Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/232

204 lamb. On Sunday, 27th November, Makar, who went to General Kosciuszko to bring my dinner, being on duty in the evening, entered my room beaming with joy and more than half drunk. He told me that on that very day the Emperor himself had paid a visit to the General, and informed him that he was free, as well as all the other Polish prisoners; that there was a great feast in the kitchen, that every body was regaling himself, and that he had been feasted too. He related the circumstances of this visit, but in his own manner, that is to say, so that I could hardly understand the half of it. I made out only that the ministers were at first opposed to Marshal Potocki’s release and mine, but that the Emperor decided like a master, and wished us all to be free. My joy was beyond all description; I did not wish to give drink to my friend Makar, for he had drunk enough already, but I made him a present of a shirt and a handkerchief.

On the following day, Monday, the 28th, nothing new. On Tuesday, I was