At this mention of his unfortunate general, Peter’s brow darkened again.
“Whether such a man as this is to be respected or not, I cannot say—but he is to be feared, Danilovitch!”
The Czar then turned abruptly to the spy.
“Is there no whisper in Altranstadt as to Sweden’s future designs?” he asked.
“Sire, there are many whispers. He has sent envoys into Persia and India. The Sultan has sent an ambassador to him returning the Swedish prisoners who fled into Turkey; his officers have always boasting stories on their lips of what he will accomplish.”
“And they are right!” exclaimed Peter. “What may not this man, twenty-five, hardy, fearless, never defeated, and whose feats of arms have astonished the world, expect to achieve?”
“Nothing that you cannot thwart him in,” replied Mentchikoff, who did not like his master’s attitude of admiration for his enemy.
The Czar took no notice of this remark but continued to question the spy.
“He never looks at women, this Swede? There is no one who influences him?”
“No one, sire. For him it seems as if women did not exist. When he is forced to meet them he treats them with a freezing coldness—and avoids them when he can. They say he favored one woman when he was in Stockholm, but she died soon after he left for the war.”