Life meanwhile⁠—real life, with its essential interests of health and sickness, toil and rest, and its intellectual interests in thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, and passions⁠—went on as usual, independently of and apart from political friendship or enmity with Napoleon Bonaparte and from all the schemes of reconstruction.

Prince Andréy had spent two years continuously in the country.

All the plans Pierre had attempted on his estates⁠—and constantly changing from one thing to another had never accomplished⁠—were carried out by Prince Andréy without display and without perceptible difficulty.

He had in the highest degree a practical tenacity which Pierre lacked, and without fuss or strain on his part this set things going.