AUTHOR: “‘Mutzerl,’ as Baby Valérie was called——”
COMMENTATOR: “Valérie was never called ‘Mutzerl,’ but ‘Shedvesen,’ by her mother. It means ‘darling.’”
AUTHOR: “Valérie ... swam like an otter, rode almost as well as her mother, fenced and shot with great skill.”
COMMENTATOR: “Valérie never learnt to ride, as the Empress would not allow it, and never fenced or shot.”
AUTHOR: “She was riding alone on that day.”
COMMENTATOR: “The Empress never went out riding alone.”
AUTHOR: “‘My poor boy! my poor boy!’ she kept repeating. ‘I am afraid you do not realise what misery such a marriage as that which you are about to make can bring about!’”