Page 356 of 788

At the very thought of the lawsuit he felt himself young again;

he remembered those years long gone by, when he used to serve

many a summons, sure to receive bruises in return, but at the

same time generous pay. Thus a soldier who has passed his life

waging war, and in his old age rests crippled in a hospital, as

soon as he hears a trumpet or a distant drum, starts up from his

bed, cries in his sleep, "Smite the Muscovites!" and on his

wooden leg rushes from the hospital so quickly that young men can

hardly catch him.