War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [238]
Boris, in a dashing adjutant’s uniform, matured, fresh, and red-cheeked, walked freely into the drawing room and was duly taken to greet the aunt, and then reattached to the general circle.
Anna Pavlovna gave him her dry hand to kiss, introduced him to some strangers, and whispered her definitions of them to him.
“Le prince Hyppolite Kouragine—charmant jeune homme. Monsieur Kroug, chargé d’affaires de Kopenhague—un esprit profond,” and simply: “Monsieur Shittoff, un homme de beaucoup de mérite,”*297 of the one who bore that title.
Boris, during the time of his service, thanks to the efforts of Anna Mikhailovna, his own tastes, and the qualities of his reserved character, had managed to put himself in a most advantageous position in the service. He was an adjutant to a very important person, had a very important mission in Prussia, and had just returned from there as a courier. He had fully adopted the unwritten subordination he had liked so much in Olmütz, according to which an ensign could have incomparably higher standing than a general, and according to which, for success in the service, one needed not efforts, not labors, not courage, not perseverance, but only skill in dealing with those who give rewards for service—and he was often surprised at his quick success and at how others could fail to understand it. Thanks to this discovery, his whole way of life, all his relations with former acquaintances, and all his plans for the future had changed completely. He was not rich, but he spent his last penny to dress better than others; he would sooner deprive himself of many pleasures than allow himself to drive in a shabby carriage or appear in an old uniform in the streets of Petersburg. He made friends and sought acquaintances only with people who were above him and therefore could be of use to him. He loved Petersburg and despised Moscow. The memory of the Rostovs’ house and his childhood love for Natasha was disagreeable to him, and he had never once visited the Rostovs since joining the army. He considered his presence in Anna Pavlovna’s drawing room as an important promotion in the service, and he now understood at once his role there and left it to Anna Pavlovna to exploit the interest contained in him, while studying every person attentively and evaluating the advantages and possibilities of making friends with each of them. He sat down in the place shown him by the beautiful Hélène and listened to the general conversation.
“‘Vienne trouve les bases du traité proposé tellement hors d’atteinte, qu’on ne saurait y parvenir même par une continuité de succès les plus brillants, et elle met en doute les moyens qui pourraient nous les procurer.’ C’est la phrase authentique du cabinet de Vienne,”*298 10 the Danish chargé d’affaires was saying.
“C’est le doute qui est flatteur,”†299 said l’homme à l’esprit profond11 with a subtle smile.
“Il faut distinguer entre le cabinet de Vienne et l’Empereur d’Autriche,” said Mortemart. “L’Empereur d’Autriche n’a jamais pu penser à une chose pareille, ce n’est que le cabinet qui le dit.”‡300
“Eh, mon cher vicomte,” Anna Pavlovna mixed in, “l’Urope” (for some reason she pronounced it l’Urope, as if it was some special subtlety of the French language, which she could allow herself when speaking with a Frenchman), “l’Urope ne sera jamais notre alliée sincère.”§301
After which Anna Pavlovna led the conversation towards the courage and firmness of the Prussian king, in order to bring Boris into things.
Boris listened attentively to what was being said, waiting for his turn, but at the same time he managed to glance several times at his neighbor, the beautiful Hélène, who several times met the eyes of the handsome young adjutant with a smile.
Quite naturally, in speaking of the position of Prussia, Anna Pavlovna asked Boris to tell them about his trip to Glogau and the situation in which he found the Prussian army. Boris, unhurriedly, in pure and correct French, told quite