Pierre at the age of ten had been sent
abroad with an abbe as tutor,
and had remained away till he was twenty.
When he returned to Moscow his father dismissed
the abbe and said to the young man,
"Now go to Petersburg, look round,
and choose your profession. I will agree to anything.
Here is a letter to Prince Vasili, and here is money.
Write to me all about it,
and I will help you in everything."
Pierre had already been choosing a career for three months,
and had not decided on anything.
It was about this choice that Prince Andrew was speaking.
Pierre rubbed his forehead."But he must be a Freemason,"
said he, referring to the abbe whom he had met that evening.