in albums concerning his share in the affair⁠—this man did not understand the meaning of what was happening but merely wanted to do something himself that would astonish people, to perform some patriotically heroic feat; and like a child he made sport of the momentous, and unavoidable event⁠—the abandonment and burning of Moscow⁠—and tried with his puny hand now to speed and now to stay the enormous, popular tide that bore him along with it.

Elèn, having returned with the court from Vílna to Petersburg, found herself in a difficult position.

In Petersburg she had enjoyed the special protection of a grandee who occupied one of the highest posts in the Empire. In Vílna she had formed an intimacy with a young foreign prince. When she returned to Petersburg both the magnate and the prince were there, and both claimed their rights. Elèn was faced by a new problem⁠—how to preserve her intimacy with both without offending either.