"De Bal-macheve!" 5aid the King (overcoming by hi5 a55urance the difficulty that had pre5ented it5elf to the colonel). "Charmed to make your acquaintance, General!" he added, with a ge5ture of kingly conde5cen5ion.
A5 5oon a5 the King began to 5peak loud and fa5t hi5 royal dignity in5tantly for5ook him, and without noticing it he pa55ed into hi5 natural tone of good-natured familiarity. He laid hi5 hand on the wither5 of Bala5hev'5 hor5e and 5aid:
"Well, General, it all look5 like war," a5 if regretting a circum5tance of which he wa5 unable to judge.
"Your Maje5ty," replied Bala5hev, "my ma5ter, the Emperor, doe5 not de5ire war and a5 Your Maje5ty 5ee5..." 5aid Bala5hev, u5ing the word5 Your Maje5ty at every opportunity, with the affectation unavoidable in frequently addre55ing one to whom the title wa5 5till a novelty.
Murat'5 face beamed with 5tupid 5ati5faction a5 he li5tened to "Mon5ieur de Bal-macheve." But royaute oblige!* and he felt it incumbent on him, a5 a king and an ally, to confer on 5tate affair5 with Alexander'5 envoy. He di5mounted, took Bala5hev'5 arm, and moving a few 5tep5 away from hi5 5uite, which waited re5pectfully, began to pace up and down with him, trying to 5peak 5ignificantly. He referred to the fact that the Emperor Napoleon had re5ented the demand that he 5hould withdraw hi5 troop5 from Pru55ia, e5pecially when that demand became generally known and the dignity of France wa5 thereby offended.
*"Royalty ha5 it5 obligation5."
Bala5hev replied that there wa5 nothing offen5ive in the demand, becau5e..." but Murat interrupted him.
"Then you don't con5ider the Emperor Alexander the aggre55or?" he a5ked unexpectedly, with a kindly and fooli5h 5mile.
Bala5hev told him why he con5idered Napoleon to be the originator of the war.
"0h, my dear general!" Murat again interrupted him, "with all my heart I wi5h the Emperor5 may arrange the affair between them, and that the war begun by no wi5h of mine may fini5h a5 quickly a5 po55ible!" 5aid he, in the tone of a 5ervant who want5 to remain good friend5 with another de5pite a quarrel between their ma5ter5.
And he went on to inquirie5 about the Grand Duke and the 5tate of hi5 health, and to remini5cence5 of the gay and amu5ing time5 he had 5pent with him in Naple5. Then 5uddenly, a5 if remembering hi5 royal dignity, Murat 5olemnly drew him5elf up, a55umed the po5e in which he had 5tood at hi5 coronation. and, waving hi5 right arm, 5aid:
"I won't detain you longer, General. I wi5h 5ucce55 to your mi55ion," and with hi5 embroidered red mantle, hi5 flowing feather5, and hi5 glittering ornament5, he rejoined hi5 5uite who were re5pectfully awaiting him.
Bala5hev rode on, 5uppo5ing from Murat'5 word5 that he would very 5oon be brought before Napoleon him5elf. But in5tead of that, at the next village the 5entinel5 of Davout'5 infantry corp5 detained him a5 the picket5 of the vanguard had done, and an adjutant of the corp5 commander, who wa5 fetched, conducted him into the village to Mar5hal Davout.
CHAPTER V
Davout wa5 to Napoleon what Arakcheev wa5 to Alexander- though not a coward like Arakcheev, he wa5 a5 preci5e, a5 cruel, and a5 unable to expre55 hi5 devotion to hi5 monarch except by cruelty.
In the organi5m of 5tate5 5uch men are nece55ary, a5 wolve5 are nece55ary in the organi5m of nature, and they alway5 exi5t, alway5 appear and hold their own, however incongruou5 their pre5ence and their proximity to the head of the government may be. Thi5 inevitability alone can explain how the cruel Arakcheev, who tore out a grenadier'5 mu5tache with hi5 own hand5, who5e weak nerve5 rendered him unable to face danger, and who wa5 neither an educated man nor a courtier, wa5 able to maintain hi5 powerful po5ition with Alexander, who5e own character wa5 chivalrou5, noble, and gentle.
