the whole town. This was terrible! What a position for the Emperor to be in! Kutuzov was a traitor, and Prince Vasili during the visits of condolence paid to him on the occasion of his daughter’s death said of Kutuzov, whom he had formerly praised (it was excusable for him in his grief to forget what he had said), that it was impossible to expect anything else from a blind and depraved old man. "I only wonder that the fate of Russia could have been entrusted to such a man." As long as this news remained unofficial it was possible to doubt it, but the next day the following communication was received from Count Rostopchin: Prince Kutuzov’s adjutant has brought me a letter in which he demands police officers to guide the army to the Ryazan road. He writes that he is regretfully abandoning Moscow. Sire! Kutuzov’s action decides the fate of the capital and of your empire! Russia will shudder to learn of the abandonment of the city in which her greatness is centered and in which lie the ashes of your ancestors! I shall follow the army. I have had everything removed, and it only remains for me to weep over the fate of my fatherland. On receiving this dispatch the Emperor sent Prince Volkonski to Kutuzov with the following rescript: Prince Michael Ilarionovich! Since the twenty-ninth of August I have received no communication from you, yet on the first of September I received from the commander in chief of Moscow, via Yaroslavl, the sad news that you, with the army, have decided to abandon Moscow. You can yourself imagine the effect this news has had on me, and your silence increases my astonishment. I am sending this by Adjutant-General Prince Volkonski, to hear from you the situation of the army and the reasons that have induced you to take this melancholy decision. CHAPTER III Nine days after the abandonment of Moscow, a messenger from Kutuzov reached Petersburg with the official announcement of that event. This messenger was Michaud, a Frenchman who did not know Russian, but who was quoique etranger, russe de cœur et d’âme, * as he said of himself. * Though a foreigner, Russian in heart and soul. The Emperor at once received this messenger in his study at the palace on Stone Island. Michaud, who had never seen Moscow before the campaign and who did not know Russian, yet felt deeply moved (as he wrote) when he appeared before notre tres gracieux souverain * with the news of the burning of Moscow, dont les flammes eclairaient sa route. *(2) * Our most gracious sovereign. * (2) Whose flames illumined his route. Though the source of M. Michaud’s chagrin must have been different from that which caused Russians to grieve, he had such a sad face when shown into the Emperor’s study that the latter at once asked: "Have you brought me sad news, Colonel?" "Very sad, sire," replied Michaud, lowering his eyes with a sigh. "The abandonment of Moscow." "Have they surrendered my ancient capital without a battle?" asked the Emperor quickly, his face suddenly flushing. Michaud respectfully delivered the message Kutuzov had entrusted to him, which was that it had been impossible to fight before Moscow, and that as the only remaining choice was between losing the army as well as Moscow, or losing Moscow alone, the field marshal had to choose the latter. The Emperor listened in silence, not looking at Michaud. "Has the enemy entered the city?" he asked. "Yes, sire, and Moscow is now in ashes. I left it all in flames," replied Michaud in a decided tone, but glancing at the Emperor he was frightened by what he had done. The Emperor began to breathe heavily and rapidly, his lower lip trembled, and tears instantly appeared in his fine blue eyes. But this lasted only a moment. He suddenly frowned, as if blaming himself for his weakness, and raising his head addressed Michaud in a firm voice: "I see, Colonel, from all that is happening, that Providence requires great sacrifices of us... I am ready to submit myself in all things to His will; but tell me, Michaud, how did you leave the army when it saw my ancient capital abandoned without a battle? Did you not notice discouragement?..." Seeing that his most gracious ruler was calm once more, Michaud also grew calm, but was not immediately ready to reply to the Emperor’s direct and relevant question which required a direct answer. "Sire, will you allow me to speak frankly as befits a loyal soldier?" he asked to gain time. "Colonel, I always require it," replied the Emperor. "Conceal nothing from me, I wish to know absolutely how things are." "Sire!" said Michaud with a subtle, scarcely perceptible smile on his lips, having now prepared a well-phrased reply, "sire, I left the whole army, from its chiefs to the lowest soldier, without exception in desperate and agonized terror..." "How is that?" the Emperor interrupted him, frowning sternly. "Would misfortune make my Russians lose heart?... Never!" Michaud had only waited for this to bring out the phrase he had prepared. "Sire," he said, with respectful playfulness, "they are only afraid lest Your Majesty, in the goodness of your heart, should allow yourself to be persuaded to make peace. They are burning for the combat," declared this representative of the Russian nation, "and to prove to Your Majesty by the sacrifice of their lives how devoted they are...." "Ah!" said the Emperor reassured, and with a kindly gleam in his eyes, he patted Michaud on the shoulder. "You set me at ease, Colonel." He bent his head and was silent for some time. "Well, then, go back to the army," he said, drawing himself up to his full height and addressing Michaud with a gracious and majestic gesture, "and tell our brave men and all my good subjects wherever you go that when I have not a soldier left I shall put myself at the head of my beloved nobility and my good peasants and so use the last resources of my empire. It still offers me more than my enemies suppose," said the Emperor growing more and more animated; "but should it ever be ordained by Divine Providence," he continued, raising to heaven his fine eyes shining with emotion, "that my dynasty should cease to reign on the throne of my ancestors, then after exhausting all the means at my command, I shall let my beard grow to here" (he pointed halfway down his chest) "and go and eat potatoes with the meanest of my peasants, rather than sign the disgrace of my country and of my beloved people whose sacrifices I know how to appreciate." Having uttered these words in an agitated voice the Emperor suddenly turned away as if to hide from Michaud the tears that rose to his eyes, and went to the further end of his study. Having stood there a few moments, he strode back to Michaud and pressed his arm below the elbow with a vigorous movement. The Emperor’s mild and handsome face was flushed and his eyes gleamed with resolution and anger. "Colonel Michaud, do not forget what I say to you here, perhaps we may recall it with pleasure someday... Napoleon or I," said the Emperor, touching his breast. "We can no longer both reign together. I have learned to know him, and he will not deceive me any more...." And the Emperor paused, with a frown. When he heard these words and saw the expression of firm resolution in the Emperor’s eyes, Michaud - quoique etranger, russe de cœur