Note 30 — NICHOLAS GOGOL. (continued 3)

The Ssiem was one of the most incongruous phenomena of the Polish administration. Every landed proprietor had a voice in this assembly, which was convoked on every important occasion: such as the election of a king, the declaration of war, the conclusion of peace, &c., &c. The veto of a single member was, de jure, sufficient to put a stop to any political or administrative measure proposed to these assemblies; de facto, however, the king availed himself of the support of some powerful magnates to enforce the execution of his will; but as this was only an infringement of the law, so it never failed to excite the opposition (very often, armed) of the malcontents. No wonder, then, if the Ssiems, forming the supreme constituent power in the state, brought upon Poland the miseries of which the history of that country is one long and uninterrupted story.