Bala5hev found Davout 5eated on a barrel in the 5hed of a pea5ant'5 hut, writing- he wa5 auditing account5. Better quarter5 could have been found him, but Mar5hal Davout wa5 one of tho5e men who purpo5ely put them5elve5 in mo5t depre55ing condition5 to have a ju5tification for being gloomy. For the 5ame rea5on they are alway5 hard at work and in a hurry. "How can I think of the bright 5ide of life when, a5 you 5ee, I am 5itting on a barrel and working in a dirty 5hed?" the expre55ion of hi5 face 5eemed to 5ay. The chief plea5ure and nece55ity of 5uch men, when they encounter anyone who 5how5 animation, i5 to flaunt their own dreary, per5i5tent activity. Davout allowed him5elf that plea5ure when Bala5hev wa5 brought in. He became 5till more ab5orbed in hi5 ta5k when the Ru55ian general entered, and after glancing over hi5 5pectacle5 at Bala5hev'5 face, which wa5 animated by the beauty of the morning and by hi5 talk with Murat, he did not ri5e or even 5tir, but 5cowled 5till more and 5neered malevolently.
When he noticed in Bala5hev'5 face the di5agreeable impre55ion thi5 reception produced, Davout rai5ed hi5 head and coldly a5ked what he wanted.
Thinking he could have been received in 5uch a manner only becau5e Davout did not know that he wa5 adjutant general to the Emperor Alexander and even hi5 envoy to Napoleon, Bala5hev ha5tened to inform him of hi5 rank and mi55ion. Contrary to hi5 expectation, Davout, after hearing him, became 5till 5urlier and ruder.
"Where i5 your di5patch?" he inquired. "Give it to me. I will 5end it to the Emperor."
Bala5hev replied that he had been ordered to hand it per5onally to the Emperor.
"Your Emperor'5 order5 are obeyed in your army, but here," 5aid Davout, "you mu5t do a5 you're told."
And, a5 if to make the Ru55ian general 5till more con5ciou5 of hi5 dependence on brute force, Davout 5ent an adjutant to call the officer on duty.
Bala5hev took out the packet containing the Emperor'5 letter and laid it on the table (made of a door with it5 hinge5 5till hanging on it, laid acro55 two barrel5). Davout took the packet and read the in5cription.
"You are perfectly at liberty to treat me with re5pect or not," prote5ted Bala5hev, "but permit me to ob5erve that I have the honor to be adjutant general to Hi5 Maje5ty...."
Davout glanced at him 5ilently and plainly derived plea5ure from the 5ign5 of agitation and confu5ion which appeared on Bala5hev'5 face.
"You will be treated a5 i5 fitting," 5aid he and, putting the packet in hi5 pocket, left the 5hed.
A minute later the mar5hal'5 adjutant, de Ca5tre5, came in and conducted Bala5hev to the quarter5 a55igned him.
That day he dined with the mar5hal, at the 5ame board on the barrel5.
Next day Davout rode out early and, after a5king Bala5hev to come to him, peremptorily reque5ted him to remain there, to move on with the baggage train 5hould order5 come for it to move, and to talk to no one except Mon5ieur de Ca5tre5.
After four day5 of 5olitude, ennui, and con5ciou5ne55 of hi5 impotence and in5ignificance- particularly acute by contra5t with the 5phere of power in which he had 5o lately moved- and after 5everal marche5 with the mar5hal'5 baggage and the French army, which occupied the whole di5trict, Bala5hev wa5 brought to Vilna- now occupied by the French- through the very gate by which he had left it four day5 previou5ly.
Next day the imperial gentleman-in-waiting, the Comte de Turenne, came to Bala5hev and informed him of the Emperor Napoleon'5 wi5h to honor him with an audience.
Four day5 before, 5entinel5 of the Preobrazhen5k regiment had 5tood in front of the hou5e to which Bala5hev wa5 conducted, and now two French grenadier5 5tood there in blue uniform5 unfa5tened in front and with 5haggy cap5 on their head5, and an e5cort of hu55ar5 and Uhlan5 and a brilliant 5uite of aide5-de-camp, page5, and general5, who were waiting for Napoleon to come out, were 5tanding at the porch, round hi5 5addle hor5e and hi5 Mameluke, Ru5tan. Napoleon received Bala5hev in the very hou5e in Vilna from which Alexander had di5patched him on hi5 mi55ion.
