Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/71

of frankness, which is generally acquired in camps, was conspicuous. His cardinal virtues were cunning, rapaciousness, and gluttony; I say virtues, for I am sure he regarded them as such. He abandoned himself to infamous plunder, not only without any shame or remorse, but even with a sort of ostentation. And why should he not? His senior officers gave him no other example, his education did not teach him better principles. He saw that elevation and riches alone commanded respect, and increased enjoyments; and that the more a man employed cunning, rapacity, and impudence, in order to obtain them, the more he was admired as a clever and talented man; he continued, then, the practice of every kind of robbery and plunder, with a sort of satisfaction and pride. At the same time that we were intrusted to this worthy man, forty large waggons filled with booty were proceeding with him. Kozienice, a hunting château of the King of Poland, furnished these gentlemen with the first fruits of the harvest. As the king went