Book 9 Chapter 6

THOUGH BALASHOV was accustomed to the pomp of courts, he was impressed by the splendour and luxury of Napoleon's court.

Count de Turenne led him into the great reception-room, where a number of generals, gentlemen-in-waiting, and Polish magnates were waiting to see the Emperor. Many of them Balashov had seen at the court of the Russian Emperor. Duroc told him that the Emperor Napoleon would receive the Russian general before going out for his ride.

After a delay of several moments, a gentleman-in-waiting came into the great reception-room, and bowing courteously to Balashov, invited him to follow him.

Balashov went into the little reception-room, from which one door led to the study, the room where he had received the Russian Emperor's last charges before setting off. Balashov stood for a couple of minutes waiting. Hurried steps were audible through the door. Both halves of the door were swiftly thrown open, and in the complete stillness that followed other firm and resolute steps could be heard from the study: it was Napoleon. He had only just finished dressing for his ride. He was wearing a blue uniform, open over a white waistcoat, that came low down over his round belly, riding-boots, and white doeskin breeches, fitting tightly over his fat, short legs. His short hair had evidently just been brushed, but one lock hung down in the middle of his broad forehead. His plump, white neck stood out in sharp contrast to the black collar of his uniform; he smelt of eau-de-cologne. His still young-looking, full face, with its prominent chin, wore an expression of imperial graciousness and majestically condescending welcome.

He walked out with a quivering strut, his head thrown a little back. His whole stout, short figure, with his broad, fat shoulders and his prominent stomach and chest, had that imposing air of dignity common in men of forty who live in comfort. It was evident, too, that he happened that day to be in a particularly good humour.

He nodded in acknowledgment of Balashov's low and respectful bow, and going up to him, began to talk at once like a man who values every minute of his time, and will not deign to preface what he is going to say, as he is sure of always speaking well and saying the right thing.

“Good-day, general!” said he. “I have received the Emperor Alexander's letter that you brought, and I am very glad to see you.” He glanced at Balashov's face with his large eyes, and immediately looked past him.

It was obvious that he took no interest in Balashov's personality. It was plain that only what was passing in his soul had for him any interest. All that was outside him had no significance for him, because everything in the world depended, as he fancied, on his will.

“I do not, and did not, desire war,” he said, “but you have forced me to it. Even now” (he threw emphasis on the word) “I am ready to receive any explanations you can give me.” And he began briefly and clearly explaining the grounds of his displeasure with the Russian government.

Judging from the studiously composed and amicable tone of the French Emperor, Balashov was thoroughly persuaded that he was desirous of peace, and intended to enter into negotiations.

“Sire! The Emperor, my sovereign,” Balashov began, meaning to utter the speech he had prepared long before as soon as Napoleon had finished speaking, and looked inquiringly at him. But the look the Emperor turned upon him disconcerted him. “You are embarrassed; recover yourself,” Napoleon seemed to say, as with a hardly perceptible smile he scanned Balashov's sword and uniform. Balashov regained his composure, and began to speak. He said that the Emperor Alexander did not regard Kurakin's asking for his passport a sufficient cause for war; that Kurakin had acted on his own initiative without the Tsar's consent; that the Tsar did not desire war, and that he had no relations with England.

“Not as yet,” Napoleon put in, and as though afraid to abandon himself to his feelings, he frowned and nodded slightly as a sign to Balashov that he might continue.

After saying all he had been instructed to say, Balashov wound up by saying that the Emperor Alexander was desirous of peace, but that he would not enter into negotiations except upon condition that… At that point Balashov hesitated; he recollected words the Emperor Alexander had not written in his letter, but had insisted on inserting in the rescript to Saltykov, and had commanded Balashov to repeat to Napoleon. Balashov remembered those words: “As long as a single enemy under arms remains on Russian soil,” but some complicated feeling checked his utterance of them. He could not utter those words, though he tried to do so. He stammered, and said: “On condition the French troops retreat beyond the Niemen.”