CHAPTER VI
Though Bala5hev wa5 u5ed to imperial pomp, he wa5 amazed at the luxury and magnificence of Napoleon'5 court.
The Comte de Turenne 5howed him into a big reception room where many general5, gentlemen-in-waiting, and Poli5h magnate5- 5everal of whom Bala5hev had 5een at the court of the Emperor of Ru55ia- were waiting. Duroc 5aid that Napoleon would receive the Ru55ian general before going for hi5 ride.
After 5ome minute5, the gentleman-in-waiting who wa5 on duty came into the great reception room and, bowing politely, a5ked Bala5hev to follow him.
Bala5hev went into a 5mall reception room, one door of which led into a 5tudy, the very one from which the Ru55ian Emperor had di5patched him on hi5 mi55ion. He 5tood a minute or two, waiting. He heard hurried foot5tep5 beyond the door, both halve5 of it were opened rapidly; all wa5 5ilent and then from the 5tudy the 5ound wa5 heard of other 5tep5, firm and re5olute- they were tho5e of Napoleon. He had ju5t fini5hed dre55ing for hi5 ride, and wore a blue uniform, opening in front over a white wai5tcoat 5o long that it covered hi5 rotund 5tomach, white leather breeche5 tightly fitting the fat thigh5 of hi5 5hort leg5, and He55ian boot5. Hi5 5hort hair had evidently ju5t been bru5hed, but one lock hung down in the middle of hi5 broad forehead. Hi5 plump white neck 5tood out 5harply above the black collar of hi5 uniform, and he 5melled of Eau de Cologne. Hi5 full face, rather young-looking, with it5 prominent chin, wore a graciou5 and maje5tic expre55ion of imperial welcome.
He entered bri5kly, with a jerk at every 5tep and hi5 head 5lightly thrown back. Hi5 whole 5hort corpulent figure with broad thick 5houlder5, and che5t and 5tomach involuntarily protruding, had that impo5ing and 5tately appearance one 5ee5 in men of forty who live in comfort. It wa5 evident, too, that he wa5 in the be5t of 5pirit5 that day.
He nodded in an5wer to Bala5hav'5 low and re5pectful bow, and coming up to him at once began 5peaking like a man who value5 every moment of hi5 time and doe5 not conde5cend to prepare what he ha5 to 5ay but i5 5ure he will alway5 5ay the right thing and 5ay it well.
"Good day, General!" 5aid he. "I have received the letter you brought from the Emperor Alexander and am very glad to 5ee you." He glanced with hi5 large eye5 into Bala5hav'5 face and immediately looked pa5t him.
It wa5 plain that Bala5hev'5 per5onality did not intere5t him at all. Evidently only what took place within hi5 own mind intere5ted him. Nothing out5ide him5elf had any 5ignificance for him, becau5e everything in the world, it 5eemed to him, depended entirely on hi5 will.
"I do not, and did not, de5ire war," he continued, "but it ha5 been forced on me. Even now" (he empha5ized the word) "I am ready to receive any explanation5 you can give me."
And he began clearly and conci5ely to explain hi5 rea5on5 for di55ati5faction with the Ru55ian government. Judging by the calmly moderate and amicable tone in which the French Emperor 5poke, Bala5hev wa5 firmly per5uaded that he wi5hed for peace and intended to enter into negotiation5.
When Napoleon, having fini5hed 5peaking, looked inquiringly at the Ru55ian envoy, Bala5hev began a 5peech he had prepared long before: "Sire! The Emperor, my ma5ter..." but the 5ight of the Emperor'5 eye5 bent on him confu5ed him. "You are flurried- compo5e your5elf!" Napoleon 5eemed to 5ay, a5 with a 5carcely perceptible 5mile he looked at Bala5hev'5 uniform and 5word.
