Book Three: 1805 - Chapter VIII

by Leo Tolstoy

　　The day after Rostov had been to see Boris, a review was held of theAustrian and Russian troops, both those freshly arrived from Russiaand those who had been campaigning under Kutuzov. The two Emperors,the Russian with his heir the Tsarevich, and the Austrian with theArchduke, inspected the allied army of eighty thousand men.

　　From early morning the smart clean troops were on the move,forming up on the field before the fortress. Now thousands of feet andbayonets moved and halted at the officers' command, turned withbanners flying, formed up at intervals, and wheeled round othersimilar masses of infantry in different uniforms; now was heard therhythmic beat of hoofs and the jingling of showy cavalry in blue, red,and green braided uniforms, with smartly dressed bandsmen in frontmounted on black, roan, or gray horses; then again, spreading out withthe brazen clatter of the polished shining cannon that quivered on thegun carriages and with the smell of linstocks, came the artillerywhich crawled between the infantry and cavalry and took up itsappointed position. Not only the generals in full parade uniforms,with their thin or thick waists drawn in to the utmost, their rednecks squeezed into their stiff collars, and wearing scarves and alltheir decorations, not only the elegant, pomaded officers, but everysoldier with his freshly washed and shaven face and his weaponsclean and polished to the utmost, and every horse groomed till itscoat shone like satin and every hair of its wetted mane lay smooth-felt that no small matter was happening, but an important and solemnaffair. Every general and every soldier was conscious of his owninsignificance, aware of being but a drop in that ocean of men, andyet at the same time was conscious of his strength as a part of thatenormous whole.

　　From early morning strenuous activities and efforts had begun and byten o'clock all had been brought into due order. The ranks weredrown up on the vast field. The whole army was extended in threelines: the cavalry in front, behind it the artillery, and behindthat again the infantry.

　　A space like a street was left between each two lines of troops. Thethree parts of that army were sharply distinguished: Kutuzov'sfighting army (with the Pavlograds on the right flank of the front);those recently arrived from Russia, both Guards and regiments of theline; and the Austrian troops. But they all stood in the same lines,under one command, and in a like order.

　　Like wind over leaves ran an excited whisper: "They're coming!They're coming!" Alarmed voices were heard, and a stir of finalpreparation swept over all the troops.

　　From the direction of Olmutz in front of them, a group was seenapproaching. And at that moment, though the day was still, a lightgust of wind blowing over the army slightly stirred the streamers onthe lances and the unfolded standards fluttered against theirstaffs. It looked as if by that slight motion the army itself wasexpressing its joy at the approach of the Emperors. One voice washeard shouting: "Eyes front!" Then, like the crowing of cocks atsunrise, this was repeated by others from various sides and all becamesilent.

　　In the deathlike stillness only the tramp of horses was heard.This was the Emperors' suites. The Emperors rode up to the flank,and the trumpets of the first cavalry regiment played the generalmarch. It seemed as though not the trumpeters were playing, but asif the army itself, rejoicing at the Emperors' approach, had naturallyburst into music. Amid these sounds, only the youthful kindly voice ofthe Emperor Alexander was clearly heard. He gave the words ofgreeting, and the first regiment roared "Hurrah!" so deafeningly,continuously, and joyfully that the men themselves were awed bytheir multitude and the immensity of the power they constituted.

　　Rostov, standing in the front lines of Kutuzov's army which the Tsarapproached first, experienced the same feeling as every other man inthat army: a feeling of self-forgetfulness, a proud consciousness ofmight, and a passionate attraction to him who was the cause of thistriumph.

　　He felt that at a single word from that man all this vast mass(and he himself an insignificant atom in it) would go through fire andwater, commit crime, die, or perform deeds of highest heroism, andso he could not but tremble and his heart stand still at the imminenceof that word.

　　"Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" thundered from all sides, one regimentafter another greeting the Tsar with the strains of the march, andthen "Hurrah!"... Then the general march, and again "Hurrah!Hurrah!" growing ever stronger and fuller and merging into a deafeningroar.

　　Till the Tsar reached it, each regiment in its silence andimmobility seemed like a lifeless body, but as soon as he came up itbecame alive, its thunder joining the roar of the whole line alongwhich he had already passed. Through the terrible and deafening roarof those voices, amid the square masses of troops standingmotionless as if turned to stone, hundreds of riders composing thesuites moved carelessly but symmetrically and above all freely, and infront of them two men- the Emperors. Upon them the undivided,tensely passionate attention of that whole mass of men wasconcentrated.

