THE PILGRIM WOMAN was appeased, and being drawn into conversation again, told them a long story again of Father Amfilohey, who was of so holy a life that his hands smelt of incense, and how some monks of her acquaintance had, on her last pilgrimage to Kiev, given her the keys of the catacombs, and how taking with her some dry bread she had spent two days and nights in the catacombs with the saints. “I pray a bit in one, chant a hymn, and go into another. I fall asleep, again I go and kiss the holy relics; and such peace, ma'am, such blessedness, that one has no wish to come out into God's world again.”

Pierre listened to her attentively and seriously. Prince Andrey went out of the room. And leaving God's folk to finish their tea, Princess Marya followed him with Pierre to the drawing-room. “You are very kind,” she said to him.

“Ah, I really didn't mean to hurt her feelings; I so well understand those feelings, and prize them so highly.”

Princess Marya looked mutely at him, and smiled affectionately.

“I have known you for a long time, you see, and I love you like a brother,” she said. “How do you think Andrey is looking?” she asked hurriedly, not letting him have time to say anything in reply to her affectionate words. “He makes me very uneasy. His health was better in the winter, but last spring the wound reopened, and the doctor says he ought to go away for proper treatment. And I feel afraid for him morally. He has not a character like us women, to suffer and find relief for sorrow in tears. He keeps it all within him. To-day he is lively and in good spirits. But that's the effect of your being with him; he is not often like this. If only you could persuade him to go abroad. He needs activity, and this quiet, regular life is bad for him. Others don't notice it, but I see it.”

Towards ten o'clock the footmen rushed to the steps, hearing the bells of the old prince's carriage approaching. Prince Andrey and Pierre, too, went out on to the steps.

“Who's that?” asked the old prince, as he got out of the carriage and saw Pierre.

“Ah! very glad! kiss me!” he said, on learning who the young stranger was.

The old prince was in good humour and very cordial to Pierre.

Before supper, Prince Andrey, on coming back into his father's study, found the old prince in hot dispute with Pierre. The latter was maintaining that a time would come when there would be no more war. The old prince was making fun of him but with good humour.

“Let off blood from men's veins and fill them up with water, then there'll be no more war. Old women's nonsense, old women's nonsense,” he was saying, but still he slapped Pierre affectionately on the shoulder, and went up to the table where Prince Andrey, evidently not caring to take part in the conversation, was looking through the papers the old prince had brought from the town. The old prince went up to him and began to talk of business.

“The marshal, a Count Rostov, hasn't sent half his contingent. Came to the town and thought fit to invite me to dinner—a pretty dinner I gave him; … And here, look at this.… Well, my boy,” said the old prince to his son, clapping Pierre on the shoulder, “your friend is a capital fellow; I like him! He warms me up. Other people will talk sense and one doesn't care to listen, and he talks nonsense, but it does an old man like me good. There, run along,” he said; “maybe I'll come and sit with you at your supper. We'll have another dispute. Make friends with my dunce, Princess Marya,” he shouted to Pierre from the door.

It was only now on his visit to Bleak Hills that Pierre appreciated fully all the charm of his friendship with Prince Andrey. The charm was not so manifest in his relations with his friend himself as in his relations with all his family and household. Though he had hardly known them, Pierre felt at once like an old friend both with the harsh old prince and the gentle, timid Princess Marya. They all liked him. Not only Princess Marya, who had been won by his kindliness with the pilgrims, looked at him with her most radiant expression, little Prince Nikolay, as the old prince called the year-old baby, smiled at Pierre and went to him. Mihail Ivanitch and Mademoiselle Bourienne looked at him with smiles when he talked to the old prince.

The old prince came in to supper; it was obviously on Pierre's account. He was extremely warm with him both days of his stay at Bleak Hills, and asked him to come and stay with him again.

When Pierre had gone, and all the members of the family were met together, they began to criticise him, as people always do after a new guest has left, and as rarely happens, all said nothing but good of him.

