergy were given an increase in pay, thirty 
 Roman Catholic Monasteries were closed, the erection of 
 Roman Catholic churches was rarely permitted, the Russian 
 language was made obligatory in schools and offices of ad- 
 ministration, and any manifestation of the Polish spirit was 
 summarily put down. The organization of the peasants into 
 communes having been accomplished, the Russians felt cer- 
 tain that Lithuania had become a thoroughly Russian coun- 
 try. 
 
 The Lithuanian peasantry, which, according to Murav- 
 yov himself, had helped the Russian government to put down 
 the rebellion, was terribly crushed. When the Russian ele- 
 ment had grown somewhat stronger, Muravyov prohibited 
 the printing of Lithuanian books and papers in the Latin 
 alphabet and appropriated 25,000 rubles for the printing of 
 elementary and prayer-books in the Lithuanian language, 
 but in the "grazhdanka," or Russian alphabet. No doubt he 
 thought this a fine stroke in the policy of Russianizing the 
 Lithuanians. The peasants, thought Muravyov, lacking 
 leaders and a press, and shorn of their hopes for a better fu- 
 ture, will soon discard their nationality. Muravyov, in his 
 Memoirs, does not even mention the word Lithuanians. He 
 said, in substance, that Lithuania had been Russian from 
 times beyond recall, that the Lithuanians were to be meta- 
 morphosed by the "real" Russian culture, and not by the 
 "rotten" culture of the West. The essence of this "real" 
 culture was the augmentation of the Russian element and 
 the weakening of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 In 1865, Adj.-Gen. Kaufman, Muravyov's successor, 
 prohibited "persons of Polish extraction" from acquiring 
 estates in the "Western Provinces of Russia," and the Czar 
 deemed it necessary to Russianize the whole country. Books 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 81 
 
 printed prior to 1864 were not to be sold or imported from 
 abroad, and it goes without saying that the Minister of the 
 Interior sanctioned this unreasonable prohibition. 
 
 Following the Polish Insurrection, the spirit of the Rus- 
 sian nation became one of retrogression. The party of Kat- 
 kov came into pre-eminence and Samarin with his friends 
 subjected the Baltic Provinces to the most criminal treat- 
 ment. Even the Greek Orthodox Church became more ag- 
 gressive and militant. The Russophiles, Tupalski, Nemeksa, 
 and ^ilinski had great influence on the government in the 
 city of Vilnius. Kaufman and Famincyn elevated ^ilinski 
 to the office of administrator of the diocese. Special com- 
 missions translated prayer-books, rituals and other religious 
 works into the Russian. Nemeksa pointed out the necessity 
 of introducing the Russian language into the church serv- 
 ices, and Rev. Kaminski had the audacity to preach in Rus- 
 sian at the church in §vencionai. In the days of the revolt, 
 and after, ^ilinski denounced many of the priests to the gov- 
 ernment, and not a few of them had to spend the remainder 
 of their lives in the wilds of Siberia. In 1866, Linkinas, a 
 priest who had been instrumental in the closing of the church 
 at Dukstai, became a member of the chapter at Vilnius. In 
 1870, when the Russian "trebnik," or ritual, had been dis- 
 tributed among the clergy by the "chapter of Muravyov," 
 Rev. St. Petravicia of Vilnius consigned 143 copies thereof 
 to the flames and issued a circular letter wherein he de- 
 nounced the Russophilism and the treasonable acts of 2ilin- 
 ski in no uncertain terms. While in the act of preaching a 
 sermon in his church, Rev. Petravicia burned up the instruc- 
 tions and the ritual of 2ilinski. For this he was court- 
 martialed and deported to the northern wastes of Kola. The 
 teaching of the Russian language, history and literature were 
 made compulsory in clerical seminaries. 
 
 The conservatives had the upper hand in Russia. Nu- 
 merous were the attempts to assassinate the Czar. Follow- 
 ing the war with Turkey, the Czar, unable to stop the spread 
 of Nihilism, summoned the progressive party (Valuyev, 
 Loris Melikov and Suvalov were its representatives) to take 
 
82 Lithuania During the Reign of Czar Alexander II. 
 
 hold of the reins of the government. The Zemstvos and 
 cities received home rule after a fashion. A representation 
 of the wealthy land owners in the government was even con- 
 templated. But on March thirteenth, 1881, the Czar fell a 
 victim of the Nihilists — Ignatius Gryneviackas killed the 
 Czar and himself with a bomb. 
 
