 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Translated by Elmer and Louise Maude first epiologue This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Villavan War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy first epiologue chapter one Seven years had passed The storm-tossy of European history had subsided within its shores and seemed to have become calm But the mysterious forces that move humanity mysterious because the laws of their motion are unknown to us continue to operate Though the surface of the sea of history seemed motionless, the movement of humanity went on as unceasingly as a flow of time Various groups of people formed and dissolved the coming formation and dissolution of kingdoms and displacement of people was in course of preparation The sea of history was not driven spasmodically from one shore to shore as previously It was seething in its depths Historic figures were not born by the waves from one shore to another as before It now seemed to rotate on one spot The historical figures at the head of armies who formerly reflected the movement of the masses by ordering wars campaigns and battles Not reflected the restless movements by political and diplomatic combinations Laws and treaties the historians call this activity of the historical figures the reaction In dealing with this period The sternly condemned the historical personages who in their opinion Caused what they describe as the reaction all the well-known people of that period from alexander and apollyon To the madame de starle poltius shelling fished Chateaubriand and the rest Passed before their stern judgment seat and are acquitted or condemned according to whether they can do to progress or to reaction According to their accounts a reaction took place at that time in russia also And the chief culprit was alexander the first Same man who according to them was the chief cause of the liberal movements at the commencement of his reign Being the savior of russia There is no one in russian literature now from schoolboy essayist to learn historian Who does not throw his little stone at alexander for things he did wrong at this period of his reign He ought to have acted in this way and in that way In this case, he did well and in that case badly He behaved admirably at the beginning of his reign and during 1812 But acted badly by giving a constitution to polin forming the holy alliance in trusting power to alexander Therian golecin and mysticism and afterwards chiskov and fortius He also acted badly by concerning himself with the active army and disbanding the seminal It would take a dozen pages to enumerate All the reproaches the historians addressed to him based on their knowledge of what is good for humanity What do these reproaches mean? Do not the very actions for which the historians praised alexander the first The liberal attempts at the beginning of his reign his struggle with nipolean the firmness he displayed in 1812 and the campaign of 1813 Flow from the same sources the circumstances of his birth education and life That made his personality what it was and from which the actions for which they blame him The holy alliance the restoration of polin and the reaction of 1820 and later also flowed And what does the substance of these reproaches lie? It lies in the fact that an historic character like alexander the first Standing on the highest possible pinnacle of human power with the blinding light of history focused upon him A character exposed to the strongest of all influences the intrigues Flattery and self-deception inseparable from power A character who at every moment of his life felt a responsibility for all that was happening in europe And not a fictitious but alive character Who like every man had his personal habits passions and impulses for goodness Beauty and truth that this character though not lacking in virtue the historians do not accuse him of that Had not the same conception of the welfare of humanity 15 years ago as a present-day professor Who from his youth upwards has been occupied with learning that is with books and lectures and we're taking notes from them But even if we assume that 15 years ago alexander the first was mistaken in his view of what was good for the people We must inevitably assume that the historian who judges alexander Will also after the last of some time turn out to be mistaken in his view of what is good for humanity This assumption is all the more natural and inevitable because watching the movement of history We see that every year and with each new writer opinion as to what is good for mankind changes So that what once seemed good 10 years later seems bad and vice versa And what is more we find that one and the same time quite contradictory views as to what is bad and what is Good in history Some people regard giving a constitution to poland and forming the holy alliance as praiseworthy in alexander While others regarded as blame worthy the activity of alexander or of napoleon cannot be called useful or harmful For it is impossible to say for what it was used for or harmful if that activity displeases somebody This is only because it does not agree with his limited understanding of what is good Whether the preservation of my father's house in Moscow or the glory of the russian arms Or the prosperity of the petersberg and other universities Or the freedom of poland or the greatness of russia or the balance of power in europe Or a certain kinds of european culture called progress Appear to me to be good or bad I must admit that besides these things the action of every historic character has other more general purposes inaccessible to me But let us assume that what is called science can harmonize all contradictions And possesses an unchanging standard of good and bad. I wish to try historic characters and events Let us say that alexander could have done everything differently Let us say that with guidance from those who blame him and who profess to know Ultimate aim of the movement of humanity He might have arranged matters according to the program His present accusers would have given him of nationality freedom equality and progress These I think cover the ground Let us assume that this program was possible and had then been formulated and that alexander had acted on it What would then have become of the activity of all those who oppose the tendency that then prevailed in the government? An activity that in the opinion of the historians was good and beneficent Their activity would not have existed. There would have been no life. There would have been nothing If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason the possibility of life is destroyed End of chapter one war and peace first apologue chapter two read for liberfox.org by honor simon If we assume as the historians do that great man lead humanity to the attainment of certain ends The greatness of russia or of france the balance of power in europe the diffusion of the ideas of the revolution general progress or anything else Then it is impossible to explain the facts of history without introducing the concepts of chance and genius If the aim of the european wars at the beginning of the 19th century Had been the grandestment of russia that aim might have been accomplished without all the preceding wars and without the invasion If the aim was the grandestment of france that might have been attained without the revolution and without the empire If the aim was the dissemination of ideas the printing press could have accomplished that much better than warfare If the aim was the progress of civilization It is easy to see that there are other ways of diffusing civilization more expedient than by the destruction of wealth and of human lives Why did it happen in this and not in some other way? Because it happened so Chance created the situation genius utilized it says history But what is chance? What is genius? The words chance and genius do not denote any really existing thing and therefore cannot be defined Those words only denote a certain stage of understanding of phenomena I do not know why a certain event occurs I think that I cannot know it so I do not try to know it and I talk about chance I see a force producing effects beyond the scope of ordinary human agencies I do not understand why this occurs and I talk of genius To a herd of rams the ram the herdsman drives each evening into a special enclosure to feed And that becomes twice as fat as the others must seem to be a genius And it must appear an astonishing conjunction of genius with a whole series of extraordinary chances That this ram who instead of getting into the general fold every evening goes into a special enclosure where there are oats That this very ram swelling with fat is killed for meat But the rams need only to cease to suppose that all that happens to them happens solely for the attainment of their sheepish aims They need only admit that what happens to them may also have purposes beyond their can And they will at once perceive a unity and coherence in what happened to the ram that was fattened Even if they do not know for what purpose they are fattened They will at least know that all that happened to the ram did not happen accidentally And will no longer need the conceptions of chance or genius Only by renouncing our claim to discern a purpose immediately intelligible to us And admitting the ultimate purpose to be beyond our can May we discern the sequence of experiences in the lives of historic characters And perceive the cause of the effect they produce Incommenturable with ordinary human capabilities And then the words chance and genius become superfluous We need only confess that we do not know the purpose of the european convulsions And that we know only the facts that is the murders first in france Then in italy in africa and prussia in austria in spain and in russia And that the movements from the west to the east and from the east to the west Form the essence and purpose of these events And not only shall we have no need to see exceptional ability and genius in napoleon and alexander But we shall be unable to consider them to be anything but like other men And we shall not be obliged to have recourse to chance for an explanation of those small events Which made these people what they were But it will be clear that all those small events were inevitable By discarding a claim to knowledge of the ultimate purpose We shall clearly perceive that just as one cannot imagine a blossom or seed for any single plant Better suited to it than those it produces So it is impossible to imagine any two people more completely adapted down to the smallest detail For the purpose they had to fulfill Than napoleon and alexander with all their antecedents End of chapter 2 This recording is in the public domain War and Peace 1st epilogue chapter 3 read for Libberfrogs.org by Anno Simon The fundamental and essential significance of the european events of the beginning of the 19th century Lies in the movement of the mass of the european peoples from west to east and afterwards from east to west The commencement of that movement was the movement from west to east For the peoples of the west to be able to make their warlike movement to Moscow It was necessary One that they should form themselves into a military group of a size able to endure a collision With the warlike military group of the east Two that they should abandon all established traditions and customs And three that during their military movement They should have at their head a man who could justify to himself and to them the deceptions Robberies and murders which would have to be committed during that movement And beginning with the french revolution the old Inadequately large group was destroyed as well as the old habits and traditions And step by step a group was formed of larger dimensions with new customs and traditions And the man was produced who would stand at the head of the coming movement And bear the responsibility for all that had to be done A man without convictions without habits without traditions without a name and not even a frenchman Emerges by what seems the strangest chances from among all the seething french parties And without joining any one of them is born forward to a prominent position The ignorance of his colleagues the weakness and insignificance of his opponents The frankness of his falsehoods and the dazzling and self-confident limitations of this man Raise him to the head of the army The brilliant qualities of the soldiers of the army sent to italy His opponents reluctance to fight and his own childish audacity and self-confidence Secure him military fame Enumerable so-called chances accompany him everywhere That his favor into which he falls with the rulers of france turns to his advantage His