Part Three: Chapter 30

by Leo Tolstoy

　　At the end of September the timber had been carted for buildingthe cattleyard on the land that had been allotted to theassociation of peasants, and the butter from the cows was soldand the profits divided. In practice the system workedcapitally, or, at least, so it seemed to Levin. In order to workout the whole subject theoretically and to complete his book,which, in Levin's daydreams, was not merely to effect arevolution in political economy, but to annihilate that scienceentirely and to lay the foundation of a new science of therelation of the people to the soil, all that was left to do wasto make a tour abroad, and to study on the spot all that had beendone in the same direction, and to collect conclusive evidencethat all that had been done there was not what was wanted. Levinwas only waiting for the delivery of his wheat to receive themoney for it and go abroad. But the rains began, preventing theharvesting of the corn and potatoes left in the fields, andputting a stop to all work, even to the delivery of the wheat.

　　The mud was impassable along the roads; two mills were carriedaway, and the weather got worse and worse.

　　On the 30th of September the sun came out in the morning, andhoping for fine weather, Levin began making final preparationsfor his journey. He gave orders for the wheat to be delivered,sent the bailiff to the merchant to get the money owing him, andwent out himself to give some final directions on the estatebefore setting off.

　　Having finished all his business, soaked through with the streamsof water which kept running down the leather behind his neck andhis gaiters, but in the keenest and most confident temper, Levinreturned homewards in the evening. The weather had become worsethan ever towards evening; the hail lashed the drenched mare socruelly that she went along sideways, shaking her head and ears;but Levin was all right under his hood, and he looked cheerfullyabout him at the muddy streams running under the wheels, at thedrops hanging on every bare twig, at the whiteness of the patchof unmelted hailstones on the planks of the bridge, at the thicklayer of still juicy, fleshy leaves that lay heaped up about thestripped elm-tree. In spite of the gloominess of nature aroundhim, he felt peculiarly eager. The talks he had been having withthe peasants in the further village had shown that they werebeginning to get used to their new position. The old servant towhose hut he had gone to get dry evidently approved of Levin'splan, and of his own accord proposed to enter the partnership bythe purchase of cattle.

　　"I have only to go stubbornly on towards my aim, and I shallattain my end," thought Levin; "and it's something to work andtake trouble for. This is not a matter of myself individually;the question of the public welfare comes into it. The wholesystem of culture, the chief element in the condition of thepeople, must be completely transformed. Instead of poverty,general prosperity and content; instead of hostility, harmony andunity of interests. In short, a bloodless revolution, but arevolution of the greatest magnitude, beginning in the littlecircle of our district, then the province, then Russia, the wholeworld. Because a just idea cannot but be fruitful. Yes, it's anaim worth working for. And it's being me, Kostya Levin, who wentto a ball in a black tie, and was refused by the Shtcherbatskayagirl, and who was intrinsically such a pitiful, worthlesscreature--that proves nothing; I feel sure Franklin felt just asworthless, and he too had no faith in himself, thinking ofhimself as a whole. That means nothing. And he too, mostlikely, had an Agafea Mihalovna to whom he confided his secrets."

　　Musing on such thoughts Levin reached home in the darkness.

　　The bailiff, who had been to the merchant, had come back andbrought part of the money for the wheat. An agreement had beenmade with the old servant, and on the road the bailiff hadlearned that everywhere the corn was still standing in thefields, so that his one hundred and sixty shocks that had notbeen carried were nothing in comparison with the losses ofothers.

　　After dinner Levin was sitting, as he usually did, in aneasy chair with a book, and as he read he went on thinking of thejourney before him in connection with his book. Today all thesignificance of his book rose before him with specialdistinctness, and whole periods ranged themselves in his mind inillustration of his theories. "I must write that down," hethought. "That ought to form a brief introduction, which Ithought unnecessary before." He got up to go to his writingtable, and Laska, lying at his feet, got up too, stretching andlooking at him as though to inquire where to go. But he had nottime to write it down, for the head peasants had come round, andLevin went out into the hall to them.

　　After his levee, that is to say, giving directions about thelabors of the next day, and seeing all the peasants who hadbusiness with him, Levin went back to his study and sat down towork.

　　Laska lay under the table; Agafea Mihalovna settled herself inher place with her stocking.

　　After writing for a little while, Levin suddenly thought withexceptional vividness of Kitty, her refusal, and their lastmeeting. He got up and began walking about the room.

　　"What's the use of being dreary?" said Agafea Mihalovna. "Come,why do you stay on at home? You ought to go to some warmsprings, especially now you're ready for the journey."

　　"Well, I am going away the day after tomorrow, Agafea Mihalovna;I must finish my work."

　　"There, there, your work, you say! As if you hadn't done enoughfor the peasants! Why, as 'tis, they're saying, 'Your masterwill be getting some honor from the Tsar for it.' Indeed and itis a strange thing; why need you worry about the peasants?"

　　"I'm not worrying about them; I'm doing it for my own good."

　　Agafea Mihalovna knew every detail of Levin's plans for his land.Levin often put his views before her in all their complexity, andnot uncommonly he argued with her and did not agree with hercomments. But on this occasion she entirely misinterpreted whathe had said.

　　"Of one's soul's salvation we all know and must think before allelse," she said with a sigh. "Parfen Denisitch now, for all hewas no scholar, he died a death that God grant every one of usthe like," she said, referring to a servant who had diedrecently. "Took the sacrament and all."

　　"That's not what I mean," said he. "I mean that I'm acting formy own advantage. It's all the better for me if the peasants dotheir work better."

　　"Well, whatever you do, if he's a lazy good-for-nought,everything'll be at sixes and sevens. If he has a conscience,he'll work, and if not, there's no doing anything."

　　"Oh, come, you say yourself Ivan has begun looking after thecattle better."

　　"All I say is," answered Agafea Mihalovna, evidently not speakingat random, but in strict sequence of idea, "that you ought to getmarried, that's what I say."

　　Agafea Mihalovna's allusion to the very subject he had only justbeen thinking about, hurt and stung him. Levin scowled, andwithout answering her, he sat down again to his work, repeatingto himself all that he had been thinking of the real significanceof that work. Only at intervals he listened in the stillness tothe click of Agafea Mihalovna's needles, and recollecting what hedid not want to remember, he frowned again.

　　At nine o'clock they heard the bell and the faint vibration of acarriage over the mud.

　　"Well, here's visitors come to us, and you won't be dull," saidAgafea Mihalovna, getting up and going to the door. But Levinovertook her. His work was not going well now, and he was gladof a visitor, whoever it might be.