"Yes, your excellency."
"And why did you not return to your own country after the Crimean war was over?"
The man looked down upon the floor; presently he remarked,—
"I was beaten."
"Who beat you?"
"I was beaten all day and all night. My colonel beat me. The sergeant boxed my ears, and the corporals kicked me!"
"But did you get flogged more than the rest of your comrades?"
"No, your excellency; at that time we were all beaten. I am told that now the officers do not flog their men so much."
"You are a deserter," I remarked.
"No, your excellency, I did not desert. I liked my father the Tzar too much to run away when he required my services. I was taken prisoner; when the war was over, I would not return to Russia. That is all I have done."