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TOLSTOI FROM THE RUSSIAN BY NATHAN HASKELL DOLE AUVHORIZED TRANSLATION IN FOUR VOLUMES VOL. III NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY PUBLISHERS Yih Aha he PA VAG AY IEY RELY ) » _ CopYRicHT, 1889, BY T. Y. CROWELL & CO. | Copyriaut, 1917, BY a NATHAN HASKELL DOLE a He ie % PWAR AND PEACE. VOL. III.— PART FIRST. CHAPTER L TowARD the end of the year 1811, a tremendous armament and concentration of forces took place in Western Europe; and in 1812, these forces — millions of men, counting those who were concerned in the transport and victualling of the armies — were moved from west to east toward the borders of Russia, where the Russian forces were drawn up just as they had been the year before. On the 24th of June, the forces of Western Europe crossed the Russian frontier, and war began: in other words, an event took place opposed to human reason and human nature. Millions of men committed against one another an infinite number of crimes: deception, treachery, robbery, forgery, issues of false assignats, depredations, incendiary fires, mur- ders, such as the annals of all the courts in all the world could not equal in the aggregate of centuries; and yet which, at that period, the perpetrators did not even regard as crimes. . What brought about this extraordinary event ? What were its causes ? | The historians, with naive credulity, assure us that the causes of this event are to be found in the affront offered to the Duke of Oldenbourg, in the disregard of the “ Continental System,” in Napoleon’s ambition, Alexander’s firmness, the mistakes of diplomatists, and what not. Of course, in that case, to put a stop to the war, it would have merely required Metternich, Rumyantsef, or Talleyrand, between a levee and a rout, to have made a little effort and skilfully composed a state’ paper; or, Napoleon to have written to Alexander: Monsieur, mon Frére, je consens a rendre le duché au Duc d’ Oldenbourg. It is easily understood that the matter presented itself in that light to the men of that day. It is easily understood VOL. 3. ett ‘ 2 WAR AND PEACE. that Napoleon attributed the cause of the war to England’s intrigues (indeed, he said so on the island of St. Helena) ; it is easily understood that the members of the British Parlia- ment attributed the cause of the war to Napoleon’s ambition ; that Prince Oldenbourg considered the war to have been caused by the insult which he had received; that the mer- chants regarded the “Continental System,” which was ruining European trade, as responsible for it; that old veterans and generals saw the chief cause for it in the necessity to find them something to do; the legitimists of that day, in the necessity of upholding les bon principes ; and the diplomatists in the fact that they had not been skilful enough to hoodwink Napoleon in regard to the Russian alliance with Austria in 1809, or that it had been awkward to draw up memorandum No. 178. It is easily understood that these, and an endless number of other reasons — the diversity of which is simply proportioned to the infinite diversity of standpoints — satisfied the men who were living at that time; but for us, Posterity, who are far enough removed to contemplate the magnitude of the event from a wider perspective, and who seek to fathom its simple and terrible meaning, such reasons appear insufficient. To us it is incomprehensible that millions of Christian men killed and tor- tured each other because Napoleon was ambitious, Alexander firm; English policy, astute; and Duke Oldenbourg, affronted. It is impossible to comprehend what connection these circum- stances have with the fact itself of murder and violence: why, in consequence of the affront put upon the duke, thousands of men from the other end of Europe should have killed and plundered the people of the governments of Smolensk and Moscow, and have been killed by them. For us, Posterity, who are not historians, and not carried away by any far-fetched processes of reasoning, and who can, therefore, contemplate the phenomena with unclouded and healthy vision, the causes thereof arise before us in all their innumerable quantity. The deeper we delve into the investi- gation of causes, the more numerous do they open up before us; and every separately considered cause, or whole series of causes, appears equally efficient in its own nature, and equally fallacious by reason of its utter insignificance in comparison with the prodigiousness of the events ; and equally fallacious also by reason of its inability, without the co-operation of all the other causes combined, to produce the events in question. Such a cause as the refusal of the Napoleon to draw his WAR AND PEACE. 