女朝圣者安静下来了，又参加谈话，她讲到阿姆菲洛希神甫的事情，讲了很久，这个神甫过着圣洁的生活，他的一只手也发散着神香的气息，又讲她认识的几个僧侣，在她最近一次漫游基辅的时候，给了她一把打开洞穴的钥匙，她随身带着面包干，和几个朝圣者在洞穴里待了两天两夜。“我向一具圣尸祈祷，念念祷告词，又向另一具圣尸走去。我小睡片刻，又怀着敬意地去吻圣物，妈呀，那里多么寂静，多么爽适，简直使人不想走回外界去。”

皮埃尔很仔细地、认真地听她讲话。安德烈公爵从房里走出去了，在他走后公爵小姐玛丽亚留下那些神亲，让他们慢慢饮茶，她把皮埃尔带到客厅里去。

“您很慈善。”她对他说道。

“咳，我真的不想侮辱她，我非常理解而且珍惜这种感情。”

公爵小姐玛丽亚沉默无言地瞥他一眼，露出温柔的微笑。

“我知道我早就认识您了，我像疼爱哥哥一样爱您，”她说，“您认为安德烈怎么样？”她连忙问道，不让他有时间来说些什么回答她所说的亲热的话，“他使我感到非常不安。他的健康情况冬天有所改善，但去年春天他的旧伤复发了，医生说他应当去治疗。因此我在精神上很替他担心。他的性情和我们女人不同，他不擅长在忧患中煎熬，用哭来发泄自己的痛苦。他在内心中承受着痛苦。今天他的精神振奋，心情也很愉快，这是您的到来对他产生的影响，他很少是这个样子。若是您能劝他出国该多好啊！他所需要的是工作，而这种平静的生活会把他毁掉的，这一点其他人并没有发觉，我可是看得出来的。”

九点多种，几个侍者听见老公爵开来的轻便马车的铃铛声，就急忙奔向台阶。安德烈公爵和皮埃尔也登上台阶。

“这是谁啊？”老公爵走下马车，看见皮埃尔后问道。

“啊！我很高兴！来亲吻吧。”他知道这个不认识的年轻人是谁之后说道。

老公爵情绪很好，亲热地对待皮埃尔。

晚饭前安德烈公爵回到父亲书斋，正遇见老公爵和皮埃尔在热烈争辩。皮埃尔证明，不再有战争的时日必将来临。老公爵开点儿玩笑，没有发脾气，对他说的话提出了异议。

“把血管里的血放出来，灌进一点水，那时就没有战争了。女人的呓语，女人的呓语。”他说，但仍然和蔼地拍拍皮埃尔的肩膀，他走到桌前，看来安德烈公爵不想参加谈话，正在桌旁翻阅父亲从城里带来的文件。老公爵走到他跟前，开始谈论一些事情。

“首席贵族罗斯托夫伯爵没有把一半人马送来。他抵达城里了，忽然想请我出席午宴，我为他举办了一次午宴……请看看这份文件……喂，自己人，”尼古拉·安德烈伊奇公爵拍了拍皮埃尔的肩膀，把脸转向儿子说，“你的友人是好样的，我真喜欢他！他使我激昂起来。别人也会说俏皮话，但是我不愿意听，他就是撒谎，也会使我这个老头子激动起来。喂，去吧，去吧，”他说道，“我大概要来出席你们的晚宴。我还要争辩争辩。你爱爱我的傻姑娘公爵小姐玛丽亚。”他从门里向皮埃尔喊道。

目前皮埃尔到了童山才赏识他和安德烈公爵的友谊的全部魅力和作用。这种魅力与其说是表现在他和他本人的关系上，毋宁说是表现在他和他的亲人和家人的关系上。皮埃尔和严厉的老公爵以及温顺的畏葸的公爵小姐玛丽亚相处时，虽然他几乎不熟悉他们的情形，但是他立刻觉得自己是他们的老友。他们都很喜爱他。他对女朝圣者的温和态度赢得了公爵小姐玛丽亚的好感，公爵小姐用炯炯的目光谛视他；一岁的尼古拉小公爵（正如祖父这样叫他）向皮埃尔微微一笑，向他走去，让他抱抱他。当他和老公爵交谈的时候，米哈伊尔·伊万内奇和布里安小姐都面带愉快的微笑端详着他。

老公爵出来吃夜饭，显然是为了招待皮埃尔的缘故。在童山逗留的这两天，老公爵对皮埃尔很亲热，还请他以后常到他这里来。

皮埃尔离开以后，他们全家人聚集起来评论他，这就像新客离开后常有的情形那样。而全家都说他的好话，这倒是罕见的事。