第576章

第576章“thepotatoesarefirst-rate,”herepeated.“youtastethemlikethat.”

itseemedtopierrethathehadnevereatenanythingsogood.

“no,iamallright,”saidpierre;“butwhydidtheyshootthosepoorfellows？…thelastwasaladoftwenty.”

“tss…tss…”saidthelittleman.“sin,indeed,…sin…”headdedquickly,justasthoughthewordswerealreadyinhismouthandflewoutofitbyaccident;hewenton：“howwasit,sir,youcametostayinmoscowlikethis？”

“ididn’tthinktheywouldcomesosoon.istayedbyaccident,”saidpierre.

“buthowdidtheytakeyou,darling;fromyourhome？”

“no,iwentouttoseethefire,andthentheytookmeupandbroughtmetojudgmentasanincendiary.”

“wherethere’sjudgment,therethere’sfalsehood,”putinthelittleman.

“andhaveyoubeenherelong？”askedpierre,ashemunchedthelastpotato.

“i？onsundaytheytookmeoutofthehospitalinmoscow.”

“whoareyou,asoldier？”

“wearesoldiersoftheapsheronregiment.iwasdyingoffever.wewerenevertoldanything.thereweretwentyofuslyingsick.andwehadneverathought,neveraguessofhowitwas.”

“well,andareyoumiserablehere？”askedpierre.

“miserable,tobesure,darling.myname’splaton,surnamekarataev,”headded,evidentlytomakeiteasierforpierretoaddresshim.“intheregimenttheycalledme‘thelittlehawk.’howcanonehelpbeingsad,mydear？moscow—she’sthemotherofcities.onemustbesadtoseeit.yes,theotgnawsthecabbage,butitdiesbeforeit’sdone;sotheoldfolksusedtosay,”headdedquickly.

“what,whatwasthatyousaid？”askedpierre.

“i？”saidkarataev.“isayit’snotbyourwit,butasgodthinksfit,”saidhe,supposingthathewasrepeatingwhathehadsaid.andatoncehewenton：“tellme,sir,andhaveyouanestatefromyourfathers？andahouseofyourown？tobesure,yourcupwasoverflowing！andawife,too？andareyouroldparentsliving？”heasked,andthoughpierrecouldnotseehiminthedark,hefeltthatthesoldier’slipswerepuckeredinarestrainedsmileofkindlinesswhileheaskedthesequestions.hewasevidentlydisappointedthatpierrehadnoparents,especiallythathehadnotamother.

“wifeforgoodcounsel,mother-in-lawforkindwelcome,butnonedearasyourownmother！”saidhe.“andhaveyouchildren？”hewentontoask.pierre’snegativereplyseemedtodisappointhimagain,andheaddedhimself：“ohwell,youareyoungfolks;pleasegod,therewillbe.onlyliveinpeaceandconcord.”

“butitmakesnodifferencenow,”pierrecouldnothelpsaying.

“ah,mydearman,”rejoinedplaton,“thear’sbagandtheprisonwallsnonecanbesureofescaping.”hesettledhimselfmorecomfortably,andclearedhisthroat,evidentlypreparinghimselfforalongstory.“soitwaslikethis,dearfriend,wheniusedtobelivingathome,”hebegan,“wehavearichheritage,agreatdealofland,thepeasantswerewelloff,andourhouse—somethingtothankgodfor,indeed.fatherusedtogoouttoreapwithsixofus.wegotalongfinely.somethinglikepeasantswewere.itcametopass…”andplatonkarataevtoldalongstoryofhowhehadgoneintoanotherman’scopseforwood,andhadbeencaughtbythekeeper,howhehadbeened,tried,andsentforasoldier.“anddoyouknow,darling,”saidhe,hisvoicechangingfromthesmileonhisface,“wethoughtitwasamisfortune,whileitwasallforourhappiness.mybrotherwouldhavehadtogoifithadn’tbeenformyfault.andmyyoungerbrotherhadfivelittleones;whilei,lookyou,ileftnoonebehindbutmywife.ihadalittlegirl,butgodhadtakenherbeforeiwentforasoldier.iwenthomeonleave,imusttellyou.ifindthemallbetteroffthanever.theyardfullofbeasts,thewomenfolkathome,twobrothersoutearningwages.onlymihailo,theyoungest,athome.fathersaysallhischildrenarealike;whicheverfinger’spricked,ithurtsthesame.andiftheyhadn’tshavedplatonforasoldier,thenmihailowouldhavehadtogo.hecalledusalltogether—wouldyoubelieveit—madeusstandbeforetheholypicture.‘mihailo,’sayshe,‘comehere,benddowntohisfeet;andyou,women,bowdown;andyou,grandchildren.doyouunderstand？’sayshe.yes,soyousee,mydear.fateactswithreason.andwearealwayspassingjudgment;that’snotright,andthisdoesn’tsuitus.ourhappiness,mydear,islikewaterinadragnet;youdrag,anditisallpuffedup,butpullitoutandthere’snothing.yes,that’sit.”andplatonmovedtoafreshseatinthestraw.

afterashortpause,platongotup.

“well,idaresay,youaresleepy？”hesaid,andhebeganrapidlycrossinghimself,murmuring：

“lordjesuschrist,holysaintnikola,frolaandlavra;lordjesuschrist,holysaintnikola,frolaandlavra;lordjesuschrist—havemercyandsaveus！”heconcluded,boweddowntotheground,gotup,sighed,andsatdownonhisstraw.“that’sright.letmeliedownlikeastone,ogod,andriseuplikenewbread！”hemurmured,andlaydown,pullinghismilitarycoatoverhim.

“whatprayerwasthatyourecited？”askedpierre.

“eh？”saidplaton（hewasalreadyhalfasleep）.“recited？iprayedtogod.don’tyoupray,too？”

“yes,ido,”saidpierre.“butwhatwasityousaid—frolaandlavra？”

“eh,tobesure,”platonansweredquickly.“they’rethehorses’saints.onemustthinkofthepoorbeasts,too,”hesaid.“why,thelittlehussy,she’scurledup.you’rewarm,childofabitch！”hesaid,feelingthedogathisfeet;and,turningoveragain,hefellasleepatonce.

outsideshoutingandwailingcouldbeheardsomewherefaraway,andthroughthecracksinthewallscouldbeseentheglowoffire;butwithintheshedallwasdarkandhushed.foralongwhilepierredidnotsleep,andlaywithopeneyesinthedarkness,listeningtoplatonsnoringrhythmicallyashelaybesidehim,andhefeltthattheworldthathadbeenshatteredwasrisingupnowinhissoul,innewbeauty,andonnewfoundationsthatcouldnotbeshaken.