resigned his dictatorship, and Prince Czartoryski was appointed president of the provisional government. From January 1831 till 8th September of the same year a series of sanguinary engagements took place, in which the Poles were at first successful. On the 8th of September, however, Paskevitch (q.v.), who had succeeded Diebitsch, took Warsaw, and the insurrection was virtually at an end. The Poles had not succeeded in obtaining any assistance from foreign powers. From this time the independence of Poland was suppressed, and in 1832 it was declared an integral part of the Russian empire, with a separate administration, headed by a viceroy chosen by the czar; the constitution was annulled, and a strict censorship of the press was established. Many of the literary treasures were carried off to the public library of St Petersburg. Slight outbreaks occurred in 1846, which were severely repressed. Simultaneous disturbances in the Prussian and Austrian portions of Poland met with the same fate. Their leaders in Prussia were imprisoned, but released by the revolution of 1848 at Berlin. In no part of the lost provinces has the work of denationalisation been more complete than in Prussian Poland. It has proceeded quietly, but thoroughly. In Galicia the peasants at the same time massacred many of the nobles. On the 6th of November 1848 the republic of Cracow was incorporated with Austria.

After the accession of Alexander II. in 1855 the condition of the Poles was considerably ameliorated. An amnesty brought back many of those who had been expatriated, and various other reforms were hoped for. On the 29th November, on the thirtieth anniversary of the insurrection, many political manifestations took place, both in the churches and elsewhere. On these occasions riots took place, and some persons were unfortunately killed. Warsaw was now declared in a state of siege. In June 1862 an attempt was made to assassinate General Luders, the governor, who was succeeded by the Grand-duke Constantine, the brother of the emperor, the Marquis Wielopolski being appointed chief minister. Meanwhile Alexander II. had made great concessions; the public offices of the country were to be filled by Poles; the Polish language was to be the official one, and municipal institutions were granted to Warsaw and the chief cities. The people, however, received these overtures sullenly, and on the night of January 15, 1863, a secret conscription was held, and those suspected of disaffection to the government were seized in their beds to be enlisted. Attempts were made to assassinate the grand-duke and other Russian officials, and Lithuania and Volhynia were also declared in a state of siege. The committee of the National government issued its first proclamation in February 1863; and a week afterwards Mieroslawski raised the standard of insurrection in the north-east, on the frontier of Posen. The committee (Rzad) had secret sessions, and was for a long time able to defy the Russian government: its emissaries, called stileteziki, put to death many obnoxious persons and Russian spies. It also issued proclamations from time to time; and many districts of Augustovo, Radom, Lublin, Volhynia, and Lithuania were speedily in insurrection. It was a mere guerilla war, and no great or decisive conflicts took place; but the sympathy of Europe was largely enlisted on behalf of the Poles. Incendiarism and murder were rampant; and at last, with the assistance of Prussia and the secret support of Austria, the czar's troops succeeded in trampling out (1864) the last embers of insurrection. Langiewicz, one of the leaders who had directed the struggle, held out for some time, but at length made his escape into Galicia. From the time of the suppression of the insurrection the

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kingdom of Poland has disappeared from all official documents. All education in the university and the schools is now carried on in the Russian language.

Among histories may be recommended Histoire de Pologne, by Lelewel (Paris, 1844); Geschichte Polens, by Röpell and Caro (vols. i.-vi., Gotha, 1840-88); Dzieje Polskie w Zaryzsie (Sketch of the History of Poland'), by Michael Bobrzynski. See also Count Moltke's Poland (Eng. trans. 1885). For maps of Poland at various dates, see, besides that given above, the historical maps of Europe, Vol. IV. p. 466.

RUSSIAN POLAND.-The so-called 'Kingdom of Poland,' united to Russia in 1815, had its own constitution till 1830, and a separate government till 1864, when, after the suppression of the revolt, the last visible remnant of independence was taken away. The administration was at first given to eight military governors, and then to a commission sitting in St Petersburg. Finally, in 1868, the Polish province was absolutely incorporated with Russia, and the ten governments into which it was divided are grouped with the governments of Russia proper.

