book The {landing army of Poland being fo inconiiderable, the
j defence of the country, in cafe of invafion, is left to the
gentry at large, who are affembled by regular fummons
from the king with the confent of the diet. Every palatinate
is divided into diftridfs, over each '©f-ffhich proper
officers are appointed^ and every perfon poffeffing free
and noble tenures is bound to military fervice, either fingly
or at the head of a certain number of his retainers, according
to the extent and nature of his poffeffions. The troops thus
affembled are obliged only to ferve for a limited time, and
are not under the .neeeffity of marching beyond the limits
of their country.
The mode of levying and maintaining "this army is exactly
fimilar to that praitifed under the feudal fyftem. At
prefent, though it is almoft totally unfit ¿for - the purpofes
of repelling a foreign enemy, it is yet -a powerful inftru-
ment in the hands of domeftic faction: for the expedition
with which it .is raffed under the feudal regulations, facilitates
the formation of thefe dangerous confederacies, which
fuddenly {tart up on the contefted election of a fovereign,
or wheneverthe nobles are at variance with each other.
There are two forts of confederacies.
• The firit are'thofe formed with the confent of the king,
fenate, or equeftrian order, aflembled in the diet; by which
the whole nation confederates for the good of the country.
The fecond are the confederacies of the feveral palatinates,
which unite for the ptirpofe of redrafting any grievances,
or remonftrating again ft encroachments of the fovereign
power. Thefe may be particular, or general, and are ufually
the forerunners of a civil war. The general confederacy,
which
which is always in oppolition to the king, is called Rokoz, c^*pand
is formed by the union of the particular confederacies. < , ,
As every Poliffi gentleman has a right to maintain as
many troops as he chufes, it may eaiily be conceived, that
each palatinate is the fcene of occafional difputes and petty
contentions between the principal nobles, and fometimes
even between their refpedlive retainers. In fuch a dreadful
ftate of anarchy, it is a wonder that the whole kingdom is
not a perpetual fcene of endlefs commotions, and that the
nation is compofed of any thing elfe but lawlefs banditti. It
redounds, therefore, greatly to the honour of the natural
difpoiition of the Poles,, that amid all thefe incentives to
confufion, a much greater degree of tranquillity, than could
be well expedted, is maintained.
As I am now delineating the military eftablifhment, I
mull not omit the Ruffian troops, which have been fo long
quartered in this country, that they may almoft be confidere.d
as forming part of the national army. The whole kingdom
is entirely under the protection, or,.in other words, under the
power of Ruffia, who rules over it with the fame unbounded
authority as over one of, its provinces. The king is in
effeit little more than a viceroy ; while the Ruffian embafi-
fador has the real fovereign ty, and. regulates all the affairs of
the kingdom, according to the direition of his court. The
emprefs maintains within the country about 10,000 fokliers.
Every garril'on is compofed of Ruffian and native troops a
thoufand of the former are ftationed at Warfaw ; and each .
gate of the town is guarded by a Ruffian and Polifh centinel...
In a word, thé Ruffian troops hold the nobles in fubjection,
and for the prefent keep under internal feuds and commotions.
Rut,when Poland (if ever that: event fhould happen) is again
* left.