perate in the other parts both in summer and winter, and the weather in both more settled than in many other countries. The face of the country is for the most part level, and the hills are but few. The Crapack or Carpathian mountains separate it from Hungary on the south. The soil is very fruitful both in corn and pasturage, hemp and flax. Such is the luxuriance of the pastures in Podolia, that it is said one can hardly see the cattle that are grazing in the meadows. Vast quantities of corn are yearly sent down the Vistula to Dantzic, from all parts of Poland, and bought up chiefly by the Dutch. The eastern part of the country is full of woods, forests, lakes, marshes, and rivers; of the last of which, the most considerable in Poland are the Vistula, Nieper, Niester, Duna, Bog, Warta, and Memel. The metals found in this country are iron and lead, with some tin, gold, and silver; but there are no mines of the two last wrought at present. The other products of Poland are most sorts of precious stones, ochre of all kinds, fine rock-crystal, Muscovy glass, talc, alum, saltpetre, amber, pitcoal, quicksilver, spar, sal-gem, lapis calaminaris, and vitriol. In Lesser Poland are salt mines, which are the chief riches of the country, and bring most money into the exchequer. In the woods, which consist mostly of oak, beech, pine, and fir-trees, besides the more common wild beasts, are elks, wild asses, wild oxen or uri, lynxes, wild horses, wild sheep with one horn, bisons, hyænas,, wild goats, and buffaloes. In the meadows and fenny ground is gathered a kind of manna; and the kermesberries produced in this country are used both in dyeing and medicine. Poland. months, was compelled to retire towards his own territories, with the loss of 20,000. Here he was harassed for some time by Madalinsky with a small corps of cavalry. Kosciusko, relieved from the Prussians, marched against the new Russian armies, which, during the siege of Warsaw, had reconquered Lithuania and Volhynia. But the battle of Noezylac, on the 10th October 1794, in which the Poles fought with heroic resolution against overpowering numbers, proved fatal to that unhappy country. Kosciusko was made prisoner, and carried to Petersburgh, where he remained confined in a dungeon till the death of Catherine. The Russians, after this event, united their forces and marched upon Warsaw, where the Poles had named Wawrzecky general in chief. Though he had only 10,000 men to oppose 50,000, an obstinate resistance was made. At length the suburb named Prague was taken by assault, and the city surrendered. Nine thousand Poles fell in the fight; 30,000 persons of all ages and either sex were destroyed in cold blood; and 30,000 more, who still refused to submit, were suffered to leave the place, and afterwards hunted down by the soldiery on every side. The most distinguished chiefs were carried away to distant provinces; the wretched king was sent to Russia, where he soon after died, not without suspicious circumstances. The two powers were proceeding to divide between them the remaining provinces, when Austria interfered, and declared that she could not permit the destruction of Poland unless she received a share, At that moment it was not thought prudent to raise up a new enemy; and Austria obtained a considerable addition of territory without having struck a blow or expended a florin. The negociations continued till 1795, when the definitive treaty of partition was signed, which closed a series of transactions unparalleled, for perfidy, cruelty, and infamy, in the annals of Europe. The total acquisitions of each power, from the first dismemberment in 1772 to the final partition in 1795, were as follows:-(Mentelle et Malte Brun, Geog. iv. 402.) Sq. miles. Poland when entire contained, 290,000 Russia obtained Prussia obtained Austria obtained 176,000 51,000 Inhabitants. 12,000,000 5,764,400 2,596,400 63,000 3,600,000 At the peace of Tilsit in 1807, Prussia lost threefourths of her Polish conquests, which were erected into a principality, under the name of the Duchy of Warsaw. The sovereignty of this duchy was given to the king of Saxony. At the peace of Presburg in 1809, Austria was also compelled to cede a portion of her acquisitions to the duchy of Warsaw. After the peace of Paris in 1814, Prussia recovered a part of what she had lost; and, at the congress of Vienna in 1815, the duchy was raised to the rank of a kingdom, under the name of the kingdom of Poland, the crown of which was annexed to that of Russia. No part of the original acquisitions of Russia is included in this kingdom, which consists entirely of the parts ceded by Prussia and Austria. It contained in 1815 about 47,000 square English miles, and 2,793,000 inhabitants. In 1818 the kingdom of Poland received from the emperor Alexander a representative constitution, founded on principles similar to those of the constitution of 1791. The air of this country is cold in the north, but temVOL. XVII. Part I. classes of inhabi tants. 