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Of his former bachelor acquaintances many were no longer in

Petersburg. The Guards had gone to the front; Dolokhov had been

reduced to the ranks; Anatole was in the army somewhere in the

provinces; Prince Andrew was abroad; so Pierre had not the

opportunity to spend his nights as he used to like to spend them,

or to open his mind by intimate talks with a friend older than

himself and whom he respected. His whole time was taken up with

dinners and balls and was spent chiefly at Prince Vasili's house

in the company of the stout princess, his wife, and his beautiful

daughter Helene.

Like the others, Anna Pavlovna Scherer showed Pierre the change

of attitude toward him that had taken place in society.