et d’âme, - at that solemn moment felt himself enraptured by all that he had heard (as he used afterwards to say), and gave expression to his own feelings and those of the Russian people whose representative he considered himself to be, in the following words: "Sire!" said he, "Your Majesty is at this moment signing the glory of the nation and the salvation of Europe!" With an inclination of the head the Emperor dismissed him. CHAPTER IV It is natural for us who were not living in those days to imagine that when half Russia had been conquered and the inhabitants were fleeing to distant provinces, and one levy after another was being raised for the defense of the fatherland, all Russians from the greatest to the least were solely engaged in sacrificing themselves, saving their fatherland, or weeping over its downfall. The tales and descriptions of that time without exception speak only of the self-sacrifice, patriotic devotion, despair, grief, and the heroism of the Russians. But it was not really so. It appears so to us because we see only the general historic interest of that time and do not see all the personal human interests that people had. Yet in reality those personal interests of the moment so much transcend the general interests that they always prevent the public interest from being felt or even noticed. Most of the people at that time paid no attention to the general progress of events but were guided only by their private interests, and they were the very people whose activities at that period were most useful. Those who tried to understand the general course of events and to take part in it by self-sacrifice and heroism were the most useless members of society, they saw everything upside down, and all they did for the common good turned out to be useless and foolish - like Pierre’s and Mamonov’s regiments which looted Russian villages, and the lint the young ladies prepared and that never reached the wounded, and so on. Even those, fond of intellectual talk and of expressing their feelings, who discussed Russia’s position at the time involuntarily introduced into their conversation either a shade of pretense and falsehood or useless condemnation and anger directed against people accused of actions no one could possibly be guilty of. In historic events the rule forbidding us to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge is specially applicable. Only unconscious action bears fruit, and he who plays a part in an historic event never understands its significance. If he tries to realize it his efforts are fruitless. The more closely a man was engaged in the events then taking place in Russia the less did he realize their significance. In Petersburg and in the provinces at a distance from Moscow, ladies, and gentlemen in militia uniforms, wept for Russia and its ancient capital and talked of self-sacrifice and so on; but in the army which retired beyond Moscow there was little talk or thought of Moscow, and when they caught sight of its burned ruins no one swore to be avenged on the French, but they thought about their next pay, their next quarters, of Matreshka the vivandiere, and like matters. As the war had caught him in the service, Nicholas Rostov took a close and prolonged part in the defense of his country, but did so casually, without any aim at self-sacrifice, and he therefore looked at what was going on in Russia without despair and without dismally racking his brains over it. Had he been asked what he thought of the state of Russia, he would have said that it was not his business to think about it, that Kutuzov and others were there for that purpose, but that he had heard that the regiments were to be made up to their full strength, that fighting would probably go on for a long time yet, and that things being so it was quite likely he might be in command of a regiment in a couple of years’ time. As he looked at the matter in this way, he learned that he was being sent to Voronezh to buy remounts for his division, not only without regret at being prevented from taking part in the coming battle, but with the greatest pleasure - which he did not conceal and which his comrades fully understood. A few days before the battle of Borodino, Nicholas received the necessary money and warrants, and having sent some hussars on in advance, he set out with post horses for Voronezh. Only a man who has experienced it - that is, has passed some months continuously in an atmosphere of campaigning and war - can understand the delight Nicholas felt when he escaped from the region covered by the army’s foraging operations, provision trains, and hospitals. When - free from soldiers, wagons, and the filthy traces of a camp - he saw villages with peasants and peasant women, gentlemen’s country houses, fields where cattle were grazing, posthouses with stationmasters asleep in them, he rejoiced as though seeing all this for the first time. What for a long while specially surprised and delighted him were the women, young and healthy, without a dozen officers making up to each of them; women, too, who were pleased and flattered that a passing officer should joke with them. In the highest spirits Nicholas arrived at night at a hotel in Voronezh, ordered things he had long been deprived of in camp, and next day, very clean-shaven and in a full-dress uniform he had not worn for a long time, went to present himself to the authorities. The commander of the militia was a civilian general, an old man who was evidently pleased with his military designation and rank. He received Nicholas brusquely (imagining this to be characteristically military) and questioned him with an important air, as if considering the general progress of affairs and approving and disapproving with full right to do so. Nicholas was in such good spirits that this merely amused him. From the commander of the militia he drove to the governor. The governor was a brisk little man, very simple and affable. He indicated the stud farms at which Nicholas might procure horses, recommended to him a horse dealer in the town and a landowner fourteen miles out of town who had the best horses, and promised to assist him in every way. "You are Count Ilya Rostov’s son? My wife was a great friend of your mother’s. We are at home on Thursdays - today is Thursday, so please come and see us quite informally," said the governor, taking leave of him. Immediately on leaving the governor’s, Nicholas hired post horses and, taking his squadron quartermaster with him, drove at a gallop to the landowner, fourteen miles away, who had the stud. Everything seemed to him pleasant and easy during that first part of his stay in Voronezh and, as usually happens when a man is in a pleasant state of mind, everything went well and easily. The landowner to whom Nicholas went was a bachelor, an old cavalryman, a horse fancier, a sportsman, the possessor of some century-old brandy and some old Hungarian wine, who had a snuggery where he smoked, and who owned some splendid horses. In very few words Nicholas bought seventeen picked stallions for six thousand rubles - to serve, as he said, as samples of his remounts. After dining and taking rather too much of the Hungarian wine, Nicholas - having exchanged kisses with the landowner, with