Page 1419 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

the French words with a bad accent. ‘All Russia’s here—
gentlemen of the bedchamber, and everything short of the
ministry.’ He pointed to the imposing figure of Stepan
Arkadyevitch in white trousers and his court uniform,

walking by with a general.
‘I ought to own that I don’t very well understand the
drift of the provincial elections,’ said Levin.
The landowner looked at him.
‘Why, what is there to understand? There’s no meaning
in it at all. It’s a decaying institution that goes on running
only by the force of inertia. Just look, the very uniforms
tell you that it’s an assembly of justices of the peace,
permanent members of the court, and so on, but not of
noblemen.’
‘Then why do you come?’ asked Levin.
‘From habit, nothing else. Then, too, one must keep
up connections. It’s a moral obligation of a sort. And then,
to tell the truth, there’s one’s own interests. My son-in-
law wants to stand as a permanent member; they’re not
rich people, and he must be brought forward. These
gentlemen, now, what do they come for?’ he said,
pointing to the malignant gentleman, who was talking at
the high table.
‘That’s the new generation of nobility.’

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