3 army back within the Vistula, and to restore the duchy of Oldenbourg, has as much weight in this consideration _as the willingness or unwillingness of a single French corporal to take part in the campaign; whereas, if he had refused, and a second, and a third, and a thousand corporals and soldiers had likewise refused, Napoleon’s army would have been so greatly reduced that the war could not have occurred. If Napoleon had not been offended by the demand to retire his troops beyond the Vistula, and had not issued orders for them to give battle, there would have been no war; but if all the sergeants had refused to go into action, there also would have been no war. And there would also have been no war if there had been no English intrigues, and no Prince Oldenbourg ; and if Alexander had not felt himsélf aggrieved; and if there had been no autocratic power in Russia; and if there had been no French Revolution, and no Dictatorship, and Empire follow- ing 1t; and nothing of all that led up to the Revolution, and so on. Had any one of these causes been missing, war could have taken place. Consequently, all of them — milliards - of causes —must have co-operated to bring about what re- sulted. _ And, as a corollary, there could have been no exclusive final _ cause for these events ; and the great event was accomplished _ simply because it had to be accomplished. And so millions of men, renouncing all their human feelings, and their reason, had to march from west to east, and kill their fellows ; exactly _ the same as, several centuries before, swarms of men had swept _ from east to west, ikewise killing their fellows. ' The deeds of } Napoleon and Alexander, on whose fiat appar- ently depended this or that occurrence, were just as far from % being spontaneous and free as the actions of the merest sol- _dier taking part in the expedition, either as a conscript or as ‘recruit. This was inevitably the case, because, in order that Napoleon’s or Alexander’s will should be exectited — they be- ing apparently the men on whom the event depended — the ee berstion of countless factors was requisite, one of which failing, the event could not have occurred. It was indispensa- “le that millions of men, in whose hands was really all the power, soldiers who fought, and men who transported muni- tions of war and cannon, should consent to carry out the will of these two feeble human units; and they were brought to this by an endless number of complicated and varied causes. Fatalism in history is inevitable, if we would explain its il- 4 WAR AND PEACE. logical phenomena (that is to say, those events the reason for which.is beyond our comprehension). The more we strive by our reason to explain these phenomena in history, the more illogical and incomprehensible to‘us they become. Every man lives for himself, and enjoys sufficient freedom for the attairiment of his own personal ends, and 1s cons¢ious in his whole being that he can instantly perform or refuse to perform any action; but as soon as he has done it, this action, accomplished in a definite period of time, becomes irrevocable and forms an element in history, in which it takes its place with a fully pre-ordained and no longer capricious significance. Every man has a twofold life: on one side is his personal life, which is free in proportion as its interests are abstract ; the other is life as an element, as one bee in the swarm; and here aman has no chance of disregarding the laws imposed upon him. Man consciously lives for himself; but, at the same time, he serves as an unconscious instrument for the accomplishment of historical and social ends. An action once accomplished is fixed; and when a man’s activity coincides with others, with the millions of actions of other men, it acquires historical sig- nificance. The higher a man stands on the social ladder, the more men he is connected with, the greater the influence he exerts over others, — the more evident is the predestined and unavoidable necessity of his every action. “'The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” The king is the slave of history. History, that is to say, the unconscious, universal life of humanity, in the aggregate, every moment profits by the life of kings for itself, as an instrument for the accomplishment of its own ends. Napoleon, though never before had it seemed so evident to him as now in this year 1809, that it’ depended upon him whether he should shed or not shed the blood of his people — verser le sang de ses peuples, as Alexander expressed it in his last letter to him — was in reality never before so subordinated to the inevitable laws which compelled him — even while, as it seemed to him, working in accordance with his own free will — to accomplish for the world in general, for history, what was destined to be accomplished. The men of the West moved toward the East so as to kill each other. And, by the law of co-ordination, thousands of trifling causes made themselves into the guise of final ‘ WAR AND PEACE. 5 causes, and coinciding with this event, apparently explained this movement and this war: the dissatisfaction with the « Continental System ;” and the Duke of Oldenbourg ; and the invasion of Prussia, undertaken (as it seemed to Napoleon) simply for the purpose of bringing about an armed neutrality ; and the French Emperor’s love and habit of war coinciding with the disposition of his people; the attraction of grander prepa- ‘rations, and the outlays for such preparations, and the necessity ‘for indemnities for meeting these outlays; and the intoxicat- ‘ing honors paid at Dresden; and the diplomatic negotiations which, in the opinion of contemporaries, were conducted with a ‘sincere desire to preserve peace, but which merely offended the ‘pride of either side; and millions and millions of other causes, ‘serving as specious reasons for this event which had taken place, and coinciding with it. When an apple is ripe and falls, what makes it fall? Is it the attraction of gravitation? or isit because its stem withers ? or because the sun dries it up? or because it is heavy ? or ‘because the wind shakes it ? or because the small boy standing underneath is hungry for it ? There is no such proximate cause. The whole thing is the result of all those conditions, in