Napoleon observed Balashov's embarrassment in the utterance of those last words: his face quivered, and the calf of his left leg began twitching rhythmically. Not moving from where he stood, he began speaking in a louder and more hurried voice than before. During the speech that followed Balashov could not help staring at the twitching of Napoleon's left leg, which grew more marked as his voice grew louder.

“I am no less desirous of peace than the Emperor Alexander,” he began. “Haven't I been doing everything for the last eighteen months to obtain it? For eighteen months I have been waiting for an explanation, but before opening negotiations, what is it that's required of me?” he said, frowning and making a vigorous gesticulation with his fat, little white hand.

“The withdrawal of the forces beyond the Niemen, sire,” said Balashov.

“Beyond the Niemen?” repeated Napoleon. “So now you want me to retreat beyond the Niemen—only beyond the Niemen?” repeated Napoleon, looking straight at Balashov.

Balashov bowed his head respectfully.

Four months before he had been asked to withdraw from Pomerania; now withdrawal beyond the Niemen was all that was required. Napoleon turned quickly away, and began walking up and down the room.

“You say that I am required to withdraw beyond the Niemen before opening negotiations; but two months ago I was required in the same way to withdraw beyond the Oder and the Vistula, and in spite of that you agree to enter into negotiations.”

He strode in silence from one corner of the room to the other and stopped again, facing Balashov. Balashov noticed that his left leg was twitching more rapidly than ever, and his face looked as though petrified in its stern expression. Napoleon was aware of this twitching. “The vibration of my left calf is a great sign with me,” he said in later days.

“Such demands as to retire beyond the Oder and the Vistula may be made to a prince of Baden, but not to me,” Napoleon almost screamed, quite to his own surprise. “If you were to give me Petersburg and Moscow I wouldn't accept such conditions. You say: I began the war. But who was the first to join his army? The Emperor Alexander, and not I. And you offer me negotiations when I have spent millions, when you are in alliance with England, and when your position is weak—you offer me negotiations! What is the object of your alliance with England? What has it given you?” he asked hurriedly. The motive of his words was obviously now not to enlarge on the benefits of peace and to consider its possibility, but simply to prove his own rectitude, and his own power, and point out the duplicity and the errors of Alexander.

He had plainly intended in entering on this conversation to point out the advantages of his own position, and to signify that in spite of them he would entertain the proposal of negotiations. But he had begun talking, and the more he talked the less able was he to control the tenor of his words.

The whole gist of his words now was obviously to glorify himself and to insult Alexander, precisely what he had least intended doing at the beginning of the interview.

“I am told you have concluded a peace with the Turks?”

Balashov bent his head affirmatively. “Peace has been concluded…” he began. But Napoleon did not allow him to speak. He clearly did not wish any one to speak but himself, and he went on with the unrestrained volubility and irritability to which people spoilt by success are so prone. “Yes, I know you have made peace with the Turks without gaining Moldavia and Wallachia. I would have given your Emperor those provinces just as I gave him Finland. Yes,” he went on, “I promised, and would have given the Emperor Alexander Moldavia and Wallachia, but now he will not possess those fair provinces. He might have united them to his empire, however, and he would have enlarged the frontiers of Russia from the Gulf of Bothnia to the mouth of the Danube. Catherine the Great could have done no more,” Napoleon declared, growing hotter and hotter as he walked up and down the room, and repeated to Balashov almost the words he had used to Alexander himself at Tilsit. “All that he would have owed to my friendship. Ah, what a fine reign! what a fine reign might have been that of the Emperor Alexander. Oh, what a grand reign,” he repeated several times. He stopped, took a gold snuffbox out of his pocket, and greedily put it to his nose.

He turned a commiserating glance on Balashov, and as soon as he would have made some observation, he hurriedly interrupted him again.

