Page 1090 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

had to do next; closing the dead man’s eyes, dressing him,
ordering the coffin. And, strange to say, he felt utterly
cold, and was not conscious of sorrow nor of loss, less still
of pity for his brother. If he had any feeling for his brother

at that moment, it was envy for the knowledge the dying
man had now that he could not have.
A long time more he sat over him so, continually
expecting the end. But the end did not come. The door
opened and Kitty appeared. Levin got up to stop her. But
at the moment he was getting up, he caught the sound of
the dying man stirring.
‘Don’t go away,’ said Nikolay and held out his hand.
Levin gave him his, and angrily waved to his wife to go
away.
With the dying man’s hand in his hand, he sat for half
an hour, an hour, another hour. He did not think of death
at all now. He wondered what Kitty was doing; who lived
in the next room; whether the doctor lived in a house of
his own. He longed for food and for sleep. He cautiously
drew away his hand and felt the feet. The feet were cold,
but the sick man was still breathing. Levin tried again to
move away on tiptoe, but the sick man stirred again and
said: ‘Don’t go.’

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