In 1867 the area of the kingdom'

was about 49,000 sq. m., with a population of about 5,700,000, of whom 4,330,000 were Roman Catholics, 780,000 Jews, 260,000 Greek Catholics (mostly United), and the rest Lutherans or other Protestants. In 1890 the ten Polish provinces-Kaliscz, Kielce, Lomza, Lublin, Piotrkow, Plock, Radom, Siedlce, Ssuwal-Ki, and Warsaw-had a collective population of 8,105,000. The several areas and populations of these governments will be found in the table at RUSSIA. About 10,000,000 still here and in Prussia and Austria speak the_Polish tongue. The surface and soil of the Russian Polish provinces resembles that of the rest of old Poland; the commerce is still mostly in the hands of the Jews.

POLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.-The Polish language is one of the most widely-spread branches of the Slavonic family; it forms the western branch together with Bohemian and Sorbish or Lusatian Wendish. Like all the Slavonic languages, it is highly inflected, having seven cases, and, by means of the so-called 'aspects,' expressing very delicate distinctions of meaning in the verb. Like Russian, however, it lacks the imperfect and aorist which are found in Bulgarian and Serbian. It has a rich vocabulary and great power of compounding words. It resembles the Old Slavonic in having two nasals, like the French on and in; these are found nowhere else among Slavs except in a Bulgarian dialect. After the introduction of Christianity Latin exercised a great influence on its vocabulary and literature, and subsequent to the 14th century it adopted into its vocabulary numerous German words. Already in the 16th century Polish was a highly cultivated language, and began to supplant Latin, until then the language of the state and of the learned. The best Polish grammars are those of Malecki, Gramatyka HistorycznoPorównawcza Jezyka Polskiego Historico-comparative Grammar of the Polish Language,' Lemberg, 1879), and C. W. Smith, Grammatik der polnischen Sprache (Berlin, 1845); the most comprehensive dictionary is that of Linde (new ed. Lemberg, 1854-60); that of Bandtke (2 vols. Breslau, 1806) is good, and so also is the EnglishPolish dictionary published at Berlin in 1849.

The history of Polish literature is divisible into five distinct periods. (1) From the earliest times to the middle of the 16th century, the epoch of the Reformation. The Poles, unlike most of their Slavonic kindred, are poor in legendary and popular poetry, and much of their early literature is in Latin. Casimir III. (q.v.), surnamed the Great,' did more than any other early Polish

monarch for the encouragement of literature, and among other things founded the university of Cracow, which has continued to be the centre of intellectual life and culture in Poland. Among the very oldest literary monuments is a hymn to the Virgin Mary, ascribed to St Adalbert. The MS. in which it is preserved is dated 1408. Belonging to the middle of the 14th century is the so-called psalter of Queen Margaret, discovered at the convent of St Florian in 1826, which has been edited by Professor Nehring; there is also the Bible of Queen Sophia, which has come down in an imperfect copy, and is said to have been written about 1455; it has been edited by Professor Malecki. Writers of Latin chronicles were Martin Gallus, who flourished between 1110 and 1135, Kadlubek (1160-1223), and Jan Dlugosz or Longinus (1415-80), all of whom were ecclesiastics. The last is also worthy of remembrance as an able diplomatist. Jan Laski, Archbishop of Gnesen (1457-1531), published a valuable collection of the oldest Polish laws, Commune Inclyti Poloniæ Regni Privilegium. In 1474 the first printing-press was established at Cracow by Günther Zainer; the first book in the Polish language was published there in 1521. In 1543 died the great astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. Some other specimens of Old Polish before the 16th century will be found collected in the valuable work of Nehring, Altpolnische Sprachdenkmäler (Berlin, 1887).

(2) The second period of Polish literature embraces that which is called the golden age (15481606). The series of poets begins with Nicholas Rej (1505-69), commonly called the father of Polish poetry,' who spent his life at the courts of the Sigismunds. He was a Protestant. His best work is Zwierciadlo albo zywot Poczciwego Czlowieka (The Mirror: or the Life of an Honourable Man,' 1567); he also wrote a play on the subject of Joseph. Although his language is rough and careless, there is much shrewdness and satire in his writings. Jan Kochanowski (1530-84), called the prince of Polish poets, has left a great deal of verse, the most beautiful of which are his Treny or Lamentations on the death of his daughter Ursula. His nephew Peter translated the Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso. Szarzynski (died 1581) introduced the sonnet into Polish. Szymonowicz (1557-1629) was a writer of good pastorals (Sielanki), as was also Zimorowicz (died 1629), a native of Lemberg. Sebastian Klonowicz, called Acernus (died 1602), is celebrated as a satirist and descriptive poet. The Reformation made rapid progress in Poland; many of the nobility were Calvinists, and the Socini came to reside in the country. Translations of the Bible appeared, but the Jesuit reaction soon made itself felt, especially under the influence of Skarga (1552 1612), renowned for his pulpit eloquence. Among the historians of this period the most celebrated are Martin Bielski, whose Chronicle was continued by his son Joachim; Lukas Górnicki (died 1591), author of a history of the Polish crown (Dzieje w Koronie Polskiej, Crac. 1637); Stryikowski (died 1582), whose Chronicle of Lithuania (Königsb. 1582) is an admirable work; and Paprocki (died

