第420章

第420章“ihavesaidsooverandoveragainintheassemblyofnobility，”interposedprincevassily，“buttheywouldn’tlistentome.isaidthathiselectiontothecommandofthemilitiawouldnotbepleasingtohismajesty.theywouldn’tlistentome.it’sallthismaniaforbeingintheopposition，”hewenton.“andtowhatpublicaretheyplaying，ishouldliketoknow.it’sallbecausewearetryingtoapethesillyenthusiasmofmoscow，”saidprincevassily，forgettingforamomentthatitwasatellen’sthatthatenthusiasmwasjeeredat，whileatannapavlovna’sitwasaswelltoadmireit.buthehastenedtoretrievehismistake.“isitsuitableforkutuzov，theoldestgeneralinrussia，tobepresidinginthecourt？etilenresterapoursapeine！didanyonehearofsuchathingasappointingamancommander-in-chiefwhocannotsitahorse，whodropsasleepatacouncil—aman，too，ofthelowestmorals！aprettyreputationhegainedforhimselfinbucharest！tosaynothingofhisqualitiesasageneral，canweappoint，atsuchamoment，amandecrepitandblind—yes，simplyblind！afineidea—ablindgeneral！heseesnothing.playingblind-man’sbuff—that’sallhe’sfitfor！”

nooneopposedthatview.

onthe24thofjulyitwasacceptedasperfectlycorrect.butonthe29thkutuzovreceivedthetitleofprince.thebestowalofthistitlemightbetakentoindicateadesiretoshelvehim，andthereforeprincevassily’sdictumstillremainedcorrect，thoughhewasinnosuchhurrynowtoexpressit.butonthe8thofaugustacommittee，consistingofgeneralfield-marshalsaltykov，araktcheev，vyazmitinov，lopuhin，andkotchubeywasheldtoconsidertheprogressofthewar.thiscommitteedecidedthatthedisasterswereduetodividedauthority；andalthoughthemembersofthecommitteewereawareofthetsar’sdislikeofkutuzov，afteradeliberationtheyadvisedtheappointmentofkutuzovascommander-in-chief.andthatsamedaykutuzovwasappointedcommander-in-chiefofthearmy，andintrustedwithunlimitedauthorityoverthewholeregionoccupiedbythetroops.

onthe9thofaugustprincevassilyoncemoremetthe“manofgreatabilities”atannapavlovna’s.thelattergentlemanwasassiduousinhisattendanceatannapavlovna’s，inthehopeofreceiving，throughherinfluence，anappointmentononeoftheinstitutionsoffemaleeducation.princevassilystrodeintotheroomwiththeairofavictoriousgeneral，ofamanwhohaseededinattainingtheobjectofhisdesires.

“well，youknowthegreatnews！princekutuzovismarshal！alldifferencesofopinionareatanend.iamsoglad，sodelighted！”saidprincevassily.“atlasthereisaman！”hedeclared，lookingsternlyandsignificantlyatallthecompany.inspiteofhisdesiretosecuretheposthecoveted，the“manofgreatabilities”couldnotrefrainfromremindingprincevassilyoftheviewhehadexpressedshortlybefore.（thiswasabreachofcivilitytoprincevassilyinannapavlovna’sdrawing-room，andalsotoannapavlovna，whohadreceivedthetidingswithequalenthusiasm；buthecouldnotrefrain.）

“buttheysayheisblind，prince，”hesaidtorecalltoprincevassilyhisownwords.

“allezdonc，ilyvoitassez，”saidprincevassily，withtherapidbassvoiceandthecoughwithwhichhealwaysdisposedofalldifficulties.“heseesquiteenough，”herepeated.“andwhati’mparticularlygladof，”hewenton，“isthattheemperorhasgivenhimunlimitedauthorityoverallthetroops，overthewholeregion，anauthoritynocommander-in-chiefhaseverhadbefore.it’sanotherautocrat，”heconcluded，withavictorioussmile.

“godgrantitmaybe，”saidannapavlovna.

the“manofgreatabilities，”anoviceincourtsociety，wasanxioustoflatterannapavlovnabymaintainingherformeropinionagainstthisnewviewoftheposition.hesaid：“theysaytheemperorwasunwillingtogivekutuzovsuchauthority.theysayheblushedlikeayoungladytowhomjocondeisread，sayingtohim，‘thesovereignandthecountrydecreeyouthishonour.’”

“perhapstheheartwasnotoftheparty，”saidannapavlovna.

“ohno，no，”princevassilymaintainedwarmly.nowhewouldnotputkutuzovsecondtoanyone.tohearprincevassilynowkutuzovwasnotsimplyagoodmaninhimself，butidolisedbyeveryone.“no，that’simpossible，forthesovereignhasalwaysknownhowtoappreciatehim，”headded.

“godonlygrantthatprincekutuzovmaytakethecontrolofthingsintohisownhands，”saidannapavlovna，“andnotpermitanyonetoputaspokeinhiswheel.”

princevassilyknewatoncewhowasmeant.hewhispered，“iknowforafactthatkutuzovmadeitanexpressconditionthatthetsarevitchshouldnotbewiththearmy.voussavezcequ’iladitàl’empereur.”andprincevassilyrepeatedthewordssaidtohavebeenspokenbykutuzovtothetsar：“‘icanneitherpunishhimifhedoeswrong，norrewardhimifhedoeswell.’oh！he’sashrewdfellow，princekutuzov.ihaveknownhimalongwhile.”

“theydosay，”observedthe“manofgreatabilities，”whohadnotacquiredacourtier’stact，“thathisexcellencyevenmadeitanexpressconditionthattheemperorhimselfshouldnotbewiththearmy.”

hehadhardlyutteredthewordswhenannapavlovnaandprincevassilysimultaneouslyturnedtheirbacksonhim，andlookedmournfullyatoneanother，withasighathisna？veté.