attempts to avoid his predestined path are unsuccessful He is not received into the russian service and the appointment he seeks in turkey comes to nothing During the war in italy he is several times on the verge of destruction and each time is saved in an unexpected manner Owing to various diplomatic considerations the russian armies just those which might have destroyed his prestige Do not appear upon the scene till he is no longer there On his return from italy he finds the government in paris in a process of dissolution In which all those who are in it are inevitably wiped out and destroyed And by chance an escape from this dangerous position presents itself in the form of an aimless and senseless expedition to africa Again so-called chance accompanies him Impregnable multa surrenders without a shot. His most reckless schemes are crowned with success The enemy's fleet which subsequently did not let a single boat pass Allows his entire army to elude it In africa a whole series of outrages are committed against the almost unarmed inhabitants And the men who commit these crimes, especially their leader assure themselves that this is admirable This is glory. It resembles caesar and alexander the great and is therefore good This ideal of glory and grandeur which consists not merely in considering nothing wrong that one does But in priding oneself on every crime one commits Ascribing to it an incomprehensible supernatural significance That ideal destined to guide this man and his associates had scope for its development in africa Whatever he does succeeds The plague does not touch him the cruelty of murdering prisoners is not imputed to him as a fault His childishly rash uncalled for and ignoble departure for africa leaving his comrades in distress Is set down to his credit and again the enemy's fleet twice lets him slip past When intoxicated by the crimes he has committed so successfully He reaches paris the dissolution of the republican government Which a year earlier might have ruined him has reached its extreme limit And his presence there now as a newcomer free from party entanglements Can only serve to exalt him and though he himself has no plan. He is quite ready for his new role Yet no plan. He was afraid of everything but the party snatched at him and demanded his participation He alone with this ideal of glory and grandeur developed in italy and egypt his insane self-agulation His boldness in crime and frankness in lying He alone could justify what had to be done He is needed for the place that awaits him and so almost apart from his will and despite his indecision His lack of a plan and all his mistakes. He is drawn into a conspiracy that aims at seizing power And the conspiracy is crowned with success He is pushed into a meeting of the legislature In alarm he wishes to flee considering himself lost He pretends to fall into a swoon and says senseless things that should have ruined him But the once proud and shrewd rulers of france feeling that their part is played out are even more bewildered than he And do not say the words they should have said to destroy him and retain their power Chance millions of chances Give him power and all men as if by agreement cooperate to confirm that power Chance forms the characters of the rules of france who submit to him Chance forms the character of paul the first of russia who recognizes his government Chance contrives a plot against him which not only fails to harm him but confirms his power Chance puts the duke d'engin in his hands and unexpectedly causes him to kill him thereby convincing the mob more forcibly than in any other way that he had the right since he had the might Chance contrives that though he directs all his efforts to prepare an expedition against england Which would inevitably have ruined him. He never carries out that intention But unexpectedly falls upon mac and the austrians who surrender without a battle Chance and genius give him the victory at australitz And by chance all men not only the french but all europe Except england which does not take part in the events about to happen Despite their former horror and detestation of his crimes Now recognizes authority the title he has given himself in his ideal of grandeur and glory Which seems excellent and reasonable to them all As of measuring themselves and preparing for the coming movement the western forces Pushed towards the east several times in 1805 1806 1807 and 1809 gaining strength and growing In 1811 the group of people that had formed in france Unites into one group with the peoples of central europe The strength of the justification of the man who stands at the head of the movement Grows with the increased size of the group During the 10 year preparatory period this man had formed relations with all the crowned heads of europe The discredited rulers of the world can oppose no reasonable ideal to the insensitive napoleonic ideal of glory and grandeur One after another they hastened to display their insignificance before him The king of prussia sends his wife to seek the great man's mercy The emperor of austria considers it a favor that this man receives a daughter of the cesars into his bed The pope the guardian of all that the nations hold sacred utilizes religion for the ungrandizement of the great man It is not napoleon who prepares himself for the accomplishment of his role So much as all those around him who prepare him to take on himself The whole responsibility for what is happening and has to happen There is no step no crime or petty fraud He commits which in the mouth of those around him is not at once represented as a great deed The most suitable fed the germans can devise for him is a celebration of gene and our stut Not only is he great, but so are his ancestors his brothers his stepson's and his brothers-in-law Everything is done to deprive him of the remains of his reason and to prepare him for his terrible part And when he is ready so too are the forces The invasion pushes eastward and reaches its final goal Moscow That city is taken the russian army suffers heavier losses than the opposing armies had suffered in the former war from australitz to vagran But suddenly instead of those chances and that genius which hitherto had so consistently led him by an uninterrupted series of successes to the predestined goal An innumerable sequence of inverse chances occur From the cold in his head at bordino to the sparks which set mosca on fire and the frosts And instead of genius stupidity and immeasurable baseness become evident The invaders flee turn back flee again And all the chances are now not for napoleon, but always against him A counter-movement is then accomplished from east to west with a remarkable resemblance to the preceding movement from west to east Attempted drives from east to west similar to the contrary movements of 1805 1807 and 1809 Perceived the great westward movement There is the same coalescence into a group of enormous dimensions The same adhesion of the people of the central europe to the movement The same hesitation midway and the same increasing rapidity as the goal is approached Paris the ultimate goal is reached The napoleonic government and army are destroyed Napoleon himself is no longer of any account All his actions are evidently pitiful and mean But again an inexplicable chance occurs The allies detest napoleon whom they regard as the cause of their sufferings Deprived of power and authority his crimes and his craft exposed He should have appeared to them what he appeared ten years previously and one year later an outlawed brigand But by some strange chance no one perceives this His part has not yet ended The man who ten years before and a year later was considered an outlawed brigand is sent to an island Two days sail from france Which for some reason is presented to him as his dominion And guards are given to him and millions of money are paid him End of chapter three. This recording is in the public domain War and peace first epilogue chapter four read for libervox.org by Anosimon The flood of nations begins to subside into its normal channels The waves of the great movement abate and on the calm surface Eddies are formed in which float the diplomatists who imagine that they have caused the floods to abate But the smooth sea again suddenly becomes disturbed The diplomatists think that their disagreements are the cause of this fresh pressure of natural forces They anticipate war between their sovereigns The position seems to them insoluble But the wave they feel to be rising does not come from the quarter they expect It rises again from the same point as before Paris The last backwash of the movement from the west occurs A backwash which serves to solve the apparently insuperable diplomatic difficulties and ends the military movement of that period of history The man who had devastated france returns to france alone without any conspiracy and without soldiers Any guard might arrest him but by strange chance no one does so And all rapturously greet the man they cursed the day before and will curse again a month later This man is still needed to justify the final collective act That act is performed The last role is played The actor is bitten to disrobe and wash off his powder and paint He will not be wanted anymore And some years pass during which he plays a pitiful comedy to himself in solitude on his island Justifying his actions by intrigues and lies when the justification is no longer needed And displaying to the whole world what it was that people had mistaken for strength as long as an unseen hand directed his actions The manager having brought the drama to a close and stripped the actor shows him to us See what you believed in this is he do you now see that it was not he but I who moved you But dazed by the force of the movement it was long before people understood this Still greater coherence and inevitability is seen in the life of alexander the first The man who stood at the head of the counter movement from east to west What was needed for him who overshadowing others stood at the head of that movement from east to west What was needed was a sense of justice and a sympathy with european affairs But a remote sympathy not doled by petty interests A moral superiority over those sovereigns of the day who cooperated with him A mild and attractive personality and a personal grievance against napoleon And all this was found in alexander the first All this had been prepared by innumerable so-called chances in his life His education his early liberalism the advisors who surrounded him and by australites and tilsit and erfwood During the national war he was inactive because he was not needed But as soon as the necessity for a general european war presented itself he appeared in his place at the given moment and Uniting the nations of europe led them to the goal The goal is reached After the final war of 1815 alexander possesses all possible power How does he use it? alexander the first The pacifier of europe the man who from his early years had driven only for his people's welfare The originator of the liberal innovations in his fatherland Now that he seemed to possess the utmost power and therefore to have the possibility of bringing about the welfare of his peoples At the time when napoleon in exile was drawing up childish and mendacious plans of how he would have made mankind happy had he retained power alexander the first having fulfilled his mission and feeling the hand of god upon him Suddenly recognizes the insignificance of that supposed power Turns away from it and gives it into the hands of contemptible men whom he despises saying only Not unto us not unto us, but unto thy name I too am a man like the rest of you Let me live like a man and think of my soul and of god As the sun and each atom of ether is a sphere completely in itself And yet at the same time only a part of a whole too immense for man to comprehend So each individual has within himself his own aims And yet has them to serve a general purpose incomprehensible to man A bee settling on a flower has stung a child and the child is afraid of bees and declares that bees exist to sting people A poet admires the bees sucking from the trees of a flower and says it exists to suck the fragrance of flowers A beekeeper seeing the bee collect pollen from flowers and carry it to the hive says that it exists to gather honey Another beekeeper who has studied the life of the hive more closely Says that the bee gathers pollen dust to feed the young bees and rear a queen and that it exists to perpetuate its race A botanist notices that the bee flying with the pollen of a male flower to a pistol Fertilizes the letter and sees in this the purpose of the bee's existence Another observing the migration of plants notices that the