第541章

第541章“well，ifyouhadnottoldmeyouarearussian，iwouldhavewageredyouwereaparisian.youhavethatindescribablesomething…”andutteringthiscompliment，heagaingazedathimmutely.

“ihavebeeninparis.ispentyearsthere，”saidpierre.

“onecanseethat！paris！amanwhodoesnotknowparisisasavage…aparisiancanbetoldtwoleaguesoff.paris—itistalma，laduschénois，potier，thesorbonne，theboulevards.”perceivingthattheconclusionofhisphrasewassomewhatofananticlimax，headdedhurriedly，“thereisonlyoneparisintheworld.…youhavebeeninparis，andyouremainrussian.well，idon’tthinkthelessofyouforthat.”

afterthedayshehadspentalonewithhisgloomythoughts，pierre，undertheinfluenceofthewinehehaddrunk，couldnothelptakingpleasureinconversingwiththisgood-humouredandna？veperson.

“toreturntoyourladies，theyaresaidtobebeautiful.whatasillyideatogoandburythemselvesinthesteppes，whenthefrencharmyisinmoscow.whatachancetheyhavelost.yourpeasantsaredifferent；butyoucivilisedpeopleoughttoknowbetterthanthat.wehavetakenvienna，berlin，madrid，naples，rome，warsaw—allthecapitalsintheworld.wearefeared，butweareloved.weareworthknowing.andthentheemperor…”hewasbeginning，butpierreinterruptedhim.

“theemperor，”repeatedpierre，andhisfacesuddenlyworeamournfulandembarrassedlook.“whatoftheemperor？”

“theemperor？heisgenerosity，mercy，justice，order，genius—thatistheemperor.itisi，ramballe，whotellyouthat.iwashisenemyeightyearsago.myfatherwasanemigrantcount.buthehasconqueredme，thatman.hehastakenholdofme.icouldnotresistthespectacleofthegreatnessandglorywithwhichhewascoveringfrance.wheniunderstoodwhathewanted，whenisawhewaspreparingabedoflaurelsforus，isaidtomyself：‘thatisamonarch.’andigavemyselfuptohim.ohyes，heisthegreatestmanofthecenturies，pastandtocome.”

“andisheinmoscow？”pierreasked，hesitatingandlookingguilty.

thefrenchmangazedatpierre’sguiltyface，andgrinned.

“no，hewillmakehisentryto-morrow，”hesaid，andwentonwithhistalk.

theirconversationwasinterruptedbyseveralvoicesshoutingatthegates，andmorelcomingintotellthecaptainthatsomewurtemberghussarshadcomeandwantedtoputuptheirhorsesintheyardinwhichthecaptain’shadbeenputup.thedifficultyarosechieflyfromthehussarsnotunderstandingwhatwassaidtothem.

thecaptainbadetheseniorsergeantbebroughttohim，andinasternvoiceaskedhimtowhatregimenthebelonged，whowashiscommandingofficer，andonwhatpretexthedaredattempttooccupyquartersalreadyoccupied.thegerman，whoknewverylittlefrench，eededinansweringthefirsttwoquestions，butinreplytothelastone，whichhedidnotunderstand，heansweredinbrokenfrenchandgermanthathewasquartermasteroftheregiment，andhadreceivedordersfromhissuperiorofficertooccupyallthehousesintherow.pierre，whoknewgerman，translatedthegerman’swordstothecaptain，andtranslatedthecaptain’sanswerbackforthewurtemberghussar.onunderstandingwhatwassaidtohim，thegermangavein，andtookhismenaway.

thecaptainwentouttotheentranceandgavesomeloudcommands.

whenhecamebackintotheroom，pierrewassittingwherehehadbeensittingbefore，withhisheadinhishands.hisfaceexpressedsuffering.hereallywasatthatmomentsuffering.assoonasthecaptainhadgoneout，andpierrehadbeenleftalone，hesuddenlycametohimself，andrecognisedthepositionhewasin.itwasnotthatmoscowhadbeentaken，notthattheseluckyconquerorsweremakingthemselvesathomethereandpatronisinghim，bitterlyaspierrefeltit，thattorturedhimatthatmoment.hewastorturedbytheconsciousnessofhisownweakness.thefewglassesofwinehehaddrunk，thechatwiththisgood-naturedfellow，haddissipatedthatmoodofconcentratedgloom，whichhehadbeenlivinginforthelastfewdays，andwhichwasessentialforcarryingouthisdesign.thepistolandtheerandthepeasant’scoatwereready，napoleonwasmakinghisentryonthemorrow.pierrefeltitaspraiseworthyandasbeneficialasevertoslaythemiscreant；buthefeltnowthathewouldnotdoit.heledagainsttheconsciousnessofhisownweakness，buthevaguelyfeltthathecouldnotovercomeit，thathispastgloomytrainofideas，ofvengeance，murder，andself-sacrifice，hadbeenblownawaylikedustatcontactwiththefirsthumanbeing.

thecaptaincameintotheroom，limpingalittle，andwhistlingsometune.

thefrenchman’schatterthathadamusedpierrestruckhimnowasrevolting.andhiswhistlingatune，andhisgait，andhisgestureintwistinghismoustaches，allseemedinsultingtopierrenow.

“i’llgoawayatonce，iwon’tsayanotherwordtohim，”thoughtpierre.hethoughtthis，yetwentonsittinginthesameplace.somestrangefeelingofweaknessrivetedhimtohisplace；helongedtogetupandgo，andcouldnot.

thecaptain，onthecontrary，seemedinexceedinglygoodspirits.hewalkedacoupleoftimesupanddowntheroom.hiseyessparkledandhismoustachesslightlytwitchedasthoughheweresmilingtohimselfatsomeamusingnotion.

“charmingfellowthecolonelofthesewurtembergers，”hesaidallatonce.“he’sagerman，butagoodfellowifevertherewasone.butagerman.”

hesatdownfacingpierre.

“bytheway，youknowgerman？”

pierrelookedathiminsilence.

“howdoyousay‘asile’ingerman？”

“asile？”repeatedpierre.“asileingermanisunterkunft.”

“whatdoyousay？”thecaptainqueriedquicklyanddoubtfully.

“unterkunft，”repeatedpierre.

“onterkoff，”saidthecaptain，andforseveralsecondshelookedatpierrewithhislaughingeyes.“thegermansareawfulfools，aren’tthey，m.pierre？”heconcluded.