Part II

her by saying that he did understand, and he really had understood all she wanted to say. But Natásha was not satisfied with her own words: she felt that they did not convey the passionately poetic feeling she had experienced that day and wished to convey. “He was such a delightful old man, and it was so dark in the forest⁠ ⁠… and he had such kind⁠ ⁠… No, I can’t describe it,” she had said, flushed and excited. Prince Andréy smiled now the same happy smile as then when he had looked into her eyes. “I understood her,” he thought. “I not only understood her, but it was just that inner, spiritual force, that sincerity, that frankness of soul⁠—that very soul of hers which seemed to be fettered by her body⁠—it was that soul I loved in her⁠ ⁠… loved so strongly and happily⁠ ⁠…” and suddenly he remembered how his love had ended. “ He did not need anything of that kind. He neither saw nor understood anything of the sort. He only saw in her a pretty and fresh young girl, with whom he did not deign to unite his fate. And I?⁠ ⁠… and he is still alive and gay!”