bee helps in this work and may say that in this lies the purpose of the bee But the ultimate purpose of the bee is not exhausted by the first the second or any of the processes the human mind can discern The higher the human intellect rises in the discovery of these purposes The more obvious it becomes that the ultimate purpose is beyond our comprehension All that is accessible to man is the relation of the life of the bee to other manifestations of life And so it is with the purpose of historic characters and nations End of chapter four This recording is in the public domain War and peace first epilogue chapter five read for LibriVox.org by Kate McKenzie Natasha's wedding to Bezukov which took place in 1813 was the last happy event in the family of the older Rostovs Count Ilya Rostov died that same year and as always happens after the father's death the family group broke up The events of the previous year the burning of Moscow and the flight from it the death of prince Andrew Natasha's despair Petyr's death and the old countess's grief fell blow after blow on the old count's head He seemed to be unable to understand the meaning of all these events and bowed his old head in a spiritual sense As if expecting and inviting further blows which would finish him He seemed now frightened and distraught and now unnaturally animated and enterprising The arrangements for Natasha's marriage occupied him for a while He ordered dinners and suppers and obviously tried to appear cheerful But his cheerfulness was not infectious as it used to be On the contrary it evoked the compassion of those who knew and liked him When Pierre and his wife had left he grew very quiet and began to complain of depression A few days later he fell ill and took to his bed He realized from the first that he would not get up again despite the doctor's encouragement The countess passed a fortnight in an armchair by his pillow without undressing Every time she gave him his medicine he sobbed and silently kissed her hand On his last day sobbing he asked her and his absent son to forgive him for having dissipated their property That being the chief fault of which he was conscious After receiving communion and unction he quietly died The next day a throng of acquaintances who came to pay their last respects to the deceased Filled the house rented by the Rostovs All these acquaintances who had so often dined and danced at his house And had so often laughed at him now said was a common feeling of self-reproach and emotion As if justifying themselves Well whatever he may have been he was a most worthy man You don't meet such men nowadays and which of us has not weaknesses of his own It was just when the Count's affairs had become so involved That it was impossible to say what would happen if he lived another year that he unexpectedly died Nicholas was with the Russian army in Paris when the news of his father's death reached him He at once resigned his commission and without waiting for it to be accepted Took leave of absence and went to Moscow The state of the Count's affairs became quite obvious a month after his death Surprising everyone by the immense total of small debts The existence of which no one had suspected The debts amounted to double the value of the property Friends and relations advised Nicholas to decline the inheritance But he regarded such a refusal as a slur on his father's memory Which he held sacred and therefore would not hear of refusing And accepted the inheritance together with the obligation to pay the debts The creditors who had so long been silent restrained by a vague but powerful influence Exerted on them while he lived by the Count's careless good nature All proceeded to enforce their claims at once As always happens in such cases rivalry sprang up as to which should get paid first And those who like Mitenka held promissory notes Given them as presents now became the most exacting of the creditors Nicholas was allowed no respite and no peace And those who had seemed to pity the old man The cause of their losses if there were losses Now remorselessly pursued the young heir who had voluntarily undertaken the debts And was obviously not guilty of contracting them Not one of the plans Nicholas tried succeeded The estate was sold by auction for half its value And half the debts still remained unpaid Nicholas accepted thirty thousand rubles offered him by his brother-in-law Bezhukov To pay off debts he regarded as genuinely due for value received And to avoid being imprisoned for the remainder as the creditors threatened He re-entered the government service He could not rejoin the army where he would have been made colonel at the next vacancy For his mother now clung to him as her one hold on life And so, despite his reluctance to remain in Moscow among people who had known him before And, despite his abhorrence of the civil service, he accepted a post in Moscow in that service Doffed the uniform of which he was so fond And moved with his mother and Sonia to a small house on the Sivtsevrazek Natasha and Pierre were living in Petersburg at the time And had no clear idea of Nicholas's circumstances Having borrowed money from his brother-in-law Nicholas tried to hide his wretched condition from him His position was the more difficult because with his salary of twelve hundred rubles He had not only to keep himself, his mother, and Sonia But had to shield his mother from knowledge of their poverty The Countess could not conceive of life without the luxurious conditions she had been used to from childhood and unable to realise how hard it was for her son Kept demanding now a carriage, which they did not keep, to send for a friend Now, some expensive article of food for herself or wine for her son Or money to buy a present as a surprise for Natasha or Sonia or for Nicholas himself Sonia kept house, attended on her aunt, read to her, put up with her whims in secret ill will And helped Nicholas to conceal their poverty from the old Countess Nicholas felt himself irredeemily indebted to Sonia for all she was doing for his mother And really admired her patience and devotion, but tried to keep a loop from her He seemed in his heart to reproach her for being too perfect And because there was nothing to reproach her with She had all that people are valued for, but little that could have made him love her He felt that the more he valued her, the less he loved her He had taken her at her word when she wrote giving him his freedom And now behaved as if all that had passed between them Had been long forgotten and could never in any case be renewed Nicholas's position became worse and worse The idea of putting something aside out of his salary proved a dream Not only did he not save anything, but to comply with his mother's demands He even incurred some small debts He could see no way out of this situation The idea of marrying some rich woman Which was suggested to him by his female relations was repugnant to him The other way out, his mother's death, never entered his head He wished for nothing and hoped for nothing And deep in his heart experienced a gloomy and stern satisfaction In an uncomplaining endurance of his position He tried to avoid his old acquaintances With their commiseration and offensive offers of assistance He avoided all destruction and recreation And even at home did nothing but play cards with his mother Paced silently up and down the room and smoked one pipe after another He seemed carefully to cherish within himself The gloomy mood which alone enabled him to endure his position End of chapter five This recording is in the public domain War and Peace First epilogue Chapter six Read for liperhawk.org by Anna Simon At the beginning of winter, Princess Mary came to Moscow From reports current in town She learned how the Rostovs were situated And how the sun has sacrificed himself for his mother, as people were saying I never expected anything else of him, said Princess Mary to herself Feeling a joyous sense of her love for him Remembering her friendly relations with all the Rostovs Which have made her almost a member of the family She thought it her duty to go to see them But remembering her relations with Nicholas in Vornezh She was shy about doing so Making a great effort She did, however, go to call on them A few weeks after her arrival in Moscow Nicholas was the first to meet her As the Countess's room could only be reached through his But instead of being greeted with pleasure As she had expected At his first glance at her His face assumed a cold, stiff, proud expression She had not seen on it before He inquired about her health Led the way to his mother And having sat there for five minutes Left the room When the Princess came out of the Countess room Nicholas met her again And with marked solemnity and stiffness Accompanied her to the anti-room To her remarks about his mother's health He made no reply What's that to you? Leave me in peace His looks seemed to say Why does she come prowling here? What does she want? I can't bear these ladies and all these civilities Said he allowed in Sonja's presence Evidently unable to repress his vexation After the Princess carriage had disappeared Oh, Nicholas! How can you talk like that? Cried Sonja Hardly able to conceal her delight She is so kind And Mama is so fond of her Nicholas did not reply And tried to avoid speaking of the Princess any more But after her visit The old Countess spoke of her several times a day She sang her praises Insisted that her son must call on her Expressed her wish to see her often But yet always became ill-humoured When she began to talk about her Nicholas tried to keep silence When his mother spoke with the Princess But his silence irritated her She is a very admirable and excellent young woman Said she And you must go and call on her You would at least be seeing somebody And I think I would be dull for you only seeing us But I don't at least want to, Mama You used to want to And now you don't Really, I don't understand you, my dear One day you are dull And the next you refuse to see anyone But I never said I was dull Why, you said yourself You don't want even to see her She is a very admirable young woman And you always liked her But now suddenly you've got some notional Or other in your head You hide everything from me Not at all, Mama If I were asking you to do something disagreeable now But I only ask you to return a call One would think mere politeness required it Well, I've asked you And now I won't interfere any more Since you have secrets from your mother Well then, I'll go if you wish it It doesn't matter to me I only wish it for your sake Nicholas sighed, bit his moustache And laid out the cards for her patience Trying to divert his mother's attention to another topic The same conversation was repeated next day And the day after And the day after that After her visit to the Rostos And her unexpectedly chilly reception by Nicholas Princess Mary confessed to herself That she'd been right in not wishing to be the first to call I expected nothing else, she told herself Calling her pride to her aid I have nothing to do with him And I only wanted to see the old lady Who was always kind to me And to whom I am under many obligations But she could not pacify herself with these reflections A feeling akin to her mousse Troubled her when she thought of her visit Though she had firmly resolved Not to call on the Rostos again And to forget the whole matter She felt herself all the time in an awkward position And when she asked herself what distressed her She had to admit that it was a relation to Rostos His cold, polite manner did not express his feeling for her She knew that But it concealed something And until she could discover what that something was She felt that she could not be at ease One day in midwinter Once sitting in the schoolroom Attending to her nephew's lessons She was informed that Rostov had called With a firm resolution not to betray herself And not show her agitation She sent for Mademoiselle Bouillon And went with her to the drawing-room Her first glance at Nicholas Fais Told her that he had only come to fulfill the demands of politeness And she firmly resolved to maintain the tone in which he addressed her They spoke of the countess' health Of their mutual friends Of the latest war news And when the ten minutes required by propriety had elapsed After which a visitor may rise Nicholas got up to say goodbye With Mademoiselle Bouillon's help The princess had maintained the conversation very well But at the very last moment, just when he rose She was so tired of talking of what did not interest her And her mind was so full of the question Why she alone was granted so little happiness in life Then in a fit of absent-mindness She sat still Her luminous eyes gazing fixedly before