战争与和平(上)-第274章

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tell　me　that？　You　know　nothing　about　it。　Tell　General　Barclay　from　me　that　his　information　is　incorrect；　and　that　I；　the　commander…in…chief；　know　more　of　the　course　of　the　battle　than　he　does。”
Woltzogen　would　have　made　some　protest；　but　Kutuzov　interrupted　him。
“The　enemy　has　been　repulsed　on　the　left　and　defeated　on　the　right　flank。　If　you　have　seen　amiss；　sir；　do　not　permit　yourself　to　speak　of　what　you　do　not　understand。　Kindly　return　to　General　Barclay　and　inform　him　of　my　unhesitating　intention　to　attack　the　French　to…morrow；”　said　Kutuzov　sternly。
All　were　silent；　and　nothing　was　to　be　heard　but　the　heavy　breathing　of　the　gasping；　old　general。　“Repulsed　at　all　points；　for　which　I　thank　God　and　our　brave　men。　The　enemy　is　defeated；　and　to…morrow　we　will　drive　him　out　of　the　holy　land　of　Russia！”　said　Kutuzov；　crossing　himself；　and　all　at　once　he　gave　a　sob　from　the　rising　tears。
Woltzogen；　shrugging　his　shoulders；　and　puckering　his　lips；　walked　away　in　silence；　marvelling　“über　diese　Eingenommenheit　des　alten　Herrn。”
“Ah；　here　he　is；　my　hero！”　said　Kutuzov；　as　a　stoutish；　handsome；　black…haired　general　came　up　the　hillside。　It　was　Raevsky；　who　had　spent　the　whole　day　at　the　most　important　part　of　the　battlefield。
Raevsky　reported　that　the　men　were　standing　their　ground　firmly；　and　that　the　French　were　not　venturing　a　further　attack。
When　he　had　heard　him　out；　Kutuzov　said　in　French：　“You　do　not　think；　like　some　others；　that　we　are　obliged　to　retreat？”
“On　the　contrary；　your　highness；　in　indecisive　actions　it　is　always　the　most　obstinate　who　remains　victorious；”　answered　Raevsky；　“and　my　opinion…”
“Kaisarov；”　Kutuzov　called　to　his　adjutant；　“sit　down　and　write　the　order　for　to…morrow。　And　you；”　he　turned　to　another；　“ride　along　the　line　and　announce　that　to…morrow　we　attack。”
While　he　was　talking　to　Raevsky　and　dictating　the　order；　Woltzogen　came　back　from　Barclay　and　announced　that　General　Barclay　de　Tolly　would　be　glad　to　have　a　written　confirmation　of　the　order　given　by　the　field…marshal。
Kutuzov；　without　looking　at　Woltzogen；　ordered　an　adjutant　to　make　out　this　written　order；　which　the　former　commander…in…chief　very　prudently　wished　to　have　to　screen　himself　from　all　responsibility。　And　through　the　undefinable；　mysterious　link　that　maintains　through　a　whole　army　the　same　temper；　called　the　spirit　of　the　army；　and　constituting　the　chief　sinew　of　war；　Kutuzov’s　words；　his　order　for　the　battle　next　day；　were　transmitted　instantaneously　from　one　end　of　the　army　to　the　other。
The　words　and　the　phrases　of　the　order　were　by　no　means　the　same　when　they　reached　the　furthest　links　in　the　chain。　There　was；　indeed；　not　a　word　in　the　stories　men　were　repeating　to　one　another　from　one　end　of　the　army　to　the　other；　that　resembled　what　Kutuzov　had　actually　said；　but　the　drift　of　his　words　spread　everywhere；　because　what　Kutuzov　had　said　was　not　the　result　of　shrewd　considerations；　but　the　outflow　of　a　feeling　that　lay　deep　in　the　heart　of　the　commander…in…chief；　and　deep　in　the　heart　of　every　Russian。
And　learning　that　to…morrow　we　were　to　attack　the　enemy；　hearing　from　the　higher　spheres　of　the　army　the　confirmation　of　what　they　wanted　to　believe；　the　worn…out；　wavering　men　took　comfort　and　courage　again。


Chapter　36
PRINCE　ANDREY’S　REGIMENT　was　in　the　reserves；　which　were　until　two　o’clock　stationed　behind　Semyonovskoye　in　complete　inaction；　under　a　hot　artillery　fire。　Before　two　o’clock　the　regiment；　which　had　already　lost　over　two　hundred　men；　was　moved　forward　into　the　trampled　oat…field；　in　that　space　between　Semyonovskoye　and　the　battery　redoubt；　on　which　thousands　of　men　were　killed　that　day；　and　on　which；　about　two　o’clock；　there　was　directed　the　concentrated　fire　of　several　hundreds　of　the　enemy’s　cannons。
