War and Peace

Chapter 23

The third part

[One]

In [-], Emperor Alexander went to Erfurt to meet again with Emperor Napoleon. In the upper class of Petersburg, various rumors were circulated about the grandeur of that meeting.

The following year, the friendship between Napoleon and Alexander, the two so-called masters of the world, seemed to be even closer. When Napoleon declared war on Austria, a Russian army actually crossed the border and joined forces with our former enemy Napoleon to attack us. His old ally, the Austrian Emperor, gradually spread rumors in the Russian court that Napoleon might marry one of Alexander's younger sisters.But despite all the diplomatic chatter, those officials are only concerned with the internal reforms being carried out by various departments of the government.

But the life of the common people remained the same, with its practical problems of health and disease, work and rest, and its interests of thought and science, poetry and music, love and friendship, hatred and passion, carried on as usual, regardless of the Whether the country's political relations are good or bad, or all kinds of changes in the government is none of their business.

Duke Andrele spent two years in succession in the country.He did without effort what Bin-Air had tried to do.He turned three hundred serfs into free peasants (one of the earliest examples in Russia), he exempted some of the estates from that kind of forced labor, and paid for the peasants There are teachers and doctors.

In the spring of that year the Duc d'Andrew sat in a limousine to look after his son's estate, as he was his guardian.Along the way, the early spring sun shone on my body, making me feel extremely comfortable.He looked at the young grass, the trees that had sprouted beside the road, and looked up at the blue sky. "Yes, spring has come," he thought, looking happily on both sides of the road, "isn't it, everything is green, how quickly! Birch trees, thick plums, poplars, all are green, but why not?" Oak tree? Oh, there's an oak tree there."

In the distance stands an oak tree.It appeared to be much older than the birches that made up the forest, and much stronger than any of the birches.It was a huge oak tree that no one could hug. Some branches had obviously been broken earlier, and the surface was full of pits and holes.Its thick, clumsy, knobby arms and fingers, pointing in all directions, seem to be an old man who has reached his twilight years, standing among the smiling birch trees.It looks so lonely, it neither wants to succumb to the spring like those birch trees, nor does it want to see the sun. "Spring, and love, and happiness!" said the oak tree as if to say, "that's just their naive reverie, why don't you get tired of that false lie? It's the same, it's all lies. No There is spring, but there is no sunshine, and there is no future. You see, those crushed cedars stand there alone. I don't believe in your hopes and deceptions, as I've stood here since they grew out."

Duke Andrele had already walked away, but he still looked back at the oak tree, as if looking forward to it.The oak tree is surrounded by green grass, and there are some flowers in the middle, but the old oak tree is still the same, frowning, ugly and stubborn, standing out among the green grass and flowers.

"Yes, it is true, and the oak tree is true," thought the Duke of Andrele. "Let the others, the young men, live in those lies, but we know that, but It's coming to an end!" In connection with this oak tree, a series of hopeless but pleasant worries arose in the heart of Duke Andryl.In the following journey, he recalled his previous bits and pieces again, and still came to the relieved and hopeless conclusion: there was no need for him to start anything, and he should just spend his life like this, without doing anything. Bad things, indifferent, without the slightest expectation.

[two]

For the custody of his son's estate, the Duke of Undry needs to visit the county official, the Earl of Elijah Lowstaff.When he was about to reach his son's manor, several young girls ran past the carriage he was riding in.What he could see most clearly was a beautiful girl with a light body, a light green dress, and a white silk scarf on her head.She was about to say something, but when she saw that it was a stranger she didn't know, she smiled and ran away.For some reason, a feeling of sadness surfaced in my heart.The weather is so good, the sun is so bright, and everything around is so beautiful, but the young girl who just ran past didn't know, and probably didn't want to know his existence, she was full of reverie and full of passion for the future . "Why is she so happy? Will she think of those fighters who are desperately fighting on the battlefield? No, she will never be interested in those, so what is she thinking?" Duke Andrele couldn't help asking himself curiously .

Old Lord Lowstaff insisted on keeping Duke Undry at his house for the night.Today is his birthday, and the old earl's house is full of guests who came to congratulate him.During this day, Duke Andrele saw Natess's happy smile many times, and he couldn't help asking himself again and again: "What is she thinking? Why is she so excited?"

At night, a bright moon hangs high in the sky.Duke Andryl opened the window.While admiring the full moon, he heard the windows of the upstairs room open and two girls talking.

