Chapter 21 Chapter 21

Having been resolutely rebuffed, Petya went to his room, locked the door, and there, avoiding everyone, wept bitterly.When he went to drink tea, he kept silent, his eyes were red from crying, and everyone pretended not to see him. The next day, the emperor arrived.Several Rostov servants took leave of absence to watch the Emperor's visit.That morning Petya dressed for a long time, washed and washed, trying to make her clothes look like grown-ups.He frowned in front of the mirror, swayed his head, shrugged his shoulders, finally did not greet anyone, put on his hat, tried not to be seen by others, and went out through the back door.Petya decided to go directly to the place where the Emperor was buried, and to state directly to one of the attendants (Petya believed that the Emperor always had many attendants) that he, Count Rostov, despite his youth, wanted to serve his country, and that youth should not be a Obstacles of allegiance to the motherland, he was preparing... Petya was thinking of a lot of nice words to say to his attendants while preparing to go out.

Petya reckoned that he had succeeded in presenting himself to the emperor because he was a child. (Petya even imagined everyone's amazement at his youth).At the same time, he straightened his stiff collar and hair, walked solemnly and calmly, and pretended to be an old man.But the farther he went, the more he became attracted by the growing crowd that gathered in the Kremlin, and the more he forgot to observe the dignity expected of a grown-up.As he approached the Kremlin, he began to worry about whether he would be crushed by people. He put his hands on his hips and assumed a resolute and majestic posture.But in the three gates, no matter how bold he was, people probably didn't know how much patriotic enthusiasm he had for going to the Kremlin, and he was forced against the wall. When the carriage rumbled through the arches, he had to give in stopped.Next to Petya are a peasant woman with a servant, two merchants, and a retired soldier.Petya rushed past all the carriages without waiting for them to pass, elbowed him, and the peasant woman standing opposite him, who bore the brunt of the blow, shouted angrily:

"Why are you squeezing, young master? I didn't see everyone standing still. Why are you squeezing?" "Come on, everybody!" said the footman, who also began to bump his elbows, and pushed Petya into a smelly corner by the door. Petya wiped the sweat from his face with his hands, and the collar of his sweaty collar, which he had made as well as a grown-up's at home, had done. Petya felt that his appearance was not very respectable, and feared that he would not be allowed to see the emperor now that he appeared in the presence of his attendants.However, it was too crowded, and it was impossible to modify it or change the place.Among the passing generals was an acquaintance of the Rostovs.Petya wanted to ask him for help, but he didn't think it befitting bravery.When all the carriages had passed, the crowd brought Petya out into the crowded square like a flood.Not only the square, but also the slopes and rooftops were crowded with people.No sooner had Petya arrived on the square than the bells of the entire Kremlin and the cheerful chatter and laughter of the people reached his ears clearly.

For a while the square was looser, but suddenly people took off their hats and rushed straight ahead.Petya was suffocated, and everyone was chanting: "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" Petya stood on tiptoe and was jostled, but he could see nothing but the crowd around him. The expressions of the people in the shop were very moved and excited. A female trader standing next to Petya burst into tears with tears streaming down her face. "Father, angel, my God!" she said, wiping tears with her fingers. "Hurrah!" people shouted from all directions. The crowd stopped for a moment in one place, then moved forward again.

Petya simply forgot everything, gritted his teeth, stared like a wild animal, and pushed forward, elbowing and shouting "Hurrah!" as if he were going to kill himself and everyone else. It seemed like a man, but surrounded by people with the same beast-like faces as he was, also shouting "Ulla!" "So the emperor is like that!" thought Petya. "No, I can't hand the letter to the emperor in person, it's too reckless!" Even so, he still went forward desperately, and there was an open space covered with a scarlet carpet in the gap between the backs of the people in front of him. ; but at this moment the crowd suddenly staggered back (patrolmen in front pushed back those who came too close to the ranks of guards; the Emperor was walking from the palace to the Cathedral of the Assumption), and Petya was unexpectedly struck hard in the ribs. After a moment, and then being squeezed again, his eyes suddenly went black and he passed out.When he awoke, a priestly figure with a lock of white hair at the back of his head, wearing an old blue robe, probably a deacon, held him under his arm with one arm and shielded him from the crowd with the other. The crowd that came over.

"Squeeze the young master to death!" said the deacon, "That's not good! . . . Be gentle... Crowded to death, crushed to death! " The emperor steps into the Cathedral of the Assumption.The crowd calmed down again, and the deacon brought Petya, pale and breathing hard, to the King of Cannons.Some people felt sorry for Petya, and suddenly a crowd came to see him and crowded around him.The people standing before him tended him, unfastened his frock coat, placed him on a high battery, and scolded those who crowded him. -------- ① Cannon King is a cannon cast in 1586, which is now kept in the Kremlin.

