Part Three: Chapter 18

by Leo Tolstoy

　　They heard the sound of steps and a man's voice, then a woman'svoice and laughter, and immediately thereafter there walked inthe expected guests: Sappho Shtoltz, and a young man beaming withexcess of health, the so-called Vaska. It was evident that amplesupplies of beefsteak, truffles, and Burgundy never failed toreach him at the fitting hour. Vaska bowed to the two ladies,and glanced at them, but only for one second. He walked afterSappho into the drawing-room, and followed her about as though hewere chained to her, keeping his sparkling eyes fixed on her asthough he wanted to eat her. Sappho Shtoltz was a blonde beautywith black eyes. She walked with smart little steps inhigh-heeled shoes, and shook hands with the ladies vigorouslylike a man.

　　Anna had never met this new star of fashion, and was struck byher beauty, the exaggerated extreme to which her dress wascarried, and the boldness of her manners. On her head there wassuch a superstructure of soft, golden hair--her own and falsemixed--that her head was equal in size to the elegantly roundedbust, of which so much was exposed in front. The impulsiveabruptness of her movements was such that at every step the linesof her knees and the upper part of her legs were distinctlymarked under her dress, and the question involuntarily rose tothe mind where in the undulating, piled-up mountain of materialat the back the real body of the woman, so small and slender, sonaked in front, and so hidden behind and below, really came to anend.

　　Betsy made haste to introduce her to Anna.

　　"Only fancy, we all but ran over two soldiers," she began tellingthem at once, using her eyes, smiling and twitching away hertail, which she flung back at one stroke all on one side. "Idrove here with Vaska.... Ah, to be sure, you don't know eachother." And mentioning his surname she introduced the young man,and reddening a little, broke into a ringing laugh at hermistake--that is at her having called him Vaska to a stranger.Vaska bowed once more to Anna, but he said nothing to her. Headdressed Sappho: "You've lost your bet. We got here first. Payup," said he, smiling.

　　Sappho laughed still more festively.

　　"Not just now," said she.

　　"Oh, all right, I'll have it later."

　　"Very well, very well. Oh, yes." She turned suddenly toPrincess Betsy: "I am a nice person...I positively forgot it...I've brought you a visitor. And here he comes." The unexpectedyoung visitor, whom Sappho had invited, and whom she hadforgotten, was, however, a personage of such consequence that, inspite of his youth, both the ladies rose on his entrance.

　　He was a new admirer of Sappho's. He now dogged her footsteps,like Vaska.

　　Soon after Prince Kaluzhsky arrived, and Liza Merkalova withStremov. Liza Merkalova was a thin brunette, with an Oriental,languid type of face, and--as everyone used to say--exquisiteenigmatic eyes. The tone of her dark dress (Anna immediatelyobserved and appreciated the fact) was in perfect harmony withher style of beauty. Liza was as soft and enervated as Sapphowas smart and abrupt.

　　But to Anna's taste Liza was far more attractive. Betsy had saidto Anna that she had adopted the pose of an innocent child, butwhen Anna saw her, she felt that this was not the truth. Shereally was both innocent and corrupt, but a sweet and passivewoman. It is true that her tone was the same as Sappho's; thatlike Sappho, she had two men, one young and one old, tacked ontoher, and devouring her with their eyes. But there was somethingin her higher than what surrounded her. There was in her theglow of the real diamond among glass imitations. This glow shoneout in her exquisite, truly enigmatic eyes. The weary, and atthe same time passionate, glance of those eyes, encircled by darkrings, impressed one by its perfect sincerity. Everyone lookinginto those eyes fancied he knew her wholly, and knowing her,could not but love her. At the sight of Anna, her whole facelighted up at once with a smile of delight.

　　"Ah, how glad I am to see you!" she said, going up to her."Yesterday at the races all I wanted was to get to you, butyou'd gone away. I did so want to see you, yesterday especially.

　　Wasn't it awful?" she said, looking at Anna with eyes that seemedto lay bare all her soul.

　　"Yes; I had no idea it would be so thrilling," said Anna,blushing.

　　The company got up at this moment to go into the garden.

　　"I'm not going," said Liza, smiling and settling herself close toAnna. "You won't go either, will you? Who wants to playcroquet?"

　　"Oh, I like it," said Anna.

　　"There, how do you manage never to be bored by things? It'sdelightful to look at you. You're alive, but I'm bored."

　　"How can you be bored? Why, you live in the liveliest set inPetersburg," said Anna.

　　"Possibly the people who are not of our set are even more bored;but we--I certainly--are not happy, but awfully, awfullybored."

　　Sappho smoking a cigarette went off into the garden with the twoyoung men. Betsy and Stremov remained at the tea-table.

　　"What, bored!" said Betsy. "Sappho says they did enjoythemselves tremendously at your house last night."

　　"Ah, how dreary it all was!" said Liza Merkalova. "We all droveback to my place after the races. And always the same people,always the same. Always the same thing. We lounged about onsofas all the evening. What is there to enjoy in that? No; dotell me how you manage never to be bored?" she said, addressingAnna again. "One has but to look at you and one sees, here's awoman who may be happy or unhappy, but isn't bored. Tell me howyou do it?"

　　"I do nothing," answered Anna, blushing at these searchingquestions.

　　"That's the best way," Stremov put it. Stremov was a man offifty, partly gray, but still vigorous-looking, very ugly, butwith a characteristic and intelligent face. Liza Merkalova washis wife's niece, and he spent all his leisure hours with her.On meeting Anna Karenina, as he was Alexey Alexandrovitch's enemyin the government, he tried, like a shrewd man and a man of theworld, to be particularly cordial with her, the wife of hisenemy.

　　"'Nothing,'" he put in with a subtle smile, "that's the very bestway. I told you long ago," he said, turning to Liza Merkalova,"that if you don't want to be bored, you mustn't think you'regoing to be bored. It's just as you mustn't be afraid of notbeing able to fall asleep, if you're afraid of sleeplessness.That's just what Anna Arkadyevna has just said."

　　"I should be very glad if I had said it, for it's not onlyclever but true," said Anna, smiling.

　　"No, do tell me why it is one can't go to sleep, and one can'thelp being bored?"

　　"To sleep well one ought to work, and to enjoy oneself one oughtto work too."

　　"What am I to work for when my work is no use to anybody? And Ican't and won't knowingly make a pretense about it."

　　"You're incorrigible," said Stremov, not looking at her, and hespoke again to Anna. As he rarely met Anna, he could say nothingbut commonplaces to her, but he said those commonplaces as towhen she was returning to Petersburg, and how fond Countess LidiaIvanovna was of her, with an expression which suggested that helonged with his whole soul to please her and show his regard forher and even more than that.

　　Tushkevitch came in, announcing that the party were awaiting theother players to begin croquet.

　　"No, don't go away, please don't," pleaded Liza Merkalova,hearing that Anna was going. Stremov joined in her entreaties.

　　"It's too violent a transition," he said, "to go from suchcompany to old Madame Vrede. And besides, you will only give hera chance for talking scandal, while here you arouse none but suchdifferent feelings of the highest and most opposite kind," hesaid to her.

　　Anna pondered for an instant in uncertainty. This shrewd man'sflattering words, the naive, childlike affection shown her byLiza Merkalova, and all the social atmosphere she was used to,--it was all so easy, and what was in store for her was sodifficult, that she was for a minute in uncertainty whether toremain, whether to put off a little longer the painful moment ofexplanation. But remembering what was in store for her alone athome, if she did not come to some decision, remembering thatgesture--terrible even in memory--when she had clutched herhair in both hands--she said good-bye and went away.