jefty, the king of Pruffia, and at his own defire, in the year 1790, whereby the independence and the integrity of Poland were guaratied in the moft folemn manner; that, being deprived of free-will, furrounded at the moment of the prefent act by an armed foreign force, and threatened with a further invafion of the Pruffian troops, they are forced to com miffion and authorise a deputation appointed to treat with the faid king, to figa the treaty, fuch as it was planned and amended under the medi. ation of the Ruffian ambassador." Depreffed and defpairing, the Polish nation, fuppofing its political existence to depend on a feasonable alliance with a powerful neighbour, put itfelf under the protection of Ruffia, which, in the treaty of alliance with Poland, had exprefsly ftipulated that no change or infringement fhould take place in the form of government to be established without the consent of the empress or her fucceffors: fo that Ruffia, without es gaging for the perpetuity of the new form, became completely mistress of whatever government fhould be established in Poland. On the 7th of February; 1794, the baron d'Ingelftrohm, who had fucceeded the count de Sievers as ambaffador at Warsaw, demanded a public annulling of the acts of the diets of 1788 and 1791, together with the form of the conftitution then established, and the furrender of every paper, whether in public records or private cabinets, refpecting that tranfaction. The court of Ruffia foon afterwards iffued its mandate for the reduction of the military force to 16,000 men. This was opposed by several regiments, particularly in South Pruffia, where the infurgents, headed by the gallant Madalinfki, a Polish nobleman, and brigadier of the national troops, peremptorily refused to difband. The fpirit of refiftance was widely diffused, and the capital affumed a military afpect. In this fituation fifteen thousand Ruffian troops were fent into Poland, the ambaffador was inftructed to deliver to the permanent council an official document, representing the danger that threatened the king, and requesting the commiffioners of war to dispatch an army to oppofe Madalinfki; and the permanent council was defired to take into cuftody every fufpected perfon. Both thefe requifitions were, however, refufed; and it was pointedly replied to the latter, that, according to the laws of the republic, no Polish nobleman could be arrested, without being legally convicted. The imperious conduct of the Ruffians, during their ftruggle for power, continued to harafs the oppreffed Poles, and to drive them to defperation. The peafants were compelled to lodge and board the Ruffian foldiers, and tranfport them from place to place, without receiving the leaft remuneration, or any other reward than brutality and nfolence. It could not be expected that a gallant and high-fpirited icople would long tamely fubmit to fuch infult and injury. Their pa triotic fpirit, though latent, was not extinguished. It was roufed into action by inceffant fufferings, and by the continued efforts of the intre pid Kofciufko, who, early in February, appeared at the head of a confiderable body of Polish infurgents, attacked the Pruffians who had taken poffeffion of their country, forced them to retreat, and pursued them to a confiderable distance. The Ruffian troops having evacuated Cracow on the 23d of March, Kofciufko entered that town on the night of the 24th, and next morning ordered the gates to be fhut, and declared himfelf commander-in-chief of all the Polish forces. He then impofed an oath of fidelity on all the military in the city, took poffef. fion of the public treasure, and proceeded to measures of military fe queftration. On the day on which he entered Cracow, he iffued a pro clamation, couched in the moft energetic terms, inviting the nation to thake off their difgraceful fetters, and to unite in forming a new confederation. The proclamation was received with unanimous applaufe; and "Long live Kofciufko!" refounded from every quarter. He was conducted to the town-house and prefented to the principal nobility, who had affembled there to receive him; and by them he was formally invested with the title of general. Every article for the fupport of his army was abundantly fupplied. On the 26th, a revolutionary tribunal was established, and every fifth houfe was required to furnish one man armed and equipped for the defence of the conftitution against the ufurping powers The different corporations then affembled under their refpective banners before the town-houfe, whence the magiftrates led them in proceffion to the church of the Holy Virgin, where the conftitution of the 3d of May, 1791, was publicly read with great folemnity, and an oath taken to defend it. In the mean time Warfaw was in a state of the higheft fermentation. In that city and its vicinity there were not lefs than fifteen thousand Ruffian mercenaries, fome of whom were quartered to the amount of a hundred in a body, in feveral of the palaces. The moft vigorous measures were adopted by the permanent council; a decree paffed, de. claring the infurgents rebels, and fubjecting them to the moft arbitrary punishments; and the police were charged to feize every perfon fufpected of being inimical to the exifting government, with the promife of mili tary affiftance. The unpopularity of his Polish majefty daily increafed, and a guard of Ruffians was appointed for his prefervation. About this time the unhappy monarch iffued a proclamation, exhorting his fubjects to a peaceable acquiefcence, and urging the danger and destruction which attended their refistance. The Polish nobles had no fooner taken the oaths in the presence of Kofciuko, than they departed for their respective eftates, in order to arm and affemble their vaffals. Baron d'Ingelftrohm, about the fame time, furrounded the diet at Warsaw with a military force, and demanded the furrender of the arfenal. This demand was fpiritedly refifted; and notice of it having been fent to Kofciufko, he, about the end of March, took the route to Warfaw with his army, and a reinforcement of 4,000 peasants, armed with pikes, &c.