Chapter 4 Chapter Four

When Princess Marya entered the room, Prince Vasili and his son were already in the drawing-room, talking with the little princess and Mademoiselle Bourienne.When she came in plodding on tiptoe, the men and Mademoiselle Bourienne stood up, and the little Duchess pointed to her in front of the men and said: "Voila Marie!" Everyone, she watched very carefully.She saw Prince Vasily's face, which was serious for a moment when he saw her, but then smiled.She also saw the face of the little Duchess, who watched with curiosity the impression Mary had made on the faces of the guests.She saw Mademoiselle Bourienne, with her pretty face in ribbons, fixing her eyes on him with more excitement than ever; Move closer to her as you come in.Prince Vasily went up to her first, and when he bent to kiss her hand, she kissed his bald head, and answered his question, saying that instead of forgetting him, she remembered him perfectly. Chu.Then Anatole came up to her.She hasn't seen him yet.She only felt a gentle hand holding hers firmly, and she gently touched his white forehead, on which the hazel hair was covered with a layer of pomade.When she looked at him, she was amazed by his handsome appearance.Anatole tucked his right thumb behind the button of his uniform, thrust his chest forward, leaned back slightly, swung one outstretched leg, and lowered his head slightly, silently looking at the prince with pleasure. Miss, he obviously didn't think about her at all.Anatole was not tactful or eloquent in speech, but he had that instinct of poise and self-confidence that is so valuable in society.If a person who lacks self-confidence is silent when he first makes acquaintances, and then realizes that silence is unseemly, and wants to talk casually, then it is bound to be bad in the end.But Anatole was silent, shaking his leg, and admiring the princess's hairstyle with delight.It could be seen that he was able to remain calm and silent for so long. "If anyone is uncomfortable with this silence, let him speak. I don't want to talk," he seemed to say.Besides this, Anatole had a contemptuous and superior manner in his relations with women.His style is most likely to arouse women's curiosity, fear, and even admiration.He acted as if he were saying to them: "I know you, I know, why should I deal with you? You'd be so happy!" Maybe he didn't think of it when he met women (nine times out of ten he No such thoughts, because he seldom uses his brain to think), but he has such an air, such a style.The princess already had this feeling, and as if she wanted to confess to him that she did not have the courage to charm him, she turned her face to the old prince.General subjects were chattered with great gusto, thanks to the sweet voice of the little Duchess and her little hairy lips, which stuck out from her white teeth, and she received them with the banter that is customary to a jovial, talkative person. Prince Vasili, the prerequisite for this method is that the interlocutors have a set of well-established jokes and pleasant, unknown and ridiculous memories, which in fact do not exist, and the short There were no such recollections between the princess and Prince Vasili.Prince Vasily was willing to be at the mercy of this tone, and the little princess induced Anatole, whom she barely knew, to recall ridiculous things that never happened.Mademoiselle Bourienne shared in these imaginary pasts, and even Princess Mary felt with pleasure that she herself had been drawn up in these delightful reminiscences.

-------- ①French: This is Mary. "You see, my dear prince, we must at least enjoy the joy you bring to the fullest now," said the little princess to Prince Vasili, and it goes without saying that she has inherited the excellent cultural achievements in the development of human history, especially Suck critically, in French, "It won't be like at the party at Annette's, where you always slip away, you remember cettechere AnBnette!" "Why, don't you talk politics to me like Annette!" "But what about our coffee table?" "Oh yes!"

"Why do you never go to Annette?" asked the little princess to Anatole. "Oh, I know, I know," she said, with a wink, "your brother Hippolyte has told me about you. Oh!" She threatened him with her finger. "I also know about your pranks in Paris!" "And he—Hippolyte didn't tell you?" said Prince Vasili (turning his face to his son and grabbing the princess's hand), as if she wanted to slip away, as if she wanted to slip away, and he almost missed her As if to hold back, "He didn't tell you that he himself - Hippolyte, thought of this lovely Duchess terribly, and she lemettaiitlaote?" ②"?

