Book Two: 1805 - Chapter III

by Leo Tolstoy

　　On returning from the review, Kutuzov took the Austrian general intohis private room and, calling his adjutant, asked for some papersrelating to the condition of the troops on their arrival, and theletters that had come from the Archduke Ferdinand, who was incommand of the advanced army. Prince Andrew Bolkonski came into theroom with the required papers. Kutuzov and the Austrian member ofthe Hofkriegsrath were sitting at the table on which a plan was spreadout.

　　"Ah!..." said Kutuzov glancing at Bolkonski as if by thisexclamation he was asking the adjutant to wait, and he went on withthe conversation in French.

　　"All I can say, General," said he with a pleasant elegance ofexpression and intonation that obliged one to listen to eachdeliberately spoken word. It was evident that Kutuzov himself listenedwith pleasure to his own voice. "All I can say, General, is that ifthe matter depended on my personal wishes, the will of His Majesty theEmperor Francis would have been fulfilled long ago. I should longago have joined the archduke. And believe me on my honour that to mepersonally it would be a pleasure to hand over the supreme commandof the army into the hands of a better informed and more skillfulgeneral- of whom Austria has so many- and to lay down all this heavyresponsibility. But circumstances are sometimes too strong for us,General."

　　And Kutuzov smiled in a way that seemed to say, "You are quite atliberty not to believe me and I don't even care whether you do or not,but you have no grounds for telling me so. And that is the wholepoint."

　　The Austrian general looked dissatisfied, but had no option but toreply in the same tone.

　　"On the contrary," he said, in a querulous and angry tone thatcontrasted with his flattering words, "on the contrary, yourexcellency's participation in the common action is highly valued byHis Majesty; but we think the present delay is depriving thesplendid Russian troops and their commander of the laurels they havebeen accustomed to win in their battles," he concluded his evidentlyprearranged sentence.

　　Kutuzov bowed with the same smile.

　　"But that is my conviction, and judging by the last letter withwhich His Highness the Archduke Ferdinand has honored me, I imaginethat the Austrian troops, under the direction of so skillful aleader as General Mack, have by now already gained a decisivevictory and no longer need our aid," said Kutuzov.

　　The general frowned. Though there was no definite news of anAustrian defeat, there were many circumstances confirming theunfavorable rumors that were afloat, and so Kutuzov's suggestion of anAustrian victory sounded much like irony. But Kutuzov went onblandly smiling with the same expression, which seemed to say thathe had a right to suppose so. And, in fact, the last letter he hadreceived from Mack's army informed him of a victory and statedstrategically the position of the army was very favorable.

　　"Give me that letter," said Kutuzov turning to Prince Andrew."Please have a look at it"- and Kutuzov with an ironical smile aboutthe corners of his mouth read to the Austrian general the followingpassage, in German, from the Archduke Ferdinand's letter:

　　We have fully concentrated forces of nearly seventy thousand menwith which to attack and defeat the enemy should he cross the Lech.Also, as we are masters of Ulm, we cannot be deprived of the advantageof commanding both sides of the Danube, so that should the enemy notcross the Lech, we can cross the Danube, throw ourselves on his lineof communications, recross the river lower down, and frustrate hisintention should he try to direct his whole force against our faithfulally. We shall therefore confidently await the moment when theImperial Russian army will be fully equipped, and shall then, inconjunction with it, easily find a way to prepare for the enemy thefate he deserves.

　　Kutuzov sighed deeply on finishing this paragraph and looked atthe member of the Hofkriegsrath mildly and attentively.

　　"But you know the wise maxim your excellency, advising one to expectthe worst," said the Austrian general, evidently wishing to havedone with jests and to come to business. He involuntarily looked roundat the aide-de-camp.

　　"Excuse me, General," interrupted Kutuzov, also turning to PrinceAndrew. "Look here, my dear fellow, get from Kozlovski all the reportsfrom our scouts. Here are two letters from Count Nostitz and here isone from His Highness the Archduke Ferdinand and here are these," hesaid, handing him several papers, "make a neat memorandum in Frenchout of all this, showing all the news we have had of the movementsof the Austrian army, and then give it to his excellency."

