War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [254]
“Those are Masha’s people of God,” said Prince Andrei. “They took us for father. And this is the only thing in which she doesn’t obey him: he orders these wanderers19 driven away, but she receives them.”
“But what are these people of God?” asked Pierre.
Prince Andrei had no time to answer him. The servants came out to meet them, and he asked them where the old prince was and how soon they expected him.
The old prince was still in town, and he was expected at any moment.
Prince Andrei took Pierre to his rooms, which always awaited him in perfect order in his father’s house, and went himself to the nursery.
“Let’s go to my sister,” said Prince Andrei, returning to Pierre. “I haven’t seen her yet, she’s hiding now and sitting with her people of God. It will serve her right, she’ll get embarrassed, but you’ll see the people of God. C’est curieux, ma parole.”*317
“Qu’est-ce que c’est que people of God?”†318 asked Pierre.
“You’ll see.”
Princess Marya indeed became embarrassed and covered with red spots when they came to her. In her cozy room, with icon lamps before the icons, a young boy with a long nose and long hair and in a monk’s cassock was sitting on the sofa beside her at the samovar.
In an armchair next to them sat a thin, wrinkled old woman with a meek expression on her childlike face.
“André, pourquoi ne pas m’avoir prévenu?”‡319 she said in mild reproach, standing in front of her wanderers like a hen in front of her chicks.
“Charmée de vous voir. Je suis très contente de vous voir,”§320 she said to Pierre as he was kissing her hand. She had known him as a child, and now his friendship with Andrei, the misfortune with his wife, and, above all, his kind, simple face disposed her towards him. She looked at him with her beautiful, luminous eyes and seemed to be saying: “I like you very much, but please don’t laugh at my people.” Having exchanged the first phrases of greeting, they sat down.
“Ah, Ivanushka’s here, too,” said Prince Andrei, indicating the young wanderer with his smile.
“André!” Princess Marya said pleadingly.
“Il faut que vous sachiez que c’est une femme,”*321 Andrei said to Pierre.
“André, au nom de Dieu!”†322 Princess Marya repeated.
It was clear that Prince Andrei’s mocking attitude towards the wanderers and Princess Marya’s useless intercession for them were habitual, well-established relations between them.
“Mais, ma bonne amie,” said Prince Andrei, “vous devriez au contraire m’être reconnaissante de ce que j’explique à Pierre votre intimité avec ce jeune homme.”‡323
“Vraiment?”§324 said Pierre, studying the face of Ivanushka curiously and gravely through his spectacles (for which Princess Marya was especially grateful to him). Realizing that they were talking about him, Ivanushka looked around at them all with cunning eyes.
Princess Marya’s embarrassment for her people was totally unnecessary. They were not in the least intimidated. The little old woman, her eyes lowered and casting sidelong glances at the newcomers, turned her teacup bottom up on the saucer and, placing the nibbled piece of sugar beside it, sat calm and motionless in her armchair, waiting to be offered more tea. Ivanushka, sipping from the saucer, looked at the young men from under his brows with his sly feminine eyes.
“Where have you been, to Kiev?” Prince Andrei asked the old woman.
“So I have, good sir,” the old woman replied garrulously. “Just before Christmas I was deemed worthy to partake of the holy, heavenly mysteries20 with the monks there. And now I’m coming from Kolyazin, where a great blessing has been revealed…”
“And Ivanushka has come with you?”
“I’ve come on my own, my provider,” Ivanushka said, trying to speak in a bass voice. “I met Pelageyushka only in Yukhnovo.”
Pelageyushka interrupted her companion; she obviously wanted to tell what she had seen.
“In Kolyazin, good sir, a great blessing has been revealed.”
“What, new relics?” asked Prince Andrei.
“Enough, Andrei,” said