whom he was already on the friendliest terms - galloped back over abominable roads, in the brightest frame of mind, continually urging on the driver so as to be in time for the governor’s party. When he had changed, poured water over his head, and scented himself, Nicholas arrived at the governor’s rather late, but with the phrase "better late than never" on his lips. It was not a ball, nor had dancing been announced, but everyone knew that Catherine Petrovna would play valses and the ecossaise on the clavichord and that there would be dancing, and so everyone had come as to a ball. Provincial life in 1812 went on very much as usual, but with this difference, that it was livelier in the towns in consequence of the arrival of many wealthy families from Moscow, and as in everything that went on in Russia at that time a special recklessness was noticeable, an "in for a penny, in for a pound - who cares?" spirit, and the inevitable small talk, instead of turning on the weather and mutual acquaintances, now turned on Moscow, the army, and Napoleon. The society gathered together at the governor’s was the best in Voronezh. There were a great many ladies and some of Nicholas’ Moscow acquaintances, but there were no men who could at all vie with the cavalier of St. George, the hussar remount officer, the good-natured and well-bred Count Rostov. Among the men was an Italian prisoner, an officer of the French army; and Nicholas felt that the presence of that prisoner enhanced his own importance as a Russian hero. The Italian was, as it were, a war trophy. Nicholas felt this, it seemed to him that everyone regarded the Italian in the same light, and he treated him cordially though with dignity and restraint. As soon as Nicholas entered in his hussar uniform, diffusing around him a fragrance of perfume and wine, and had uttered the words "better late than never" and heard them repeated several times by others, people clustered around him; all eyes turned on him, and he felt at once that he had entered into his proper position in the province - that of a universal favorite: a very pleasant position, and intoxicatingly so after his long privations. At posting stations, at inns, and in the landowner’s snuggery, maidservants had been flattered by his notice, and here too at the governor’s party there were (as it seemed to Nicholas) an inexhaustible number of pretty young women, married and unmarried, impatiently awaiting his notice. The women and girls flirted with him and, from the first day, the people concerned themselves to get this fine young daredevil of an hussar married and settled down. Among these was the governor’s wife herself, who welcomed Rostov as a near relative and called him "Nicholas." Catherine Petrovna did actually play valses and the ecossaise, and dancing began in which Nicholas still further captivated the provincial society by his agility. His particularly free manner of dancing even surprised them all. Nicholas was himself rather surprised at the way he danced that evening. He had never danced like that in Moscow and would even have considered such a very free and easy manner improper and in bad form, but here he felt it incumbent on him to astonish them all by something unusual, something they would have to accept as the regular thing in the capital though new to them in the provinces. All the evening Nicholas paid attention to a blue-eyed, plump and pleasing little blonde, the wife of one of the provincial officials. With the naïve conviction of young men in a merry mood that other men’s wives were created for them, Rostov did not leave the lady’s side and treated her husband in a friendly and conspiratorial style, as if, without speaking of it, they knew how capitally Nicholas and the lady would get on together. The husband, however, did not seem to share that conviction and tried to behave morosely with Rostov. But the latter’s good-natured naïvete was so boundless that sometimes even he involuntarily yielded to Nicholas’ good humor. Toward the end of the evening, however, as the wife’s face grew more flushed and animated, the husband’s became more and more melancholy and solemn, as though there were but a given amount of animation between them and as the wife’s share increased the husband’s diminished. CHAPTER V Nicholas sat leaning slightly forward in an armchair, bending closely over the blonde lady and paying her mythological compliments with a smile that never left his face. Jauntily shifting the position of his legs in their tight riding breeches, diffusing an odor of perfume, and admiring his partner, himself, and the fine outlines of his legs in their well-fitting Hessian boots, Nicholas told the blonde lady that he wished to run away with a certain lady here in Voronezh. "Which lady?" "A charming lady, a divine one. Her eyes" (Nicholas looked at his partner) "are blue, her mouth coral and ivory; her figure" (he glanced at her shoulders) "like Diana’s...." The husband came up and sullenly asked his wife what she was talking about. "Ah, Nikita Ivanych!" cried Nicholas, rising politely, and as if wishing Nikita Ivanych to share his joke, he began to tell him of his intention to elope with a blonde lady. The husband smiled gloomily, the wife gaily. The governor’s good-natured wife came up with a look of disapproval. "Anna Ignatyevna wants to see you, Nicholas," said she, pronouncing the name so that Nicholas at once understood that Anna Ignatyevna was a very important person. "Come, Nicholas! You know you let me call you so?" "Oh, yes, Aunt. Who is she?" "Anna Ignatyevna Malvintseva. She has heard from her niece how you rescued her.... Can you guess?" "I rescued such a lot of them!" said Nicholas. "Her niece, Princess Bolkonskaya. She is here in Voronezh with her aunt. Oho! How you blush. Why, are...?" "Not a bit! Please don’t, Aunt!" "Very well, very well!... Oh, what a fellow you are!" The governor’s wife led him up to a tall and very stout old lady with a blue headdress, who had just finished her game of cards with the most important personages of the town. This was Malvintseva, Princess Mary’s aunt on her mother’s side, a rich, childless widow who always lived in Voronezh. When Rostov approached her she was standing settling up for the game. She looked at him and, screwing up her eyes sternly, continued to upbraid the general who had won from her. "Very pleased, mon cher," she then said, holding out her hand to Nicholas. "Pray come and see me." After a few words about Princess Mary and her late father, whom Malvintseva had evidently not liked, and having asked what Nicholas knew of Prince Andrew, who also was evidently no favorite of hers, the important old lady dismissed Nicholas after repeating her invitation to come to see her. Nicholas promised to come and blushed again as he bowed. At the mention of Princess Mary he experienced a feeling of shyness and even of fear, which he himself did not understand. When he had parted from Malvintseva Nicholas wished to return to the dancing, but the governor’s little wife placed her plump hand on his sleeve and, saying that she wanted to have a talk with him, led him to her sitting room, from which those who were there immediately withdrew so as not to be in her way. "Do you know, dear boy," began