From the moment when Pierre had recognised the manifestation i that mysterious force, nothing seemed to him strange or terrible; not tl corpse with its face blacked for a jest, nor these women hurrying awa nor the burnt ruins of Moscow. All that Pierre saw now made hardly ar impression on him—as though his soul, in preparation for a hard struj gle, refused to receive any impression that might weaken it.
The carriages of women drove by. They were followed again by cart soldiers, waggons, soldiers, carriages, soldiers, caissons, and again so diers, and at rare intervals women.
Pierre did not see the people separately; he saw only their mov ment.
All these men and horses seemed, as it were, driven along by son unseen force. During the hour in which Pierre watched them they a were swept out of the different streets with the same one desire to gi on as quickly as possible. All of them, alike hindered by the rest, bega 1 to get angry and to light. The same oaths were bandied to and fro, ar white teeth flashed, and every frowning face wore the same look of reel less determination and cold cruelty, which had struck Pierre in the mori ing in the corporal’s face, while the drums were beating.
It was almost evening when the officer in command of their escort ra lied his men, and with shouts and oaths forced his way in among tl baggage-trains; and the prisoners, surrounded on all sides, came out' the Kaluga road.
They marched very quickly without pausing, and only halted wht the sun was setting. The baggage-carts were moved up close to one a ; other, and the men began to prepare for the night. Every one seemed il humoured and dissatisfied. Oaths, angry shouts, and fighting could 1 heard on ail sides till a late hour. A carriage, which had been followir the escort, had driven into one of their carts and run a shaft into i Several soldiers ran up to the cart from different sides; some hit tl carriage horses on the head as they turned them round, others were figh ing among themselves, and Pierre saw one German seriously wound* by a blow from the flat side of a sword on his head.
It seemed as. though now when they had come to a standstill in tl midst of the open country, in the cold twilight of the autumn evenin all these men were experiencing the same feeling of unpleasant awakei ing from the hurry and eager impulse forward that had carried them a away at setting off. Now standing still, all as it were grasped that the knew not where they were going, and that there was much pain and har< ship in store for them on the journey.
At this halting-place, the prisoners were even more roughly treated b their escort than at starting. They were for the first time given horsi flesh to eat.
In every one of the escort, from the officers to the lowest soldie could be seen a sort of personal spite against every one of the prisoner in surprising contrast with the friendly relations that had existed b! tween them before.
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This spite was increased when, on counting over the prisoners, it was liscovered that in the bustle of getting out of Moscow one Russian sol- lier had managed to run away by pretending to be seized with colic, ’ierre had seen a Frenchman beat a Russian soldier unmercifully for loving too far from the road, and heard the captain, who had been his riend, reprimanding an under-officer for the escape of the prisoner, and hreatening him with court-martial. On the under-officer’s urging that he prisoner was ill and could not walk, the officer said that their orders /ere to shoot those who should lag behind. Pierre(felt that that fatal force /hich had crushed him at the execution, and had been imperceptible uring his imprisonment, had now again the mastery of his existence, le was afraid; but he felt, too, that as that fatal force strove to crush im, there was growing up in his soul and gathering strength a force of fe that was independent of it. Pierre supped on soup made of rye flour .nd horseflesh, and talked a little with his companions.
Neither Pierre nor any of his companions talked of what they had een in Moscow, nor of the harsh treatment they received from the French, or of the orders to shoot them, which had been announced to them. As hough in reaction against their more depressing position, all were par- icularly gay and lively. They talked of personal reminiscences, of amus- ag incidents they had seen as they marched, and avoided touching on heir present position.