“What could he desire and look for that he would not have gained from my friendship?…” said Napoleon, shrugging his shoulders with an air of perplexity. “No, he has thought better to surround himself with my enemies. And with whom?” he went on. “He has gathered round him the Steins, the Armfeldts, the Bennigsens, the Wintzengerodes. Stein is a traitor, driven out of his own country; Armfeldt an intriguing debauchee; Wintzengerode a renegade French subject; Bennigsen is, indeed, rather more of a soldier than the rest, but still he's incompetent; he could do nothing in 1807, and I should have thought he must recall painful memories to the Emperor Alexander.… Even supposing he might make use of them if they were competent,” Napoleon went on, his words hardly able to keep pace with the rush of ideas that proved to him his right or his might (which to his mind meant the same), “but they are not even that! They are no use for war or for peace! Barclay, I'm told, is more capable than all of them, but I shouldn't say so, judging from his first man?uvres. And what are they doing, what are all these courtiers doing? Pfuhl is making propositions, Armfeldt is quarrelling, Bennigsen is considering, while Barclay, who has been sent for to act, can come to no decision, and is wasting time and doing nothing. Bagration is the only one that is a real general. He is stupid, but he has experience, judgment, and determination.… And what part does your young Emperor play in this unseemly crowd? They compromise him and throw upon him the responsibility of all that happens. A sovereign ought not to be with the army except when he is a general,” he said, obviously uttering these words as a direct challenge to the Tsar. Napoleon knew how greatly Alexander desired to be a great general. “It's a week now since the campaign commenced, and you haven't even succeeded in defending Vilna. You have been divided in two and driven out of the Polish provinces. Your army is discontented…”

“On the contrary, your majesty,” said Balashov, who scarcely had time to recollect what had been said to him, and had difficulty in following these verbal fireworks, “the troops are burning with eagerness…”

“I know all that,” Napoleon cut him short; “I know all that, and I know the number of your battalions as exactly as I know my own. You have not two hundred thousand troops, while I have three times as many. I give you my word of honour,” said Napoleon, forgetting that his word of honour could carry no weight—“my word of honour that I have five hundred and thirty thousand men this side of the Vistula. The Turks will be no help to you; they are good for nothing, and have proved it by making peace with you. As for the Swedes, it's their destiny to be governed by mad kings. Their king was mad. They changed him for another, Bernadotte, who promptly went mad; for no one not a madman could, being a Swede, ally himself with Russia.”

Napoleon laughed malignantly, and again put his snuff-box to his nose.

To each of Napoleon's phrases Balashov had a reply ready, and tried to utter it. He was continually making gestures indicative of a desire to speak, but Napoleon always interrupted him. To his remarks on the insanity of the Swedes, Balashov would have replied that Sweden was as good as an island with Russia to back her. But Napoleon shouted angrily to drown his voice. Napoleon was in that state of exasperation when a man wants to go on talking and talking simply to prove to himself that he is right. Balashov began to feel uncomfortable. As an envoy, he was anxious to keep up his dignity, and felt it essential to make some reply. But as a man he felt numb, repelled by the uncontrolled, irrational fury to which Napoleon abandoned himself. He knew that nothing Napoleon might say now had any significance and believed that he would himself on regaining his composure be ashamed of his words. Balashov remained standing, looking with downcast eyes at Napoleon's fat legs as they moved to and fro. He tried to avoid his eyes.

“And what are your allies to me?” said Napoleon. “I have allies too—the Poles. There are eighty thousand of them and they fight like lions. And there will be two hundred thousand.”

He was probably still more exasperated at having told this obvious falsehood and at Balashov's standing mutely before him in that pose of resignation to his fate. He turned sharply round and going right up to Balashov, gesticulating rapidly and vigorously with his white hands close to his face, he almost shouted: “Let me tell you, if you stir Russia up against me, let me tell you, I'll wipe her off the map of Europe,” he said, his face pale and distorted with anger, as he smote one little hand vigorously against the other. “Yes, I'll thrust you beyond the Dwina, beyond the Dnieper, and I'll restore the frontier that Europe was criminal and blind to let you overstep. Yes, that's what's in store for you, that's what you will gain by alienating me,” he said, and he walked in silence several times up and down the room, his thick shoulders twitching. He put the snuff-box in his waistcoat pocket, pulled it out again, held it several times to his nose, and stood still facing Balashov. He paused, looked sarcastically straight into Balashov's face and said in a low voice: “And yet what a fine reign your master might have had.”