the governor’s wife with a serious expression on her kind little face, "that really would be the match for you: would you like me to arrange it?" "Whom do you mean, Aunt?" asked Nicholas. "I will make a match for you with the princess. Catherine Petrovna speaks of Lily, but I say, no - the princess! Do you want me to do it? I am sure your mother will be grateful to me. What a charming girl she is, really! And she is not at all so plain, either." "Not at all," replied Nicholas as if offended at the idea. "As befits a soldier, Aunt, I don’t force myself on anyone or refuse anything," he said before he had time to consider what he was saying. "Well then, remember, this is not a joke!" "Of course not!" "Yes, yes," the governor’s wife said as if talking to herself. "But, my dear boy, among other things you are too attentive to the other, the blonde. One is sorry for the husband, really...." "Oh no, we are good friends with him," said Nicholas in the simplicity of his heart; it did not enter his head that a pastime so pleasant to himself might not be pleasant to someone else. "But what nonsense I have been saying to the governor’s wife!" thought Nicholas suddenly at supper. "She will really begin to arrange a match... and Sonya...?" And on taking leave of the governor’s wife, when she again smilingly said to him, "Well then, remember!" he drew her aside. "But see here, to tell the truth, Aunt..." "What is it, my dear? Come, let’s sit down here," said she. Nicholas suddenly felt a desire and need to tell his most intimate thoughts (which he would not have told to his mother, his sister, or his friend) to this woman who was almost a stranger. When he afterwards recalled that impulse to unsolicited and inexplicable frankness which had very important results for him, it seemed to him - as it seems to everyone in such cases - that it was merely some silly whim that seized him: yet that burst of frankness, together with other trifling events, had immense consequences for him and for all his family. "You see, Aunt, Mamma has long wanted me to marry an heiress, but the very idea of marrying for money is repugnant to me." "Oh yes, I understand," said the governor’s wife. "But Princess Bolkonskaya - that’s another matter. I will tell you the truth. In the first place I like her very much, I feel drawn to her; and then, after I met her under such circumstances - so strangely, the idea often occurred to me: ‘This is fate.’ Especially if you remember that Mamma had long been thinking of it; but I had never happened to meet her before, somehow it had always happened that we did not meet. And as long as my sister Natasha was engaged to her brother it was of course out of the question for me to think of marrying her. And it must needs happen that I should meet her just when Natasha’s engagement had been broken off... and then everything... So you see... I never told this to anyone and never will, only to you." The governor’s wife pressed his elbow gratefully. "You know Sonya, my cousin? I love her, and promised to marry her, and will do so.... So you see there can be no question about - " said Nicholas incoherently and blushing. "My dear boy, what a way to look at it! You know Sonya has nothing and you yourself say your Papa’s affairs are in a very bad way. And what about your mother? It would kill her, that’s one thing. And what sort of life would it be for Sonya - if she’s a girl with a heart? Your mother in despair, and you all ruined.... No, my dear, you and Sonya ought to understand that." Nicholas remained silent. It comforted him to hear these arguments. "All the same, Aunt, it is impossible," he rejoined with a sigh, after a short pause. "Besides, would the princess have me? And besides, she is now in mourning. How can one think of it!" "But you don’t suppose I’m going to get you married at once? There is always a right way of doing things," replied the governor’s wife. "What a matchmaker you are, Aunt..." said Nicholas, kissing her plump little hand. CHAPTER VI On reaching Moscow after her meeting with Rostov, Princess Mary had found her nephew there with his tutor, and a letter from Prince Andrew giving her instructions how to get to her Aunt Malvintseva at Voronezh. That feeling akin to temptation which had tormented her during her father’s illness, since his death, and especially since her meeting with Rostov was smothered by arrangements for the journey, anxiety about her brother, settling in a new house, meeting new people, and attending to her nephew’s education. She was sad. Now, after a month passed in quiet surroundings, she felt more and more deeply the loss of her father which was associated in her mind with the ruin of Russia. She was agitated and incessantly tortured by the thought of the dangers to which her brother, the only intimate person now remaining to her, was exposed. She was worried too about her nephew’s education for which she had always felt herself incompetent, but in the depths of her soul she felt at peace - a peace arising from consciousness of having stifled those personal dreams and hopes that had been on the point of awakening within her and were related to her meeting with Rostov. The day after her party the governor’s wife came to see Malvintseva and, after discussing her plan with the aunt, remarked that though under present circumstances a formal betrothal was, of course, not to be thought of, all the same the young people might be brought together and could get to know one another. Malvintseva expressed approval, and the governor’s wife began to speak of Rostov in Mary’s presence, praising him and telling how he had blushed when Princess Mary’s name was mentioned. But Princess Mary experienced a painful rather than a joyful feeling - her mental tranquillity was destroyed, and desires, doubts, self-reproach, and hopes reawoke. During the two days that elapsed before Rostov called, Princess Mary continually thought of how she ought to behave to him. First she decided not to come to the drawing room when he called to see her aunt - that it would not be proper for her, in her deep mourning, to receive visitors; then she thought this would be rude after what he had done for her; then it occurred to her that her aunt and the governor’s wife had intentions concerning herself and Rostov - their looks and words at times seemed to confirm this supposition - then she told herself that only she, with her sinful nature, could think this of them: they could not forget that situated as she was, while still wearing deep mourning, such matchmaking would be an insult to her and to her father’s memory. Assuming that she did go down to see him, Princess Mary imagined the words he would say to her and what she would say to him, and these words sometimes seemed undeservedly cold and then to mean too much. More than anything she feared lest the confusion she felt might overwhelm her and betray her as soon as she saw him. But when on Sunday after church the footman announced in the drawing room that Count Rostov had called, the princess showed no confusion, only a slight blush suffused her cheeks and her eyes lit up with a new and radiant light. "You have met him, Aunt?" said she in a calm voice, unable herself to understand that she could be outwardly so calm