War And Peace: Book 6 - CHAPTER IV

作者: Leo Tolstoy

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Author: Leo Tolstoy

PRINCE ANDREY arrived in Petersburg in the August of 1809. It was the period

when the young Speransky was at the zenith of his fame and his reforms were

being carried out with the utmost vigour. In that very month the Tsar was thrown

out of his carriage, hurt his foot, and was laid up for three weeks at Peterhof,

seeing Speransky every day and no one else. At that period there were in

preparation the two famous decrees that so convulsed society, abolishing the

bestowal of grades by court favour and establishing examinations for obtaining

the ranks of collegiate assessors and state councillors. But besides these

reforms, a whole political constitution was under discussion destined to

transform the whole legal, administrative and financial system of government

from the Privy Council to the district tribunals. At this time the vague,

liberal ideals with which the Emperor Alexander had ascended the throne were

taking shape and being carried into practice. Those ideals he had striven to

realise with the aid of Tchartorizhsky, Novosiltsov, Kotchubey, and Stroganov,

whom he used himself to call in fun his “comité du salut publique.” Now

all were replaced by Speransky on the civil side and Araktcheev on the

military.

Soon after his arrival, Prince Andrey, as a kammerherr, presented himself at

court and at a levée. The Tsar, meeting him on two occasions, did not deign to

bestow a single word upon him. Prince Andrey had fancied even before then that

he was antipathetic to the Tsar; that the Tsar disliked his face and his whole

personality. In the cold, repellent glance with which the Tsar looked at him,

Prince Andrey found further confirmation of this supposition. Courtiers

explained the Tsar's slight to Prince Andrey by saying that his majesty was

displeased at Bolkonsky's having retired from active service since 1805.

“I know myself that one has no control over one's likes and dislikes,”

thought Prince Andrey, “and so it is of no use to think of presenting my note on

army reform in person to the Tsar, but the thing will speak for itself.” He sent

word about his note to an old field-marshal, a friend of his father's. The

field-marshal fixed an hour to see him, received him cordially, and promised to

lay it before the Tsar. A few days later, Prince Andrey received notice that he

was to call upon the minister of war, Count Araktcheev.

At nine o'clock in the morning on the day appointed, Prince Andrey entered

Count Araktcheev's reception-room.

Prince Andrey did not know Araktcheev personally and had never seen him, but

all that he knew about him had inspired him with little respect for the

man.

“He is the minister of war, a person the Tsar trusts, and no one need have

any concern with his personal qualities; he has been commissioned to look at my

note, consequently he is the only person who can get it adopted,” thought Prince

Andrey, as he waited among many persons of importance and unimportance in Count

Araktcheev's anteroom.

During the years of his service—for the most part as an adjutant—Prince

Andrey had seen the anterooms of many great personages, and the various

characteristic types of such anterooms were very readily recognised by him.

Count Araktcheev's anteroom had quite a special character. The faces of the

persons of no consequence who were awaiting their turns for an audience with

Count Araktcheev betrayed a feeling of humiliation and servility; the faces of

those of superior rank all wore an expression of general discomfort, concealed

under a mask of ease and ridicule, of themselves and their position and the

person they were waiting to see. Some of them walked up and down plunged in

thought; others were laughing and whispering together, and Prince Andrey caught

the nickname Sila Andreitch (Sila meaning Force or Violence), and the

words “the governor'll give it you,” referring to Count Araktcheev. One general

(a person of great consequence), unmistakably chagrined at being kept waiting so

long, sat with crossed legs, disdainfully smiling to himself.

But as soon as the door opened, all faces instantly betrayed one feeling

only—terror.

Prince Andrey asked the adjutant on duty to mention his name again, but he

received a sarcastic stare, and was told his turn would come in due course.

After several persons had been let in and let out of the minister's room by the

adjutant, an officer was admitted at the dreadful door, whose abject and

panic-stricken face had struck Prince Andrey. The officer's audience lasted a

long while. Suddenly the roar of a harsh voice was heard through the door, and

the officer, with a white face and trembling lips, came out, and clutching at

his head, crossed the anteroom. After that, Prince Andrey was conducted to the

door, and the adjutant in a whisper said: “To the right, at the window.”

Prince Andrey went into a plain, neat study, and saw at the table a man of

forty with a long waist, with a long, closely-cropped head, deep wrinkles,

scowling brows over brown-green, dull eyes, and a red, over-hanging nose.

Araktcheev turned his head towards him, without looking at him.

“What is it you are petitioning for?” asked Araktcheev.

“There is nothing that I am…petitioning for, your excellency,” Prince Andrey

pronounced softly. Araktcheev's eyes turned to him.

“Sit down,” said Araktcheev. “Prince Bolkonsky?”

“I have no petition to make, but his majesty the Tsar has graciously sent to

your excellency a note submitted by me—”

“Be so good as to see, my dear sir; I have read your note,” Araktcheev

interrupted, uttering only the first words civilly, again looking away from him,

and relapsing more and more into a tone of grumbling contempt. “Is it new army

regulations you propose? There are regulations in plenty; no one will carry out

the old ones. Nowadays every one's drawing up regulations; it's easier writing

than doing.”

“I have come by the desire of his majesty the Tsar to learn from your

excellency how you propose to deal with my project,” said Prince Andrey

courteously.

“I have proposed a resolution in regard to your note, and have forwarded it

to the committee. I do not approve,” said Araktcheev, getting up and taking a

paper out of the writing-table. “Here.” He gave it to Prince Andrey. Right

across the note had been scrawled, without punctuation or capital letters and

with words misspelt: “Superficially compiled seeing that it's drawn up in

imitation of the French army regulations and needlessly departing from the

standing orders.”

“To what committee has the note been referred?” asked Prince Andrey.

“To the Committee on Army Regulations, and I have proposed your honour being

enrolled among its members. Only without salary.”

Prince Andrey smiled.

“I am not seeking a salary.”

“A member without salary,” repeated Araktcheev. “I wish you good day. Hey!

call! who's the next?” he shouted, as he bowed to Prince Andrey.

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