Page 352 - ANNA KARENINA
P. 352
Anna Karenina
‘Do just as you like, only let it be as soon as possible,’
he said, and went to the bailiff.
When he came back, Stepan Arkadyevitch, washed and
combed, came out of his room with a beaming smile, and
they went upstairs together.
‘Well, I am glad I managed to get away to you! Now I
shall understand what the mysterious business is that you
are always absorbed in here. No, really, I envy you. What
a house, how nice it all is! So bright, so cheerful!’ said
Stepan Arkadyevitch, forgetting that it was not always
spring and fine weather like that day. ‘And your nurse is
simply charming! A pretty maid in an apron might be even
more agreeable, perhaps; but for your severe monastic
style it does very well.’
Stepan Arkadyevitch told him many interesting pieces
of news; especially interesting to Levin was the news that
his brother, Sergey Ivanovitch, was intending to pay him a
visit in the summer.
Not one word did Stepan Arkadyevitch say in reference
to Kitty and the Shtcherbatskys; he merely gave him
greetings from his wife. Levin was grateful to him for his
delicacy and was very glad of his visitor. As always
happened with him during his solitude, a mass of ideas and
feelings had been accumulating within him, which he
351 of 1759