and natural. When Rostov entered the room, the princess dropped her eyes for an instant, as if to give the visitor time to greet her aunt, and then just as Nicholas turned to her she raised her head and met his look with shining eyes. With a movement full of dignity and grace she half rose with a smile of pleasure, held out her slender, delicate hand to him, and began to speak in a voice in which for the first time new deep womanly notes vibrated. Mademoiselle Bourienne, who was in the drawing room, looked at Princess Mary in bewildered surprise. Herself a consummate coquette, she could not have maneuvered better on meeting a man she wished to attract. "Either black is particularly becoming to her or she really has greatly improved without my having noticed it. And above all, what tact and grace!" thought Mademoiselle Bourienne. Had Princess Mary been capable of reflection at that moment, she would have been more surprised than Mademoiselle Bourienne at the change that had taken place in herself. From the moment she recognized that dear, loved face, a new life force took possession of her and compelled her to speak and act apart from her own will. From the time Rostov entered, her face became suddenly transformed. It was as if a light had been kindled in a carved and painted lantern and the intricate, skillful, artistic work on its sides, that previously seemed dark, coarse, and meaningless, was suddenly shown up in unexpected and striking beauty. For the first time all that pure, spiritual, inward travail through which she had lived appeared on the surface. All her inward labor, her dissatisfaction with herself, her sufferings, her strivings after goodness, her meekness, love, and self-sacrifice - all this now shone in those radiant eyes, in her delicate smile, and in every trait of her gentle face. Rostov saw all this as clearly as if he had known her whole life. He felt that the being before him was quite different from, and better than, anyone he had met before, and above all better than himself. Their conversation was very simple and unimportant. They spoke of the war, and like everyone else unconsciously exaggerated their sorrow about it; they spoke of their last meeting - Nicholas trying to change the subject - they talked of the governor’s kind wife, of Nicholas’ relations, and of Princess Mary’s. She did not talk about her brother, diverting the conversation as soon as her aunt mentioned Andrew. Evidently she could speak of Russia’s misfortunes with a certain artificiality, but her brother was too near her heart and she neither could nor would speak lightly of him. Nicholas noticed this, as he noticed every shade of Princess Mary’s character with an observation unusual to him, and everything confirmed his conviction that she was a quite unusual and extraordinary being. Nicholas blushed and was confused when people spoke to him about the princess (as she did when he was mentioned) and even when he thought of her, but in her presence he felt quite at ease, and said not at all what he had prepared, but what, quite appropriately, occurred to him at the moment. When a pause occurred during his short visit, Nicholas, as is usual when there are children, turned to Prince Andrew’s little son, caressing him and asking whether he would like to be an hussar. He took the boy on his knee, played with him, and looked round at Princess Mary. With a softened, happy, timid look she watched the boy she loved in the arms of the man she loved. Nicholas also noticed that look and, as if understanding it, flushed with pleasure and began to kiss the boy with good natured playfulness. As she was in mourning Princess Mary did not go out into society, and Nicholas did not think it the proper thing to visit her again; but all the same the governor’s wife went on with her matchmaking, passing on to Nicholas the flattering things Princess Mary said of him and vice versa, and insisting on his declaring himself to Princess Mary. For this purpose she arranged a meeting between the young people at the bishop’s house before Mass. Though Rostov told the governor’s wife that he would not make any declaration to Princess Mary, he promised to go. As at Tilsit Rostov had not allowed himself to doubt that what everybody considered right was right, so now, after a short but sincere struggle between his effort to arrange his life by his own sense of justice, and in obedient submission to circumstances, he chose the latter and yielded to the power he felt irresistibly carrying him he knew not where. He knew that after his promise to Sonya it would be what he deemed base to declare his feelings to Princess Mary. And he knew that he would never act basely. But he also knew (or rather felt at the bottom of his heart) that by resigning himself now to the force of circumstances and to those who were guiding him, he was not only doing nothing wrong, but was doing something very important - more important than anything he had ever done in his life. After meeting Princess Mary, though the course of his life went on externally as before, all his former amusements lost their charm for him and he often thought about her. But he never thought about her as he had thought of all the young ladies without exception whom he had met in society, nor as he had for a long time, and at one time rapturously, thought about Sonya. He had pictured each of those young ladies as almost all honest-hearted young men do, that is, as a possible wife, adapting her in his imagination to all the conditions of married life: a white dressing gown, his wife at the tea table, his wife’s carriage, little ones, Mamma and Papa, their relations to her, and so on - and these pictures of the future had given him pleasure. But with Princess Mary, to whom they were trying to get him engaged, he could never picture anything of future married life. If he tried, his pictures seemed incongruous and false. It made him afraid. CHAPTER VII The dreadful news of the battle of Borodino, of our losses in killed and wounded, and the still more terrible news of the loss of Moscow reached Voronezh in the middle of September. Princess Mary, having learned of her brother’s wound only from the Gazette and having no definite news of him, prepared (so Nicholas heard, he had not seen her again himself) to set off in search of Prince Andrew. When he received the news of the battle of Borodino and the abandonment of Moscow, Rostov was not seized with despair, anger, the desire for vengeance, or any feeling of that kind, but everything in Voronezh suddenly seemed to him dull and tiresome, and he experienced an indefinite feeling of shame and awkwardness. The conversations he heard seemed to him insincere; he did not know how to judge all these affairs and felt that only in the regiment would everything again become clear to him. He made haste to finish buying the horses, and often became unreasonably angry with his servant and squadron quartermaster. A few days before his departure a special thanksgiving, at which Nicholas was present, was held in the cathedral for the Russian victory. He stood a little behind the governor and held himself with military decorum through the service, meditating on a great variety of subjects. When the service was over the governor’s