bo ok jn war. by the union of talents belonging to each depart-
—vl-iment, he defended his country from impending danger,
raifed her from her falling ftate, and delayed during his
reign the sera of her decline ; while Charles, who was deficient
in civil virtues, plunged Sweden, which he found
highly profperous, into ruin and defolation: in a word,
Charles had the qualities of a knight errant, and Sobieiki
the virtues of an hero #.
About anEngliih mile from Cracow are the remains of
an old ftrudture, called the palace o f Cafimir the Great,
which my veneration for that fovereign induced me to vifit,
as there is a fingular pleafure arifing from feeing the fpot
that was once dignified by the refidence of a favourite cha-
ra£ter. Little, I imagine, of the original palace, as it was
built by Cafimir, exifts at prefent. In the inner court are
the remains o f a corridore with pillars of the Doric order;
and upon one of the fide walls I obferved the white-eagle of
Poland carved in itone, and around it an infcription feem-
ingly in old Gothic charadters, of which I could only make
out Ann. Dom. M.CCCLXVII, which anfwers to the sera of
Cafimir, who died in 13 70 . Several marble columns, were
fcattered around, which ihowed the antient magnificence of
the building. The greateft part of the fabric was evidently
of later date than the reign of Cafimir, and was probably
conftrudted by fucceeding fovereigns upon the foundation of
the antient palace; perhaps by Stephen Bathori, as I could
trace in one place an infcription, Stephanus Dei gratia; and
alfo by Sigifmond III. as I plainly difcovered his cypher with
the wheat-iheaf, the arms of Guftavus Vafa, from whom he
was lineally defcended.
* See an account o f Sobieiki’s death and family, Chap, IV . o f this book.
This
This palace was the principal refidence of Cafimir: in the CI^AP>
garden is a mound of earth, or one of thofe barrows before «■— v—
mentioned, which is called the tomb of Efther the fair
J ew e f s , who was the favourite miftrefs of that monarch.
To the influence of Efther it is faid the Jews owe the numerous
privileges enjoyed by them in Poland, which is called
the paradife of the Jews. But when I confider the character
of Cafimir, I conceive that they were indebted for their
favourable reception in Poland more to his policy than to his
affection for his miftrefs'; for in thofe times the Jews
were the richeft and molt commercial individuals in Europe ;
by allowing them therefore to fettle in Poland, and by granting
them fome extraordinary immunities, he introduced trade
and much wealth into his dominions. The number of Jews
is now prodigious *, and they have in a manner engrofled
all the commerce of the country; yet this flouriihing ftate
of affairs muft not be attributed folely to the edi<5hs of Cafimir
in their favour, but to the induftry of thofe extraordinary
people, to the indolence of the gentry, and opprefled
condition of the peafants.
* -See p. 137-.
V ol. i . Y C H A P . ’