Page 1362 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

every detail, and wondering how and by whom it was all
done. Vassenka Veslovsky, her husband, and even
Sviazhsky, and many other people she knew, would never
have considered this question, and would have readily

believed what every well-bred host tries to make his guests
feel, that is, that all that is well-ordered in his house has
cost him, the host, no trouble whatever, but comes of
itself. Darya Alexandrovna was well aware that even
porridge for the children’s breakfast does not come of
itself, and that therefore, where so complicated and
magnificent a style of luxury was maintained, someone
must give earnest attention to its organization. And from
the glance with which Alexey Kirillovitch scanned the
table, from the way he nodded to the butler, and offered
Darya Alexandrovna her choice between cold soup and
hot soup, she saw that it was all organized and maintained
by the care of the master of the house himself. It was
evident that it all rested no more upon Anna than upon
Veslovsky. She, Sviazhsky, the princess, and Veslovsky,
were equally guests, with light hearts enjoying what had
been arranged for them.
Anna was the hostess only in conducting the
conversation. The conversation was a difficult one for the
lady of the house at a small table with persons present, like

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