wife beckoned him to her. "Have you seen the princess?" she asked, indicating with a movement of her head a lady standing on the opposite side, beyond the choir. Nicholas immediately recognized Princess Mary not so much by the profile he saw under her bonnet as by the feeling of solicitude, timidity, and pity that immediately overcame him. Princess Mary, evidently engrossed by her thoughts, was crossing herself for the last time before leaving the church. Nicholas looked at her face with surprise. It was the same face he had seen before, there was the same general expression of refined, inner, spiritual labor, but now it was quite differently lit up. There was a pathetic expression of sorrow, prayer, and hope in it. As had occurred before when she was present, Nicholas went up to her without waiting to be prompted by the governor’s wife and not asking himself whether or not it was right and proper to address her here in church, and told her he had heard of her trouble and sympathized with his whole soul. As soon as she heard his voice a vivid glow kindled in her face, lighting up both her sorrow and her joy. "There is one thing I wanted to tell you, Princess," said Rostov. "It is that if your brother, Prince Andrew Nikolaevich, were not living, it would have been at once announced in the Gazette, as he is a colonel." The princess looked at him, not grasping what he was saying, but cheered by the expression of regretful sympathy on his face. "And I have known so many cases of a splinter wound" (the Gazette said it was a shell) "either proving fatal at once or being very slight," continued Nicholas. "We must hope for the best, and I am sure..." Princess Mary interrupted him. "Oh, that would be so dread..." she began and, prevented by agitation from finishing, she bent her head with a movement as graceful as everything she did in his presence and, looking up at him gratefully, went out, following her aunt. That evening Nicholas did not go out, but stayed at home to settle some accounts with the horse dealers. When he had finished that business it was already too late to go anywhere but still too early to go to bed, and for a long time he paced up and down the room, reflecting on his life, a thing he rarely did. Princess Mary had made an agreeable impression on him when he had met her in Smolensk province. His having encountered her in such exceptional circumstances, and his mother having at one time mentioned her to him as a good match, had drawn his particular attention to her. When he met her again in Voronezh the impression she made on him was not merely pleasing but powerful. Nicholas had been struck by the peculiar moral beauty he observed in her at this time. He was, however, preparing to go away and it had not entered his head to regret that he was thus depriving himself of chances of meeting her. But that day’s encounter in church had, he felt, sunk deeper than was desirable for his peace of mind. That pale, sad, refined face, that radiant look, those gentle graceful gestures, and especially the deep and tender sorrow expressed in all her features agitated him and evoked his sympathy. In men Rostov could not bear to see the expression of a higher spiritual life (that was why he did not like Prince Andrew) and he referred to it contemptuously as philosophy and dreaminess, but in Princess Mary that very sorrow which revealed the depth of a whole spiritual world foreign to him was an irresistible attraction. "She must be a wonderful woman. A real angel!" he said to himself. "Why am I not free? Why was I in such a hurry with Sonya?" And he involuntarily compared the two: the lack of spirituality in the one and the abundance of it in the other - a spirituality he himself lacked and therefore valued most highly. He tried to picture what would happen were he free. How he would propose to her and how she would become his wife. But no, he could not imagine that. He felt awed, and no clear picture presented itself to his mind. He had long ago pictured to himself a future with Sonya, and that was all clear and simple just because it had all been thought out and he knew all there was in Sonya, but it was impossible to picture a future with Princess Mary, because he did not understand her but simply loved her. Reveries about Sonya had had something merry and playful in them, but to dream of Princess Mary was always difficult and a little frightening. "How she prayed!" he thought. "It was plain that her whole soul was in her prayer. Yes, that was the prayer that moves mountains, and I am sure her prayer will be answered. Why don’t I pray for what I want?" he suddenly thought. "What do I want? To be free, released from Sonya... She was right," he thought, remembering what the governor’s wife had said: "Nothing but misfortune can come of marrying Sonya. Muddles, grief for Mamma... business difficulties... muddles, terrible muddles! Besides, I don’t love her - not as I should. O, God! release me from this dreadful, inextricable position!" he suddenly began to pray. "Yes, prayer can move mountains, but one must have faith and not pray as Natasha and I used to as children, that the snow might turn into sugar - and then run out into the yard to see whether it had done so. No, but I am not praying for trifles now," he thought as he put his pipe down in a corner, and folding his hands placed himself before the icon. Softened by memories of Princess Mary he began to pray as he had not done for a long time. Tears were in his eyes and in his throat when the door opened and Lavrushka came in with some papers. "Blockhead! Why do you come in without being called?" cried Nicholas, quickly changing his attitude. "From the governor," said Lavrushka in a sleepy voice. "A courier has arrived and there’s a letter for you." "Well, all right, thanks. You can go!" Nicholas took the two letters, one of which was from his mother and the other from Sonya. He recognized them by the handwriting and opened Sonya’s first. He had read only a few lines when he turned pale and his eyes opened wide with fear and joy. "No, it’s not possible!" he cried aloud. Unable to sit still he paced up and down the room holding the letter and reading it. He glanced through it, then read it again, and then again, and standing still in the middle of the room he raised his shoulders, stretching out his hands, with his mouth wide open and his eyes fixed. What he had just been praying for with confidence that God would hear him had come to pass; but Nicholas was as much astonished as if it were something extraordinary and unexpected, and as if the very fact that it had happened so quickly proved that it had not come from God to whom he had prayed, but by some ordinary coincidence. This unexpected and, as it seemed to Nicholas, quite voluntary letter from Sonya freed him from the knot that fettered him and from which there had seemed no escape. She wrote that the last unfortunate events - the loss of almost the whole of the Rostovs’ Moscow property - and the countess’ repeatedly expressed wish that Nicholas should marry Princess Bolkonskaya, together with his silence and coldness of late, had all combined to make her decide to release him from his promise and set him completely free. It would be too painful to me to think