"Go to sleep first, and I'll sleep again later." The voice near the window said, as if her whole body was leaning out of the window, because she could hear the rustling of her clothes, and even the slight sound of her panting. Clearly.Everything around is like the moon with its light and shadow, standing still.Duke Andrele did not dare to breathe, fearing that the people upstairs would mistake him for eavesdropping.

"Martha! Martha!" was the same voice just now, "how can you sleep! Come and see, how beautiful! Oh, so beautiful! Wake up, Martha," she called to her companion excitedly , "You know, I have never seen such a beautiful moonlight as tonight, never before."

Martha responded vaguely in a daze. "Don't sleep, come here quickly, such a beautiful view, I even doubt that this can only be seen in heaven. Have you seen it? Just hug your knees as tightly as possible, and shrink your whole body Get up as if you are flying. Look!"

"I don't want it anymore, be careful of falling." The voice stopped abruptly, but Duke Andrée knew that she was still sitting there, and he could hear the girl's movement and sighs from time to time.

"Oh, my God! My God! How can you do this?" she cried suddenly. "Go to sleep!" The window slammed shut.

"It has nothing to do with me either!" thought the Duke d'Or, as he listened to her, suddenly wishing she would say his name, and yet dreading it. "It's her again! It seems to be destined!" he thought.Suddenly some messy thoughts came to his mind, new ideas and hopes that were contrary to his previous life.

[three]

Just after daybreak, the Duke André took leave of the count, and without waiting for the others to come out, he got up and went back.

It was the beginning of June, and on his way home the Duke d'Andrew passed the birch grove again, and in this grove the old oak tree, which had impressed him so deeply with its pimples, aroused his thoughts again.

"Yes, the oak tree that agrees with my point of view is in this forest," thought the Duke of André, "but why can't I see it?" oak tree.I finally saw it, but hardly recognized it, because it was completely new, and the knotted fingers and scars all over my body were covered by thick green shades, and it seemed that all the pains of the past had disappeared.It slowly swayed its tall body in the breeze.It is inconceivable that such tender green leaves should grow on an ugly old oak. "Yes, this is the oak tree," thought the Duke d'Andrew, and a sense of unaccountable joy and revived spring came over him.Suddenly, bits and pieces of the past flashed through his mind.Austerlitz still had the clear sky, the reproachful face of his wife when she died, Bin Air on the ferry, the beautiful girl attracted by the moonlight, and this night, the moon,—scene after scene in his across the screen of memories.

"No, I can't let my life end like this," Duke Andrele said to himself suddenly passionately. "It's not enough for me alone to know what's in my heart. Everyone should know: whether it's Bin Air or the girl who wants to soar in the sky, everyone should understand me. I want to make a complete change in my way of life, not only for myself, but also for other people. Don't be a stranger to me like that girl, let my life be reflected in everyone, let everyone Live with me!"

After returning home, Duke Andrele resolved to return to Petersburg in the autumn.

[Four]

The Duke Andrei arrived in Petersburg in August, [-].At this time, the young reformist politician Sephilanschci was being valued by the emperor, and his suggestions were widely adopted and vigorously promoted.In August, the emperor fell off his horse and was recuperating quietly in Peterhof, seeing only Sephilanszky every day.And all military command was concentrated in Arakcheyev.

Duke Andrele appeared in the court again as an imperial attendant, but the emperor treated him much colder.The Duc d'Andrew submitted his opinion on military regulations through an old marshal, a friend of his father's.It was not until much later that Duke André was informed that he should go to Arakcheyev.

In Arakcheyev's drawing room, Prince Andrey waited for a long time again.Arakcheyev, who had arrived late, had no interest in Duke Andry's submission. After a few words, he dismissed Duke Andrey, saying only that he would forward the submission to the Military Regulations Committee and recommend Duke Andrele went to the committee as a member.

[five]

On the night of the second day after meeting with Arakcheyev, Duke Andréj went to the Count Kochubey's house as a guest, where he finally met the mysterious figure who was very active in the Russian political arena and kept him in the dark.

While everyone was talking in the living room, a man walked in.A few strands of white hair lie around his head. He is about 40 years old. He wears a neat gentleman's clothing, with a cross around his neck and a gold star on his chest.It was Sephilanschche who came, and Duke Andrele recognized him at a glance.The Minister of State, the eyes and ears of the Emperor, had seen Napoleon many times while accompanying the Emperor at Erfurt, and had spoken to him more than once.

