Book 4 Chapter 12

IOGEL'S were the most enjoyable balls in Moscow. So the mammas said as they looked at their boys and girls executing the steps they had only lately learnt. So too said the boys and girls themselves, who danced till they were ready to drop; so too said the grown-up girls and young men, who came to those dances in a spirit of condescension, and found in them the greatest enjoyment. That year two matches had been made at those dances. The two pretty young princesses Gortchakov had found suitors there, and had been married, and this had given the dances even greater vogue than before. What distinguished these dances from others was the absence of host and hostess, and the presence of the good-humoured Iogel, who had sold tickets for lessons to all his guests, and fluttered about like a feather, bowing and scraping in accordance with the rules of his art. Another point of difference, too, was that none came to these dances but those who really wanted to dance and enjoy themselves, in the way that girls of thirteen and fourteen do, putting on long dresses for the first time. All with rare exceptions were or looked pretty, so ecstatically they smiled and so rapturously their eyes sparkled. The pas de chale even was sometimes danced by the best pupils, among whom Natasha was the best of all, and conspicuous for her gracefulness. But at this last ball they only danced ecossaises, anglaises, and a mazurka that was just coming into fashion. A great hall had been taken by Iogel in the house of Bezuhov, and the ball, as every one said, was a great success. There were many pretty girls, and the Rostov girls were among the prettiest. They were both particularly happy and gay. That evening Sonya, elated by Dolohov's offer, her refusal, and her interview with Nikolay, had kept whirling round at home, not letting her maid have a chance of doing her hair, and now at the dance she was transparently radiant with impulsive happiness.

Natasha, no less elated at being for the first time at a real ball in a long skirt, was even happier. Both the girls wore white muslin dresses with pink ribbons.

Natasha fell in love the moment she walked into the ballroom. She was not in love with any one in particular, but in love with every one. Whomever she looked at, for the moment that she was looking at him, she was in love with.

“Oh, how nice it is!” she kept saying, running up to Sonya.

Nikolay and Denisov walked about the room and looked with friendly patronage at the dancers.

“How sweet she is; she will be a beauty,” said Denisov.

“Who?”

“Countess Natasha,” answered Denisov.

“And how she dances; what grace!” he said again, after a short pause.

“Of whom are you speaking?”

“Why, of your sister,” cried Denisov angrily.

Rostov laughed.

“My dear count, you are one of my best pupils, you must dance,” said little Iogel, coming up to Nikolay. “Look at all these pretty young ladies!” He turned with the same request to Denisov, who had also at one time been his pupil.

“No, my dear fellow, I will be a wallflower,” said Denisov. “Don't you remember how little credit I did to your teaching?”

“Oh no!” said Iogel, hastening to reassure him. “You were only inattentive, but you had talent, you had talent.”

They began to play the new mazurka. Nikolay could not refuse Iogel, and asked Sonya to dance. Denisov sat down by the elderly ladies, and leaning his elbow on his sword, and beating time with his foot, he began telling something amusing and making the old ladies laugh, while he watched the young ones dancing. Iogel was dancing in the first couple with Natasha, his best pupil and his pride. With soft and delicate movements of his little slippered feet, Iogel first flew across the room with Natasha—shy, but conscientiously executing her steps. Denisov did not take his eyes off her, and beat time with his sword with an air that betrayed, that if he were not dancing it was because he would not, and not because he could not, dance. In the middle of a figure he beckoned Rostov to him.

“That's not the right thing a bit,” he said. “Is that the Polish mazurka? But she does dance splendidly.”

Knowing that Denisov had been renowned even in Poland for his fine dancing of the Polish mazurka, Nikolay ran up to Natasha.

“Go and choose Denisov. He does dance. It's a marvel!” he said.

When it was Natasha's turn again, she got up, and tripping rapidly in her ribbon-trimmed dancing-shoes, she timidly ran alone across the room to the corner where Denisov was sitting. She saw that every one was looking at her, waiting to see what she would do. Nikolay saw that Denisov and Natasha were carrying on a smiling dispute, and that Denisov was refusing, though his face wore a delighted smile. He ran up.

“Please do, Vassily Dmitritch,” Natasha was saying; “come please.”

“Oh, have mercy on me, countess,” Denisov was saying jocosely.

“Come now, nonsense, Vaska,” said Nikolay.

“They coax me like the pussy-cat Vaska,” said Denisov good-humouredly.

“I'll sing to you a whole evening,” said Natasha.

