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Once he stopped it by shouting: "The white one, the white one!"

This meant that Tikhon was not handing him the waistcoat he

wanted. Another time he interrupted, saying:

"And will she soon be confined?" and shaking his head

reproachfully said: "That's bad! Go on, go on."

The third interruption came when Prince Andrew was finishing his

description. The old man began to sing, in the cracked voice of

old age: "Malbrook s'en va-t-en guerre. Dieu sait quand

reviendra." *

* "Marlborough is going to the wars; God knows when he'll

return."

His son only smiled.

"I don't say it's a plan I approve of," said the son; "I am only

telling you what it is. Napoleon has also formed his plan by now,

not worse than this one."

"Well, you've told me nothing new," and the old man repeated,

meditatively and rapidly:

"Dieu sait quand reviendra. Go to the dining room."

CHAPTER XXVII