nst the sovereign's wishes and who had removed the Grand Duke and
heir--apparent from the army--who on his own authority and contrary
to the Emperor's will had decided on the abandonment of Moscow, now
realized at once that his day was over, that his part was played,
and that the power he was supposed to hold was no longer his. And he
understood this not merely from the attitude of the court. He saw on the
one hand that the military business in which he had played his part was
ended and felt that his mission was accomplished; and at the same time
he began to be conscious of the physical weariness of his aged body and
of the necessity of physical rest.

On the twenty-ninth of November Kutuzov entered Vilna--his "dear Vilna"
as he called it. Twice during his career Kutuzov had been governor of
Vilna. In that wealthy town, which had not been injured, he found old
friends and associations, besides the comforts of life of which he had
so long been deprived. And he suddenly turned from the cares of army
and state and, as far as the passions that seethed around him allowed,
immersed himself in the quiet life to which he had formerly been
accustomed, as if all that was taking place and all that had still to be
done in the realm of history did not concern him at all.

Chichagov, one of the most zealous "cutters-off" and "breakers-up," who
had first wanted to effect a diversion in Greece and then in Warsaw but
never wished to go where he was sent: Chichagov, noted for the boldness
with which he spoke to the Emperor, and who considered Kutuzov to be
under an obligation to him because when he was sent to make peace
with Turkey in 1811 independently of Kutuzov, and found that peace had
already been concluded, he admitted to the Emperor that the merit of
securing that peace was really Kutuzov's; this Chichagov was the first
to meet Kutuzov at the castle where the latter was to stay. In undress
naval uniform, with a dirk, and holding his cap under his arm, he handed
Kutuzov a garrison report and the keys of the town. The contemptuously
respectful attitude of the younger men to the old man in his dotage was
expressed in the highest degree by the behavior of Chichagov, who knew
of the accusations that were being directed against Kutuzov.

When speaking to Chichagov, Kutuzov incidentally mentioned that the
vehicles packed with china that had been captured from him at Borisov
had been recovered and would be restored to him.

"You mean