As she became animated the prince looked at her more and more sternly, and suddenly, as if he had studied her sufficiently and had formed a definite idea of her, he turned away and addressed Mikháil Ivánovich.

“Well, Mikháil Ivánovich, our Buonaparte will be having a bad time of it. Prince Andréy” (he always spoke thus of his son) “has been telling me what forces are being collected against him! While you and I never thought much of him.”

Mikháil Ivánovich did not at all know when “you and I” had said such things about Bonaparte, but understanding that he was wanted as a peg on which to hang the prince’s favorite topic, he looked inquiringly at the young prince, wondering what would follow.

“He is a great tactician!” said the prince to his son, pointing to the architect.