Since you guys are taking so long to update and this thread has become stagnated, Toby and myself thought we should add our own little something. It's called reading with Liam and Toby. Today there'll be a short exert from Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'. Enjoy
Chapter 23 Volume III part I: Pargraph 10 to the conclusion of the chapter.
'I have never doubted the loyalty of you Russian noblemen. But this day it has surpassed my expectations. I thank you in the name of the fatherland. Gentlemen we must act! Time is of the essence...'
The Tsar stopped talking, everyone crowded in on him, and cries of delight echoed on all sides.
'Yes indeed, of the essence ... from the mouth of the Tsar!' Came the sobbing voice of Count Rostov from the back. He hadn't heard a word, but in his own way he seemed to understand.
The Tsar then went on from the nobility's room to the merchants' room. He was there for ten minutes or so. Pierre watched with the rest as the Tsar came back from the merchants' room full of emotion and with tears in his eyes. They learnt afterwards that the Tsar had hardly begun to sepak to the merchants when be broke down in tears and finished what he had to say in a trembling voice. Pierre knew one of them, a portly tax-farmer; the other was the mayor, a man with a pinched, sallow face and narrow beard. Both were in tears. The thin man's eyes were watering, but the portly tax-farmer was blubbering like a child and kept repeating:
'Life, property, take it all, your Majesty!'
At that moment Pierre had only one thought in mind: the urge to show that nothing was too much for him and he would make any sacrafice. The constitutional implications of his speech were on his conscience, and he now wanted a chance to smooth things over. When he heard that Count Mamonov was furnishing a regiment, Bezukhov lost no time in informing Count Rostopchin that he would furnish and maintain a thousand men.
Old Rostov couldn't hold back his tears as he told the whole story to his wife. He agreed to Petya's request on the spot and set off personally to register his name.
The Tsar left Moscow the next day.
The noblemen went back from the assembly to their homes and clubs, took off their uniforms, and with deep misgivings issued orders to their stewards to start raising the levy. They were amazed at what they had done.