Priest from Lahoysk managed to decipher letters revealing the history of Count Tyszkiewicz's famous local history work about Belarus and Lithuania

Belarusian local historian Kanstantsin Tyszkiewicz and his fundamental work "Viliya and its Banks", which was printed with difficulty only after his death

The history is written by the publication "Minskaya Prauda".

Brothers Kanstantsin and Eustachy Tyszkiewicz are well-known Belarusian scientists and patrons, founders of the first public museum in Lahoysk. In 1857, Kanstantsin Tyszkiewicz organized a large-scale scientific expedition along the Viliya River, collecting unique ethnographic material about the life, songs, and rituals of local peasants.

The result of this journey was the manuscript of the book "Viliya and its Banks" (Wilja i jej brzegi). However, the work was never printed during the author's lifetime. The Count died in 1868, and the book unexpectedly appeared only three years later, in 1871, and far from Belarus — in Dresden, Germany. For a long time, it remained a mystery to historians how this publication managed to be organized.

Павялічыць

The solution was found only now. As Sviatlana Hamieza, director of the Lahoysk Museum, said, their employees stumbled upon correspondence of the Count's wife, Paulina Tyszkiewicz, with the famous writer and publisher Józef Ignacy Kraszewski in the funds of the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art (BSAMLIM).

Difficult handwriting and help from the church

The discovered archive contains about eighty letters. All correspondence was conducted in Polish. And if the Countess's feminine handwriting was relatively easy to read, there was a problem with Kraszewski's letters: his handwriting resembled medical prescriptions, where all the letters merged into one continuous line.

Павялічыць

Павялічыць

Father Pavel from the St. Casimir Catholic Church in Lahoysk was brought in to decipher the historical documents. It was he who helped read and translate the complex texts that revealed a true detective plot from the history of book printing.

Saving the manuscript from a swindler

From the translated letters, it became clear that the publication of the book was under threat of disruption due to banal fraud. Initially, Paulina Tyszkiewicz handed over the manuscript, expedition drawings, and a significant sum of money as an advance to a certain publisher Bobrovich. However, he took the money but did not fulfill his obligations.

In her letter dated September 13, 1869, written from Lahoysk, the Countess appeals to Józef Kraszewski for help. She was not personally acquainted with him but knew of his respect for her husband's scientific work. She describes her problem as follows:

"Dear Sir! Although I do not have the fortune of knowing Your Honor personally, through your works you are more than known to me. My late husband presented this book to you in Zhitomir. He wished to learn about our regional celebrities. He also worked in the literary field… He left behind a work, a description of his journey along the Viliya…"

And then Paulina Tyszkiewicz explains the unpleasant situation that arose around her husband's work:

"Due to the dishonesty of Mr. Bobrovich, who, having taken a significant amount of money in advance for the publication of the work, did not keep his word, we barely managed to retrieve the manuscript and drawings."

Павялічыць

Interestingly, the original text of the letter hides another important historical detail, which the state publication omitted, and which shows the tragedy of the Belarusian aristocracy of that time.

The Countess confesses to Kraszewski that she is very afraid of falling into the hands of another such Bobrovich, because their family finances are "exhausted by incessant contributions." The fact is that after the suppression of the 1863 uprising, the Russian authorities imposed huge repressive taxes on the local Catholic nobility who did not report the rebels, and the widow was literally collecting her last funds to preserve her husband's legacy.

Павялічыць

Kraszewski's response was very emotional. The publisher admitted that he himself had twice become a victim of this same Bobrovich, losing large sums. Kraszewski, who knew Kanstantsin Tyszkiewicz's works well, offered the widow his services as a printing press owner. He immediately warned that there would be no profit from this publication, but promised to do everything as cheaply and accurately as possible and "with all the delicacy that the memory of the deceased demands."

Павялічыць

Thanks to this alliance, the book "Viliya and its Banks" finally saw the light. Today, a century and a half later, it remains a foundational work for Belarusian ethnographers. Modern local historians still organize expeditions exactly along Kanstantsin Tyszkiewicz's route, using as a guide the book that was saved and printed only thanks to his wife's perseverance.

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