战争与和平(上)-第213节

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ldn’t　hold　his　ground　for　fourteen　hours。　It　is　a　shame　and　a　stain　on　our　army；　and　as　for　himself；　I　consider　he　ought　not　to　be　alive。　If　he　reports　that　our　losses　were　great；　it　is　false；　perhaps　about　four　thousand；　not　that；　but　that　is　nothing：　if　it　had　been　ten　thousand；　what　of　it；　that’s　war。　But　on　the　other　hand　the　enemy’s　losses　were　immense。
“What　would　it　have　cost　him　to　hold　his　ground　for　a　couple　of　days？　In　any　case　they　must　have　retired　of　their　own　accord；　for　they　had　no　water　for　their　men　or　their　horses。　He　gave　me　his　word　he　would　not　retreat；　but　all　of　a　sudden　sent　an　announcement　that　he　was　withdrawing　in　the　night。　We　cannot　fight　in　this　way；　and　we　may　soon　bring　the　enemy　on　to　Moscow。…
“There　is　a　rumour　afloat　that　you　are　thinking　of　peace。　To　make　peace；　God　preserve　us！　After　all　the　sacrifices　that　have　been　made　and　after　such　mad　retreats—to　make　peace；　you　will　set　all　Russia　against　you；　and　every　one　of　us　will　feel　it　a　disgrace　to　wear　the　uniform。　If　it　has　come　to　that；　we　ought　to　fight　as　long　as　Russia　can；　and　as　long　as　there　are　men　able　to　stand。…
“There　must　be　one　man　in　command；　not　two。　Your　minister；　may　be；　is　very　well　in　the　ministry；　but　as　a　general；　he’s　not　simply　useless；　but　contemptible；　and　the　fate　of　all　our　fatherland　has　been　put　in　his　hands…I　am　frantic；　truly；　with　rage；　forgive　me　for　writing　abusively。　It　is　plain　that　the　man　does　not　love　his　sovereign；　and　desires　the　ruin　of　us　all；　who　advises　peace　to　be　concluded　and　the　minister　to　be　put　in　command　of　the　army。　And　so　I　write　to　you　plainly：　get　the　militia　ready。　For　the　minister　is　leading　our　visitors　to　the　capital　in　the　most　skilful　manner。　The　object　of　chief　suspicion　to　the　whole　army　is　the　aide…de…camp　Woltzogen。　They　say　he’s　more　for　Napoleon　than　for　us；　and　everything　the　minister　does　is　by　his　advice。　I　am　not　merely　civil　to　him；　but　obey　him　like　a　corporal；　though　I　am　his　senior。　It　is　hard：　but　loving　my　sovereign　and　benefactor；　I　obey。　And　I　grieve　for　the　Tsar　that　he　intrusts　his　gallant　army　to　such　a　man。　Consider　that　on　our　retreat　we　have　lost　more　than　fifteen　thousand　men　from　fatigue；　or　left　sick　in　the　hospitals；　if　we　had　attacked；　that　would　not　have　been　so。　Tell　me　for　God’s　sake　what　will　Russia—our　mother—say　at　our　displaying　such　cowardice；　and　why　are　we　abandoning　our　good　and　gallant　country　to　the　rabble　and　rousing　the　hatred　and　shame　of　every　Russian？　Why　are　we　in　a　panic？　what　are　we　afraid　of？　It　is　not　my　fault　that　the　minister　is　vacillating；　cowardly；　unreasonable；　dilatory；　and　has　every　vice。　All　the　army　is　bewailing　it　and　loading　him　with　abuse。…”


Chapter　6
AMONG　THE　INNUMERABLE　CATEGORIES　into　which　it　is　possible　to　classify　the　phenomena　of　life；　one　may　classify　them　all　into　such　as　are　dominated　by　matter　and　such　as　are　dominated　by　form。　To　the　latter　class　one　may　refer　the　life　of　Petersburg；　especially　in　its　drawing…rooms；　as　distinguished　from　the　life　of　the　country；　of　the　district；　of　the　province；　or　even　of　Moscow。　That　life　of　the　drawing…rooms　is　unchanging。
