The sodium carbonate dissolves. Sodium carbonates (E500)
You roam the supermarket looking for a phosphate-free laundry detergent. Naturally, in order to find out which product from a whole arsenal of household chemicals suits you, pick up each package with the desired classification and look at the composition of the product contained in it. Finally, they chose the right product, but in the process of studying all the laundry detergents in the store, they noticed a strange pattern: on each box or pack something was written like: "The product contains sodium carbonate." Every person has a little bit of curiosity, and you are no exception. I wanted to know what kind of substance it is, right? Today's article will add some information about this compound to your knowledge.
Definition
Sodium carbonate (formula Na 2 CO 3) is the sodium salt of carbonic acid. In different sources, it can be called differently: both sodium carbonate, and disodium trioxocarbonate, and soda ash. By the way, about the last name. The chemical compound now discussed in its pure form is not the baking soda that is added to various products. Its name is sodium bicarbonate. Substances with the presence of sodium carbonate (and he, too) are called soda. The exception is caustic soda, the scientific name of which is the hydroxide of the metal of the same name. However, sodium bicarbonate reacts with this substance to form the compound now discussed. All other sodas are carbonate itself with water or hydrogen in one formula. Today, the properties, production and use of only pure sodium salt of carbonic acid are considered.
Sodium carbonate: physical properties
This substance in an anhydrous state has the form of a colorless crystalline powder (photo above). The structure of its crystal lattice depends on the ambient temperature: if the latter is not less than 350, but below 479 ° C, then it is monoclinic, if the temperature is higher - hexagonal.
Sodium carbonate: chemical properties
If it is lowered into a strong acid, then the carbonic acid, which is obtained during the reaction and is extremely unstable, will decompose into gaseous tetravalent carbon oxide and water. The second product of the reaction is the sodium salt of the corresponding acid (for example, throwing the crystals of the carbonate now under discussion into sulfuric acid produces carbon dioxide, water, and sodium sulfate). In water, this compound will hydrolyze, due to which the neutral environment becomes alkaline.
Receipt
It can be obtained in several ways, they are all different, but this article will talk about only one. It is necessary to mix chalk and charcoal with sodium sulfate, and then bake this mixture at a temperature of about 1000 ° C. Coal will reduce the latter to sulfide, which, when reacted with calcium carbonate, forms a melt of calcium sulfide and the desired substance. It must be treated with water, then the unwanted sulfide is filtered out and the resulting solution is evaporated. The crude sodium carbonate formed is purified by recrystallization and then dehydrated by calcination. This method is called the Leblanc method.
Application
Industries that produce glass, washing powders, soaps and enamels do not do without sodium carbonate, where it is used to make ultramarine. Also, with the help of it, water hardness is eliminated, metals are degreased and desulfatization is carried out, the object of which is blast-furnace pig iron. Sodium carbonate is a good oxidizing agent and acidity regulator, found in dishwashing detergents, cigarettes and pesticides. It is also known as food additive E500, which prevents ingredients from clumping and caking. The substance discussed now is also necessary in order to prepare a photo developer.
Conclusion
That's what sodium carbonate is good for. In its pure form, it, perhaps, has never been met by many, however, its crystalline hydrates (these are all soda, except for caustic soda) are used by man almost everywhere. This is one of the substances whose compounds with water are used in industry much more often than they are in their pure form.
Substances are fake baking powder, have a slight hazard. E500 - elements that are used in different qualities. Baking soda prevents clumping. In life, sodium carbonate is called soda. In terms of chemical components, this is nothing more than ordinary derivatives of carbonic acid.
The solution is most often used in cooking in the form of sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, or mixtures thereof.
Brief information
The name comes from Latin, from the name of the plant. In past centuries, it was diligently obtained from. Soda ash was created at the end of the 18th century by Leblanc, but food - in 1861 by Solvay.
Sodium carbonate acid is obtained in several ways. The most common of these is the Solvay method. More than 90% of all volumes of industrial substance are extracted in this way. This requires sodium chloride, ammonia.
The substance is obtained in the process of calcination (increase in temperature values). From this it is called calcified. A number of countries receive from deposits. It is also produced industrially in those regions where there are no mineral deposits.