Balashov, feeling it incumbent upon him to reply, said Russia did not look at things in such a gloomy light. Napoleon was silent, still looking ironically at him and obviously not listening to him. Balashov said that in Russia the best results were hoped for from the war. Napoleon nodded condescendingly, as though to say, “I know it's your duty to say that, but you don't believe in it yourself; you are convinced by me.” Towards the end of Balashov's speech, Napoleon pulled out his snuff-box again, took a sniff from it and tapped twice with his foot on the ground as a signal. The door opened, a gentleman-in-waiting, threading his way in respectfully, handed the Emperor his hat and gloves, another handed him a pocket-handkerchief. Napoleon, without bestowing a glance upon them, turned to Balashov.

“Assure the Emperor Alexander from me,” he said, taking his hat, “that I am devoted to him as before; I know him thoroughly, and I prize very highly his noble qualities. I detain you no longer, general; you shall receive my letter to the Emperor.” And Napoleon walked rapidly to the door. There was a general stampede from the great reception-room down the staircase.

虽然巴拉瑟夫已经习惯于宫廷隆重宏伟的场面，但拿破仑行宫的豪华和奢侈仍然使他大吃一惊。

杜伦伯爵把他领到一间大接待室，那里已有许多将军、宫廷高级侍从和波兰大富豪等待着，其中许多人巴拉瑟夫在俄罗斯皇帝的宫廷中见过面。久罗克说，拿破仑皇帝在散步前将接见俄罗斯将军。

等了几分钟后，值班侍从官走进大接待室，恭敬地向巴拉瑟夫鞠躬，请他随自己走。

巴拉瑟夫走进一间小接待室，室内一扇门通往书房，俄罗斯皇帝就在那间书房派他出使的。巴拉瑟夫站着等了约两分钟。门后响起急促的脚步声，两扇门忽地被拉开了，一切归于寂静，这时从书房里响起另一种坚定而果断的脚步声：这就是拿破仑。他刚穿好骑马行进的装束。他身穿蓝色制服，露出垂到滚圆的肚皮上面的白背心，白麂皮裤紧箍着又肥又短的大腿，脚着一双长筒靴。但短短的头发看来刚被梳理过，却还有一绺垂挂在宽阔的脑门中间。从黑色制服的领子里露出白胖的脖颈，身上散发出香水味，下颏突出，显得年轻的脸上，露出皇帝接见臣民时庄严而慈祥的神情。

他走出来了，每走一步都快速地颠一下，微微向后仰着头。他矮胖的身材，配上宽厚的肩膀，不自觉地挺胸腆肚，显示出一个保养很好的四十岁的人所具有的那种堂堂仪表和威风凛凛的样子。此外还可看出，这天他的心情极好。

他点了一下头，算是回答了巴拉瑟夫恭敬的深深的鞠躬，走到巴拉瑟夫面前，立刻说起话来，就像一个珍惜自己每一分钟时间的人，用不着打腹稿，并相信他总会说得好，需要说什么。

“您好？将军！”他说。“您送来的亚历山大皇帝的信，我收到了，很高兴见到您。”他那双大眼睛看了一眼巴拉瑟夫的脸，立即转向旁边了。

显然，对巴拉瑟夫这个人他毫无兴趣。看来，对他来说他感兴趣的只是他心里在想什么。他身外的一切对他来说是没有意义的，因为他觉得世界上的一切都只决定于他的意志。

“我现在和过去都不希望战争，”他说，“但人们迫使我诉诸战争。就是现在（他加重了这个字眼），我也准备接受你们能够给我的解释。”接着他明确而简短地说明自己对俄罗斯政府不满意的原因。

从法国皇帝讲话时温和、平静和友好的声调判断，巴拉瑟夫坚信他希望和平，是愿意谈判的。

“Sire！L'empereur，mon　malAtre，”①当拿破仑结束自己的讲话，疑问地看了一眼俄罗斯使者时，巴拉瑟夫开始说他早已准备好的话；但皇帝凝视他的目光使他局促不安。“您不安啦——定定神吧。”仿佛拿破仑这样对他说，他含着一丝笑意望望巴拉瑟夫的制服和军刀。巴拉瑟夫定下心来，开始讲起话来。他说，亚历山大皇帝不认为发生战争的原因是库拉金申请护照，库拉金那样做是自行其事，并未经皇帝同意。

