第405章

第405章atthatmomentcountrastoptchin,withhisprominentchinandalerteyes,strodeinrapidlythroughthepartingcrowd,wearingtheuniformofageneralandaribbonoverhisshoulder.

“oursovereigntheemperorwillbehereimmediately,”saidrastoptchin.“ihavejustcomefromhim.ipresumethatinthepositioninwhichweareplaced,thereisnoneedofmuchdiscussion.theemperorhasgraciouslyseenfittosummonusandthemerchants,”saidcountrastoptchin.“theywillpourouttheirmillions”（hepointedtothemerchants’hall）;“itisourdutytoraisemenandnottospareourselves.…itistheleastwecando.”

aconsultationtookplacebetweenthegreatnoblemenatthetableonly.thewholeconsultationwasmorethansubdued,itseemedevermournful,when,afterallthehubbubthathadgonebefore,theoldvoicescouldbeheard,oneatatime,saying“agreed,”orforthesakeofvariety,“iamofthesameopinion.”

thesecretarywastoldtowritedowntheresolutionofthemoscownobility：thatthenoblesofmoscow,likethoseofsmolensk,wouldfurnishalevyoftenmenineverythousand,withtheircompleteequipment.

thegentlemen,whohadbeensitting,gotupwithanairofrelief;therewasascrapingofchairsandthegreatnoblemenwalkedabouttostretchtheirlegs,takingtheirfriends’armsandchattingtogether.

“thetsar！thetsar！”wassuddenlyheardallthroughtherooms,andthewholecrowdrushedtowardstheentrance.

thetsarwalkedinalongthewide,freespaceleftforhim,betweenwallsofnoblemenclosepackedoneachside.everyfaceexpressedreverentandawe-strickencuriosity.pierrewasatsomedistance,andcouldnotquitecatchallthetsarsaid.heknewfromwhathedidhearthatthetsarwasspeakingofthedangerinwhichtheempirewasplaced,andthehopesherestedonthemoscownobility.thetsarwasansweredbyavoiceinforminghimoftheresolutionjustpassedbythenobility.

“gentlemen！”saidthetremblingvoiceofthetsar.astirpassedthroughthecrowd,andthenahushfellonitagain,andpierredistinctlyheardthevoiceofthetsar,warmlyhumaneanddeeplytouched：“ihaveneverdoubtedofthedevotionoftherussiannobility.butthisdayithassurpassedmyexpectations.ithankyouinthenameofthefatherland.gentlemen,letusact—timeismorepreciousthananything.…”

thetsarceasedspeaking;thecrowdbeganpressingroundhim,andcriesofenthusiasmwereheardonallsides.

“yes,morepreciousthananything…aroyalsaying,”saidthevoiceofilyaandreitchwithasob.hehadheardnothing,butunderstoodeverythinginhisownway.

fromthenobility’sroomthetsarwentintothemerchants’room.hewasthereforabouttenminutes.pierreamongsttherestsawthetsarcomingbackfromthemerchants’roomwithtearsofemotioninhiseyes.theylearnedafterwardsthatthetsarhadhardlybeguntospeaktothemerchantswhenthetearsgushedfromhiseyesandhecontinuedinatremblingvoice.whenpierresawthetsarcomeout,hewasaccompaniedbytwomerchants.oneofthempierreknew,astoutcontractor;theotherwasthemayor,withathin,yellowfaceandnarrowbeard.bothwereweeping.thetearsstoodinthethinman’seyes,butthestoutcontractorwassobbinglikeachildandcontinuallyrepeating：

“takelifeandpropertytoo,yourmajesty！”

pierrefeltnothingatthatmomentbutthedesiretoshowthatnothingwastoomuchforhimandthathewasreadytosacrificeeverything.theconstitutionaltenorofhisspeechweighedonhimlikeasin;hesoughtanopportunityofglossingitover.onhearingthatcountmamonovwasfurnishingaregiment,bezuhovatoncetoldcountrastoptchinthathewouldfurnishonethousandmenandtheirequipment.

oldrostovcouldnottellhiswifewhathadpassedwithouttears,andheagreedatoncetopetya’swishes,andwenthimselftoenterhisname.

nextdaythetsarwentaway.alltheassemblednoblemenwentbacktotheirhomesandtheirclubs,tookofftheiruniforms,andwithsomegroansgaveorderstotheirstewardstoraisethelevy,wonderingthemselvesatwhattheyhaddone.