1614).

(3) The third period of Polish literature, also called the Macaronic (1606-1764), is coincident with the rule of the Jesuits, who first obtained a footing in Poland about 1566, through the influence of Cardinal Hosius, soon got possession of the schools, and seriously checked the intellectual development of the nation. The literature of the period is for the most part poor, consisting mainly of bombastic panegyric; the language being corrupted by Latinisms and frequently by the introduction of whole Latin sen

tences-hence the term Macaronic. To this period belong Casimir Sarbiewski, known by his Latin name Sarbievius (1595-1640), a celebrated writer of Latin odes; Waclaw Potocki, now known to have been the author of the poem Wojna Chocimska, or War of Chocim, long preserved in manuscript; Kochowski (died 1699), a soldier-poet, who has left some sprightly odes; Twardowski (died 1660), a very prolific writer, author of a poem on Ladislaus IV.; Opalinski (1609-1656), who has left some bitter satires reviling his countrymen, whom he betrayed to the Swedes; Chroscinski, the translator of Lucan; Morsztyn, the translator of Corneille; and Elizabeth Druzbacka (died 1760), whose writings show some feeling for nature. History again took a Latin form, in spite of its having been written in the golden age in Polish: we may mention Starowolski (died 1656), author of Polonia, sive Status Regni Poloniæ Descriptio (Wölfenbuttel, 1656), and other works; Kojalowicz, a Jesuit (died 1677), who wrote a History of Lithuania; and Kaspar Niesiecki, a Jesuit (died 1744), whose Korona Polska (4 vols. Lemb. 1728-43) is the most important work on Polish heraldry.

(4) The fourth period is that of the reign of Stanislaus Poniatowski and the dismemberment of Poland, till the rise of romanticism (17641822); it owes its characteristics partly to the influence of French culture, partly also to the patronage of literature and science by King Stanislaus, the princes Czartoryski, Jablonowsk, and other noblemen, and the educational reforms of Stanislaus Konarski (1700–73). The good work begun by Konarski was carried on by Kopczynski (1735-1817), who was the first to establish on a scientific basis the grammar of the Polish language in his Grammatyka Narodowa; other authors were Bohomolec and Zablocki, who adapted a great many French pieces for the stage. But the best writer for the stage was Fredro, who belongs to a later period. The most noted dramatist, however, of this time, who may perhaps be called the real founder of the Polish stage, was Boguslawski (1759-1829), who wrote above eighty plays, the majority of which, under the title of Dziela Dramatyczne, were published at Warsaw (9 vols. 1820)." The most conspicuous poet of this time was Ignacy Krasicki (1735–1801), who tried all kinds of literature an epic on the war of Chocim, a weak production, and some satires and fables. We must also mention Trembecki; Cajetan Wegierski, the satirist; Godebski, and Wezyk. Adam Naruszewicz was but a mediocre poet, but he wrote a valuable Historya Narodu Polskiego ( History of the Polish People'), which he carried down to the year 1386. În 1801 the historian Tadeusz Czacki, Franciszek Dmochowski, and Bishop Jan Albertrandy founded at Warsaw the 'Society of the Friends of Knowledge,' which especially under the auspices of Staszyc bore good fruit till it was dissolved in 1832, when its library of 50,000 volumes was carried off to St Petersburg. At the same time Jozef Ossolinski, Hugo Kollataj, and Stanislaus Potocki by word and writing exercised a great influence on the renovation of the national spirit. Karpinski (1745-1825) was a very popular poet as a writer of sentimental elegies and idylls, and Woronicz (1757–1829) was celebrated both as a poet and divine. Niemcewicz (1757-1841) was a statesman and soldier, and is remembered for his historical songs (Spiewy Historyczne). Lastly, as the great precursor of the romantic school, must be mentioned Kasimir Brodzinski (1791–1835), whose idyll Wieslaw has been much admired.

