第138章

第138章“soanattackhasbeenfinallydecidedupon？”saidbolkonsky.

“anddoyouknow,ifancy,bonapartereallyhaslosthishead.youknowthatalettercamefromhimto-daytotheemperor.”dolgorukovsmiledsignificantly.

“youdon’tsayso！whatdoeshewrite？”askedbolkonsky.

“whatcanhewrite？tradi-ri-di-ra—allsimplytogaintime.itellyouhe’sinourhands;that’sthefact！butthemostamusingpartofitall,”hesaid,breakingallatonceintoagood-naturedlaugh,“isthattheycouldn’tthinkhowtoaddressananswertohim.ifnot‘consul,’andofcoursenot‘emperor,’itshouldbe‘general’bonaparte,itseemedtome.”

“butbetweennotrecognisinghimasemperorandcallinghimgeneralbonaparte,there’sadifference,”saidbolkonsky.

“that’sjustthepoint,”dolgorukovinterruptedquickly,laughing.“youknowbilibin,he’saverycleverfellow;heestedaddressingit,‘totheusurperandenemyofthehumanrace,’”dolgorukovchuckledmerrily.

“andnothingmore？”observedbolkonsky.

“butstillitwasbilibinwhofoundthesuitableformofaddressinearnest.he’sbothshrewdandwitty…”

“howwasit？”

“tothechiefofthefrenchgovernment：auchefdugouvernementfran？ais,”dolgorukovsaidseriouslyandwithsatisfaction.“thatwastherightthing,wasn’tit？”

“itwasallright,buthewilldislikeitextremely,”observedbolkonsky.

“oh,extremely！mybrotherknowshim;he’sdinedmorethanoncewithhim—nowadaystheemperor—inparis,andusedtotellmethathe’dneverseenasubtlerandmorecraftydiplomat;youknow,acombinationoffrenchadroitnessandtheitalianactor-faculty！youknowtheanecdoteaboutbonaparteandcountmarkov？countmarkovwastheonlypersonwhoknewhowtotreathim.youknowthestoryofthehandkerchief？it’sagem！”andthetalkativedolgorukovturningfromboristoprinceandreytoldthestoryofhowbonaparte,totestmarkov,ourambassador,hadpurposelydroppedhishandkerchiefbeforehim,andhadstoodlookingathim,probablyexpectingmarkovtopickitupforhim,andhowmarkovpromptlydroppedhisownbesideit,andhadpickeduphisownwithouttouchingbonaparte’s.

“capital,”saidbolkonsky.“but,prince,ihavecometoyouasapetitionerinbehalfofthisyoungfriend.yousee…”butbeforeprinceandreycouldfinish,anadjutantcameintotheroomtosummonprincedolgorukovtotheemperor.

“ah,howannoying！”saiddolgorukov,gettinguphurriedlyandshakinghandswithprinceandreyandboris.“youknowishallbeverygladtodoallthatdependsonmebothforyouandforthischarmingyoungman.”oncemoreheshookhandswithboriswithanexpressionofgood-natured,genuine,heedlessgaiety.“butyousee…anothertime！”

boriswasexcitedbythethoughtofbeingsoclosetothehigherpowers,ashefelthimselftobeatthatinstant.hewasconscioushereofbeingincontactwiththespringsthatcontrolledallthosevastmovementsofthemasses,ofwhichinhisregimenthefelthimselfatiny,humble,andinsignificantpart.theyfollowedprincedolgorukovoutintothecorridorandmet（comingoutofthedoorofthetsar’sroomatwhichdolgorukovwentin）ashortmaninciviliandresswithashrewdfaceandasharplyprojectinglowerjaw,which,withoutspoilinghisface,gavehimapeculiaralertnessandshiftinessofexpression.thisshortmannoddedtodolgorukov,asifhewereanintimatefriend,andstaredwithanintentlycoldgazeatprinceandrey,walkingstraighttowardshimandapparentlyexpectinghimtobowormoveoutofhisway.princeandreydidneither;therewasavindictivelookonhisface,andtheshortyoungmanturnedawayandwalkedatthesideofthecorridor.

“who’sthat？”askedboris.

“that’soneofthemostremarkablemen—andthemostunpleasanttome.theministerofforeignaffairs,princeadamtchartorizhsky.”

“thosearethemen,”addedbolkonskywithasighwhichhecouldnotsuppress,astheywentoutofthepalace,“thosearethemenwhodecidethefatesofnations.”

nextdaythetroopssetoffonthemarch,anduptothetimeofthebattleofausterlitz,borisdidnoteedinseeingbolkonskyordolgorukovagain,andremainedforawhileintheismailovregiment.