Page 500 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

for which she watched. But to the prince the brightness
and gaiety of the June morning, and the sound of the
orchestra playing a gay waltz then in fashion, and above
all, the appearance of the healthy attendants, seemed

something unseemly and monstrous, in conjunction with
these slowly moving, dying figures gathered together from
all parts of Europe. In spite of his feeling of pride and, as it
were, of the return of youth, with his favorite daughter on
his arm, he felt awkward, and almost ashamed of his
vigorous step and his sturdy, stout limbs. He felt almost
like a man not dressed in a crowd.
‘Present me to your new friends,’ he said to his
daughter, squeezing her hand with his elbow. ‘I like even
your horrid Soden for making you so well again. Only it’s
melancholy, very melancholy here. Who’s that?’
Kitty mentioned the names of all the people they met,
with some of whom she was acquainted and some not. At
the entrance of the garden they met the blind lady,
Madame Berthe, with her guide, and the prince was
delighted to see the old Frenchwoman’s face light up
when she heard Kitty’s voice. She at once began talking to
him with French exaggerated politeness, applauding him
for having such a delightful daughter, extolling Kitty to

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