Part One: Chapter 5

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch had learned easily at school, thanks to hisexcellent abilities, but he had been idle and mischievous, andtherefore was one of the lowest in his class. But in spite ofhis habitually dissipated mode of life, his inferior grade in theservice, and his comparative youth, he occupied the honorable andlucrative position of president of one of the government boardsat Moscow. This post he had received through his sister Anna'shusband, Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin, who held one of the mostimportant positions in the ministry to whose department theMoscow office belonged. But if Karenin had not got his brother-in-law this berth, then through a hundred other personages--brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, and aunts--Stiva Oblonskywould have received this post, or some other similar one,together with the salary of six thousand absolutely needful forthem, as his affairs, in spite of his wife's considerableproperty, were in an embarrassed condition.

　　Half Moscow and Petersburg were friends and relations of StepanArkadyevitch. He was born in the midst of those who had been andare the powerful ones of this world. One-third of the men in thegovernment, the older men, had been friends of his father's, andhad known him in petticoats; another third were his intimatechums, and the remainder were friendly acquaintances.Consequently the distributors of earthly blessings in the shapeof places, rents, shares, and such, were all his friends, andcould not overlook one of their own set; and Oblonsky had no needto make any special exertion to get a lucrative post. He hadonly not to refuse things, not to show jealousy, not to bequarrelsome or take offense, all of which from hischaracteristic good nature he never did. It would have struckhim as absurd if he had been told that he would not get aposition with the salary he required, especially as he expectednothing out of the way; he only wanted what the men of his ownage and standing did get, and he was no worse qualified forperforming duties of the kind than any other man.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch was not merely liked by all who knew him forhis good humor, but for his bright disposition, and hisunquestionable honesty. In him, in his handsome, radiant figure,his sparkling eyes, black hair and eyebrows, and the white andred of his face, there was something which produced a physicaleffect of kindliness and good humor on the people who met him."Aha! Stiva! Oblonsky! Here he is!" was almost always saidwith a smile of delight on meeting him. Even though it happenedat times that after a conversation with him it seemed thatnothing particularly delightful had happened, the next day, andthe next, every one was just as delighted at meeting him again.

　　After filling for three years the post of president of one of thegovernment boards at Moscow, Stepan Arkadyevitch had won therespect, as well as the liking, of his fellow officials,subordinates, and superiors, and all who had had business withhim. The principal qualities in Stepan Arkadyevitch which hadgained him this universal respect in the service consisted, inthe first place, of his extreme indulgence for others, founded ona consciousness of his own shortcomings; secondly, of his perfectliberalism--not the liberalism he read of in the papers, but theliberalism that was in his blood, in virtue of which he treatedall men perfectly equally and exactly the same, whatever theirfortune or calling might be; and thirdly--the most importantpoint--his complete indifference to the business in which he wasengaged, in consequence of which he was never carried away, andnever made mistakes.

　　On reaching the offices of the board, Stepan Arkadyevitch,escorted by a deferential porter with a portfolio, went into hislittle private room, put on his uniform, and went into theboardroom. The clerks and copyists all rose, greeting him withgood-humored deference. Stepan Arkadyevitch moved quickly, asever, to his place, shook hands with his colleagues, and satdown. He made a joke or two, and talked just as much as wasconsistent with due decorum, and began work. No one knew betterthan Stepan Arkadyevitch how to hit on the exact line betweenfreedom, simplicity, and official stiffness necessary for theagreeable conduct of business. A secretary, with thegood-humored deference common to every one in StepanArkadyevitch's office, came up with papers, and began to speak inthe familiar and easy tone which had been introduced by StepanArkadyevitch.

　　"We have succeeded in getting the information from the governmentdepartment of Penza. Here, would you care?...."

　　"You've got them at last?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, laying hisfinger on the paper. "Now, gentlemen...."

　　And the sitting of the board began.

