AN HOUR LATER Dunyasha came in to the princess with the news that Dron had come, and all the peasants by the princess's orders were assembled at the granary and desirous of speaking with their mistress.
“But I did not send for them,” said Princess Marya. “I merely told Dronushka to give them the corn.”
“Only, for God's sake, your excellency, order them to be sent away and don't go to them. It's all a plot,” said Dunyasha, “and Yakov Alpatitch will come and we will start … and pray …”
“How a plot?” asked the princess in surprise.
“Why, I know all about it, only do listen to me, for God's sake. Ask old nurse too. They say they won't agree to move away at your orders.”
“You are making some mistake. Why, I have never given them orders to go away …” said Princess Marya. “Call Dronushka.”
Dron on coming in confirmed Dunyasha's words; the peasants had come by the princess's instructions.
“But I have never sent for them,” said the princess. “You must have given them my message wrong. I only said that you were to give them the corn.”
Dron sighed without replying.
“If so you command, they will go away,” he said.
“No, no, I'll go out to them,” said Princess Marya.
In spite of Dunyasha's and the old nurse's attempts to dissuade her, Princess Marya went out on to the steps. Dronushka, Dunyasha, the old nurse, and Mihail Ivanitch followed her.
“They probably imagine I am offering them the corn to keep them here while I go away myself, leaving them at the mercy of the French,” thought Princess Marya. “I will promise them monthly rations and lodgings on the Moscow estate. I am sure Andrey would do more for them in my place,” she thought, as she went out in the twilight towards the crowd, waiting on the pasture near the granary.
The crowd stirred, huddling closer, and rapidly took off their hats. Princess Marya came closer to them, her eyes cast down and her feet tripping over her gown. So many different eyes, old and young, were fixed upon her, there were so many different faces that Princess Marya did not see a single one of them, and feeling it necessary to address all at once, did not know how to set about it. But again the sense that she was the representative of her father and brother gave her strength, and she boldly began her speech.
“I am very glad you have come,” she began, not raising her eyes and feeling the rapid and violent beating of her heart. “Dronushka has told me that the war has ruined you. That is our common trouble, and I will grudge nothing to aid you. I am going away myself because it is dangerous here … and the enemy is near … because … I give you everything, my friends, and I beg you to take everything, all our corn, that you may not suffer want. But if you have been told that I am giving you corn to keep you here, it is false. On the contrary, I beg you to move away with all your belongings to our Moscow estate, and there I undertake and promise you that you shall not be in want. You shall be given houses and bread.” The princess stopped. Nothing was to be heard from the crowd but sighs.
“I don't do this on my own account,” the princess went on; “I do it in the name of my dead father, who was a good master to you, and for my brother and his son.”
She paused again. No one broke the silence.
“We have trouble in common, and we will share it all equally. All that is mine is yours,” she said, looking up at the faces before her. All the eyes were gazing at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not fathom. Whether it were curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or apprehension, and distrust, the expression on all the faces was alike.
“Very thankful for your kindness, only it's not for us to take the master's corn,” said a voice from the back.
“But why not?” said the princess. No one answered, and Princess Marya, looking up at the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes dropped at once on meeting hers.
“Why don't you want to?” she asked again.
No one replied.
Princess Marya was oppressed by the silence; she tried to catch somebody's eye.
“Why don't you speak!” she said, addressing a very old man who was standing near her, his arms propped on his stick. “Tell me if you think something more is needed. I will do anything,” she said, catching his eye. But as though angered by her doing so, he bent his head, and said:
“Why should we agree? We don't want your corn.”
“Why are we to give up everything? We're not willing … Not willing. It's not with our consent. We are sorry for you, but we are not willing. You go away by yourself, alone …” was protested from different parts of the crowd. And again all the faces in the crowd wore the same expression; and now it was unmistakably not an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of exasperated determination.
“But you misunderstand me,” said Princess Marya, with a melancholy smile. “Why don't you want to move away? I promise to settle you, to provide for you. And here the enemy will plunder you …” But her voice was drowned by the voices of the crowd.
“We're not willing, let him plunder us! We won't take your corn, we won't agree!”
Princess Marya tried again to catch some one's eye in the crowd, but no one was looking at her; their eyes unmistakably avoided hers. She felt strange and awkward.
“To be sure, she would school us, … a good dodge, … follow her into slavery. Pull down your house and go into bondage. I dare say! I'll give you corn, says she!” voices were saying in the crowd.
Princess Marya moved out of the ring, and went to the house with a dejected countenance. Repeating her command to Dron that horses were to be ready next day for her to start, she went away to her own room and remained alone with her own thoughts.
