Gerasim accepted Pierre’s taking up his abode there with the imper- irbability of a servant, who had seen many queer things in his time, nd he seemed, indeed, pleased at having some one to wait upon. Without ven permitting himself to wonder with what object it was wanted, he btained for Pierre that evening a coachman’s coat and cap, and promised ext day to procure the pistol he required. Makar Alexyevitch twice nat evening approached the door, shuffling in his goloshes, and stood here, gazing with an ingratiating air at Pierre. But as soon as Pierre jrned to him, he wrapped his dressing-gowm round him with a shame- iced and wrathful look, and hastily retreated. Pierre put on the coach- lan’s coat, procured and carefully fumigated for him by Gerasim, and Vent out with the latter to buy a pistol at the Suharev Tower. It was there e had met the Rostovs.
XIX
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)n the night of the ist of September Kutuzov gave the Russian troops the ommand to fall back across Moscow to the Ryazan road.
The first troops moved that night, marching deliberately and in steady rder. But at dawn the retreating troops on reaching the Dorogomilov •ridge saw before them, crowding on the other side, and hurrying over he bridge, and blocking the streets and alleys on the same side, and rearing down upon them from behind, immense masses of soldiers. And he troops were overtaken by causeless panic and haste. There was a ;eneral rush forward towards the bridge, on to the bridge, to the fords nd to the boats. Kutuzov had himself driven by back streets to the ither side of Moscow.
At ten o’clock in the morning of the 2nd of September the only troops eft in the Dorogomilov suburbs were the regiments of the rearguard, and he crush was over. The army was already on the further side of Moscow, nd out of the town altogether.
At the same time, at ten o’clock in the morning of the 2nd of September, Napoleon was standing in the midst of his troops on Poklonny Hill, ;azing at the spectacle that lay before him. From the 26th of August to
WAR AND PEACE the 2nd of September, from the day of Borodino to the entrance inti Moscow, all that agitating, that memorable week, there had been tha extraordinarily beautiful autumn weather, which always comes as a sur prise, when though the sun is low in the sky it shines more warmly thai; in spring, when everything is glistening in the pure, limpid air, so tha; the eyes are dazzled, while the chest is braced and refreshed inhaling tb fragrant autumn air; when the nights even are warm, and when in thes dark, warm nights golden stars are continually falling from the sky, to tb delight or terror of all who watch them. ’
At ten o’clock on the 2nd of September the morning light was .f,ul of the beauty of fairyland. From Poklonny Hill Moscow lay stretchinj wide below with her river, her gardens, and her churches, and seemei to be living a life of her own, her cupolas twinkling like stars in the sun light.
At the sight of the strange town, with its new forms of unfamiliar archi tecture, Napoleon felt something of that envious and uneasy curiosity that men feel at the sight of the aspects of a strange life, knowing nothin; of them. It was clear that that town was teeming with vigorous life. B} those indefinable tokens by which one can infallibly tell from a distano a live body from a dead one, Napoleon could detect from Poklonny Hi} the throb of life in the town, and could feel, as it were, the breathing 0 that beautiful, great being. Every Russian gazing at Moscow feels sh< is the mother; every foreigner gazing at her, and ignorant of her signifi cance as the mother city, must be aware of the feminine character of thi town, and Napoleon felt it.
‘This Asiatic city with the innumerable churches, Moscow the holy Here it is at last, the famous city! It was high time,’ said Napoleon and dismounting from his horse he bade them open the plan of Moscow before him, and sent for his interpreter, Lelorme d’ldeville.
‘A city occupied by the enemy is like a girl who has lost her honour, he thought (it was the phrase he had uttered to Tutchkov at Smolensk) And from that point of view he gazed at the Oriental beauty who la> for the first time before his eyes. He felt it strange himself that the desire so long cherished, and thought so impossible, had at last come to pass In the clear morning light he gazed at the town, and then at the plan looking up its details, and the certainty of possessing it agitated anc awed him.
‘But how could it be otherwise?’ he thought. ‘Here is this capital, she lies at my feet awaiting her fate. Where is Alexander now, and what is he thinking? A strange, beautiful, and grand city! And a strange and grand moment is this! In what light must I appear to them?’ he mused thinking of his soldiers. ‘Here is the city—the reward for all those of little faith,’ he thought, looking round at his suite and the approaching troops, forming into ranks.