　　"If they knew," he thought, bending his head with a significantair as he listened to the report, "what a guilty little boy theirpresident was half an hour ago." And his eyes were laughingduring the reading of the report. Till two o'clock the sittingwould go on without a break, and at two o'clock there would be aninterval and luncheon.

　　It was not yet two, when the large glass doors of the boardroomsuddenly opened and someone came in.

　　All the officials sitting on the further side under the portraitof the Tsar and the eagle, delighted at any distraction, lookedround at the door; but the doorkeeper standing at the door atonce drove out the intruder, and closed the glass door after him.

　　When the case had been read through, Stepan Arkadyevitch got upand stretched, and by way of tribute to the liberalism of thetimes took out a cigarette in the boardroom and went into hisprivate room. Two of the members of the board, the old veteranin the service, Nikitin, and the Kammerjunker Grinevitch, went inwith him.

　　"We shall have time to finish after lunch," said StepanArkadyevitch.

　　"To be sure we shall!" said Nikitin.

　　"A pretty sharp fellow this Fomin must be," said Grinevitch ofone of the persons taking part in the case they were examining.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch frowned at Grinevitch's words, giving himthereby to understand that it was improper to pass judgmentprematurely, and made him no reply.

　　"Who was that came in?" he asked the doorkeeper.

　　"Someone, your excellency, crept in without permission directlymy back was turned. He was asking for you. I told him: whenthe members come out, then..."

　　"Where is he?"

　　"Maybe he's gone into the passage, but here he comes anyway.That is he," said the doorkeeper, pointing to a strongly built,broadshouldered man with a curly beard, who, without taking offhis sheepskin cap, was running lightly and rapidly up the wornsteps of the stone staircase.b One of the members going down--alean official with a portfolio--stood out of his way and lookeddisapprovingly at the legs of the stranger, then glancedinquiringly at Oblonsky.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch was standing at the top of the stairs. Hisgood-naturedly beaming face above the embroidered collar of hisuniform beamed more than ever when he recognized the man comingup.

　　"Why, it's actually you, Levin, at last!" he said with a friendlymocking smile, scanning Levin as he approached. "How is it youhave deigned to look me up in this den?" said StepanArkadyevitch, and not content with shaking hands, he kissed hisfriend. "Have you been here long?"

　　"I have just come, and very much wanted to see you," said Levin,looking shyly and at the same time angry and uneasily around.

　　"Well, let's go into my room," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, who knewhis friend's sensitive and irritable shyness, and, taking hisarm, he drew him along, as though guiding him through dangers.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch was on familiar terms with almost all hisacquaintances, and called almost all of them by their Christiannames: old men of sixty, boys of twenty, actors, ministers,merchants, and adjutant-generals, so that many of his intimatechums were to be found at the extreme ends of the social ladder,and would have been very much surprised to learn that they had,through the medium of Oblonsky, something in common. He was thefamiliar friend of everyone with whom he took a glass ofchampagne, and he took a glass of champagne with everyone, andwhen in consequence he met any of his disreputable chums, as heused in joke to call many of his friends, in the presence of hissubordinates, he well knew how, with his characteristic tact, todiminish the disagreeable impression made on them. Levin wasnot a disreputable chum, but Oblonsky, with his ready tact, feltthat Levin fancied he might not care to show his intimacy withhim before his subordinates, and so he made haste to take him offinto his room.