Synthesis techniques
Use "dry" and "wet" methods. The process is based on carbonization (addition of carbon dioxide). Recrystallization transformations are noted. Methods differ in the preparation of the solution. When dry, calcined elements dissolve, and when wet, technical bicarbonate is used.
The decomposition of a substance with a gradual increase in temperature is called decarbonization.
Soda elements of the solution are precipitated under the influence of carbon dioxide. Pure food soda part is separated, and the uterine components are again used to obtain the primary solution.
Main properties
The mass of unique characteristics determined the valuable role of the element for a person. The appearance is a colorless crystalline elements. Sometimes there are forms of a powdery element of a whitish color.
In terms of general educational qualities, the food emulsifier has a rather high melting point (853 degrees).
The substance does not lose its ability to perfectly dissolve in water structures (unlike ethanol). The peculiarity lies in the ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Application
The mass fraction of sodium carbonate is quite significant in confectionery and in cooking in general. After all, the substance is simply indispensable in the preparation of baking. Often, E500 is included both in finished products and in mixtures.
The interaction of sodium carbonate with products is used during cooking and rolls. The technology of such non-standard treatment with a diluted alkaline substance is fully justified. So you can safely change the acidity of products. As a result, this leads to the appearance of an unusually crisp crust on the surface of the product. Sodium carbonate is an essential element. Without it, you will never get the perfect noodles. The thing is that the tenderness of the soda element in brine retains the taste quality. The additive is used in the preparation of sherbet. This is how carbonate and mild acidic elements work. In this case, carbon dioxide is formed due to saliva.
Sulfuric acid sodium carbonate is found in most oral and dental care pastes. It is a foaming agent, an abrasive that temporarily minimizes the acidity in the mouth. Many diseases are prevented in this way.
Influence
According to the results of numerical world studies, the reactions of sodium carbonate do not cause any harm to the cells of the body. That is, the substance is listed in the category of non-hazardous additives. Without an overdose, it never harms anyone.
But carbonate acid still carries some harm.
There are proven facts according to which a sensitive organism does not tolerate a substance well. There is difficulty breathing, fainting.
Experiments have shown that the formula of this substance adversely affects the liver and brain of a living organism. Long-term consumption of products with E500 increases the risk of allergic reactions on the hands and head.
Sodium carbonate and hydrochloric acid are the best known antagonists. Their opposite influence has been known for a long time. There is even an old way to beat heartburn - stir soda in water. "Fire" will disappear in a matter of minutes. This is not a therapy at all. The technique effectively and soon allows you to get rid of heartburn for a short period. An excess of soda can provoke cramps, even allergic symptoms.
On the territory of many countries, the use of E500 as a food additive is allowed.
Packing, transportation
Move this substance by any transport, but only in tightly closed objects. The element is completely safe, since it is devoid of even minimal toxicity. The soda element is stored only in closed packages. It is extremely important to prevent the presence of moisture in this structure. During the year, the warranty period for the preservation of the soda solution expires. At the same time, the total shelf life is not limited.
The soda element can rightfully be called the main baking powder in baking. This substance releases carbon dioxide when heated. Due to this, the dough becomes soft, fluffy. Soda acts as an independent loosening agent or in the complex composition of baking powder. It is important not to overdo it with the dosage. The soda element leaves a rather unpleasant, but tasteless aftertaste in the finished product. It is important to add soda to flour, acidic components - only to liquid.
Chemistry is an interesting science that explains most of the processes and phenomena occurring around us. Moreover, these phenomena are not limited to the simple dissolution of sugar in a cup of tea or the hydrolysis of substances, which is often the basis of a particular industrial process, but also as complex as the creation of organic matter without the participation of a living organism. In other words, chemistry is the science of life in terms of most of the phenomena that occur around us. Chemistry can tell you everything about acids, bases, alkalis and salts. One of the latter will be discussed further - sodium carbonate. Let's look at everything related to sodium carbonate, from the chemical formula to the application in industry and life.
