The long text on Paris and its architecture contains numerous references to Polish traces of Paris, including the coat of arms on the clock on the tower of the Palace of Justice, restored by Henry de Valois, and the sarcophagus containing the heart of Jan Kazimierz, located in the church of St. Germain-de-Pres (Source: 'Ziemia. Tygodnik Krajoznawczy Ilustrowany', Warsaw 1911, no. 36, pp. 5-7, after: Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa).

A modernised reading of the text

The oldest Polish souvenirs in Paris.

When a wanderer stands on the cobblestones of Paris, he is immediately dazzled by the noise of the streets, the clatter of electric, steam and horse-drawn trams, horse-drawn omnibuses and car omnibuses shaking as if in a fever; he is deafened by the sound of automobile trumpets, the clatter of heavy carts carrying stones, grey, sooty houses built of stone; the stalls set up in front of junk shops and, directly above them, the round restaurant tables scattered on the pavements in front of the eateries; the pavements and cobblestones covered with papers and vegetable waste; the shouting of saleswomen and tradesmen, the crowds of passers-by - this is the picture of street life. And the first impression of the wanderer: the French capital is nasty, dirty, smelly, noisy, simple.

It also seems to him that only the new Paris and the aristocratic quarter with its magnificent prospect of the Champs Elysees are worth seeing. But whoever has delved into the narrow streets of the Latin quarter, which have preserved the almost unspoilt character of the medieval city; whoever has become acquainted with the monuments of the past, the public edifices, the churches, the old walls of the Cluny Museum, remembering the Romans, or the ruins of the old Roman circus... the ancient Lutetia and the Paris of history have certainly appealed to him! And on the walls of historic Paris, which once had so much influence in the history of the world, Poland must also have engraved the traces of its existence.

These traces are Polish memorabilia. Let us begin with the most ancient. In one of the historical monuments of Paris, the Palais de Justice, there is a corner tower, called the clock tower (la Tour de l'Horloge), on the back side, called the "Conciergerie". Philip the Beautiful had already placed a clock on this tower, but it was replaced by a new one in 1370. Henry III (so sadly marked in Polish history as Henry Valois) had the clock restored (in 1585 by German Pilon), who embellished it with various accessories.

However, we are most interested in the two coats of arms of Poland and France, above which the maker placed the collar of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, whose founder was Henry III. The coat of arms of Poland, placed by Pilon, was intended to signify that Henry III was also king of Poland. On the plaque, placed under the clock, we find a Latin inscription which states that this clock is like a symbol of justice. Among other things it said:

JUSTITIAM SERVARE
COINS

Such an inscription under the emblem of our nation sounds strange. This coat of arms of Poland, as if joined by a necklace with the coat of arms of France, is the oldest Polish souvenir in Paris. It is perhaps only a mark left in the French capital by Poland indirectly through its former king, Henry Valois, in the 16th century. A second Polish memorial, one century closer to us, is to be found in the Church of Saint Germain on the Meadow (St. Germain-des-Prés).

Namely, the sarcophagus containing the heart of John Casimir can be seen there. This is not the place to pass historical judgement on this king, we are only concerned with Polish memorabilia in Paris, but we want them to remind us a little of our past, to stand vividly before our eyes. And the figure of Jan Kazimierz, if it evokes a memory of one of the pages of our history, it is a sad history. We defended ourselves, we won our freedom during his reign, and we paid for Polish bravery with blood. A Swede, a Cossack and a Tartar struck at the monument of the Republic. It trembled. The monument was not demolished, but the walls were strained.

After days of bloodshed, powerless, exhausted not only physically but also spiritually, Jan Kazimierz decided to leave the Polish throne. He may have seen "the fall of the country which he could not reverse", or he did not know how. If he could not, and wanted to make way for those who would be able to keep the vast lands untouched, then honour him! Then his own words take on strength, the words in which he bid farewell to the nation, when he told the Sejm that

"for the love of the fatherland I shall be gregorius from the leader, from the lord - obediens, from the king - concivis...".

The tombstone, which is in the Church of Paris, was erected shortly after the death of John Casimir (1672), commissioned by Louis XIV. The relief is under a curtain: the figure of the king can be seen kneeling; in his left hand he holds a scepter and a crown, as if he wanted to offer them to God. The figure and the accessories (such as pillow, shield, rifle, etc.), carved in white marble, are the work of Marsy. An inscription is placed under the sculpture:

D. O. M.
AETERNAE MEMORIAE REGIS CASIMIRI

The whole is supported by a base of black marble, now unfortunately cracked; on the sides is carved in Latin the story of John Casimir's life; in the middle is a bronze relief depicting, we presume, the Battle of Beresteczko. On one side one can see Polish banners and smoking cannons, on the other a host of pagans, Cossacks with spears and bows in hand. In the middle, Jan Kazimierz at the head of the hussars.

The side panels, on which the king's life and deeds are inscribed, are a later work, the work of Jan Thibault. Among other things, it states that he abdicated in 1668 and that, having learnt of the loss of Kamieniec, he died of paralysis. He died as abbot of the monastery of Saint-German, where his body was also interred. In 1676, Casimir's body was transported to Krakow, but his heart remained in exile in the aforementioned sarcophagus. Today, it reminds us of a king who laid down his crown, left his country and went to "in solitudine" implore God for his homeland on foreign soil.

John Casimir Vasa, a descendant of the Jagiellons, who apparently still thought about distant Poland even when he was abroad, because he stopped living when his soul was pierced by the news of the loss of Kamieniec, opens a great host of exiles, a procession of wanderers. A procession of wanderers, exiles from Poland, who walked from their homeland, with a desire to serve it abroad; some, exiled from their native land, others voluntary and yearning wanderers.

