Part Seven: Chapter 8

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Getting up from the table, Levin walked with Gagin through thelofty room to the billiard room, feeling his arms swing as hewalked with a peculiar lightness and ease. As he crossed the bigroom, he came upon his father-in-law.

　　"Well, how do you like our Temple of Idolence?" said the prince,taking his arm. "Come along, come along!"

　　"Yes, I wanted to walk about and look at everything. It'sinteresting."

　　"Yes, it's interesting for you. But its interest for me is quitedifferent. You look at those little old men now," he said,pointing to a club member with bent back and projecting lip,shuffling towards them in his soft boots, "and imagine that theywere shlupiks like that from their birth up."

　　"How shlupiks?"

　　"I see you don't know that name. That's our club designation.You know the game of rolling eggs: when one's rolled a long whileit becomes a shlupik. So it is with us; one goes on coming andcoming to the club, and ends by becoming a shlupik. Ah, youlaugh! but we look out, for fear of dropping into it ourselves.You know Prince Tchetchensky?" inquired the prince; and Levin sawby his face that he was just going to relate something funny.

　　"No, I don't know him."

　　"You don't say so! Well, Prince Tchetchensky is a well-knownfigure. No matter, though. He's always playing billiards here.Only three years ago he was not a shlupik and kept up his spiritsand even used to call other people shlupiks. But one day heturns up, and our porter...you know Vassily? Why, that fat one;he's famous for his bon mots. And so Prince Tchetchensky askshim, 'Come, Vassily, who's here? Any shlupiks here yet?' And hesays, 'You're the third.' Yes, my dear boy, that he did!"

　　Talking and greeting the friends they met, Levin and the princewalked through all the rooms: the great room where tables hadalready been set, and the usual partners were playing for smallstakes; the divan room, where they were playing chess, and SergeyIvanovitch was sitting talking to somebody; the billiard room,where, about a sofa in a recess, there was a lively partydrinking champagne--Gagin was one of them. They peeped into the"infernal regions," where a good many men were crowding round onetable, at which Yashvin was sitting. Trying not to make a noise,they walked into the dark reading room, where under the shadedlamps there sat a young man with a wrathful countenance, turningover one journal after another, and a bald general buried in abook. They went, too, into what the prince called theintellectual room, where three gentlemen were engaged in a heateddiscussion of the latest political news.

　　"Prince, please come, we're ready," said one of his card party,who had come to look for him, and the prince went off. Levin satdown and listened, but recalling all the conversation of themorning he felt all of a sudden fearfully bored. He got uphurriedly, and went to look for Oblonsky and Turovtsin, with whomit had been so pleasant.

　　Turovtsin was one of the circle drinking in the billiard room,and Stepan Arkadyevitch was talking with Vronsky near the door atthe farther corner of the room.

　　"It's not that she's dull; but this undefined, this unsettledposition," Levin caught, and he was hurrying away, but StepanArkadyevitch called to him.

　　"Levied" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, and Levin noticed that hiseyes were not full of tears exactly, but moist, which alwayshappened when he had been drinking, or when he was touched. Justnow it was due to both causes. "Levin, don't go," he said, andhe warmly squeezed his arm above the elbow, obviously not at allwishing to let him go.

　　"This is a true friend of mine--almost my greatest friend," hesaid to Vronsky. "You have become even closer and dearer to me.And I want you, and I know you ought, to be friends, and greatfriends, because you're both splendid fellows."

　　"Well, there's nothing for us now but to kiss and be friends,"Vronsky said, with good-natured playfulness, holding out hishand.

　　Levin quickly took the offered hand, and pressed it warmly.

　　"I'm very, very glad," said Levin.

　　"Waiter, a bottle of champagne," said Stepan Arkadyevitch.

　　"And I'm very glad," said Vronsky.

　　But in spite of Stepan Arkadyevitch's desire, and their owndesire, they had nothing to talk about, and both felt it.

　　"Do you know, he has never met Anna?" Stepan Arkadyevitch said toVronsky. "And I want above everything to take him to see her.Let us go, Levin!"

　　"Really?" said Vronsky. "She will be very glad to see you. Ishould be going home at once," he added, "but I'm worried aboutYashvin, and I want to stay on till he finishes."

　　"Why, is he losing?"

　　"He keeps losing, and I'm the only friend that can restrain him."

　　"Well, what do you say to pyramids? Levin, will you play?Capital!" said Stepan Arkadyevitch. "Get the table ready," hesaid to the marker.

　　"It has been ready a long while," answered the marker, who hadalready set the balls in a triangle, and was knocking the red oneabout for his own diversion.

　　"Well, let us begin."

　　After the game Vronsky and Levin sat down at Gagin's table, andat Stepan Arkadyevitch's suggestion Levin took a hand in thegame.

　　Vronsky sat down at the table, surrounded by friends, who wereincessantly coming up to him. Every now and then he went to the"infernal" to keep an eye on Yashvin. Levin was enjoying adelightful sense of repose after the mental fatigue of themorning. He was glad that all hostility was at an end withVronsky, and the sense of peace, decorum, and comfort never lefthim.

　　When the game was over, Stepan Arkadyevitch took Levin's arm.

　　"Well, let us go to Anna's, then. At once? Eh? She is at home.I promised her long ago to bring you. Where were you meaning tospend the evening?"

　　"Oh, nowhere specially. I promised Sviazhsky to go to theSociety of Agriculture. By all means, let us go," said Levin.

　　"Very good; come along. Find out if my carriage is here," StepanArkadyevitch said to the waiter.

　　Levin went up to the table, paid the forty roubles he had lost;paid his bill, the amount of which was in some mysterious wayascertained by the little old waiter who stood at the counter,and swinging his arms he walked through all the rooms to the wayout.