　　Levin was almost of the same age as Oblonsky; their intimacy didnot rest merely on champagne. Levin had been the friend andcompanion of his early youth. They were fond of one another inspite of the difference of their characters and tastes, asfriends are fond of one another who have been together in earlyyouth. But in spite of this, each of them--as is often the waywith men who have selected careers of different kinds--though indiscussion he would even justify the other's career, in his heartdespised it. It seemed to each of them that the life he ledhimself was the only real life, and the life led by his friendwas a mere phantasm. Oblonsky could not restrain a slightmocking smile at the sight of Levin. How often he had seen himcome up to Moscow from the country where he was doing something,but what precisely Stepan Arkadyevitch could never quite makeout, and indeed he took no interest in the matter. Levin arrivedin Moscow always excited and in a hurry, rather ill at ease andirritated by his own want of ease, and for the most part with aperfectly new, unexpected view of things. Stepan Arkadyevitchlaughed at this, and liked it. In the same way Levin in hisheart despised the town mode of life of his friend, and hisofficial duties, which he laughed at, and regarded as trifling.But the difference was that Oblonsky, as he was doing the same asevery one did, laughed complacently and good-humoredly, whileLevin laughed without complacency and sometimes angrily.

　　"We have long been expecting you," said Stepan Arkadyevitch,going into his room and letting Levin's hand go as though to showthat here all danger was over. "I am very, very glad to seeyou," he went on. "Well, how are you? Eh? When did you come?"

　　Levin was silent, looking at the unknown faces of Oblonsky's twocompanions, and especially at the hand of the elegant Grinevitch,which had such long white fingers, such long yellowfilbert-shaped nails, and such huge shining studs on theshirt-cuff, that apparently they absorbed all his attention, andallowed him no freedom of thought. Oblonsky noticed this atonce, and smiled.

　　"Ah, to be sure, let me introduce you," he said. "My colleagues:Philip Ivanitch Nikitin, Mihail Stanislavitch Grinevitch"--andturning to Levin--"a district councilor, a modern districtcouncilman, a gymnast who lifts thirteen stone with one hand, acattle-breeder and sportsman, and my friend, KonstantinDmitrievitch Levin, the brother of Sergey Ivonovitch Koznishev."

　　"Delighted," said the veteran.

　　"I have the honor of knowing your brother, Sergey Ivanovitch,"said Grinevitch, holding out his slender hand with its longnails.

　　Levin frowned, shook hands coldly, and at once turned toOblonsky. Though he had a great respect for his half-brother, anauthor well known to all Russia, he could not endure it whenpeople treated him not as Konstantin Levin, but as the brother ofthe celebrated Koznishev.

　　"No, I am no longer a district councilor. I have quarreled withthem all, and don't go to the meetings any more," he said,turning to Oblonsky.

　　"You've been quick about it!" said Oblonsky with a smile. "Buthow? why?"

　　"It's a long story. I will tell you some time," said Levin, buthe began telling him at once. "Well, to put it shortly, I wasconvinced that nothing was really done by the district councils,or ever could be," he began, as though some one had just insultedhim. "On one side it's a plaything; they play at being aparliament, and I'm neither young enough nor old enough to findamusement in playthings; and on the other side" (he stammered)"it's a means for the coterie of the district to make money.Formerly they had wardships, courts of justice, now they have thedistrict council--not in the form of bribes, but in the form ofunearned salary," he said, as hotly as though someone of thosepresent had opposed his opinion.

　　"Aha! You're in a new phase again, I see--a conservative," saidStepan Arkadyevitch. "However, we can go into that later."

　　"Yes, later. But I wanted to see you," said Levin, looking withhatred at Grinevitch's hand.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch gave a scarcely perceptible smile.

　　"How was it you used to say you would never wear European dressagain?" he said, scanning his new suit, obviously cut by a Frenchtailor. "Ah! I see: a new phase."

　　Levin suddenly blushed, not as grown men blush, slightly, withoutbeing themselves aware of it, but as boys blush, feeling thatthey are ridiculous through their shyness, and consequentlyashamed of it and blushing still more, almost to the point oftears. And it was so strange to see this sensible, manly face insuch a childish plight, that Oblonsky left off looking at him.

　　"Oh, where shall we meet? You know I want very much to talk toyou," said Levin.

　　Oblonsky seemed to ponder.

　　"I'll tell you what: let's go to Gurin's to lunch, and there wecan talk. I am free till three."