Between　the　years　1805　and　1812　we　had　made　peace　with　Bonaparte　and　quarrelled　with　him　again；　we　had　made　new　constitutions　and　unmade　them　again；　but　the　salons　of　Anna　Pavlovna　and　of　Ellen　were　precisely　as　they　had　been—the　former　seven；　the　latter　five　years—before。　Anna　Pavlovna’s　circle　were　still　speaking　with　incredulous　wonder　of　Bonaparte’s　successes；　and　saw　in　his　successes；　and　in　the　submissive　attitude　of　the　sovereigns　of　Europe；　a　malicious　conspiracy；　the　sole　aim　of　which　was　to　give　annoyance　and　anxiety　to　the　court　circle　of　which　Anna　Pavlovna　was　the　representative。　The　set　that　gathered　about　Ellen；　whom　no　less　a　person　than　Rumyantsev　condescended　to　visit；　and　looked　on　as　a　remarkably　intelligent　woman；　talked　in　1812　with　the　same　enthusiasm　as　in　1808；　of　the　“great　nation；”　and　the　“great　man；”　and　regretted　the　breach　with　France；　which　must；　they　believed；　shortly　end　in　peace。
Of　late　after　the　Tsar’s　return　from　the　army；　some　increase　of　excitement　was　perceptible　in　these　antagonistic　salons；　and　they　made　something　like　demonstrations　of　hostility　to　one　another；　but　the　bias　of　each　circle　remained　unaffected。　Anna　Pavlovna’s　set　refused　to　admit　any　French　people　but　the　most　unimpeachable　legitimists；　and　in　her　drawing…room　the　patriotic　view　found　expression　that　the　French　theatre　ought　not　to　be　patronised；　and　that　the　maintenance　of　the　French　company　there　cost　as　much　as　the　maintenance　of　a　whole　army　corps。　The　progress　of　the　war　was　eagerly　followed；　and　rumours　greatly　to　the　advantage　of　our　army　were　circulated。　In　the　circle　of　Ellen；　of　Rumyantsev；　the　French　circle；　the　reports　of　the　enemy’s　cruelty　and　barbarous　methods　of　warfare　were　discredited；　and　all　sorts　of　conciliatory　efforts　on　the　part　of　Napoleon　were　discussed。　This　set　discountenanced　the　premature　counsels　of　those　who　advised　preparations　for　the　removal　to　Kazan　of　the　court　and　the　girls’　schools；　that　were　under　the　protection　of　the　empress　mother。　The　whole　war　was　in　fact　regarded　in　Ellen’s　salon　as　a　series　of　merely　formal　demonstrations；　very　shortly　to　be　terminated　by　peace；　and　the　view　prevailed；　expressed　by　Bilibin；　who　was　now　in　Petersburg　and　constantly　seen　at　Ellen’s；　as　every　man　of　wit　was　sure　to　be；　that　the　war　would　be　ended　not　by　gunpowder　but　by　those　who　had　invented　it。　The　patriotic　fervour　of　Moscow；　of　which　tidings　reached　Petersburg　with　the　Tsar；　was　in　Ellen’s　salon　a　subject　of　ironical；　and　very　witty；　though　circumspect；　raillery。
In　Anna　Pavlovna’s　circle；　on　the　contrary；　these　patriotic　demonstrations　roused　the　greatest　enthusiasm；　and　were　spoken　of　as　Plutarch　speaks　of　his　ancient　Romans。　Prince　Vassily；　who　still　filled　the　same　important　positions；　constituted　the　connecting　link　between　the　two　circles。　He　used　to　visit　“my　good　friend　Anna　Pavlovna；”　and　was　also　seen　in　the　“diplomatic　salon　of　my　daughter”；　and　often　was　led　into　blunders　from　his　frequent　transitions　from　one　to　the　other；　and　said　in　one　drawing…room　what　should　have　been　reserved　for　the　other。