accordance with which every vital, organic, complex event occurs. And the botanist who argues that the apple fell from the effect of decomposing vege- table tissue, or the like, is just as much in the right as the boy who, standing below, declares that the apple fell because he wanted to eat it, and prayed for it. Equally right and equally wrong would be the one who Should say that Napoleon went to Moscow because he wanted to go, and was. ruined because Alexander wished him to be ruined; equally right and equally wrong would be the man who Should declare that a mountain, weighing millions of tons and undermined, fell in consequence of the last blow of the mat- tock dealt by the last laborer. In the events of history, so- called great men are merely tags that supply a name to the event, and have quite as little connection with the event itself as the tag. : Every one of their actions, though apparently performed by their own free will, is, in its historical significance, out of the scope of volition, and is correlated with the whole trend of his: tory; and is, consequently, pre-ordained from all eternity. 6 WAR AND PEACE. CHAPTER II. On the 10th of June, Napoleon started from Dresden, where he had been for three weeks the centre of a court composed of princes, dukes, kings, and at least one emperor. Before his departure, Napoleon showed his favor to the princes, kings, and the emperor, who deserved it: he turned a cold shoulder on the kings and princes who had incurred his displeasure; he gave the Empress of Austria pearls and dia- monds, which he called his own, though they had been stolen from other kings, and then tenderly embracing the Hmpress Maria Louisa, as the historian terms her, left her heart-broken by his absence, which it seemed to her, now that she considered herself his consort. although he had another consort left behind in Paris, was too hard to be endured. Although the diplomats stoutly maintained their belief in the possibility of peace, and were working heartily for this end; although Napoleon himself wrote a letter to the Emperor Alexander, calling him Monsieur, mon Frére, and sincerely assur- ing him that he had no desire for war, and that he should always love and respect him; — still, he was off for the army, and at every station was issuing new rescripts having in view - to expedite the movement of the troops from west to east. He travelled in a calash drawn by six horses, and accom- panied by his pages, aides, and an escort, and took the route through Posen, Thorn, Dantzic, and Kénigsberg. The army was moving from the west to the east, and relays of fresh horses bore him in the same direction. On the 22d of June, he over- took the army, and spent the night in the Wilkowisky forest, on the estate of a Polish count, where quarters had been made ready for him. On the following day Napoleon, outstripping the army, drove to the Niemen in his calash; and, for the purpose of reconnoitring the spot where the army was to cross, he put on a Polish uniform, and went down to the banks of the river. When he saw on the other side the Cossacks, and the wide- stretching steppes, in the centre of which was Moscou, la ville sainte, the capital of that empire, which reminded him of the Scythian one, against which Alexander of Macedon had marched, Napoleon, unexpectedly and contrary to all strategi- eal as well as diplomatic considerations, gave orders for the WAR AND PEACE. 7 ‘advance, and on the next day the troops began to cross the Niemen. Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth, he emerged from his tent, which had been pitched on the steep left bank of the river, and looked through his field-glass at the torrents of his troops pouring forth from the Wilkowisky forest, and ‘Streaming across the three bridges thrown over the Niemen. ® The troops were aware of the presence of the emperor ; they searched for him with their eyes, and when they discov. ered him on the cliff, standing in front of his tent, and distin- guished from his suite by his “figure, in an overcoat and cocked hat, they flung their caps in the air, and shouted, “ Vive lV’em- pereur /” and then, rank after rank, anever-ceasing stream, they ‘poured forth and still poured forth from the mighty forest that till now had concealed them, and, dividing into three currents, crossed over the bridges to the ‘other side. * “Something’ll be done this time! Oh, when he takes a hand, he makes things hot !— God —save us. — There he is! Hurrah for the einperor!” _ “So these are the Steppes of Asia? Beastly country all ‘the same!” “Good-by! Beauché, I'll save the best palace in Moscow for you. Good-by! Luck to you!” “Have you seen him? ‘The emperor? — Hurrah for the emperor — ror — ror!” “Tf Tam made Governor of India, Gérard, V’ll appoint you minister at Cashmir; that’s a settled thing.” “ Hurrah for the emperor! Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!” “Those rascally Cossacks ! how they run! Hurrah for the emperor!” “There he is! Do yousee him? Twice I’ve seen him as plain as I see you, — the ‘ Little Corporal!’ ” _“T saw him give the cross to one of our vets. — Hurrah for the emperor!” * Such were the remarks and shouts made by men, both young and old, of the most widely differing characters and _* “On fera du chemin cette fois-ci. Oh! quand u s’en méle lui méme ¢a chauffe. Nom—de Dieu! — Le voila! — Vine Vempereur !— Les voila done les Steppes del’ Asie! Villain pays, tout de méme !— A revoir, Beauché ; je te réserve le plus beau palais de Moscou. A revoir! Bonne chance. — L’as tu vu, Vempereur ?