Anna Karenina - Part 7

He dressed, and while they were putting in his horses, as a hired

sledge was not to be seen yet, he ran again up to the bedroom,

not on tiptoe, it seemed to him, but on wings. Two maid-servants

were carefully moving something in the bedroom.

Kitty was walking about knitting rapidly and giving directions.

"I'm going for the doctor. They have sent for Lizaveta Petrovna,

but I'll go on there too. Isn't there anything wanted? Yes,

shall I go to Dolly's?"

She looked at him, obviously not hearing what he was saying.

"Yes, yes. Do go," she said quickly, frowning and waving her

hand to him.

He had just gone into the drawing room, when suddenly a plaintive

moan sounded from the bedroom, smothered instantly. He stood

still, and for a long while he could not understand.

"Yes, that is she," he said to himself, and clutching at his head

he ran downstairs.

"Lord have mercy on us! pardon us! aid us!" he repeated the words

that for some reason came suddenly to his lips. And he, an

unbeliever, repeated these words not with his lips only. At that

instant he knew that all his doubts, even the impossibility of

believing with his reason, of which he was aware in himself, did

not in the least hinder his turning to God. All of that now

floated out of his soul like dust. To whom was he to turn if not

to Him in whose hands he felt himself, his soul, and his love?

The horse was not yet ready, but feeling a peculiar concentration

of his physical forces and his intellect on what he had to do, he

started off on foot without waiting for the horse, and told

Kouzma to overtake him.

At the corner he met a night cabman driving hurriedly. In the

little sledge, wrapped in a velvet cloak, sat Lizaveta Petrovna

with a kerchief round her head. "Thank God! thank God!" he said,

overjoyed to recognize her little fair face which wore a

peculiarly serious, even stern expression. Telling the driver

not to stop, he ran along beside her.

"For two hours, then? Not more?" she inquired. "You should let

Pyotr Dmitrievitch know, but don't hurry him. And get some opium

at the chemist's."

"So you think that it may go on well? Lord have mercy on us and

help us!" Levin said, seeing his own horse driving out of the

gate. Jumping into the sledge beside Kouzma, he told him to

drive to the doctor's.