战争与和平(上)-第6章

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g　inappropriate；　this　time　she　was　unable　to　stop　him。
“The　execution　of　the　duc　d’Enghien；”　said　Monsieur　Pierre；　“was　a　political　necessity；　and　I　consider　it　a　proof　of　greatness　of　soul　that　Napoleon　did　not　hesitate　to　take　the　whole　responsibility　of　it　upon　himself。”
“Dieu！　mon　Dieu！”　moaned　Anna　Pavlovna；　in　a　terrified　whisper。
“What；　Monsieur　Pierre！　you　think　assassination　is　greatness　of　soul？”　said　the　little　princess；　smiling　and　moving　her　work　nearer　to　her。
“Ah！　oh！”　cried　different　voices。
“Capital！”　Prince　Ippolit　said　in　English；　and　he　began　slapping　his　knee。　The　vicomte　merely　shrugged　his　shoulders。
Pierre　looked　solemnly　over　his　spectacles　at　his　audience。
“I　say　so；”　he　pursued　desperately；　“because　the　Bourbons　ran　away　from　the　Revolution；　leaving　the　people　to　anarchy；　and　Napoleon　alone　was　capable　of　understanding　the　Revolution；　of　overcoming　it；　and　so　for　the　public　good　he　could　not　stop　short　at　the　life　of　one　man。”
“Won’t　you　come　over　to　this　table？”　said　Anna　Pavlovna。　But　Pierre　went　on　without　answering　her。
“Yes；”　he　said；　getting　more　and　more　eager；　“Napoleon　is　great　because　he　has　towered　above　the　Revolution；　and　subdued　its　evil　tendencies；　preserving　all　that　was　good—the　equality　of　all　citizens；　and　freedom　of　speech　and　of　the　press；　and　only　to　that　end　has　he　possessed　himself　of　supreme　power。”
“Yes；　if　on　obtaining　power　he　had　surrendered　it　to　the　lawful　king；　instead　of　making　use　of　it　to　commit　murder；”　said　the　vicomte；　“then　I　might　have　called　him　a　great　man。”
“He　could　not　have　done　that。　The　people　gave　him　power　simply　for　him　to　rid　them　of　the　Bourbons；　and　that　was　just　why　the　people　believed　him　to　be　a　great　man。　The　Revolution　was　a　grand　fact；”　pursued　Monsieur　Pierre；　betraying　by　this　desperate　and　irrelevantly　provocative　statement　his　extreme　youth　and　desire　to　give　full　expression　to　everything。
“Revolution　and　regicide　a　grand　fact？…What　next？…but　won’t　you　come　to　this　table？”　repeated　Anna　Pavlovna。
“Contrat　social；”　said　the　vicomte　with　a　bland　smile。
“I’m　not　speaking　of　regicide。　I’m　speaking　of　the　idea。”
“The　idea　of　plunder；　murder；　and　regicide！”　an　ironical　voice　put　in。
“Those　were　extremes；　of　course；　but　the　whole　meaning　of　the　Revolution　did　not　lie　in　them；　but　in　the　rights　of　man；　in　emancipation　from　conventional　ideas；　in　equality；　and　all　these　Napoleon　has　maintained　in　their　full　force。”
“Liberty　and　equality；”　said　the　vicomte　contemptuously；　as　though　he　had　at　last　made　up　his　mind　to　show　this　youth　seriously　all　the　folly　of　his　assertions：　“all　high…sounding　words；　which　have　long　since　been　debased。　Who　does　not　love　liberty　and　equality？　Our　Saviour　indeed　preached　liberty　and　equality。　Have　men　been　any　happier　since　the　Revolution？　On　the　contrary。　We　wanted　liberty；　but　Bonaparte　has　crushed　it。”
Prince　Andrey　looked　with　a　smile　first　at　Pierre；　then　at　the　vicomte；　then　at　their　hostess。
For　the　first　minute　Anna　Pavlovna　had；　in　spite　of　her　social　adroitness；　been　dismayed　by　Pierre’s　outbreak；　but　when　she　saw　that　the　vicomte　was　not　greatly　discomposed　by　Pierre’s　sacrilegious　utterances；　and　had　convinced　herself　that　it　was　impossible　to　suppress　them；　she　rallied　her　forces　and　joined　the　vicomte　in　attacking　the　orator。
“Mais；　mon　cher　Monsieur　Pierre；”　said　Anna　Pavlovna；　“what　have　you　to　say　for　a　great　man　who　was　capable　of　executing　the　due—or　simply　any　human　being—guiltless　and　untried？”
“I　should　like　to　ask；”　said　the　vicomte；　“how　monsieur　would　explain　the　18th　of　Brumaire？　Was　not　that　treachery？”
“It　was　a　juggling　trick　not　at　all　like　a　great　man’s　way　of　acting。”
“And　the　wounded　he　killed　in　Africa？”　said　the　little　princess；　“that　was　awful！”　And　she　shrugged　her　shoulders。
“He’s　a　plebeian；　whatever　you　may　say；”　said　Prince　Ippolit。
