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And now if any of you gentlemen who are present here ever serves

in the army of the Emperor, let him remember this."

"Ah! my dear Monk!" cried Skoluba, "when will that be? Why, on

every holiday set down in the calendar they prophesy to us that

the French are coming, A man looks and looks until his eyes are

weary, but the Muscovite keeps on holding us by the neck as he

always has. I fear that before the sun rises the dew will ruin

our eyes."