Left side
HIC, PUSTE EMENSOS VIRTUTUM AC GLORIAE FLUCTUS OMNES, QUIA NOBILISSIMA PARTE JUANNES CASIMIRUS POLONIAE AC SUECIAE REX, ALTO DE JAGIELLONIDUM SANQUINE, E FAMILIA VASATENSI POSTREMUS, QUIA SUMMUS LITTERIS, ARMIS, PIETATE: MULTARUM GENTIUM LINGUAS ADDISCERET, QUO ILLAS PROPENSIUS SIBI DEVINCIRET, SEPTEMDECIM PROELIIS, COLLATIS CUM HOSTE SIGNIS, TOTIDEM UNO MINUS VICTIS SEMPER INVENTIS. MOSCOVITOS, SUECOS, BRANDENBURGENSES, TARTAROS, GERMANOS ARMIS, COSACOS ALIOSQUE REBELLES IRRUPTIONIBUS EXPUGNAVIT, VICTORIA ILLIS SE PRAEBENS, CLEMENTIA PATREM. DENIQUE IGITUR UNDECIM IMPERII ANNIS, FORTUNAM VIRTUTE VINCENS, AULAM HUJUS CASTRA, PALATIA UT TENEBRAS, SPECTACULA IN TRIUMPHIS. LIBEROS EX LEGITIMO CONNUBIO SUSCEPIT. ILLIS POSTEA ORBATUS EST. NE SI SE MAJOREM RELIQUISSET, NON ESSET IPSE MAXIMUS, SIN MINOREM, STIRPS DEGENERARET.

Right side
PAREL AD FORTITUDINEM RELIGIO FUIT, NEC SEGNIS CUM ILLO MILITAVIT QUAM SOLO. HINC EXSTRUCTA MONASTERIA ET NOSOCOMIA VARSOVIAE. CALVINIANORUM FANA IN LITHUANIA DELETA, SOCINIANI REGNO PULSI, NE CASIMIRUM HABERENT REGEM, QUI CHRISTUM DEUM NON HABERENT. SENATUS A VARIIS SECTIS AD CATHOLICAE FIDEI COMMUNIONEM ADDUCTUS, UT ECCLESIAE LEGIBUS CONTINERENTUR, QUI JURA POPULIS DICERENT. UNDE ILLI PRAECLARUM ORTHODOXI NOMEN AB ALEXANDRO VII INDICTUM. HUMANAE DENIQUE GLORIAE FASTIGIUM EGRESSUS, CUM NIHIL PRAECLARIUS AGERE POSSET, IMPERIUM SPONTE ABDICAVIT ANNO M.D.C.LXVIII. TUM PRORSUS LACRIMAS, QUAS NULLI REGNANS EXCUSSERAT, OMNIUM OCULIS MANARUNT, QUAE ABLUENTEM REGEM NON SECUS AC OBEUNTEM PATREM LUXERE. VITAE RELIQUUM IN PIETATIS OFFICIIS CUM EXEGISSET, TANDEM AUDITA KAMENECIAE EXPUGNATIONE, NE TANTAE CLADIS SUPERESSET, CARITATE PATRIAE VULNERATUS OCCUBUIT XVII KAL. JAN. M.D.C.LXXII.

Under the plaque in the middle:

REGIUM COR MONACHIS HUJUS COENOBII, CUI ABBAS PRAEFUERAT, AMORIS SIGNUM RELIQUIT, QUOD ILLI HOC TUMULO MOERENTES CONDIDERUNT.

Here rests the noble virtue of John Casimir, King of Poland and Sweden, who attained all degrees of virtue and fame; of high Jagiellonian blood, the last of the Vasa family, he was great in science, the art of war and piety. He learned the languages of many nations in order to win their favour all the more easily. He skirmished with the enemy in 77 battles and was victorious in all but one, himself always brave.

Under their weapons: Muscovites, Swedes, Brandenburgers, Tartars, Germans, Cossacks and other rebels - with grace and favours - becoming for them, thanks to his victory, a king, thanks to his gentleness a father. In a word, for the twenty years of his reign, victorious through virtue, he had a camp for a court, a tent for a castle, and spectacles in the triumphs of war. From a righteous marriage he had children, which he later lost, for if he had left a descendant greater than himself, he himself would not have been the greatest, if lesser - the family would have degenerated. He placed religion with valour, for he fought no less diligently in the affairs of heaven than of earth.

Hence, the founding of monasteries and hospitals in Warsaw, the demolition of Calvinist churches in Lithuania, and the expulsion of the Socinians from the kingdom, so that those who do not have Christ for God will not have Casimir for king; hence, the senate was compelled to abandon various sects and join the Catholic community, so that those who grant rights to nations will be restrained by the laws of the Church. For this reason, John Casimir was given the name 'Orthodox' by Alexander VII.

Finally, having reached the highest pinnacle of fame, when he could do nothing more famous, he voluntarily relinquished royal power in 1668. While reigning, he had squeezed no one's tears; now that he was stepping down, they flowed in abundance, for the outgoing king was mourned as if he were a dead father. Having spent the remainder of his life in pious meditation, he finally learned of the taking of Kamieniec and, weary in his love of his homeland, could not survive the defeat, and died on 16 December 1672. As a token of his remembrance, he left his royal heart to the monks of the monastery of which he was abbot, which they, distressed, hid in this monument.