"Only not for this..." Pierre suddenly exclaimed with a laugh, and shifting the baby he gave him to the nurse.

The crowd moved on again. Nesvitski realized that it was a cannon ball.

"I don`t and can`t," replied Nicholas, looking coldly at the baby. "A lump of flesh. Come along, Pierre!"

"I`ve come to sit with you a bit, Masha," said the nurse, "and here I`ve brought the prince`s wedding candles to light before his saint, my angel," she said with a sigh.