　　"No," answered Levin, after an instant's thought, "I have got togo on somewhere else."

　　"All right, then, let's dine together."

　　"Dine together? But I have nothing very particular, only a fewwords to say, and a question I want to ask you, and we can have atalk afterwards."

　　"Well, say the few words, then, at once, and we'll gossip afterdinner."

　　"Well, it's this," said Levin; "but it's of no importance,though."

　　His face all at once took an expression of anger from the efforthe was making to surmount his shyness.

　　"What are the Shtcherbatskys doing? Everything as it used tobe?" he said.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch, who had long known that Levin was in lovewith his sister-in-law, Kitty, gave a hardly perceptible smile,and his eyes sparkled merrily.

　　"You said a few words, but I can't answer in a few words,because.... Excuse me a minute..."

　　A secretary came in, with respectful familiarity and the modestconsciousness, characteristic of every secretary, of superiorityto his chief in the knowledge of their business; he went up toOblonsky with some papers, and began, under pretense of asking aquestion, to explain some objection. Stepan Arkadyevitch,without hearing him out, laid his hand genially on thesecretary's sleeve.

　　"No, you do as I told you," he said, softening his words with asmile, and with a brief explanation of his view of the matter heturned away from the papers, and said: "So do it that way, if youplease, Zahar Nikititch."

　　The secretary retired in confusion. During the consultation withthe secretary Levin had completely recovered from hisembarrassment. He was standing with his elbows on the back of achair, and on his face was a look of ironical attention.

　　"I don't understand it, I don't understand it," he said.

　　"What don't you understand?" said Oblonsky, smiling as brightlyas ever, and picking up a cigarette. He expected some queeroutburst from Levin.

　　"I don't understand what you are doing," said Levin, shrugginghis shoulders. "How can you do it seriously?"

　　"Why not?"

　　"Why, because there's nothing in it."

　　"You think so, but we're overwhelmed with work."

　　"On paper. But, there, you've a gift for it," added Levin.

　　"That's to say, you think there's a lack of something in me?"

　　"Perhaps so," said Levin. "But all the same I admire yourgrandeur, and am proud that I've a friend in such a great person.You've not answered my question, though," he went on, with adesperate effort looking Oblonsky straight in the face.

　　"Oh, that's all very well. You wait a bit, and you'll come tothis yourself. It's very nice for you to have over six thousandacres in the Karazinsky district, and such muscles, and thefreshness of a girl of twelve; still you'll be one of us one day.Yes, as to your question, there is no change, but it's a pityyou've been away so long."

　　"Oh, why so?" Levin queried, panic-stricken.

　　"Oh, nothing," responded Oblonsky. "We'll talk it over. Butwhat's brought you up to town?"

　　"Oh, we'll talk about that, too, later on," said Levin, reddeningagain up to his ears.

　　"All right. I see," said Stepan Arkadyevitch. "I should ask youto come to us, you know, but my wife's not quite the thing. ButI tell you what; if you want to see them, they're sure now to beat the Zoological Gardens from four to five. Kitty skates. Youdrive along there, and I'll come and fetch you, and we'll go anddine somewhere together."

　　"Capital. So good-bye till then."

　　"Now mind, you'll forget, I know you, or rush off home to thecountry!" Stepan Arkadyevitch called out laughing.

　　"No, truly!"

　　And Levin went out of the room, only when he was in the doorwayremembering that he had forgotten to take leave of Oblonsky'scolleagues.

　　"That gentleman must be a man of great energy," said Grinevitch,when Levin had gone away.

　　"Yes, my dear boy," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, nodding his head,"he's a lucky fellow! Over six thousand acres in the Karazinskydistrict; everything before him; and what youth and vigor! Notlike some of us."

　　"You have a great deal to complain of, haven't you, StepanArkadyevitch?"

　　"Ah, yes, I'm in a poor way, a bad way," said Stepan Arkadyevitchwith a heavy sigh.