Page 1260 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

right, and the carriage had been brought back to the road,
Levin had the lunch served.
‘Bon appetit—bonne conscience! Ce poulet va tomber
jusqu’au fond de mes bottes,’ Vassenka, who had

recovered his spirits, quoted the French saying as he
finished his second chicken. ‘Well, now our troubles are
over, now everything’s going to go well. Only, to atone
for my sins, I’m bound to sit on the box. That’s so? eh?
No, no! I’ll be your Automedon. You shall see how I’ll
get you along,’ he answered, not letting go the rein, when
Levin begged him to let the coachman drive. ‘No, I must
atone for my sins, and I’m very comfortable on the box.’
And he drove.
Levin was a little afraid he would exhaust the horses,
especially the chestnut, whom he did not know how to
hold in; but unconsciously he fell under the influence of
his gaiety and listened to the songs he sang all the way on
the box, or the descriptions and representations he gave of
driving in the English fashion, four-in-hand; and it was in
the very best of spirits that after lunch they drove to the
Gvozdyov marsh.

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