156 The inhabitants consist of nobles, citizens, and pea- Different sants. The first possess great privileges, which they enjoy partly by the indulgence of their kings, and partly by ancient custom and prescription. Some of them have the title of prince, count, or baron; but no superiority or pre-eminence on that account over the rest, which is only to be obtained by some public post or dignity. Formerly they had the power of life and death over their vassals; paid no taxes; were subject to none but the king; had a right to all mines and salt-works on their estates; to all offices and employments, civil, military, and ecclesiastic; could not be cited or tried out of the kingdom; might choose whom they will for their king, and lay him under what restraints they please by the Pacta Conventa ; and none but they and the burghers of some particular towns can purchase lands. The Polish tongue is a dialect of the Sclavonic: (see Language. PHILOLOGY, N° 222.). It is neither copious nor harmonious. Many of the words, as they are written, have not a single vowel in them; but the High Dutch and Latin are understood, and spoken pretty commonly, though incorrectly. The language in Lithuania differs much from that of the other provinces. True learning, and the study of the arts and sciences, have been little attended to in Poland, till of late they began to be regarded with a more favourable eye, and to be not only patronized, but cultivated, by several of the nobles and others, both laymen and ecclesiastics. tures, 157 158 There are few or no manufactures in the kingdom, if Manufao. we except some linen and woollen cloths and hardwares; and the whole trade is confined to the city of Dantzic, and other towns on the Vistula or Baltic. 159 Before the troubles, the king's revenue was all clear Revenue. to himself, for he paid no troops, not even his own M guards; Poland guards; but all the forces, as well as the officers of state were paid by the republic. The public revenues arose chiefly from the crown-lands, the salt-mines in the palatinate of Cracow, from the rents of Marienburg, Dirshau, and Regenhus, from the government of Cracow, and district of Niepolomiez, and from ancient tolls and customs, particularly those of Elbing and Dantzic. 160 Order of knighthood. 161 Forces. The order of the White Eagle was instituted by Augustus II. in the year 1755. Its ensign is a cross of gold enamelled with red, and appendant to a blue ribbon. The motto, Pro fide, rege, et lege. The standing forces of Poland were divided into the crown-army, and that of Lithuania, consisting of horse and foot, and amounting to between 20,000 and 30,000 men. These troops were mostly cantoned on the crownlands, and in Poland were paid by a capitation or polltax; but in Lithuania other taxes were levied for this purpose. Most of the foot were Germans. On any sudden and imminent danger, the whole body of the nobility, with their vassals, was obliged to appear in the field on horseback; and the cities and towns furnished a certain number of foot-soldiers, with carriages, and military stores: but for want of proper arm3, provisions, subordination, and discipline, and by being at liberty after a few weeks to return home, this body proved but of little advantage to the republic. Dantzic is the only place in the Polish dominions that deserves the name of a fortress, and it fell to the possession of Prussia. Foreign auxiliaries were not to be brought into the kingdom, nor the national troops to march out of it, without the consent of the states. Such was the military establishment of Poland before the partition Character treaty. 162 of the people. The Poles are personable men, and have good complexions. They are esteemed a brave, honest people, without dissimulation, and exceedingly hospitable. They clothe themselves in furs in winter, and over all they throw a short cloak. No people keep grander equipages than the gentry. They look upon themselves as so many sovereign princes; and have their guards, bands of music, and keep open houses: but the lower sort of people are poor abject wretches, in the lowest state of slavery. The exercises of the gentry are hunting, riding, dancing, vaulting, &c. They reside mostly upon their estates in the country; and maintain themselves and families by agriculture, breeding of bees, and grazing. POLAR, in general, something relating to the poles of the world, or the poles of artificial globes. POLAR Regions, those parts of the world which lie near the north and south poles. See the article POLE. POLARITY, the quality of a thing considered as having poles, or a tendency to turn itself into one certain position; but chiefly used in speaking of the magnet. POLE, REGINALD, cardinal, and archbishop of Canterbury, a younger son of Sir Rich. Pole, Lord Montague, was born at Stoverton castle, in Staffordshire, in the year 1500. At seven years of age he was sent to a Carthusian monastery at Shene, near Richmond in Surry; and thence, when he was about 12 years old, removed to Magdalen college in Oxford, where, by the instructions of the celebrated Linacre and Latimer, he made considerable progress in learning. In 1515 he took the degree of bachelor of arts, and was admitted to deacon's orders some time after: in 1517, he was made prebendary of Salisbury, and in 1519 dean of Wimborne and dean of Exeter. We are not surprised at this young nobleman's early preferments, when we consider him as the kinsman of Henry VIII. and that he was bred to the church by the king's special command. Being now about the age of 19, he was sent, according to the fashion of the times, to finish his studies at Padua in Italy, where he resided some time in great splendour, having a handsome pension from the king. He returned to England in 1525, where he was most graciously received at court, and universally admired for his talents and address; but preferring study and sequestration to the pleasures of a court, he retired to the Carthusian convent at Shene, where he had continued about two years, when the