From  Lazienski  Park  we  drove  four  miles  to  the
palace  of  Wilanow,  which  was  built  by  Poland's  great-
est King,  Sobiesky  (John  III).  This  fine  property  is
the  only  estate  that  has  escaped  Russian  confiscation,
and  is  still  owned  and  occupied  by  Sobiesky 's  descend-
ants, who  are  wealthy  enough  to  preserve  its  former
grandeur.  The  palace  is  very  large  and  contains  many
galleries  filled  with  curiosities,  fine  paintings  and  statu-
ary ;  its  floor,-  like  the  palace  at  Lazienski  Park,  are  of
polished  woods  ingeniously  inlaid  so  as  to  produce  a


EXILE  LIFE  IN  SIBERIA.  503

most  harmonious  effect.  The  grounds  cover  nearly  two
hundred  acres,  every  foot  of  which  is  cared  for  by  the
most  artistic  landscape  gardeners  ;  there  is  also  a  large
lake  connected  with  the  palace  which  is  kept  stocked
with  game  fish,  and  the  banks  are  embowered  with  trees
that  are  luxurious  in  growth  and  trimmed  in  a  manner
which  produces  an  effect  almost  magical.  My  curiosity
was  very  much  excited  by  three  sun-clocks  which,  by
chance,  I  observed  on  the  palace,  one  being  on  the  east
end,  another  on  the  south,  and  a  third  on  the  west  gable
of  the  building.  These  clocks  consist  of  a  large  dial
above  which  is  a  stone  image  representing  "time;"
in  the  right  hand  of  this  image,  or  statue,  is  a  sword
so  exactly  placed  that  the  sun's  rays  falling  upon  it  a
shadow  is  thrown  upon  the  dial  that  indicates  the  time  of
day,  even  to  a  minute.  There  were  three  clocks  so  that
the  sun's  position  might  be  facing  one  of  the  clocks
morning,  noon,  and  afternoon.  This  wonderful  time-
piece— for  the  three  must  be  taken  as  one— has  marked
the  hours  for  nearly  one  hundred  years,  having  fortunate-
ly escaped  the  destructive  influences  that  have  desolated
Poland,  and  sent  so  many  thousands  of  her  people  into
exile.