"It's crowding people to death. It's unbearable! It's almost killing people! Look at the poor boy, as white as a tablecloth," said several voices. Petya soon regained consciousness, the flush returned to his cheeks, and the pain passed away.In exchange for temporary unhappiness, he bought the position of the fort, and he hoped to see the emperor who would come back from this position.Petya now no longer wanted to submit papers.As long as he could see him—he considered himself a happy man. During the service at the Cathedral of the Assumption - a joint prayer for the emperor's arrival and peace for Turkey - the crowd dispersed; peddlers appeared, selling kvass, sugar cakes and poppy candies, Petya's favorite bread, and everyday conversations can be heard.A merchantwoman showed a torn shawl, which she said she had paid for it at a great price; another said that silk had gone up in price these days.The deacon who rescued Petya and an official said that Father So-and-So and So-and-so accompanied the Bishop to preside at the service that day.The deacon repeated the words "meeting with the Lord" which Petya did not understand.Two petty bourgeois were joking with some serf girls who were nibbling hazelnuts.All these conversations, especially the teasing with the girls, which were most attractive to a boy of Petya's age, did not interest Petya now; he sat on the high cannon and thought of the Emperor. , Thinking of his love and admiration, my heart is still very excited.The pain and fear as he was being squeezed, along with the joy, made him realize the importance of the moment.

Suddenly there is a salute of guns from the river bank (this is to celebrate the peace with Turkey), and people flock to the river bank-to see how the cannons are fired.Petya wanted to go there too, but the deacon, whose duty it was to protect the young master, would not let him go.The salute continued, and at this moment officers, generals, and bodyguards ran out from the Cathedral of the Assumption, and then a few more deliberate figures, and a group took off their hats again, and those who had gone to watch the cannon fire came running back.Finally, four men in uniform and ribbons emerged from the cathedral.

"Ulla! Ulla!" the crowd shouted again. "Who? Who?" Petya asked the people around him in a tearful voice, but no one answered him; everyone was so fascinated that Petya chose one of the four, and he was so happy that tears blurred his eyes and made him unable to see clearly. That man, though that man was not an emperor, was full of joy, shouting "Hurrah!" in a feverish voice, and decided that tomorrow, anyway, he would be a soldier. The crowd ran after the emperor, escorted him to the palace, and then dispersed.It was late, Petya hadn't eaten, and was sweating profusely, but instead of coming home, he stood in front of the palace with a considerable number of people who remained, and looked out of the windows of the palace while the emperor was eating, and was still there. What to expect, they were very envious of the dignitaries who were walking up the palace foyer to lunch with the Emperor, and of the court servants who were waiting at the tables, peeking through the windows.

While the emperor was eating, Valunava turned to the window and said: "The people still want to see His Majesty again." After lunch, the emperor ate the last piece of biscuit, stood up, and walked to the balcony.The people, including Petya, flocked to the balcony. "Angel, my God! Hurrah! Father!" . . . cried Petya with the crowd.Together with some peasant women and some soft-hearted men, weeping with joy.The emperor held a rather large piece of leftover biscuit in his hand and broke it, and it fell on the balcony railing and fell from the railing to the floor.A coachman in a jacket, who stood nearest, sprang forward and took the biscuit in his hand.Some of the crowd rushed towards the coachman, and the emperor, seeing this, ordered a plate of biscuits to be handed to him, and began to sprinkle them from the balcony. Petya's eyes were bloodshot, and the possibility of being crushed was still threatening him, making him even more so. Nervous, he rushed towards the biscuit.He didn't know why he did it, but he had to get a piece of biscuit from the Tsar's hands.At any cost, he rushed over and tripped an old lady who was grabbing a biscuit.Although the old lady was lying on the ground, she still refused to admit defeat (she was grabbing the biscuit, but did not catch it).Petya pushed her hand away with his knee, picked up a biscuit, and, as if afraid of missing someone, he shouted "Hurrah!" His voice was already hoarse.

The emperor left, and then most of the people dispersed. "I just said, I have to wait a little longer—as expected, I have waited." People around were happily discussing. In spite of Petya's happiness, he walked home still sullen, knowing that the day's fun was over.After leaving the Kremlin, Petya did not go straight home, but went to see his companion, Obolensky, a boy of fifteen who was also enlisting in the army.Back home, he declared firmly and forcefully that if he was not allowed to join the army, he would run away.The next day Count Ilya Andreitch, though not completely yielding, went out to inquire if Petya could find a safer place.