Monsieur　Pierre　did　not　know　which　to　answer。　He　looked　at　them　all　and　smiled。　His　smile　was　utterly　unlike　the　half…smile　of　all　the　others。　When　he　smiled；　suddenly；　instantaneously；　his　serious；　even　rather　sullen；　face　vanished　completely；　and　a　quite　different　face　appeared；　childish；　good…humoured；　even　rather　stupid；　that　seemed　to　beg　indulgence。　The　vicomte；　who　was　seeing　him　for　the　first　time；　saw　clearly　that　this　Jacobin　was　by　no　means　so　formidable　as　his　words。　Every　one　was　silent。
“How　is　he　to　answer　every　one　at　once？”　said　Prince　Andrey。　“Besides；　in　the　actions　of　a　statesman；　one　must　distinguish　between　his　acts　as　a　private　person　and　as　a　general　or　an　emperor。　So　it　seems　to　me。”
“Yes；　yes；　of　course；”　put　in　Pierre；　delighted　at　the　assistance　that　had　come　to　support　him。
“One　must　admit；”　pursued　Prince　Andrey；　“that　Napoleon　as　a　man　was　great　at　the　bridge　of　Arcola；　or　in　the　hospital　at　Jaffa；　when　he　gave　his　hand　to　the　plague…stricken；　but…but　there　are　other　actions　it　would　be　hard　to　justify。”
Prince　Andrey；　who　obviously　wished　to　relieve　the　awkwardness　of　Pierre’s　position；　got　up　to　go；　and　made　a　sign　to　his　wife。
Suddenly　Prince　Ippolit　got　up；　and　with　a　wave　of　his　hands　stopped　every　one；　and　motioning　to　them　to　be　seated；　began：
“Ah；　I　heard　a　Moscow　story　to…day；　I　must　entertain　you　with　it。　You　will　excuse　me；　vicomte；　I　must　tell　it　in　Russian。　If　not；　the　point　of　the　story　will　be　lost。”　And　Prince　Ippolit　began　speaking　in　Russian；　using　the　sort　of　jargon　Frenchmen　speak　after　spending　a　year　in　Russia。　Every　one　waited　expectant；　Prince　Ippolit　had　so　eagerly；　so　insistently　called　for　the　attention　of　all　for　his　story。
“In　Moscow　there　is　a　lady；　une　dame。　And　she　is　very　stingy。　She　wanted　to　have　two　footmen　behind　her　carriage。　And　very　tall　footmen。　That　was　her　taste。　And　she　had　a　lady’s　maid；　also　very　tall。　She　said…”
Here　Prince　Ippolit　paused　and　pondered；　apparently　collecting　his　ideas　with　difficulty。
“She　said…yes；　she　said：　‘Girl；’　to　the　lady’s　maid；　‘put　on　livrée；　and　get　up　behind　the　carriage；　to　pay　calls。’　”
Here　Prince　Ippolit　gave　a　loud　guffaw；　laughing　long　before　any　of　his　audience；　which　created　an　impression　by　no　means　flattering　to　him。　Several　persons；　among　them　the　elderly　lady　and　Anna　Pavlovna；　did　smile；　however。
“She　drove　off。　Suddenly　there　was　a　violent　gust　of　wind。　The　girl　lost　her　hat；　and　her　long　hair　fell　down…”
At　this　point　he　could　not　restrain　himself；　and　began　laughing　violently；　articulating　in　the　middle　of　a　loud　guffaw；　“And　all　the　world　knew…”
There　the　anecdote　ended。　Though　no　one　could　understand　why　he　had　told　it；　and　why　he　had　insisted　on　telling　it　in　Russian；　still　Anna　Pavlovna　and　several　other　people　appreciated　the　social　breeding　of　Prince　Ippolit　in　so　agreeably　putting　a　close　to　the　disagreeable　and　illbred　outbreak　of　Monsieur　Pierre。　The　conversation　after　this　episode　broke　up　into　small　talk　of　no　interest　concerning　the　last　and　the　approaching　ball；　the　theatre；　and　where　and　when　one　would　meet　so…and…so　again。


Chapter　5
THANKING　ANNA　PAVLOVNA　for　her　charmante　soirée；　the　guests　began　to　take　leave。
Pierre　was　clumsy；　stout　and　uncommonly　tall；　with　huge　red　hands；　he　did　not；　as　they　say；　know　how　to　come　into　a　drawing…room　and　still　less　how　to　get　out　of　one；　that　is；　how　to　say　something　particularly　agreeable　on　going　away。　Moreover；　he　was　dreamy。　He　stood　up；　and　picking　up　a　three…cornered　hat　with　the　plume　of　a　general　in　it　instead　of　his　own；　he　kept　hold　of　it；　pulling　the　feathers　till　the　general　asked　him　to　restore　it。　But　all　his　dreaminess　and　his　inability　to　enter　a　drawing…room　or　talk　properly　in　it　were　atoned　for　by　his　expression　of　good…nature；　simplicity　and　modesty。　Anna　Pavlovna　turned　to　him；　and　with　Christian　meekness　signifying　her　forgiveness　for　his　misbehaviour；　she　nodded　to　him　and　said：
“I　hope　I　shall　see　you　again；　but　I　hope　too　you　will　change　your　opinions；　my　dear　Monsieur　Pierre。”
He　made　no　answer；　simply　bowed　and　displayed　to　every　one　once　more　his　smile；　which　said　as　plainly　as　words：　“Opinions　or　no　opinions；　you　see　what　a　nice；　good…hearted　fellow　I　am。”　And　Anna　Pavlovna　and　every　one　else　instincti