第84章

第84章atthelevéetheemperorfrancisonlylookedintentlyintoprinceandrey’sface，andnoddedhislongheadtohimashestoodintheplaceassignedhimamongtheaustrianofficers.butafterthelevéetheadjutantofthepreviouseveningceremoniouslycommunicatedtobolkonskytheemperor’sdesiretogivehimanaudience.theemperorfrancisreceivedhim，standinginthemiddleoftheroom.princeandreywasstruckbythefactthatbeforebeginningtheconversation，theemperorseemedembarrassed，didn’tknowwhattosay，andreddened.

“tellmewhenthebattlebegan，”heaskedhurriedly.princeandreyanswered.thequestionwasfollowedbyothers，assimple：“waskutuzovwell？”“howlongwasitsinceheleftkrems？”andsoon.theemperorspokeasthoughhissoleaimwastoputacertainnumberofquestions.theanswerstothesequestions，aswasonlytooevident，couldhavenointerestforhim.

“atwhato’clockdidthebattlebegin？”askedtheemperor.

“icannotinformyourmajestyatwhato’clockthebattlebeganinthefrontlines，butatd？renstein，whereiwas，thetroopsbegantheattackaboutsixintheevening，”saidbolkonsky，growingmoreeager，andconceivingthatnowtherewasachanceforhimtogiveanaccuratedescription，justashehaditreadyinhishead，ofallheknewandhadseen.buttheemperorsmiledandinterruptedhim：

“howmanymiles？”

“fromwheretowhere，yourmajesty？”

“fromd？rensteintokrems？”

“threeandahalfmiles，yourmajesty.”

“thefrenchabandonedtheleftbank？”

“asourscoutsreported，thelastcrossedtheriveronraftsinthenight.”

“haveyouenoughprovisionsatkrems？”

“provisionshavenotbeenfurnishedtotheamount…”

theemperorinterruptedhim：

“atwhato’clockwasgeneralschmidtkilled？”

“atseveno’clock，ithink.”

“atseveno’clock？verysad！verysad！”

theemperorsaidthathethankedhim，andbowed.princeandreywithdrew，andwasatoncesurroundedbycourtiersonallsides.everywherehesawfriendlyeyesgazingathim，andheardfriendlyvoicesaddressinghim.theadjutantoftheprecedingeveningreproachedhimfornothavingstoppedatthepalace，andofferedhimhisownhouse.theministerofwarcameupandcongratulatedhimontheorderofmariatheresaofthethirdgrade，withwhichtheemperorwaspresentinghim.theempress’schamberlaininvitedhimtohermajesty.thearchduchess，too，wishedtoseehim.hedidnotknowwhomtoanswer，andforafewsecondshewastryingtocollecthisideas.therussianambassadortookhimbytheshoulder，ledhimawaytoawindow，andbegantotalktohim.

contrarytobilibin’sprognostications，thenewshebroughtwasreceivedwithrejoicing.athanksgivingservicewasarranged.kutuzovwasdecoratedwiththegreatcrossofmariatheresa，andrewardswerebestowedonthewholearmy.bolkonskyreceivedinvitationsonallhands，andhadtospendthewholemorningpayingvisitstotheprincipalpersonagesintheaustriangovernment.afterpayinghisvisits，princeandrey，atfiveo’clockintheevening，wasreturninghomewardstobilibin’s，mentallycomposingalettertohisfatheraboutthebattleandhisreceptionatbr？nn.atthestepsofbilibin’shousestoodacartpackedhalffullofthings，andfranz，bilibin’sservant，cameoutofthedoorway，withdifficultyingatravelling-trunk.

beforegoingbacktobilibin’sprinceandreyhaddriventoabook-seller’stolayinastockofbooksforthecampaign，andhadspentsometimeintheshop.

“whatisit？”askedbolkonsky.

“ah，yourexcellency！”saidfranz，withsomeexertionrollingthetrunkonthecart.“wearetomoveonstillfarther.thescoundrelisalreadyatourheelsagain！”

“eh？what？”queriedprinceandrey.

bilibincameouttomeetbolkonsky.hisordinarilycomposedfacelookedexcited.

“no，no，confessthatthisischarming，”hesaid，“thisstoryofthebridgeoftabor.theyhavecrosseditwithoutstrikingablow.”

princeandreycouldnotunderstand.

“why，wheredoyoucomefromnottoknowwhateverycoachmaninthetownknowsbynow？”

“icomefromthearchduchess.iheardnothingthere.”

“anddidn’tyouseethatpeoplearepackingupeverywhere？”

“ihaveseennothing…butwhat’sthematter？”princeandreyaskedimpatiently.

“what’sthematter？thematteristhatthefrenchhavecrossedthebridgethatauerspergwasdefending，andtheyhaven’tblownupthebridge，sothatmuratisatthismomentrunningalongtheroadtobr？nn，andto-dayorto-morrowthey’llbehere.”

“here？buthowisitthebridgewasn’tblownup，sinceitwasmined？”

“why，that’swhatiaskyou.noone—notbonapartehimself—cantellwhy.”bolkonskyedhisshoulders.

“butiftheyhavecrossedthebridge，thenitwillbealloverwiththearmy；itwillbecutoff，”hesaid.

“that’sthewholepoint，”answeredbilibin.“listen.thefrenchentervienna，asitoldyou.everythingissatisfactory.nextday，thatisyesterday，messieurslesmaréchaux，murat，lannes，andbeliardgetontheirhorsesandrideofftothebridge.（remarkthatallthreearegascons.）‘gentlemen，’saysone，‘youknowthatthetaborbridgehasbeenminedandcountermined，andisprotectedbyaformidablefortificationandfifteenthousandtroops，whohaveorderstoblowupthebridgeandnottoletuspass.butourgraciousemperornapoleonwillbepleasedifwetakethebridge.letusgousthereandtakeit.’‘yes，letusgo，’saytheothers；andtheystartoffandtakethebridge，crossit，andnowwiththeirwholearmyonthissideofthedanube，theyarecomingstraightuponus，anduponyouandyourcommunications.”

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