战争与和平(上)-第233章

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　Russia；　full　of　their　losses；　and　burning　with　hatred　of　the　enemy；　moved　on　to　Moscow。　Napoleon　advances；　we　retreat；　and　so　the　very　result　is　attained　that　is　destined　to　overthrow　Napoleon。


Chapter　2
THE　DAY　after　his　son’s　departure；　Prince　Nikolay　Andreitch　sent　for　Princess　Marya。
“Well；　now　are　you　satisfied？”　he　said　to　her。　“You　have　made　me　quarrel　with　my　son！　Are　you　satisfied？　That　was　all　you　wanted！　Satisfied？　…　It’s　a　grief　to　me；　a　grief。　I’m　old　and　weak；　and　it　was　your　wish。　Well；　now；　rejoice　over　it。　…”　And　after　that；　Princess　Marya　did　not　see　her　father　again　for　a　week。　He　was　ill　and　did　not　leave　his　study。
Princess　Marya　noticed　to　her　surprise　that　during　this　illness　the　old　prince　excluded　Mademoiselle　Bourienne　too　from　his　room。　Tihon　was　the　only　person　who　looked　after　him。
A　week　later　the　prince　reappeared；　and　began　to　lead　the　same　life　as　before；　showing　marked　energy　in　the　laying　out　of　farm　buildings　and　gardens；　and　completely　breaking　off　all　relations　with　Mademoiselle　Bourienne。　His　frigid　tone　and　air　with　Princess　Marya　seemed　to　say：　“You　see；　you　plotted　against　me；　told　lies　to　Prince　Andrey　of　my　relations　with　that　Frenchwoman；　and　made　me　quarrel　with　him；　but　you　see　I　can　do　without　you；　and　without　the　Frenchwoman　too。”
One　half　of　the　day　Princess　Marya　spent　with　Nikolushka；　giving　him　his　Russian　lessons；　following　his　other　lessons；　and　talking　to　Dessalle。　The　rest　of　the　day　she　spent　in　reading；　or　with　her　old　nurse　and　“God’s　folk；”　who　came　by　the　back　stairs　sometimes　to　visit　her。　The　war　Princess　Marya　looked　on　as　women　do　look　on　war。　She　was　apprehensive　for　her　brother　who　was　at　the　front；　and　was　horrified；　without　understanding　it；　at　the　cruelty　of　men；　that　led　them　to　kill　one　another。　But　she　had　no　notion　of　the　significance　of　this　war；　which　seemed　to　her　exactly　like　all　the　preceding　wars。　She　had　no　notion　of　the　meaning　of　this　war；　although　Dessalle；　who　was　her　constant　companion；　was　passionately　interested　in　the　course　of　the　war；　and　tried　to　explain　his　views　on　the　subject　to　her；　and　although　“God’s　folk”　all；　with　terror；　told　her　in　their　own　way　of　the　rumours　among　the　peasantry　of　the　coming　of　Antichrist；　and　although　Julie；　now　Princess　Drubetskoy；　who　had　renewed　her　correspondence　with　her；　was　continually　writing　her　patriotic　letters　from　Moscow。
“I　write　to　you　in　Russian；　my　sweet　friend；”　Julie　wrote；　“because　I　feel　a　hatred　for　all　the　French　and　for　their　language　too；　I　can’t　bear　to　hear　it　spoken。　…　In　Moscow　we　are　all　wild　with　enthusiasm　for　our　adored　Emperor。
“My　poor　husband　is　enduring　hardships　and　hunger　in　wretched　Jewish　taverns；　but　the　news　I　get　from　him　only　increases　my　ardour。
“You　have　doubtless　heard　of　the　heroic　action　of　Raevsky；　who　embraced　his　two　sons　and　said；　‘We　will　die　together；　but　we　will　not　flinch！’　And　though　the　enemy　were　twice　as　strong；　we　did　not　in　fact　flinch。　We　kill　time　here　as　best　we　can；　but　in　war；　as　in　war。　Princess　Alina　and　Sophie　spend　whole　days　with　me；　and　we；　unhappy　windows　of　living　husbands；　have　delightful　talks　over　scraping　lint。　We　only　want　you；　my　darling；　to　make　us　complete；”　etc。；　etc。
The　principal　reason　why　Princess　Marya　failed　to　grasp　the　significance　of　the　war　was　that　the　old　prince　never　spoke　of　it；　refused　to　recognize　its　existence；　and　laughed　at　Dessalle　when　he　mentioned　the　war　at　dinner…time。　The　prince’s　tone　was　so　calm　and　confident　that　Princess　Marya　put　implicit　faith　in　him。
During　the　whole　of　July　the　old　prince　was　excessively　active　and　even　lively。　He　laid　out　another　new　garden　and　a　new　wing　for　the　servants。　The　only　thing　that　made　Princess　Marya　anxious　about　him　was　that　he　slept　badly；　and　gave　up　his　old　habit　of　sleeping　in　his　study；　and　had　a　bed　made　up　for　him　in　a　new　place　every　day。　One　night　he　would　have　his　travelling　bedstead　set　up　in　the　gallery；　the　next　night　he　would　spend　dozing　dressed　on　the　sofa　or　in　the　lounge…chair　in　the　drawing…room；　while　the　lad　Petrushka；　who　had　replaced　Mademoiselle　Bourienne　in　attendance　on　him；　read　aloud　to　him；　then　he　would　try　spending　a　night　in　the　dining…room。
