Part Three: Chapter 14

by Leo Tolstoy

　　As he neared Petersburg, Alexey Alexandrovitch not only adheredentirely to his decision, but was even composing in his head theletter he would write to his wife. Going into the porter's room,Alexey Alexandrovitch glanced at the letters and papers broughtfrom his office, and directed that they should be brought to himin his study.

　　"The horses can be taken out and I will see no one," he said inanswer to the porter, with a certain pleasure, indicative of hisagreeable frame of mind, emphasizing the words, "see no one."

　　In his study Alexey Alexandrovitch walked up and down twice, andstopped at an immense writing-table, on which six candles hadalready been lighted by the valet who had preceded him. Hecracked his knuckles and sat down, sorting out his writingappurtenances. Putting his elbows on the table, he bent his headon one side, thought a minute, and began to write, withoutpausing for a second. He wrote without using any form of addressto her, and wrote in French, making use of the plural "vous,"which has not the same note of coldness as the correspondingRussian form.

　　"At our last conversation, I notified you of my intention tocommunicate to you my decision in regard to the subject of thatconversation. Having carefully considered everything, I amwriting now with the object of fulfilling that promise. Mydecision is as follows. Whatever your conduct may have been, Ido not consider myself justified in breaking the ties in which weare bound by a Higher Power. The family cannot be broken up by awhim, a caprice, or even by the sin of one of the partners in themarriage, and our life must go on as it has done in the past.This is essential for me, for you, and for our son. I am fullypersuaded that you have repented and do repent of what has calledforth the present letter, and that you will cooperate with me ineradicating the cause of our estrangement, and forgetting thepast. In the contrary event, you can conjecture what awaits youand your son. All this I hope to discuss more in detail in apersonal interview. As the season is drawing to a close, Iwould beg you to return to Petersburg as quickly as possible, notlater than Tuesday. All necessary preparations shall be made foryour arrival here. I beg you to note that I attach particularsignificance to compliance with this request.

　　A. Karenin

　　"P.S.--I enclose the money which may be needed for yourexpenses."

　　He read the letter through and felt pleased with it, andespecially that he had remembered to enclose money: there was nota harsh word, not a reproach in it, nor was there undueindulgence. Most of all, it was a golden bridge for return.Folding the letter and smoothing it with a massive ivory knife,and putting it in an envelope with the money, he rang the bellwith the gratification it always afforded him to use thewell arranged appointments of his writing-table.

　　"Give this to the courier to be delivered to Anna Arkadyevnatomorrow at the summer villa," he said, getting up.

　　"Certainly, your excellency; tea to be served in the study?"

