Page 876 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

Sviazhsky questioned him about his improvements on
his estate, presupposing, as he always did, that there was
no possibility of doing anything not done already in
Europe, and now this did not in the least annoy Levin. On

the contrary, he felt that Sviazhsky was right, that the
whole business was of little value, and he saw the
wonderful softness and consideration with which
Sviazhsky avoided fully expressing his correct view. The
ladies of the Sviazhsky household were particularly
delightful. It seemed to Levin that they knew all about it
already and sympathized with him, saying nothing merely
from delicacy. He stayed with them one hour, two, three,
talking of all sorts of subjects but the one thing that filled
his heart, and did not observe that he was boring them
dreadfully, and that it was long past their bedtime.
Sviazhsky went with him into the hall, yawning and
wondering at the strange humor his friend was in. It was
past one o’clock. Levin went back to his hotel, and was
dismayed at the thought that all alone now with his
impatience he had ten hours still left to get through. The
servant, whose turn it was to be up all night, lighted his
candles, and would have gone away, but Levin stopped
him. This servant, Yegor, whom Levin had noticed

875 of 1759