To each of Napoleon’s phrases Balashov had a reply ready, and tried > to utter it. He was continually making gestures indicative of a desire to speak, but Napoleon always interrupted him. To his remarks on the in- j sanity of the Swedes, Balashov would have replied that Sweden was as i good as an island with Russia to back her. But Napoleon shouted angrily to drown his voice. Napoleon was in that state of exasperation when a man wants to go on talking and talking simply to prove to himself that he is right. Balashov began to feel uncomfortable. As an envoy, he was anxious to keep up his dignity, and felt it essential to make some reply. But as a man he felt numb, repelled by the uncontrolled, irrational fury to which Napoleon abandoned himself. He knew that nothing Napoleon might say now had any significance and believed that he would himself on regaining his composure be ashamed of his words. Balashov remained standing, j looking with downcast eyes at Napoleon’s fat legs as they moved to and fro. He tried to avoid his eyes.
‘And what are your allies to me?’ said Napoleon. ‘I have allies too— the Poles. There are eighty thousand of them and they fight like lions. And there will be two hundred thousand.’
He was probably still more exasperated at having told this obvious falsehood and at Balashov’s standing mutely before him in that pose of resignation to his fate. He turned sharply round and going right up to Balashov, gesticulating rapidly and vigorously with his white hands close to his face, he almost shouted: ‘Let me tell you, if you stir Prussia up against me, let me tell you, I’ll wipe her off the map of Europe,’ he said, his face pale and distorted with anger, as he smote one little hand vigorously against the other. ‘Yes, I’ll thrust you beyond the Dwina, beyond the Dnieper, and I’ll restore the frontier that Europe was criminal and blind to let you overstep. Yes, that’s what’s in store for you, that’s what you will gain by alienating me,’ he said, and he walked in silence several times up and down the room, his thick shoulders twitching. He put the snuff-box in his waistcoat pocket, pulled it out again, held it several times to his nose, and stood still facing Balashov. He paused, looked sarcastically straight into Balashov’s face and said in a low voice: ‘And yet what a fine reign your master might have had.’
Balashov, feeling it incumbent upon him to reply, said Russia did not look at things in such a gloomy light. Napoleon was silent, still looking
ironically at him and obviously not listening to him. Balashov said that in Russia the best results were hoped for from the war. Napoleon nodded condescendingly, as though to say, ‘I know it’s your duty to say that, but you don’t believe in it yourself; you are convinced by me.’ Towards the end of Balashov’s speech, Napoleon pulled out his snuff-box again, took a sniff from it and tapped twice with his foot on the ground as a signal. The door opened, a gentleman-in-waiting, threading his way in respectfully, handed the Emperor his hat and gloves, another handed him a pocket- handkerchief. Napoleon, without bestowing a glance upon them, turned to Balashov.
‘Assure the Emperor Alexander from me,’ he said, taking his hat, ‘that I am devoted to him as before; I know him thoroughly, and I prize very highly his noble qualities. I detain you no longer, general; you shall receive my letter to the Emperor.’ And Napoleon walked rapidly to the door. There was a general stampede from the great reception-room down the staircase.
VII
After all Napoleon had said to him, after those outbursts of wrath, and after the last frigidly uttered words, ‘I will not detain you, general; you shall receive my letter,’ Balashov felt certain that Napoleon would not care to see him again, would avoid indeed seeing again the envoy who had been treated by him with contumely, and had been the eyewitness of his undignified outburst of fury. But to his surprise Balashov received through Duroc an invitation to dine that day at the Emperor’s table.
There were present at dinner, Bessieres, Caulaincourt, and Berthier.
Napoleon met Balashov with a good-humoured and friendly air. He had not the slightest appearance of embarrassment or regret for his outbreak in the morning. On the contrary he seemed trying to encourage Balashov. It was evident that it had long been Napoleon’s conviction that no possibility existed of his making mistakes. To his mind all he did was good, not because it was in harmony with any preconceived notion of good or bad, but simply because it was he who did it.
The Emperor was in excellent spirits after his ride about Vilna, greeted and followed with acclamations by crowds of the inhabitants. From every window in the streets through which he had passed draperies and flags with his monogram had been hanging, and Polish ladies had been waving handkerchiefs to welcome him.
