Page 1704 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

And all this, together with shooting and his new bee-
keeping, filled up the whole of Levin’s life, which had no
meaning at all for him, when he began to think.
But besides knowing thoroughly what he had to do,

Levin knew in just the same way HOW he had to do it
all, and what was more important than the rest.
He knew he must hire laborers as cheaply as possible;
but to hire men under bond, paying them in advance at
less than the current rate of wages, was what he must not
do, even though it was very profitable. Selling straw to the
peasants in times of scarcity of provender was what he
might do, even though he felt sorry for them; but the
tavern and the pothouse must be put down, though they
were a source of income. Felling timber must be punished
as severely as possible, but he could not exact forfeits for
cattle being driven onto his fields; and though it annoyed
the keeper and made the peasants not afraid to graze their
cattle on his land, he could not keep their cattle as a
punishment.
To Pyotr, who was paying a money-lender 10 per cent
a month, he must lend a sum of money to set him free.
But he could not let off peasants who did not pay their
rent, nor let them fall into arrears. It was impossible to
overlook the bailiff’s not having mown the meadows and

1703 of 1759