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14
StefanZabierowski
Pracowałdlaniejiumarłzanią.
Rodacy.24
ApolloNałęczKorzeniowski
VictimofMuscoviteoppression
born21stFebruary1820
died23rdMay1869
Toamanwholoved,workedanddiedforhiscountry.
Hiscompatriots.
Inanessaywritteninthe1950s,CzesławMiłosz(whowaslaterawardedthe
Nobelprizeforliterature)suggestedthatamonumenttoApolloKorzeniowskiought
tostandsomewhereinCracow:
DoesApolloKorzeniowskideservetohaveamonumenterectedinhishonour?Yes,he
does.Forhislove.And,whoknows,perhapsthebestplaceforsuchamonument,showingthe
manwiththeboy,whoowedsomuchtohisfather—aboveallhis“inheritedinclination”—is
noneotherthanCracowitself.Afterhisdeath,itwaswrittenofApolloKorzeniowskithat“he
neverwantedtobeconsoled”.ThesamecouldalsohavebeenwrittenonthedeathofConrad
himself.25[Transl.R.E.P.]
Agedtwelveandhavinglostbothparents,KonradKorzeniowskisuddenlyfound
himselfindirestraits.Initially,hepassedintothecareofhisgrandmotherTeofila
Bobrowska,whoinformedApollo’sfriendKazimierzKaszewskiofthearrangements
thatshehadmade:
Mybelovedorphan,inaccordancewithhisfather’swishes,hasbeenplacedenpensionwith
Mr.GeorgeoninCracow.Theboy’signoranceoftheGermanandLatinlanguagespreventhim
fromattendingthesecondclass;wehopehewillgointothefourthclassnextyear,sincehishead-
masterandtheteacherspraisehisindustry,comprehensionandapplication—providingGod
giveshimhealth—towhichendIshalldevotemyselfinhisfreetime.Hisguardianmaintains
thathedoesnotknowanotherchildsoeasytobringupandwithaheartasnobleashis[ł]26
TheboardingschoolrunbyLudwikGeorgeon—aveteranofthe1863January
Uprising—waslocatedintheFajlhouseatwhatwasthen5,FloriańskaStreet.Conrad
describedhisdailywalktothisschoolinhisvolumeentitledNotesonLifeandLetters:
Intothiscoldlyilluminatedanddumbemptinessthereissuedoutofmyarousedmemory
asmallboyofeleven,wendinghisway,notveryfast,toapreparatoryschoolforday-pupils
onthesecondfloorofthethirdhousedownfromtheFlorianGate.Itwasinthewintermonths
of1868[sic!].Ateighto’clockofeverymorningthatGodmade,sleetorshine,Iwalkedup
FlorianStreet.Butofthat,myfirstschool,Irememberverylittle.Ibelievethatoneofmy
co-suffererstherehasbecomeamuchappreciatededitorofhistoricaldocuments.ButIdidn’t
24Foraphotographoftheinscriptionsee:Najder.JosephConrad-AChronicle,ed.cit.,or:Zdzisław
Najder.JosephConrad-ALife.Transl.HalinaNajder.Rochester,NewYork:CamdenHouse,2007.See
also:Sherry.Conrad,ed.cit.,p.15.
25CzesławMiłosz.“ApolloNałęczKorzeniowski”.[In:]idem.Prywatneobowiązki.Kraków:
WydawnictwoLiterackie,2001,pp.286-287.
26T.BobrowskatoK.Kaszewski,12thJune1869.[In:]ConradunderFamilialEyes,ed.cit.,p.131.
