| At Bald Hills, Prince Nicholas Andreevich Bolkonski's estate,
thearrival of young Prince Andrew and his wife was daily expected,
butthis expectation did not upset the regular routine of life in
theold prince's household. General in Chief Prince Nicholas Andreevich(nicknamed
in society, "the King of Prussia") ever since the EmperorPaul
had exiled him to his country estate had lived there continuouslywith
his daughter, Princess Mary, and her companion, MademoiselleBourienne.
Though in the new reign he was free to return to thecapitals, he
still continued to live in the country, remarking thatanyone who
wanted to see him could come the hundred miles fromMoscow to Bald
Hills, while he himself needed no one and nothing. Heused to say
that there are only two sources of human vice- idlenessand superstition,
and only two virtues- activity and intelligence.He himself undertook
his daughter's education, and to develop thesetwo cardinal virtues
in her gave her lessons in algebra and geometrytill she was twenty,
and arranged her life so that her whole timewas occupied. He was
himself always occupied: writing his memoirs,solving problems in
higher mathematics, turning snuffboxes on a lathe,working in the
garden, or superintending the building that wasalways going on at
his estate. As regularity is a prime conditionfacilitating activity,
regularity in his household was carried tothe highest point of exactitude.
He always came to table underprecisely the same conditions, and
not only at the same hour but atthe same minute. With those about
him, from his daughter to his serfs,the prince was sharp and invariably
exacting, so that without beinga hardhearted man he inspired such
fear and respect as few hardheartedmen would have aroused. Although
he was in retirement and had now noinfluence in political affairs,
every high official appointed to theprovince in which the prince's
estate lay considered it his duty tovisit him and waited in the
lofty antechamber ante chamber just as thearchitect, gardener, or
Princess Mary did, till the prince appearedpunctually to the appointed
hour. Everyone sitting in this antechamberexperienced the same feeling
of respect and even fear when theenormously high study door opened
and showed the figure of a rathersmall old man, with powdered wig,
small withered hands, and bushy grayeyebrows which, when he frowned,
sometimes hid the gleam of hisshrewd, youthfully glittering eyes.
On the morning of the day that the young couple were to arrive,Princess
Mary entered the antechamber as usual at the time appointedfor
the morning greeting, crossing herself with trepidation andrepeating
a silent prayer. Every morning she came in like that, andevery
morning prayed that the daily interview might pass off well.
An old powdered manservant who was sitting in the antechamber
rosequietly and said in a whisper: "Please walk in."
Through the door came the regular hum of a lathe. The princesstimidly
opened the door which moved noiselessly and easily. She pausedat
the entrance. The prince was working at the lathe and afterglancing
round continued his work.
The enormous study was full of things evidently in constant
use. Thelarge table covered with books and plans, the tall glass-frontedbookcases
with keys in the locks, the high desk for writing whilestanding
up, on which lay an open exercise book, and the lathe withtools
laid ready to hand and shavings scattered around- allindicated
continuous, varied, and orderly activity. The motion ofthe small
foot shod in a Tartar boot embroidered with silver, andthe firm
pressure of the lean sinewy hand, showed that the princestill
possessed the tenacious endurance and vigor of hardy old age.After
a few more turns of the lathe he removed his foot from thepedal,
wiped his chisel, dropped it into a leather pouch attached tothe
lathe, and, approaching the table, summoned his daughter. He nevergave
his children a blessing, so he simply held out his bristlycheek
(as yet unshaven) and, regarding her tenderly and attentively,said
severely:
"Quite well? All right then, sit down." He took the
exercise bookcontaining lessons in geometry written by himself
and drew up achair with his foot.
"For tomorrow!" said he, quickly finding the page
and making ascratch from one paragraph to another with his hard
nail.
The princess bent over the exercise book on the table.
"Wait a bit, here's a letter for you," said the old
man suddenly,taking a letter addressed in a woman's hand from
a bag hanging abovethe table, onto which he threw it.
At the sight of the letter red patches showed themselves on
theprincess' face. She took it quickly and bent her head over
it.
"From Heloise?" asked the prince with a cold smile
that showed hisstill sound, yellowish teeth.
"Yes, it's from Julie," replied the princess with
a timid glance anda timid smile.
"I'll let two more letters pass, but the third I'll read,"
saidthe prince sternly; "I'm afraid you write much nonsense.