So, sodium carbonate, whose formula is written as follows: Na2CO3, is a salt of carbonic acid, which is also called the sodium salt of carbonic acid, or soda ash. This substance looks like a simple white powder, consisting of small grains, having no smell and with a rather unpleasant taste. Can cause severe poisoning and ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract if ingested in large quantities. looks like this: two sodium atoms are bonded with one pair of electrons to oxygen atoms (for each sodium atom there is one oxygen), oxygen atoms are bonded by single bonds to a carbon atom, and carbon, in turn, is bonded by four (two pairs) electrons to an atom oxygen. Thus, we see the following interesting picture: sodium atoms have become positive ions with +1 charges, oxygen atoms have become negative and have a charge of -2, and carbon, which gave up four electrons, has a charge of +4. Thus, sodium carbonate, or rather, its molecule, has polarity in some places.
There is also a slightly different salt: sodium bicarbonate, which has the chemical formula NaHCO3, which can also cause poisoning if ingested. reacts with metals more active than sodium, while sodium is reduced. This salt can also react with an alkali of a more active metal, and sodium will be reduced. If we carry out the hydrolysis of this salt, then it should be noted that sodium hydroxide is a strong alkali, but it has a rather weak character, therefore, first of all, a base will be obtained and there will be an alkaline environment in the test tube, which can be recognized using phenol-phthalein (it will color the salt solution in Crimson).
If we talk about sodium carbonate, the chemical properties of which practically do not differ from the chemical properties of bicarbonate, then it can be noted that if electrolysis of a melt and a solution of this salt is carried out, then their "behavior" will be exactly the same. Let's consider.
The electrolysis of the melt will end with the release of a carbonate ion and two moles of sodium. If, however, the hydrolysis of a solution of this salt is carried out, then the following picture will turn out: hydrogen is reduced at the anode, a hydroxo group is reduced at the cathode, as a result, it turns out that a carbonate anion and two moles of sodium remain.
It can also and should be noted that sodium carbonate reacts with substances such as more, for example, nitrogen, hydrochloric or sulfuric. Substitution occurs, that is, carbonic acid is reduced, which immediately decomposes into water and carbon dioxide, or a salt of the acid that was added to sodium carbonate is obtained.
Approximately the same picture is obtained if we add a soluble (and no other, otherwise the reaction will not work!) Salt of a stronger acid, but the reaction products should be gas, precipitate or water.
State educational institution
Higher professional education
"Perm State Pharmaceutical Academy
Federal Agency for Health and Social Development
Russian Federation"
Department of Analytical Chemistry
Course work:
Sodium carbonate.
Performed:
student of group 26
Lekomtseva Veronika
Checked:
Lidia Andreevna
Perm, 2010
Analytical reactions of sodium cation 5
Analytical reactions carbonate ion 6
Acid-base titration in aqueous solutions 8
Potentiometric method 9
Sodium carbonate (substance description) 3
Ways to get 4
Qualitative analysis 5
Quantitative analysis 8
Instrumental Analysis 9
Practical application of sodium carbonate 10
References 11
Sodium carbonate.
Connection formula:
Chemical Name:
Sodium carbonate. Soda ash.
SODA is the technical name for sodium carbonate. Na 2 CO 3 is a normal carbonate or soda ash (anhydrous).
Na 2 CO 3 - colorless crystals, with a solubility in 100 g of water, at a temperature of 20 ° C is - 14.9 g. Aqueous solutions have an alkaline reaction.
Natural sources are insignificant (minerals: natron, thermonatrite, trona).
Receipt:
Sodium carbonate is obtained mainly by saturating sodium chloride solution with ammonia and carbon dioxide and further heating to 140º - 160º C, as well as from nepheline.
Qualitative analysis.
Qualitative analysis is the identification of inorganic substances, based on the detection, using analytical reactions, of cations and anions that form a molecule of a substance.
3.1. Reactions to the determination of the sodium cation.
Reaction with dixouranium (VI) zinc acetate Zn(UO 2) 3 (CH 3 COO) 3 with the formation of a yellow crystalline precipitate or yellow crystals of tetra- and octahedral form, insoluble in acetic acid. To increase the sensitivity of the reaction, heat the test mixture on a glass slide:
NaNO 2 + Zn(UO 2) 3 (CH 3 COO) 3 + CH 3 COOH + 9H 2 O →
→NaZn(UO 2) 3 (CH 3 COO) 9 x 9H 2 O↓ + HNO 2
Excess potassium ions, heavy metal cations (Hg 2+, Sn 2+, Bi 3+, Fe 3+, etc.). The reaction is used as a fractional reaction after removal of interfering ions.
Coloring a colorless burner flame yellow.