"Oh! C'estlaperledes femmes, princesse!" he said, turning his face to the princess. -------- ① French: This lovely Annette. ② French: drove him out of the house. ③French: Duchess, cough, this is one of the most valuable women. When Mademoiselle Bourienne heard the word Paris, she did not miss an opportunity to join in the reminiscence conversation. She dared to ask Anatole if he had been away from Paris for a long time, and whether he liked the city.Anatole answered the Frenchwoman's questions with pleasure, and he looked at her with a smile.Talk to her about her home country.After seeing the beautiful Mademoiselle Bourienne, Anatole decided in his heart that Bald Mountain would not make people feel lonely. "Nice looking!" thought he, looking at her. "This demoiselle de compagnie is very nice. I want to bring her with me when she marries me," he thought, "lapetiteestgentille."②

-------- ① French: female companion. ② French: looks very good, very good. The old prince put on his clothes in a leisurely manner in his study, knit his brow, and carefully considered how he should deal with it.The presence of these guests annoyed him. "What do I have to do with Prince Vasily and his beloved son? Prince Vasili is a poor braggart, son, come on, he may not be successful." He muttered to himself.What annoyed him was that the presence of these guests raised in his mind an unresolved and often suspended question, the one on which the old prince had always deluded himself.The question is whether he is determined to cut off relations with Princess Maria at some point and let her out of the cabinet.The Duke could never make up his mind to put this question directly to himself, because he knew in advance that he would answer it with a fairness, and that fairness would contradict his feelings, and above all his ability to earn a living.Although he did not seem to cherish Princess Maria very much, life for Prince Nikolai Andreich was unthinkable without her.

"Why does she want to marry?" he thought, "it must be an unfortunate woman. You see, Lisa married Andrei (it seems difficult to find a better husband at the moment), is she satisfied with her lot? Who Will you marry her out of love? She is ugly and clumsy. Someone will marry her for relationship and wealth. Can't you continue to live a virgin life? That is happier!" Nigu So thought Prince La Andreitch as he dressed.But the problem that had been put on the shelf called for an immediate solution.Prince Vasily had brought his son, obviously with the intention of proposing, perhaps today or tomorrow, for a frank answer.Fame and social status are not bad. "Well, I have no objection," murmured the old prince. "I hope he is worthy of her. That's what we're looking at."

"That's the layer we're looking at," he said aloud, "it's the layer we're looking at." He entered the drawing-room with his usual brisk steps, and with a quick glance at the crowd, he saw the little princess's changed dress, Bourienne's ribbon, Princess Mary's ugly the haircut, the smiles of Bourienne and Anatole, the loneliness of his own princess in the midst of all the conversation. "She's dressed like an idiot!" He cast a resentful glance at his daughter and thought to himself, "No shame! He doesn't want to associate with her!"

He went up to Prince Vasily. "Oh, hello, hello, I'm glad to see you." "It's not too far to go around seven miles to see a good friend," began Prince Vasili, speaking quickly, confidently, and kindly, as usual. "This is my second son, please take good care of him." Prince Nikolai Andreitch looked at Anatole. "Well done, well done!" he said, "here, come and kiss me," and he held out his cheek to him. Anatole kissed the old man, looked at him curiously and quite calmly, and waited to see if his father's tantrum would break out at once.

Prince Nikolai Andreitch sat in the corner of the couch where he usually sat, moved the easy chair to Prince Vasili's side, pointed to it, and began to inquire about political events and news.He seemed to be listening attentively to what Prince Vasily was saying, but he kept looking at Princess Marya. "So it's a letter from Potsdam?" He repeated Prince Vasily's last words, and suddenly got up, and went up to his daughter. "You dress up like this for your guests, don't you?" he said. "It's pretty, it's pretty. The guests are there, and they see you with your new hairstyle, but I'm going to tell you in front of them that you don't have my permission. In the future, you must not change your clothes without authorization."

