The Polish insurrection seems to be dying out. The great
mass of the conflagration has been smothered by the sheer bulk of the force thrown upon it, and it smoulders beneath ; showing itself only in by-places and chance intervals. The conduct of the "protecting" Powers who so cruelly oppress their ward is now the thing to be watched. Will they justify future revolt by bar- barous retribution?
The question is worth consideration by those well-meaning persons in Paris and London who are calling upon their country- men to " coOperate" with Poland in her attempt to regain national independence. Such cooperation would be utterly out of date. The very untimeliness of their own proposal, promul- gated simultaneously with the intelligence that the position of Poland is no longer triumphant revolt but fresh subjugation, should teach them how mischievous it is to encourage these con- vulsive and vain struggles. They may reflect that the show of distant, and really helpless, fruitless sympathy, is calculated to do nothing else but exasperate retribution. It cannot serve Poland; it may add to the weight of the fetters that gall and crush her.
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