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Their seats were
determined by their relative rank, and woe to him who was so
ignorant or so absent-minded as to make a mistake! The servants
had been carefully trained in advance by the Grand Marshal; and
whoever took a place above his rank or importance found, when he
came to sit down, that his chair had miraculously disappeared,
or, not noticing the fact, seated himself absurdly and violently
upon the floor. The Prince at the head of the table, and the
Princess at the foot, with their nearest guests of equal rank, ate
from dishes of massive gold; the others from silver. As soon as
the last of the company had entered the hall, a crowd of jugglers,
tumblers, dwarfs, and Calmucks followed, crowding themselves into
the corners under the galleries, where they awaited the conclusion
of the banquet to display their tricks, and scolded and pummelled
each other in the mean time.
On one side of Prince Alexis the bear Mishka took his station. By
order of Prince Boris he had been kept from wine for several days,
and his small eyes were keener and hungrier than usual.


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