“The little witch, she can do anything with me!” said Denisov; and he unhooked his sword. He came out from behind the chairs, clasped his partner firmly by the hand, raised his head and stood with one foot behind the other, waiting for the time. It was only on horseback and in the mazurka that Denisov's low stature was not noticeable, and that he looked the dashing hero he felt himself to be. At the right bar in the time he glanced sideways with a triumphant and amused air at his partner, and making an unexpected tap with one foot he bounded springily like a ball from the floor and flew round, whirling his partner round with him. He flew inaudibly across the hall with one leg forward, and seemed not to see the chairs standing before him, darting straight at them; but all at once with a clink of his spurs and a flourish of his foot he stopped short on his heels, stood so a second, with a clanking of spurs stamped with both feet, whirled rapidly round, and clapping the left foot against the right, again he flew round. Natasha's instinct told her what he was going to do, and without herself knowing how she did it, she followed his lead, abandoning herself to him. At one moment he spun her round, first on his right arm, then on his left arm, then falling on one knee, twirled her round him and again galloped, dashing forward with such vehemence that he seemed to intend to race through the whole suite of rooms without taking breath. Then he stopped suddenly again and executed new and unexpected steps in the dance. When after spinning his partner round before her seat he drew up smartly with a clink of his spurs, bowing to her, Natasha did not even make him a curtsey. She looked at him smiling with a puzzled face, as though she did not recognise him.

“What does it mean?” she said.

Although Iogel would not acknowledge this mazurka as the real one, every one was enchanted with Denisov's dancing of it, and he was continually being chosen as partner; while the old gentlemen, smiling, talked about Poland and the good old days. Denisov, flushed with his exertions and mopping his face with his handkerchief, sat by Natasha and would not leave her side all the rest of the ball.

约格尔家里举办的舞会是莫斯科的最快乐的舞会。娘儿们看见自己的adolescentes①跳着刚刚学会的舞步时都这么说；跳舞跳得累倒的男女少年也都这么说；已经长大的少女和青年同样说出这句话，他们怀有屈尊俯就的心绪前来出席舞会，从中寻求令人消魂的乐趣。是年，舞会上办成了两件婚事。戈尔恰科夫家的两个俊美的公爵小姐觅得未婚夫，并已出嫁，这个舞会因而享有盛誉。男女主人均不在场，乃是舞会的特点：善良心肠的约格尔就像飞扬的羽毛，飘飘然，十分内行地并脚致礼，他向所有的客人收取授课的酬金。而且只有想要跳舞和寻欢作乐的人才来出席舞会，就像十三四岁的小姑娘头一回穿上长长的连衣裙也有这样的兴头似的，此其二。除了少数几个人例外，个个都漂漂亮亮，或者看起来漂漂亮亮，他们都兴高采烈地微笑，两眼闪烁着明亮的光辉。优秀的女生有时候甚至跳着pas　de　chaBle①，在这里，婀娜多姿的娜塔莎出类拔萃；在这最后一次舞会上他们只跳苏格兰舞、英吉利兹舞、刚刚流行的玛祖尔卡舞。约格尔占用了别祖霍夫家里的大厅，正像大家所说的那样，舞会举办得很成功。舞会上有许多漂亮的小姑娘，罗斯托夫家里的小姐都是佼佼者。她们俩人都特别幸福和愉快。这天晚上，索尼娅显得骄傲的是，多洛霍夫向她求婚，她已经拒绝，并向尼古拉表白爱情，她在家里不停地旋舞，女仆给弄得没法替她梳完发辫，这时她由于激动和欣喜而容光焕发。

①法语：少年。

娜塔莎也同样地感到自豪的是，她头一次穿着长长的连衣裙出席真正的舞会，她觉得更加幸福。她们都穿着白纱连衣裙，裙上系着玫瑰色的绦带。

从娜塔莎走进来出席舞会那时起，她就沉浸在爱情中了。她没有特地爱上什么人，但是她爱上大家了。她凡是望着什么人，在她打量他的时候，她也就爱上他了。

“啊，好极了！”当她跑到索尼娅面前时，她说。

尼古拉和杰尼索夫在几个大厅里逛来逛去，带着温和和庇护的神情环顾跳舞的人们。

“她多么可爱，将来是一个美人儿。”杰尼索夫说。

“是谁？”

“伯爵小姐娜塔莎。”杰尼索夫答道。

①法语：披巾舞。

“她跳得很好，多么优雅！”他沉默了片刻后又说。

“你说的是谁？”

“是你的妹妹，”杰尼索夫气忿地喊了一声。

罗斯托夫冷冷一笑。

“Mon　cher　comte，vous　êtes　l'un　de　mes　meilleurs　écoliers，il　faut　que　vous　danisiez．”①矮小的约格尔走到尼古拉跟前，说道，“Voyez　combien　de　jolies　demoiselles．②”他同样地邀请杰尼索夫，杰尼索夫从前也是他的学生。