Sephilanschchi often involuntarily moved his eyes from one person to another. He spoke very little, his voice was extremely slow, he spoke in a hoarse voice, and he looked directly into the eyes with the confidence that he would be listened to. looking at each other.Duke André paid special attention to every word and every movement of Sephiranschitch.Seeing a man, especially a man as famous as Sephiransche, Duke André always wanted to be able to search for perfection in him.

After everyone finished talking, Sephilanschitch stood up, called Duke Andrele to another room, and talked with him alone, which seemed more intimate and important.They talked of the reforms that the Duke of d'Andrew had made at his estate, of the new regulations.Sephilanche even expressed his desire to have another in-depth talk with Duke Andrele.

[six]

One day after that, Sephilanschci received Duke Andrele alone at home, and they talked about more things, which left a deep impression on Duke Andrele.

This long conversation with Sephilanschchi made his admiration for Duke Andrele even higher.The Duke of Andrele found that Sephiransche is a person who is diligent in thinking, extremely meticulous and very logical thinking. He is using all his energy and tenacious will to gain power, and he is using the power to benefit the people. .In Duke André's mind, Sephilanche is exactly the kind of person he wants to be. This kind of person can give reasonable explanations to all life phenomena. Only legal and reasonable things are right. Good at measuring everything with a rational scale.Everything in Seferransch's conversation was so simple and clear that Duke André could not help agreeing with him completely.Every word he said, even every word, was the truth, and there was only one thing that made Duke Andrée extremely uncomfortable: this was Sephilansch's cold eyes and those white hands.In addition, what surprised Duke Andrée was the excessive contempt for people by Sephilansch, and the complicated and trivial way he talked about his opinions.

Generally speaking, what most admired Duke Andrele was Sephiranschic's rational personality, and his firm belief in the power of wisdom and its rationality.It was Sefferanschitch's special habit of thinking that made Duke Andrele admire him so much.

Sephilanschchi believed that it would be a waste of talent for a man as good as the Duke of André if he did not serve the country.Under his arrangement, the Duke of Andrele was entrusted as the head of the first group of the Law Drafting Committee, responsible for the drafting of the "Personal Rights" section of the Civil Code.

[seven]

It seems that two years ago, in [-], Bin-Air, who had returned to Petersburg after visiting his estate, had been elected head of the Petersburg Masons.Gradually, the behavior of some members of the Kiwanis worried him a little.

Bin-Air gradually felt dissatisfied with what he did, at least he was not satisfied with the Freemasonry he led. He sometimes felt that the Freemasonry was just a superficial skin.He didn't want to doubt the essence of the Freemasonry, but only had doubts about the Russian Freemasonry. He suspected that he was on the wrong path and deviated from the original teachings.Therefore, Bin-Air went abroad at the end of the year to seek the advanced secrets of the Masons.

In the summer of [-] Binair returned to Petersburg.People specially held a grand welcome ceremony for him, and Bin-Air delivered a speech with enthusiasm, but he was ridiculed by people.During the welcoming ceremony, what surprised Bin-Air for the first time was the infinite differences in human opinions, no matter what happened in the eyes of different people, it would not be exactly the same.Therefore, without waiting for the usual ceremony to end, Bin-Air left the clubhouse and went home.

[eight]

Bin-Air shut himself up in his room for several days after that speech, neither receiving nor going out to see anyone.

Then, he suddenly received a letter from his wife, which said how she missed him and hoped to be by his side forever, and finally mentioned that she would come back in a few days.

Afterwards, a fellow Freemason broke in to see him and told him that he would be violating the fundamental principles of the Society if he forgave his wife.His mother-in-law also came to him with tears in her eyes, asking him to reconcile with her daughter.

In Bin Air's view, judging from the current situation, being able to reunite with his wife is also a good thing.He didn't care about anything, his spirit was a little depressed, and nothing could cause a ripple in his heart. He neither valued his own freedom nor felt that he had to punish his wife.

"Everyone is at fault, and no one is at fault, and therefore she is not at fault," he thought.Bin-Air did not immediately agree to reconcile with his wife, simply because he didn't have the leisure to think about it now.Whether he accepted his wife or rejected her was of little importance compared with the depression in Bin-Air's heart.

In November, Bin-Air finally moved in with his wife again.

(End of this chapter)