Page 458 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

It forms an integral part of the duties of an officer. Low
sports, such as prizefighting or Spanish bull-fights, are a
sign of barbarity. But specialized trials of skill are a sign of
development.’

‘No, I shan’t come another time; it’s too upsetting,’
said Princess Betsy. ‘Isn’t it, Anna?’
‘It is upsetting, but one can’t tear oneself away,’ said
another lady. ‘If I’d been a Roman woman I should never
have missed a single circus.’
Anna said nothing, and keeping her opera glass up,
gazed always at the same spot.
At that moment a tall general walked through the
pavilion. Breaking off what he was saying, Alexey
Alexandrovitch got up hurriedly, though with dignity, and
bowed low to the general.
‘You’re not racing?’ the officer asked, chaffing him.
‘My race is a harder one,’ Alexey Alexandrovitch
responded deferentially.
And though the answer meant nothing, the general
looked as though he had heard a witty remark from a
witty man, and fully relished la pointe de la sauce.
‘There are two aspects,’ Alexey Alexandrovitch
resumed: ‘those who take part and those who look on;

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