Prince Andrew replied.

Then followed other questions just as simple: "Was Kutuzov well? When had he left Krems?" and so on.

The Emperor spoke as if his sole aim were to put a given number of questions--the answers to these questions, as was only too evident, did not interest him.

"At what o'clock did the battle begin?" asked the Emperor.

"I cannot inform Your Majesty at what o'clock the battle began at the front, but at Durrenstein, where I was, our attack began after five in the afternoon," replied Bolkonski growing more animated and expecting that he would have a chance to give a reliable account, which he had ready in his mind, of all he knew and had seen.