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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 prin-
cess 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 as he liked, and he began waving his stick at
him. It’s simply a scandal!”
“Oh, how unpleasant!” said the princess. “Well, and how did it
end?”
“Luckily at that point that...the one in the mushroom hat... inter-
vened. A Russian lady, I think she is,” said the colonel.
“Mademoiselle Varenka?” asked Kitty.
“Yes, yes. She came to the rescue before anyone; she took the man
by the arm and led him away.”
“There, mamma,” said Kitty; “you wonder that I’m enthusiastic
about her.”
The next day, as she watched her unknown friend, Kitty noticed
that Mademoiselle Varenka was already on the same terms with Levin
and his companion as with her other proteges. She went up to them,
entered into conversation with them, and served as interpreter for the
woman, who could not speak any foreign language.
Kitty began to entreat her mother still more urgently to let her
make friends with Varenka. And, disagreeable as it was to the princess
to seem to take the first step in wishing to make the acquaintance of
Madame Stahl,who thought fit to give herself airs, she made inquiries
about Varenka, and, having ascertained particulars about her tending
to prove that there could be no harm though little good in the acquain-
tance, she herself approached Varenka and made acquaintance with
her.
Choosing a time when her daughter had gone to the spring, while
Varenka had stopped outside the baker’s, the princess went up to her.
“Allow me to make your acquaintance,” she said, with her dignified
smile. “My daughter has lost her heart to you,” she said. “Possibly you
do not know me. I am...”
“That feeling is more than reciprocal, princess,” Varenka answered
hurriedly.
“What a good deed you did yesterday to our poor compatriot!” said
the princess.
Varenka flushed a little. “I don’t remember. I don’t think I did
anything,” she said.
“Why, you saved that Levin from disagreeable consequences.”
“Yes, sa compagne called me, and I tried to pacify him, he’s very ill
and was dissatisfied with the doctor. I’m used to looking after such
invalids.”
“Yes, I’ve heard you live at Mentone with your aunt—I think—
Madame Stahl: I used to know her belle-soeur.”
“No, she’s not my aunt. I call her mamma, but I am not related to
her; I was brought up by her,” answered Varenka, flushing a little