her Not noticing that he had risen Nicholas glanced at her And, wishing to appear not to notice her abstraction Made some remark to Mademoiselle Bouillon And then again looked at the princess She still sat motionless With a look of suffering on her gentle face He suddenly felt sorry for her And was vaguely conscious That he might be the cause of the sadness her face expressed He wished to help her and say something pleasant But could think of nothing to say Goodbye, princess, said he She started, flushed, and sighed deeply Oh, I beg your pardon, she said, as if waking up Are you going already, Count? Well then, goodbye Oh, but a cushion for the Countess Wait a moment, I'll fetch it Mademoiselle Bouillon And she left the room They both sat silent With an occasional glance at one another Yes, princess, said Nicholas At last, with a sad smile It doesn't seem long ago since we first met At both, however But how much water has flowed since then In what distress we all seem to be then Yet I would give much to bring back that time But there's no bringing it back Princess Mary gazed intently into his eyes With her own luminous ones as he said this She seemed to be trying to fathom the hidden meaning of his words What would explain his feeling for her Yes, yes, said she But you have no reason to regret the past, Count As I understand your present life I think you will always recall it with satisfaction Because the self-sacrifice that fills it now I cannot accept your praise He interrupted her hurriedly On the contrary, I continually reproach myself But this is not at all an interesting or cheerful subject His face again resumed its former stiff and cold expression But the princess had caught a glimpse of the man she had known and loved And it was to him that she now spoke I thought you would allow me to tell you this, she said I'd come so near to you And to all your family that I thought you would not consider my sympathy misplaced But I was mistaken And suddenly her voice trembled I don't know why she continued recovering herself But you used to be different and There are a thousand reasons why laying special emphasis on the why Thank you, princess, he added softly Sometimes it is hard So that's why That's why The voice whispered in princess Mary's soul No, it was not only that gay, kind and frank look Not only that handsome exterior that I loved in him I divined his noble, resolute, self-sacrificing spirit too, she said to herself Yes, he's poor now and I am rich Yes, that's the only reason Yes, we're not for that And remembering his former tenderness And looking now at his kind, sorrowful face She suddenly understood the cause of his coldness But why, Count? Why? she almost cried, unconsciously moving closer to him Why? tell me, you must tell me He was silent I don't understand your why, Count, she continued But it's hard for me, I confess it For some reason you wish to deprive me of our former friendship And that hurts me There were tears in her eyes and in her voice I've had so little happiness in life that every loss is hard for me to bear Excuse me, goodbye And suddenly she began to cry and was hurrying from the room Princess, for God's sake, he exclaimed, trying to stop her Princess! she turned round For a few seconds they gazed silently into one another's eyes And what had seemed impossible and remote Suddenly became possible, inevitable, and very near End of Chapter 6 This recording is in the public domain War and Peace First Epilogue Chapter 7 Read for LibriVox.org by Kate McKenzie In the winter of 1813 Nicholas married Princess Mary and moved to Bald Hills with his wife, his mother, and Sonia Within four years he had paid off all his remaining debts without selling any of his wife's property and, having received a small inheritance on the death of a cousin, he paid his debt to Pierre as well In another three years, by 1820, he had so managed his affairs that he was able to buy a small estate at Joining Bald Hills and was negotiating to buy back Otradno, that being his pet dream Having started farming from necessity, he soon grew so devoted to it that it became his favourite on almost his sole occupation Nicholas was a plain farmer. He did not like innovations, especially the English ones then coming into vogue He laughed at theoretical treatises on estate management, disliked factories, the raising of expensive products and the buying of expensive seed corn and did not make a hobby of any particular part of the work on his estate He always had before his mind's eye the estate as a whole and not any particular part of it The chief thing in his eyes was not the nitrogen in the soil nor the oxygen in the air, nor manure, nor special plows but that most important agent by which nitrogen, oxygen, manure and plow were made effective, the peasant labourer When Nicholas first began farming and began to understand its different branches it was the serf who especially attracted his attention The peasant seemed to him not merely a tool but also a judge of farming and an end in himself At first he watched the serfs, trying to understand their aims and what they considered good and bad and only pretended to direct them and give orders while in reality learning from them their methods their manner of speech and their judgment of what was good and bad Only when he had understood the peasant's taste in aspirations had learned to talk their language to grasp the hidden meaning of their words and felt akin to them did he begin boldly to manage his serfs that is to perform toward them the duties demanded of him and Nicholas's management produced very brilliant results Guided by some gift of insight on taking up the management of the estates he had once unerringly appointed as bailiff, village elder and delegate the very men the serfs would themselves have chosen had they had the right to choose and these posts never changed hands Before analysing the properties of manure before entering into the debit and credit as he ironically called it he found out how many cattle the peasants had and increased the number by all possible means he kept the peasant families together in the largest groups possible not allowing the family groups to divide into separate households he was hard alike on the lazy the depraved and the weak and tried to get them expelled from the commune he was as careful of the sowing and reaping of the peasants hay and corners of his own and few landowners have their crops sown and harvested so early and so well or got so good a return as did Nicholas he disliked having anything to do with the domestic serfs the drones as he called them and everyone said he spoiled them by his laxity when a decision had to be taken regarding a domestic serf especially if one had to be punished he always felt undecided and consulted everybody in the house but when it was possible to have a domestic serf conscripted instead of a land worker he did so without the least hesitation he never felt any hesitation in dealing with the peasants he knew that his every decision would be approved by them all with very few exceptions he did not allow himself either to be hard on or punish a man or to make things easy for or reward anyone merely because he felt inclined to do so he could not have said by what standard he judged what he should or should not do but the standard was quite firm and definite in his own mind often speaking with vexation of some failure or irregularity he would say what can one do with our russian peasants and imagine that he could not bear them yet he loved our russian peasants and their way of life with his whole soul and for that very reason had understood and assimilated the one way and manner of farming which produced good results Countess Mary was jealous of this passion of her husbands and regretted that she could not share it but she could not understand the joys and vexations he derived from that world to her so remote an alien she could not understand why he was so particularly animated and happy when after getting up at daybreak and spending their whole morning in the fields or on the threshing floor he returned from the sowing or mowing or reaping to have tea with her she did not understand why he spoke with such admiration and delight of the farming of the thrifty and well-to-do present Matthew Hermitian who with his family had carted corn all night or of the fact that his, Nicholas's, sheaves were already stacked before anyone else had his harvest in she did not understand why he stepped out from his window to the runder and smiled under his mustache and winked so joyfully when warm steady rain began to fall on the dry and thirsty shoots of the young oats or why when the wind carried away a threatening cloud during the hay harvest he would return from the barn flushed sunbird and perspiring with the smell of one wooden gentian in his hair and gleefully rubbing his hands would say well one more day and migraine in the peasants will all be under cover still less did she understand why he kind-hearted and always ready to anticipate her wishes should become almost desperate when she brought him a petition from some peasant men or women who had appealed to her to be excused some work why he that kind Nicholas should obstinately refuse her angrily asking her not to interfere in what was not her business she felt he had a world apart which he loved passionately and which had laws she had not fathomed sometimes when trying to understand him she spoke of the good work he was doing for his serves he would be vexed in reply not in the least it never entered my head and I wouldn't do that for their good that's all poetry and old wives talk all that doing good to one's neighbor what I want is that our children should not have to go begging I must put her affairs in order while I'm alive that's all and to do that order and strictness are essential that's all about it said he clenching his vigorous fist and fairness of course he added for if the peasant is naked and hungry and has only one miserable horse he can do no good either for himself or for me and all Nicholas did was fruitful probably just because he refused to allow himself to think that he was doing good to others for virtue's sake his means increased rapidly serfs from neighbouring estates came to beg him to buy them and long after his death the memory of his administration was devoutly preserved among the serfs he was a master the peasants affairs first and then his own of course he was not to be trifled with either in a word he was a real master end of chapter seven this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter eight red four LibriVox.org by Nathan King one matter connected with his management sometimes worried Nicholas and that was his quick temper together with his old Hussar habit of making free use of his fists at first he saw nothing reprehensible in this but in the second year of his marriage his view of that form of punishment suddenly changed once in summer he had sent for the village elder from Bogucherovo a man who had succeeded to the post when drone died and who was accused of dishonesty and various irregularities Nicholas went out into the porch to question him and immediately after the elder had given a few replies the sound of cries and blows were heard on returning to lunch Nicholas went up to his wife who sat with her head bent low over her embroidery frame and as usual began to tell her what he had been doing that morning among other things he spoke of the Bogucherovo elder Countess Mary turned red and then pale but continued to sit with her head bowed and lips compressed and gave her husband no reply such an insolent scoundrel he cried growing hot again at the mere recollection of him if he had told me that he was drunk and did not see but what does that matter with you Mary he suddenly asked Countess Mary raised her head tried to speak but hastily looked down again and her lips puckered why whatever is the matter my dearest the looks of the plain Countess Mary always improved when she was in tears she never cried from pain or vexation but always from sorrow or pity and when she wept her radiant eyes acquired an irresistible charm the moment Nicholas took her hand she could no longer restrain herself and began to cry Nicholas I saw it he was to blame but why do you Nicholas and she covered her face with her hands Nicholas said nothing he flushed crimson left her side and paced up and down the room he understood what she was weeping about but could not in his heart at once agree with her that what he had regarded from childhood as quite an everyday event was wrong is it just sentimentality old wives tales or is she right he asked himself before he had solved that point he glanced again at her face filled with love and pain and he suddenly realized that she was