Page 1434 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

schoolfellow he had patronized and protected indeed. But
what contributed more than all to his success was his
direct, equable manner with everyone, which very quickly
made the majority of the noblemen reverse the current

opinion of his supposed haughtiness. He was himself
conscious that, except that whimsical gentleman married
to Kitty Shtcherbatskaya, who had a propos de bottes
poured out a stream of irrelevant absurdities with such
spiteful fury, every nobleman with whom he had made
acquaintance had become his adherent. He saw clearly,
and other people recognized it, too, that he had done a
great deal to secure the success of Nevyedovsky. And now
at his own table, celebrating Nevyedovsky’s election, he
was experiencing an agreeable sense of triumph over the
success of his candidate. The election itself had so
fascinated him that, if he could succeed in getting married
during the next three years, he began to think of standing
himself—much as after winning a race ridden by a jockey,
he had longed to ride a race himself.
Today he was celebrating the success of his jockey.
Vronsky sat at the head of the table, on his right hand sat
the young governor, a general of high rank. To all the rest
he was the chief man in the province, who had solemnly
opened the elections with his speech, and aroused a feeling

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