Mais étant rarement payés eux-mêmes, ils dé But being rarely paid Being, however, rarely paid themselves, they dethemselves, they de solent le pays, et ruinent les laboureurs, pour satis solate the country, and ruin the labourers, solate the country, and ruin the peasantry, to sa for to-sa faire leur avidité et celle de leurs soldats. Les tisfy their avidity and that-her of their soldiers. The tisfy their own avidity and that of their soldiers. The plus de magnificence que dans les villes; leurs tentes more of magnificence than in the cities; their tents greater magnificence than in the towns; their tents sont plus belles que leurs are more beautiful than their maisons. La cavalerie, houses. houses. The cavalry, The cavalry, qui fait les deux tiers de l'armée, est presque which makes the two third-parts of the army, is almost which constitutes two-thirds of the army, is almost toute composée de gentilshommes; elle est re all composed of entirely composed of gentlemen; she is reit is re marquable par la beauté des chevaux, et par la markable by the beauty of-the horses, and by the markable for the beauty of the horses, and for the richesse des habillemens et des harnois. riches of-the richness of their habiliments and of-the harnesses. Les gendarmes sur-tout, que l'on distingue en gendarmes over all, whom the one distinguishes into The The gendarmes especially, who divided are into houssards et pancernes, ne marchent qu'accompagnés hussars and pancernes, not march than accompanied hussars and pancernes, are always accompanied on their march de plusieurs valets qui leur tiennent des chevaux de main, ornés de brides à plaques et clous d'ar hand, ornamented of bridles to plates and nails of silornamented with bridles plated and studded with gent, de selles brodées, d'arçons, d'étriers dorés, ver, of saddles embroidered, of saddle-bows, of stirrups silver, embroidered saddles, saddle-bows, and stirrups gilded, gilded, housses traînantes, à la manière des Turcs, dont les housings dragging, to the manner sweeping housings, in the style of the Turks, of-the Turks, of-whom the whose peuvent la magnifiare-able the magnifias nearly as they cence. cence. can. Autant cette cavalerie est parée et superbe, As-much this cavalry is adorned and superb, In proportion as the cavalry is gorgeous and superb, autant l'infanterie étoit alors délabrée, mal vêtue, so-much the infantry † was then tattered, ill clad, is shabby, ill clothed, the infantry mal armée, sans habits d'ordonnance, ni rien d'uniill armed, without clothes of ordinance, nor nothing of uniill armed, without regimental clothing, or any uniformity of forme. C'est ainsi du moins qu'elle fut jusque form. It is thus of-the least that she was until appearance. Such vers towards at least was its condition mille sept cent dix. thousand seven hundred ten. about the year seventeen hundred and ten. qui ressemblent à des Tartares vagabonds, supportent who resemble to of-the Tartars vagabond, who resemble wandering Tartars, support support avec une fermeté étonnante la faim, le froid, la fawith a firmness astonishing the hunger, the cold, the fawith astonishing firmness hunger, cold, VOL. I. fa U tigue, et tout le poids de la guerre. On voit encore tigue, and all the weight of the tigue, and all the evils of war. One sees still war. In the Polish dans les soldats Polonois le caractère des anciens in the soldiers Polish the character of-the ancient soldiers may still be traced the character of their anSarmates, leurs ancêtres; aussi peu de discipline, la Sarmatians, their ancestors; as little of discipline, the cestors, the ancient Sarmatians; as little discipline, the même fureur à attaquer, la même promptitude à same fury to to-attack, the same promptitude to fury in attack, the same alacrity in same fuir et à revenir au combat, le même acharne to-flee and to to-come-back to-the combat, the same fleeing and in returning to the fight, and the same rancour ferocious dans le besoin ces deux in the want these two in emergencies, these two sa faveur; que la Pospolite armées combattroient en would-combat in would fight in arınies armies Polonoise Polish his favour; that the Pospolite ses ordres, et que toutes ces forces his orders, and that his bidding, and that all all Saxons ses sujets, et aux Saxons his subjects, and to-the subjects the Saxons, and to his these forces these forces s'armeroit à herself would-arm at would arm at jointes aux joined to-the joined to his Moscovites ses alliés, Muscovites his allies, allies the Russians, composeroient une multitude devant qui le petit would-compose would form a a nombre des Suédois multitude in-front-of whom the little multitude before which the small se n'oseroit paroître. Il not would-dare to-appear. He himself number of the Swedes would not dare to appear. He found number of-the Swedes 1 vit presque tout-à-coup privé de ces secours, par saw almost all-at-stroke deprived of these succours, by himself almost in a moment deprived of these resources, by les soins mêmes qu'il avoit pris pour les the cares same the very care tous à la fois. all at the time. all at once. which he had taken for them he had taken to avoir to-have secure them Accoutumé dans ses pays héréditaires au pou Accustomed Accustomed in his countries hereditary to-the powin his hereditary dominions to abso voir absolu, il crut trop, peut-être, qu'il pourroit er absolute, he believed too-much, may-be, that he would-be-able lute power, he perhaps too readily believed that he gouverner la Pologne comme la Saxe. as the Saxony. Poland like Saxony. to-govern the Poland govern could Le commencement de son règne fit des méconbeginning of his reign made of-the disconThe commencement of his reign excited discon The tens; ses premières démarches irritèrent le parti tented; his tent; his first first steps irritated the party measures irritated the party qui s'étoit opposé à son élection, et aliénèrent which itself † was opposed to his election, and alienated, which had opposed his election, and alienated presque tout le reste. La Pologne murmura de voir almost all the rest. nearly all the others. The Poland murmured of to-see Poland murmured at seeing ses villes remplies de garnisons Saxonnes, et ses her cities Saxon, and her garrisons, and her frontières de troupes. Cette nation, bien plus frontiers of troops. 1 This nation, well more frontiers with troops. This nation, which is much more jalouse de maintenir sa liberté, qu'empressée à jealous of to-maintain her liberty, than eager jealous of maintaining its own liberty, than to eager to * attaquer ses voisins, ne regarda point la guerre du her neighbours, not regarded attack its neighbours, did not regard the war of to-attack the war of-the Roi Auguste contre la Suède, et l'irruption en King Augustus against the Sweden, and the irruption into Livonie, comme une entreprise avantageuse à la ré- as an enterprise advantageous to the rean enterprise advantageous to the re publique. On trompe difficilement une nation libre public. public. One deceives difficultly a nation free sur ses vrais intérêts. Les Polonois sentoient que si upon her true interests. The Poles † felt that if as to its true interests. de tous côtés, seroit en proie au Roi de Suède; of all sides, † would-be in prey to-the King of Sweden; on every side, would become a prey to the King of Sweden; que si elle étoit heureuse, ils seroient subjugués par ouvert open their King himself, who, being then master of Livonia comme de la Saxe, enclaveroit la Pologne entre as of the Saxony, would-wedge-in the Poland between as well as of Saxony, would hem in Poland between of to-be slaves of-the King whom they of becoming slaves of the King they + had elected, ог had elected, or |