ith the betrayers of
our country. The degradation of cringing to the betrayers of our country
would be our grave."[1]

[Footnote 1: T. Korzon, _Kosciuszko_.]

The army, was, however, bidden by the King to lay down arms, and was
recalled to Warsaw. "It is impossible to express the grief, despair, and
anger of the army against the King," wrote Kosciuszko several months
later as he collected his memories of the campaign in the manuscript
notes referred to above. "The Prince-General himself gave proof of the
greatest attachment to the country. All recognized the King's bad will,
since there was still the possibility of defeating the Russian army."
Kosciuszko was present at one of the conferences held after the arrival
of the Royal mandate between the Polish commander and Kachowski; and he
could not restrain tears of wrath as he took stock of the Russian
officers whom he was convinced that, were it not for treachery at
headquarters, Poland could have overcome. Honour forbade the Polish
officers to retain their commissions any longer in a service that was no
more national, but that was in the domination of Russia and of those who
were playing into her hands. On the march back to Warsaw, Poniatowski
sent in his resignation to the King, and on another page of The same
document Kosciuszko--followed by hundreds of others--in a few laconic
words laid down his tardily and hardly won command.

"Since," his note runs, "the change in the national conditions are
contrary to my original oath and internal convictions, I have the
honour to request Your Royal Majesty for the favour of signing my
resignation.

"Tadeusz Kosciuszko."

"We have sent our notes to the King," writes Kosciuszko to his warm
friend, Adam Czartoryski's wife, to whom he poured out the wounds of his
heart, bleeding at the sight of the terrible danger under which his
country was being submerged, "requesting for our resignations, and for
this reason, that in time we may not be drawn into an oath against our
convictions, that we may not be colleagues of those three [Branicki,
Felix Potocki, and Rzewuski], and for fear that the King, if we
requested later on for our resignations, will by that time not have the
power to grant them to us. Therefore, we wish to secure ourselves,
declaring to the King that if there is nothing against the country in
these negotiations [with Russia], and if those personages will not be in
the army, then we will serv