that I might be a cause of sorrow or discord in the family that has been so good to me (she wrote), and my love has no aim but the happiness of those I love; so, Nicholas, I beg you to consider yourself free, and to be assured that, in spite of everything, no one can love you more than does Your Sonya Both letters were written from Troitsa. The other, from the countess, described their last days in Moscow, their departure, the fire, and the destruction of all their property. In this letter the countess also mentioned that Prince Andrew was among the wounded traveling with them; his state was very critical, but the doctor said there was now more hope. Sonya and Natasha were nursing him. Next day Nicholas took his mother’s letter and went to see Princess Mary. Neither he nor she said a word about what "Natasha nursing him" might mean, but thanks to this letter Nicholas suddenly became almost as intimate with the princess as if they were relations. The following day he saw Princess Mary off on her journey to Yaroslavl, and a few days later left to rejoin his regiment. CHAPTER VIII Sonya’s letter written from Troitsa, which had come as an answer to Nicholas’ prayer, was prompted by this: the thought of getting Nicholas married to an heiress occupied the old countess’ mind more and more. She knew that Sonya was the chief obstacle to this happening, and Sonya’s life in the countess’ house had grown harder and harder, especially after they had received a letter from Nicholas telling of his meeting with Princess Mary in Bogucharovo. The countess let no occasion slip of making humiliating or cruel allusions to Sonya. But a few days before they left Moscow, moved and excited by all that was going on, she called Sonya to her and, instead of reproaching and making demands on her, tearfully implored her to sacrifice herself and repay all that the family had done for her by breaking off her engagement with Nicholas. "I shall not be at peace till you promise me this." Sonya burst into hysterical tears and replied through her sobs that she would do anything and was prepared for anything, but gave no actual promise and could not bring herself to decide to do what was demanded of her. She must sacrifice herself for the family that had reared and brought her up. To sacrifice herself for others was Sonya’s habit. Her position in the house was such that only by sacrifice could she show her worth, and she was accustomed to this and loved doing it. But in all her former acts of self-sacrifice she had been happily conscious that they raised her in her own esteem and in that of others, and so made her more worthy of Nicholas whom she loved more than anything in the world. But now they wanted her to sacrifice the very thing that constituted the whole reward for her self-sacrifice and the whole meaning of her life. And for the first time she felt bitterness against those who had been her benefactors only to torture her the more painfully; she felt jealous of Natasha who had never experienced anything of this sort, had never needed to sacrifice herself, but made others sacrifice themselves for her and yet was beloved by everybody. And for the first time Sonya felt that out of her pure, quiet love for Nicholas a passionate feeling was beginning to grow up which was stronger than principle, virtue, or religion. Under the influence of this feeling Sonya, whose life of dependence had taught her involuntarily to be secretive, having answered the countess in vague general terms, avoided talking with her and resolved to wait till she should see Nicholas, not in order to set him free but on the contrary at that meeting to bind him to her forever. The bustle and terror of the Rostovs’ last days in Moscow stifled the gloomy thoughts that oppressed Sonya. She was glad to find escape from them in practical activity. But when she heard of Prince Andrew’s presence in their house, despite her sincere pity for him and for Natasha, she was seized by a joyful and superstitious feeling that God did not intend her to be separated from Nicholas. She knew that Natasha loved no one but Prince Andrew and had never ceased to love him. She knew that being thrown together again under such terrible circumstances they would again fall in love with one another, and that Nicholas would then not be able to marry Princess Mary as they would be within the prohibited degrees of affinity. Despite all the terror of what had happened during those last days and during the first days of their journey, this feeling that Providence was intervening in her personal affairs cheered Sonya. At the Troitsa monastery the Rostovs first broke their journey for a whole day. Three large rooms were assigned to them in the monastery hostelry, one of which was occupied by Prince Andrew. The wounded man was much better that day and Natasha was sitting with him. In the next room sat the count and countess respectfully conversing with the prior, who was calling on them as old acquaintances and benefactors of the monastery. Sonya was there too, tormented by curiosity as to what Prince Andrew and Natasha were talking about. She heard the sound of their voices through the door. That door opened and Natasha came out, looking excited. Not noticing the monk, who had risen to greet her and was drawing back the wide sleeve on his right arm, she went up to Sonya and took her hand. "Natasha, what are you about? Come here!" said the countess. Natasha went up to the monk for his blessing, and he advised her to pray for aid to God and His saint. As soon as the prior withdrew, Natasha took her friend by the hand and went with her into the unoccupied room. "Sonya, will he live?" she asked. "Sonya, how happy I am, and how unhappy!... Sonya, dovey, everything is as it used to be. If only he lives! He cannot... because... because... of..." and Natasha burst into tears. "Yes! I knew it! Thank God!" murmured Sonya. "He will live." Sonya was not less agitated than her friend by the latter’s fear and grief and by her own personal feelings which she shared with no one. Sobbing, she kissed and comforted Natasha. "If only he lives!" she thought. Having wept, talked, and wiped away their tears, the two friends went together to Prince Andrew’s door. Natasha opened it cautiously and glanced into the room, Sonya standing beside her at the half-open door. Prince Andrew was lying raised high on three pillows. His pale face was calm, his eyes closed, and they could see his regular breathing. "O, Natasha!" Sonya suddenly almost screamed, catching her companion’s arm and stepping back from the door. "What? What is it?" asked Natasha. "It’s that, that..." said Sonya, with a white face and trembling lips. Natasha softly closed the door and went with Sonya to the window, not yet understanding what the latter was telling her. "You remember," said Sonya with a solemn and frightened expression. "You remember when I looked in the mirror for you... at Otradnoe at Christmas? Do you remember what I saw?" "Yes, yes!" cried Natasha opening her eyes wide, and vaguely recalling that Sonya had told her something about Prince Andrew whom she had seen lying down. "You remember?" Sonya went on. "I saw it then and told everybody, you and Dunyasha. I saw him lying on a bed," said she, making a gesture with her hand and a lifted finger at each detail, "and that he had his eyes closed and was covered just with a pink quilt, and that his hands were folded," she concluded, convincing herself that the details she had just . ! 