《War And Peace》　Book10 　CHAPTER VI
　　　　by Leo Tolstoy

AMONG THE INNUMERABLE CATEGORIES into which it is possible to classify the
phenomena of life, one may classify them all into such as are dominated by
matter and such as are dominated by form. To the latter class one may refer the
life of Petersburg, especially in its drawing-rooms, as distinguished from the
life of the country, of the district, of the province, or even of Moscow. That
life of the drawing-rooms is unchanging.

Between the years 1805 and 1812 we had made peace with Bonaparte and
quarrelled with him again; we had made new constitutions and unmade them again,
but the salons of Anna Pavlovna and of Ellen were precisely as they had been-the
former seven, the latter five years-before. Anna Pavlovna's circle were still
speaking with incredulous wonder of Bonaparte's successes; and saw in his
successes, and in the submissive attitude of the sovereigns of Europe, a
maliciousconspiracy, the sole aim of which was to give annoyance and anxiety to
the court circle of which Anna Pavlovna was the representative. The set that
gathered about Ellen, whom no less a person than Rumyantsev condescended to
visit, and looked on as a remarkably intelligent woman, talked in 1812 with the
same enthusiasm as in 1808, of the "great nation," and the "great man," and
regretted the breach with France, which must, they believed, shortly end in
peace.

Of late after the Tsar's return from the army, some increase of excitement
was perceptible in these antagonistic salons, and they made something like
demonstrations of hostility to one another, but the bias of each circle remained
unaffected. Anna Pavlovna's set refused to admit any French people but the most
unimpeachable legitimists; and in her drawing-room the patriotic view found
expression that the French theatre ought not to be patronised, and that the
maintenance of the French company there cost as much as the maintenance of a
whole army corps. The progress of the war was eagerly followed, and rumours
greatly to the advantage of our army were circulated. In the circle of Ellen, of
Rumyantsev, the French circle, the reports of the enemy's cruelty and barbarous
methods of warfare were discredited; and all sorts of conciliatory efforts on
the part of Napoleon were discussed. This set discountenanced the premature
counsels of those who advised preparations for the removal to Kazan of the court
and the girls' schools, that were under the protection of the empress mother.
The whole war was in fact regarded in Ellen's salon as a series of merely formal
demonstrations, very shortly to be terminated by peace; and the view prevailed,
expressed by Bilibin, who was now in Petersburg and constantly seen at Ellen's,
as every man of wit was sure to be, that the war would be ended not by gunpowder
but by those who had invented it. The patriotic fervour of Moscow, of which
tidings reached Petersburg with the Tsar, was in Ellen's salon a subject of
ironical, and very witty, though circumspect, raillery.

In Anna Pavlovna's circle, on the contrary, these patriotic demonstrations
roused the greatest enthusiasm, and were spoken of as Plutarch speaks of his
ancient Romans. Prince Vassily, who still filled the same important positions,
constituted the connecting link between the two circles. He used to visit "my
good friend Anna Pavlovna," and was also seen in the "diplomatic salon of my
daughter"; and often was led into blunders from his frequent transitions from
one to the other, and said in one drawing-room what should have been reserved
for the other.

Soon after the Tsar's arrival, Prince Vassily, in conversation about the
progress of the war at Anna Pavlovna's, severely criticised Barclay de Tolly,
and expressed himself unable to decide who should be appointed
commander-in-chief. One of the guests, usually spoken of as a "man of great
abilities," described how he had that day seen the newly elected commander of
the Petersburg militia, Kutuzov, presiding over the enrolment of militiamen in
the Court of Exchequer, and ventured discreetly to suggest that Kutuzov would be
the man who might satisfy all requirements.

Anna Pavlovna smiled mournfully, and observed that Kutuzov had done nothing
but cause the Tsar annoyance.

"I have said so over and over again in the assembly of nobility," interposed
Prince Vassily, "but they wouldn't listen to me. I said that his election to the
command of the militia would not be pleasing to his majesty. They wouldn't
listen to me. It's all this mania for being in the opposition," he went on. "And
to what public are they playing, I should like to know. It's all because we are
trying to ape the silly enthusiasm of Moscow," said Prince Vassily, forgetting
for a moment that it was at Ellen's that that enthusiasm was jeered at, while at
Anna Pavlovna's it was as well to admire it. But he hastened to retrieve his
mistake. "Is it suitable for Kutuzov, the oldest general in Russia, to be
presiding in the Court? Et il en restera pour sa peine! Did any one hear
of such a thing as appointing a man commander-in-chief who cannot sit a horse,
who drops asleep at a council-a man, too, of the lowest morals! A pretty
reputation he gained for himself in Bucharest! To say nothing of his qualities
as a general, can we appoint, at such a moment, a man decrepit and blind-yes,
simply blind! A fine idea-a blind general! He sees nothing. Playing blind-man's
buff-that's all he's fit for!"

