Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

Like every normal family, there are several different circles in Tongshan Manor at the same time.Each circle retains its own characteristics, but mutual accommodation and mutual understanding, thus forming a harmonious whole.Everything that happens in the family, sad or happy, is equally important to all circles, but each circle has its own reasons for sorrow and joy. For example, Pierre's return is a great joy, everyone feels this way. Servants were often the most reliable judges of their masters, for they judged not by the words and expressions of their masters, but by their actions and ways of life.They were very happy with Pierre's return, because they knew that as long as Pierre was at home, Count Nicholas would not visit the farm every day, and the count would be in a better mood and temper, and besides, everyone would get a lot of holiday gifts during the holidays .

The children and the governess were also delighted at the return of Pierre Bezukhov, for no one took them to social events as often as Pierre, who played Scottish dances on the clavichord (He can only play this dance music), he said that he can dance all kinds of dances with this dance music.In addition to save.The secular government as the "city of men" will be replaced by the "city of God," who will surely bring gifts to all. Nikolinka (little Nikolay) was fifteen years old, a thin, bright boy with hazel curly hair and beautiful eyes.He was also glad that Pierre was back, because Uncle Pierre (as he called him) was someone he admired and loved.In fact, no one asked him to like Pierre, and he rarely saw Pierre.Countess Maria, who raised him, tried her best to make little Nicholas love her husband as much as she did, and little Nicholas also loved his uncle, but there was a bit of contempt for his uncle. He liked Pierre very much.He did not want to be a hussar like Uncle Nicholas, nor to win the Order of St. George, he wanted to be a wise, kind and learned man like Uncle Pierre.He was always beaming and radiant in Pierre's presence.When Pierre spoke with him, he blushed and breathed rapidly. He listened to Pierre's words without missing a word, and then, with Dessalle or alone, he savored every word Pierre said.Pierre's past experiences, his misfortunes before 1812 (the little Nicholas secretly sketched a vague and poetic picture from what he heard), Pierre's adventures in Moscow, His captivity, the story of Platon Karadaev (he heard about it from Pierre), his love for Natasha (little Nicholas also had a special love for Natasha) , and more importantly, the friendship between Pierre and Nicholas Jr.'s biological father (Nicolas Jr. can't remember his father's face clearly), all of which make Pierre an important figure in the children's mind. heroes and saints.

From the few words Pierre spoke of his father and Natasha, from Pierre's agitation when he spoke of little Nicholas' father, from Natasha's prudence and piousness when he spoke of his father In his attitude, the child who was aware of love for the first time guessed that his father had loved Natasha and entrusted her to his best friend when he was dying.Although little Nicholas didn't remember his father, but his father was his mysterious object of admiration. Whenever he thought of his father, his heart became tense, his eyes filled with tears.So little Nicholas was delighted at Pierre's return.

The guests liked Pierre, too, because they all felt lively, happy, and united when he came. The grown-ups in the family liked Pierre (not to mention his wife) because life was lighthearted and peaceful in his presence. The old ladies welcomed him because he often brought presents and, above all, he made Natasha lively again. Pierre found that different people held different views on him, and he always tried his best to satisfy everyone's wishes. Pierre was originally a careless and very forgetful person, but this time he bought everything according to the list made by his wife.He did not forget the entrustment of his mother-in-law and brother-in-law, he did not forget the cloth for Belova as a gift, and he did not forget the toys for his nephews and nieces.When he first got married, his wife told him not to forget to buy this and that, which made him feel strange.The first time he went out, he forgot what to buy.His wife was very annoyed by this, he was surprised by Natasha's annoyance, and then he got used to it.He knew that Natasha didn't want anything for herself, but she bought things for others, and she would only let them buy if Pierre himself asked her to.Now he buys presents for the whole family with an unexpected, childlike joy that he will never forget.If Natasha blamed him again, it was because he bought too much and the price was too expensive.

