" The countess' eyes filled with tears and she pondered in silence.

"I often think, though, perhaps it's a sin," said the princess, "that here lives Count Cyril Vladimirovich Bezukhov so rich, all alone... that tremendous fortune... and what is his life worth? It's a burden to him, and Bory's life is only just beginning....

" "Surely he will leave something to Boris," said the countess.

"Heaven only knows, my dear! These rich grandees are so selfish.

Still, I will take Boris and go to see him at once, and I shall speak to him straight out.