— Vive l’empereur —preur!— Si on me fait gouverneur aux Indes, Gérard, je te fais ministre de Cachemir ; > cest arrété. — Vive l’em- pereur! Vive! Vive! Vive !—Ces gredins de Cosaques, comme tis filent ! Vive l’empereur !— Le voila! Le vois tu? je l’ai vu deux fois comme je te vois! Le petit caporal ! —Jelaivu donner la croix al’un des vieux. —Vive Pemper eur!” 8 WAR AND PEACE. positions in the world. The faces of all these men bore one aniversal expression of delight at the beginning of the long expected campaign, and of enthusiasm and devotion for the man in the gray overcoat, standing on the hill. | On the twenty-fifth of June a small thoroughbred Arab steed was brought to Napoleon, and he mounted and set off at a gallop down to one of the three bridges over the Niemen, greeted all the way by enthusiastic acclamations, which he evidently endured for the reason that it was impossible to prevent the men from expressing by these shouts their love for him; but these acclamations, which accompanied him wherever he went, fatigued him, and distracted his attention from the military task that met him at the moment that he reached the army. | He rode across the bridge that shook under his horse’s hoofs, and, on reaching the farther side, turned abruptly to the left, and galloped off in the direction of Kovno, preceded by his mounted guards, who, crazy with delight and enthu- siasm, cleared the way for him through the troops pressing on ahead. On reaching the broad river Vistula, he reined in his - horse near a regiment of Polish Uhlans, that was halted on the bank. “Hurrah!” shouted the Polyaks, no less enthusiastically, as they fell out of line, elbowing each other, in their efforts _ to get a sight of him. Napoleon contemplated the river; then dismounted and sat down on a log that happened to be lying on the bank. At a mute si-nal, his telescope was handed — him; he rested it on the shoulder of one of his pages, who : came forward beaming with delight, and began to reconnoitre | the other shore. Then he remained lost in study of a map_ spread out over the driftwood. Without’ lifting his head he said something, and two of his aides galloped off toward the Polish Uhlans. “What was it? What did he say?” was heard in the Pi of the Uhlans, as one of the aides came hurrying toward them. The order was that they should find a ford, and cross to the other side. The Polish colonel, who commanded the Uhlans, a hand- some old man, flushing and stumbling in his speech from excitement, asked the aide-de-camp whether he might be- permitted to swim the river with his men, instead of trying to tind the ford. He was evidently as apprehensive of receiving a refusal as a schoolboy who asks permission to ride on horse: WAR AND PEACE. 9 back; and what he craved was the chance to swim the river under his emperor’s eyes. The aide-de-camp replied that in all probability the em- peror would not be displeased with this superfluity of zeal. As soon as the aide-de-camp had said this, the old musta- ‘ehioed officer, with beaming face and gleaming eyes, waved his sword and cried Vivat/ And ordering his Uhlans to follow him, he plunged spurs into his horse and dashed down to the Tiver. He angrily struck the horse, that shied at the task, and forced him into the water, striking out boldly into the swift current where it was deepest. The water was cold, and the ‘Swiftness of the current made the passage difficult. The Uhlans clung to one another, in case they were dismounted from their horses. Several of the horses were drowned, and some of the men; the others endeavored to swim, one clinging to his saddle, another to his horse’s mane. Their endeavor Was to swim to the farther side, and, although there was a ford only half a verst below, they were proud of swim- ‘Ming and drowning in that river under the eye of the man sitting on the log, and not even noticing what they were doing ! When the aide-de-camp on his return found a favorable moment, he allowed himself to call the emperor’s attention to the devotion of these Polyaks to his person. The little man in the gray great-coat got up, and, calling Berthier, began to walk with him back and forth on the river bank, giving him orders, and occasionally casting a dissatisfied glance at the drowning Uhlans, who distracted his attention. It was nothing new in his experience that his presence any- where, in the deserts of Africa as well as in the Moscovite steppes, was sufficient to stimulate and drive men into the most senseless self-sacrifice. He commanded a horse to be brought, and rode back to his bivouac. Forty Uhlans were drowned in the river, although boats were sent to their aid. The majority gave up the task, and Teturned to the hither side. The colonel and a few of the ‘men swam across the river, and with great difficulty crept up on the farther shore. But as soon as they were on the land, oat | had been, but from which he had yanished, and counting wvaetde : In the afternoon, after making arrangements for procuring 10 ) WAR AND PEACE. with all possible despatch the counterfeit Russian assignats, that had been prepared for use in Russia; and after issuing an order to shoot a certain Saxon, who, in a letter that had been intercepted, gave information in regard to the disposition of the French forces ;— Napoleon, in still a third order, caused the Polish colonel who had quite needlessly flung himself into the river, to be enrolled in the Légion @ Honneur,* of which