right and that he had long been sinning against himself Mary he said softly going up to her it will never happen again I give you my word never you repeated in a trembling voice like a boy asking for forgiveness the tears flowed faster still from the Countess's eyes she took his hand and kissed it Nicholas when did you break your cameo she asked to change the subject looking at his finger on which he wore a ring with a cameo of Laocoon's head today it was the same affair oh Mary don't remind me of it and again he flushed I give you my word of honor at shant occur again and let this always be a reminder to me and he pointed to the broken ring after that when in discussions with his village elders or stewards the blood rushed to his face and his fists began to clench Nicholas would turn the broken ring on his finger and would drop his eyes before the man who was making him angry but he did forget himself once or twice within a 12 month and then he would go and confess to his wife and would again promise that this should really be the very last time Mary you must despise me he would say I deserve it you should go go away at once if you don't feel strong enough to control yourself she would reply sadly trying to comfort her husband among the gentry of the province Nicholas was respected but not liked he did not concern himself with the interests of his own class and consequently some thought him proud and others thought him stupid the whole summer from spring sewing to harvest he was busy with the work on his farm in autumn he gave himself up to hunting with the same business like seriousness leaving home for a month or even two with his hunt in winter he visited his other villages or spent his time reading the books he read were chiefly historical and on these he spent a certain sum every year he was collecting as he said a serious library and he made a rule to read through all the books he bought he would sit in his study with a grave air reading a task he first imposed upon himself as a duty but which afterwards became a habit affording him a special kind of pleasure and a consciousness of being occupied with serious matters in winter except for business excursions he spent most of his time at home making himself one with his family and entering into all the details of his children's relations with their mother the harmony between him and his wife grew closer and closer and he daily discovered fresh spiritual treasures in her from the time of his marriage sonia had lived in his house before that nicholas had told his wife all that had passed between himself and sonia blaming himself and commending her he had asked princess mary to be gentle and kind to his cousin she thoroughly realized the wrong he had done sonia felt herself to blame toward her and imagine that her wealth had influenced nicholas's choice she could not find fault with sonia in any way and tried to be fond of her but often felt ill will toward her which she could not overcome once she had a talk with her friend natasha about sonia and about her own injustice toward her you know said natasha you have read the gospels a great deal there is a passage in them that just fits sonia what as countess mary surprised to him that hath shall be given and from him that hath not shall be taken away you remember she is one that hath not why i don't know perhaps she lacks egotism i don't know but from her is taken away and everything has been taken away sometimes i am dreadfully sorry for formerly i very much wanted nicholas to marry her but i always had a sort of presentiment that it would not come off she is a sterile flower you know like some strawberry blossoms sometimes i'm sorry for and sometimes i think she doesn't feel it as you or i would though countess mary told natasha that those words in the gospel must be understood differently yet looking at sonia she agreed with natasha's explanation it really seemed that sonia did not feel her position trying and had grown quite reconciled to her lot as a sterile flower she seemed to be fond not so much of individuals as of the family as a whole like a cat she had attached herself not to the people but to the home she waited on the old countess petted and spoiled the children was always ready to render the small services for which she had a gift and all this was unconsciously accepted from her with insufficient gratitude the country seat at bald hills had been rebuilt though not on the same scale as under the old prints the buildings begun under strange circumstances were more than simple the immense house on the old stone foundations was of wood clustered only inside it had bare deal floors and was furnished with very simple hard sofas armchairs tables and chairs made by their own surf carpenters out of their own birch wood the house was spacious and had rooms for the house serfs and apartments for visitors whole families of the rostovs and bolkonsky's relations sometimes came to bald hills with 16 horses and dozens of servants and stayed for months besides that four times a year on the name days and birthdays of the hosts as many as 100 visitors would gather there for a day or two the rest of the year life pursued its unbroken routine with its ordinary occupations and its breakfast lunches dinners and suppers provided out of the produce of the estate end of chapter eight this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter nine read for LibriVox.org by Kate McKenzie it was the eve of Saint Nicholas the fifth of december 1820 Natasha had been staying at her brothers with her husband and children since early autumn Pierre had gone to Petersburg on business of his own for three weeks as he said but had remained there nearly seven weeks and was expected back every minute besides the Bezhukov family Nicholas's old friend the retired general Vasily Dmitrych Denysov was staying with the rostovs this fifth of december on the sixth which was his name day when the house would be full of visitors Nicholas knew he would have to exchange his tartar tunic for a tailcoat and put on narrow boots with pointed toes and drive to the new church he had built and then receive visitors who would come to congratulate him offer them refreshments and talk about the elections of the nobility but he considered himself entitled to spend the eve of that day in his usual way he examined the bailiffs accounts of the village in Ryazan which belonged to his wife's nephew wrote two business letters and walked over to the granaries cattle yards and stables before dinner having taken precautions against the general drunkenness to be expected on the morrow because it was a great sane stay he returned to dinner and without having time for a private talk with his wife sat down at the long table laid for twenty persons at which the whole household had assembled at that table where his mother his mother's old lady companion Belova his wife their three children with their governess and tutor his wife's nephew with his tutor Sonia Denisov Natasha her three children their governess and old Michael Ivanovich the late princess architect who was living on in retirement at Bald Hills counters Mary sat at the other end of the table when her husband took his place she concluded from the rapid manner in which after taking up his table napkin he pushed back the tumbler and wine glass standing before him that he was out of humor as was sometimes the case when he came into dinner straight from the farm especially before the soup counters Mary well knew that mood of his and when she herself was in a good frame of mind quietly waited till he had had his soup and then began to talk to him and make him admit that there was no cause for his ill humor but today she quite forgot that and was hurt that he should be angry with her without any reason and she felt unhappy she asked him where he had been he replied she again inquired whether everything was going well in the farm her unnatural tone made him wince unpleasantly and he replied hastily then I'm not mistaken thought counters Mary why is he crossed with me she concluded from his tone that he was vexed with her and wished to end the conversation she knew her remarks sounded unnatural but could not refrain from asking some more questions thanks to denis of the conversation at table soon became general and lively and she did not talk to her husband when they left the table and went as usual to thank the old countess counters Mary held out her hand and kissed her husband and asked him why he was angry with her he always have such strange fancies I didn't even think of being angry he replied but the word always seemed to her to imply yes I am angry but I won't tell you why Nicholas and his wife lived together so happily that even Sonia and the old countess who felt jealous and would have liked them to disagree could find nothing to reproach them with but even they had their moments of antagonism occasionally and it was always just after they had been happiest together they suddenly had a feeling of estrangement and hostility which occurred most frequently during counters Mary's pregnancies and this was such a time well monsieur et mesdames said Nicholas loudly and with apparent cheerfulness it seemed to counters Mary that he did it on purpose to vex her I have been on my feet since six this morning tomorrow I shall have to suffer so today I'll go and rest and without a word to his wife he went to the little sitting-room and lay down on the sofa that's always the way thought counters Mary he talks to everyone except me I see that I am repulsive to him especially when I'm in this condition she looked down at her expanded figure and in the glass at her pale sallow emaciated face in which her eyes now looked larger than ever and everything annoyed her Dennis of shouting and laughter Natasha's talk and especially a quick glance Sonya gave her Sonya was always the first excuse counters Mary found for feeling irritated having sat a while with her visitors without understanding anything of what they were saying she softly left the room and went to the nursery the children were playing at going to Moscow in a carriage made of chairs and invited her to go with them she sat down and played with them a little but the thought of her husband and his unreasonable crossness worried her she got up and walking on tiptoe with difficulty went to the small sitting-room perhaps he is not asleep I'll have an explanation with him she said to herself little Andrew her eldest boy imitating his mother followed her on tiptoe she did not notice him Mary dear I think he is asleep he was so tired said Sonya meeting her in the large sitting-room it seemed to counters Mary that she crossed her path everywhere Andrew may wake him counters Mary looked round saw little Andrew following her felt that Sonya was right and for that very reason flushed and with evident difficulty refrain from saying something harsh she made no reply but to avoid obeying Sonya beckoned to Andrew to follow her quietly and went to the door Sonya went away by another door from the room in which Nicholas was sleeping came the sound of his even breathing every slightest tone of which was familiar to his wife as she listened to it she saw before her his smooth handsome forehead his mustache and his whole face as she had so often seen it in the stillness of the night when he slept Nicholas suddenly moved and cleared his throat and at that moment little Andrew shouted from outside the door Papa mama standing here counters Mary turned pale with fright and made signs to the boy he grew silent and quiet ensued for a moment terrible to counters Mary she knew how Nicholas disliked being waked then through the door she had Nicholas clearing his throat again and stirring and his voice said crossly I can't get a moment's peace Mary is that you why did you bring him here I only came in to look and did not notice forgive me Nicholas coughed and said no more counters Mary moved away from the door and took the boy back to the nursery five minutes later little black eyed three-year-old Natasha her father's pet having learned from her brother that papa was asleep and mama was in the sitting room ran to her father unobserved by her mother the dark eyed little girl boldly opened the creaking door went up to the sofa with energetic steps of her sturdy little legs and having examined the position of her father who was asleep with his back to her rose on tiptoe and kissed the hand which lay under his head Nicholas turned with a tender smile on his face Natasha Natasha can count as Mary's frightened whisper from the door papa wants to sleep no mama he doesn't want to sleep said little Natasha with conviction he's laughing Nicholas lowered his legs rose and took his daughter in his arms come in Mary he said to his wife she went in and