I'll read thethird!"
"Read this if you like, Father," said the princess,
blushing stillmore and holding out the letter.
"The third, I said the third!" cried the prince abruptly,
pushingthe letter away, and leaning his elbows on the table he
drew towardhim the exercise book containing geometrical figures.
"Well, madam," he began, stooping over the book close
to hisdaughter and placing an arm on the back of the chair on
which she sat,so that she felt herself surrounded on all sides
by the acrid scent ofold age and tobacco, which she had known
so long. "Now, madam, thesetriangles are equal; please note
that the angle ABC..."
The princess looked in a scared way at her father's eyesglittering
close to her; the red patches on her face came and went,and it
was plain that she understood nothing and was so frightenedthat
her fear would prevent her understanding any of her father'sfurther
explanations, however clear they might be. Whether it wasthe teacher's
fault or the pupil's, this same thing happened everyday: the princess'
eyes grew dim, she could not see and could not hearanything, but
was only conscious of her stern father's withered faceclose to
her, of his breath and the smell of him, and could think onlyof
how to get away quickly to her own room to make out the problemin
peace. The old man was beside himself: moved the chair on whichhe
was sitting noisily backward and forward, made efforts to controlhimself
and not become vehement, but almost always did becomevehement,
scolded, and sometimes flung the exercise book away.
The princess gave a wrong answer.
"Well now, isn't she a fool!" shouted the prince,
pushing the bookaside and turning sharply away; but rising immediately,
he paced upand down, lightly touched his daughter's hair and sat
down again.
He drew up his chair. and continued to explain.
"This won't do, Princess; it won't do," said he,
when Princess Mary,having taken and closed the exercise book with
the next day'slesson, was about to leave: "Mathematics are
most important, madam!I don't want to have you like our silly
ladies. Get used to it andyou'll like it," and he patted
her cheek. "It will drive all thenonsense out of your head."
She turned to go, but he stopped her with a gesture and took
anuncut book from the high desk.
"Here is some sort of Key to the Mysteries that your Heloise
hassent you. Religious! I don't interfere with anyone's belief...
Ihave looked at it. Take it. Well, now go. Go."
He patted her on the shoulder and himself closed the door after
her.
Princess Mary went back to her room with the sad, scaredexpression
that rarely left her and which made her plain, sicklyface yet
plainer. She sat down at her writing table, on which stoodminiature
portraits and which was littered with books and papers.The princess
was as untidy as her father was tidy. She put down thegeometry
book and eagerly broke the seal of her letter. It was fromher
most intimate friend from childhood; that same Julie Karaginawho
had been at the Rostovs' name-day party.
Julie wrote in French:
Dear and precious Friend, How terrible and frightful a thing
isseparation! Though I tell myself that half my life and half
myhappiness are wrapped up in you, and that in spite of the distanceseparating
us our hearts are united by indissoluble bonds, my heartrebels
against fate and in spite of the pleasures and distractionsaround
me I cannot overcome a certain secret sorrow that has been inmy
heart ever since we parted. Why are we not together as we were
Lastsummer, in your big study, on the blue sofa, the confidential
sofa?Why cannot I now, as three months ago, draw fresh moral strengthfrom
your look, so gentle, calm, and penetrating, a look I loved sowell
and seem to see before me as I write?
Having read thus far, Princess Mary sighed and glanced into
themirror which stood on her right. It reflected a weak, ungracefulfigure
and thin face. Her eyes, always sad, now looked with particularhopelessness
at her reflection in the glass. "She flatters me,"thought
the princess, turning away and continuing to read. But Juliedid
not flatter her friend, the princess' eyes- large, deep andluminous
(it seemed as if at times there radiated from them shaftsof warm
light)- were so beautiful that very often in spite of theplainness
of her face they gave her an attraction more powerful thanthat
of beauty. But the princess never saw the beautiful expression
ofher own eyes- the look they had when she was not thinking ofherself.
