Platoff made no reply, but merely buried his hooked nose in his shaggy felt cloak,[4] retired to his quarters, commanded his orderly to fetch a flask of Caucasian brandy—kizlyarki[5]—from the cellaret, tossed off a bumper, prayed to God before a holy picture which folded up for travelling, wrapped himself in his thick felt mantle, and began to snore so that not a single Englishman in all the house was able to sleep.
He said to himself: "The morning is wiser than the evening."
FOOTNOTES:
[2] The Author's title is: "The Left-handed Man. (Legend of the Squint-eyed, Left-handed Man and the Steel Flea.)" I. F. H.
[3] The old gunsmith's love for big words and lack of education lead to many comical results, as in this substitution of "internecine" for "international." A good many of these punning or dart-winged words cannot be adequately indicated in English, but they produce quite inimitable results in the original.
[4] The burka, which is impenetrable to rain, and serves as blanket, also.
[5] Made from the kizil, a small sourish fruit which grows in the Caucasus and the Crimea.