 Eindless misery and distress dwarfed the people of Lith- 
 uania in stature and in mind. About one-half of the young 
 men of the country were unfit for military service through- 
 the diminution in stature. They began to emigrate en masse 
 to England, South Africa, Argentina and the United States. 
 The abolition of serfdom proved a boon for the bourgeoisie. 
 The towns and cities were filled to overflowing by the pro- 
 letariat who suffered greatly from being exploited by the 
 greedy bourgeoisie. 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 83 
 
 X. FOUR DECADES OF CONTENTION AND 
 SUFFERING. 
 
 The Reigns of Alexander III. and Nicolas II. 
 
 The Russian government never hinted at what it really 
 meant by the phrase "persons of Polish extraction"; some- 
 times it meant nationality, sometimes religion, and, when 
 found expedient by the government, it was construed to mean 
 social rank or class. Now the rights of the class to which the 
 Lithuanians were ascribed were persistently and systemati- 
 cally abridged. From the year 1864 the constituents of this 
 class were debarred from holding office. In 1894, Krivosein, 
 Minister of Communications, sent out a secret circular which 
 prohibited the employment of these people in the railroad 
 service and the leasing of restaurants to them. Men were 
 brought from Russia to take the places of the Lithuanians, 
 who were ousted from office. The slightest indication of dis- 
 respect for a Russian Orthodox priest or an ordinary officer 
 was considered a sign of disloyalty toward the Russian gov- 
 ernment. Private meetings held without the knowledge of 
 the police, or the singing of prohibited songs and hymns, was 
 considered grossly criminal and made punishable by a fine 
 of from 100 to 500 rubles. The use of the Lithuanian or the 
 Polish language in official circles or on official documents, 
 or the use of the national or any other emblem on buildings, 
 clothes, harness, etc., was also punishable by a fine. From 
 the year 1889, illuminations, the decoration of buildings with 
 flowers and flags, and other manifestations of festivity were 
 not permitted. Land could be bought only with the consent 
 of the governor, and could not be rented for a term exceed- 
 ing twelve years. In 1886, all grants for the purchase of 
 land in the northwestern provinces of Russia had to be re- 
 
84 Four Decades of Contention and Suffering 
 
 newed and approved by the governor. From 1870 to 1885 
 villagei's of the Roman Catholic faith were permitted to buy 
 only as much land as a family was able to work without the 
 assistance of hired laborers. Anyone suspected of having 
 taken part in ovations given visiting bishops could not get a 
 permit to buy land. In 1892, whole parishes (Sledzianovo 
 and Geraniunai) in the government of Grodno forfeited 
 their right to acquire land by having offered resistance to the 
 police when their churches were closed by the government. 
 The motives for such acts of stupidity are to be found in the 
 diary of the Committee of Ministers, dated 1884: To induce 
 people from Russia to settle in Lithuania, and to thus estab- 
 lish there a class of land owners loyal to Russia. Russians 
 received all manner of advantages when estates were sold 
 at auction or by private contract for the same reason. The 
 consequence of all this was a great economic depression and 
 indigence among the villagers. 
 
 The basic laws of Russia guaranty religious freedom to 
 all the inhabitants. The status of the Catholic Lithuanians, 
 however, shows that this was and is by no means the case. 
 The administration used various means of repression against 
 the clergy, because it considered the latter to be the dissemi- 
 nator of Polish ideas, and accorded unfair treatment to the 
 villagers, who did not participate in the revolt. From 1864 
 to 1878 crosses could be erected only in the cemeteries, al- 
 though the Lithuanians had a custom of erecting them in the 
 fields, villages and by the roadside. Moreover, it was speci- 
 fied that the crosses were to be wooden; for the erection of a 
 monument made of stone or metal the owner was fined or 
 forcibly made to remove same. From the year 1866 Catholic 
 processions were not allowed to be held outside the church- 
 yard, and only a certain mmiber of even these church-yard 
 processions could be held. Priests who disobeyed this de- 
 mand were fined from 10 to 100 rubles. Such rulings in- 
 creased the casualties resulting from the overcrowding of 
 churches whenever these processions were held. It was neces- 
 sary to get the consent of the Minister of the Interior, if the 
 people desired to build a new church, and from 1881 only 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 85 
 
 the governor-general could issue a permit for the repair of a 
 church or altar. From 1884 the bishops were permitted to 
 make visits in their own dioceses only with the permission of 
 the governor-general ; and when they made these visits, the 
 gendarmery followed their every step, their every utterance 
 and gesture. From 1881 the clergy were fined from one to 
 five hundred rubles if they held services in neighboring par- 
 ishes without the consent of the civil powers ; they were liable 
 to the same punishment for the preaching of uncensored 
 sermons, for making collections without the consent of the 
 local police, for failure to announce the comino" of gala days, 
 or for holding too early services on such days, and for the 
 holding of processions not entered in the schedule prepared 
 by the governor-general. According to Leliva, in 1893 and 
 1894 the clergy had paid Governor-General Orzevski fines 
 aggregating over 2,000 rubles. 
 