pious king began to divulge his scruples of conscience concerning his marriage with Catharine of Spain. Pole foresaw that this affair would necessarily involve him in difficulties; he therefore determined to quit the kingdom, and accordingly obtained leave to visit Paris. Having thus avoided the storm for the present, he returned once more to his convent at Shene; but his tranquillity was again interrupted by the king's resolution to shake off the pope's supremacy, of which Pole's approbation was thought indispensably necessary. How he managed in this affair, is not very clear. However, he obtained leave to revisit Italy, and his pension was continued for some time. The king, having now divorced Queen Catharine, married Anne Boleyn, and being resolved to throw off the papal yoke, ordered Dr Richard Sampson to write a book in justification of his proceedings, which he sent to Pole for his opinion. To this Pole, secure in the pope's protection, wrote a scurrilous answer, entitled Pro Unitate Ecclesiastica, and sent it to the king; who was so offended with the contents, that he withdrew his pension, stripped him of all his preferments, and procured an act of attainder to be passed against him. In the mean time, Pole was created a cardinal, and sent nuncio to different parts of Europe. King Henry made several attempts to have him secured and brought to England, but without effect. At length the pope fixed him as legate at Viterbo, where he continued till the year 1543, when he was appointed legate at the council of Trent, and was afterwards employed by the pope as his chief counsellor. Pope Paul III. dying in 1540, Pole was twice elected his successor, and, we are told, twice refused the papal dignity: first, because the election was made in too great haste; and the second time, because it was done in the night. This delicacy in a cardinal is truly wonderful but the intrigues of the French party seem to have been the real cause of his miscarriage; they started many objections to Pole, and by that means gained time to procure a majority against him. Cardinal Maria de Monte obtained the triple crown; and Pole, having kissed his slipper, retired to the convent of Magazune near Verona, where he continued till the death of Edward VI. in the year 1553. On the accession of Queen Mary, Pole was sent legate to England, where he was received by her majesty with great veneration, and conducted to the archbishop's palace at Lambeth, poor Cranmer being at that time prisoner in the Tower. He immediately appeared in the House of Lords, where he made a long speech; which being reported to the commons by their speaker, both these obsequious houses concurred in an humble supplication to be reconciled to Pole. Pale the see of Rome. They presented it on their knees to her majesty, who interceded with the cardinal, and he graciously condescended to give them absolution. This business being over, the legate made his public entry into London, and immediately set about the extirpation of heresy. The day after the execution of Cranmer, which he is said, though we believe falsely, to have advised, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury. In the same year, 1556, he was elected chancellor of the university of Oxford, and soon after of Cambridge; both which he visited, by his commissioners. He died of a double quartan ague in the year 1558, about 16 hours after the death of the queen; and was buried in the cathedral of Canterbury. As to his character, the Romish writers ascribe to him every virtue under heaven: even Bishop Burnet is extremely lavish in his praise, and attributes the cruelties of Mary's reign to the advice of Gardiner. In this Mr Hume agrees with the bishop, and represents Pole as the advocate of toleration. By every impartial account, he seems to have been a man of mild manners, and of real worth, though undoubtedly a zealous member of the church of Rome.-He wrote, Pro unitate ecclesiastica, De ejusdem potestate, A treatise on Justification, and various other tracts. Mr Philips published a very well written, though a very partial account, of Pole's life, to which Glocester Ridley replied. This last work, which is entitled a Review of Mr Philips's Life of Reginald Pole, was published in 1766. It is a complete confutation of the former, and is a very learned and temperate vindication of the doctrines of the Reformation. POLE, in Astronomy, that point in the heavens round which the whole sphere seems to turn. It is also used for a point directly perpendicular to the centre of any circle's plane, and distant from it by the length of a radius. POLE, in Geography, one of the points on which the terraqueous globe turns; each of them being 90 degrees distant from the equator, and, in consequence of their situation, the inclination of the earth's axis, and its parallelism during the annual motion of our globe round the sun, having only one day and one night throughout the year. It is remarkable, that though the north in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and French, derives its name from gloom, obscurity, and darkness, the poles enjoy more light than any other part of the world. The ancients believed the ne poles north to be covered with thick darkness; Strabo tells joy much us, that Homer, by the word (opos, which properly signifies obscurity or darkness, meant the north; and thus Tibullus, speaking of the north, says, ht; Illic et densa tellus absconditur umbra, Paneg. ad Missel. The Arabians call the northern ocean the dark