“Non，mon　cher，je　ferai　tapisserie③，”杰尼索夫说，

①法语：亲爱的伯爵，您是我的优等生之一。您应当跳舞。

②法语：您瞧，有许多美丽的姑娘。

③法语：不，我亲爱的，我最好坐下来看一会儿。

“现在您难道记不得，我不会应用您教的这门课吗？……”

“噢，不对！”约格尔连忙安慰他说，“您只是不大用心，而您是有才华的，是啊，您是有才华的。”

他们又奏起广为流行的玛祖尔卡曲。尼古拉未能拒绝约格尔，于是邀请索尼娅跳舞。杰尼索夫在老太婆们旁边坐下来，用臂肘支在马刀上，合着拍子跺脚，他愉快地讲着什么，惹得老太太们发笑，他不时地看看跳舞的青年。约格尔和他引以为自豪的优等生娜塔莎结成第一对舞伴跳舞。约格尔从容而且柔和地移动那双穿着短靴皮鞋的小脚，随同那胆怯、却尽力跳出各种舞步的娜塔莎，首先在舞厅中翩翩起舞。杰尼索夫目不转睛地望着她，一面用马刀打拍子，那模样表明，他本人不去跳舞只是因为他不愿跳舞，而不是因为他不会跳舞。在跳舞跳到一半的时候，他把从他身边走过的罗斯托夫喊到面前来。

“这根本不是那么回事，”他说，“难道这是波兰玛祖尔卡舞么？不过她跳得真妙。”

尼古拉知道杰尼索夫甚至在波兰亦以跳波兰玛祖尔卡舞的技能而遐尔闻名，他跑到娜塔莎跟前说：

“你去挑选杰尼索夫吧。他跳得很棒！妙极了！”他说。

当又轮到娜塔莎的时候，她站立起来，迅速地移动她那双穿着带有花结的短靴皮鞋的小脚，她独自一人羞答答地穿过舞厅跑到杰尼索夫所坐的那个角落。她看见，大家都朝她望着，等待着。尼古拉看见杰尼索夫和娜塔莎微露笑容，争吵着什么，杰尼索夫表示拒绝，可是他还流露着愉快的微笑。

他向前跑去。

“瓦西里·德米特里奇，请吧，”娜塔莎说道，“我们一块儿跳舞，请吧。”

“怎么，伯爵小姐，免了吧，别给我添麻烦。”杰尼索夫说。

“得啦，够了，瓦夏。”尼古拉说。

“简直像劝只公猫瓦西卡似的。”杰尼索夫诙谐地说。

“以后我整个夜晚给您唱歌。”娜塔莎说道。

“女魔法师，想对我怎么办就怎么办吧！”杰尼索夫说，他摘下马刀。杰尼索夫从几把椅子后面走出来，紧紧地握住女舞伴的手，稍微抬起头，伸出一条腿，等待着音乐的拍节。只有在骑马和跳玛祖尔卡舞的时候，才看不清杰尼索夫那矮小的身材，于是他装出像个连他自己也感觉得到的英姿飒爽的小伙子，他等待着音乐的拍节，得意洋洋地、诙谐地从侧面看看自己的舞伴，忽然间，他用一只脚轻轻一顿，便像小皮球似的富有弹力，从地板上跳起来，他带着女舞伴沿着那圆形舞池，飞也似地旋转起来。他用一只脚一声不响地从半个舞厅跑过去，好像没有看见摆在面前的几把椅子似的，他于是劲直地向前冲去，可是，忽然间两只马刺给撞得叮当地响了一声，他叉开两腿，后跟落地，站着不动，站了一秒钟。就在马刺的撞击声中，他的两脚在原地跺得咚咚响，一面疾速地转动，一面用左脚轻轻地磕打着右脚，又沿着圆形舞池飞快地旋舞。娜塔莎正在猜着他打算做点什么事，而她自己竟然不知道，怎么会听任他摆布，跟在他后面走去，时而他带着她旋转，时而用右手，时而用左手，时而弯屈膝头，引导她绕着自己转动，又霍然站立起来，飞速地向前冲去，就好像他要不喘气地跑过这几个房间似的，时而他又忽然停下来，出人意外地跳出一个新花样。当他在舞伴的座位前面活泼地带着她转动的时候，他碰击一下马刺，向她鞠躬了。娜塔莎甚至没有向他行个屈膝礼。她困惑不安地把她的目光凝聚在他身上，面露微笑，仿佛不认得他似的。

“这究竟是怎么回事呢？”她说。

尽管约格尔不认为这是地道的玛祖尔卡舞，但是人人都赞赏杰尼索夫的技巧，开始不断地挑选他做舞伴，老头子也面露微笑，开始谈论波兰和美好的旧时代。杰尼索夫因跳玛祖尔卡舞而累得满面通红，他用手绢揩干脸上的汗。在娜塔莎旁边坐下，舞会上的人都没有离开她。