Page 476 - ANNA KARENINA
P. 476

Anna Karenina


                                     Kitty knew that the princess was offended that Madame
                                  Stahl had seemed to avoid making her acquaintance. Kitty
                                  did not insist.
                                     ‘How wonderfully sweet she is!’ she said, gazing at

                                  Varenka just as she handed a glass to the Frenchwoman.
                                  ‘Look how natural and sweet it all is.’
                                     ‘It’s so funny to see your engouements,’ said the
                                  princess. ‘No, we’d better go back,’ she added, noticing
                                  Levin coming towards them with his companion and a
                                  German doctor, to whom he was talking very noisily and
                                  angrily.
                                     They turned to go back, when suddenly they heard,
                                  not noisy talk, but shouting. Levin, stopping short, was
                                  shouting at the doctor, and the doctor, too, was excited. A
                                  crowd gathered about them. The princess and Kitty beat a
                                  hasty retreat, while the colonel joined the crowd to find
                                  out what was the matter.
                                     A few minutes later the colonel overtook them.
                                     ‘What was it?’ inquired the princess.
                                     ‘Scandalous and disgraceful!’ answered the colonel.
                                  ‘The one thing to be dreaded is meeting Russians abroad.
                                  That tall gentleman was abusing the doctor, flinging all
                                  sorts of insults at him because he wasn’t treating him quite





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