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Of the behavior of the eldest princess and Prince Vasili she

spoke disapprovingly, but in whispers and as a great secret.

CHAPTER XXV

At Bald Hills, Prince Nicholas Andreevich Bolkonski's estate, the

arrival of young Prince Andrew and his wife was daily expected,

but this expectation did not upset the regular routine of life in

the old prince's household. General in Chief Prince Nicholas

Andreevich (nicknamed in society, "the King of Prussia") ever

since the Emperor Paul had exiled him to his country estate had

lived there continuously with his daughter, Princess Mary, and

her companion, Mademoiselle Bourienne. Though in the new reign he

was free to return to the capitals, he still continued to live in

the country, remarking that anyone who wanted to see him could

come the hundred miles from Moscow to Bald Hills, while he

himself needed no one and nothing. He used to say that there are

only two sources of human vice-idleness and superstition, and

only two virtues-activity and intelligence.