he him- self was the head. Quos vult perdere — dementat.T CHAPTER III. Tur Russian emperor, meantime, had been now for more than a month at Vilno, superintending reviews and ma- noeuvres. Nothing was ready for the war, though all had foreseen that it was coming, and though the emperor had left Petersburg’ to prepare for it. The vacillation as to what plan, from among the many that had been prepared, was to be selected, was still more pronounced after the emperor had been for a month at headquarters. Each of the three divisions of the army had a separate com- mander; but there was no nachalnik, or responsible chief, ove all the forces; and the emperor did not see fit to assume thi position. The longer the emperor staid at Vilna, the less ready fo the war were they who had grown weary of expecting it. The whole purpose of those who surrounded the sovereign seemed directed toward making him pass the time agreeably, and for. get about the impending conflict. | After a series of balls and festivities, given by Polish mag: nates, and by the courtiers, and by the emperor himself, « Polish adjutant proposed one fine June day, that the im perial staff should give a banquet and ball, in his majesty’: honor. The suggestion was gladly adopted by all. The sovereigy granted his sanction. ‘The imperial adjutants collected th« necessary funds by a subscription. A lady, who it was though would be most acceptable to the emperor, was invited to dc the honors. Count Benigsen, a landed proprietor of the Viln« * Instituted by Napoleon, May 19, 1802; carried out, Jul 14, 1814, t Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad. WAR AND PEACE. 11 government, tendered the use of his country house for the festivity, which was set for the 25th of June; and it was decided that the ball and banquet, together with a regatta and fireworks, should take place at Zakreto, Count Benigsen’s ‘eountry place. | On that very day on which Napoleon gave orders to cross t e Niemen, and the vanguard of his army drove back the Cossacks and set foot on Russian soil, Alexander was spend- ‘ing the evening at Count Benigsen’s villa, at a ball given by his staff ! ' It was a gay, brilliant occasion. Connoisseurs in such mat- ters declared that never before had so many pretty women been gathered in one place. The Countess Bezukhaya, who, with other Russian ladies, had followed the sovereign from ‘Petersburg to Vilno, was at this ball; by her overwhelning '$0-called Russian beauty quite putting into the shade the more refined and delicate Polish ladies. She attracted much atten- ia \ a) tion, and the sovereign did her the honor of dancing with ner. Boris Drubetskoi, having left his wife at Moscow, was also present at this ballen garcon, as he expressed it; and, although ? on his majesty’s staff, was a participant in the festivities in virtue of having subscribed a large sum toward the expenses. Boris was now a rich man, who had already arrived at high honors, and now no longer required patronage; but stood on 4m equal footing with any of his own age, no matter how lofty their rank might be. _ He had met Ellen at Vilno, not having seen her for some me; but he made no reference to the past. But as Ellen was “enjoying the favor” of a very influential individual, md Boris had not long been married, it suited their purposes 0 meet as good old friends. “At midnight, they were still dancing. Ellen, finding no Yartner to her taste, had herself proposed to Boris to dance me mazurka. ‘They were inthe third set. Boris, with cool in- ‘lifference glancing at Elen’s dazzling, bare shoulders, set off y a dark gauze dress, shot with gold, was talking about old equaintances; and, at the same time, neither he nor any one ise observed that, not for a single second, did he cease to yatch the emperor, who was in the same hall. The emperor was not dancing: he was standing in the door- fay, and addressing, now to one and now to another, those tacious words which he, of all men alone, had the art of speak 12 WAR AND PEACE. Just before the beginning of the mazurka, Boris noticed that the General-Adjutant Balashof, who stood on terms of special intimacy with the sovereign, approached him as he was talking with a Polish lady, and, contrary to court etiquette, stood waiting at a short distance from him. While still talk- ing, the sovereign looked up inquiringly, and, evidently per- ceiving that only weighty considerations would have caused Balashof to act thus, he gave the lady a slight bow, and turned to the adjutant. At Balashof’s very first words, an expression like amazement came over the sovereign’s face. He took Balashof’s arm, and, together with him, crossed the ballroom, so absorbed that he did not notice how the company parted, making a sort of lane, three sazhens wide, through which he passed: Boris observed Arakcheyef’s agitated face, as the sovereign walked out with Balashof. Arakcheyef, looking askance at the emperor, and snuffing through his red nose, moved out from the throng, as though expecting that the sovereign would address him. It was clear to Boris that Arakcheyef hated Balashof, and was much dissatisfied that any news of impor- tance should be brought to the sovereign otherwise than through him. But the sovereign, not heeding Arakcheyef, passed out, together with Balashof, through the open door, into the br’ liantly illuminated garden. Arakcheyef, grasping the hilt. his sword, and viciously glancing around, followed the twenty steps in the rear. ve While Boris continued to perform