Editing Henryk Sienkiewicz (section)

=== Travels abroad ===
[[File:J.Mien-Portret Henryka Sienkiewicza w stroju safari.jpg|thumb|left|Sienkiewicz in [[safari]] outfit, 1890s]]
In 1874 Henryk Sienkiewicz was briefly engaged to Maria Keller, and traveled abroad to [[Brussels]] and Paris.<ref name="psb204"/> Soon after he returned, his fiancée's parents cancelled the engagement.<ref name="psb204"/> In 1876 Sienkiewicz went to the [[United States]] with Helena Modrzejewska (soon to become famous in the U.S. as actress [[Helena Modjeska]]) and her husband.<ref name="psb204"/> He traveled via [[London]] to [[New York City|New York]] and then on to [[San Francisco]], staying for some time in [[California]].<ref name="psb204"/> His travels were financed by {{Lang|pl|Gazeta Polska}} (The Polish Gazette) in exchange for a series of travel essays: Sienkiewicz wrote {{Lang|pl|Listy z podróży}} (Letters from a Journey) and {{Lang|pl|Listy Litwosa z Podróży}} (Litwos' Letters from a Journey), which were published in ''The Polish Gazette'' in 1876–1878 and republished as a book in 1880.<ref name="psb204"/><ref name="RęboszPierściński1996"/> Other articles by him also appeared in {{Lang|pl|Przegląd Tygodniowy}} (The Weekly Review) and {{Lang|pl|Przewodnik Naukowy i Literacki}} (The Learned and Literary Guide), discussing the situation of [[American Polonia]].<ref name="psb205"/> He briefly lived in the town of [[Anaheim]], later in Anaheim Landing (now [[Seal Beach, California]]).<ref name="psb204"/> He hunted, visited [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] camps, traveled in the nearby mountains (the [[Santa Ana Mountains|Santa Ana]], [[Sierra Madre Mountains (California)|Sierra Madre]], [[San Jacinto Mountains|San Jacinto]], and [[San Bernardino Mountains]]), and visited the [[Mojave Desert]], [[Yosemite Valley]], and the [[silver mine]]s at [[Virginia City, Nevada]].<ref name="psb204"/> On 20 August 1877 he witnessed Modjeska's U.S. theatrical debut at San Francisco's [[California Theatre (San Francisco)|California Theatre]], which he reviewed for ''The Polish Gazette''; and on 8 September he published in the Daily Evening Post an article, translated into English for him by Modjeska, on "Poland and Russia".<ref name="psb204"/>

In America, he also continued writing fiction, in 1877 publishing {{Lang|pl|Szkice węglem}} (Charcoal Sketches) in ''The Polish Gazette''.<ref name="psb205"/> He wrote a play, {{Lang|pl|Na przebój}}, soon retitled {{Lang|pl|Na jedną kartę}} (On a Single Card), later staged at [[Lviv]] (1879) and, to better reception, at Warsaw (1881).<ref name="psb205"/> He also wrote a play for Modjeska, aimed at an American public, {{Lang|pl|Z walki tutejszych partii}} (Partisan Struggles), but it was never performed or published, and the manuscript appears to be lost.<ref name="psb205"/>

On 24 March 1878 Sienkiewicz left the U.S. for Europe.<ref name="psb205"/> He first stayed in London, then for a year in Paris, delaying his return to Poland due to rumors of possible conscription into the [[Imperial Russian Army]] on the eve of a predicted new war with Turkey.<ref name="psb205"/>