sat down by her husband I did not notice him following me she said timidly I just looked in holding his little girl with one arm Nicholas glanced at his wife and seeing her guilty expression put his other arm around her and kissed her hair may I kiss mama he asked Natasha Natasha smiled bashfully again she commanded pointing with a preemptory gesture to the spot when Nicholas had placed the kiss I don't know why you think I'm cross said Nicholas replying to the question he knew was in his wife's mind you have no idea how unhappy how lonely I feel when you are like that it always seems to me Mary don't talk nonsense you ought to be ashamed of yourself he said gaily it seems to be that you can't love me that I am so plain always and now in this cut oh how absurd you are it is not beauty that endears it's love that makes us see beauty it is only Malvinus and one of that kind who will love for their beauty but do I love my wife I don't love her but I don't know how to put it without you or when something comes between us like this I seem lost and can't do anything now do I love my finger I don't love it but just try to cut it off I'm not like that myself but I understand so you're not angry with me awfully angry he said smiling and getting up and smoothing his hair he began to pace the room do you know Mary what I've been thinking he began immediately thinking aloud in his wife's presence now that they had made it up he did not ask if she was ready to listen to him he did not care a thought had occurred to him and so it belonged to her also and he told her of his intention to persuade Pierre to stay with them till spring Cantus Mary listened till he had finished made some remark and in her turn began thinking aloud her thoughts were about the children you can see the woman in her already she said in French pointing to little Natasha you approach us women with being illogical here is our logic I say Papa wants to sleep but she says no he's laughing and she was right said Cantus Mary with a happy smile yes yes a Nicholas taking his little daughter in his strong hand lifted her high placed her on his shoulder held her by the legs and paced the room with her there was an expression of carefree happiness on the faces of both father and daughter but you know you may be unfair you are too fond of this one his wife whispered in French yes but what am I to do I try not to show at that moment they heard the sound of the door pulley and footsteps in the hall and anti-room as if someone had arrived somebody has come I'm sure it is Pierre I will go and see said Cantus Mary and left the room in her absence Nicholas allowed himself to give his little daughter a gallop round the room out of breath he took the laughing child quickly from his shoulder and pressed her to his heart his capers reminded him of dancing and looking at the child's round happy little face he thought of what she would be like when he was an old man taking her into society and dancing the Mazauka with her as his old father had danced Daniel Cooper with his daughter it is he it is he Nicholas said Cantus Mary re-entering the room a few minutes later now Anatasha has come to life you should have seen her ecstasy and how he caught it for having stayed away so long well come along now quick quick it's time you two were parted she added looking smilingly at the little girl who clung to her father Nicholas went out holding the child by the hand Cantus Mary remained in the sitting room I should never never have believed that one could be so happy she whispered to herself a smile lit up her face but at the same time she sighed and her deep eyes expressed a quiet sadness as though she felt through her happiness that there is another sort of happiness unattainable in this life of which she involuntarily thought at that instant end of chapter 9 this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter 10 read for LibriVox.org Natasha had married in the early spring of 1813 and in 1820 already had three daughters besides a son for whom she had longed and whom she was now nursing she had grown stouter and broader so that it was difficult to recognize in this robust motherly woman the slim lively Natasha of former days her features were more defined and had a calm soft and serene expression in her face there was none of the ever glowing animation that had formerly burned there and constituted its charm now her face and body were often all that one saw and her soul was not visible at all all that struck the eye was a strong handsome and fertile woman the old fire rarely kindled in her face now that happened only win as was the case that day her husband returned home or a sick child was convalescent or when she encountered Mary spoke of Prince Andrew she never mentioned him to her husband who she imagined was jealous of Prince Andrew's memory or on the rare occasions when something happened to induce her to sing a practice she had quite abandoned since her marriage at the rare moments when the old fire did kindle in her handsome fully developed body she was even more attractive than in former days since their marriage Natasha and her husband had lived in Moscow in Petersburg on their estate near Moscow or with her mother that is to say in Nicholas's house the young Countess Vezukova was not often seen in society and those who met her there were not pleased with her and found her neither attractive nor amiable not that Natasha liked solitude she did not know whether she liked it or not she even thought that she did not but with her pregnancies her confinements the nursing of her children and sharing every moment of her husband's life she had demands on her time which could be satisfied only by renouncing society all who had known Natasha before her marriage wondered at the change in her as it's something extraordinary only the old Countess with her maternal instinct had realized that all Natasha's outbursts had been due to her need of children and husband as she herself had once exclaimed at Otrodnaya not so much in fun as in earnest and her mother was now surprised at the surprise expressed by those who had never understood Natasha and she kept saying that she had always known that Natasha would make an exemplary wife and mother only she lets her love of her husband and children overflow all bounds at the Countess so that it even becomes absurd Natasha did not follow the golden rule advocated by clever folk especially by the French which says that a girl should not let herself go when she marries should not neglect her accomplishments should be ever more careful of her appearance than when she was unmarried and should fascinate her husband as much as she did before he became her husband Natasha on the contrary had at once abandoned all her witchery of which her singing had been an unusually powerful part she gave it up just because it was so powerfully seductive she took no pains with her manners or with a delicacy of speech or with her toilet or to show herself to her husband in her most becoming attitudes or to avoid inconveniencing him by being too exacting she acted in contradiction to all those rules she felt that the allurements instinct had formally taught her to use would now be merely ridiculous in the eyes of her husband to whom she had from the first moment given up herself entirely that is with her whole soul leaving no corner of it hidden from him she felt that her unity with her husband was not maintained by the poetic feeling that had attracted him to her but by something else indefinite but firm as the bond between her own body and soul to fluff out her curls put on fashionable dresses and sing romantic songs to fascinate her husband would have seemed as strange as to adorn herself to attract herself to adorn herself for others might perhaps have been agreeable she did not know but she had no time at all for it the chief reason for devoting no time either to singing to dress or to choosing her words was that she really had no time to spare for these things we know that man has the faculty of becoming completely absorbed in a subject however trivial it might be and that there is no subject so trivial that it will not grow to infinite proportions if one's entire attention is devoted to it the subject which wholly engrossed Natasha's attention was her family that is her husband whom she had to keep so that he should belong entirely to her and to the home and the children whom she had to bear bring into the world nurse and bring up and the deeper she penetrated not with her mind only but with her whole soul her whole being into the subject that absorbed her the larger did that subject grow and the weaker and more inadequate did her powers appear so that she concentrated them wholly on that one thing and yet was unable to accomplish all that she considered necessary there were then as now discussions and conversations about women's rights the relations of husband and wife and their freedom and rights though these themes were not yet termed questions as they are now but these topics were not merely uninteresting to Natasha she positively did not understand them these questions then as now existed only for those who see nothing in marriage but the pleasure married people get from one another that is only the beginnings of marriage and not its whole significance which lies in the family discussions and questions of that kind which are like the question of how to get the greatest gratification from one's dinner did not then and do not now exist for those for whom the purpose of a dinner is the nourishment it affords and the purpose of marriage is the family if the purpose of dinner is to nourish the body a man who eats two dinners at once may perhaps get more enjoyment but will not attain his purpose for his stomach will not digest the two dinners if the purpose of marriage is the family the person who wishes to have many wives or husbands may perhaps obtain much pleasure but in that case will not have a family if the purpose of food is nourishment and the purpose of marriage is the family the whole question resolves itself into not eating more than one can digest and not having more wives or husbands than are needed for the family that is one wife or one husband Natasha needed a husband a husband was given to her and he gave her a family and she not only saw no need of any other or better husband but as all the powers of her soul were intent on serving that husband and family she could not imagine and saw no interest in imagining how it would be if things were different Natasha did not care for society in general but prized more the society of her relatives Countess Mary and her brother her mother and Sonia she valued the company of those to whom she could come striding to shoveled from the nursery in her dressing gown and with a joyful face show a yellow instead of a green stain on a baby's napkin and from whom she could hear reassuring words to the effect that the baby was much better to such an extent had Natasha let herself go that the way she dressed and did her hair her ill-chosen words and her jealousy she was jealous of Sonia of the governess of every woman pretty or plain were habitual subjects of jest to those about her the general opinion was that Pierre was under his wife's thumb which really was true from the very first days of their married life Natasha had announced her demands Pierre was greatly surprised by his wife's view to him a perfectly novel one that every moment of his life belonged to her and to the family his wife's demands astonished him but they also flattered him and he submitted to them Pierre's objection consisted in the fact that he not only dared not flirt with but dared not even speak smilingly to any other woman did not dare dine at the club as a pastime did not dare spend money on a whim did not dare absent himself for any length of time except on business in which his wife included his intellectual pursuits which she did not in the least understand but to which she attributed great importance to make up for this at home Pierre had the right to regulate his life and that of the whole family exactly as he chose at home Natasha placed herself in the position of a slave to her husband and the whole household went on tiptoe when he was occupied that is was reading or writing in his study Pierre had but to show a partiality for anything to get just what he liked done always he had only to express a wish and Natasha would jump up and run to fulfill it the entire household was governed according to Pierre's supposed orders that is by his wishes which Natasha tried to guess their way of life and place of residence their acquaintances and ties Natasha's occupations the children's upbringing were all selected not merely with regard to Pierre's expressed wishes but to what