 From 1887 hymns could be sung only at the cemeteries in 
 conjunction with funeral services, and no banners or emblems, 
 save the crucifix, were allowed to be carried in the funeral 
 processions. In 1893, music made up a part of the ceremonies 
 in the burial of a certain villager ; for this the priest was fined 
 100 rubles, and the musicians were sentenced to three days in 
 jail, while the son of the deceased villager was obliged to 
 spend a whole week in confinement. From 1870 to 1887 
 religious instruction was given in the schools in the Russian 
 tongue only, and on gala days all the Catholic students were 
 compelled to attend the services in the Greek Orthodox 
 church. In 1889, the schoolboys of Kaunas, Sauliai, Pane- 
 vezis, etc., went out on strike as a protest to this unfair re- 
 quirement. Greek Orthodox hand-books of religious instruc- 
 tion were ordered for use in the schools ; the Catholics had to 
 use them also up to the year 1879. Since 1890 the Minister 
 of Instruction did not insist on any more religious instruction 
 for the Catholics, The brighter students were not permitted 
 to enter the clerical seminaries. All the teachers of the gym- 
 nasium had to be Greek Orthodox. The language, the his- 
 tory and the literature of the Lithuanians were excluded 
 from the curricula of the schools. Many churches were closed 
 
86 Four Decades of Contention and Suffering 
 
 without cause, as at Kraziai, where, in 1893, the villagers pro- 
 tested and bloodshed followed with over 150 victims among 
 the villagers. The same happened to the villagers at K§s- 
 taiciai in 1886. Some churches were even dynamited by the 
 government as at Geraniunai and Sledzianovo. Such bar- 
 barous and violent deeds could not help but arouse a feeling 
 of bitterness and unrest among theLithuanians. 
 
 The larger part of Lithuania, comprising the govern- 
 ments of Kaunas, Vilnius, Grodno and Suvalkai, parts of 
 Courland, Minsk and Vitebsk, is under Russian sway and 
 under the direct jurisdiction of the governor-general of Vil- 
 nius; the smaller part of the country, sometimes known as 
 East Prussia, is under German rule. The Lithuanian na- 
 tion, but recently revived, is making its way fearlessly de- 
 spite the unusual handicaps. The Lithuanian spirit became 
 restless in the time of the Polish insurrection, and since the 
 liberation of the serfs. Though Polonized, Lithuania, never- 
 theless, had a literature. Besides the Bible and other re- 
 ligious works which were printed when the wave of Protest- 
 antism spread over the country, Lithuania had an extensive 
 literature of a polemical and theological character in the 
 native tongue. The centers for the Protestant publications 
 were Kedainei, Tilze and Konigsberg, for the Catholic — 
 Vilnius. The first manifestation of national consciousness 
 occurred in 1824, when Prof. Rheza, of Konigsberg, pub- 
 lished a translation of Aesop's Fables, and in the year fol- 
 lowing, when he issued a collection of Lithuanian ballads. In 
 1818 he had published a lengthy poem of Duonelaitis', en- 
 titled "The Four Seasons." In 1849, Prof. Kursaitis began 
 to issue a Lithuanian newspaper, called "Keleivis" (the 
 Traveler). Among other workers in East Prussia were 
 Prof. Gisevius, Dr. Sauerwein, Pastor Kelkis and many 
 others. In Greater Lithuania the following distinguished 
 themselves by their writings; D. Poskevicius, S. Stane- 
 vicius, S. Daukantas, Ivinskas and Bishop Valancauskas. 
 The first Lithuanian almanac appeared in Prussia in 1846, 
 and in Vilnius in 1847. Daukantas (+ 1864) Avill be remem- 
 bered as the translator of Fedro's Fables and the History of 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 87 
 