Reaction with picric acid, with the formation of yellow crystals of sodium picrate, needle-shaped, emanating from one point:
The reaction is used as a fractional one only in the absence of interfering ions (K + , NH 4+ , Ag +).
Reaction with potassium hexahydroxoantibate (V) K to form a white crystalline precipitate soluble in alkalis:
NaNO 2 + K → Na↓ + KNO 2
Reaction conditions:
Sufficient concentration of Na + ;
Neutral solution reaction;
Carrying out the reaction in the cold;
Rubbing a glass rod against the wall of a test tube.
Interfering ions: NH 4+ , Mg 2+ etc.
In an acidic environment, the reagent is destroyed with the formation of a white amorphous precipitate of metaantimony acid HSbO 3:
K + HCl → KCl + H 3 SbO 4 + 2H 2 O
H 3 SbO 4 → HSbO 3 ↓ + H 2 O.
Reactions to determine the carbonate ion.
Quantitative analysis.
4.1. Acid-base titration in aqueous solutions.
Standardization of 0.1 M sulfuric acid solution
by accurately weighing sodium carbonate (single weighing method).
Na 2 CO 3 + H 2 SO 4 → Na 2 SO 4 + CO 2 + H 2 O
M (Na 2 CO 3) = 105.99 g / mol
Methodology: 0.05-0.07 g (accurately weighed) of sodium carbonate is quantitatively transferred into a titration flask, dissolved in 25 cm 3 of distilled water, 2-3 drops of methyl orange solution are added and titrated with 0.1 M sulfuric acid solution until the color changes to yellow in pinkish orange.
The correction factor of the sulfuric acid solution is calculated by the formula:
Instrumental analysis.
5.1. potentiometric method.
The potentiometric method of analysis is based on the dependence of the electromotive force (EMF) of an electrochemical cell on the concentration of the analyte in solution.
Potentiometric determination of sodium hydroxide and carbonate
in joint presence.
The determination of the components of a mixture in a solution is based on their differential titration with a solution of hydrochloric acid, fixing two equivalence points by a sharp jump in potential. A glass electrode is used as an indicator, the reference electrode is silver chloride. In a solution of a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, ions Na +, OH -, HCO 3 -, CO 3 2- can be present simultaneously:
NaOH → Na + + OH -
Na 2 CO 3 → 2 Na + + CO 3 2-
CO 3 2- + H 2 O ↔ HCO 3 - + OH -
HCO 3 - + H 2 O ↔ H 2 CO 3 + OH -
In the presence of sodium hydroxide, the hydrolysis of sodium carbonate is suppressed, therefore, when a mixture of these compounds is titrated with an acid, sodium hydroxide is first titrated. As the alkali content in the solution decreases, sodium carbonate is hydrolyzed in the first stage and interacts with the titrant.
In this case, hydrolysis of sodium carbonate at the second stage and titration of hydrolysis products do not occur, since the ionization constants of the corresponding bases differ by four orders of magnitude:
In this case, the first jump in titration is observed (pH 8.3):
NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H 2 O
Na 2 CO 3 + HCl → NaCl + NaHCO 3
Then sodium bicarbonate is titrated, a second titration jump is observed (pH 3.8):
NaHCO 3 + HCl → NaCl + CO 2 + H 2 O
M NaOH = 40.00 g/mol
M Na 2 CO 3 \u003d 105.99 g / mol
Methodology: 2-4 cm 3 of the analyzed solution is placed in a glass with a capacity of 50 cm 3 with a magnetic rod, distilled water is added to the volume.
The burette is filled with 0.1 mol/DM 3 solution of hydrochloric acid, fix the tripod. A beaker with the analyzed solution is placed on the table of an electromagnetic stirrer, the electrodes are immersed in the solution, and titration is started. Carry out approximate and exact titration according to general instructions, fixing two titration jumps by a sharp change in potential. The measurement results are entered into tables.
According to the integral or differential graphs, they find:
V 1 - the volume of the titrant corresponding to the first titration jump, reacting with all the alkali and ½ of the amount of sodium carbonate to NaHCO 3;
Vtot is the volume of the titrant corresponding to the second titration jump, which has reacted with alkali and sodium carbonate.
