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“I am telling Konstantin Dmitrievitch about Turovtsin in the scar-
let fever,” she said, bending over to her sister.
“Yes, it was wonderful, noble!” said Dolly, glancing towards
Turovtsin, who had become aware they were talking of him, and smil-
ing gently to him. Levin glanced once more at Turovtsin, and won-
dered how it was he had not realized all this man’s goodness before.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, and I’ll never think ill of people again!” he said
gaily, genuinely expressing what he felt at the moment.
Chapter 12.
Connected with the conversation that had sprung up on the rights
of women there were certain questions as to the inequality of rights in
marriage improper to discuss before the ladies. Pestsov had several
times during dinner touched upon these questions, but Sergey
Ivanovitch and Stepan Arkadyevitch carefully drew him off them.
When they rose from the table and the ladies had gone out, Pestsov
did not follow them, but addressing Alexey Alexandrovitch, began to
expound the chief ground of inequality. The inequality in marriage, in
his opinion, lay in the fact that the infidelity of the wife and infidelity of
the husband are punished unequally, both by the law and by public
opinion. Stepan Arkadyevitch went hurriedly up to Alexey
Alexandrovitch and offered him a cigar.
“No, I don’t smoke,” Alexey Alexandrovitch answered calmly, and
as though purposely wishing to show that he was not afraid of the
subject, he turned to Pestsov with a chilly smile.
“I imagine that such a view has a foundation in the very nature of
things,” he said, and would have gone on to the drawing room. But at
this point Turovtsin broke suddenly and unexpectedly into the conver-
sation, addressing Alexey Alexandrovitch.
“You heard, perhaps, about Pryatchnikov?” said Turovtsin, warmed
up by the champagne he had drunk, and long waiting for an opportu-