Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

When the Pierres came to the living room, they happened to meet the old countess who was playing cards, in order to use her brains, although she said, like Pierre or her son every time they went out and came back: "It's time to come back, it's time to come back, My dear, everyone is waiting. It will be fine when you come back, thank God." When she handed the gift to her, she also said the same old words: "The precious thing is not the gift, my dear, thank you for still thinking about me. The old woman..." But this time Pierre came at the wrong time, and she was half-played, which distracted her attention and made her very unhappy.She finished playing cards before going to see the presents.Her presents were a card case of fine workmanship, and a pale blue Sevres cup with shepherdesses painted on it.There was also a gold snuff-box with the portrait of the old count, which Pierre had commissioned from a Petersburg miniature painter to paint (the countess had wanted one for a long time).She didn't want to cry at the moment, so she just glanced at the portrait coldly, and then fiddled with the delicate card case.

-------- ①Sevres is a satellite city in the southwest of Paris, France, famous for its porcelain production. "Thank you, my dear, you have made me happy," she said as usual. "But you're back at last. That's great. Your daughter-in-law is making a fuss too. You should discipline your daughter-in-law. She's going crazy when you're not home. She can't see anything." I can't remember anything." She repeated her routine, "Look, Belova, what a nice box (Anna Namofeyevna) he brought us." Belova also praised the gift, and the material of the clothes that had been given to her.

Although Pierre, Natasha, Nicholas, Countess Maria, and Denisov had a lot to say, they didn't want to say it in front of the old countess, not because they had something to hide from her, but because Because the old Countess was behind in many ways.If you talk in her presence, you have to answer some outdated questions from her, and some things have to be repeated, such as telling her that someone died or someone got married.Just like that, she might not remember.As usual, they drank tea around the samovar in the drawing room, while Pierre answered the countess's questions about whether Prince Vasili was old, whether Maria Alexeyevna had sent her a letter, whether she was missed, and so on.She doesn't care about these issues, nor does anyone else...

This unavoidable question, which no one was interested in, was discussed all the time over tea, and the grown-ups of the family drank tea around the round table by the samovar, near which Sonya sat.Tea was over with the children and their governess, and they were talking and laughing in the adjoining drawing-room.Here at tea they all sat in their usual places, and Nicholas sat at the little table by the fire, on which the tea had been served for him.Old Milka was a bitch born of a famous breed of dog Milka. The dog's face was covered with white hair, and its big black eyes were wider than usual. It was lying on the easy chair next to Nikolai. .Denisov, with curly hair and graying whiskers, sat down beside Countess Marya in his general uniform.Pierre sat between his wife and the old countess.He talked a lot of things that he thought the old lady would be interested in and understand.

He talked about things in the outside world, and he also talked about the old lady’s contemporaries. They were indeed active for a while back then, but now they are living in peace like her, and they seem to be reaping the last harvest of the crops planted in the early years. Batch ears of grain.The old countess considered her generation to be the truly orthodox one.Natasha could tell from Pierre's high spirits that his trip must be very interesting, so he could not finish talking, but it was difficult to tell everything in front of the old countess.Denisov, who was not a member of the family, did not understand why Pierre spoke in such a reserved manner, and, being dissatisfied with the present situation, he wanted to know the present situation in Petersburg.So he kept urging Pierre to talk about what had just happened in the Semyonov regiment, about Arakcheyev, about the founding of the Bible Society.Pierre was a little carried away when he was talking, and then Nicholas and Natasha hastened to turn the conversation to the health of Prince Ivan and Countess Marya Antonovna.

"So, Gosner, Tatalinova, what are you doing in such a frenzy?" asked Denisov. "Go on?" Pierre almost shouted. "They're working harder than ever. The Bible Society is now the equivalent of the government." "What is it all about, my dear friend?" She had finished her tea, and seemed to be looking for an excuse to lose her temper after dinner. "What do you mean by government, I don't understand." -------- ①The Bible Society was established by Golitsin in 1812, and had certain political influence. After Golitsin lost power, it was closed by Nicholas I in 1826.

②The latter clause, the original text is in French, which means my dear friend. "Oh, mother, you know what it is," interrupted Nikolai, who knew how to translate into words that his mother could understand, "Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Gorizin founded a group, it is said He's powerful now." "Arakcheyev and Gorizin," Pierre blurted out, "now they are in power, but they, seeing intrigues everywhere, have made a mess." "Well, what's wrong with Prince Gorizin? He's very respectable. I used to see him at Marya Antonovna's," said the old countess angrily.Seeing that everyone was silent, she became even more angry, so she went on to say: "Now everyone has learned to gossip and make unreasonable comments. What's wrong with the Bible?" She stood up (everyone followed suit) ), with a straight face, walked towards her table in the living room.

In the awkward silence, the laughter of the children in the next room came.Obviously, there must be something happy over there. "Okay, okay!" Amidst the cheers, little Natasha's voice overwhelmed everyone.Pierre and Countess Maria exchanged glances with Nicholas and smiled knowingly. (Pierre keeps looking at Natasha.) "What beautiful music!" he said. "It must be Anna Makarovna's sock," said Countess Marya. "Oh, I'll go and see," said Pierre, jumping up, "you know," he said, slowing down at the door, "why do I like this kind of music so much? Because it lets me know that everything is safe. I When I go home today, the closer I get to home, the more worried I become. As soon as I walked into the front hall and heard Andreus's hearty laughter, I knew that the children were all well..."

"I understand, I understand the feeling," agreed Nicholas, "but I don't have to go. I know, she knits amazing socks." Pierre went to the children's room, where the shouts were louder and the laughter increased. "Anna Makarovna," said Pierre. "Come here in the middle and listen to the password. Now I want to count one, two, three. When I count to three, you stand here and I will hug you. Okay, one, two,..." came the voice Al's voice, followed by silence. "Three!" The cheers of the children came from inside the room. "Two, two!" cried the children.

They were talking about two socks, and Anna Makarovna had the trick of knitting two at the same time with one pair of needles.Every time after knitting, she always triumphantly pulled out another sock from one sock in front of the children.