 Cornelius Nepos; his monumental works, entitled "The Cus- 
 toms of the Ancient Lithuanians" and "A History of Li- 
 thuania" will ever be a source of delight to the patriotic Li- 
 thuanian. This feeling of National consciousness rose first 
 from the gentry, and then took root among the villagers. 
 Following the abolition of serfdom men born of peasant stock 
 came forward and opened up a new future of literary activ- 
 ity. But the Lithuanians, caught unawares, received a well- 
 nigh fatal blow from the government — Lithuanian books 
 printed in the Latin characters were prohibited. This most 
 stupid prohibition lasted from 1864 to 1904 — forty long 
 years. The Latin alphabet was considered the prime mover 
 of disobedience, revolt and disloyalty. By forbidding the 
 use of the Latin alphabet, Muravyov hoped, or rather ex- 
 pected, to curb the spirit of revolt; with the compulsory use 
 of the "grazhdanka" he expected the easy and rapid Rus- 
 sianization of the Lithuanian people to follow. But since 
 the Latin alphabet was absolutely indispensable for the rep- 
 resentation of the Lithuanian language in writing, a mere 
 prohibition of the police could not undo the work of centuries. 
 So in 1864 the publication of Lithuanian books and news- 
 papers was transferred from Greater Lithuania to Lithuania 
 Minor. Tilze, or Tilsit, as the Germans prefer to call it, now 
 became the principal center of Lithuanian publication. From 
 this time on, whatever was printed in Lithuania Minor was 
 smuggled into Lithuania Proper and distributed among the 
 people. This prohibition inhibited to a large degree the nor- 
 mal growth of education and literature in Lithuania. One 
 should not forget that in 1795, when Lithuania was added to 
 Russia, and in 1815, when the congress of Vienna met, Li- 
 thuania had been guaranteed all her previous rights, and 
 hence the use of the Latin alphabet. 
 
 According to the Ukase of 1864, instruction in the pri- 
 mary schools was to be given in the national language of the 
 inhabitants, not even excepting Russia. But even in the gov- 
 ernment of Suvalkai this was not the case. In 1871 Count 
 (not Leo) Tolstoy verbally commanded the teachers to bring 
 the Russian language into use everywhere, and in this man- 
 
88 Four Decades of Contention and Suffering 
 
 ner he got around the law. In 1869, the Committee of Min- 
 isters decided to retain the Polish language in the religious 
 instruction of the Polish youth in the gymnasiums, but the 
 Lithuanians even of the government of Suvalkai still re- 
 ceived their religious instruction exclusively in Russian and 
 were compelled to use Russian prayer-books, which were 
 published by the Vilnius district of instruction. 
 
 According to the decree of the Synod of Clairmont, in 
 Catholic parishes of mixed population, additional services 
 must be held in the language of the majority of the inhabi- 
 tants. The Russian "workers" themselves arrived at the 
 conclusion that it was a mistake to introduce the Russian lan- 
 guage in the extra services of the Catholic churches. And 
 yet as late as 1886 even the Committee of Ministers was 
 afraid of granting the request of the Lithuanians, who de- 
 sired the use of the Lithuanian language in ethnographical 
 Lithuania. In many parishes the Latin language is used, in 
 others the Polish is favored, although the Lithuanian parish- 
 ioners understand neither the one nor the other ; and this con- 
 dition not infrequently leads to misunderstandings between 
 the parishioners and their pastors, and occasionally even to 
 bloodshed within the walls of the church. 
 
 Up to 1905 the Lithuanian language was excluded from 
 the lower and higher schools of Lithuania. In the clerical 
 seminaries the native tongue was taught in a most prepos- 
 terous manner — preposterous because the Russian alphabet 
 was obligatory. 
 
 Because of this policy of Muravyov the Lithuanian press 
 disappeared from the native land altogether and had to seek 
 refuge in East Prussia and the United States of America, 
 From 1883 to 1905 the Lithuanian press flourished in Ger- 
 many. "Ausra" (Dawn), "gviesa" (The Light), "Apz- 
 valga" (Review), "Varpas" (The Bell), "Ukininkas bei 
 Naujienos" (Farm and News), "Darbininkij Balsas" (The 
 Workmen's Voice), "Tevynes Sargas" (The Country's 
 Guard), etc. were, printed in Tilze alone. "Lietuviskasis 
 Balsas" (The Lithuanian Voice), "Vienybe" (The Union), 
 "Lietuva" (Lithuania), "Garsas" (The Clarion), "Rytas" 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 89 
 
 (Morning), "Kardas" (The Sword),"NaujaGadyne" (The 
 New Era), "Apsvieta" (Enlightenment), "Tevyne" (The 
 Fatherland), "Dirva" (The Soil), "Pennsylvanijos Dar- 
 bininkas" (The Pennsylvania Workman), "Saule" (The 
 Sun), "Ateitis" (The Future), "^vaigzde" (The Star), etc., 
 were published in America. All of the above periodicals 
 were disseminated in that part of Lithuania which is under 
 Russian sway — a fact which shows the futility of a great 
 power's effort to denationalize a people who are bound to 
 defend their rights come what may. 
 
