Page 149 - A Jacobite Exile

themselves he had no quarrel, for they had taken no part in the struggle,
which had been carried on solely by their king, with his Saxon troops.

The authority of the kings of Poland was much smaller than that of other

European monarchs. The office was not a hereditary one; the king being
elected at a diet, composed of the whole of the nobles of the country, the
nobility embracing practically every free man; and, as it was necessary,

according to the constitution of the country, that the vote should be
unanimous, the difficulties in the way of election were very great, and civil

wars of constant occurrence.

Charles was determined that he would drive Augustus, who was the author

of the league against him, from the throne; but he desired to do this by
means of the Poles themselves, rather than to unite the whole nation against

him by invading the country. Poland was divided into two parts, the larger
of which was Poland proper, which could at once place thirty thousand men
in the field. The other was Lithuania, with an army of twelve thousand.

These forces were entirely independent of each other. The troops were for
the most part cavalry, and the small force, permanently kept up, was

composed almost entirely of horsemen. They rarely drew pay, and
subsisted entirely on plunder, being as formidable to their own people as to
an enemy.

Lithuania, on whose borders the king had taken post with his army, was, as

usual, harassed by two factions, that of the Prince Sapieha and the Prince of
Oginski, between whom a civil war was going on.

The King of Sweden took the part of the former, and, furnishing him with
assistance, speedily enabled him to overcome the Oginski party, who

received but slight aid from the Saxons. Oginski's forces were speedily
dispersed, and roamed about the country in scattered parties, subsisting on
pillage, thereby exciting among the people a lively feeling of hatred against

the King of Poland, who was regarded as the author of the misfortunes that
had befallen the country.