(5) The fifth period comprises from 1822 to the present time; the era of romanticism, dating from the appearance of Mickiewicz, the greatest Polish poet. At Wilno, which after 1815 became the centre

POLAR BEAR

of Polish literary activity, several young men united, with Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) at their head, in a crusade against the still dominant French school of literature. After a short stay in Russia, Mickiewicz emigrated and spent the latter part of his life at Paris. He died at Constantinople, whither he had gone on a political mission at the time of the Crimean war. We have only space to mention some of his chief works, his Ballads, Sonnets, Konrad Wallenrod, and Pan Tadeusz; the last probably the most popular poem in the Polish language. Anton Malczewski (1792–1826), remembered by his Maria, a pathetic story of the Ukraine, was a prominent poet of what has been called the Ukraine school; Goszczynski (1806-76) was author of the narrative poem Zamek Kaniowski; Bohdan Zaleski, author of Duch od Stepu; others are Odyniec, the friend of Mickiewicz, Siemienski, Garczynski, Gaszynski. The two names most worthy to be placed by the side of that of Mickiewicz are those of Sigismund Krasinski (1812-59), author of the strange poem Nieboska Komedya (the Undivine Comedy '), and Julius Slowacki (1809-49). Most of these men belonged to what was called the Polish Emigration,' whose headquarters were at Paris. Of the Polish novelists we have only space to mention the prolific Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812-87), whose works amount to 312, and Henry Sienkewicz. The most original writer for the stage whom the Poles have produced is Count Alexander Fredro (1793-1876); he is a thoroughly national writer; although French influence is visible in his pieces, the characters are Polish. Many distinguished historical writers belong to this later period, of whom we may mention Joachim Lelewel (1786-1862), the author of many works of the greatest value, Szujski, Schmitt, Szajnocha, and Michael Bobrzynski, professor in the university of Cracow. By these men the history of Poland has been treated in all its details with great vigour. Among later poets may be mentioned Pol, Ujejski, and Lenartowicz; Adam Asnyk, the most popular of recent Polish poets; and the poetesses Gabriele Zmichowska (1825-78) and Marya Konopnicka.

The history of Polish literature has been written by Bentkowski and Wiszniewski. Mention may also be made of Nitschmann's Geschichte der Polnischen Literatur (1884) and the present writer's Early Slavonic Literature (1883).

Polar Bear. See BEAR.

Polar Circle. See ARCTIC.

Polar Exploration. In scientific geography much of the best work done in the 19th century is due to discoveries made in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. In the former, more especially, not only have new lands been surveyed, but large and important accessions have been made to several branches of natural science. The original motive, however, in England at least, for exploring the Arctic seacoasts was to discover a route to the wealthy countries of eastern Asia, and to share in the traffic monopolised by Spain and Portugal when at the height of their power. Thus arose a double series of attempts, either to coast eastward along the north of Europe and Asia, or to sail westward across the Atlantic; the latter being afterwards modified into attempts to coast westward along the north of America. Hence arose the terms 'North-east Passage' and 'North-west Passage.'

Some have traced the history of Arctic exploration to the time of King Alfred, who, in his translation of Orosius (q.v.), inserted an account of the voyages of Othhere and Wulfstan, narrated to him by Othhere himself, who seems to have sailed round the North Cape to Lapland. The voyages of the Norsemen to Greenland (q. v.) and the opposite coasts

of America in the 10th and following centuries may be regarded as to some extent coming within early Arctic attempts. Cabot's discovery in 1497 of Newfoundland and Labrador might, however, be termed the first step in the exploration of American polar regions-for the earlier expeditions claimed on behalf of Portugal must be regarded as mythical. Three years after Cabot, Gaspar Cortereal and his brother made three separate voyages in the same direction, sailing northwards by Labrador, where they were stopped in 60° N. lat. The expedition commanded in 1553 by Sir Hugh Willoughby led the way to the North-east Passage. Willoughby sighted Nova Zembla, but he and his men ultimately perished on the coast of Lapland. Chancellor, who accompanied him, landed in Russia near Archangel. Other Englishmen followed, Burroughs (1556), Pet and Jackman (1580), Henry Hudson (1608-9), Wood (1676), but none succeeded in getting much beyond Nova Zembla, though they did good work in exploring the north coast of Europe, Spitzbergen, and other islands in these seas. 1594-97 Barentz, a Dutchman, led three expeditions, wintering on the north-east coast of Nova Zembla, 1596-97 (see BARENTZ). After the failures of Hudson and Wood in the 17th century, the attempt to sail eastwards came to be considered quite hopeless. In 1607 Hudson succeeded in reaching 81° 30′ N. in the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen.