On　the　first　of　August　a　second　letter　came　from　Prince　Andrey。　In　his　first　letter；　which　had　been　received　shortly　after　he　left　home；　Prince　Andrey　had　humbly　asked　his　father’s　forgiveness　for　what　he　had　permitted　himself　to　say　to　him；　and　had　begged　to　be　restored　to　his　favour。　To　this　letter；　the　old　prince　had　sent　an　affectionate　answer；　and　from　that　time　he　had　kept　the　Frenchwoman　at　a　distance。　Prince　Andrey’s　second　letter　was　written　under　Vitebsk；　after　the　French　had　taken　it。　It　consisted　of　a　brief　account　of　the　whole　campaign；　with　a　plan　sketched　to　illustrate　it；　and　of　reflections　on　the　probable　course　it　would　take　in　the　future。　In　this　letter　Prince　Andrey　pointed　out　to　his　father　the　inconvenience　of　his　position　close　to　the　theatre　of　war；　and　in　the　direct　line　of　the　enemy’s　advance；　and　advised　him　to　move　to　Moscow。
At　dinner　that　day；　on　Dessalle’s　observing　that　he　had　heard　that　the　French　had　already　entered　Vitebsk；　the　old　prince　recollected　Prince　Andrey’s　letter。
“I　have　heard　from　Prince　Andrey　to…day；”　he　said　to　Princess　Marya；　“have　you　read　the　letter？”
“No；　mon　pére；”　the　Princess　answered　timidly。　She　could　not　possibly　have　read　the　letter；　of　which　indeed　she　had　not　heard　till　that　instant。
“He　writes　about　this　war；”　said　the　prince；　with　the　contemptuous　smile　that　had　become　habitual　with　him　in　speaking　of　the　present　war。
“It　must　be　very　interesting；”　said　Dessalle。　“Prince　Andrey　is　in　a　position　to　know。　…”
“Ah；　very　interesting！”　said　Mademoiselle　Bourienne。
“Go　and　get　it　for　me；”　said　the　old　prince　to　Mademoiselle　Bourienne。　“You　know；　on　the　little　table　under　the　paper…weight。”
Mademoiselle　Bourienne　jumped　up　eagerly。
“Ah；　no；”　he　shouted；　frowning。　“You　run；　Mihail　Ivanitch！”　Mihail　Ivanitch　got　up　and　went　to　the　study。　But　he　had　hardly　left　the　room　when　the　old　prince；　looking　about　him　nervously；　threw　down　his　dinner　napkin　and　went　himself。
“They　never　can　do　anything；　always　make　a　muddle。”
As　he　went　out；　Princess　Marya；　Dessalle；　Mademoiselle　Bourienne；　and　even　little　Nikolushka；　looked　at　one　another　without　speaking。　The　old　prince　accompanied　by　Mihail　Ivanitch　came　back　with　a　hurried　step；　bringing　the　letter　and　a　plan；　which　he　laid　beside　him；　and　did　not　give　to　any　one　to　read　during　dinner。
When　they　went　into　the　drawing…room；　he　handed　the　letter　to　Princess　Marya；　and　spreading　out　before　him　the　plan　of　his　new　buildings；　he　fixed　his　eyes　upon　it；　and　told　her　to　read　the　letter　aloud。
After　reading　the　letter；　Princess　Marya　looked　inquiringly　at　her　father。　He　was　gazing　at　the　plan；　evidently　engrossed　in　his　own　ideas。
“What　do　you　think　about　it；　prince？”　Dessalle　ventured　to　inquire。
“I？　eh？　…”　said　the　old　prince；　seeming　to　rouse　himself　with　a　painful　effort；　and　not　taking　his　eyes　from　the　plan　of　the　building。
“It　is　very　possible　that　the　field　of　operations　may　be　brought　so　close　to　us　…”
“Ha…ha…ha！　The　field　of　operations　indeed！”　said　the　old　prince。　“I　have　always　said；　and　I　say　still；　that　the　field　of　operations　is　bound　to　be　Poland；　and　the　enemy　will　never　advance　beyond　the　Niemen。”　Dessalle　looked　in　amazement　at　the　prince；　who　was　talking　of　the　Niemen；　when　the　enemy　was　already　at　the　Dnieper。　But　Princess　Marya；　forgetting　the　geographical　position　of　the　Niemen；　supposed　that　what　her　father　said　was　true。
“When　the　snows　thaw　they’ll　drown　in　the　marshes　of　Poland。　It’s　only　that　they　can’t　see　it；”　said　the　old　prince；　obviously　thinking　of　the　campaign　of　1807；　which　seemed　to　him　so　recent。　“Bennigsen　ought　to　have　entered　Prussia　earlier；　and　things　would　have　taken　quite　another　turn。　…”
“But；　prince！”　said　Dessalle　timidly；　“the　letter　speaks　of　Vitebsk。　…”
“Ah；　the　letter？　Yes；　…”　said　the　prince；　with　displeasure。　“Yes　…　yes　…”　His　face　suddenly　assumed　a　gloomy　expression。　He　paused。　“Yes；　he　writes；　the　French　have　been　beaten。　On