Not　leaving　that　spot；　nor　discharging　a　single　round　of　ammunition；　the　regiment　lost　here　another　third　of　its　men。　In　front；　and　especially　on　the　right　side；　the　cannons　kept　booming　in　the　smoke　that　never　lifted；　and　from　the　mysterious　region　of　the　smoke　that　hid　all　the　country　in　front；　there　came　flying　swiftly　hissing　cannon　balls　and　slowly　whizzing　grenades。　Sometimes；　as　though　to　give　them　a　breathing　space；　for　a　whole　quarter　of　an　hour　all　the　cannon　balls　and　grenades　flew　over　them；　but　at　other　times；　in　the　course　of　a　single　minute；　several　men　out　of　the　regiment　would　be　swept　off；　and　they　were　busy　the　whole　time　dragging　away　the　dead　and　carrying　off　the　wounded。
With　every　fresh　stroke　the　chances　of　life　grew　less　and　less　for　those　who　were　not　yet　killed。　The　regiment　was　divided　into　battalions　three　hundred　paces　apart；　but　in　spite　of　that；　all　the　regiment　was　under　the　influence　of　the　same　mood。　All　the　men　of　the　regiment　were　alike　gloomy　and　silent。　At　rare　intervals　there　was　the　sound　of　talk　in　the　ranks；　but　that　sound　was　hushed　every　time　the　falling　thud　and　the　cry　of　“stretchers！”　was　heard。　For　the　greater　part　of　the　time；　by　command　of　the　officers；　the　men　sat　on　the　ground。　One；　taking　off　his　shako；　carefully　loosened　and　then　drew　up　the　folds　of　it；　another；　crumbling　the　dry　clay　in　his　hands；　rubbed　up　his　bayonet　with　it；　another　shifted　and　fastened　the　buckle　of　his　shoulder　straps；　while　another　carefully　undid；　and　did　up　again；　his　leg　bandages；　and　changed　his　boots。　Some　built　little　houses　of　clods　of　the　ploughed　field；　or　plaited　straws　of　stubble。　All　of　them　appeared　entirely　engrossed　in　these　pursuits。　When　men　were　killed　or　wounded；　when　the　stretchers　trailed　by；　when　our　troops　retreated；　when　immense　masses　of　the　enemy　came　into　view　through　the　smoke；　no　one　took　any　notice　of　these　circumstances。　When　our　artillery　or　cavalry　advanced；　when　our　infantry　could　be　seen　moving；　approving　observations　could　be　heard　on　all　sides。　But　quite　extraneous　incidents　that　had　nothing　to　do　with　the　battle　were　what　attracted　most　notice；　as　though　the　attention　of　these　morally　overstrained　men　found　a　rest　in　the　commonplace　incidents　of　everyday　life。　Some　batteries　of　artillery　passed　in　front　of　their　line。　In　one　of　the　ammunition　carriages　a　horse　had　put　its　legs　through　the　traces。
“Hey！　look　at　the　trace…horse！…　Take　her　leg　out！　She’ll　fall！…　Hey！　they　don’t　see！…”　Shouts　rose　from　the　ranks　all　through　the　regiment。
Another　time　the　attention　of　all　was　attracted　by　a　little　brown　dog；　with　its　tail　in　the　air；　who　had　come　no　one　knew　from　where；　and　was　running　about　fussily　in　front　of　the　ranks。　All　at　once　a　cannon　ball　fell　near　it；　and　it　squealed　and　dashed　away　with　its　tail　between　its　legs！　Roars　and　shrieks　of　laughter　rang　out　from　the　whole　regiment。　But　distractions　of　this　kind　did　not　last　more　than　a　minute；　and　the　men　had　been　eight　hours　without　food　or　occupation；　with　the　terror　of　death　never　relaxing　for　an　instant；　and　their　pale　and　haggard　faces　grew　paler　and　more　haggard。
Prince　Andrey；　pale　and　haggard　like　every　one　else　in　the　regiment；　walked　to　and　fro　in　the　meadow　next　to　the　oat…field　from　one　boundary…line　to　the　other；　with　his　hands　clasped　behind　his　back；　and　his　eyes　fixed　on　the　ground。　There　was　no　need　for　him　to　give　orders；　and　nothing　for　him　to　do。　Everything　was　done　of　itself。　The　killed　were　dragged　behind　the　line；　the　wounded　were　removed；　and　the　ranks　closed　up。　If　any　soldiers　ran　away；　they　made　haste　to　return　at　once。　At　first　Prince　Andrey；　thinking　it　his　duty　to　keep　up　the　spirits　of　the　men；　and　set　them　an　example；　had　walked　about　among　the　ranks。　But　soon　he　felt　that　there　was　nothing　he　could　teach　them。　All　his　energies；　like　those　of　every　soldier；　were　unconsciously　directed　to　restraining　himself　from　contemplating　the　horror　of　his　position。　He　walked　about　the　meadow；　dragging　one　leg　after　the　other；　making　the　grass　rustle；　and　watching　the　dust；　which　covered　his　boots。　Then　he　strode　along；　trying　to　step　on　the　traces　of　the　footsteps　of　the　mowers　on　the　meadow；　or　counting　his　steps；　calculated　how　many　times　he　would　have　to　walk　from　one　boundary　rut　to　another　to　make　a　verst；　or　cut　off　the　flowers　of　wormwood　growing　in　the　rut；　and　crushing　them　in　his　hands；　sniffed　at　the　bitter…sweet；　pungent