Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/190

162 that the commander of such an army could no longer be looked upon as a shoemaker. He promised to levy a regiment from the citizens of Warsaw, was made their Colonel, and nothing could have been done better; for he procured at first one thousand men to our army, and then, being engaged with his military duties, he seldom attended the council, of which he was a member, thus sparing us many disputes and delays in the debates. It was strange to see young men of the first families, who held but the commission of Lieutenant or Captain, calling upon Colonel Kilinski in the business of the service, and paying him all the respect due to his rank. People wondered at those things in France; but in Poland, where the aristocracy was at its zenith, and the people were scarcely looked upon, such an instance struck many with horror.

Kilinski, retaining the propensities of his early profession, was in the habit of getting tipsy; and having once a dispute with Colonel Granowski, he gave orders to his