How often has
the tale been told me by noble refugees, sheltered on our shores from
those scenes of blood, where infamy triumphed and truth and honor
were massacred; but such narratives, though they never can be
forgotten, are too direful for the hearer to contemplate in memory.
Therefore, when I sought to represent the mental and moral contest of
man with himself, or with his fellow-men, I did not look for their
field amongst human monsters, but with natural and civilized man;
inasmuch as he is seen to be influenced by the impulses of his
selfish passions--ambition, covetousness, and the vanities of life,
or, on the opposite side, by the generous amenities of true
disinterestedness, in all its trying situations; and, as I have said,
the recent struggle in Poland, to maintain her laws and loyal
independence, against the combined aggressions of the three most
powerful states in Europe, seemed to afford me the most suitable
objects for my moral aim, to interest by sympathy, while it taught
the responsible commission of human life.
I have now described the plan of my story, its aim and origin.
If it be disapproved, let it be at once laid aside; but should it
excite any interest, I pray its perusal may be accompanied with an
indulgent candor, its subjects being of so new, and therefore
uncustomary, a character in a work of the kind. But if the reader be
one of my own sex, I would especially solicit her patience while
going through the first portion of the tale, its author being aware
that war and politics are not the most promising themes for an
agreeable amusement; but the battles are not frequent, nor do the
cabinet councils last long.
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