No one opposed that view.

On the 24th of July it was accepted as perfectly correct. But on the 29th
Kutuzov received the title of prince. The bestowal of this title might be taken
to indicate a desire to shelve him, and therefore Prince Vassily's dictum still
remained correct, though he was in no such hurry now to express it. But on the
8th of August a committee, consisting of General Field-Marshal Saltykov,
Araktcheev, Vyazmitinov, Lopuhin, and Kotchubey was held to consider the
progress of the war. This committee decided that the disasters were due to
divided authority; and although the members of the committee were aware of the
Tsar's dislike of Kutuzov, after a deliberation they advised the appointment of
Kutuzov as commander-in-chief. And that same day Kutuzov was appointed
commander-in-chief of the army, and intrusted with unlimited authority over the
whole region occupied by the troops.

On the 9th of August Prince Vassily once more met the "man of great
abilities" at Anna Pavlovna's. The latter gentleman was assiduous in his
attendance at Anna Pavlovna's, in the hope of receiving, through her influence,
an appointment on one of the institutions of female education. Prince Vassily
strode into the room with the air of a victorious general, of a man who has
succeeded in attaining the object of his desires.

"Well, you know the great news! Prince Kutuzov is marshal! All differences of
opinion are at an end. I am so glad, so delighted!" said Prince Vassily. "At
last here is a man!" he declared, looking sternly and significantly at all the
company. In spite of his desire to secure the post he coveted, the "man of great
abilities" could not refrain from reminding Prince Vassily of the view he had
expressed shortly before. (This was a breach of civility to Prince Vassily in
Anna Pavlovna's drawing-room, and also to Anna Pavlovna, who had received the
tidings with equal enthusiasm; but he could not refrain.)

"But they say he is blind, prince," he said to recall to Prince Vassily his
own words.

"Allez donc, il y voit assez," said Prince Vassily, with the rapid
bass voice and the cough with which he always disposed of all difficulties. "He
sees quite enough," he repeated. "And what I'm particularly glad of," he went
on, "is that the Emperor has given him unlimited authority over all the troops,
over the whole region, an authority no commander-in-chief has ever had before.
It's another autocrat," he concluded, with a victorious smile.

"God grant it may be," said Anna Pavlovna.

The "man of great abilities," a novice in court society, was anxious to
flatter Anna Pavlovna by maintaining her former opinion against this new view of
the position. He said: "They say the Emperor was unwilling to give Kutuzov such
authority. They say he blushed like a young lady to whom Joconde is read, saying
to him, 'The sovereign and the country decree you this honour.' "

"Perhaps the heart was not of the party," said Anna Pavlovna.

"Oh no, no," Prince Vassily maintained warmly. Now he would not put Kutuzov
second to any one. To hear Prince Vassily now Kutuzov was not simply a good man
in himself, but idolised by every one. "No, that's impossible, for the sovereign
has always known how to appreciate him," he added.

"God only grant that Prince Kutuzov may take the control of things into his
own hands," said Anna Pavlovna, "and not permit any one to put a spoke in
his wheel."

Prince Vassily knew at once who was meant. He whispered, "I know for a fact
that Kutuzov made it an express condition that the Tsarevitch should not be with
the army. Vous savez ce qu'il a dit à l'Empereur." And Prince Vassily
repeated the words said to have been spoken by Kutuzov to the Tsar: " 'I can
neither punish him if he does wrong, nor reward him if he does well.' Oh! he's a
shrewd fellow, Prince Kutuzov. I have known him a long while."

"They do say," observed the "man of great abilities," who had not acquired a
courtier's tact, "that his excellency even made it an express condition that the
Emperor himself should not be with the army."

He had hardly uttered the words when Anna Pavlovna and Prince Vassily
simultaneously turned their backs on him, and looked mournfully at one another,
with a sigh at his naïveté.