Book One: 1805 - Chapter II

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Anna Pavlovna's drawing room was gradually filling. The highestPetersburg society was assembled there: people differing widely in ageand character but alike in the social circle to which they belonged.Prince Vasili's daughter, the beautiful Helene, came to take herfather to the ambassador's entertainment; she wore a ball dress andher badge as maid of honor. The youthful little PrincessBolkonskaya, known as la femme la plus seduisante de Petersbourg,* wasalso there. She had been married during the previous winter, and beingpregnant did not go to any large gatherings, but only to smallreceptions. Prince Vasili's son, Hippolyte, had come with Mortemart,whom he introduced. The Abbe Morio and many others had also come.

　　*The most fascinating woman in Petersburg.

　　To each new arrival Anna Pavlovna said, "You have not yet seen myaunt," or "You do not know my aunt?" and very gravely conducted him orher to a little old lady, wearing large bows of ribbon in her cap, whohad come sailing in from another room as soon as the guests began toarrive; and slowly turning her eyes from the visitor to her aunt, AnnaPavlovna mentioned each one's name and then left them.

　　Each visitor performed the ceremony of greeting this old aunt whomnot one of them knew, not one of them wanted to know, and not one ofthem cared about; Anna Pavlovna observed these greetings with mournfuland solemn interest and silent approval. The aunt spoke to each ofthem in the same words, about their health and her own, and the healthof Her Majesty, "who, thank God, was better today." And eachvisitor, though politeness prevented his showing impatience, leftthe old woman with a sense of relief at having performed a vexatiousduty and did not return to her the whole evening.

　　The young Princess Bolkonskaya had brought some work in agold-embroidered velvet bag. Her pretty little upper lip, on which adelicate dark down was just perceptible, was too short for herteeth, but it lifted all the more sweetly, and was especially charmingwhen she occasionally drew it down to meet the lower lip. As is alwaysthe case with a thoroughly attractive woman, her defect- the shortnessof her upper lip and her half-open mouth- seemed to be her own specialand peculiar form of beauty. Everyone brightened at the sight ofthis pretty young woman, so soon to become a mother, so full of lifeand health, and carrying her burden so lightly. Old men and dulldispirited young ones who looked at her, after being in her companyand talking to her a little while, felt as if they too werebecoming, like her, full of life and health. All who talked to her,and at each word saw her bright smile and the constant gleam of herwhite teeth, thought that they were in a specially amiable mood thatday.

　　The little princess went round the table with quick, short,swaying steps, her workbag on her arm, and gaily spreading out herdress sat down on a sofa near the silver samovar, as if all she wasdoing was a pleasure to herself and to all around her. "I have broughtmy work," said she in French, displaying her bag and addressing allpresent. "Mind, Annette, I hope you have not played a wicked trickon me," she added, turning to her hostess. "You wrote that it was tobe quite a small reception, and just see how badly I am dressed."And she spread out her arms to show her short-waisted, lace-trimmed,dainty gray dress, girdled with a broad ribbon just below the breast.

　　"Soyez tranquille, Lise, you will always be prettier than anyoneelse," replied Anna Pavlovna.

　　"You know," said the princess in the same tone of voice and still inFrench, turning to a general, "my husband is deserting me? He is goingto get himself killed. Tell me what this wretched war is for?" sheadded, addressing Prince Vasili, and without waiting for an answer sheturned to speak to his daughter, the beautiful Helene.

　　"What a delightful woman this little princess is!" said PrinceVasili to Anna Pavlovna.

　　One of the next arrivals was a stout, heavily built young man withclose-cropped hair, spectacles, the light-colored breeches fashionableat that time, a very high ruffle, and a brown dress coat. This stoutyoung man was an illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, a well-knowngrandee of Catherine's time who now lay dying in Moscow. The young manhad not yet entered either the military or civil service, as he hadonly just returned from abroad where he had been educated, and thiswas his first appearance in society. Anna Pavlovna greeted him withthe nod she accorded to the lowest hierarchy in her drawing room.But in spite of this lowest-grade greeting, a look of anxiety andfear, as at the sight of something too large and unsuited to theplace, came over her face when she saw Pierre enter. Though he wascertainly rather bigger than the other men in the room, her anxietycould only have reference to the clever though shy, but observantand natural, expression which distinguished him from everyone elsein that drawing room.

　　"It is very good of you, Monsieur Pierre, to come and visit a poorinvalid," said Anna Pavlovna, exchanging an alarmed glance with heraunt as she conducted him to her.

　　Pierre murmured something unintelligible, and continued to lookround as if in search of something. On his way to the aunt he bowed tothe little princess with a pleased smile, as to an intimateacquaintance.

　　Anna Pavlovna's alarm was justified, for Pierre turned away from theaunt without waiting to hear her speech about Her Majesty's health.Anna Pavlovna in dismay detained him with the words: "Do you knowthe Abbe Morio? He is a most interesting man."

　　"Yes, I have heard of his scheme for perpetual peace, and it is veryinteresting but hardly feasible."

　　"You think so?" rejoined Anna Pavlovna in order to say something andget away to attend to her duties as hostess. But Pierre nowcommitted a reverse act of impoliteness. First he had left a ladybefore she had finished speaking to him, and now he continued to speakto another who wished to get away. With his head bent, and his bigfeet spread apart, he began explaining his reasons for thinking theabbe's plan chimerical.

　　"We will talk of it later," said Anna Pavlovna with a smile.

　　And having got rid of this young man who did not know how to behave,she resumed her duties as hostess and continued to listen and watch,ready to help at any point where the conversation might happen toflag. As the foreman of a spinning mill, when he has set the handsto work, goes round and notices here a spindle that has stopped orthere one that creaks or makes more noise than it should, andhastens to check the machine or set it in proper motion, so AnnaPavlovna moved about her drawing room, approaching now a silent, now atoo-noisy group, and by a word or slight rearrangement kept theconversational machine in steady, proper, and regular motion. But amidthese cares her anxiety about Pierre was evident. She kept ananxious watch on him when he approached the group round Mortemart tolisten to what was being said there, and again when he passed toanother group whose center was the abbe.

　　Pierre had been educated abroad, and this reception at AnnaPavlovna's was the first he had attended in Russia. He knew that allthe intellectual lights of Petersburg were gathered there and, likea child in a toyshop, did not know which way to look, afraid ofmissing any clever conversation that was to be heard. Seeing theself-confident and refined expression on the faces of those present hewas always expecting to hear something very profound. At last hecame up to Morio. Here the conversation seemed interesting and hestood waiting for an opportunity to express his own views, as youngpeople are fond of doing.