Based on the results of the titration, calculate:
V 2 \u003d V total - V 1 - the volume of titrant used for titration
½ Na 2 CO 3 to NaHCO 3;
V 3 \u003d 2 V 2 \u003d 2 (V total - V 1) - the volume of titrant used
for titration of all Na 2 CO 3 ;
V 4 \u003d (V 1 - V 2) - the volume of titrant used for titration of NaOH.
Then Q and ω% are calculated.
Practical use.
Used in glass, soap, textile, pulp and paper industries; for oil refining, etc.
Bibliography.
Lurie Yu.Yu. "Handbook of Analytical Chemistry", Moscow, 1979;
Methodical manual on analytical chemistry. "Instrumental Methods of Analysis", Perm, 2004;
Methodical manual on analytical chemistry. "Qualitative chemical analysis", Perm, 2003;
Methodical manual on analytical chemistry. "Quantitative chemical analysis", Perm, 2004;
"The New Illustrated Encyclopedia", Volume No. 8, 12, 17. Moscow,
OOO Mir knigi, 2001;
Rabinovich V.A., Khavin Z.Ya. "Brief chemical reference book", Leningrad, Chemistry, 1977;
Kharitonov Yu.Ya. "Analytical Chemistry", in 2 books, Moscow, 2001.
Trivial names
Soda is the common name for technical sodium salts of carbonic acid.
- Na 2 CO 3 (sodium carbonate) - soda ash, laundry soda
- Na 2 CO 3 10H 2 O (sodium carbonate decahydrate, contains 62.5% water of crystallization) - washing soda; sometimes available as Na 2 CO 3 H 2 O or Na 2 CO 3 7H 2 O
- NaHCO 3 (sodium bicarbonate) - baking soda, sodium bicarbonate (obsolete), sodium bicarbonate
The name "soda" comes from a plant hodgepodge soda(lat. Salsola soda), from the ashes of which it was mined. Soda ash was called because in order to obtain it from crystalline hydrate, it had to be calcined (that is, heated to a high temperature).
Caustic soda is called sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
Oxides and hydroxides
Being in nature
Baking soda occurs naturally in the ashes of certain seaweeds and also in the form of the following minerals:
- throne Na 2 CO 3 NaHCO 3 2H 2 O
- sodium (soda) Na 2 CO 3 10H 2 O
- thermonatite Na 2 CO 3 H 2 O.
Modern soda lakes are known in Transbaikalia and in Western Siberia; Lake Natron in Tanzania and Lake Searles in California are very famous. Trona, which is of industrial importance, was discovered in the Eocene strata of the Green River (Wyoming, USA). Together with the throne, many previously considered rare minerals were found in this sedimentary stratum, including dawsonite, which is considered as a raw material for the production of soda and alumina. In the US, natural soda supplies more than 40% of the country's need for this mineral.
Receipt
2NaCl + H 2 SO 4 → Na 2 SO 4 + 2HCl.Hydrogen chloride liberated during the reaction was captured with water to give hydrochloric acid.
The first soda plant of this type in Russia was founded by the industrialist M. Prang and appeared in Barnaul in 1864.
After the advent of a more economical (no large amounts of by-product calcium sulfide remains) and technological Solvay method, plants operating according to the Leblanc method began to close. By 1900, 90% of the factories were producing soda using the Solvay method, and the last factories using the Leblanc method closed in the early 1920s.
Industrial ammonia method (Solvay method)
Until now, this method remains the main method of obtaining soda in all countries.
Howe's way
Developed by Chinese chemist Hou Debang in the 1930s. Differs from the Solvay process in that it does not use calcium hydroxide.
According to Howe's method, carbon dioxide and ammonia are supplied to a solution of sodium chloride at a temperature of 40 degrees. The less soluble sodium bicarbonate precipitates during the reaction (as in the Solvay method). Then the solution is cooled to 10 degrees. In this case, ammonium chloride precipitates, and the solution is reused to produce the next portions of soda.
Comparison of methods
According to the Howe method, NH 4 Cl is formed as a by-product instead of CaCl 2 according to the Solvay method.
The Solvay process was developed before the advent of the Haber process, at that time ammonia was in short supply, so it was necessary to regenerate it from NH 4 Cl. Howe's method appeared later, the need for ammonia regeneration was no longer so acute, respectively, ammonia could not be extracted, but used as a nitrogen fertilizer in the form of a NH 4 Cl compound.
