Part Three: Chapter 6

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Mashkin Upland was mown, the last row finished, the peasants hadput on their coats and were gaily trudging home. Levin got onhis horse and, parting regretfully from the peasants, rodehomewards. On the hillside he looked back; he could not see themin the mist that had risen from the valley; he could only hearrough, good-humored voices, laughter, and the sound of clankingscythes.

　　Sergey Ivanovitch had long ago finished dinner, and was drinkingiced lemon and water in his own room, looking through the reviewsand papers which he had only just received by post, when Levinrushed into the room, talking merrily, with his wet and mattedhair sticking to his forehead, and his back and chest grimed andmoist.

　　"We mowed the whole meadow! Oh, it is nice, delicious! And howhave you been getting on?" said Levin, completely forgetting thedisagreeable conversation of the previous day.

　　"Mercy! what do you look like!" said Sergey Ivanovitch, for thefirst moment looking round with some dissatisfaction. "And thedoor, do shut the door!" he cried. "You must have let in a dozenat least."

　　Sergey Ivanovitch could not endure flies, and in his own room henever opened the window except at night, and carefully kept thedoor shut.

　　"Not one, on my honor. But if I have, I'll catch them. Youwouldn't believe what a pleasure it is! How have you spent theday?"

　　"Very well. But have you really been mowing the whole day? Iexpect you're as hungry as a wolf. Kouzma has got everythingready for you."

　　"No, I don't feel hungry even. I had something to eat there.But I'll go and wash."

　　"Yes, go along, go along, and I'll come to you directly," saidSergey Ivanovitch, shaking his head as he looked at his brother."Go along, make haste," he added smiling, and gathering up hisbooks, he prepared to go too. He, too, felt suddenlygood-humored and disinclined to leave his brother's side. "Butwhat did you do while it was raining?"

　　"Rain? Why, there was scarcely a drop. I'll come directly. Soyou had a nice day too? That's first-rate." And Levin went offto change his clothes.

　　Five minutes later the brothers met in the dining room. Althoughit seemed to Levin that he was not hungry, and he sat down todinner simply so as not to hurt Kouzma's feelings, yet when hebegan to eat the dinner struck him as extraordinarily good.Sergey Ivanovitch watched him with a smile.

　　"Oh, by the way, there's a letter for you," said he. "Kouzma,bring it down, please. And mind you shut the doors."

　　The letter was from Oblonsky. Levin read it aloud. Oblonskywrote to him from Petersburg: "I have had a letter from Dolly;she's at Ergushovo, and everything seems going wrong there. Doride over and see her, please; help her with advice; you know allabout it. She will be so glad to see you. She's quite alone,poor thing. My mother-in-law and all of them are still abroad."

　　"That's capital! I will certainly ride over to her," said Levin."Or we'll go together. She's such a splendid woman, isn't she?"

　　"They're not far from here, then?"

　　"Twenty-five miles. Or perhaps it is thirty. But a capitalroad. Capital, we'll drive over."

　　"I shall be delighted," said Sergey Ivanovitch, still smiling.The sight of his younger brother's appearance had immediately puthim in a good humor.

　　"Well, you have an appetite!" he said, looking at his dark-red,sunburnt face and neck bent over the plate.

　　"Splendid! You can't imagine what an effectual remedy it is forevery sort of foolishness. I want to enrich medicine with a newword: Arbeitskur."

　　"Well, but you don't need it, I should fancy."

　　"No, but for all sorts of nervous invalids."

　　"Yes, it ought to be tried. I had meant to come to the mowing tolook at you, but it was so unbearably hot that I got no furtherthan the forest. I sat there a little, and went on by theforest to the village, met your old nurse, and sounded her as tothe peasants' view of you. As far as I can make out, they don'tapprove of this. She said: 'It's not a gentleman's work.'Altogether, I fancy that in the people's ideas there are veryclear and definite notions of certain, as they call it,'gentlemanly' lines of action. And they don't sanction thegentry's moving outside bounds clearly laid down in their ideas."

　　"Maybe so; but anyway it's a pleasure such as I have never knownin my life. And there's no harm in it, you know. Is there?"answered Levin. "I can't help it if they don't like it. ThoughI do believe it's all right. Eh?"

　　"Altogether," pursued Sergey Ivanovitch, "you're satisfied withyour day?"

　　"Quite satisfied. We cut the whole meadow. And such a splendidold man I made friends with there! You can't fancy howdelightful he was!"

　　"Well, so you're content with your day. And so am I. First, Isolved two chess problems, and one a very pretty one--a pawnopening. I'll show it you. And then--I thought over ourconversation yesterday."

　　"Eh! our conversation yesterday?" said Levin, blissfully droppinghis eyelids and drawing deep breaths after finishing his dinner,and absolutely incapable of recalling what their conversationyesterday was about.

　　"I think you are partly right. Our difference of opinion amountsto this, that you make the mainspring self-interest, while Isuppose that interest in the common weal is bound to exist inevery man of a certain degree of advancement. Possibly you areright too, that action founded on material interest would be moredesirable. You are altogether, as the French say, tooprimesautiere a nature; you must have intense, energetic action,or nothing."

　　Levin listened to his brother and did not understand a singleword, and did not want to understand. He was only afraid hisbrother might ask him some question which would make it evidenthe had not heard.

　　"So that's what I think it is, my dear boy," said SergeyIvanovitch, touching him on the shoulder.

　　"Yes, of course. But, do you know? I won't stand up for myview," answered Levin, with a guilty, childlike smile. "Whateverwas it I was disputing about?" he wondered. "Of course, I'mright, and he's right, and it's all first-rate. Only I must goround to the counting house and see to things." He got up,stretching and smiling. Sergey Ivanovitch smiled too.

　　"If you want to go out, let's go together," he said, disinclinedto be parted from his brother, who seemed positively breathingout freshness and energy. "Come, we'll go to the counting house,if you have to go there."

　　"Oh, heavens!" shouted Levin, so loudly that Sergey Ivanovitchwas quite frightened.

　　"What, what is the matter?"

　　"How's Agafea Mihalovna's hand?" said Levin, slapping himself onthe head. "I'd positively forgotten her even."

　　"It's much better."

　　"Well, anyway I'll run down to her. Before you've time to getyour hat on, I'll be back."

　　And he ran downstairs, clattering with his heels like aspring-rattle.