{"product_id":"2940012844804","title":"THE JOURNAL OF COUNTESS FRAN\u0026Ccedil;OISE KRASINSKA GREAT GRAND MOTHER OF VICTOR EMMANUEL","description":"IN THE CASTLE OF MALESZOW,\u003cbr\u003e    _Monday, January 1, 1759_.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne week ago--it was Christmas day--my honored Father ordered to\u003cbr\u003ebe brought to him a huge book, in which for many years he has\u003cbr\u003ewritten with his own hand all the important things which have\u003cbr\u003ehappened in our country; also copies of the notable pamphlets,\u003cbr\u003espeeches, manifestoes, public and private letters, occasional\u003cbr\u003epoems, etc., and having placed everything in the order of its\u003cbr\u003edate, he showed us this precious collection and read to us some\u003cbr\u003eextracts. I was much pleased with his idea of recording\u003cbr\u003einteresting facts and circumstances; and as I know how to write\u003cbr\u003epretty well in Polish and in French, and have heard that in\u003cbr\u003eFrance some women have written their memoirs, I thought, \"Why\u003cbr\u003eshould not I try to do something of the kind?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo I have made a big copy-book by fastening together many sheets\u003cbr\u003eof paper, and I shall note down, as accurately as I am able,\u003cbr\u003eeverything which may happen to me and to my family, and I shall\u003cbr\u003ealso mention public affairs as they happen, as far as I may be\u003cbr\u003eacquainted with them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo-day is New Year's Day and Monday, a very proper season to\u003cbr\u003ebegin something new. I am at leisure; the morning Service is\u003cbr\u003efinished, I am dressed and my hair is curled; ten is just\u003cbr\u003estriking on the castle clock, so I have two hours till dinner\u003cbr\u003etime. Well, I begin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI was born in 1742, so I am just past my sixteenth birthday. I\u003cbr\u003ereceived at the christening the name of Françoise. I have heard\u003cbr\u003emore than once that I am pretty, and sometimes looking in the\u003cbr\u003emirror, I think so myself. \"One has to thank God, and not to\u003cbr\u003eboast,\" says my gracious Mother; \"it is He that hath made us\u003cbr\u003eand not we ourselves.\" I have black hair and eyes, a fair\u003cbr\u003ecomplexion and rosy cheeks. I should like to be a little taller,\u003cbr\u003ebut they frighten me by saying I shall not grow any more. I am\u003cbr\u003edescended from the not only noble, but very old and illustrious\u003cbr\u003efamily of Korwin Krasinski. God forbid I should ever tarnish the\u003cbr\u003eglorious name I am fortunate enough to bear! on the contrary I\u003cbr\u003eshould like much to add to its fame, and I am often sorry I am\u003cbr\u003enot a man, as I should then have more opportunities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Count, my honored Father, and the Countess, are so sensible\u003cbr\u003eof the grandeur of the Korwin Krasinski family, and they so often\u003cbr\u003espeak of it,--not only they, but our courtiers and our guests as\u003cbr\u003ewell,--and it is thought by all to be such a great reproach not to\u003cbr\u003eknow precisely about our ancestors, that we all have our heads\u003cbr\u003efull of that kind of information. I can recite the genealogy of the\u003cbr\u003eKrasinskis and the history of each of them as perfectly as my\u003cbr\u003emorning prayer, and I think that I should have more difficulty\u003cbr\u003ein telling the names of our Polish kings in chronological order\u003cbr\u003ethan in telling those of my ancestors. The pictures of the most\u003cbr\u003eillustrious are in our hall,[1] but it would take too long to write\u003cbr\u003eabout each of them. The first of whom we know anything was\u003cbr\u003eWarcislaus Korwin, from the old Roman family of Corvinus, who,\u003cbr\u003ein the eleventh century, came from Hungary to Poland and was\u003cbr\u003eappointed the Hetman (General-in-chief) of the army of King\u003cbr\u003eBoleslaus II.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    [1] They are still in Count Adam Krasinski's palace\u003cbr\u003e        in Warsaw.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHaving espoused a noble lady of the name of Pobog, Korwin united\u003cbr\u003ehis crest--a raven holding a ring--to that of the Pobogs--a hand\u003cbr\u003egrasping a sabre--and such is still our cognizance. His grandson\u003cbr\u003ewas the first to take the name Krasinski, that is, _of Krasin_,\u003cbr\u003efrom an estate bestowed upon him by the King as a reward for his\u003cbr\u003ebravery; and from that time forward many hetmans, castellans,\u003cbr\u003ewoivodes,[2] bishops, etc., made the Krasinski name famous in\u003cbr\u003ePolish history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    [2] Governors of provinces.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of them, Alexander, in this very same Maleszow Castle where\u003cbr\u003eI am now quietly writing, resisted so bravely a great Tartar\u003cbr\u003earmy, in one of its plundering excursions from Asia, that the\u003cbr\u003echief was obliged to retreat; but before leaving, he sent to the\u003cbr\u003evalorous castellan, as a token of his admiration, the most\u003cbr\u003eprecious thing he possessed,--namely, a clock, of very simple\u003cbr\u003econstruction, it is true, but a great wonder at that time. This\u003cbr\u003ecurious relic, this gift from an enemy,--and he a Tartar, more\u003cbr\u003eaccustomed to take than to give,--is still preserved with great\u003cbr\u003ecare in our family; I have seen it but twice in my life, my\u003cbr\u003ehonored Father keeping it so carefully, and I am sure he would\u003cbr\u003enot exchange it for ten Paris clocks with all their chimes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis valiant ancestor of mine was killed in a war with Russia,\u003cbr\u003eand left no son.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079059226864,"sku":"2940012844804","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012844804_p0.jpg?v=1763573101","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012844804","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}