"Cependant, mon cher," he remarked, examining his nails from a distance and puckering the skin above his left eye, "malgre la haute estime que je professe pour the Orthodox Russian army, j'avoue que votre victoire n'est pas des plus victorieuses.

" * *"But my dear fellow, with all my respect for the Orthodox Russian army, I must say that your victory was not particularly victorious.

" He went on talking in this way in French, uttering only those words in Russian on which he wished to put a contemptuous emphasis.