Page 457 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

drown the pain, in the same way Alexey Alexandrovitch
needed mental exercise to drown the thoughts of his wife
that in her presence and in Vronsky’s, and with the
continual iteration of his name, would force themselves on

his attention. And it was as natural for him to talk well and
cleverly, as it is natural for a child to skip about. He was
saying:
‘Danger in the races of officers, of cavalry men, is an
essential element in the race. If England can point to the
most brilliant feats of cavalry in military history, it is
simply owing to the fact that she has historically developed
this force both in beasts and in men. Sport has, in my
opinion, a great value, and as is always the case, we see
nothing but what is most superficial.’
‘It’s not superficial,’ said Princess Tverskaya. ‘One of
the officers, they say, has broken two ribs.’
Alexey Alexandrovitch smiled his smile, which
uncovered his teeth, but revealed nothing more.
‘We’ll admit, princess, that that’s not superficial,’ he
said, ‘but internal. But that’s not the point,’ and he turned
again to the general with whom he was talking seriously;
‘we mustn’t forget that those who are taking part in the
race are military men, who have chosen that career, and
one must allow that every calling has its disagreeable side.

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