Natasha's two faults, considered by most people to be untidy and careless (which were considered by most people to be faults, but Pierre regarded them as advantages) were now added, that is, miserliness. After Pierre got married, the population increased and the expenses were high, but Pierre himself felt strange. He found that the actual expenses were reduced by half, and his business, which was in trouble due to his ex-wife's debts, began to improve. There is restraint in life and less money is spent.Pierre no longer spends money like he used to, which may bankrupt him at any time.He thinks his way of life is like this, and it will not change until he dies, and he has no right to change this economical way of life.

Pierre was full of joy, sorting out the things he bought. "How beautiful!" he said, shaking out a piece of material like a shop assistant.Natasha sat opposite, with her eldest daughter on her knees, and her shining eyes turned from her husband to the piece of material. "Is it for Belova? Great." She touched the texture of the fabric. "That's about a ruble a foot?" Pierre said the price. "It's too expensive," Natasha said. "The kids will be very happy, and so will the mother. But why do you buy me this!" Gold comb with pearls.

"Ajly encouraged me to buy it. She kept saying, buy it, buy it." Pierre said. "When shall I wear it?" Natasha pushed the comb through the braid. "When Mashenka shows up at the ball, maybe it will be fashionable again then. Well, let's go." They packed up their presents, and went first to the nursery, and then to the old countess. When Pierre and Natasha came to the living room with bags of gifts, the old countess was playing cards with Belova as usual. The old Countess was over sixty, with white hair and a nightcap with a flounced edge about her face.Her face was lined with lines, her upper lip was sunken, and her eyes were glazed.

Her son and husband died one after another, and she felt that she was accidentally forgotten in this world, living without any purpose and meaning.She eats, she drinks, she sleeps sometimes, she doesn't sleep, she lives but doesn't feel like she's really alive.Life had left no vivid impression on her.She doesn't want anything from life, she only wants peace, and only death can bring her eternal peace, but before death comes, she has to live as usual, which means slowly consuming her vitality, The features of infants and old people were evident in her.She has no clear purpose in life, it seems that she only wants to use various functions of the body.She needs to eat, sleep, think, talk, cry, do things, lose her temper, etc., just because she has a stomach, a brain, muscles, nerves, and a liver.She does all these things without impelling her to do them, as in the exuberance of energy a man can concentrate his forces on one end and neglect others.She talks only because it's physically necessary to move her lungs and tongue, she cries like a baby because she needs to blow her nose, and so on.What an energetic person sees as an end is obviously just an excuse to her.

For example, if she ate something greasy in the morning or the day before, she wanted to lose her temper, and she used Belova's deafness as an excuse for her temper. She whispered to Belova across the room. "It seems warmer today, my dear," she whispered. Belova replied: "Yes! They are coming in a carriage." Then the old lady complained angrily: "My God! How deaf and stupid she is!" Another excuse was her snuff, which she thought was either too dry, too damp, or not ground fine enough.She lost her temper and her face became sallow.The maids knew from the look on the old lady's face that Belova must have lost her hearing again, or that the snuff was too damp, which made her turn yellow again.Just as she needs to lose her temper, she also needs to exercise her dulled mind sometimes, and here her excuse is playing cards.If she needed to cry, the nostalgia for the dead earl was the best excuse.If she wanted to panic, then Nikolai's health problems could be used as an excuse.She wanted to say something mean, so she went to Countess Marya to make trouble.She needs to move her vocal organs (mostly at six or seven o'clock after dinner, in a dark room), and she repeats the same story to her family members who have heard it many times.

Everyone in the family knew about the situation of the old lady, but everyone kept silent and just tried their best to satisfy her wishes.Nicholas, Pierre, Natasha, and Maria occasionally exchanged glances and wry smiles at each other, tacit understanding. But the winks hinted at something else, that she had done her life's work, that she was not what they saw today, and that someday we would all be like her.Therefore, everyone is willing to accommodate her, take care of her, and restrain themselves for her, who was so lovely and full of life like us, but now she has become so pitiful.She was not long to die—their eyes said so.

The only ones in the family who don't understand this are the cruel ones, the stupid ones, and the children, who alienate her. -------- ① The original text is Latin.