the proper figures of the mazurka, he was continually tortured by the thought of what news Balashof had brought, and how he might get hold of it before the others. In the figure, when he had to choose a lady, he whispered | to Ellen that he wanted to get the Countess Potocka, who, he believed, had gone out on the balcony. Hastily crossing the marquetry floor, he slipped out of the open door into the garden; and there, perceiving the sovereign walking along the terrace in company with Balashof, he stepped to one side, The sovereign and Balashof were directing their steps toward the door. Boris, pretending that in spite of all his efforts .2¢ had not time to get out of the way, respectfully crowded up against the lintel and bowed. The sovereign, with the agitated face of a man personally offended, uttered these words : — : “To make war against Russia without any declaration! 1 tT WAR AND PEACE. 13 will never consent to peace so long as a single armed foe remains in my land!” said he. It seemed to Boris that the sovereign took a delight in uttering these words ; he was satis- fied with the form in which his thought was couched, but he was annoyed that Boris had overheard him. “ Let not a word of this be known,” he added, with a frown. Boris understood that this was a hint to him, and, closing his eyes, he again bowed slightly. The sovereign returned to the ballroom, and remained for about half an hour longer. | Boris was the first to.learn the news of the French army having crossed the Niemen; and, turning his luck to good use, made several important personages think that many things concealed from the others were known to him, and thereby he succeeded in rising still higher in their estimation. The news of the French crossing the Niemen, unexpected 'as it was, was peculiarly unexpected after a long month of strained expectancy, and by reason of being announced at a ball! The sovereign, at the first instant of receiving the news, under the influence of inner revolt and indignation, made use of that bold sentiment which gave him such satisfaction, and so exactly expressed his feeling, at the time, and afterwards became famous. On his return to his residence after the ball, the sovereign ant, at two o’clock in the morning, for his secretary, Shish- in; and dictated a general order to his troops, and a re- sript to Field-Marshal Prince Saltuikof, strictly charging ‘him to use the words about his refusal to make peace so long as a_single armed Frenchman remained, on [Russian ‘soil. On the next day, the following note was written to Napoleon : — My Broruer: I learned yesterday that, notwithstanding the fidelity with which I have adhered to my engagements towards your majesty, your troops have crossed the Russian frontier; and [I have this moment received from Petersburg a note wherein Count Lauriston, in order to ex- plain this aggression, announces that your majesty considered himself at war with me from the time that Prince Kurakin demanded his pass- ports, The grounds on which the Duke of Bassano refused to grant it would never have allowed me to suppose that this step could serve as a pretext for the aggression. In fact, my ambassador was never authorized to take this step, as he himself explicitly declared; and, as soon as I was informed of it, I manifested the extent of my disapproval by ordering him to remain at his post. If your majesty is not obstinately bent upon shed- ding the blood of our peoples through a misunderstanding of this sort, and will consent to withdraw your troops from the Russian territory, I will regard what has passed as non-existent, and we may arrive at some 14 WAR AND PEACE. accommodation. In the opposite case, your majesty, I shall be com pelled to repulse an attack which I have done nothing to provoke. There is still a chance for your majesty to avoid the calamities of a new war. I am, etc., (Signed) ALEXANDER.* CHAPTER IV. On the twenty-fifth of June, at two o’clock in the morning, the sovereign, having summoned Balashof, and read over to him his letter to Napoleon, ordered him to take it and deliver it to the French emperor in person. In despatching Balashof, the sovereign once more repeated what he had said about not making peace so long as a single armed foe remained on Rus- sian soil, and he ordered him to quote these exact words to Napoleon. The sovereign did not incorporate this threat in his letter to Napoleon, because his tact made him feel that they were inappropriate at a moment when the last efforts were making for reconciliation; but he strenuously com- manded Balashof to repeat them to Napoleon verbally. Setting off that very same night, Balashof, accompanied by a bugler and two Cossacks, by daybreak reached the village of Rykonty, on the Russian side of the Niemen, where the French vanguard were stationed. He was brought to a halt by the French videttes. A non-commissioned officer of hussars, in a crimson uniform and shaggy cap, challenged the approaching envoy, and ordered him to halt. Balashof did not come in- * Monsieur mon Frere: J’ai appris hier que malgré la ioyauté, avec laquelle j’ ai maintenu mes engagements envers votre majesté, ses troupes’ ont franchi les frontizres de la Russie, et je regois a Vinstant de | Petersbourg une note par laquelle le Comte Lauriston, pour cause de — cette aggression, annonce que votre majesté sest considerée come en état de guerre avee moi des le moment ou le prince Kourakine a Tait la demande de ses passeports. Les motifs sur lesquelles le duc de Bas- sano