-On the 4th of April he was met by a detachment of 6,000 'Ruffians, with a park of heavy artillery, on their march to reduce Cracow. A fierce encounter enfued. The Polith peasants being driven to defperation made a dreadful flaughter of the Ruffian plunderers. General Woronzow was taken prifoner, and above 1,000 Ruffians killed on the fpot; while the Poles loft only fixty men, and took eleven pieces of canon and all the ammunition. After the battle, Kofciufko fell back with his army towards Cracow, where he was joined by a very confiderable body of difaffected Polish troops. On the 16th of April, baron d'Ingelftrohm demanded the furrender of the arfenal, the difarming of the military, and that twenty perfons of the firft confequence fhould be arrested, and, if found guilty, punifhed with death. This occafioned a general commotion, in which the citi zens, having procured arms from the arfenal, after an inceffant combat of thirty-fix hours, drove the Ruffians out of the city with great flaughter. A deputation had been fent to inform the king of the attempt of the Ruffians to feize the arfenal; when the monarch had replied, "Go, and defend your honour." The fituation of the king after the conteft, became very critical, and the people were extremely jealous of every movement he made. They compelled him to promife repeatedly that he would not quit Warfaw; and, not fatisfied with his affurances, in. fifted upon placing two municipal officers as a guard upon him; and he was defired frequently to exhibit himself to the people. Forty thoufand Ruffians were now put in motion towards Poland from the Ukraine, and fixteen thousand from Livonia. About the end of May, the corps of Kofciufko amounted to nearly 23,000 men; that of general Kochowski to 18,000; that of Jaffinfki to 6,000; a corps of 12,000 was ftationed at Wilna, and another at Warsaw, which confifted of 8,000. The peafants were not included in this calculation. About the end of June, a manifefto was published by the emperor, on the occafion of his troops entering Poland. On the 12th of July, the head quarters of the king and prince of Pruffia were only three or four leagues from Warfaw, whence they iffued a placard, ftating that the enemy had fled before them in their progrefs. In the meantime, how. ever, Kofciufko (who had eluded the Pruffian troops) by a brave attack had defeated the forces which opposed him, and had thrown himself into Warfaw. On the 31ft of June, the Pruffians began to attack the city by a heavy cannonade, and feveral hundred bombs were in the course of the day thrown into Warsaw; a dreadful fire was kept on the be fiegers by night and by day, and an incredible number of lives were loft. The king and the prince-royal are both faid to have been in imminent danger at this time. On the 2d of Auguft his Pruffian majefty, whofe hopes of fuccefs had probably been a little damped, attempted to open a negociation with the king of Poland for the furrender of the capital, which was rejected. About the middle of this month, accounts were tranfmitted to the Pruffian camp of infurrections having arifen in South Pruffia (formerly Great Poland), of which his Pruffian majefty had taken poffeffion the preceding year; and on the night of the 5th of September the Pruffian and Ruffian forces abandoned the fiege of Warfaw, after a fruitless attack of two months, much weakened by the difeafes and defertions which prevailed in their camps, and difabled from the want of provifions and ammunition. In the courfe of the fame month, the Ruffian grand army, confifting of 20,000 men, arrived in Poland, and on the 18th a fevere engagement took place near Brzefc, in which the Poles loft very confiderable numbers, and were compelled to retreat across the Bog. On the 10th of October another battle was fought between the Ruffians under general Ferfen, and the troops under Kofciufko. The Ruffians advanced twice to the attack, but were repulfed by the Poles, who, however, unforts. nately, not contented with the advantages they had gained, abandoned their favourable pofition on the heights, and preffed on to the attack in their turn. This movement threw the troops into fume confufion; and the Ruilians forming themselves anew, the rout foon became general. The battle, which began at feven in the morning, did not end til noon. Kofciufko flew from rank to rank, and was continually in the hottest part of the engagement. At length he fell, and a Coffack, who did not know him in the peafant's drefs which he conftantly wore, wounded him from