In

Meanwhile some exploration of the Arctic parts of America had been going on. Frobisher first sailed in 1576, and in 1585-88 the great navigator Davis sailed up the strait bearing his name to 72° 41′ N. and coasted the west of Greenland, 'the land of desolation.' In a tract of Davis', published in 1595, there are arguments for a Northwest Passage. Hudson, who had tried the Northeast Passage, discovered in 1610 the strait and great bay which bear his name. From the size of the latter he concluded it to be part of the Pacific; but that was disproved by Button, the next English explorer (1612). In 1615-16 Baffin, who went out at first under Bylot, had had some scientific training, proved himself as skilful a navigator as Davis. He found the great northern outlet to Baffin Bay, and recorded some important magnetic observations. After the expedition of Fox and James in 1631, which only led to the partial exploration of what then was named Fox Channel, the North American coast was neglected for more than a century.

Russia was naturally interested in the exploration of the Siberian coast, and from Peter the Great's time took her proper share in the maritime discovery. Behring, after receiving instructions from Czar Peter on his death-bed, sailed from Okhotsk, and discovered the straits which bear his name. In a second voyage (1741) he sailed from Petropaulovski and explored part of northwest America. Another Russian expedition in 1742 found (but did not succeed in rounding) the most northerly point of Siberia, named from the discoverer Chelyuskin (or Severo); and an earlier one sailed from the Yenisei to 75° 15′ N. In 1765 Tehitsakoff sailed to Spitzbergen, and finally reached 804 N. The New Siberian Islands were explored by Hedenström in 1809-11, by Anjou in 1823, and in 1884-87 by Bunge and Toll. Wrangel explored the Siberian coast between Cape Chelagskoi and the Kolyma in 1820-23, and in 1843 Middendorf laid down the unvisited coast in the neighbourhood of Cape Chelyuskin. In the reign of George III. there was a new revival of English zeal in naval adventure. Captain Phipps (afterwards Lord Mulgrave) sailed in June 1773 to Spitzbergen, where the heavy pack-ice kept him nearly a month from proceeding farther north. Finally he reached 80° 48′ N., and Cook, who next made the attempt,

could only penetrate to 70° 45. The government offered a prize of £5000 to any crew that should reach 89° N. long.; but after those failures there was no effort made till 1806, when Scoresby reached 813 N. immediately above Spitzbergen. In following expeditions Scoresby explored Jan Mayen Island and the east coast of Greenland, largely adding to our knowledge of the physical geography and natural history of the Arctic regions. The expeditions of Buchan and Franklin in 1818, of Clavering in 1823, of Graah in 1828, of De Blosse

ville in 1833, did not reach higher latitudes than those which preceded them.

To encourage polar exploration on the North American coast the British government had promised a reward of £20,000; yet nothing was done till the Admiralty in 1818 sent out Ross and Parry, who only explored part of Lancaster Sound. Next year Parry alone discovered Prince Regent Inlet, Barrow Strait, and (110° W.) Melville Sound. Following up this line of exploration, Ross in 1829 at last reached a point only 200 miles from Turnagain

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In

Point, which had recently been found by another expedition sailing eastward from Behring Strait. Ross then named Boothia Felix, in which the magnetic pole lay, and King William's Island. 1826-27 Franklin traced the North American coast from the Mackenzie River westwards to Cape Beechey, 860 miles, while his companions, Richard son and Kendall, proceeded eastwards towards the Coppermine River. Dease and Simpson in 1838 extended the survey of the American coast for

20 Longitude 30 E. from 40 Greenwich59

about 100 miles, from Point Turnagain. In 1846-47 Dr John Rae explored the west shore of Boothia Gulf, and discovered Boothia Felix to be a peninsula. In 1851 the same explorer surveyed the coast from the Mackenzie River to King William Land, and also the south-east coast of Victoria Land.

The success of Ross led to Sir John Franklin's expedition (left England May 19, 1845), so unfortunate to him and his crew, so famous from the