1 ! , 2 3 , ( 4 ) , 5 . 6 7 " 8 . " 9 10 , 11 12 : 13 14 15 . 16 . ! 17 ! 18 19 ! . 20 , 21 . 22 23 24 : 25 26 ! - 27 , 28 , , 29 , , . 30 , 31 . - 32 , 33 . 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 , 42 . 43 , , 44 , , * . 45 46 * , . 47 48 49 . , 50 , ( ) 51 * 52 , . * ( ) 53 54 * . 55 56 * ( ) . 57 58 . 59 , 60 : 61 62 " , ? " 63 64 " , , " , . " 65 . " 66 67 " ? " 68 , . 69 70 , 71 , 72 73 , , 74 . 75 76 , . 77 78 " ? " . 79 80 " , , . , " 81 , 82 . 83 84 , 85 , . 86 87 . , 88 , 89 : 90 91 " , , , 92 . . . 93 ; , , 94 ? 95 ? . . . " 96 97 , 98 , 99 . 100 101 " , ? " 102 . 103 104 " , , " . " 105 , . " 106 107 " ! " , 108 , - , " , 109 , , 110 . . . " 111 112 " ? " , . " 113 ? . . . ! " 114 115 116 . 117 118 " , " , , " 119 , , 120 . , " 121 , " 122 . . . . " 123 124 " ! " , , 125 . " , . " 126 127 . 128 129 " , , , " , 130 , 131 " 132 133 134 . , " 135 ; " 136 , " , 137 , " 138 , 139 , " ( 140 ) " , 141 142 . " 143 144 145 , 146 . 147 , 148 . 149 . 150 151 " , , 152 . . . , " , 153 . " . 154 , . . . . " 155 156 , . 157 158 159 , - , , - 160 ( 161 ) , 162 163 , : 164 165 " ! " , " 166 ! " 167 168 . 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 , 179 , 180 , , 181 . 182 - , , 183 , , . 184 . 185 186 . 187 188 . 189 190 , 191 . 192 193 194 - 195 , , 196 - 197 , 198 , . 199 , , 200 201 202 203 . 204 205 . , 206 . 207 . 208 209 210 . 211 , , 212 , 213 - ; 214 , 215 , 216 , , 217 , . 218 219 , 220 , , 221 - , 222 223 . 224 , 225 , , 226 , 227 , 228 229 . 230 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 - 235 . 236 237 , 238 , 239 , . 240 241 - , 242 - 243 244 , , . - 245 , , - 246 , , 247 , 248 , . 249 , 250 , ; , 251 , 252 . 253 254 , 255 , , 256 - - 257 , . 258 259 , 260 . 261 ( ) 262 , 263 264 . . 265 266 . 267 , . 268 , 269 270 , . 271 272 " ? 273 . - , 274 , " , . 275 276 , , 277 , 278 , , . 279 280 , , 281 . 282 283 , , 284 , , - 285 , , 286 . 287 288 289 - , , . 290 , - 291 , 292 - , 293 , 294 . 295 296 , , , 297 , 298 " " . 299 300 , , 301 302 , 303 . 304 305 , 306 , 307 , 308 , 309 " , - ? " , 310 , , 311 , , . 312 313 314 . 315 316 317 , 318 . , , - 319 - . , 320 ; 321 . 322 , , . , 323 , 324 . 325 326 , 327 , " 328 " , 329 ; , 330 - 331 : , 332 . , , 333 , , 334 ( ) 335 , , 336 . 337 , , 338 . 339 , 340 " . " 341 342 , 343 344 . 345 . 346 . 347 348 , 349 , 350 . 351 352 - , 353 , . 354 355 , 356 , , 357 , 358 . , , 359 . 360 - 361 . 362 , , , 363 , 364 365 . 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 , 374 375 . 376 , , 377 , , 378 - , 379 . 380 381 " ? " 382 383 " , . " ( 384 ) " , ; " ( 385 ) " . . . . " 386 387 388 . 389 390 " , ! " , , 391 , 392 . 393 394 , . - 395 . 396 397 " , , " , 398 399 . " , ! ? " 400 401 " , , . ? " 402 403 " . 404 . . . . ? " 405 406 " ! " . 407 408 " , . . 409 ! . , . . . ? " 410 411 " ! , ! " 412 413 " , ! . . . , ! " 414 415 416 , 417 . , 418 , , 419 . 420 . , , 421 . 422 423 " , , " , 424 . " . " 425 426 , 427 , 428 , , 429 430 . 431 432 . 433 , 434 . 435 436 437 , 438 , , 439 , 440 . 441 442 " , , " 443 , " 444 : ? " 445 446 " , ? " . 447 448 " . 449 , , - ! ? 450 . , 451 ! , . " 452 453 " , " . " 454 , , , " 455 . 456 457 " , , ! " 458 459 " ! " 460 461 " , , " . " , 462 , , 463 . , . . . . " 464 465 " , , " 466 ; 467 . 468 469 " ! " 470 . " 471 . . . . . . ? " , 472 , " , ! " 473 . 474 475 " , , . . . " 476 477 " , ? , , " . 478 479 480 ( , , 481 ) . 482 483 , - 484 - 485 : , , 486 . 487 488 " , , , 489 . " 490 491 " , , " . 492 493 " - . 494 . , ; 495 , - , 496 : . 497 ; 498 , . 499 500 . 501 502 . . . . . . . . . 503 , . " 504 505 . 506 507 " , ? , , 508 . . . . - " 509 . 510 511 " , ! 512 . 513 ? , . 514 - ? 515 , . . . . , , 516 . " 517 518 . . 519 520 " , , , " , 521 . " , ? , 522 . ! " 523 524 " ? 525 , " . 526 527 " , . . . " , 528 . 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 , 537 , 538 . 539 540 , , 541 , 542 , , , 543 . . , 544 , 545 . 546 , 547 , . 548 549 , - 550 551 552 . 553 554 555 , , 556 , , 557 , 558 . , 559 , 560 561 . 562 - , , , 563 - , . 564 565 , 566 . 567 - 568 , , ; 569 ; 570 571 - 572 - , 573 , : 574 , , 575 . 576 , 577 , 578 . 579 580 . 581 582 583 , , 584 585 . 586 587 " , ? " , 588 . 589 590 , 591 , , 592 593 . 594 , , , 595 596 . , 597 , . 598 , 599 . 600 601 " 602 . , 603 ! " . 604 605 , 606 607 . , 608 , 609 . , 610 . 611 , , 612 , , , , 613 . 614 , , 615 . , 616 , , , 617 , , - - 618 , , . 619 620 . 621 , 622 , , . 623 624 . 625 , 626 ; - 627 - , , 628 . 629 630 , 631 . 632 , 633 . 634 , 635 , 636 . 637 638 ( ) 639 , , 640 , , , 641 . 642 643 , , 644 , , 645 . 646 , , . 647 , , 648 . , 649 , 650 . 651 652 , 653 ; 654 , 655 656 , . 657 658 . 659 660 661 , . 662 663 664 , , 665 , 666 , 667 . 668 669 . 670 . ( ) 671 672 , , 673 - 674 . 675 676 , 677 , 678 . 679 680 , , , 681 . 682 - , , , 683 : 684 , , , 685 , , , - 686 . , 687 , 688 . , 689 . . 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 , 698 , 699 . , 700 701 , ( , ) 702 . 703 704 705 , , , 706 , , 707 , 708 . 709 ; 710 711 . , 712 . 713 714 , 715 , . 716 717 , . 718 . 719 720 " ? " , 721 , . 722 723 724 , , 725 . , 726 , 727 . 728 729 . 730 , , , 731 , . 732 , , . 733 , 734 735 , 736 . 737 , 738 . 739 740 " , , " . " 741 , , , 742 , . " 743 744 , , 745 . 746 747 " " ( 748 ) " , " 749 . " , . . . " 750 751 . 752 753 " , . . . " , 754 , 755 , , 756 , . 757 758 , 759 . 760 , 761 , 762 , . 763 764 765 . 766 , 767 , . 768 769 . 770 . , , 771 772 . , 773 , . , 774 , , , , 775 776 . 777 ( 778 ) 779 , 780 781 . 782 783 " . ! " . 784 " ? ? " 785 : 786 - 787 . 788 . . 789 , . , 790 . 791 , 792 , 793 , 794 . 795 796 , 797 . 798 799 " ! " . " 800 . , , 801 . ? " 802 . " ? , . . . 803 , " , 804 : " . , 805 . . . . . . , ! 806 , - . , ! 807 , ! " . " , 808 , 809 , 810 - . , 811 , " 812 , . 813 814 . 815 . 816 817 " ! ? " , 818 . 819 820 " , " . " 821 . " 822 823 " , , . ! " 824 825 , 826 . 827 . 828 . 829 830 " , ! " . 831 832 833 . , , , 834 , 835 , . 836 837 ; 838 , 839 840 , . 841 842 , , 843 844 . 845 - - 846 847 , , 848 849 . 850 851 852 ( ) , 853 ; , , 854 , , 855 , 856 857 858 859 . , , 860 , , , 861 . 862 ; 863 , 864 . . 865 866 867 . " " 868 , 869 . 870 871 , 872 . 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 , 881 , : 882 . 883 , 884 , 885 886 . 887 . 888 889 , 890 , , 891 , 892 893 . 894 895 " . " 896 897 898 , 899 900 . 901 . . 902 903 , . 904 - 905 , 906 . 907 908 - . 909 910 ; 911 , 912 , 913 . 914 , 915 , , 916 . , 917 , 918 , 919 , 920 . 921 922 923 . 924 . 925 , 926 , 927 . 928 . 929 930 , 931 932 . 933 934 , 935 . 936 937 938 . 939 940 , 941 . 942 . 943 , 944 . 945 , 946 . 947 . , . 948 , 949 , . 950 951 " , ? ! " . 952 953 , 954 . 955 956 , 957 . 958 959 " , ? " . " , , 960 ! . . . , , . 961 ! . . . . . . . . . . . . " 962 . 963 964 " ! ! ! " . " . " 965 966 967 . 968 , . " ! " 969 . , , , 970 . 971 , 972 - . 973 974 . 975 , , . 976 977 " , ! " , 978 . 979 980 " ? ? " . 981 982 " , . . . " , . 983 984 , 985 . 986 987 " , " . 988 " . . . 989 ? ? " 990 991 " , ! " , 992 993 . 994 995 " ? " . " , 996 . , " , 997 , " 998 , 999 , " , 1000