Soon　after　the　Tsar’s　arrival；　Prince　Vassily；　in　conversation　about　the　progress　of　the　war　at　Anna　Pavlovna’s；　severely　criticised　Barclay　de　Tolly；　and　expressed　himself　unable　to　decide　who　should　be　appointed　commander…in…chief。　One　of　the　guests；　usually　spoken　of　as　a　“man　of　great　abilities；”　described　how　he　had　that　day　seen　the　newly　elected　commander　of　the　Petersburg　militia；　Kutuzov；　presiding　over　the　enrolment　of　militiamen　in　the　Court　of　Exchequer；　and　ventured　discreetly　to　suggest　that　Kutuzov　would　be　the　man　who　might　satisfy　all　requirements。
Anna　Pavlovna　smiled　mournfully；　and　observed　that　Kutuzov　had　done　nothing　but　cause　the　Tsar　annoyance。
“I　have　said　so　over　and　over　again　in　the　assembly　of　nobility；”　interposed　Prince　Vassily；　“but　they　wouldn’t　listen　to　me。　I　said　that　his　election　to　the　command　of　the　militia　would　not　be　pleasing　to　his　majesty。　They　wouldn’t　listen　to　me。　It’s　all　this　mania　for　being　in　the　opposition；”　he　went　on。　“And　to　what　public　are　they　playing；　I　should　like　to　know。　It’s　all　because　we　are　trying　to　ape　the　silly　enthusiasm　of　Moscow；”　said　Prince　Vassily；　forgetting　for　a　moment　that　it　was　at　Ellen’s　that　that　enthusiasm　was　jeered　at；　while　at　Anna　Pavlovna’s　it　was　as　well　to　admire　it。　But　he　hastened　to　retrieve　his　mistake。　“Is　it　suitable　for　Kutuzov；　the　oldest　general　in　Russia；　to　be　presiding　in　the　Court？　Et　il　en　restera　pour　sa　peine！　Did　any　one　hear　of　such　a　thing　as　appointing　a　man　commander…in…chief　who　cannot　sit　a　horse；　who　drops　asleep　at　a　council—a　man；　too；　of　the　lowest　morals！　A　pretty　reputation　he　gained　for　himself　in　Bucharest！　To　say　nothing　of　his　qualities　as　a　general；　can　we　appoint；　at　such　a　moment；　a　man　decrepit　and　blind—yes；　simply　blind！　A　fine　idea—a　blind　general！　He　sees　nothing。　Playing　blind…man’s　buff—that’s　all　he’s　fit　for！”
No　one　opposed　that　view。
On　the　24th　of　July　it　was　accepted　as　perfectly　correct。　But　on　the　29th　Kutuzov　received　the　title　of　prince。　The　bestowal　of　this　title　might　be　taken　to　indicate　a　desire　to　shelve　him；　and　therefore　Prince　Vassily’s　dictum　still　remained　correct；　though　he　was　in　no　such　hurry　now　to　express　it。　But　on　the　8th　of　August　a　committee；　consisting　of　General　Field…Marshal　Saltykov；　Araktcheev；　Vyazmitinov；　Lopuhin；　and　Kotchubey　was　held　to　consider　the　progress　of　the　war。　This　committee　decided　that　the　disasters　were　due　to　divided　authority；　and　although　the　members　of　the　committee　were　aware　of　the　Tsar’s　dislike　of　Kutuzov；　after　a　deliberation　they　advised　the　appointment　of　Kutuzov　as　commander…in…chief。　And　that　same　day　Kutuzov　was　appointed　commander…in…chief　of　the　army；　and　intrusted　with　unlimited　authority　over　the　whole　region　occupied　by　the　troops。
On　the　9th　of　August　Prince　Vassily　once　more　met　the　“man　of　great　abilities”　at　Anna　Pavlovna’s。　The　latter　gentleman　was　assiduous　in　his　attendance　at　Anna　Pavlovna’s；　in　the　hope　of　receiving；　th