“He wants to see a battle,” said Zherkóv to Bolkónski, pointing to the accountant, “but he feels a pain in the pit of his stomach already.”

“Oh, leave off!” said the accountant with a beaming but rather cunning smile, as if flattered at being made the subject of Zherkóv’s joke, and purposely trying to appear stupider than he really was.

“It is very strange, mon Monsieur Prince ,” said the staff officer. (He remembered that in French there is some peculiar way of addressing a prince, but could not get it quite right.)

By this time they were all approaching Túshin’s battery, and a ball struck the ground in front of them.

“What’s that that has fallen?” asked the accountant with a naive smile.

“A French pancake,” answered Zherkóv.