在这之后过了一个钟头，杜尼亚莎前来向公爵小姐报告一则消息：德龙来了，按照小姐的吩咐农夫们都集合在谷仓旁，有事要跟女主人商谈。
“是吗？我并没叫他们来，”玛丽亚公爵小姐说，“我只是叫德龙努什卡把粮食分给他们。”
“看在上帝的份上，亲爱的公爵小姐，叫人把他们赶走吧，决不要到他们那儿去。那不过是个圈套，”杜尼亚莎说，“等雅科夫·阿尔帕特奇他们回来，我们就走……您千万别……”
“什么圈套？”公爵小姐惊讶地问。
“我确实知道，看在上帝的份上，可得听我说。您只要问问保姆就知道了。听说他们都不愿按照您的吩咐离开村子。”
“你扯到哪儿去了。我从来没有吩咐他们离开村子……”
玛丽亚公爵小姐说，“把德龙努什卡叫来。”
德龙来了，他证实了杜尼亚莎说的话；农民是按照公爵小姐的吩咐来的。
“可是我从来没有召集他们，”公爵小姐说，“你大概把话传错了。我只是叫你把粮食分给他们。”
德龙没有回答，叹了一口气。
“您只要下个命令，他们就会四散的。”他说。
“不，不，我去见他们。”玛丽亚公爵小姐说。
不顾杜尼亚莎和保姆的劝阻，玛丽亚公爵小姐来到台阶上。德龙、杜尼亚莎、保姆和米哈伊尔·伊万内奇跟在她后面。
“他们大概以为我要分给他们粮食，是要他们留下来不动，而我自己离开，扔下他们让法国人肆虐，”玛丽亚公爵小姐想，“我答应在莫斯科近郊庄园按月发给他们口粮并给他们安排住处；我相信，安德烈若处在我的位置，一定会做得更多。”她一面想，一面在暮色苍茫中向站在牧场上谷仓旁的人群走去。
人群开始移动，聚集在一起，迅速地取下帽子。玛丽亚公爵小姐垂下眼帘，连衣裙绊脚，走近他们。那么多各种各样的眼睛，年老的和年青的，都在注视她，还有那么多不同的面孔，以致于玛丽亚公爵小姐连一张面孔也看不真切，只觉得必须一下子和所有的人说话，她不知道应该怎么办才好。但当她意识到她是她父亲和哥哥的代表时，她的劲头便增添了，于是她壮着胆子开始讲起话来。
“你们来了，我很高兴，”玛丽亚公爵小姐开始说了，她没有抬起眼睛，觉得心跳得厉害。“德龙努什卡告诉我，战争使你们破了产。这是我们共同的不幸。为了帮助你们，我不惜献出一切。因为这儿很危险，我要离开了，敌人离得很近……因为……我把一切都给你们，我的朋友们，我请求你们拿走一切，拿走我们所有的粮食，这样，你们就不致缺吃少用了。如果有人对你们说，我把东西给你们是为了叫你们留在这里，那不是实话。相反，我请求你们带着你们的全部财产搬到我们莫斯科近郊的庄园去，在那儿有我负责，保证你们不会过贫穷的日子，并给你们住宅和粮食。”公爵小姐停住了，只听见人群中的叹息声。
“我这样做，不仅是我个人的心意，”公爵小姐接着说，“我这样做是代表我辞世的父亲，你们的好主人，还代表我的哥哥和他的儿子。”
她又停住了，没有人打破这种沉默。
“我们的不幸是共同的，让我们一起分担这个不幸吧。我的一切，也是你们的一切。”她说完，扫视了一下站在她面前的人群的面孔。
所有的眼睛都以同样的表情望着她，她不能明白这种表情的含义。不知道是好奇、忠诚、感激，还是惊慌或不信任，只是所有脸上的表情都是相同的。
“对于您的恩典，我们非常感激，不过，我们不能拿地主的粮食。”后面传来这样一句话。
“为什么呢？”公爵小姐问。
没有人回答，玛丽亚公爵小姐环视人群，发现现在所有的眼睛一碰到她的目光，就立刻垂下了。
“为什么你们不想要呢？”她又问，仍没有人回答。
这种沉默使玛丽亚公爵小姐感到窘迫，她竭力捕捉随便哪个人的目光。
“你们干吗不说话啊？”她转向面前一个拄着拐棍的老人，说。“如果你认为还需要什么，你就说吧。我一切都可以办到。”她捉住他的视线，说。但是他好像对这件事很生气，把头完全低了下来，咕哝了一句：
“有什么同意不同意的，我们不需要粮食。”
“怎么，要我们抛弃一切？不同意。不同意……我们决不同意。我们同情你，但决不同意。你自己走吧，一个人走……”这样的话从四周的人群中传来。人们脸上又露出了同样的表情，但这时完全不是好奇和感激的表情，而是忿怒的、坚决的表情。
“你们大概没有明了我的话，”玛丽亚公爵小姐带着忧郁的笑容说。“你们为什么不愿走呢？吃的住的，我答应给你们供应。可是在这儿敌人会把你们弄得倾家荡产的……”但是人群的声音盖住了她的声音。
“我们决不同意，就让敌人来破坏吧！不要你的粮食，我们决不同意！”
玛丽亚公爵小姐又在人群中捕捉随便哪个人的目光了，但是没有一个人的目光是注视着她的；显然，眼睛都在回避她。她觉得奇怪，也感到难堪。
“你瞧，她说得多好听，跟她去当农奴，把家毁掉去受奴役？怎么样？我给你们粮食，她说！”人群中发出这些声音。
玛丽亚公爵小姐低着头离开人群走回家去。她又重新吩咐了德龙一遍，叫他准备好明天启程的马，然后她回到了自己的房间，独自一人呆着，思绪如麻。
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