Page:Tolstoy - Christianity and Patriotism.djvu/97

 bands, that papers and telegrams fly about, that couriers race from place to place, and that men in strange attire incessantly ride backwards and forwards with anxious faces, say something, write something, and so on; and the crowd, not being in a position to ascertain that all this is being done without the slightest necessity (as it is in reality), ascribe a peculiar, mysterious, and important significance to it all, and meet all these manifestations with shouts of delight or silent respect. And meanwhile, such expressions, sometimes of the delight, and always of the respect, of the mob, still further confirm the confidence of the men who are doing all these silly things.