"Insatiate robbers!" exclaimed Thaddeus; "Heaven will requite this
sacrilege." He thought on his mother, who lay beneath the ruins, and
tore himself from the sight, whilst he added, "Farewell! forever
farewell! thou beloved, revered Villanow, where I was reared in bliss
and tenderness! I quit thee and my country forever!" As he spoke, he
raised his hands and eyes to heaven, and pressing the picture his
mother had given him to his lips and bosom, turned from the parapet,
determining to prepare that night for his departure the next morning.
He arose by daybreak, and having gathered together all his little
wealth, the whole of which was compressed within the portmanteau that
was buckled on his gallant horse, precisely two hours before the
triumphal car of General Suwarrow entered Warsaw, Sobieski left it.
As he rode along the streets, he bedewed its stones with his tears.
They were the first that he had shed during the long series of his
misfortunes, and they now flowed so fast, that he could hardly
discern his way out of the city.
At the great gate his horse stopped, and neighed with a strange
sound.
"Poor Saladin!" cried Thaddeus, stroking his neck; "are you so sorry
at leaving Warsaw that, like your unhappy master, you linger to take
a last lamenting look!"
His tears redoubled; and the warder, as he closed the gate after him,
implored permission to kiss the hand of the noble Count Sobieski, ere
he should turn his back on Poland, never to return.
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