 Raids, search, fines, imprisonment, and deportations to 
 Siberia were matters of everyday occurrence. There was a 
 steady rise from year to year in the number of confiscated 
 books: From 1891 to 1893, 37,718 Lithuanian books were 
 confiscated at the custom houses on the frontier; from 1894 
 to 1896 the number was 40,335 copies; from 1897 to 1899 
 the number fell to 39,024, and from 1900 to 1902 it rose to 
 $6,182. Every year huge piles of books were burned up in 
 the market place in Vilnius. Yet the Russian government 
 posed as a disseminator of civilization. 
 
 The Russian government, unable to curb the activity of 
 the Lithuanians, arranged an understanding with Germany. 
 The government hoped to be able to cope with the situation 
 by a prohibition of the Lithuanian press abroad. In 1897, 
 while visiting at Peterhof, Kaiser Wilhelm II. gave his full 
 consent to the scheme. In Tilsit a special political police 
 agent was appointed. This agent could enlist the services 
 of the district attorneys of Konigsberg and Tilsit at will, and 
 was also given the right to communicate directly with the 
 Russian authorities on the frontier whenever he deemed it ex- 
 pedient to do so. Such was the combined effort of Germany 
 and Russia to snuff the ardor of the workers who had re- 
 generated Lithuania. This policy resulted in an interesting 
 lawsuit in the city of Konigsberg against five Lithuanians 
 who were arrested for maintaining depots of Lithuanian 
 literature and for smuggling books and newspapers into Li- 
 thuania Proper. The Berlin daily, "Vorwaerts," took up the 
 cause of the Lithuanians and changed entirely the complex- 
 
90 Four Decades of Contention and Suffering 
 
 ion of the lawsuit — not the five Lithuanians, but the Czar 
 himself was on trial for his inhuman and senseless policy 
 toward the Lithuanians (1902) . Not only did the people win 
 a great moral victory, but the newspapers brought the ter- 
 rible spiritual sufferings of the Lithuanian people before the 
 eyes of the Western World. 
 
 When the night ^vas darkest, the book smugglers would 
 emerge from their haunts along the frontier and bring the 
 people light. They were especially active during the rainy 
 seasons. The system demanded men of untiring zeal and de- 
 votion and found them in Svedas, Bielakas, Antanavicius, 
 Mikolainis and many others. Having passed the line of fron- 
 tier guards, these men would hand their bundles to trusted 
 men who carried the literature to the secret depots of distri- 
 bution in the very depths of the country. The authors of 
 these books and papers — intellectuals and priests — did not 
 ask for compensation. Among them we might mention Dr. 
 J. Basanavicius, P. Vileisis, Dr. V. Kudirka, P. Visinskas, 
 Biliunas, Vaicaitis, Macys, Sernas, and Rev. Tumas. In 
 America, two large organizations — "Tevynes Myletojij 
 Draugyste" (Lovers of the Fatherland) and the Lithuanian 
 Alliance of America — gained the everlasting gratitude of 
 the Lithuanian people by publishing at their own expense 
 books for gratuitous distribution in Lithuania. The ultimate 
 distribution was entrusted to special agents, though, not in- 
 frequently, beggars, Jewish peddlars, farmers, laborers, 
 teachers and the clergy did this work willingly. Of course, 
 the Russian government stationed spies everywhere, and 
 many arrests may be attributed to their activity. In 1898, 
 1899 and 1901 there were hundreds of people involved in law- 
 suits of a political nature. 
 
 Eventually the government became aware of the futility 
 of its oiminal work. All difficulties and persecutions not- 
 withstanding, Lithuanian books and newspapers Imported 
 from abroad enjoyed a wide circulation and the discontent of 
 the people gradually grew more potent. Then it was that 
 Governor- General Sviatopolk-Mirskij, anticipating a revolt 
 of the people, recommended the restoration of the press to 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 91 
 
 the Lithuanians. And so, on May seventh, 1904, the Senate 
 passed a decree which set the prohibition aside. Thus did a. 
 little virile nation make the great power come to terms. 
 
 XI. THE OUTLOOK. 
 
 The period of the suppression of the Lithuanian press 
 witnessed the rise of the educational society among the peo- 
 ple. "Atgaja" (Restoration), "Lietuva" (Lithuania), 
 "Ausrine" (Morning Dawn), "Teisybe" (Truth), "Sie- 
 tynas" (The Pleiades), "Darzelis" (The Garden), "Spin- 
 dulys" (The Ray), "^iburelis" (Light), "Vienybe" 
 (Union), "Artojij Draugyste" (The Ploughmen's Society), 
 etc., are the names of a few of such educational organizations 
 which sprang up among the people in spite of the govern- 
 ment's measures of repression. Some of these societies gave 
 scholarships to poor and worthy students at various universi- 
 ties. The police discovered that Sietynas was doing just this 
 work; a lawsuit followed, and the. customary pxmishment was 
 meted out to hundreds of the "offenders." 
 