sea; the Latins gave the name of Aquilo to the north wind, because aquilus signifies black; and the French call it la bise, from bis, "black." According to the ancients, the Cimmerians lived in darkness, because they were placed near the north. But all this is mere prejudice; for there are no places in the world that enjoy light longer than the arctic and antarctic poles; and this is accounted for by considering the nature of twilight. In the torwhy. rid zone, and under the line, night immediately follows 2 Pole. the setting of the sun, without any sensible twilight; whereas the twilight begins and continues increasing in proportion as places are distant from the equator, or approach the pole. To this long twilight we must add the aurora borealis, which appears in the northern regions, Greenland, &c. in clear nights, at the beginning of the new moon, casting a light equal to that of full moon. See Gassendi, in the Life of Peyresc, book iii. and La Perere in his Account of Greenland. There is also long moonlight at the poles during winter. See ASTRONOMY. But though there is really more light in the polar regions than elsewhere, yet owing to the obliquity with which the rays of the sun fall upon them, and the great length of winter night, the cold is so intense, that those parts of the globe which lie near the poles have never been fully explored, though the attempt has been repeatedly made by the most celebrated navigators. Indeed their attempts have chiefly been confined to the northern regions; for with regard to the south pole, there is not the same incitement to attempt it. The great object for which navigators have ventured themselves in these frozen seas, was to find out a more quick and more ready passage to the East Indies*; and this hath been attempted three several ways: * Sce Cook, one by coasting along the northern parts of Europe and life of Asia, called the north-east passage; another, by sailing round the northern part of the American continent, called the north-west passage; and the third, by sailing directly over the pole itself. We have already given a short account of several unsuccessful attempts which have been made from England to discover the first two of these. See NORTHWest Passage, and NORTH-East Passage. But before we proceed to the third, we shall make a few further observations on them, and mention the attempts of some other nations. 3 During the last century, various navigators, Dutch- Attempts men particularly, attempted to find out the north-east to find out Sub north-east passage, with great fortitude and perseverance. They passage. always found it impossible, however, to surmount the obstacles which nature had thrown in the way. sequent attempts are thought by many to have demonstrated the impossibility of ever sailing eastward along the northern coast of Asia; and this impossibility is accounted for by the increase of cold in proportion to the extent of land. See AMERICA, No 3-5. This is indeed the case in temperate climates; but much more so in those frozen regions where the influence of the sun, even in summer, is but small. Hence, as the continent of Asia extends a vast way from west to east, and has besides the continent of Europe joined to it on the west, it follows, that about the middle part of that tract of land the cold should be greater than anywhere else. Experience has determined this to be fact; and it now Why it is appears that about the middle part of the northern impossible coast of Asia the ice never thaws; neither have even long the the hardy Russians and Siberians themselves been able north-cast to overcome the difficulties they met with in that part coast of of their voyage. In order to make this the more plain, Asia. and the following accounts more intelligible, we shall observe, that from the north-western extremity of Europe, called the North Cape, to the north-eastern extremity of Asia, called the Promontory of the Tschutski* is a space including about 160 degrees of longitude, vix. ries, n° 109 from 40 to 200 east from Ferro: the port of Archan- and 118. M 2 gel to sail a * See Cook's 'Discove by a thick fog from proceeding: this fog being dispersed, he saw nothing everywhere but ice, which at last drove him eastward, and with much danger and difficulty he got to the mouth of the Olenek on the 29th of August. Pole. gel lies in about 57 degrees east longitude, Nova Zembla between 70 and 95, which last is also the situation of the mouth of the great river Oby. Still farther eastward are the mouths of the rivers Jenisey in 100°; Piasida in 105°; Chatanga in 124°; Lena, which has many mouths, between 134° and 142°: Indigirka in 162; and the Kovyma in 175°. The coldest place in all this tract, therefore, ought to be that between the mouths of the Jenisey and the Chatanga; and indeed here the unsurmountable difficulty has always been, as will appear from the following accounts of the Voyages made by the Russians with a view to discover the northeast passage. 5 Voyage of Morzovieff, &c. 6 Of Pront In 1734, Lieutenant Morzovieff sailed from Archangel towards the river Oby, but could scarce advance 20 degrees of longitude during that season. The next summer he passed through the straits of Wyegatz into the sea of Kara; but he did not double the promontory which separates the sea of Kara from the bay or mouth of Oby. In 1738, the lieutenants Malygin and Shurakoff doubled that promontory with great difficulty, and entered the bay of Oby. