At the men's end of the table the talk grew more and more animated.

The colonel told them that the declaration of war had already appeared in Petersburg and that a copy, which he had himself seen, had that day been forwarded by courier to the commander in chief.

"And why the deuce are we going to fight Bonaparte?" remarked Shinshin.

" He has stopped Austria's cackle and I fear it will be our turn next.

" The colonel was a stout, tall, plethoric German, evidently devoted to the service and patriotically Russian.