Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/30

2 the Polish revolution of 1794, a revolution as just and sacred in its causes and principles, as it was fatal in its consequences to the country and the individuals who took part in it, would offer interesting narratives and useful lessons; but deprived, as I am, of every kind of necessary materials, I find that task above my power; I cannot, besides, trust to my memory, and still less to my abilities; I will, therefore, confine myself here to the relation of the principal incidents of my imprisonment, from the time which preceded the fatal day of the 10th October, 1794, until the epoch when the death of a dissolute Empress, the usurper of my country, broke my fetters.

The intrepidity with which our troops defended the fortifications of Warsaw, during the two months of the siege, the rainy season, and the insurrection in Great Poland, had compelled the combined armies of the Russians and Prussians to retreat from the