As with everyone, her face assumed a forced unnaturalexpression
as soon as she looked in a glass. She went on reading:
All Moscow talks of nothing but war. One of my two brothers
isalready abroad, the other is with the Guards, who are starting
ontheir march to the frontier. Our dear Emperor has left Petersburgand
it is thought intends to expose his precious person to the chancesof
war. God grant that the Corsican monster who is destroying thepeace
of Europe may be overthrown by the angel whom it has pleased theAlmighty,
in His goodness, to give us as sovereign! To say nothingof my
brothers, this war has deprived me of one of the associationsnearest
my heart. I mean young Nicholas Rostov, who with hisenthusiasm
could not bear to remain inactive and has left theuniversity to
join the army. I will confess to you, dear Mary, that inspite
of his extreme youth his departure for the army was a greatgrief
to me. This young man, of whom I spoke to you Last summer, is
sonoble-minded and full of that real youthfulness which one seldom
findsnowadays among our old men of twenty and, particularly, he
is so frankand has so much heart. He is so pure and poetic that
my relations withhim, transient as they were, have been one of
the sweetest comforts tomy poor heart, which has already suffered
so much. Someday I will tellyou about our parting and all that
was said then. That is still toofresh. Ah, dear friend, you are
happy not to know these poignantjoys and sorrows. You are fortunate,
for the latter are generallythe stronger! I know very well that
Count Nicholas is too young everto be more to me than a friend,
but this sweet friendship, this poeticand pure intimacy, were
what my heart needed. But enough of this!The chief news, about
which all Moscow gossips, is the death of oldCount Bezukhov, and
his inheritance. Fancy! The three princesseshave received very
little, Prince Vasili nothing, and it is MonsieurPierre who has
inherited all the property and has besides beenrecognized as legitimate;
so that he is now Count Bezukhov andpossessor of the finest fortune
in Russia. It is rumored that PrinceVasili played a very despicable
part in this affair and that hereturned to Petersburg quite crestfallen.
I confess I understand very little about all these matters
ofwills and inheritance; but I do know that since this young man,
whomwe all used to know as plain Monsieur Pierre, has become CountBezukhov
and the owner of one of the largest fortunes in Russia, Iam much
amused to watch the change in the tone and manners of themammas
burdened by marriageable daughters, and of the young ladiesthemselves,
toward him, though, between you and me, he always seemedto me
a poor sort of fellow. As for the past two years people haveamused
themselves by finding husbands for me (most of whom I don'teven
know), the matchmaking chronicles of Moscow now speak of me asthe
future Countess Bezukhova. But you will understand that I haveno
desire for the post. A propos of marriages: do you know that awhile
ago that universal auntie Anna Mikhaylovna told me, under theseal
of strict secrecy, of a plan of marriage for you. It is neithermore
nor less than with Prince Vasili's son Anatole, whom they wish
toreform by marrying him to someone rich and distinguee, and it
is onyou that his relations' choice has fallen. I don't know what
youwill think of it, but I consider it my duty to let you know
of it.He is said to be very handsome and a terrible scapegrace.
That isall I have been able to find out about him.
But enough of gossip. I am at the end of my second sheet of
paper,and Mamma has sent for me to go and dine at the Apraksins'.
Read themystical book I am sending you; it has an enormous success
here.Though there are things in it difficult for the feeble human
mind tograsp, it is an admirable book which calms and elevates
the soul.Adieu! Give my respects to monsieur your father and my
complimentsto Mademoiselle Bourienne. I embrace you as I love
you.
JULIE
P.S. Let me have news of your brother and his charming little
wife.
The princess pondered awhile with a thoughtful smile and herluminous
eyes lit up so that her face was entirely transformed. Thenshe
suddenly rose and with her heavy tread went up to the table. Shetook
a sheet of paper and her hand moved rapidly over it. This isthe
reply she wrote, also in French:
Dear and precious Friend, Your letter of the 13th has given
me greatdelight. So you still love me, my romantic Julie? Separation,
of whichyou say so much that is bad, does not seem to have had
its usualeffect on you. You complain of our separation. What then
should I say,if I dared complain, I who am deprived of all who
are dear to me?Ah, if we had not religion to console us life would
be very sad. Whydo you suppose that I should look severely on
your affection forthat young man? On such matters I am only severe
with myself. Iunderstand such feelings in others, and if never
having felt them Icannot approve of them, neither do I condemn
them. Only it seems to methat Christian love, love of one's neighbor,
love of one's enemy, isworthier, sweeter, and better than the
feelings which the beautifuleyes of a young man can inspire in
a romantic and loving young girllike yourself.
The news of Count Bezukhov's death reached us before your letter
andmy father was much affected by it. He says the count was the
Lastrepresentative but one of the great century, and that it is
his ownturn now, but that he will do all he can to let his turn
come aslate as possible. God preserve us from that terrible misfortune!