亚历山大皇帝不希望战争，与英国也没有任何关系。

①陛下，敝国皇帝。

“还没有，”拿破仑插了一句，仿佛是害怕自己被感情左右，紧皱眉头，轻轻地点了点头，让巴拉瑟夫意识到可以继续说下去。

说完他奉命说的话以后，巴拉瑟夫又说亚历山大皇帝希望和平，但要进行谈判，他有一个条件，即……巴拉瑟夫说到这里犹豫起来，他想起了那句亚历山大皇帝在信中没有写，却命令一定要插进给萨尔特科夫的圣谕里的那句话，皇帝命令巴拉瑟夫把这句话转告拿破仑。巴拉瑟夫记得这句话：“只要还有一个武装的敌人还留在俄罗斯土地上，就决不讲和。”但此时却有一种复杂的感觉控制住了他。虽然他想讲这句话，却说不出口。他犹豫了一下又说：条件是法国军队必须撤退到涅曼河后去。

拿破仑看出了巴拉瑟夫在说最后一句话时的慌乱：他的脸抽搐了一下，脚的左腿肚有节奏地颤抖着。拿破仑原地未动，开始用比以前更高更急促的声音讲话，在讲随后的话时，巴拉瑟夫不只一次垂下眼睛，不由自主地观察拿破仑左脚腿肚的颤抖，他声音越高，抖得越厉害。

“我渴望和平并不亚于亚历山大皇帝，”他开始讲，“十八个月来，我做的一切不正是为了赢得和平吗？十八个月来，我等着解释。为了开始谈判，究竟还要求我做什么呢？”他说话时，皱紧眉头，用自己那小巧白胖的手打着有力的疑问手势。

“把军队撤过涅曼河，陛下。”巴拉瑟夫说道。

“撤过涅曼河？”拿破仑重复道，“那么，现在您希望撤过涅曼河？——只是要撤退到涅曼河后面去吗？”拿破仑朝巴拉瑟夫看了一眼，又说。

巴拉瑟夫恭恭敬敬地低下头来。

四个月前要求撤出波美拉尼亚，而现在只要求撤过涅曼河。拿破仑猛地转过身来，在房里踱起步来。

“您说，为了开始谈判，要求我撤过涅曼河；但两月前同样要求我撤过奥德河和维斯纳河，你们就同意进行谈判。”

他默默地从房间的一角踱到另一角，然后又在巴拉瑟夫对面停下来。他面色严峻仿佛一尊石像，左脚比先前抖得更快了。拿破仑自己知道他左腿的这种颤抖。La　vibration　de　mon　monllet　gauche　est　un　grand　signe　chez　mio．①他后来曾说过。

①法语：我的左腿肚的颤抖是一个伟大的征兆。

“像撤过奥德河和维斯纳河之类的建议，可以向巴登斯基亲王提出，而不要向我提出，”拿破仑几乎是大叫一声，完全出乎他自己的意料。“即使你们给我彼得堡和莫斯科，我也不会接受这些条件，您说，是我挑起了这场战争吗？那是谁先到军队去的，是亚历山大皇帝，不是我。你们现在来向我建议举行谈判，当我花了数百万，当你们与英国结盟而形势对你们不利时——你们才要求和我谈判！你们为什么要与英国结盟？它给了你们什么好处？”他匆匆说着，显然，他已转换了主题，不是谈媾和的好处，不讨论媾和的可能性，而是一味去证明他拿破仑如何有理和如何有力量，证明亚历山大怎么无理和错误。

他这段开场白的用意，显然是表明形势对他有利，并且表示，显然如此，他仍然愿意举行谈判。但是他一说开了头，就越说越控制不住自己的舌头了。

他现在所说的话的全部用意，无非是抬高自己，同时侮辱亚历山大，也就是他做了他一开始接见时最不愿做的事。

“据说，你们与土耳其讲和啦？”

