Page 1435 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

of respect and even of awe in many people, as Vronsky
saw; to Vronsky he was little Katka Maslov—that had
been his nickname in the Pages’ Corps—whom he felt to
be shy and tried to mettre a son aise. On the left hand sat

Nevyedovsky with his youthful, stubborn, and malignant
face. With him Vronsky was simple and deferential.
Sviazhsky took his failure very light-heartedly. It was
indeed no failure in his eyes, as he said himself, turning,
glass in hand, to Nevyedovsky; they could not have found
a better representative of the new movement, which the
nobility ought to follow. And so every honest person, as
he said, was on the side of today’s success and was
rejoicing over it.
Stepan Arkadyevitch was glad, too, that he was having
a good time, and that everyone was pleased. The episode
of the elections served as a good occasion for a capital
dinner. Sviazhsky comically imitated the tearful discourse
of the marshal, and observed, addressing Nevyedovsky,
that his excellency would have to select another more
complicated method of auditing the accounts than tears.
Another nobleman jocosely described how footmen in
stockings had been ordered for the marshal’s ball, and how
now they would have to be sent back unless the new
marshal would give a ball with footmen in stockings.

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