* His reign is thought to have been coincident with the beginning of the seventh centnry. Duglossius declares, Lib. i., Habet nonnullorum assertio Graecum principem ante incarnationem Christi annis circiter quadringentis regnare apud Polonorum gentem ccepisse. But if he reigned 400 years before the incarnation, what a void will be opened between his reign and that of Miecflaus the First!
to beauty in conjunction with eloquence? Vanda was soon rendered victorious by the sole aid of her charms; she enchanted the hostile troops in a moment, the commanders refused to combat against so amiable a princess, the soldiers quitted their ranks, the most savage among them were disarmed of all their rage, their chief himself was forsaken by all his troops, he yielded to the impressions of confusion and despair, and plunged his sword into his own breast as a punishment for his temerity.
' The princess was easily induced to pardon the foes she had vanquished in this manner; and as she was satisfied with securing the repose of her subjects, she repaired to Cracow, to receive their applause in that city, where they decreed her the honour of a triumph, for a victory she had acquired by her charms and wit, one in which her soldiers could not pretend to any participation. It is a pity that this princess should have become an enthusiast after this great event; but she considered it as an evidence of the favour of her tutelar gods; and she imagined it was incumbent on her to testify her gratitude by a strange sacrifice, in which she herself was the victim. In view of this, she threw herself into the Weissel.
' A death so tragical as this left the Poles a second time without a master, and they had then an inclination to enjoy the sweets of independency. Though liberty had already proved so fatal to them, they were allured by the pleasures they expected to enjoy by changing their state, and they resumed the republican form of government. Poland was then divided into twelve palatinates, the administration of which was committed to the same number of lords, who were chosen to dispense justice to the people, and to defend them against the enemies of their State. This ancient order still subsists among them, and the Palatines have to this day a power, under their kings, almost equal to that which they enjoyed at the time of their first institution,'
From that time onward their history appears a record of unceasingly recurrent wars and revolutions, reminding one of what Beshlam, Methridah, and Tabeel wrote to Artaxerxes in regard to the Jews*; but unhappily for the credit of the Poles, details are given which cannot be gainsaid.
In regard to the introduction of Christianity into Poland, the Abbd writes: —
' The northern nations had already begun to embrace Christianity; Sclavonia and Bohemia had, for some time, renounced the errors of paganism, and Poland was converted by a pious princess. Dabrowka, the daughter of Boleflaus, Duke of Bohemia, was the person by whose ministration God accomplished this work. This lady was determined not to espouse Miecflaus, unless he would consent to be baptised. The prince caused himself to be instructed in the truths of her religion; and when he had declared himself a Christian he was desirous that his people should follow his example. With this view he became their apostle; all the idols were destroyed, and on the ruins of their altars temples were erected to the true God.
'Miecflaus, some time after his conversion, sent the Archbishop of Cracow to Rome, to assure the Pope of his obedience, and to demand from him a donation of the regal Crown; but Benedick VII. gave the preference to Stephen, Duke of Hungary, by whom he had been also solicited for the same gift. This conduct of the Pope either sprung from some prejudice he had entertained against Miecfluas, or perhaps he may have already heard of the death of that prince.