　　Prince Andrew bowed his head in token of having understood fromthe first not only what had been said but also what Kutuzov would haveliked to tell him. He gathered up the papers and with a bow to both,stepped softly over the carpet and went out into the waiting room.

　　Though not much time had passed since Prince Andrew had left Russia,he had changed greatly during that period. In the expression of hisface, in his movements, in his walk, scarcely a trace was left ofhis former affected languor and indolence. He now looked like a manwho has time to think of the impression he makes on others, but isoccupied with agreeable and interesting work. His face expressedmore satisfaction with himself and those around him, his smile andglance were brighter and more attractive.

　　Kutuzov, whom he had overtaken in Poland, had received him verykindly, promised not to forget him, distinguished him above theother adjutants, and had taken him to Vienna and given him the moreserious commissions. From Vienna Kutuzov wrote to his old comrade,Prince Andrew's father.

　　Your son bids fair to become an officer distinguished by hisindustry, firmness, and expedition. I consider myself fortunate tohave such a subordinate by me.

　　On Kutuzov's staff, among his fellow officers and in the armygenerally, Prince Andrew had, as he had had in Petersburg society, twoquite opposite reputations. Some, a minority, acknowledged him to bedifferent from themselves and from everyone else, expected greatthings of him, listened to him, admired, and imitated him, and withthem Prince Andrew was natural and pleasant. Others, the majority,disliked him and considered him conceited, cold, and disagreeable. Butamong these people Prince Andrew knew how to take his stand so thatthey respected and even feared him.

　　Coming out of Kutuzov's room into the waiting room with the papersin his hand Prince Andrew came up to his comrade, the aide-de-campon duty, Kozlovski, who was sitting at the window with a book.

　　"Well, Prince?" asked Kozlovski.

　　"I am ordered to write a memorandum explaining why we are notadvancing."

　　"And why is it?"

　　Prince Andrew shrugged his shoulders.

　　"Any news from Mack?"

　　"No."

　　"If it were true that he has been beaten, news would have come."

　　"Probably," said Prince Andrew moving toward the outer door.

　　But at that instant a tall Austrian general in a greatcoat, with theorder of Maria Theresa on his neck and a black bandage round his head,who had evidently just arrived, entered quickly, slamming the door.Prince Andrew stopped short.

　　"Commander in Chief Kutuzov?" said the newly arrived generalspeaking quickly with a harsh German accent, looking to both sides andadvancing straight toward the inner door.

　　"The commander in chief is engaged," said Kozlovski, going hurriedlyup to the unknown general and blocking his way to the door. "Whomshall I announce?"

　　The unknown general looked disdainfully down at Kozlovski, who wasrather short, as if surprised that anyone should not know him.

　　"The commander in chief is engaged," repeated Kozlovski calmly.

　　The general's face clouded, his lips quivered and trembled. Hetook out a notebook, hurriedly scribbled something in pencil, tore outthe leaf, gave it to Kozlovski, stepped quickly to the window, andthrew himself into a chair, gazing at those in the room as ifasking, "Why do they look at me?" Then he lifted his head, stretchedhis neck as if he intended to say something, but immediately, withaffected indifference, began to hum to himself, producing a queersound which immediately broke off. The door of the private room openedand Kutuzov appeared in the doorway. The general with the bandagedhead bent forward as though running away from some danger, and, makinglong, quick strides with his thin legs, went up to Kutuzov.

　　"Vous voyez le malheureux Mack," he uttered in a broken voice.

　　Kutuzov's face as he stood in the open doorway remained perfectlyimmobile for a few moments. Then wrinkles ran over his face like awave and his forehead became smooth again, he bowed his headrespectfully, closed his eyes, silently let Mack enter his room beforehim, and closed the door himself behind him.

　　The report which had been circulated that the Austrians had beenbeaten and that the whole army had surrendered at Ulm proved to becorrect. Within half an hour adjutants had been sent in variousdirections with orders which showed that the Russian troops, who hadhitherto been inactive, would also soon have to meet the enemy.

