War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [106]
“Enough joking,” Prince Andrei said sadly and seriously.
This news was grievous and at the same time pleasant for Prince Andrei. As soon as he learned that the Russian army was in such a hopeless situation, it occurred to him that it was precisely he who was destined to lead the Russian army out of that situation, that here was that Toulon14 which would take him out of the ranks of unknown officers and open for him the first path to glory! Listening to Bilibin, he was already considering how, on coming to the army, he would submit an opinion at the military council which alone would save the army, and how he alone would be charged with carrying out this plan.
“Enough joking,” he said.
“I’m not joking,” Bilibin went on, “nothing is more true or sad. These gentlemen come to the bridge by themselves and wave white handkerchiefs; assure them all that a truce has been called and that they, the marshals, are coming to negotiate with Prince Auersperg. The officer on duty lets them into the tête de pont. They tell him a thousand Gascon absurdities: that the war is over, that the emperor Franz has fixed a meeting with Bonaparte, that they wish to see Prince Auersperg, and so on. The officer sends for Auersperg; these gentlemen embrace the officers, joke, sit on the cannons, and meanwhile a French battalion gets onto the bridge unnoticed, throws the sacks of flammable material into the water, and approaches the tête de pont. Finally, the lieutenant general himself comes, our dear Prince Auersperg von Mautern. ‘Our dear enemy! Flower of the Austrian military, hero of the Turkish wars! The hostilities are over, we can shake hands with each other…The emperor Napoleon is burning with desire to meet Prince Auersperg.’ In short, these men aren’t Gascons for nothing, they so shower Auersperg with beautiful words, he’s so charmed by his quickly established intimacy with the French marshals, so dazzled by the sight of Murat’s mantle and ostrich feathers, qu’il n’y voit que du feu, et oublie celui qu’il devait faire, faire sur l’ennemi.”*210 (Despite the animation of his speech, Bilibin did not forget to pause after this mot, to allow time for it to be appreciated.) “The French battalion rushes into the tête de pont, spikes the cannons, and the bridge is taken. No, but the best thing of all,” he went on, his excitement with his own charming story subsiding, “is that the sergeant in charge of the cannon that was to give the signal to ignite the mines and blow up the bridge, this sergeant, seeing that French troops were running onto the bridge, was about to fire, but Lannes pushed his hand away. The sergeant, who was clearly smarter than his general, goes up to Auersperg and says: ‘Prince, you are deceived, the French are here!’ Murat sees that the game is up if the sergeant is allowed to speak. With feigned astonishment (a real Gascon), he turns to Auersperg: ‘Where is that Austrian discipline the world praises so much,’ he says, ‘if you allow the lower ranks to speak to you like that.’ C’est génial. Le prince Auersperg se pique d’honneur et fait mettre le sergeant aux arrêts. Non, mais avouez que c’est charmant toute cette histoire du pont de Tabor. Ce n’est ni bêtise, ni lâcheté…”†211 15
“C’est trahison peut-être,”*212 said Prince Andrei, vividly imagining gray greatcoats, wounds, gunsmoke, the sounds of shooting, and the glory that awaited him…
“Non plus. Cela met la cour dans de trop mauvais draps,” Bilibin went on. “Ce n’est ni trahison, ni lâcheté, ni bêtise; c’est comme à Ulm…” It was as if he fell to pondering, searching for a phrase: “C’est…c’est du Mack. Nous somme mackés,”†213 he concluded, feeling that he had uttered a mot, and a fresh mot, a mot that would be repeated.
The folds on his forehead, gathered till then, quickly released themselves as a sign of satisfaction, and, smiling slightly,