巴拉瑟夫肯定地点了点头。

“缔结了和约……”他开始说，但拿破仑不让他说下去。看来他只想一个人说，就像娇纵惯了的人常有的那样，他控制不住暴躁的脾气，滔滔不绝地说个没完没了。

“是的，我知道，你们没得到摩尔达维亚和瓦拉几亚，就与土耳其缔结了和约。而我本可以把这两个省给你们皇帝的，就像我把芬兰给他一样。是的，”他继续道，“我答应过把摩尔达维亚和瓦拉几亚给亚历山大皇帝，而现在他再也得不到这些美丽的省分了。本来，他能把它们并入自己的帝国的版图，仅在他这一朝代，他就可以把俄罗斯从波的尼亚湾扩大到多瑙河口。叶卡捷琳娜大帝来做也不过如此。”拿破仑说，他情绪越来越激动，在房间里走来走去，几乎把他亲口在基尔西特对亚历山大说的话原原本本地对巴拉瑟夫重复了一遍，“Tout　cela　il　l'aurait　du　à　mon　amitie．Ah！quel　beau　règne，quel　beau　règne！”①他重复了几次，而后停下来，从衣袋中掏出了一个金质鼻烟壶，用鼻子贪婪地吸起来。

“Quel　beau　règne　aurait　pu　eAtre　celui　de　l'

empereur　Alexandre．”②

①法语：他本来可凭我的友谊得到这一切的。啊多美好的朝代多美好的朝代。

②法语：亚历山大皇帝的朝代本来可是一个多么美好的朝代啊！

他遗憾地盯了一眼巴拉瑟夫，巴拉瑟夫刚要说点什么，他又急忙打断了他。

“凭着我的友谊他都没有找到的东西，他还能指望得到和寻求得到吗？……”拿破仑说着，困惑莫解地耸耸肩膀，“不可能，他宁愿被我的敌人包围，而那都是些什么人呢？”他继续说。“他把诸如施泰因、阿姆菲尔德、贝尼格森、温岑格罗德之流的人招到自己身边。施泰因——一个被驱逐出祖国的叛徒，阿姆菲尔德——一个好色之徒和阴谋家，温岑格罗德——一个法国的亡命之徒，贝尼格森倒是比其他人更像一个军人，不过仍是个草包，在1807年什么也不会做，他只会唤起亚历山大皇帝可怕的回忆……假如他们还有点用，我们还可以使用他们。”拿破仑继续说，他的话几乎跟不上那不断涌出的也想要表达的思想，他问他表明这些思想就是正义和力量（在他的概念中，正义和力量是同一回事）。“可是他们无论在战争中还是和平时，却都不中用！据说，巴尔克雷比所有人都能干；从他初步行动看，我却不那样认为。他们正在干什么，这些朝臣们都在干什么啊！普弗里在不断提建议，阿姆菲尔德争吵不休，贝尼格森在观察，而被要求采取行动的巴尔克雷却不知道该做何决定，时间就这样打发了。只有一个巴格拉季翁——算是一个军人。他虽愚蠢，但他有经验，有眼光，做事果断……你们那年轻的皇帝在这群无用之才中扮演着什么样的角色呢？他们败坏他的名誉，把所有责任都推卸到他身上。Un　souverain　ne　doit，eAtre　à　l'armée　que　quand　il　est　gener－al．①”他说，显然这是直接向亚历山大皇帝公开挑衅。拿破仑知道，亚历山大皇帝希望自己成为一个军事家。

①法语：一个皇帝只有在他是一个军事家时才应呆在军队里。

“战争已开始一个星期了，而你们没能保住维尔纳，你们被切成两半，你们被从波兰各省赶出来，你们的军队正怨声载道。”

“正相反，陛下，”巴拉瑟夫说，他几乎记不住他讲的话，费力地说出连珠的话语，“我们的军队正热血沸腾。”

