Page:Sarolea - Great Russia.djvu/162

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
146
GREAT RUSSIA

The Polish people were determined to live, and as a result they are stronger to-day than they were a hundred years ago. Poland is to-day more than a dream, more than a pious aspiration. Unless patriotism is only an illusion, unless nationality is only based on political force, and is to be measured only by commercial success, the Polish nationality is an accomplished fact, for the Polish people are united by the strongest bonds which can unite any people: a common language, a common religion, common traditions, the memory of common sufferings, and an unshakable faith in a common Destiny


V

Of the three component parts of Poland, the Austrian part, Galicia need not detain us, although to the ordinary traveller it is far more interesting that the two other parts. Its capital, Cracow, the Polish Rome, is one of the historical cities of the world. Austrian Poland possesses in the Carpathian Mountains some of the finest scenery in Central Europe. Its Alpine resorts attract an ever-increasing number of tourists, and Zakopane is, in summer, a brilliant and fascinating Kurort, and the gathering