第521章

第521章“onewordofmine，onewaveofmyarm，andtheancientcapitalofthetsarisnomore.butmyclemencyiseverprompttostooptothevanquished.imustbemagnanimousandtrulygreat.butno，itisnottruethatiaminmoscow，”theideasuddenlystruckhim.“sheliesatmyfeet，though，hergoldendomesandcrossesflashingandtwinklinginthesun.butiwillspareher.ontheancientmonumentsofbarbarismanddespotismiwillinscribethegreatwordsofjusticeandmercy…alexanderwillfeelthatmorebitterlythananything；iknowhim.”（itseemedtonapoleonthatthechiefimportofwhathadhappenedlayinhispersonalcontestwithalexander.）“fromtheheightsofthekremlin—yes，that’sthekremlin，yes—iwilldictatetothemthelawsofjustice，iwillteachthemthemeaningoftruecivilisation，iwillmakethegenerationsofboyardstoenshrinetheirconqueror’snameinlove.iwilltellthedeputationthatihavenotsought，anddonotseek，war；butihavebeenwagingwaronlywiththedeceitfulpolicyoftheircourt；thatiloveandrespectalexander，andthatinmoscowiwillaccepttermsofpeaceworthyofmyselfandmypeoples.ihavenowishtotakeadvantageofthefortuneofwartohumiliatetheirhonouredemperor.‘boyards，’iwillsaytothem，‘idonotseekwar；iseekthepeaceandwelfareofallmysubjects.’butiknowtheirpresencewillinspireme，andishallspeaktothemasialwaysdo，clearly，impressively，andgreatly.butcanitbetruethatiaminmoscow！yes，theresheis！”

“lettheboyardsbebroughttome，”hesaid，addressinghissuite.ageneral，withabrilliantsuiteofadjutants，gallopedoffatoncetofetchtheboyards.

twohourspassed.napoleonhadlunched，andwasagainstandingonthesamespotonthepoklonnyhill，waitingforthedeputation.hisspeechtotheboyardshadbynowtakendefiniteshapeinhismind.thespeechwasfullofdignityandofgreatness，asnapoleonunderstoodit.napoleonwashimselfcarriedawaybythemagnanimitywithwhichheintendedtoactinmoscow.inimaginationhehadalreadyfixedthedaysfora“réuniondanslepalaisdesczars，”atwhichthegreatrussiannoblesweretominglewiththecourtiersofthefrenchemperor.inthoughthehadappointedagovernorcapableofwinningtheheartsofthepeople.havingheardthatmoscowwasfullofreligiousinstitutions，hehadmentallydecidedthathisbountywastobeshoweredontheseinstitutions.heimaginedthatasinafricahehadhadtositinamosquewearingaburnous，inmoscowhemustbegraciousandbountifulasthetsars.andbeing，likeeveryfrenchman，unabletoimagineanythingmovingwithoutareferencetosachère，satendre，sapauvremère，hedecidedfinallytotouchtherussianheart，thathewouldhaveinscribedonallthesecharitablefoundationsinlargeletters，“dedicatedtomybelovedmother，”orsimply，“maisondemamère，”hedecided.“butamireallyinmoscow？yes，theresheliesbeforeme；butwhyisthedeputationfromthecitysolongincoming？”hewondered.

meanwhileawhisperedandagitatedconsultationwasbeingheldamonghisgeneralsandmarshalsintherearofthesuite.theadjutantssenttobringthedeputationhadcomebackwiththenewsthatmoscowwasempty，thateveryonehadleftorwasleavingthecity.thefacesofallthesuitewerepaleandperturbed.itwasnotthatmoscowhadbeenabandonedbyitsinhabitants（graveasthatfactappeared）thatalarmedthem.theywereinalarmattheideaofmakingthefactknowntotheemperor；theycouldnotseehow，withoutputtinghismajestyintotheterribleposition，calledbythefrenchridicule，toinformhimthathehadbeenwaitingsolongfortheboyardsinvain，thattherewasadrunkenmob，butnooneelseinmoscow.someofthesuitemaintainedthatcomewhatmay，theymustanywayscrapeupadeputationofsomesort；othersopposedthisview，andassertedthattheemperormustbecarefullyandskilfullyprepared，andthentoldthetruth.

“weshallhavetotellhimallthesame，”saidsomegentlemanofthesuite.…“but，gentlemen…”

thepositionwasthemoredifficultastheemperor，ponderingonhismagnanimousplans，waswalkingpatientlyupanddownbeforethemapofthecity，shadinghiseyestolookfromtimetotimealongtheroadtomoscow，withaproudandhappysmile.

“butit’sawkward…”thegentlemen-in-waitingkeptrepeating，ingtheirshouldersandunabletobringthemselvestosettletheterriblewordintheirminds：“leridicule.…”

meanwhiletheemperor，wearyofwaitinginvain，andwithhisactor’sinstinctfeelingthatthegreatmoment，beingtoolongdeferred，wasbeginningtoloseitsgrandeur，madeasignwithhishand.asolitarycannonshotgavethesignal，andtheinvadingarmymarchedintomoscow—atthetver，thekaluga，andthedorogomilovgates.moreandmorerapidly，vyingwithoneanother，ataquickrunandatrot，thetroopsmarchedin，concealedinthecloudsofdusttheyraised，andmakingtheairringwiththeirdeafeningshouts.

temptedonbytheadvanceofthearmy，napoleontoorodeasfarasthedorogomilovgate，buttherehehaltedagain，anddismountingwalkedaboutthekamerkolezhskywallforalongtime，waitingforthedeputation.