“But shan’t we have to accept battle?” remarked Prince Andréy.
“We shall if everybody wants it; it can’t be helped. … But believe me, my dear boy, there is nothing stronger than those two: patience and time , they will do it all. But the advisers n’entendent pas de cette oreille, voilà le mal . Some want a thing—others don’t. What’s one to do?” he asked, evidently expecting an answer. “Well, what do you want us to do?” he repeated and his eye shone with a deep, shrewd look. “I’ll tell you what to do,” he continued, as Prince Andréy still did not reply: “I will tell you what to do, and what I do. Dans le doute, mon cher ,” he paused, “ abstiens-toi ” —he articulated the French proverb deliberately.
“Well, goodbye, my dear fellow; remember that with all my heart I share your sorrow, and that for you I am not a Serene Highness, nor a prince, nor a commander in chief, but a father! If you want anything come straight to me. Goodbye, my dear boy.”
Again he embraced and kissed Prince Andréy, but before the latter had left the room Kutúzov gave a sigh of relief and went on with his unfinished novel, Les Chevaliers du Cygne by Madame de Genlis.
Prince Andréy could not have explained how or why it was,