"Monpeve, ①this is my crime." The little duchess blushed and complained for her. -------- ①French: Dad. "As you please," said Prince Nikolai Andreitch, bowing in front of his daughter-in-law, "she doesn't have to ugliness herself, she is ugly enough." He sat down in his original seat again, and ignored his daughter who made her eyes cry. "It's quite a hairstyle for the princess," said Prince Vasily. "Oh, brother, what's the young prince's name?" said Nikolay Andreitch, turning his face to Anatole. "Come here, please, and let's talk and get acquainted."

"It's time to start entertaining." Anatoly thought for a while, smiled, and sat down beside the old prince. "Listen, my dear, it is said that you were educated abroad. Unlike your father, I was taught by a deacon. Tell me, my dear, that you are in the cavalry today. Do you serve in the Guards?" The old man approached Anatole, staring at him intently, and asked. "No, I've been transferred to the army," replied Anatole, trying not to laugh. "Ah! that's a good thing. How is it, my dear? Will you serve the Tsar and the Fatherland? It's a time of war. Such a handsome boy should serve, should serve. Go to the front, how?" "No, prince. Our regiment is on the move. But I'm just a name. Papa, where is my name?" said Anatole, laughing loudly, and turning to his father. "It's a good job, it's a good job. Which establishment am I in! Ha—— Ha ha! ’ laughed Prince Nikolai Andreitch. Anatoly laughed louder.Prince Nikolai Andreitch suddenly frowned. "Very well, you go," he said to Anatole. Anatoly went up to the ladies again with a smile on his face. "Prince Vasily, you must know that you trained them abroad, didn't you?" said the old prince, turning his face to Prince Vasily. "I did my best at the time, and I tell you, the education there is much better than ours." "Yeah, everything is different now, everything has to be done in a new way. Handsome lad, great lad!Hey, come to me. " He took Prince Vasily by the hand and led him into the study. As soon as Prince Vasili and the old prince were left alone, he made known to him his intentions and hopes. "Do you think," said the old prince angrily, "that I can't cut her off by keeping her with me? One would imagine that!" he said angrily. "I don't care if we part tomorrow! All I'm telling you is that I want to get acquainted with my son-in-law. You know my rules: everything is straight! I'll come in front of you tomorrow and ask him as long as she wants." Stay for a while. Let him stay for a while longer, and I'll see what happens." The Duke said angrily. "Let her marry off, I'm the same anyway," he cried in the harsh voice he used to part with his son. "I tell you frankly," said Prince Vasily, with the tone of a cunning man who is sure that his interlocutor's insight will not cause him to play tricks. "You really see through people. Anatoly is not a genius, but he is an honest and kind boy, a good son and relative." "Well, well, well, we'll see later." As is often the case with lonely women in the long absence of a male companion, when Anatole appeared, all three women in Prince Nikolai Andreitch's house felt alike that they had until then Life is simply not life.Their ability to think, feel, and perceive suddenly increased tenfold, and their lives, which seemed to have been spent in darkness before, were suddenly illuminated by an unprecedented light full of practical significance. Princess Marya was not thinking at all, nor did she remember her own face or the way of her hair.The handsome and open face of the man who might be her future husband attracted all her attention.It seemed to her that he was charitable, heroic, firm, generous, and manly.She was absolutely sure of that.A thousand phantoms of future family life recurred in her imagination.She dispelled the phantoms, trying to hide them. "But am I being too indifferent to him?" thought Princess Marya, "I restrained myself as much as possible, because in the depths of my soul I felt that I was too close to him, but he really didn't know what I had for him." Thoughts, he might imagine that I hate him." Princess Marya did her best to entertain the newcomer, but she was not good at it. "Lapauvrvefille! Elleest diablementlaide," Anatole thought of her. -------- ① French: Poor girl!Ugly as a ghost. The presence of Anatole excited Mademoiselle Bourienne too, but she