ruggled with himself through a sleepless night in
the doubt as to whether he had done well to condemn a certain traitor to
the capital punishment which he could never willingly bring himself to
inflict.

The manifesto to the clergy is on the ordinary lines. In that to the
women of Poland the ever-courteous and chivalrous Kosciuszko speaks in
the following terms:

"Ornament of the human race, fair sex! I truly suffer at the sight of
your anxiety for the fate of the daring resolution which the Poles are
taking for the liberation of our country. Your tears which that anxiety
draws forth from tender hearts penetrate the heart of your compatriot
who is consecrating himself to the common happiness. Permit me,
fellow-citizenesses, to give you my idea, in which may be found the
gratification of your tenderness and the gratification of the public
necessity. Such is the lot of oppressed humanity that it cannot keep its
rights or regain them otherwise than by offerings painful and costly to
sensitive hearts, sacrificing themselves entirely for the cause of
freedom.

"Your brothers, your sons, your husbands, are arming for war. Our blood
is to make your happiness secure. Women! let your efforts stanch its
shedding. I beg you for the love of humanity to make lint and bandages
for the wounded. That offering from fair hands will relieve the
sufferings of the wounded and spur on courage itself."[1]

[Footnote 1: Cf. K. Bartoszewicz, _History of Kosciuszko's
Insurrection_. Vienna, 1909 (Polish).]

Kosciuszko's appeals to the nation soon found their response. Recruits
flocked to the army, and money, weapons, clothing, gifts of all
descriptions came pouring in. Polish ladies brought their jewels to the
commander or sold them for the public fund; men and women cheerfully
parted with their dearest treasures. The inventories range from such
contributions as four horses with a month's fodder from a priest, "five
thousand scythes" given by a single individual, couples of oxen, guns
and pistols, to bundles of lint, old handkerchiefs, and what was
probably the most valued possession of its owner, set down in the list
of donations as "the gold watch of a certain citizen for having
distinguished himself at Kozubow," where on March 25th one of the Polish
detachments had engaged the Russians.

In the course of these patriotic presentations there occurred an episode
that stands out among the many picturesque incidents in the romantic
story of