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"The horses can be taken out and I will see no one," he said in

answer to the porter, with a certain pleasure, indicative of his

agreeable frame of mind, emphasizing the words, "see no one."

In his study Alexey Alexandrovitch walked up and down twice, and

stopped at an immense writing-table, on which six candles had

already been lighted by the valet who had preceded him. He

cracked his knuckles and sat down, sorting out his writing

appurtenances. Putting his elbows on the table, he bent his head

on one side, thought a minute, and began to write, without

pausing for a second. He wrote without using any form of address

to her, and wrote in French, making use of the plural "vous,"

which has not the same note of coldness as the corresponding

Russian form.