I cannot agree with you about Pierre, whom I knew as a child.
Healways seemed to me to have an excellent heart, and that is
thequality I value most in people. As to his inheritance and the
partplayed by Prince Vasili, it is very sad for both. Ah, my dearfriend,
our divine Saviour's words, that it is easier for a camel togo
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter theKingdom
of God, are terribly true. I pity Prince Vasili but am stillmore
sorry for Pierre. So young, and burdened with such riches- towhat
temptations he will be exposed! If I were asked what I desiremost
on earth, it would be to be poorer than the poorest beggar. Athousand
thanks, dear friend, for the volume you have sent me andwhich
has such success in Moscow. Yet since you tell me that amongsome
good things it contains others which our weak human understandingcannot
grasp, it seems to me rather useless to spend time in readingwhat
is unintelligible and can therefore bear no fruit. I nevercould
understand the fondness some people have for confusing theirminds
by dwelling on mystical books that merely awaken their doubtsand
excite their imagination, giving them a bent for exaggerationquite
contrary to Christian simplicity. Let us rather read theEpistles
and Gospels. Let us not seek to penetrate what mysteries theycontain;
for how can we, miserable sinners that we are, know theterrible
and holy secrets of Providence while we remain in thisflesh which
forms an impenetrable veil between us and the Eternal? Letus rather
confine ourselves to studying those sublime rules whichour divine
Saviour has left for our guidance here below. Let us try toconform
to them and follow them, and let us be persuaded that the lesswe
let our feeble human minds roam, the better we shall please God,who
rejects all knowledge that does not come from Him; and the less
weseek to fathom what He has been pleased to conceal from us,
the soonerwill He vouchsafe its revelation to us through His divine
Spirit.
My father has not spoken to me of a suitor, but has only told
methat he has received a letter and is expecting a visit from
PrinceVasili. In regard to this project of marriage for me, I
will tell you,dear sweet friend, that I look on marriage as a
divine institutionto which we must conform. However painful it
may be to me, shouldthe Almighty lay the duties of wife and wife
and mother upon me Ishall try to perform them as faithfully as
I can, withoutdisquieting myself by examining my feelings toward
him whom He maygive me for husband.
I have had a letter from my brother, who announces his speedyarrival
at Bald Hills with his wife. This pleasure will be but a briefone,
however, for he will leave, us again to take part in this unhappywar
into which we have been drawn, God knows how or why. Not onlywhere
you are- at the heart of affairs and of the world- is the talkall
of war, even here amid fieldwork and the calm of nature- whichtownsfolk
consider characteristic of the country- rumors of war areheard
and painfully felt. My father talks of nothing but marches andcountermarches,
things of which I understand nothing; and the daybefore yesterday
during my daily walk through the village Iwitnessed a heartrending
scene.... It was a convoy of conscriptsenrolled from our people
and starting to join the army. You shouldhave seen the state of
the mothers, wives, and children of the men whowere going and
should have heard the sobs. It seems as thoughmankind has forgotten
the laws of its divine Saviour, Who preachedlove and forgiveness
of injuries- and that men attribute thegreatest merit to skill
in killing one another.
Adieu, dear and kind friend; may our divine Saviour and His
mostHoly Mother keep you in their holy and all-powerful care!
MARY
"Ah, you are sending off a letter, Princess? I have alreadydispatched
mine. I have written to my poor mother," said the smilingMademoiselle
Bourienne rapidly, in her pleasant mellow tones andwith guttural
r's. She brought into Princess Mary's strenuous,mournful, and
gloomy world a quite different atmosphere, careless,lighthearted,
and self-satisfied.
"Princess, I must warn you," she added, lowering
her voice andevidently listening to herself with pleasure, and
speaking withexaggerated grasseyement, "the prince has been
scolding MichaelIvanovich. He is in a very bad humor, very morose.
Be prepared."
"Ah, dear friend," replied Princess Mary, "I
have asked you never towarn me of the humor my father is in. I
do not allow myself to judgehim and would not have others do so."
The princess glanced at her watch and, seeing that she was
fiveminutes late in starting her practice on the clavichord, went
into thesitting room with a look of alarm. Between twelve and
two o'clock,as the day was mapped out, the prince rested and the
princess playedthe clavichord.
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