 Following the year of 1904, hundreds of new elementary 
 schools and several classical and pro-gymnasiums for boys 
 and girls were established. The Lithuanian students were 
 now at liberty to organize their circles openly. In St. Peters- 
 burg and Moscow, Warsaw and Kiev, Dorpat and Riga, 
 topics in history, literature, and economics were discussed 
 openly in the students' sessions. Yet the Russian govern- 
 ment refused to restore the University of Vilnius and paid no 
 heed to the fact that the Lithuanians demanded the restora- 
 tion for years and had shown the sincerity of their demand 
 by collecting funds for same. 
 
 As soon as the Lithuanians were given their right of the 
 press, a number of newspapers sprang into existence. "Vil- 
 niaus^inios" (The Vilnius Daily News), "Ukininkas" (The 
 Farmer), "Lietuvos ^inios (Lithuanian News), "Viltis" 
 (Hope), "Lietuviij Tauta" (The Lithuanian Nation), 
 
92 The Outlook 
 
 Bitininkas (The Bee-Keeper), "Vairas" (The Rudder)— in 
 the city of Vilnius, "Lietuviij Laikrastis" (The Lithuanians' 
 Magazine) — in St. Petersburg, "Rygos Garsas" (The Echo 
 of Riga) and "Rygos Naujienos" (The Riga News), in the 
 City of Riga, the clerical "§altinis" (The Fountain), in 
 Seinai, the monthly "Draugija" (Society) — in Kaunas, etc. 
 Besides the newspapers, singing societies, farmer's circles, 
 co-operative store associations, numerous societies of credit 
 and two banks, one in Vilnius, the other in Kaunas, with 
 numerous branches in the smaller towns, began to thrive. 
 Great stress was put on the organization of young peoples' 
 educational circles. The Lithuanian Society of Art and The 
 Society of Science in Vilnius. Any nation could be proud 
 of the excellence of the literary output of this reawakened 
 nation, ^emaite (The Samogetian), Bite (The Bee) Laz- 
 dymj Peleda (The Hazel Owl), Satrijos Ragana (The 
 Witch of Satrija) are the pseudonyms of some of Lithu- 
 ania's gifted women novelists. The clergy have contributed 
 not a few gifted poets and authors, among them are Maironis, 
 Dambrauskas, Margalis, Gustaitis and Tumas. The poets 
 Vaicaitis, Steponaitis, Jovaras, Vaitkus, Gira, and Tumenas 
 in Lithuania, and JVIacj^s, Jurgelionis, Rackauskas, Baniulis 
 and many others in America have attained considerable re- 
 nown. Daugirdas and Rev. 2;iogs are excellent archaeolo- 
 gists. The late Bishop Baranauskas, the late Rev. Jaunis, 
 the late Bytautas, Jablonskis, and Buga are the names of 
 Lithuania's remarkable crop of philologists. Nor is there a 
 dearth of composers as the names of the following will at- 
 test: Mikas Petrauskas in America, Naujalis, Simkus, Stan- 
 kevicius and Tallat-Kelpsa in Lithuania. Ciurlionis, P. 
 Rimsa, ^muidzinavicius, Kalpokas, Varnas, Braks of East 
 Prussia, and Sileika and Dulbis of America are the deserv- 
 ing names in sculpture, painting and illustration. Dr. John 
 Basanavicius, INI. Birziska, Janulaitis and J. Gabrys are 
 specialists in the history of the Lithuanian nation. P. Vi- 
 leisis, Smetona, Leonas, Dr. Grinius, Dr. Garmus, Dr. Mat- 
 ulaitis, and Dovydaitis, of Lithuania, and Sernas, §irvydas, 
 Laukis, Balutis, Rimka, Smelstorius, Vitkauskas and many 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 93 
 
 others of America are popular as journalists or as writers 
 on topics of general interest. Among the dramatists I 
 should not forget to mention the late Alexander Fromas 
 (Guzutis), and Gab. Landsbergis as the organizer of the- 
 atrical circles, especially the "Vilnius Kankles." 
 
