"Not yet."

"Go and speak to her, she likes you so much."

"What's wrong? I have offended her. Lord help me!" thought

Levin, and he flew towards the old Frenchwoman with the gray

ringlets, who was sitting on a bench. Smiling and showing her

false teeth, she greeted him as an old friend.

"Yes, you see we're growing up," she said to him, glancing

towards Kitty, "and growing old. _Tiny bear_ has grown big now!"

pursued the Frenchwoman, laughing, and she reminded him of his

joke about the three young ladies whom he had compared to the

three bears in the English nursery tale. "Do you remember that's

what you used to call them?"

He remembered absolutely nothing, but she had been laughing at

the joke for ten years now, and was fond of it.

"Now, go and skate, go and skate. Our Kitty has learned to skate

nicely, hasn't she?"

When Levin darted up to Kitty her face was no longer stern; her

eyes looked at him with the same sincerity and friendliness, but

Levin fancied that in her friendliness there was a certain note

of deliberate composure. And he felt depressed. After talking a

little of her old governess and her peculiarities, she questioned

him about his life.

"Surely you must be dull in the country in the winter, aren't

you?" she said.

"No, I'm not dull, I am very busy," he said, feeling that she was

holding him in check by her composed tone, which he would not

have the force to break through, just as it had been at the

beginning of the winter.

"Are you going to stay in town long?" Kitty questioned him.

"I don't know," he answered, not thinking of what he was saying.

The thought that if he were held in check by her tone of quiet

friendliness he would end by going back again without deciding

anything came into his mind, and he resolved to make a struggle

against it.

"How is it you don't know?"

"I don't know. It depends upon you," he said, and was

immediately horror-stricken at his own words.

Whether it was that she had heard his words, or that she did not

want to hear them, she made a sort of stumble, twice struck out,

and hurriedly skated away from him. She skated up to Mlle.

Linon, said something to her, and went towards the pavilion where

the ladies took off their skates.

"My God! what have I done! Merciful God! help me, guide me,"

said Levin, praying inwardly, and at the same time, feeling a

need of violent exercise, he skated about describing inner and

outer circles.




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