Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/151

Rh Russian bayonets arriving, trembled upon his throne, and put in operation all his petty intrigues, in order to prevail upon the Diet and the nation to remain in their former lethargy. But the impulse was already given; promises, exhortations, the succour of the King of Prussia, who seemed to offer it with such good faith, and particularly the fear of seeing the nation rise against him, compelled the King at last to comply with the wishes of the Diet. The constitution of the 3d of May securing him, instead of the empty title of King, a truly monarchical authority, shewed him the difference between his being united with the nation and his living in a cowardly manner under foreign guardianship. During eighteen months, he seemed to labour with zeal and sincerity for the weal of his kingdom; the nation forgot his former faults, and made an idol of him. In 1792, on the first rumour of the invasion meditated by Russia, so high was his enthusiasm, that he swore he would go with his white horses, put himself at the head of the army, and save the state or die