behind with a lance. He recovered, and advanced a few fteps, but was again knocked down by another Coffack, who wat preparing to give him a mortal blow, when his arm was flopped by! Ruffian officer, who is faid to have been general Chinez zow, to whofe wife Kofciufko had a fhort time before politely given leave of departu from Warfaw to join her husband. The unfortunate Kofciusko implore! the officer, if he wished to render him a fervice, to allow the foldier to put an end to his existence; but the latter chofe rather to make him a prifoner. The Polish infantry defended themselves with a bravery proportioned to that of their general, and fought with a degree of valour almoft approaching to fury. The Ruffians under general Ferfen foon afterwards fummoned Warfaw to furrender; and on being refufed, afer the junction of the dif ferent corps under Ferfen, Dernfeldt, Dernifow, and Suwarrow, proceeded on the 4th of November to attack the fuburb of Praga or Prague, feparated from Warfaw by the Vistula, which was defended by more than a hundred pieces of cannon difpofed upon thirty-three batteries. The Ruffians fucceeded in their affault, and the Polith generals found themselves unable to oppofe with 10,000 foldiers, which was the whole of their force, the united attack of 50,000 men. After a fevere confict of eight hours, the refiftance on the part of the Poles ceased; but the maffacre of the fanguinary Suwarrow continued for two hours longer; and the pillage lafted till noon on the following day. Five thoufand Poles were computed to have been flain in the affault; the remainder were either imprisoned or difperfed. The citizens were compelled to lay down their arms; and their houfes were plundered by the merciless Ruffians, who, after the battle had ceafed nearly ten hours, about nine o'clock at night, fet fire to the town, and again began to maffacre the inhabitants. Nine thoufand perfons, unarmed men, defenceless women, and harmless infants, perished either in the flames or by the fword, and nearly the whole of the fuburb was reduced to afhes. In the whole of this fiege it is computed that not less than 50,000 Poles lost their lives. The city being thus reduced under the power of the Ruffians, the king was for a short time reftored to a kind of mock authority, by the fupreme council remitting into his hands that which it had exercised. On the 9th of November the Ruffian general made his triumphal entry into Warfaw, in which the streets were lined with his troops, and the inhabitants, fhut up in their houses, obferved a melancholy filence. The chief magiftrate delivered him the keys of the bridge of the fuburb, after which he received the compliments of the king, and on the 10th went with much pomp to the caftle, to pay his refpects to his majefty. To complete the whole of this execrable fcene, the first of December was fet apart for a day of folemn thanksgiving, and Te Deum was fung for a triumph of barbarous oppreffion. In the mean time Kofciufko was under furgical care at Nozcylack, where the utmost attention was paid to his recovery, particularly by madame Chrnozazow. He was afterwards fent to Petersburg, under a very powerful military efcort, and was confined in the fortrefs there till the death of the late emprefs, when the prefent emperor, who has on feveral occafions fhown great liberality towards the perfecuted Poles, fet him at liberty, affigned him a penfion, and allowed him his choice, either to return to his own country, or go to America. Kofciufko preferred the latter, and arrived fafely in the afylum which he chofe. On his way thither he paffed through England, and was received with the warmest welcome and congratulation by all the friends of freedom. He has fince left America, and is at prefent in France. On the 20th of December, 1794, a courier arrived from the emprefs, demanding the arrestation of count Ignatius Potocki, and feveral of the other patriots, whom the ordered to be fent to Peterburg. The fame meffenger brought a command from the emprefs to the unhappy momarch of Poland to repair to Grodno, who, in obedience to the fummons, fet off from his capital on the 7th of January, 1795. The unfortunate king was afterwards removed to Peterburg, where he had a palace and a fuitable penfion affigned him, and where he died February 11, 1798. With him ended the kingdom of Poland. Stanillaus Auguftus (late count Poniatowski) was born January 17, 1732; elected king of Poland September 7, and crowned November 25, 1764. This prince, while a private nobleman, refided fome time in London, and was a fellow of the Royal Society. Miles. SWITZERLAND. SITUATION AND EXTENT. Degrees. 6 and 11 Eaft longitude. Length 260} between {46 and 48 North latitude. Breadth 100 Containing 13,000 fquare miles, with 138 inhabitants to each. BOUNDARIES.] IT is bounded by Alface and Swabia in Germany, on the North; by the Lake of Conftance, Tyrol, and Trent, on the Eaft; by Italy, on the South; and by France, on the Weft. DIVISIONS.] Switzerland is divided into thirteen cantons, which ftand, in point of precedency, as follows: 1. Zurich; 2. Berne; 5. Lucerne ; 4. Uri; 5. Schweitz; 6. Underwalden; 7. Zug; 8. Glaris; 9. Bafil; 10. Fribourg; 11. Soleure; 12. Schaffhaufen; 13. Appenzel, The best account we have of the dimenfions and principal towns of each canton is as follows: |