fondait son refus de les lui délivrer, vn auraient jamais pu me faire supposer que cette démarche servirait jamais de prétexte a Vaggression. En effet cet ambassadeur n’y a jamais été autorisé comme il Va déclaré lui méme, et aussitot que j’en fus informe, jelui ai fait connaitre combien je le désapprouvait en lui donnant Vordre de rester a son poste. Si votre majesté n'est pas intentionnée de verser le sang de nos peuples pour un malentendu de ce genre et qu'elle consente & rétirer ses troupes du terri- toire russe, je regarderai ce qui s’est passé comme non avenu et un ac- commodement entre nous sera possible. Dans le cas contraire, votre majesté, je me verrar forcé de repousser une attaque que rien n'a provoquée de ma part. Il depend encore de votre majesté, d éviter a Vhumanité les calamités Vune nouvelle guerre. ; ‘ Je suis, etc., (Signé) ALEXANDRE. WAR AND PEACE. 15 stantly to a pause, but continued to advance at a footpace along the road. The subaltern, scowling and muttering some abusive epi- thet, blocked Balashof’s way with his horse, and rudely shouted to the Russian general, demanding if he were deaf, | that he paid no attention to what was said to him. Balashof gave his name. The subaltern sent a soldier to the officer in - command. Paying no further heed to Balashof, the non-commissioned officer began to talk with his comrades concerning their pri- _ vate affairs, and did not even look at the Russian general. | It was an absolutely new experience for Balashof, after ' being so accustomed to proximity to the very fountain head of power and might, after just coming from a three hours’ con- versation with his sovereign, and having been universally _ treated with respect, to find this, here on Russian soil, hostile and peculiarly disrespectful display of brutal insolence. The sun was just beginning to break through the clouds ; the air was cool and fresh with dew. long the 1oad from the village they were driving the cattle to pasture. Over the fields, one after another, like bubbles in the water, soared the larks with their matin songs. Balashof looked about him while waiting for the officer to -arrive from the village. The Russian Cossacks and the bugler and the French hussars occasionally exchanged glances, but no one spoke. ) A French colonel of hussars, evidently just out of bed, came riding up from the village on a handsome, well fed, gray horse, accompanied by two hussars. ‘The officer, the soldiers, and their horses had an appearance of content and jauntiness. It was the first period of the campaign, while the army was still in the very best order, almost fit for a review in time of peace, with just a shade of martial smartness in their attire, and with their minds a trifle stirred up to that gayety and © cheerfulness and spirit of enterprise that always characterize the beginning of an expedition. The French colonel with difficulty overcame a fit of yawn- ing, but he was courteous, and evidently appreciated Balashot’s high dignity. He conducted him past his soldiers inside the lines, and informed him that his desire to have a personal interview with the emperor would in all probability be imme- diately granted, since the imperial headquarters, he believed, were not far distant. They approached the village of Rykonty, riding by pickets, 16 “WARK AND PEACE. sentinels, and soldiery, who saluted their colonel, and gazed with curiosity at the Russian uniforms, and finally came to the other side of the village. According to the colonel, the chief of division, who would receive Balashof and arrange the interview, would be found two kilometers distant. The sun was now mounting high, and shone bright and beautiful over the vivid green of the fields. They had just passed a pot-house on a hillside, when they saw, coming to meet them up the hill, a ttle band of horse- men, led by a tall man in a red cloak and in a plumed hat, under which long dark locks rolled down upon his shoulders. He rode a coal-black horse, whose heusings ghttered in the sun, and his long legs were thrust forward in the fashion affected by French riders. This man came at a gallop toward Bala- shof, flashing and waving in the bright June sun, with his plumes and precious stones and gold-galloons. Balashof was within the length of two horses from this enthusiastically theatrical-looking individual, who was gallop- ing to meet him in all his bravery of bracelets, plumes, neck- laces, and gold, when Iulner, the French colonel, respectfully said, in a deferential whisper, “ Le roi de Naples.” This was indeed Murat, who was still called the King of Naples. Although it was wholly incomprehensible in what respect he was the king of Naples, still he bore that title ; and’ he himself was convinced of its validity, and consequently he assumed a more majestic and important aspect than ever before. He was so convinced that he was actually King of Naples that when, on the day before his departure from that city, as he was walking with his wife through the streets of Naples, and a few Italians acclaimed him with Viva i re — Hurrah for the king — he turned to his consort and said, with a melancholy smile, “Oh, poor creatures, they do not know that I am going to leave them to-morrow.” But though he firmly believed that he was King of Naples, and was grieved for the sorrow that was coming upon his faith- ful subjects in losing him, still when he was commanded to enter the military service again, and especially since his meet- ing with Napoleon at Danzig, when his august brother-in- law had said to him, “1 made you king to reign in my way, not in yours,” * he had cheerfully taken up the business which he understood so well, and, like a carriage horse, driven but not overworked. feeling himself in harness, he was frisky even between the thills, and, decked out in the most gorgeous * Je vous ai fait roi pour regner a ma maniere, mais pas a la votre. Cs WARK AND PEACE. 