Providence Patriot, Columbian Phenix

Poland.--As a specimen of some of the
patriotic imaginary anecdotes of the impending Polish conflict, the following,
which we translate from the Courrier des
Etats Unis, may be thought to have
some piquancy:--

THE WEDDING RING.

Suwloiska, open that window; I wish
to die hearing the sound of the church
bells.

Suwloiska did not feel courage enough
to obey.
She pensively looked upon her
mother.

'My daughter this is Sunday.
The
hour of prayer is come.
Help your aged
mother to prostrate herself before God.

The pious young Polish
matron assisted her mother to kneel down.

Suwloiska, my daughter, I beseech
you to open that window, that I may
hear the music of the church services.'

She did open the window which looks
upon the place where the Church stands,
and sat down in silence at the feet of her
mother.

'Suwloiska, I do not hear the sound of
the bells.'

'Listen!

'It is the cannon!'

Yes, mother, those are the bells. They
have been taken down from the belfries
to kill the Russians.

Presently the old woman resumed--
What has happened, my child? I
hear no chaunt, no voice from the church.
Where is our pastor?

'He is a soldier.'

'Let us pray, for him, daughter.
He
has prayed for us a long time.
He
blessed your marriage.

Oh! I recollect
it well. You was fair to look on.
I adorned you myself. Then the bells rang
on; merrily in the air' and then, on
your knees at the altar, you promised fidelity to your Suwloiska.'

'I have kept my promise,'
said the
young woman
blushing with honest
pleasure.

'The aged mother pressed the hand of
her daughter in her own. But her expression changed strangely. She cried
abruptly, 'Where is your wedding ring?'

'I have given it away,' she said, de-
clining her head.

'Suwloiska, has God reserved such
anguish for my latest days? My daugh-
ter what could have made you so far for-
get the duties of a wife? What have
you done with that ring the pledge of an
indissoluble union? To whom have you
given it?'

'To Poland!' And she proudly
lifted up her head.

'Our husbands are
soldiers; we have made cannons of our
bells. Our necklaces, our ear-rings our
jewels, have been exchanged for muskets.
We women have nothing else to give
and Poland wants powder. Yes--there
are six thousand of us who have yielded
up to our country all that we have left.
all that women deem most precious in
the world, our marriage rings. We have
given them to purchase powder.'

The old lady dropped from her emaci-
ated fingers the golden symbol which
she had expected never to part with, and
after kissing it repeatedly, wiped her
eyes and said--

Suwloiska, take the ring.
Let it be
sold with yours.
The country is free, in
which women sell their wedding rings to
buy ammunition. Death to the Rus-
sians! Suwloiska open the windows,
let me die hearing the noise of the can-
ons.