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"Cependant, mon cher," he remarked, examining his nails from a

distance and puckering the skin above his left eye, "malgre la

haute estime que je professe pour the Orthodox Russian army,

j'avoue que votre victoire n'est pas des plus victorieuses." *

* "But my dear fellow, with all my respect for the Orthodox

Russian army, I must say that your victory was not particularly

victorious."

He went on talking in this way in French, uttering only those

words in Russian on which he wished to put a contemptuous

emphasis.

"Come now! You with all your forces fall on the unfortunate

Mortier and his one division, and even then Mortier slips through

your fingers! Where's the victory?"

"But seriously," said Prince Andrew, "we can at any rate say

without boasting that it was a little better than at Ulm..."

"Why didn't you capture one, just one, marshal for us?"