　　The handsome young Emperor Alexander, in the uniform of the HorseGuards, wearing a cocked hat with its peaks front and back, with hispleasant face and resonant though not loud voice, attracted everyone'sattention.

　　Rostov was not far from the trumpeters, and with his keen sighthad recognized the Tsar and watched his approach. When he was withintwenty paces, and Nicholas could clearly distinguish every detail ofhis handsome, happy young face, he experienced a feeling tendernessand ecstasy such as he had never before known. Every trait and everymovement of the Tsar's seemed to him enchanting.

　　Stopping in front of the Pavlograds, the Tsar said something inFrench to the Austrian Emperor and smiled.

　　Seeing that smile, Rostov involuntarily smiled himself and felt astill stronger flow of love for his sovereign. He longed to showthat love in some way and knowing that this was impossible was readyto cry. The Tsar called the colonel of the regiment and said a fewwords to him.

　　"Oh God, what would happen to me if the Emperor spoke to me?"thought Rostov. "I should die of happiness!"

　　The Tsar addressed the officers also: "I thank you all, gentlemen, Ithank you with my whole heart." To Rostov every word sounded like avoice from heaven. How gladly would he have died at once for his Tsar!

　　"You have earned the St. George's standards and will be worthy ofthem."

　　"Oh, to die, to die for him " thought Rostov.

　　The Tsar said something more which Rostov did not hear, and thesoldiers, straining their lungs, shouted "Hurrah!"

　　Rostov too, bending over his saddle, shouted "Hurrah!" with allhis might, feeling that he would like to injure himself by that shout,if only to express his rapture fully.

　　The Tsar stopped a few minutes in front of the hussars as ifundecided.

　　"How can the Emperor be undecided?" thought Rostov, but then eventhis indecision appeared to him majestic and enchanting, likeeverything else the Tsar did.

　　That hesitation lasted only an instant. The Tsar's foot, in thenarrow pointed boot then fashionable, touched the groin of thebobtailed bay mare he rode, his hand in a white glove gathered upthe reins, and he moved off accompanied by an irregularly swayingsea of aides-de-camp. Farther and farther he rode away, stopping atother regiments, till at last only his white plumes were visible toRostov from amid the suites that surrounded the Emperors.

　　Among the gentlemen of the suite, Rostov noticed Bolkonski,sitting his horse indolently and carelessly. Rostov recalled theirquarrel of yesterday and the question presented itself whether heought or ought not to challenge Bolkonski. "Of course not!" he nowthought. "Is it worth thinking or speaking of it at such a moment?At a time of such love, such rapture, and such self-sacrifice, what doany of our quarrels and affronts matter? I love and forgiveeverybody now."

　　When the Emperor had passed nearly all the regiments, the troopsbegan a ceremonial march past him, and Rostov on Bedouin, recentlypurchased from Denisov, rode past too, at the rear of his squadron-that is, alone and in full view of the Emperor.

　　Before he reached him, Rostov, who was a splendid horseman,spurred Bedouin twice and successfully put him to the showy trot inwhich the animal went when excited. Bending his foaming muzzle tohis chest, his tail extended, Bedouin, as if also conscious of theEmperor's eye upon him, passed splendidly, lifting his feet with ahigh and graceful action, as if flying through the air withouttouching the ground.

　　Rostov himself, his legs well back and his stomach drawn in andfeeling himself one with his horse, rode past the Emperor with afrowning but blissful face "like a vewy devil," as Denisov expressedit.

　　"Fine fellows, the Pavlograds!" remarked the Emperor.

　　"My God, how happy I should be if he ordered me to leap into thefire this instant!" thought Rostov.

　　When the review was over, the newly arrived officers, and alsoKutuzov's, collected in groups and began to talk about the awards,about the Austrians and their uniforms, about their lines, aboutBonaparte, and how badly the latter would fare now, especially ifthe Essen corps arrived and Prussia took our side.

　　But the talk in every group was chiefly about the Emperor Alexander.His every word and movement was described with ecstasy.

　　They all had but one wish: to advance as soon as possible againstthe enemy under the Emperor's command. Commanded by the Emperorhimself they could not fail to vanquish anyone, be it whom it might:so thought Rostov and most of the officers after the review.

　　All were then more confident of victory than the winning of twobattles would have made them.