 The Lithuanian nation has at least established its vitality. 
 Moreover, the Lithuanians have given Poland some of her 
 greatest citizens: Kosciuszko, Odyniec, Mickiewicz, 
 Chodzko, Kraszewski, Domeiko, Karlowicz, Mme. Orzeszko, 
 Miss Skirmunt, B. Limanovski, Miss M. Rodziewicz, not to 
 mention numerous statesmen, historians, novelists, painters 
 and men of science. Even Henryk Sienkiewicz is of Lithu- 
 anian extraction. In Russia P. Vileisis ranks very high in 
 the field of civil engineering, and the poet Baltrusaitis is con- 
 sidered as being of the first rank. Jasiukaitis is famous as a 
 short-story-writer in both his native and his adopted (the 
 Russian) tongue. Many a German statesman and author is 
 of "Old Prussian," i. e., of Lithuanian descent. Nicholas 
 Copernicus was neither a Pole nor a German, but an Old 
 Prussian. The German poet Simon Dach, the writer Gott- 
 sched, the philosophers Herder and Em. Kant, etc., were 
 Germanized Lithuanians. The writer has mentioned many' 
 names to show that the Lithuanians — the very oldest of the 
 living white races — are still full of vigor and very much 
 alive, and, that all that is needed for the nation's develop- 
 ment, is independence. 
 
 In 1905, when Russia was swept by the revolution, the 
 Lithuanians called a convention in the city of Vilnius. More 
 than 2,000 delegates from societies, parishes, communes and 
 towns attended this important convention. The first act of 
 this large body of serious men was to pay its solemn respect 
 to those who had fallen in their country's cause. On Decem- 
 ber fourth and fifth, 1905, the convention passed resolutions 
 advocating free education, freedom of organization and the 
 urgency of fighting the bureaucracy of Russia. But this was 
 not all. It demanded an autonomy for Lithuania with a 
 Diet in the city of Vilnius, and that the representatives of 
 that Diet were to be chosen without distinction of sex, race 
 
94 The Outlook 
 
 or creed. This Diet of autonomous Lithuania was also to 
 contain a representation of the neighboring races — with 
 equal privileges for all — if they expressed a desire for it by 
 a plebiscite. The re-annexation of the government of 
 Suvalkai was an important demand. A federation with 
 other autonomous races — in Russia and elsewhere — was ad- 
 vocated and approved. Not long after, in February, 1906, 
 the Lithuanians of America held a similar convention in the 
 city of Philadelphia, which was attended by 169 delegates 
 from all parts of the United States. Besides approving the 
 demands of the convention held in Vilnius, the Phildelphia 
 assembly advocated the establishment of a Letto-Lithuanian 
 Republic with the seat of government in Riga, Vilnius or 
 Konigsberg, thereby joining all the branches of the Lithu- 
 Lett race into an independent body politic. The establish- 
 ment of national universities in Vilnius and in Konigsberg 
 is a conditio sine qua non of the whole Lithuanian nation. 
 
 In the present titanic war in Europe, 400,000 Lithuanian 
 sons are in the field — some fighting for the glory of Russia, 
 others for the glory of Germany. The feelings and the de- 
 sires of these reluctant warriors cannot be very different 
 from the feelings and the desires which animate those of 
 us who live in the felicitous American Republic. Americans 
 of Lithuanian extraction uphold the policy of neutrality as 
 expressed by President Wilson, the head of this great re- 
 public, and hope that at the conclusion of this appalling war, 
 the American government will be able to play an important 
 part in the settlement of the existent grievances among the 
 various nations and races to the best interests of the world 
 at large. 
 
 In conclusion, it might be of interest to say a few words 
 about the Lithuanians in America. There are approximately 
 700,000 Lithuanians in Canada and the United States. The 
 larger colonies are to be found in Chicago, New York, Phil- 
 adelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Pittsburgh, and in the cities 
 and the towns of the coal regions. 
 
 The Americaa Lithnauians are of various political 
 affiliation concerning American politics. A deep interest 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 95 
 
 concerning the affairs and the condition of their mother 
 country has caused them to spht into three distinct Lithu- 
 anian parties: 1. the Social-Democratic, 2. the Clerical, 
 and 3, the National. 
 
 As to the Social-Democrats, judging from the views they 
 have expressed in their five newspapers and in the conven- 
 tion held in Brooklyn, N. Y., in October, 1914-, it is evident 
 that they do not expect any material changes after the war, 
 excepting, of course, those Which the Social-Democratic 
 Party thinks it is certain of bringing about by a future revo- 
 lution. However, an occasional comment in some of their 
 newspapers show a slight leaning in favor of the Germans. 
 