However, NH 4 Cl contains chlorine, the excess of which is harmful to many plants, so the use of NH 4 Cl as a fertilizer is limited. In turn, rice tolerates excess chlorine well, and in China, where NH 4 Cl is used for rice cultivation, the Hou method, which produces NH 4 Cl as a by-product, is more widespread than in other regions.
Currently, in a number of countries, almost all artificially produced sodium carbonate is produced using the Solvay method (including the Howe method as a modification), namely in Europe 94% of artificially produced soda, worldwide - 84% (2000) .
Properties
Crystalline hydrates of sodium carbonate exist in different forms: colorless monoclinic Na 2 CO 3 10H 2 O, at 32.017 ° C turns into colorless rhombic Na 2 CO 3 7H 2 O, the latter, when heated to 35.27 ° C, colorless turns into rhombic Na 2 CO 3 H 2 O.
Anhydrous sodium carbonate is a colorless crystalline powder.
| Parameter | Anhydrous sodium carbonate | Na 2 CO 3 decahydrate 10H 2 O |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular mass | 105.99 a. eat. | 286.14 a. eat. |
| Melting temperature | 852 °C (according to other sources, 853 °C) | 32°C |
| Solubility | Insoluble in acetone, and carbon disulfide, slightly soluble in ethanol, very soluble in glycerin, and water (see table below) | soluble in water, insoluble in ethanol |
| Density ρ | 2.53 g/cm³ (at 20°C) | 1.446 g/cm³ (at 17°C) |
| Standard enthalpy of formation ΔH | −1131 kJ/mol (t) (at 297 K) | −4083.5 kJ/mol ((t) (at 297 K) |
| Standard Gibbs energy of formation G | −1047.5 kJ/mol (t) (at 297 K) | −3242.3 kJ/mol ((t) (at 297 K) |
| Standard entropy of education S | 136.4 J/mol K (t) (at 297 K) | |
| Standard molar heat capacity C p | 109.2 J/mol K (g) (at 297 K) |
In an aqueous solution, sodium carbonate is hydrolyzed, which provides an alkaline reaction of the environment. Hydrolysis equation (in ionic form):
CO 3 2- + H 2 O ↔ HCO 3 - + OH -
In the food industry, sodium carbonates are registered as a food additive. E500, - acidity regulator, baking powder, preventing clumping and caking. Sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na 2 CO 3) has the code 500i, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO 3) - 500ii, their mixture - 500iii.
It is also used to prepare the developer of photographic materials.
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Notes
An excerpt describing sodium carbonate
- He's on the goats. After all, you are on the goats, Petya? Natasha screamed.Sonya busied herself without ceasing, too; but the aim of her troubles was the opposite of Natasha's. She put away those things that should have been left; wrote them down, at the request of the countess, and tried to take with her as much as possible.
At two o'clock, the four Rostovs' crews, laid down and laid down, stood at the entrance. Carts with the wounded, one after another, drove out of the yard.
The carriage in which Prince Andrei was being carried, passing by the porch, attracted the attention of Sonya, who, together with the girl, was arranging seats for the countess in her huge tall carriage, which was standing at the entrance.
Whose wheelchair is this? Sonya asked, leaning out the carriage window.
"Don't you know, young lady?" the maid replied. - The prince is wounded: he spent the night with us and they are also coming with us.
- Yes, who is it? What's the last name?
- Our very former fiance, Prince Bolkonsky! - Sighing, answered the maid. They say dying.
Sonya jumped out of the carriage and ran to the countess. The countess, already dressed for the road, in shawls and a hat, tired, walked around the living room, waiting for her family, in order to sit with closed doors and pray before leaving. Natasha was not in the room.
“Maman,” said Sonya, “Prince Andrei is here, wounded, near death. He rides with us.
The Countess opened her eyes in fright and, grabbing Sonya by the hand, looked around.
- Natasha? she said.
And for Sonya and for the countess, this news had only one meaning in the first minute. They knew their Natasha, and the horror of what would happen to her at this news drowned out for them all sympathy for the man whom they both loved.
- Natasha doesn't know yet; but he is coming with us,” said Sonya.
Are you talking about dying?
Sonya nodded her head.
The Countess hugged Sonya and began to cry.