“我都知道，”拿破仑打断了他的话，“我全知道，我知道你们的营的人数就像了解我自己营的人数一样。你们没有二十万军队，而我却有比你们两倍多的军队，给您说句实说，”拿破仑说，却忘了这些实话没有任何意义，“我对您ma　paBrole　d'honneur　que　j'di　cinq　cent　trente　mille　hommes　de　ce　coté　de　la　Vistule．①土尔其帮不了您们什么忙，他们是草包，同你们讲和就是证明。瑞典人——他们注定要受疯狂的国王的统治，他们的国王曾是一个疯子，他们就把他换了，另立一个——伯尔纳多特为王；可是他为王之后，立刻发疯了，因为作为瑞典人，只有疯狂才会与俄罗斯结盟。”拿破仑恶意地笑了笑，又把鼻烟壶凑到了鼻子跟前。

①法语：说实话，我在维斯杜拉河这边有五十三万人。

对拿破仑的每一句漂亮话，巴拉瑟夫都想且也有理由反驳，他不断做出要讲话的姿态，却老被拿破仑打断。他想说他反对讲瑞典人不明智，当俄国支持瑞典时，它是一个孤岛；可是拿破仑怒吼一声，把他的声音压了下去。拿破仑处于兴奋状态，此时他需要说话，说了又说，其目的仅仅是为了向他自己证明他是正确的。巴拉瑟夫觉得很尴尬：作为一个使者，他害怕失去自己的尊严，感到必须反驳；但作为一个人，在拿破仑显然处于无缘无故气得发昏的时候，他精神上畏缩了。他知道，拿破仑现在说的所有的话都没有意义，他自己清醒时也会为此而羞愧。巴拉瑟夫垂下眼帘站在那儿，看着拿破仑那两条不停动着的粗腿，尽可能避开他的目光。

“你们的同盟者与我何干？”拿破仑说，“我也有同盟者——这就是波兰人：他们有八万人，他们像狮子一样勇猛作战，而且他们将达到二十万人。”

可能是因为他说了这句明显的谎言，巴拉瑟夫却还是那副听天由命的神态，站在他面前一言不发，这使他更气忿了，他猛地转过身来，走到巴拉瑟夫面前，用两只雪白的手快速有力地打着手势，几乎是大喊起来：

“请您明白，如果您们挑拨普鲁士来反对我，给您说吧，我就把它从欧洲版图上抹掉。”他说，脸色苍白，表情恶狠狠的，用一只小手使劲拍着另一只。“是的，我一定把你们赶过德维纳河，赶过第聂伯河，恢复那个反对你们的障碍物，欧洲允许这个障碍遭到破坏，这虽欧洲的罪过和无知。是的，这就是你们将来的命运，这就是你们要同我们疏远赢得的报应。”他说，然后默默地在房间里来回走了几次，自己肥胖的双肩抽搐着，他把鼻烟壶放进西装背心口袋内，而后又掏出来，几次举到鼻子前；最后在巴拉瑟夫面前停了下来。他沉默了一会儿，嘲讽地盯着巴拉瑟夫的眼睛，轻声说：“Et　cependent　quel　beau　régne　aurait　pu　avoir　votre　malAtre．”①

①法语：然而你们的皇帝本应有一个多么美好的朝代啊！

巴拉瑟夫觉得必须反驳，他说，在俄罗斯看来，事情并没有那么暗淡。拿破仑默不作声，继续带着嘲笑的神情盯着他，显然他没听巴拉瑟夫说话。巴拉瑟夫说，俄罗斯对战争结局抱乐观态度。拿破仑故作宽宏大量地点点头，好像在说：“我知道，您这样说是您的责任，但愿自己也不相信自己所说的，您被我说服了。”

在巴拉瑟夫的说话完时，拿破仑又掏出鼻烟壶闻了闻，同时用脚在地板上敲了两下作为信号。门开了；一名宫廷高级侍从恭恭敬敬躬着腰为皇帝递上帽子和手套，另一名侍从递上手帕，拿破仑看也未看他们，就转向巴拉瑟夫：

“请以我的名义向亚历山大皇帝保证，”他取过帽子说，“我一如既往地对他忠诚：我十分了解他，我高度评价他崇高的品格，Je　ne　vous　retiens　plus，général，vous　reBcevrez　ma　lettre　à　l'empereur．①”拿破仑匆匆向门口走去。人们都从接待室里跑过去，跟着下了楼梯。

①法语：我不多耽搁您了，将军，您会接到我给你们皇帝的回信。