“What?” said the prince, much astonished.
“It did not occur—it’s a mistake!” said Nina Alexandrovna quickly, looking, at the prince rather anxiously. “ Mon mari se trompe,” she added, speaking in French.
“My dear, ‘ se trompe’ is easily said. Do you remember any case at all like it? Everybody was at their wits’ end. I should be the first to say ‘ qu’on se trompe,’ but unfortunately I was an eye-witness, and was also on the commission of inquiry. Everything proved that it was really he, the very same soldier Kolpakoff who had been given the usual military funeral to the sound of the drum. It is of course a most curious case—nearly an impossible one. I recognize that... but—”
“Father, your dinner is ready,” said Varvara at this point, putting her head in at the door.
“Very glad, I’m part