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch ordered tea to be brought to the study, andplaying with the massive paper-knife, he moved to his easy chair,near which there had been placed ready for him a lamp and theFrench work on Egyptian hieroglyphics that he had begun. Overthe easy chair there hung in a gold frame an oval portrait ofAnna, a fine painting by a celebrated artist. AlexeyAlexandrovitch glanced at it. The unfathomable eyes gazedironically and insolently at him. Insufferably insolent andchallenging was the effect in Alexey Alexandrovitch's eyes of theblack lace about the head, admirably touched in by the painter,the black hair and handsome white hand with one finger lifted,covered with rings. After looking at the portrait for a minute,Alexey Alexandrovitch shuddered so that his lips quivered and heuttered the sound "brrr," and turned away. He made haste to sitdown in his easy chair and opened the book. He tried to read,but he could not revive the very vivid interest he had feltbefore in Egyptian hieroglyphics. He looked at the book andthought of something else. He thought not of his wife, but of acomplication that had arisen in his official life, which at thetime constituted the chief interest of it. He felt that he hadpenetrated more deeply than ever before into this intricateaffair, and that he had originated a leading idea--he could sayit without self-flattery--calculated to clear up the wholebusiness, to strengthen him in his official career, to discomfithis enemies, and thereby to be of the greatest benefit to thegovernment. Directly the servant had set the tea and left theroom, Alexey Alexandrovitch got up and went to the writing-table.Moving into the middle of the table a portfolio of papers, with ascarcely perceptible smile of self-satisfaction, he took a pencilfrom a rack and plunged into the perusal of a complex reportrelating to the present complication. The complication was ofthis nature: Alexey Alexandrovitch's characteristic quality as apolitician, that special individual qualification that everyrising functionary possesses, the qualification that with hisunflagging ambition, his reserve, his honesty, and with hisself-confidence had made his career, was his contempt for redtape, his cutting down of correspondence, his direct contact,wherever possible, with the living fact, and his economy. Ithappened that the famous Commission of the 2nd of June had set onfoot an inquiry into the irrigation of lands in the Zaraiskyprovince, which fell under Alexey Alexandrovitch's department,and was a glaring example of fruitless expenditure and paperreforms. Alexey Alexandrovitch was aware of the truth of this.The irrigation of these lands in the Zaraisky province had beeninitiated by the predecessor of Alexey Alexandrovitch'spredecessor. And vast sums of money had actually been spent andwere still being spent on this business, and utterlyunproductively, and the whole business could obviously lead tonothing whatever. Alexey Alexandrovitch had perceived this atonce on entering office, and would have liked to lay hands on theBoard of Irrigation. But at first, when he did not yet feelsecure in his position, he knew it would affect too manyinterests, and would be injudicious. Later on he had beenengrossed in other questions, and had simply forgotten the Boardof Irrigation. It went of itself, like all such boards, by themere force of inertia. (Many people gained their livelihood bythe Board of Irrigation, especially one highly conscientious andmusical family: all the daughters played on stringed instruments,and Alexey Alexandrovitch knew the family and had stood godfatherto one of the elder daughters.) The raising of this question by ahostile department was in Alexey Alexandrovitch's opinion adishonorable proceeding, seeing that in every department therewere things similar and worse, which no one inquired into, forwell-known reasons of official etiquette. However, now that theglove had been thrown down to him, he had boldly picked it up anddemanded the appointment of a special commission to investigateand verify the working of the Board of Irrigation of the lands inthe Zaraisky province. But in compensation he gave no quarter tothe enemy either. He demanded the appointment of another specialcommission to inquire into the question of the Native TribesOrganization Committee. The question of the Native Tribes hadbeen brought up incidentally in the Commission of the 2nd ofJune, and had been pressed forward actively by AlexeyAlexandrovitch as one admitting of no delay on account of thedeplorable condition bf the native tribes. In the commissionthis question had been a ground of contention between severaldepartments. The department hostile to Alexey Alexandrovitchproved that the condition of the native tribes was exceedinglyflourishing, that the proposed reconstruction might be the ruinof their prosperity, and that if there were anything wrong, itarose mainly from the failure on the part of AlexeyAlexandrovitch's department to carry out the measures prescribedby law. Now Alexey Alexandrovitch intended to demand: First,that a new commission should be formed which should be empoweredto investigate the condition of the native tribes on the spot;secondly, if it should appear that the condition of the nativetribes actually was such as it appeared to be from the officialdocuments in the hands of the committee, that another newscientific commission should be appointed to investigate thedeplorable condition of the native tribes from the--(1)political, (2) administrative, (3) economic, (4) ethnographical,(5) material, and (6) religious points of view; thirdly, thatevidence should be required from the rival department of themeasures that had been taken during the last ten years by thatdepartment for averting the disastrous conditions in which thenative tribes were now placed; and fourthly and finally, thatthat department explain why it had, as appeared from the evidencebefore the committee, from No. 17,015 and 18,038, from December5, 1863, and June 7, 1864, acted in direct contravention of theintent of the law T...Act 18, and the note to Act 36. A flashof eagerness suffused the face of Alexey Alexandrovitch as herapidly wrote out a synopsis of these ideas for his own benefit.Having filled a sheet of paper, he got up, rang, and sent a noteto the chief secretary of his department to look up certainnecessary facts for him. Getting up and walking about the room,he glanced again at the portrait, frowned, and smiledcontemptuously. After reading a little more of the book onEgyptian hieroglyphics, and renewing his interest in it, AlexeyAlexandrovitch went to bed at eleven o'clock, and recollecting ashe lay in bed the incident with his wife, he saw it now in by nomeans such a gloomy light.