Page:The Czar, A Tale of the Time of the First Napleon.djvu/79

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
IVAN'S EDUCATION.
69

He shared, too, the universal indignation at Napoleon's atrocious spoliation of the Duke of Oldenburg, the Czar's brother-in-law, perhaps the most flagrant of his many violations of the Treaty of Tilsit. Ivan was breathing an atmosphere highly charged with electricity, and full of the indications of an approaching storm; but he knew not the signs of the times. Besides, how was it possible that he, whom competent judges were calling the best dancer in Moscow, and who was the acknowledged favourite of fortune at all games of hazard, could disquiet himself about the designs of Napoleon and the prospect of a war with France?