Page 1138 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

‘And higher still?’
‘Well, highest of all is the Andrey Pervozvanny.’
‘And higher than the Andrey?’
‘I don’t know.’

‘What, you don’t know?’ and Seryozha, leaning on his
elbows, sank into deep meditation.
His meditations were of the most complex and diverse
character. He imagined his father’s having suddenly been
presented with both the Vladimir and the Andrey today,
and in consequence being much better tempered at his
lesson, and dreamed how, when he was grown up, he
would himself receive all the orders, and what they might
invent higher than the Andrey. Directly any higher order
were invented, he would win it. They would make a
higher one still, and he would immediately win that too.
The time passed in such meditations, and when the
teacher came, the lesson about the adverbs of place and
time and manner of action was not ready, and the teacher
was not only displeased, but hurt. This touched Seryozha.
He felt he was not to blame for not having learned the
lesson; however much he tried, he was utterly unable to
do that. As long as the teacher was explaining to him, he
believed him and seemed to comprehend, but as soon as
he was left alone, he was positively unable to recollect and

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