"I know that you are as fond of adventure as I am, and I am
thinking of sending you with an envoy I am despatching to Warsaw.
"You know that the Poles are adverse to business of all kinds. The
poorest noble, who can scarcely pay for the cloak he wears, and who
is ready enough to sell his vote and his sword to the highest
bidder, will turn up his nose at honest trade; and the consequence
is, as there is no class between the noble and the peasant, the
trade of the country is wholly in the hands of Jews and foreigners,
among the latter being, I hear, many Scotchmen, who, while they
make excellent soldiers, are also keen traders. This class must
have considerable power, in fact, although it be exercised quietly.
The Jews are, of course, money lenders as well as traders. Large
numbers of these petty nobles must be in their debt, either for
money lent or goods supplied.
"My agent goes specially charged to deal with the archbishop, who
is quite open to sell his services to me, although he poses as one
of the strongest adherents of the Saxons. With him, it is not a
question so much of money, as of power. Being a wise man, he sees
that Augustus can never retain his position, in the face of the
enmity of the great body of the Poles, and of my hostility.
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