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person he was. This was evident from his confusion and embarrass-
ment in reading the minutes. Then the discussion began. They were
disputing about the misappropriation of certain sums and the laying of
certain pipes, and Sergey Ivanovitch was very cutting to two members,
and said something at great length with an air of triumph; and another
member, scribbling something on a bit of paper, began timidly at first,
but afterwards answered him very viciously and delightfully. And
then Sviazhsky (he was there too) said something too, very hand-
somely and nobly. Levin listened to them, and saw clearly that these
missing sums and these pipes were not anything real, and that they
were not at all angry, but were all the nicest, kindest people, and every-
thing was as happy and charming as possible among them. They did
no harm to anyone, and were all enjoying it. What struck Levin was
that he could see through them all today, and from little, almost imper-
ceptible signs knew the soul of each, and saw distinctly that they were
all good at heart. And Levin himself in particular they were all ex-
tremely fond of that day. That was evident from the way they spoke to
him, from the friendly, affectionate way even those he did not know
looked at him.
“Well, did you like it?” Sergey Ivanovitch asked him.
“Very much. I never supposed it was so interesting! Capital!
Splendid!”
Sviazhsky went up to Levin and invited him to come round to tea
with him. Levin was utterly at a loss to comprehend or recall what it
was he had disliked in Sviazhsky, what he had failed to find in him. He
was a clever and wonderfully good-hearted man.
“Most delighted,” he said, and asked after his wife and sister-in-
law. And from a queer association of ideas, because in his imagination
the idea of Sviazhsky’s sister-in-law was connected with marriage, it
occurred to him that there was no one to whom he could more suitably
speak of his happiness, and he was very glad to go and see them.
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 soft-
ness and consideration with which Sviazhsky avoided fully expressing
his correct view. The ladies of the Sviazhsky household were particu-
larly 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 before, struck him as a very intelligent, excel-
lent, and, above all, good-hearted man.
“Well, Yegor, it’s hard work not sleeping, isn’t it?”
“One’s got to put up with it! It’s part of our work, you see. In a
gentleman’s house it’s easier; but then here one makes more.”
It appeared that Yegor had a family, three boys and a daughter, a
sempstress, whom he wanted to marry to a cashier in a saddler’s shop.
Levin, on hearing this, informed Yegor that, in his opinion, in mar-
riage the great thing was love, and that with love one would always be