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THE STEEL FLEA
a discussion between him and the Emperor, immediately led them to the Abolo Polveder himself, and took from one of his hands a Mortimer gun, and from the other a pistol.[1]
"Here," said they, "this is the sort of manufactures we have," and they gave him the gun.
The Emperor gazed calmly on the Mortimer gun, because he has such in Tzarskoe Selo,[2] and then they gave him the pistol, and said: "This pistol is of unknown, inimitable workmanship—our Admiral plucked it from the belt of a bandit chief in Candelabria."
The Emperor looked at the pistol, and could not tear his eyes from it.
He gave vent to terrible "ahs!"
"Ah, ah, ah!" says he, "what a
- ↑ A mortar.
- ↑ Tzarskoe Selo is a suburban town about sixteen miles from Petrograd, with two Imperial palaces, fine Imperial parks, barracks for the Hussars of the Guard, and so forth. The Arsenal there formerly contained a splendid collection of arms, now removed to the Hermitage Museum, in Petrograd.
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