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to pass from the bay of Oby to the Jenisey; which was at last effected, in 1738, by two vessels commanded by lieutenants Offzin and Koskeleff. The same. year the pilot Feodor Menin sailed eastward from the Jenisey to the mouth of the Piasida: but here he was stopped by the ice; and finding it impossible to force a passage, he returned to the Jenisey. In July 1735, Lieutenant Prontshistcheff sailed down shistcheff. the river Lena, in order to pass by sea to the mouth of the Jenisey. The western mouths of the Lena were so choked up with ice, that he was obliged to pass through the most easterly one; and was prevented by contrary winds from getting out till the 13th of August. Having steered north-west along the islands which lie scattered before the mouths of the Lena, he found himself in lat, 70. 4.; yet even here he saw pieces of ice from 24 to 60 feet in height, and in no place was there a free channel left of greater breadth than 100 or 200 yards. His vessel being much damaged, he entered the mouth of the Olenek, a small river near the western mouth of the Lena; and here he continued till the ensuing season, when he got out in the beginning of August. But before he could reach the mouth of the Chatanga, he was so entirely surrounded and hemmed in with ice, that it was with the utmost difficulty he could get loose. Observing then a large field of ice stretching into the sea, he was obliged to sail up the Chatanga. Getting free once more, he proceeded northward, doubled the cape called Taimura, and reached the bay of that name, lying in about 115° east from Ferro; from thence he attempted to proceed westward along the coast. Near the shore were several small islands, Between which and the shore the ice was inimoveably fixed. He then directed his course towards the sea, in order to pass round the chain of islands. At first he found the sea more free to the north of these islands, but observed much ice lying between them. At last he arrived at what he took to be the last of the islands lying in lat. 77. 25. Between this island and the shore, as well as on the other side of the island which lay most to the north, the ice was firm and immoveable. He attempted, however, to steer still more to the north; and having advanced about six miles, he was prevented 3 Pole. ton Lap tiefi. Another attempt to pass by sea from the Lena to the Of ChariJenisey was made in 1739 by Chariton Laptieff, but with no better success than that just mentioned. This voyager relates, that between the river Piasida and Taimura, a promontory stretches into the sea, which he could not double, the sea being entirely frozen un before he could pass round. Besides the Russians, it is certain that some English Mr Coxe's and Dutch vessels have passed the island of Nova Zem- observabla into the sea of Kara: "But (says Mr Coxe in his tions. Account of the Russian voyages) no vessel of any nation has ever passed round that cape which extends to the north of the Piasida, and is laid down in the Russian charts in about 78° lat. We have already seen that no Russian vessel has ever got from the Piasida to the Chatanga, or from the Chatanga to the Piasida; and yet some authors have positively asserted that this promontory has been sailed round. In order therefore to elude the Russian accounts, which clearly assert the contrary, it is pretended that Gmelin and Muller have purposely concealed some part of the Russian journals, and have imposed on the world by a misrepresentation of facts. But without entering into any dispute upon this head, I can venture to affirm, that no sufficient proof has been as yet advanced in support of this assertion; and therefore, until some positive information shall be produced, we cannot deny plain facts, or give the preference to hearsay evidence over circumstantial and well attested accounts." 9 from the Lena to Kamts The other part of this north-east passage, viz. from of the nathe Lena to Kamtschatka, though sufficiently difficult vigation and dangerous, is yet practicable; as having been once performed, if we may believe the accounts of the Russians. According to some others indeed, says Mr Coxe, chatka. this navigation has been open a century and a half; and several vessels at different times have passed round the north-eastern extremity of Asia. But if we consult the Russian accounts, we shall find that frequent expeditions have been unquestionably made from the Lena to the Kovyma, but that the voyage from the Kovyma round Tschutskoi Noss into the Eastern ocean has been performed but once. According to Mr Muller, this formidable cape was doubled in the year 1648. The material incidents of this remarkable voyage are as follow. 10 Ankudi "In 1648 seven kotches, or vessels, sailed from the Voyage of mouth of the river Kovyma, in order to penetrate into Deshneff, the Eastern ocean. Of these, four were never more noff, &c. heard of: the remaining three were commanded by Simon Deshneff, Gerasim Ankudinoff, and Fedot Alexeeff. Deshneff and Ankudinoff quarrelled before their departure concerning the division of profits and honours to be acquired by their voyage; which, however, was not so easily accomplished as they had imagined. Yet Deshneff in his memorials makes no mention of obstructions from the ice, nor probably did he meet with any; for he takes notice that the sea is not every year so free from ice as it was at that time. The vessels sailed from the Kovyma on the 20th of June, and in September they reached the promontory of the Tschutski, where Ankudinoff's |