Mais étant rarement payés eux-mêmes, ils dé But being Being, however, rarely paid rarely paid themselves, they dethemselves, they de for to-sa solent le pays, et ruinent les laboureurs, pour satissolate the country, and ruin the labourers, solate the country, and ruin the peasantry, faire leur to sa Les The avidité et celle de leurs soldats. avidity and that-her of their soldiers. tisfy their own avidity and that of their soldiers. The tisfy their 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 maisons. are are more beautiful than their more beautiful than their houses. houses. La cavalerie, The cavalry, The cavalry, qui fait les deux tiers de l'armée, est presque makes the two third-parts of the army, is which constitutes two-thirds of the army, is almost which almost marquable par la beauté des chevaux, et par la markable by the beauty of-the markable for the beauty of the horses, and by the horses, and for the richesse des habillemens et des harnois. of-the riches Les gendarmes sur-tout, que l'on distingue en 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, of saddles embroidered, of saddle-bows, of stirrups gilded, silver, embroidered saddles, saddle-bows, and stirrups gilded, ver, et quelquefois d'argent massif, avec de grandes and sometimes of silver massive, with of or sometimes of massy silver, and housses traînantes, à la manière des Turcs, of-the Turks, style of the Turks, great large dont les of-whom the whose cavalerie est parée et superbe, In proportion as the cavalry autant l'infanterie étoit alors the infantry is délabrée, mal vêtue, ill clad, shabby, ill clothed, mal armée, sans habits d'ordonnance, ni rien d'uniarmed, without clothes of ordinance, nor nothing of uniill armed, without regimental clothing, or any uniformity of ill tigue, et tout le poids de la guerre. On voit encore tigue, and all the weight of the war. tigue, and all the evils of war. One sees still dans les soldats Polonois le caractère des anciens Polish the character of-the ancient in the soldiers soldiers may still be traced the character of their an Sarmates, leurs ancêtres; aussi peu de discipline, la Sarmatians, their ancestors; cestors, the ancient Sarmatians; as little of discipline, the as little discipline, the même fureur à attaquer, la même promptitude à same fury to to-attack, the same same fury in attack, the same fuir et à revenir au combat, to-flee and to to-come-back to-the combat, promptitude to alacrity in le même acharne the same fleeing and in returning to the fight, and the same rancour ferocious ment dans le carnage quand ils sont vainqueurs. thirst for in the carnage when they are when Le Roi de Pologne s'étoit victors. conquerors. flatté d'abord que The King of Poland himself-was flattered at + first that The King of Poland, at first, flattered himself that, dans le besoin ces deux armées combattroient en vit presque tout-à-coup privé de ces secours, par all-at-stroke deprived of these succours, by himself almost in a moment deprived of these resources, by saw almost 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 could gouverner la Pologne comme la Saxe. as the Saxony. like Saxony. Le commencement de son règne fit des méconof his reign made of-the disconof his reign excited discon The The beginning commencement ses premières démarches irritèrent le parti tens; ses first tented; his tent; his 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 his election, and alienated which had opposed alienated presque tout le reste. La Pologne murmura de voir almost all the rest. nearly all the others. The Poland murmured of to-see ses villes remplies de garnisons Saxonnes, et ses her cities filled of her cities filled with garrisons and her Saxon, frontières de troupes. Cette nation, bien plus the war of-the attaquer ses voisins, ne regarda point la guerre du to-attack her neighbours, not regarded attack its neighbours, did not regard the war of Roi Auguste contre la Suède, et l'irruption en King Augustus against the Sweden, and the irruption into King Augustus against the Swedes, and the irruption into Livonie, comme une entreprise avantageuse à la réan enterprise advantageous to the rean enterprise advantageous to the re as Livonia, Livonia, as publique. On trompe difficilement une nation libre public. public. difficultly a nation free One deceives sur ses vrais intérêts. Les Polonois sentoient que si true upon her as to its true interests. interests. The Poles + felt that if that if 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 + was happy, they would..be subjugated by successful, they would be subjugated by that if she that if leur Roi même, qui, their King same, who, maître alors de la Livonie master then of the Livonia their King himself, who, being then master of Livonia comme de la Saxe, enclaveroit la Pologne entre of the Saxony, would-wedge-in the Poland between Poland between as as well as of Saxony, would hem in ces deux pays. these two countries. those two countries. Dans cette alternative, ou In this alternative, either alternative, either |