teen, stood godfather and gave his name to the
new-born offspring of his tutor. Little Frederick's residence at the
village cannot have been of long duration.

The establishment of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 had ushered in a
time big with chances for a capable man, and we may be sure that a
young husband and father, no doubt already on the look-out for some more
lucrative and independent employment, was determined not to miss them.
Few peaceful revolutions, if any, can compare in thoroughness with the
one that then took place in Poland; a new sovereign ascended the throne,
two differently-constituted representative bodies superseded the old
Senate and Diet, the French code of laws was introduced, the army and
civil service underwent a complete re-organisation, public instruction
obtained a long-needed attention, and so forth. To give an idea of the
extent of the improvement effected in matters of education, it is enough
to mention that the number of schools rose from 140 to 634, and that
a commission was formed for the publication of suitable books of
instruction in the Polish language. Nicholas Chopin's hopes were not
frustrated; for on October 1, 1810, he was appointed professor of the
French language at the newly-founded Lyceum in Warsaw, and a little more
than a year after, on January 1, 1812, to a similar post at the School
of Artillery and Engineering.

The exact date when Nicholas Chopin and his family settled in Warsaw is
not known, nor is it of any consequence. We may, however, safely assume
that about this time little Frederick was an inhabitant of the Polish
metropolis. During the first years of his life the parents may
have lived in somewhat straitened circumstances. The salary of the
professorship, even if regularly paid, would hardly suffice for a family
to live comfortably, and the time was unfavourable for gaining much by
private tuition. M. de Pradt, describing Poland in 1812, says:--

Nothing could exceed the misery of all classes. The army was
not paid, the officers were in rags, the best houses were in
ruins, the greatest lords were compelled to leave Warsaw from
want of money to provide for their tables. No pleasures, no
society, no invitations as in Paris and in London. I even saw
princesses quit Warsaw from the most extreme distress. The
Princess Radziwill had brought two women from England and
France, she wished to send them back, but had to keep them
because