Thanking Anna Pavlovna for her charmante soirée 1, the guests began to disperse.
Pierre was clumsy. Thick, taller than usual, wide, with huge red hands, he, as they say, couldn't enter the salon and was even less able to get out of it, that is to say something particularly pleasant before leaving. Moreover, he was distracted. As he got up, instead of his hat, he grabbed the triangular hat with the general's plume and held it, pulling the sultan until the general asked to return it. But all his distraction and inability to enter the salon and speak in it was an expression of good nature, simplicity and modesty. Anna Pavlovna turned to him and, with Christian meekness, forgave him for his prank, nodded and said:
- I hope to see you again, but I hope you also change your mind, my dear Mr. Pierre," she said.
When she told him that, he didn't say anything, he just leaned over and showed everybody again his smile, which didn't say anything, except this: "You see how kind and glorious I am," he said. And everyone and Anna Pavlovna unwittingly felt it.
Prince Andrew went to the front and, having substituted his shoulders for the footman who was throwing him a cloak, listened indifferently to his wife's chatter with Prince Hippolyte, who also went to the front. Prince Hippolyte stood beside the pretty pregnant princess and stared stubbornly at her in the lorgnette.
- Go, Annette, you will catch a cold," said the little princess, saying goodbye to Anna Pavlovna. - C'est arrêté 2," she added quietly.
Anna Pavlovna has already had time to talk to Lisa about the marriage that she had in mind between Anatole and the little princess' sister-in-law.
- I hope you, dear friend," said Anna Pavlovna quietly, "will write to her and tell me, comment le père envisagera la chose. Au revoir 3, - and she left the front.
Prince Hippolyte came to the little princess and tilted his face close to her and whispered something to her.
Two footmen, one princess and the other one, waiting for them to come and talk, stood with a shawl and a redingot and listened to them, incomprehensible to them, speaking in French with such faces as if they understood what was being said, but did not want to show it. As always, the Princess spoke with a smile and listened with a laugh.
- I'm very glad I didn't go to the messenger," said Prince Hippolyte. Beautiful evening. Isn't it beautiful?
- They say that the ball will be very good, - answered the princess, shuddering with mustache sponge. - All beautiful women of the society will be there.
- Not everything, because you won't be there; not everything," said Prince Hippolyte, laughing joyfully, and, having grabbed the shawl from the footman, he even pushed it and began to put it on the princess. From awkwardness or intentionally (no one could understand it), he did not let go of his hands when the shawl was already worn, and as if hugging a young woman.
She was graceful, but all smiling, pulled away, turned around and looked at her husband. Prince Andrei's eyes were closed: he seemed tired and sleepy.
- Are you ready? - He asked his wife, bypassing her eyes.
Prince Hippolyte put on his redingot in a hurry, which he had, in a new way, was longer than the heels, and, confused in him, ran on the porch for the princess, who was sitting in a footman's carriage.
- Princesse, au revoir 4," he shouted, tangling his tongue as well as his feet.
The princess, picking up her dress, sat down in the dark of the carriage; her husband sent her a sword; Prince Hippolyte, under the pretext of servants, disturbed everyone.
- Pa-boy, sir, - Prince Andrew, in Russian, addressed Prince Hippolyte in a dry and unpleasant way, who prevented him from passing through.
- I am waiting for you, Pierre," said the same voice of Prince Andrei gently and tenderly.
Foritor touched, and the carriage got tangled with wheels. Prince Hippolyte laughed abruptly, standing on the porch and waiting for the Viscount, whom he had promised to take home.
- Eh bien, mon cher, votre petite princesse est très bien, très bien," said the viscount, sitting in a carriage with Hippolyte. - Mais très bien. - He kissed his fingertips. - Et tout à fait française 5.
Hippolyte snorted and laughed.
- Et savez-vous que vous êtes terrible avec votre petit air innocent," continued the viscount. - Je plains le pauvre mari, ce petit officier qui se donne des airs de prince régnant 6.
Hippolyte sniffed through the laughter as well:
- Et vous disiez, que les dames russes ne valaient pas les dames françaises. Il faut savoir s'y prendre 7.
Pierre, coming forward as a domestic person, went to the office of Prince Andrew and immediately, by habit, lay on the sofa, took the first book from the shelf (these were the notes of Caesar) and began to lean forward, read it from the middle.
- What did you do with Scherer's mademoiselle? She's going to be completely ill now," said Prince Andrei as he entered his office, rubbing the little white pens.
Pierre turned his whole body, so the couch screamed, wrapped his lively face around Prince Andrei, smiled and gave up.
- No, this abbot is very interesting, but he doesn't understand it that way... I think eternal peace is possible, but I don't know how to say it... But not by political balance.
Prince Andrei was not interested in these distracted conversations.
- You can't, mon cher 8, say everything you think. Well, have you finally decided on something? Will you be a cavalier or a diplomat? - Prince Andrei asked after a minute of silence.
Pierre sat down on the couch, shaking his legs.
- You can imagine, I still don't know. I don't like either.
- But you have to do something about it, right? Your father is waiting.
Pierre was sent abroad with an Abbot governor from the age of ten, where he stayed until he was twenty. When he returned to Moscow, his father let the abbot go and told the young man: "Now you go to St. Petersburg, look around and choose. I agree to everything. Here's a letter to Prince Vasily for you and here's your money. Write about everything, I will help you with everything. Pierre had been choosing his career for three months and did nothing. Prince Andrew told him about this choice. Pierre rubbed his forehead.
- But he must be a Freemason," he said, in the mind of the abbot he had seen at the evening.
- All this nonsense, - stopped him again, Prince Andrew, - let's talk about the case. Were you in the equestrian guard?
- No, I wasn't, but here's what I thought, and I wanted to tell you. Now the war against Napoleon. If it had been a war for freedom, I would have understood that I would have been the first to join the military service; but to help England and Austria against the greatest man in the world... It's not good.
Prince Andrei only shrugged his shoulders over Pierre's childhood speeches. He pretended that such nonsense could not be answered; but it was really difficult to answer this naive question with anything other than what Prince Andrew had said.
- If everyone had fought only because of their convictions, there would have been no war," he said.
- That would be great," Pierre said.
Prince Andrei smiled.
- It might be wonderful, but it will never happen...
- Well, why are you going to war? - Pierre asked.
- For what? I don't know. This is the way it should be. Besides, I am going... - He stopped. - I am going because this life that I lead here, this life is not for me!
1 a charming evening.
2 That's how it's done.
3 how the father would look at the case. Goodbye.
4 Princess, goodbye.
5 Well, my dear, your little princess is very nice. Very nice. And quite, quite French.
6 You know, you're terrible with your innocent appearance. I feel sorry for the poor husband, this officer, who is making a powerful person out of himself.
7 And you said the Russian ladies were not worth the French. You have to be able to do it.
8 my darling.
sequences should be