　　Prince Andrew was one of those rare staff officers whose chiefinterest lay in the general progress of the war. When he saw Mackand heard the details of his disaster he understood that half thecampaign was lost, understood all the difficulties of the Russianarmy's position, and vividly imagined what awaited it and the parthe would have to play. Involuntarily he felt a joyful agitation at thethought of the humiliation of arrogant Austria and that in a week'stime he might, perhaps, see and take part in the first Russianencounter with the French since Suvorov met them. He feared thatBonaparte's genius might outweigh all the courage of the Russiantroops, and at the same time could not admit the idea of his herobeing disgraced.

　　Excited and irritated by these thoughts Prince Andrew went towardhis room to write to his father, to whom he wrote every day. In thecorridor he met Nesvitski, with whom he shared a room, and the wagZherkov; they were as usual laughing.

　　"Why are you so glum?" asked Nesvitski noticing Prince Andrew's paleface and glittering eyes.

　　"There's nothing to be gay about," answered Bolkonski.

　　Just as Prince Andrew met Nesvitski and Zherkov, there came towardthem from the other end of the corridor, Strauch, an Austriangeneral who on Kutuzov's staff in charge of the provisioning of theRussian army, and the member of the Hofkriegsrath who had arrivedthe previous evening. There was room enough in the wide corridor forthe generals to pass the three officers quite easily, but Zherkov,pushing Nesvitski aside with his arm, said in a breathless voice,

　　"They're coming!... they're coming!... Stand aside, make way, pleasemake way!"

　　The generals were passing by, looking as if they wished to avoidembarrassing attentions. On the face of the wag Zherkov there suddenlyappeared a stupid smile of glee which he seemed unable to suppress.

　　"Your excellency," said he in German, stepping forward andaddressing the Austrian general, "I have the honor to congratulateyou."

　　He bowed his head and scraped first with one foot and then withthe other, awkwardly, like a child at a dancing lesson.

　　The member of the Hofkriegsrath looked at him severely but, seeingthe seriousness of his stupid smile, could not but give him a moment'sattention. He screwed up his eyes showing that he was listening.

　　"I have the honor to congratulate you. General Mack has arrived,quite well, only a little bruised just here," he added, pointingwith a beaming smile to his head.

　　The general frowned, turned away, and went on.

　　"Gott, wie naiv!"* said he angrily, after he had gone a few steps.

　　*"Good God, what simplicity!"

　　Nesvitski with a laugh threw his arms round Prince Andrew, butBolkonski, turning still paler, pushed him away with an angry look andturned to Zherkov. The nervous irritation aroused by the appearance ofMack, the news of his defeat, and the thought of what lay before theRussian army found vent in anger at Zherkov's untimely jest.

　　"If you, sir, choose to make a buffoon of yourself," he saidsharply, with a slight trembling of the lower jaw, "I can't preventyour doing so; but I warn you that if you dare to play the fool inmy presence, I will teach you to behave yourself."

　　Nesvitski and Zherkov were so surprised by this outburst that theygazed at Bolkonski silently with wide-open eyes.

　　"What's the matter? I only congratulated them," said Zherkov.

　　"I am not jesting with you; please be silent!" cried Bolkonski,and taking Nesvitski's arm he left Zherkov, who did not know what tosay.

　　"Come, what's the matter, old fellow?" said Nesvitski trying tosoothe him.

　　"What's the matter?" exclaimed Prince Andrew standing still in hisexcitement. "Don't you understand that either we are officersserving our Tsar and our country, rejoicing in the successes andgrieving at the misfortunes of our common cause, or we are merelylackeys who care nothing for their master's business. Quarante millehommes massacres et l'armee de nos allies detruite, et vous trouvez lale mot pour rire,"* he said, as if strengthening his views by thisFrench sentence. "C' est bien pour un garcon de rein comme cetindividu dont vous avez fait un ami, mais pas pour vous, pas pourvous.*[2] Only a hobbledehoy could amuse himself in this way," headded in Russian- but pronouncing the word with a French accent-having noticed that Zherkov could still hear him.

　　*"Forty thousand men massacred and the army of our allies destroyed,and you find that a cause for jesting!"

　　*[2] "It is all very well for that good-for-nothing fellow of whomyou have made a friend, but not for you, not for you."

　　He waited a moment to see whether the cornet would answer, but heturned and went out of the corridor.