Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Thomas Berger, and the
Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
or, KRZYZACY
Historical Romance
By HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ
Author Of "Quo Vadis," "The Deluge," "With Fire And Sword,"
"Pan Michael," Etc., Etc.
Translated From The Original Polish By Samuel A. Binion
Author Of "Ancient Egypt," Etc. Translator Of "Quo Vadis," Etc.
[Illustration: BUST OF HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ]
Commissioner of Education
My Dear Doctor:—
This translation, of one of the greatest novels of Poland's foremostmodern writer, Henryk Sienkiewicz, I beg to dedicate to you. Apart for myhigh personal regard for you, my reason for selecting you among all myliterary friends, is: that you are a historian and philosopher, and cantherefore best appreciate works of this kind.
New York City.
To the Reader.
Here you have, gentle reader—old writers always called yougentle—something very much more than a novel to amuse an idle hour. Toread it will be enjoyable pastime, no doubt; but the brilliant romance ofthe brilliant author calls upon you for some exercise of the finestsympathy and intelligence; sympathy for a glorious nation which, withonly one exception, has suffered beyond all other nations; intelligence,of the sources of that unspeakable and immeasurable love and of the greatthings that may yet befall before those woes are atoned for and duepunishment for them meted out to their guilty authors.
Poland! Poland! The very name carries with it sighings and groanings,nation-murder, brilliance, beauty, patriotism, splendors, self-sacrificethrough generations of gallant men and exquisite women; indomitableendurance of bands of noble people carrying through world-wide exile thesacred fire of wrath against the oppressor, and uttering in every clime acry of appeal to Humanity to rescue Poland.
It was indeed a terrible moment in history, when the three militarymonarchies of Europe, Russia, Austria and Prussia, swooped down upon theglorious but unhappy country, torn by internal trouble, and determined tokill it and divide up its dominions. All were alike guilty, as far asmotive went. But Holy Russia—Holy!—since that horrible time has takenupon herself by far the greatest burden of political crime in herdealings with that noble nation. Every evil passion bred of despotism, oftheological hatred, of rancorous ancient enmities, and the ghastliestofficial corruption, have combined in Russian action for more than onehundred and fifty years, to turn Poland into a hell on earth. Her verylanguage was proscribed.
This is not the place to give details of that unhappy country's woes. Butsuffice it to say, that Poland, in spite of fatuous prohibitions, has hada great literature since the loss of her independence, and thatliterature has so kept alive the soul of the nation, that with justicePoland sings her great patriotic song:
"Poland is not yet lost
As long as we live…."
The nation is still alive in its writers and their works, their splendidpoetry and prose.
It is a pity that so few of these great writers are widely known. Butmost people have heard of Jan Kochanowski, of Mikolaj Rey, of Rubinski,of Szymanowicz, of Poland's