第558章

第558章ninedaysaftertheabandonmentofmoscow，acourierfromkutuzovreachedpetersburgwiththeofficialnewsofthesurrenderofmoscow.thiscourierwasafrenchman，michaud，whodidnotknowrussian，yetwas，“thoughaforeigner，russianinheartandsoul，”asheusedtosayofhimself.

thetsaratoncereceivedthemessengerinhisstudyinthepalaceofkamennyisland.michaud，whohadneverseenmoscowbeforethecampaign，anddidnotknowawordofrussian，yetfeltdeeplymovedwhenhecamebefore“notretrèsgracieuxsouverain”（ashewrote）withthenewsoftheburningofmoscow，whoseflamesilluminedhisroute.

thoughthesourceofm.michaud’ssorrowmustindeedhavebeendifferentfromthattowhichthegriefofrussianpeoplewasdue，michaudhadsuchamelancholyfacewhenhewasshownintothetsar’sstudythatthetsaraskedhimatonce：

“doyoubringmesadnews，colonel？”

“verysad，sire，thesurrenderofmoscow，”answeredmichaud，castinghiseyesdownwithasigh.

“cantheyhavesurrenderedmyancientcapitalwithoutabattle？”thetsaraskedquickly，suddenlyflushing.

michaudrespectfullygavethemessagehehadbeencommandedtogivefromkutuzov，thatis，thattherewasnopossibilityoffightingbeforemoscow，andthatseeingtherewasnochancebuteithertolosethearmyandmoscowortolosemoscowalone，thecommander-in-chiefhadbeenobligedtochoosethelatter.

thetsarlistenedwithoutaword，notlookingatmichaud.

“hastheenemyenteredthecity？”heasked.

“yes，sire，andbynowthecityisinashes.ileftitallinflames，”saidmichaudresolutely；butglancingatthetsar，michaudwashorrifiedatwhathehaddone.thetsarwasbreathinghardandrapidly，hislowerlipwastwitching，andhisfineblueeyeswereforamomentwetwithtears.

butthatlastedonlyamoment.thetsarsuddenlyfrowned，asthoughvexedwithhimselfforhisownweakness；andraisinghishead，headdressedmichaudinafirmvoice：

“isee，colonel，fromallthatishappeningtousthatprovidencerequiresgreatsacrificesofus.iamreadytosubmittohiswillineverything；buttellme，michaud，howdidyouleavethearmy，seeingmyancientcapitalthusabandonedwithoutstrikingablow？didyounotperceivediscouragement？”

seeingthathismostgracioussovereignhadregainedhiscomposure，michaudtooregainedhis；buttothetsar’sdirectquestionofamatteroffactwhichcalledforadirectanswer，hehadnotyetananswerready.“sire，willyoupermitmetospeakfrankly，asaloyalsoldier？”hesaid，togaintime.

“colonel，ialwaysexpectit，”saidthetsar.“hidenothingfromme；iwanttoknowabsolutelyhowitis.”

“sire！”saidmichaud，withadelicate，scarcelyperceptiblesmileonhislips，ashehadnowhadtimetopreparehisanswerintheformofalightandrespectfulplayofwords.“sire！ileftthewholearmy，fromthecommanderstothelowestsoldierwithoutexception，inextreme，indesperateterror.”

“howso？”thetsarinterrupted，frowningsternly.“myrussiansletthemselvesbecastdownbymisfortune？…never…”

thiswasjustwhatmichaudwaswaitingfortogetinhisphrases.

“sire，”hesaid，witharespectfulplayfulnessofexpression，“theyfearonlythatyourmajestythroughgoodnessofheartmayletyourselfbepersuadedtomakepeace.theyburntofight，”saidtheplenipotentiaryoftherussianpeople，“andtoprovetoyourmajestybythesacrificeoftheirliveshowdevotedtheyare…”

“ah！”saidthetsar，reassured，slappingmichaudontheshoulder，withafriendlylightinhiseyes.“youtranquilliseme，colonel…”

thetsarlookeddown，andforsometimehewassilent.“well，gobacktothearmy，”hesaid，drawinghimselfuptohisfullheightandwithagenialandmajesticgestureaddressingmichaud，“andtellourbravefellows，tellallmygoodsubjectswhereveryougo，thatwhenihavenotasoldierleft，iwillputmyselfattheheadofmydearnobility，ofmygoodpeasants，andsousethelastresourcesofmyempire.itoffersmestillmorethanmyenemiessuppose，”saidthetsar，moreandmorestirred.“butifitshouldbewritteninthedecreesofdivineprovidence，”hesaid，andhisfine，mildeyes，shiningwithemotion，wereraisedtowardsheaven，“thatmydynastyshouldceasetoreignonthethroneofmyancestors，thenafterexhaustingeverymeansinmypower，iwouldletmybeardgrowtohere”（thetsarputhishandhalfwaydownhisbreast），“andgoandeatpotatoeswiththemeanestofmypeasantsratherthansigntheshameofmycountryandmydearpeople，whosesacrificeiknowhowtoappreciate.”utteringthesewordsinavoiceofmuchfeeling，thetsarturnedquicklyaway，asthoughwishingtoconcealfrommichaudthetearsthatwerestartingintohiseyes，andhewalkedtothefurtherendofhisstudy.afterstandingtheresomeinstants，hestrodebacktomichaud，andwithavigorousactionsqueezedhisarmbelowtheelbow.thetsar’sfine，mildfacewasflushed，andhiseyesgleamedwithenergyandanger.“colonelmichaud，donotforgetwhatisaytoyouhere；perhapsonedayweshallrecallitwithpleasure.…napoleonorme，”hesaid，touchinghisbreast，“wecannolongerreigntogether.ihavelearnedtoknowhim.hewillnotdeceivemeagain…”andthetsarpaused，frowning.hearingthesewords，seeingthelookoffirmdeterminationinthetsar’seyes，michaud，thoughaforeigner，russianinheartandsoul，felt（asheusedtorecountlater）atthatsolemnmomentmovedtoenthusiasmbywhathehadjustheard；andinthefollowingphrasehesoughttogiveexpressiontohisownfeelingsandthoseoftherussianpeople，whoserepresentativeheconsideredhimselftobe.

“sire！”hesaid，“yourmajestyissigningatthismomentthegloryofthenationandthesalvationofeurope！”

withamotionofhisheadthetsardismissedmichaud.