17 and costly manner possible, galloped gayly 4nd contentedly along the Polish highway, not knowing whither or wherefore. As soon as he apjroached the Russian general, he threw his head back in royal fashion, and solemnly, with his black curls flowing down over his shoulders, looked inquiringly at the French colonel. The colonel respectfully explained to his Ma- _jesty Balashof’s errand, though he could not pronounce his name. _ © De Bal-ma-cheve,” said the king, his self-confidence help- ing him to overcome the difficulty that had floored the colonel. “ Charmé de faire votre connaissance, général,” he added, with a royally gracious gesture. _ The moment the king began to speak loud and rapidly all the kingly dignity instantly deserted him, and, without his suspecting such a thing himself, changed into a tone of good-’ natured familiarity. He laid his hand on the withers of Bal- ashof’s horse. ; “ Well, general, everything looks like war, it seems,” said “he, as though he regretted a state of things ere which _ he was in no position to judge. “Your majesty,” replied Balashof, “the Russian amporon my sovereign, has no desire for war, and, as your majesty sees,” said Balashof, and thus he went on, with unavoidable affecta, tion, repeating the title votre majesté at every opportunity during his conversation with this individual, for whom it was still a novelty. Murat’s face glowed with dull satisfaction while he listened to Monsieur de Balachoff. But royauté oblige ; and he felt that it was indispensable for him, as king and ally, to converse with Alexander’s envoy, on matters of state. He dismounted, and, taking Balashof’s arm, and drawing him a few paces aside from his suite, waiting respectfully, he began to walk up and down with him, trying to speak with all authority. He in- formed him that the Emperor Napoleon was offended by the demand made upon him to withdraw his forces from Prussia: especially as this demand was made publicly, and, therefore, was an insult to the dignity of France. SBalashof said that there was nothing insulting in this demand, “because ”” — Murat interrupted him, — -“Sothen you do not consider the Emperor Alexander as the instigator of the war?” he asked, suddenly, with a Shupiy good-natured simile. Balashof explained why he really supposed that Nancleon was the aggressor. VOL. 3. — 2. 18 WAR AND PEACE. “Ah, my dear general,” again exclaimed Murat, interrupt: ing him, “I desire, with all my heart, that the emperors should come to a mutual understanding, and that the war, begun in spite of me, should be brought to a termination as soon as possible, ee SHI he, inthe tone of servants who wish to remain good friends, though their masters may quarrel. And he pro- ceeded to make inquiries about the grand duke, and the state of his health, and recalled the jolly good times which they had enjoyed together at Naples. Then, suddenly, as though re- membering “his kingly dignity, Murat drew himself up haugh- tily, struck the same attitude in which he had stood during his coronation, and, waving his right hand, said, — “T will not detain you longer, general; I wish you all suc- cess in your mission;” and then, with his embroidered red mantle, and his plumes gayly waving, and his precious trin- kets glittering in the sun, he rejoined his suite, which had been respectfully waiting for him. Balashof went on his way, expecting, from what Murat said, to be very speedily presented to Napoleon himself. But, in- stead of any such speedy meeting with Napoleon, the sentinels of Davoust’s infantry corps detained him again at the next village —just as he had been halted at the outposts — until an aide of the corps commander, who was sent for, conducted him to Marshal Davoust, in the village. CHAPTER V. Davoust was the Emperor Napoleon’s Arakcheyef — Arak- cheyef except in cowardice: just the same, punctilhous and cruel; and knowing no other way of manifesting his devotion except by cruelty. : In the mechanism of imperial organism, such men are neces- sary, just as wolves are necessary in the organism of nature; and they always exist and manifest themselves and maintain themselves, however incompatible their presence and proxim- ity to the chief power may seem. Only by this indispensable- ness can it be explained how Arakcheyef—a cruel man, who personally pulled the mustache of a grenadier, and who by reason of weakness of nerves could not endure any danger, and * Eh, mon cher général, je désire de towt mon cour, que les empereurs s ’ar- rangent entre eux, et que la guerre commencée malgre moi se termine le plus tot possible. WAR AND PEACE. 19 was ill-bred and ungentlemanly — could maintain power and influence with a character so chivalrous, noble, and affectionate as Alexander’s. In the barn attached to a peasant’s cottage, Balashof found Marshal Davoust, sitting on a keg, and busily engaged in _clerk’s business (he was verifying accounts). An aide stood _near him. He might have found better accommodations ; but ' Marshal Davoust was one of those men who purposely make the conditions of life as disagreeable as possible for themselves, _