although a Pole by birth he is one of the greatest masters of English
style. The Polish authors who have written in their own language have
perhaps been most successful in the short story. Often it is so slight
that it can hardly be called a story, but each of these sketches
conveys a distinct atmosphere of the country and the people, and shows
the individuality of each writer. The unhappy state of Poland for more
than 150 years has placed political and social problems in the
foreground of Polish literature. Writers are therefore judged and
appraised by their fellow-countrymen as much by their patriotism as by
their literary and artistic merits.

Of the authors whose work is presented in this volume _Prus_
(Aleksander Glowacki), the veteran of modern Polish novelists, is the
one most loved by his own countrymen. His books are written partly with
a moral object, as each deals with a social evil. But while he exposes
the evil, his warm heart and strong sense of justice--combined with a
sense of humour--make him fair and even generous to all.

The poignant appeal of _Szymanski's_ stories lies in the fact that
they are based on personal experiences. He was banished to Yakutsk in
Siberia for six years when he was quite a young man and had barely
finished his studies at the University of Warsaw, at a time when every
profession of radicalism, however moderate, was punished severely by
the Russian authorities. He died, a middle-aged man, during the War,
after many years of literary and journalistic activity in the interest
of his country. Neither he nor Prus lived to see Poland free and
republican, an ideal for which they had striven.

_Zeromski_ is a writer of intense feeling. If Prus's kindly and
simple tales are the most beloved, Zeromski's more subtle psychological