Arthur Hughes with his daughters Lisa and Ida and Annie Gwen Jones. This photo was given by my aunt Miss Gwyneth Vaughan Jones to the South Glamorgan Archives..
It would not be amiss here perhaps if I made a few remarks about Warsaw and the Poles and the Jews who form the bulk of the population and whose occupation is the manufacture of boots and gloves.
The left bank of the river Vistula on which Warsaw is chiefly built is high and the pretty, gay, animated city with its stately lines of trees, wide squares and spacious gardens and parks is picturesquely situated along the brow of the cliffs and the plains above. Perhaps one of greatest interests to me (one who sympathies with races that have struggled for independent existence) was the fine old castle whose Royal apartments are now occupied by a Russian Governor General - a grand remnant of the days when Poland was not oppressed by the tyrannical sway of Russia. The square in front of the castle was the scene of the last Polish demonstration rebellion, her last struggle for independence in 1867 when it was stained with blood. Another remnant of Polish Independence is the fine old Palace of the Polish Kings surrounded by one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen - now the residence of the Emperor of Russia in which he might live if he ever deemed it wise to visit Warsaw, but in which he never would, for he knows that the odds would be against his returning to Petersburg. An Emperor’s blood, as too often Polish blood, would stain the square of Warsaw.
How terrible is the depth and breadth of hate for Russia compared to Ireland’s hostility to England it is nothing. They have good reason to do so. You know that Poland has been gradually absorbed by Russia towards the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century but it was not fully subjected until after the Polish Insurrection of 1830. The Polish language was not allowed to be used in Public Offices. Indeed the Poles are most harshly and unjustly treated especially after the rebellion of 1862. It is forbidden to teach Polish in the schools. Their beautiful anthem is not to be sung. Imagine the feeling of Welshmen if we were not allowed to sing “Hen Wlad fy Nhadiau” and if forbidden to talk freely in our mother tongue. Would we submit patiently?
Even more the Russians go out of their way to publicly insult the Poles. I remember observing a monument opposite our Hotel actually by the Russians to a Pole who had treacherously betrayed his country to them and whose memory is naturally loathed. The presence of the monument is constant reminder of their degradation. Were Poles numerous and had a spirited leader, the natural spirit which is burning for revenge would soon burst in to open revolt. I shall leave the question of the Jews a little longer.
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