"God works in mysterious ways!" she thought, feeling that in everything that was being done now, the almighty hand that had previously been hidden from the eyes of people was beginning to appear.
- Well, mom, everything is ready. What are you talking about? .. - Natasha asked with a lively face, running into the room.
“Nothing,” said the Countess. - Done, let's go. And the Countess bent over her purse to hide her upset face. Sonya hugged Natasha and kissed her.
Natasha looked at her questioningly.
- What you? What happened?
- There is nothing…
- Very bad for me? .. What is it? asked sensitive Natasha.
Sonya sighed and didn't answer. The count, Petya, m me Schoss, Mavra Kuzminishna, and Vassilich went into the drawing-room, and, having closed the doors, they all sat down and silently, without looking at each other, sat for a few seconds.
The count was the first to get up and, sighing loudly, began to cross himself on the icon. Everyone did the same. Then the count began to embrace Mavra Kuzminishna and Vassilich, who remained in Moscow, and, while they caught his hand and kissed him on the shoulder, lightly patted them on the back, saying something indistinct, affectionately soothing. The countess went into the figurative room, and Sonya found her there on her knees in front of the remaining icons scattered along the wall. (The most expensive images, according to family legends, were taken with them.)
On the porch and in the yard, the people leaving with daggers and sabers, with which Petya armed them, with trousers tucked into boots and tightly belted with belts and sashes, said goodbye to those who remained.
As always on departures, much was forgotten and not properly arranged, and for quite a long time two guides stood on both sides of the open door and the steps of the carriage, preparing to help the countess, while the girls ran with pillows, bundles from home to carriages, and a carriage , and the chaise, and back.
- Everyone will forget their age! the countess said. "You know I can't sit like this." - And Dunyasha, clenching her teeth and not answering, with an expression of reproach on her face, rushed into the carriage to remake the seat.
Ah, this people! said the Count, shaking his head.
The old coachman Yefim, with whom the countess alone dared to ride, sitting high on her goats, did not even look back at what was being done behind him. He knew with thirty years of experience that it would not be soon before he would be told “God bless!” and that when they say, they will stop him two more times and send for forgotten things, and after that they will stop him again, and the countess herself will lean out of his window and ask him, by Christ God, to drive more carefully on the slopes. He knew this and therefore more patiently than his horses (especially the left red one - Sokol, who kicked and, chewing, sorted out the bit) expected what would happen. At last they all sat down; the steps gathered and threw themselves into the carriage, the door slammed shut, they sent for the casket, the countess leaned out and said that she must. Then Yefim slowly took off his hat from his head and began to make the sign of the cross. The postilion and all the people did the same.
- With God! said Yefim, putting on his hat. - Pull it out! - Postilion touched. The right drawbar fell into the yoke, the high springs crunched, and the body swayed. The footman jumped on the goats on the move. The carriage shook as it left the yard onto the shaky pavement, the other carriages shook in the same way, and the train moved up the street. In the carriages, the carriage and the britzka, everyone was baptized at the church, which was opposite. The people who remained in Moscow walked on both sides of the carriages, seeing them off.
Natasha rarely experienced such a joyful feeling as the one she now experienced, sitting in the carriage next to the countess and looking at the walls of abandoned, alarmed Moscow slowly moving past her. From time to time she leaned out of the carriage window and looked back and forth at the long train of wounded that preceded them. Almost ahead of everyone she could see the closed top of Prince Andrei's carriage. She did not know who was in it, and every time, thinking about the area of \u200b\u200bher convoy, she looked for this carriage with her eyes. She knew that she was ahead of everyone.
In Kudrin, from Nikitskaya, from Presnya, from Podnovinsky, several trains of the same type as the Rostov train had arrived, and carriages and carts were already traveling along Sadovaya in two rows.
Driving around the Sukharev Tower, Natasha, curiously and quickly examining the people riding and walking, suddenly cried out with joy and surprise:
- Fathers! Mom, Sonya, look, it's him!
- Who? Who?
- Look, by God, Bezukhov! - said Natasha, leaning out the window of the carriage and looking at a tall, fat man in a coachman's caftan, obviously a well-dressed gentleman in gait and posture, who, next to a yellow, beardless old man in a frieze overcoat, approached under the arch of the Sukharev Tower.