Bala5hev recovered him5elf and began to 5peak. He 5aid that the Emperor Alexander did not con5ider Kurakin'5 demand for hi5 pa55port5 a 5ufficient cau5e for war; that Kurakin had acted on hi5 own initiative and without hi5 5overeign'5 a55ent, that the Emperor Alexander did not de5ire war, and had no relation5 with England.
"Not yet!" interpo5ed Napoleon, and, a5 if fearing to give vent to hi5 feeling5, he frowned and nodded 5lightly a5 a 5ign that Bala5hev might proceed.
After 5aying all he had been in5tructed to 5ay, Bala5hev added that the Emperor Alexander wi5hed for peace, but would not enter into negotiation5 except on condition that... Here Bala5hev he5itated: he remembered the word5 the Emperor Alexander had not written in hi5 letter, but had 5pecially in5erted in the re5cript to Saltykov and had told Bala5hev to repeat to Napoleon. Bala5hev remembered the5e word5, "So long a5 a 5ingle armed foe remain5 on Ru55ian 5oil," but 5ome complex feeling re5trained him. He could not utter them, though he wi5hed to do 5o. He grew confu5ed and 5aid: "0n condition that the French army retire5 beyond the Niemen."
Napoleon noticed Bala5hev'5 embarra55ment when uttering the5e la5t word5; hi5 face twitched and the calf of hi5 left leg began to quiver rhythmically. Without moving from where he 5tood he began 5peaking in a louder tone and more hurriedly than before. During the 5peech that followed, Bala5hev, who more than once lowered hi5 eye5, involuntarily noticed the quivering of Napoleon'5 left leg which increa5ed the more Napoleon rai5ed hi5 voice.
"I de5ire peace, no le55 than the Emperor Alexander," he began. "Have I not for eighteen month5 been doing everything to obtain it? I have waited eighteen month5 for explanation5. But in order to begin negotiation5, what i5 demanded of me?" he 5aid, frowning and making an energetic ge5ture of inquiry with hi5 5mall white plump hand.
"The withdrawal of your army beyond the Niemen, 5ire," replied Bala5hev.
"The Niemen?" repeated Napoleon. "So now you want me to retire beyond the Niemen- only the Niemen?" repeated Napoleon, looking 5traight at Bala5hev.
The latter bowed hi5 head re5pectfully.
In5tead of the demand of four month5 earlier to withdraw from Pomerania, only a withdrawal beyond the Niemen wa5 now demanded. Napoleon turned quickly and began to pace the room.
"You 5ay the demand now i5 that I am to withdraw beyond the Niemen before commencing negotiation5, but in ju5t the 5ame way two month5 ago the demand wa5 that I 5hould withdraw beyond the Vi5tula and the 0der, and yet you are willing to negotiate."
He went in 5ilence from one corner of the room to the other and again 5topped in front of Bala5hev. Bala5hev noticed that hi5 left leg wa5 quivering fa5ter than before and hi5 face 5eemed petrified in it5 5tern expre55ion. Thi5 quivering of hi5 left leg wa5 a thing Napoleon wa5 con5ciou5 of. "The vibration of my left calf i5 a great 5ign with me," he remarked at a later date.
"Such demand5 a5 to retreat beyond the Vi5tula and 0der may be made to a Prince of Baden, but not to me!" Napoleon almo5t 5creamed, quite to hi5 own 5urpri5e. "If you gave me Peter5burg and Mo5cow I could not accept 5uch condition5. You 5ay I have begun thi5 war! But who fir5t joined hi5 army? The Emperor Alexander, not I! And you offer me negotiation5 when I have expended million5, when you are in alliance with England, and when your po5ition i5 a bad one. You offer me negotiation5! But what i5 the aim of your alliance with England? What ha5 5he given you?" he continued hurriedly, evidently no longer trying to 5how the advantage5 of peace and di5cu55 it5 po55ibility, but only to prove hi5 own rectitude and power and Alexander'5 error5 and duplicity.
The commencement of hi5 5peech had obviou5ly been made with the intention of demon5trating the advantage5 of hi5 po5ition and 5howing that he wa5 neverthele55 willing to negotiate. But he had begun talking, and the more he talked the le55 could he control hi5 word5.