thought differently.Of course, this young and beautiful girl had no social status, no relatives, friends, or even a country of her own, and she did not want to devote her life to serving Prince Nikolai Andreitch and reading aloud to him. book, and formed a confidant with Princess Maria.Mademoiselle Bourienne had long waited for a Russian duke, who saw at once her superiority over the ugly, ill-dressed, clumsy Russian princesses, who would fall in love with her and take her away.Now the Russian duke has finally arrived.Mademoiselle Bourienne once heard her aunt tell a story, which she continued herself, and which she liked to retell in her imagination.The story tells of a seduced girl whose poor mother (sapauvremere) appears before her and reproaches her for having sex with a man without marriage.Mademoiselle Bourienne was often moved to tears as she recounted this story to him, the seducer, in her imagination.Now this he, the real Russian prince, appeared.He was going to take her away, and then mapauvremere came, and he took her as his wife.When Mademoiselle Bourienne talked to him about Paris, the whole history of her future was gradually forming in her mind.Not that there was any plan to guide Mademoiselle Bourienne (she didn't even think for a minute what she was going to do), but that all this had already been brewed in her mind, and now she only had to look around Anatole who appeared before her. Collectively, she hoped that he would like her and arouse his affection as much as possible. The little princess, like an old horse in the regiment, is automatically accustomed to gallop at the sound of the trumpet, forgetting about her own pregnancy, and was soon coquettish. Fortunately, she has no ulterior motives, and no inner struggle, but a frivolous and childish happy mood. Although Anatole often placed himself among these women in a position like that of a man who is bored by being chased by women, yet he saw the effect he had on these three women, and he was vainly satisfied. .Moreover, he began to feel a wild animal feeling about this handsome and defiant Brianne, which developed with extraordinary rapidity and drove him to the most daring and violent actions. After drinking tea, the group went into the drawing room. They all invited the princess to play the clavichord. Anatole approached Mademoiselle Bourienne, leaning on his elbows in front of Princess Maria, his eyes closed. Smiling, watching her cheerfully.With pain, joy, and excitement, Princess Marya felt the gaze cast on her.A sonata she loved brought her into the realm of refreshing poetry, and the gaze she felt was cast on her added more poetry to this realm.But although Anatole's eyes were fixed on her, it was not she who was noticed, but the movement of Mademoiselle Bourienne's little foot, which he was touching her under the clavichord. that little foot.Mademoiselle Bourienne also looked at the princess, and Princess Maria noticed in her beautiful eyes an expression of surprise and hope that had never been seen before. "How she loves me!" thought Princess Marya. "How happy I am now, how happy I shall be to have such a friend and such a husband! Will he be a husband?" she thought, not daring to look in his face, always aware of the kind of gaze that gazed at her. gaze. In the evening, after supper, when everyone was starting to disperse, Anatole kissed the princess' hand.She didn't know how she could muster up the courage to look straight at the beautiful face approaching her short-sighted eyes.After he walked away from the princess, he went to kiss Mademoiselle Bourienne's hand again (which was unseemly, but he did it casually and confidently), and Mademoiselle Bourienne flushed and panicked. looked at the princess. "Quelledelicatesse," thought the princess. "Does Amelie (Miss Bourienne is called that) think that I will be jealous of her and not appreciate her pure tenderness and loyalty to me?" She walked up to Miss Bourienne, vigorously kiss her.Anatole went forward and kissed the little princess's hand. "Non, non, non! Quandvotre perem'ecriraque vousvousconduisezbien, jevousdonneraimamainabaiser, Pasavant. "② -------- ① French: How amiable. ②French: No, no, no!I let you kiss my hand when your father wrote to tell me that you were doing well.Don't kiss first. She pointed her finger upwards, smiled slightly, and walked out of the room.