 The Clerical or the Roman Catholic Party is composed 
 of the Lithuanian clergy (about 150 in number) and their 
 immediate followers. They control four weekly publica- 
 tions. Their chief organization — The Lithuanian Roman 
 Catholic Union — has over 8,000 members. From their prin- 
 cipal organ — the weekly "Draugas" (Friend) — and from 
 some of their circulars, one can readily see that their sym- 
 pathies are decidedly in Russia's favor. The leading Cleri- 
 cal periodical — "Draugija" (Society), published in Kaunas, 
 Lithuania — has not infrequently observed that the Lithu- 
 anians are merely tenants of the Russian Czar, and that he, 
 being their landlord, can do with them as he pleases. The 
 Lithuanian Clericals in America, however, have displayed 
 a decided desire for autonomy under Russian suzerainty. To 
 foster this purpose, they maintain an agent, Mr. Joseph 
 Gabrys, in Paris, who conducts the Lithuanian Bureau of 
 Information there, and who carries on a vigorous propa- 
 ganda for the program of his party in the periodicals of 
 France, Italy and England. 
 
 The National Party was launched but recently. The 
 membership of the Lithuanian Alliance of America (having 
 about 10,000 members) is in large part made up of this 
 group, but expectations of the National Party are more com- 
 prehensive. First, they firmly believe that all Lithuanians, 
 be they under Russian or German (East Prussia) sway, 
 should, together with the Letts of the JBaltic Provinces, con- 
 
96 The Outlook 
 
 stitute a unit. This unit would consist of at least 7,000,000 
 people. It is expected that the Letto-Lithuanian country- 
 shall be organized into a distinct political state — a Letto- 
 Lithuanian Republic with the capital at Vilnius, Riga or 
 Konigsberg. This party is neutral concerning the purposes 
 of Germany and Russia in the present war. Not only does 
 it mistrust both Germany and Russia fully, but it does not 
 expect the republic as a gift from them. Since the Lithu- 
 anians cannot fight for their liberty under the present cir- 
 cumstances, they have arrived at an understanding with the 
 members and descendants in America of the various op- 
 pressed nationalities in Europe and have established the 
 International League for Equity and Freedom. The aim of 
 this organization is to enlist the sympathies of the people 
 of the United States, and through them and the good of- 
 fices of the government of the United States they hope to 
 have their righteous and humane aspirations presented be- 
 fore the Peace Congress at the conclusion of the war. 
 
 Through the good offices of the governments of the 
 United States of America and other neutral liberty -loving 
 nations, the Lithuanians hope to attain freedom for the 
 Letto-Lithuanian race. But if the Lithuanians were forced 
 to make a choice between either Russia or Germany, it would 
 be extremely difficult at present to tell whether they would 
 prefer the hammer or the anvil. The Lithuanians have suf- 
 fered throughout the ages from German encroachments — 
 the writer needs only to remind the reader of the fate of the 
 Old Prussians, of the Letts, and of the Germanization, even 
 of Lithuania IVIinor (East Prussia) . They have suffered no 
 less from Russia, as has been shown in the foregoing pages. 
 In both countries the Lithuanians were prohibited from hav- 
 ing their own schools where they could teach their history, 
 literature and language. With the National Party at least 
 the question The Hammer or the Anvil? still remains open. 
 
 All three parties agree that Lithuania should not, under 
 any circumstances whatsoever, share in a common autonomy 
 or independence with Poland. Utter incompatibility be- 
 tween the Poles and the Lithuanians in language, social 
 
Lithuania in Retrospect and Prospect. 97 
 
 aims, and racial descent precludes a peaceful and mutually 
 beneficial growth for both nations if they should have to 
 guide their future ships of states in common. The Poles 
 have been terribly persecuted themselves, and yet, simul- 
 taneously with the horrors inflicted upon them, they have 
 persecuted the Lithuanians and the Ukrainians. The Lith- 
 uanians wish Poland the best success in her quest for inde- 
 pendence and happiness. But they demand that Poland 
 keep her hands off the governments of Suvalkai and those 
 parts of the governments of Grodno, Minsk and Vitebsk, 
 which are inhabited by Lithuanians. 
 
 All three parties are engaged in a pleasant competition 
 collecting funds for the war sufferers in Lithuania. 
 
^^^' 
 
 % <^- -^ 
 
 ^mm 
 
 ^? 
 
 
 /^^] 
 
 6 * '.': 
 
 ^**1? 
 
 •^i^m^ 
 
 
 v»j •'rfi 
 
 f. ^■'^^■'^-^^^Z^" 
 
 '^m^ 
 
 "^"^M 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 .<*# 
 
 "1^^^ 
 .s*^^ 
 
 'i'-*.* 
 
 ^■;i'.'' 
 
 ^^s^ 
 
 ..■2'^^ 
 
 
 ^^^i 
 
 
 
 '*it3k£iMSs^'