Alexey Alexandrovitch came back from the meeting of the ministers

at four o'clock, but as often happened, he had not time to come

in to her. He went into his study to see the people waiting for

him with petitions, and to sign some papers brought him by his

chief secretary. At dinner time (there were always a few people

dining with the Karenins) there arrived an old lady, a cousin of

Alexey Alexandrovitch, the chief secretary of the department and

his wife, and a young man who had been recommended to Alexey

Alexandrovitch for the service. Anna went into the drawing room

to receive these guests. Precisely at five o'clock, before the

bronze Peter the First clock had struck the fifth stroke, Alexey

Alexandrovitch came in, wearing a white tie and evening coat with

two stars, as he had to go out directly after dinner. Every

minute of Alexey Alexandrovitch's life was portioned out and

occupied. And to make time to get through all that lay before

him every day, he adhered to the strictest punctuality.

"Unhasting and unresting," was his motto. He came into the

dining hall, greeted everyone, and hurriedly sat down, smiling to

his wife.

"Yes, my solitude is over. You wouldn't believe how

uncomfortable" (he laid stress on the word _uncomfortable_) "it

is to dine alone."

At dinner he talked a little to his wife about Moscow matters,

and, with a sarcastic smile, asked her after Stepan Arkadyevitch;

but the conversation was for the most part general, dealing with

Petersburg official and public news. After dinner he spent half

an hour with his guests, and again, with a smile, pressed his

wife's hand, withdrew, and drove off to the council. Anna did

not go out that evening either to the Princess Betsy Tverskaya,

who, hearing of her return, had invited her, nor to the theater,

where she had a box for that evening. She did not go out

principally because the dress she had reckoned upon was not

ready. Altogether, Anna, on turning, after the departure of her

guests, to the consideration of her attire, was very much

annoyed. She was generally a mistress of the art of dressing

well without great expense, and before leaving Moscow she had

given her dressmaker three dresses to transform. The dresses had

to be altered so that they could not be recognized, and they

ought to have been ready three days before. It appeared that two

dresses had not been done at all, while the other one had not

been altered as Anna had intended. The dressmaker came to

explain, declaring that it would be better as she had done it,

and Anna was so furious that she felt ashamed when she thought of

it afterwards. To regain her serenity completely she went into

the nursery, and spent the whole evening with her son, put him to

bed herself, signed him with the cross, and tucked him up. She

was glad she had not gone out anywhere, and had spent the evening

so well. She felt so light-hearted and serene, she saw so

clearly that all that had seemed to her so important on her

railway journey was only one of the common trivial incidents of

fashionable life, and that she had no reason to feel ashamed

before anyone else or before herself. Anna sat down at the

hearth with an English novel and waited for her husband. Exactly

at half-past nine she heard his ring, and he came into the room.




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