Natasha from the thoughts he expressed in conversations opposed his wishes to be and she deduced the essentials of his wishes quite correctly and having once arrived at them clung to them tenaciously when Pierre himself wanted to change his mind you would fight with him with his own weapons thus in a time of trouble ever memorable to him after the birth of their first child who was delicate when they had to change the wet nurse three times and Natasha fell ill from despair Pierre one day told her of Rousseau's view with which he quite agreed that to have a wet nurse is unnatural and harmful when her next baby was born despite the opposition of her mother the doctors and even of her husband himself who were all vigorously opposed to her nursing her baby herself a thing then unheard of and considered injurious she insisted on having her own way and after that nursed all her babies herself it very often happened that in a moment of irritation husband and wife would have a dispute but long afterwards Pierre to his surprise and delight would find in his wife's ideas and actions the very thought against which she had argued but divested of everything superfluous that in the excitement of the dispute he had added when expressing his opinion after seven years of marriage Pierre had the joyous and firm consciousness that he was not a bad man and he felt this because he saw himself reflected in his wife he felt the good and bad within himself inextricably mingled and overlapping but only what was really good in him was reflected in his wife all that was not quite good was rejected and this was not the result of logical reasoning but was a direct and mysterious reflection and a first epilogue chapter 10 this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter 11 read for LibriVox.org by Kate McKenzie two months previously when Pierre was already staying with the Rostovs he had received a letter from Prince Theodore asking him to come to Petersburg to confer on some important questions that were being discussed there by a society of which Pierre was one of the principal founders on reading that letter she always read her husband's letters Natasha herself suggested that he should go to Petersburg though she would feel his absence very acutely she attributed immense importance to all her husband's intellectual and abstract interests though she did not understand them and she always dreaded being a hindrance to him in such matters to Pierre's timid look of inquiry after reading the letter she replied by asking him to go but to fix a definite date for his return he was given four weeks leave of absence ever since that leave of absence had expired more than a fortnight before Natasha had been in a constant state of alarm depression and irritability Denysov now a general on the retired list and much dissatisfied with the present state of affairs had arrived during that fortnight he looked at Natasha with sorrow and surprise as at a bad likeness of a person once dear a dull dejected look random replies and talk about the nursery was all he saw and heard from his former enchantress Natasha was sad and irritable all that time especially when her mother her brother Sonia or Kantas Mary in their efforts to console her tried to excuse Pierre and suggested reasons for his delay in returning it's all nonsense all rubbish those discussions which lead to nothing and all those idiotic societies Natasha declared of the very affairs in the immense importance of which she firmly believed and she would go to the nursery to nurse Petia her only boy no one else could tell her anything so comforting or so reasonable as this little three-month-old creature when he lay at her breast and she was conscious of the movement of his lips and the snuffling of his little nose that creature said you are angry you are jealous you would like to pay him out you're afraid but here am I and I am he and that was unanswerable it was more than true during that fortnight of anxiety Natasha resorted to the baby for comfort so often and fussed over him so much that she overfed him and he fell ill she was terrified by his illness and yet that was just what she needed while attending to him she bore the anxiety about her husband more easily she was nursing her boy when the sound of Pierre Slay was heard at the front door and the old nurse knowing how to please her mistress entered the room inaudibly but hurriedly and with a beaming face has he come Natasha asked quickly in a whisper afraid to move lest she should rouse the dosing baby he's come mom whispered the nurse the blood rushed in Natasha's face and her feet involuntarily moved but she could not jump up and run out the baby again opened his eyes and looked at her you're here you seem to be saying and again lazily smacked his lips cautiously withdrawing her breast Natasha rocked him a little handed him to the nurse and went with rapid steps towards the door but at the door she stopped as if her conscience reproached her for having in her joy left the child too soon and she glanced round the nurse with raised elbows was lifting the infant over the rail of his cot go mom don't worry go she whispered smiling with a kind of familiarity that grows up between a nurse and her mistress Natasha ran with light footsteps to the anti-room Denysov who had come out of the study into the dancing room with his pipe now for the first time recognized the old Natasha a flood of brilliant joyful light poured from her transfigured face he's come she exclaimed as she ran past and Denysov felt that he too was delighted that Pierre whom he did not much care for had returned on reaching the vestibule Natasha saw a tall figure in a fur coat unwinding his scarf it's he it's really he he has come she said to herself and rushing at him embraced him pressed his head to her breast and then pushed him back and gazed at his ruddy happy face covered with whorefrost yes it is he happy and contented then all at once she remembered the tortures of suspense she had experienced for the last fortnight and the joy that had lit up her face vanished she frowned and overwhelmed Pierre with a torrent of reproaches and angry words yes it's all very well for you you are pleased you've had a good time but what about me you might at least have shown consideration for the children I'm nursing and my milk was spoiled Petra was at death's door but you were enjoying yourself yes enjoy Pierre knew he was not to blame for he could not have come sooner he knew this outburst was unseemly and would blow over in a minute or two above all he knew that he himself was bright and happy he wanted to smile but to head not even think of doing so he made a pictures frightened face and bent down I could not on my honor but how is Petra all right now come along I wonder you're not ashamed if only you could see what I was like without you how I suffered you are well come come she said not letting go of his arm and they went to their rooms when Nicholas and his wife came to look for Pierre he was in the nursery holding his baby son who was again awake on his huge right palm and dandling him a blissful bright smile was fixed on the baby's broad face with its toothless open mouth the storm was long since over and there was bright joyous sunshine on Natasha's face as she gazed tenderly at her husband and child and have you talked everything well over with Prince Theodore she asked yes capitally you see he holds it up she went the baby's head but how he did frighten me you've seen the princess is it true she's in love with that yes just fancy at that moment Nicholas and Countess Mary came in Pierre with the baby on his hand stooped kissed them and replied to their inquiries but in spite of much that was interesting and had to be discussed the baby with a little cap on its unsteady head evidently absorbed all his attention how sweet said Countess Mary looking at and playing with the baby now Nicholas she added turning to her husband I can't understand how it is you don't see the charm of these delicious marvels I don't and can't replied Nicholas looking coldly at the baby a lump of flesh come along Pierre and yet he's such an affectionate father said Countess Mary vindicating her husband but only after they are a year old or so now Pierre nurses them splendidly said Natasha he says his hand is just made for a baby's seat just look only not for this Pierre suddenly exclaimed with a laugh and shifting the baby he gave him to the nurse end of chapter 11 this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter 12 read for LibriVox.org by Dave chapter 12 as in every large household there were at Bald Hills several perfectly distinct worlds which merged into one harmonious whole though each retained its own peculiarities and made concessions to the others every event joyful or sad that took place in that house was important to all these worlds but each had its own special reasons to rejoice or grieve over that occurrence independently of the others for instance Pierre's return was a joyful and important event and they all felt it to be so the servants the most reliable judges of their masters because they judge not by their conversation or expressions of feeling but by their acts and way of life were glad of Pierre's return because they knew that when he was there Count Nicholas would cease going every day to attend to the estate and would be in better spirits and temper and also because they would all receive handsome presents for the holidays the children and their governesses were glad of Pierre's return because no one else drew them into the social life of the household as he did he alone could play on the clavichord that Echosace his only piece to which as he said all possible dances could be danced and they felt sure he had brought presents for them all young Nicholas now a slim lad of fifteen delicate and intelligent with curly light brown hair and beautiful eyes was delighted because Uncle Pierre as he caught him was the object of his rapturous and passionate affection no one had instilled into him this love for Pierre whom he saw only occasionally Countess Mary who had brought him up had done her utmost to make him love her husband as she loved him and little Nicholas did love his uncle but loved him with just a shade of contempt Pierre however he adored he did not want to be a chasar or a knight of Saint George like his uncle Nicholas he wanted to be learned it wise and kind like Pierre in Pierre's presence his face always shone with pleasure and he flushed and was breathless when Pierre spoke to him he did not miss a single word he uttered and would afterwards with desires or by himself recall and consider the meaning of everything Pierre had said Pierre's past life and his unhappiness prior to 1812 of which young Nicholas had formed a vague poetic picture from some words he had overheard his adventures in Moscow his captivity Platon Cartier of whom he had heard from Pierre his love for Natasha of whom the lad was also particularly fond and especially Pierre's friendship with the father whom Nicholas could not remember all this made Pierre in his eyes a hero and a saint from broken remarks about Natasha and his father from the emotion with which Pierre spoke of that dead father and from the careful reverent tenderness with which Natasha spoke of him the boy who was only just beginning to guess what love is derived the notion that his father had loved Natasha and when dying had left her to his friend but the father whom the boy did not remember appeared to him a divinity who could not be pictured and of whom he never thought without a swelling heart and tears of sadness and rapture so the boy also was happy that Pierre had arrived the guests welcomed Pierre because he always helped to enliven and unite any company he was in the grown-up members of the family not to mention his wife were pleased to have back a friend whose presence made life run more smoothly and peacefully the old ladies were pleased with the presence he brought them and especially that Natasha would now be herself again Pierre felt the different outlooks of these various worlds and made haste to satisfy all their expectations though the most absent-minded and forgetful of men Pierre with the aid of a list his wife drew up had now bought everything not forgetting his mother and brother-in-law's commissions nor the dress material for a present to be lower nor toys for his wife's nephews in the early days of his marriage it had seemed strange to him that his wife should expect him not to forget to procure all the things he undertook to buy and he had been taken aback by her serious annoyance when on his first trip he forgot everything but in time he grew used to this demand knowing that Natasha asked nothing for herself and gave him commissions for