- By God, Bezukhov, in a caftan, with some old boy! By God, - said Natasha, - look, look!
- No, it's not him. Is it possible, such nonsense.
- Mom, - Natasha shouted, - I'll give you a head to cut off, that it's him! I assure you. Stop, stop! she shouted to the coachman; but the coachman could not stop, because more carts and carriages drove out of Meshchanskaya, and they shouted at the Rostovs to move off and not detain others.
Indeed, although much further away than before, all the Rostovs saw Pierre or a man unusually resembling Pierre, in a coachman's caftan, walking down the street with his head bowed and a serious face, next to a little beardless old man who looked like a footman. This old man noticed a face sticking out at him from the carriage and, respectfully touching Pierre's elbow, said something to him, pointing to the carriage. For a long time Pierre could not understand what he was saying; so he seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts. Finally, when he understood him, he looked at the instructions and, recognizing Natasha, giving himself up to the first impression at that very moment, quickly went to the carriage. But after walking ten paces, he, apparently remembering something, stopped.
Natasha's face, leaning out of the carriage, shone with a mocking caress.
- Pyotr Kirilych, go! After all, we found out! It is amazing! she screamed, holding out her hand to him. – How are you? Why are you like this?
Pierre took the outstretched hand and on the move (as the carriage continued to move) awkwardly kissed her.
- What's the matter with you, Count? asked the Countess in a surprised and sympathetic voice.
- What? What? What for? Don’t ask me,” said Pierre and looked back at Natasha, whose radiant, joyful look (he felt it without looking at her) showered him with its charm.
- What are you, or are you staying in Moscow? Pierre was silent.
- In Moscow? he said inquiringly. - Yes, in Moscow. Farewell.
“Ah, if I were a man, I would certainly stay with you. Ah, how good it is! Natasha said. - Mom, let me stay. Pierre looked absently at Natasha and wanted to say something, but the countess interrupted him:
“You were at the battle, did we hear?
“Yes, I was,” Pierre answered. “Tomorrow there will be another battle ...” he began, but Natasha interrupted him:
“But what about you, Count?” You don't look like yourself...
“Ah, don’t ask, don’t ask me, I don’t know anything myself. Tomorrow... No! Farewell, farewell,” he said, “terrible time!” - And, lagging behind the carriage, he moved to the sidewalk.
Natasha still leaned out of the window for a long time, beaming at him with an affectionate and slightly mocking, joyful smile.
Pierre, since his disappearance from home, had been living for the second day in the empty apartment of the late Bazdeev. Here's how it happened.
Waking up the next day after his return to Moscow and meeting with Count Rostopchin, Pierre for a long time could not understand where he was and what they wanted from him. When, among the names of other persons who were waiting for him in the waiting room, he was informed that a Frenchman was also waiting for him, who had brought a letter from Countess Elena Vasilyevna, he suddenly felt that feeling of confusion and hopelessness, which he was able to succumb to. It suddenly seemed to him that everything was now over, everything was mixed up, everything had collapsed, that there was neither right nor wrong, that there would be nothing ahead and that there was no way out of this situation. He, smiling unnaturally and muttering something, then sat down on the sofa in a helpless pose, then got up, approached the door and looked through the crack into the waiting room, then, waving his hands, I came back and took up the book. Another time, the butler came to report to Pierre that the Frenchman, who had brought a letter from the Countess, really wanted to see him even for a minute, and that they had come from the widow of I. A. Bazdeev to ask to accept books, since Ms. Bazdeeva herself had left for the village.
“Ah, yes, now, wait ... Or not ... no, go tell me that I’ll come right now,” Pierre said to the butler.
But as soon as the butler came out, Pierre took the hat that lay on the table and went out of the back door of the office. There was no one in the corridor. Pierre walked the entire length of the corridor to the stairs and, grimacing and rubbing his forehead with both hands, went down to the first platform. The porter stood at the front door. From the platform to which Pierre descended, another staircase led to the back door. Pierre followed it and went out into the yard. Nobody saw him. But on the street, as soon as he came out of the gate, the coachmen standing with the carriages and the janitor saw the master and took off their hats in front of him. Feeling the fixed gazes on himself, Pierre acted like an ostrich that hides its head in a bush so that it will not be seen; he lowered his head and, quickening his pace, walked down the street.
