heard probably of the heroic exploit of Raévski, embracing his two sons and saying: ‘I will perish with them but we will not be shaken!’ And truly though the enemy was twice stronger than we, we were unshakable. We pass the time as we can, but in war as in war! The princesses Aline and Sophie sit whole days with me, and we, unhappy widows of live men, make beautiful conversations over our charpie , only you, my friend, are missing …” and so on.
The chief reason Princess Márya did not realize the full significance of this war was that the old prince never spoke of it, did not recognize it, and laughed at Dessalles when he mentioned it at dinner. The prince’s tone was so calm and confident that Princess Márya unhesitatingly believed him.
All that July the old prince was exceedingly active and even animated. He planned another garden and began a new building for the domestic serfs.
The only thing that made Princess Márya anxious about him was that he slept very little and, instead of sleeping in his study as usual, changed his sleeping place every day.
- One day he would order his camp bed to be set up in the glass gallery, another day he remained on the couch or on the lounge chair in the drawing room and dozed there without undressing, while—instead of Mademoiselle Bourienne—a serf boy read to him.
- Then again he would spend a night in the dining room.
On August 1, a second letter was received from Prince Andréy. In his first letter which came soon after he had left home, Prince Andréy had dutifully asked his father’s forgiveness for what he had allowed himself