others only when he himself had offered to undertake them he now found an unexpected and childlike pleasure in this purchasing of presents for everyone in the house and never forgot anything if he now incurred Natasha's censure it was only for buying too many and too expensive things to her other defects as most people thought them but which to Pierre were qualities of untidiness and neglect of herself she now added stinginess from the time that Pierre began life as a family man on a footing entailing heavy expenditure he had noticed to his surprise that he spent only half as much as before and that his affairs which had been in disorder of late chiefly because of his first wife's debts had begun to improve life was cheaper because it was circumscribed that most expensive luxury the kind of life that can be changed at any moment was no longer his nor did he wish for it he felt that his way of life had now been settled once for all till death and that to change it was not in his power and so that way of life proved economical with a merry smiling face Pierre was sorting his purchases what do you think of this said he unrolling a piece of stuff like a shopman Natasha who was sitting opposite to him with her eldest daughter on her lap turned her sparkling eyes swiftly from her husband to the things he showed her that's for beloved excellent she felt the quality of the material it was a ruble and arshin i suppose Pierre told her the price too dear Natasha remarked how pleased the children will be and mama too only you need not have brought me this she added unable to suppress a smile as she gazed admiringly at a gold comb set with pearls of a kind then just coming into fashion Adele tempted me she kept on telling me to buy it returned Pierre when am i to wear it and Natasha stuck it in her coil of hair when i take little mash into society perhaps they will be fashionable again by then well let's go now i'm collecting the presents they went first to the nursery and then to the old countess rooms the countess was sitting with her companion beloved playing grand patients as usual when Pierre and Natasha came into the drawing room with parcels under their arms the countess was now over 60 was quite gray and wore a cap with a frill that surrounded her face her face had shriveled her upper lip had sunk in and her eyes were dim after the deaths of her son and husband in such rapid succession she felt herself a being accidentally forgotten in this world and left without aim or object for her existence she ate drank slept or kept awake but did not live life gave her no new impressions she wanted nothing from life but tranquility and that tranquility only death could give her but until death came she had to go on living that is to use her vital forces a peculiarity one sees in very young children and very old people was particularly evident in her her life had no external aims only a need to exercise her various functions and inclinations was apparent she had to eat sleep think speak weep work give vent her anger and so on merely because she had a stomach a brain muscles nerves and a liver she did these things not under any external impulse as people of the full vigor of life do when behind the purpose for which they strive that of exercising their functions remains unnoticed she talked only because she physically needed to exercise her tongue and lungs she cried as a child does because her nose had to be cleared and so on what for people in their full vigor is an aim was for her evidently merely a pretext thus in the morning especially if she had eaten anything rich the day before she felt a need of being angry and would choose as the handiest pretext beloveds deafness she would begin to say something to her in a low tone from the other end of the room it seems a little warmer today my dear she would murmur and when beloved replied oh yes they've come she would mutter angrily oh lord how stupid and deaf she is another pretext would be her snuff which would seem too dry or too damp or not rubbed fine enough after these fits of irritability her face would grow yellow and her maids knew by infallible symptoms when beloved would be deaf the snuff damp and the countess face yellow just as she needed to work off her spleen so she had sometimes to exercise her still existing faculty of thinking and the pretext for that was a game of patience when she needed to cry the deceased count would be the pretext when she wanted to be agitated nicolas and his health would be the pretext and when she felt a need to speak spitefully the pretext would be countess mary when her vocal organs needed exercise which was usually towards seven o'clock when she had had an after dinner rest in a darkened room the pretext would be the retelling of the same stories over and over again to the same audience the old lady's condition was understood by the whole household though no one ever spoke of it and they all made every possible effort to satisfy her needs only by a rare glance exchanged with a sad smile between nicolas pierre natasha and countess mary was the common understanding of her condition expressed but these glances expressed something more they said that she had played her part in life that what they now saw was not her whole self that we must all become like her and that they were glad to yield to her to restrain themselves for this once precious being formerly as full of life as themselves but now so much to be pitted memento mori said these glances only the really heartless the stupid ones of that household and the little children failed to understand this and avoided her end of chapter 12 recording by dave this recording is in the public domain war and peace first epilogue chapter 13 red filibri rocks dot org by kate mackenzie when pierre and his wife entered the drawing room the countess was in one of her customary states in which she needed the mental exertion of playing patients and so though by force of habit she greeted him with the words she always used when pierre or her son returned after an absence hi time my dear hi time we were all weary of waiting for you well thank god and received her presence with another customary remark it's not the gift that's precious my dear but that you give it to me an old woman yet it was evident that she was not pleased by pierre's arrival at that moment when it diverted her attention from the unfinished game she finished her game of patience and only then examined the presence they consisted of a box for cards of splendid workmanship a bright blue sevre teacup with shepherd s's depicted on it and with a lid and a gold snuff box with the count's portrait on the lid which pierre had had done by a miniaturist in petersburg the countess had long wished for such a box but as she did not want to cry just then she glanced indifferently at the portrait and gave her attention chiefly to the box for cards thank you my dear you have cheered me up said she as she always did but best of all you have brought yourself back for I never saw anything like it you ought to give your wife a scolding what are we to do with her she is like a mad woman when you were away doesn't see anything doesn't remember anything she went on repeating her usual phrases look Anna Timofeyevna she added to her companion see what a box for cards my son has brought us Belova admired the presence and was delighted with her dress material though Pierre Natasha and Nicholas countess Mary and Denisov had much to talk about that they could not discuss before the old countess not that anything was hidden from her but because she had dropped so far behind hand in many things that had they begun to converse in her presence they would have had to answer immopportune questions and to repeat what they had already told her many times that so and so was dead and so and so was married which she would again be unable to remember yet they sat at tea round the Samovar in the drawing room from habit and Pierre answered the countess's questions as to whether Prince Vasily had aged and whether countess Marie Alexeyevna had sent greetings and still thought of them and other matters that interested no one and to which she herself was indifferent conversation of this kind interesting to no one yet unavoidable continued all through tea time all the grown-up members of the family were assembled near the round tea table at which Sonia presided beside the Samovar the children with their tutors and governesses had had tea and their voices were audible from the next room at tea all sat in their accustomed places Nicholas beside the sova to small table where his tea was handed to him Milka the old gray bozoi bitch daughter of the first Milka with a quite gray face and large black eyes that seemed more prominent than ever lay on the armchair beside him Denisov whose curly hair mustachion whiskers had turned half gray sat beside countess Marie with his generals tunic and buttoned Pierre sat between his wife and the old countess he spoke of what he knew might interest the old lady and that she could understand he told her her external social events and of the people who had formed a circle of her contemporaries and had once been a real living and distinct group but who are now for the most parts scattered about the world and like herself were garnering the last years of the harvests they had sown in earlier years but to the old countess these contemporaries of hers seemed to be the only serious and real society Natasha saw by Pierre's animation that his visit had been interesting and that he had much to tell them but dare not say it before the old countess Denisov not being a member of the family did not understand Pierre's caution and being as a malcontent much interested in what was occurring in Petersburg kept urging Pierre to tell them about what had happened in the Seminovsk region then about the Rakhchev and then about the Bible society once or twice Pierre was carried away and began to speak of these things but Nicholas and Natasha always brought him back to the health of Prince Ivan and Countess Mary Alexeyevna well and all this idiocy Gosna and Tatauinova Denisov asked is that really still going on? Going on Pierre exclaimed why more than ever the Bible society is the whole government now what is that more cher ami asked the countess who had finished her tea and evidently needed a pretext for being angry after her meal what are you saying about the government I don't understand well you know mama Nicholas interposed knowing how to translate things into his mother's language Prince Alexander Golitsyn has founded a society and in consequence has great influence they say Rakhchev and Golitsyn in cautiously remarked Pierre another whole government and what a government they see treason everywhere and afraid of everything well and how is Prince Alexander to blame he is a most estimable man I used to meet him at Mary Antonovna's said the countess in an offended tone and still more offended that they all remained silent she went on nowadays everyone finds fault a gospel society well and what harm is there in that and she rose everybody else got up to and with a severe expression sailed back to her table in the sitting room the melancholy silence that followed was broken by the sounds of the children's voices and laughter from the next room evidently some Julie excitement was going on there finished finished little Natasha's gleeful yell rose above them all Pierre exchanged glances with Countess Mary and Nicholas Natasha he never lost sight of and smiled happily that's delightful music said he it means that Anna Makarovna has finished her stocking said Countess Mary oh I'll go and see said Pierre jumping up you know he added stopping at the door why I'm especially fond of that music it is always the first thing that tells me all is well when I was driving here today the nearer I got to the house the more anxious I grew as I entered the anti-room I heard Andrusha's peals of laughter and that meant that all was well I know I know that feeling said Nicholas but I mustn't go there those stockings are to be a surprise for me Pierre went to the children and the shouting and laughter grew still louder come Anna Makarovna Pierre's voice was heard saying come here into the middle of the room and at the word of command one two and when I say three you stand here and you in my arms well now one two said Pierre and a silence followed three and a rapturously breathless cry of children's voices filled the room two two they shouted this meant two stockings which by a secret process known only to herself Anna Makarovna used to knit at the same time on the same needles and which when they were ready she always triumphantly drew one out of the other in the children's presence end of chapter 13 this recording is in the public