War and Peace, Vol. 2 .

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ...we have talked long enough; it is time!" and taking out his watch he went into the inner room. "Have you nearly done?" he added angrily addressing the servants. Dologhow locked away his money, called a man-servant and desired him to bring in some supper, no matter what; then he joined Makarine and Gvostikow, leaving Anatole, who had thrown himself languidly on the divan and who was smiling vaguely and murmuring incoherent words to himself. " Come and eat something! " he called to him. " I do not want it," replied Anatole. " Come, Balaga is here." Anatole went into the dining-room. Balaga was a coachman, very famous as a driver of a troika, who had frequently supplied them with horses. During the six years that he had known the two young men, how many times had he brought them from Tver at daybreak, and taken them back from Moscow by nightfall again, where Anatole was in garrison. How often had he driven them with parties of gypsies and ladies of no repute! How many good horses had he knocked up in their service, how many foot-passengers and hackney-coachmen had he run down! His masters, as he called them, always rescued him from the clutches of the police; they thrashed him now and then to be sure, and forgot him for hours, standing at the door during their orgies; but in return they would often give him as much champagne as he could carry, or better still, madeira, his favourite liquor. He was in all their secrets, and knew of deeds of theirs for which any one else would have paid a visit to Siberia--and so some thousands of roubles had found their way through his hands. He really loved them after his fashion, and he passionately loved driving at a mad pace of eighteen versts1 an hour. He loved to upset a hackney-driver, to scare the...