Page 1370 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

public duties in these latter days. Just as in old days there
were so many government functionaries that one had to
call in a functionary for every single thing, so now
everyone’s doing some sort of public duty. Alexey has

been here now six months, and he’s a member, I do
believe, of five or six different public bodies. Du train que
cela va, the whole time will be wasted on it. And I’m
afraid that with such a multiplicity of these bodies, they’ll
end in being a mere form. How many are you a member
of, Nikolay Ivanitch?’ she turned to Sviazhsky—‘over
twenty, I fancy.’
Anna spoke lightly, but irritation could be discerned in
her tone. Darya Alexandrovna, watching Anna and
Vronsky attentively, detected it instantly. She noticed, too,
that as she spoke Vronsky’s face had immediately taken a
serious and obstinate expression. Noticing this, and that
Princess Varvara at once made haste to change the
conversation by talking of Petersburg acquaintances, and
remembering what Vronsky had without apparent
connection said in the garden of his work in the country,
Dolly surmised that this question of public activity was
connected with some deep private disagreement between
Anna and Vronsky.

1369 of 1759