第205章

第205章pierre’sduelwithdolohovwassmoothedover，andinspiteofthetsar’sseverityinregardtoduelsatthattime，neithertheprincipalsnorthesecondssufferedforit.butthescandaloftheduel，confirmedbypierre’srupturewithhiswife，madeagreatnoiseinsociety.pierrehadbeenlookeduponwithpatronisingcondescensionwhenhewasanillegitimateson；hehadbeenmademuchofandextolledforhisvirtueswhilehewasthewealthiestmatchintherussianempire；butafterhismarriage，whenyoungladiesandtheirmothershadnothingtohopefromhim，hehadfallengreatlyintheopinionofsociety，especiallyashehadneitherthewitnorthewishtoingratiatehimselfinpublicfavour.nowtheblameofthewholeaffairwasthrownonhim；itwassaidthathewasinsanelyjealous，andsubjecttothesamefitsofblood-thirstyfuryashisfatherhadbeen.andwhen，afterpierre’sdeparture，ellenreturnedtopetersburg，shewasreceivedbyallheracquaintancesnotonlycordially，butwithashadeofdeferencethatwasatributetoherdistress.whentheconversationtoucheduponherhusband，ellenassumedanexpressionofdignity，whichhercharacteristictactpromptedhertoadopt，thoughshehadnoconceptionofitssignificance.thatexpressionestedthatshehadresolvedtobearherafflictionwithoutcomplaint，andthatherhusbandwasacrossgodhadlaiduponher.princevassilyexpressedhisopinionmoreopenly.heedhisshoulderswhentheconversationturneduponpierre，andpointingtohisforehead，said：

“crackbrained，ialwayssaidso.”

“iusedtosaysoevenbefore，”annapavlovnawouldsayofpierre，“atthetimeisaidatonceandbeforeeveryone”（sheinsistedonherpriority）“thathewasaninsaneyoungman，corruptedbythedissoluteideasoftheage.iusedtosaysoatthetimewheneveryonewasinsuchecstasiesoverhim；andhehadonlyjustcomehomefromabroad，anddoyourememberatoneofmysoiréeshethoughtfittoposeasasortofmarat？andhowhasitended？eventheniwasagainstthismarriage，andforetoldallthathascometopass.”

annapavlovnausedstilltogivesoiréesonherfreedaysasbefore，soiréessuchasonlyshehadthegiftofarranging，soiréesatwhichweregathered“thecreamofreallygoodsociety，thefloweroftheintellectualessenceofpetersburgsociety，”asannapavlovnaherselfusedtosay.besidesthisfinesiftingofthesociety，annapavlovna’ssoiréeswerefurtherdistinguishedbysomenewinterestingperson，securedbythehostessoneveryoccasionfortheentertainmentofthecompany.moreover，thepointonthepoliticalthermometer，atwhichthetemperatureofloyalcourtsocietystoodinpetersburg，wasnowheresoclearlyandunmistakablymarkedasatthesesoirées.

towardstheendoftheyear1806，whenallthemelancholydetailsofnapoleon’sdestructionoftheprussianarmyatjenaandauerstadt，andthesurrenderofthegreaternumberoftheprussianforts，hadarrived，whenourtroopswerealreadyenteringprussia，andoursecondwarwithnapoleonwasbeginning，annapavlovnawasgivingoneofhersoirées.“thecreamofreallygoodsociety”consistedofthefascinatingandunhappyellen，abandonedbyherhusband；ofmortemart；ofthefascinatingprinceippolit，whohadjustcomehomefromvienna；oftwodiplomats，oftheoldaunt；ofayoungman，alwaysreferredtointhatsocietybythedesignation，“amanofagreatdealofmerit…”；ofanewlyappointedmaidofhonourandhermother，andseveralotherlessnoteworthypersons.

thenoveltyannapavlovnawasofferingherguestsfortheirentertainmentthateveningwasborisdrubetskoy，whohadjustarrivedasaspecialmessengerfromtheprussianarmy，andwasinthesuiteofapersonageofveryhighrank.

whatthepoliticalthermometerindicatedatthatsoiréewassomethingasfollows：alltheeuropeanrulersandgeneralsmaydotheirutmosttoflatterbonapartewiththeobjectofcausingmeandusgenerallytheseannoyancesandmortifications，butouropinioninregardtobonapartecanundergonochange.wedonotceasegivingundisguisedexpressiontoourwayofthinkingonthesubject，andcanonlysaytotheprussiankingandothers：“somuchtheworseforyou.”“tul’asvoulu，georgedandin，”that’sallwecansay.thiswaswhatthepoliticalthermometerindicatedatannapavlovna’ssoirée.whenboris，whowastobeoffereduptotheguests，cameintothedrawing-room，almostallthecompanyhadassembled，andtheconversation，guidedbyannapavlovna，wasofourdiplomaticrelationswithaustria，andthehopeofanalliancewithher.

boris，fresh，rosy，andmanlierlooking，walkedeasilyintothedrawing-room，wearingtheelegantuniformofanadjutant.hewasdulyconductedtopayhisrespectstotheaunt，andthenjoinedthegeneralcircle.