Anna Karenina - Part 8

Saying good-bye to the princess, Sergey Ivanovitch was joined by

Katavasov; together they got into a carriage full to overflowing,

and the train started.

At Tsaritsino station the train was met by a chorus of young men

singing "Hail to Thee!" Again the volunteers bowed and poked

their heads out, but Sergey Ivanovitch paid no attention to them.

He had had so much to do with the volunteers that the type was

familiar to him and did not interest him. Katavasov, whose

scientific work had prevented his having a chance of observing

them hitherto, was very much interested in them and questioned

Sergey Ivanovitch.

Sergey Ivanovitch advised him to go into the second-class and

talk to them himself. At the next station Katavasov acted on

this suggestion.

At the first stop he moved into the second-class and made the

acquaintance of the volunteers. They were sitting in a corner of

the carriage, talking loudly and obviously aware that the

attention of the passengers and Katavasov as he got in was

concentrated upon them. More loudly than all talked the tall,

hollow-chested young man. He was unmistakably tipsy, and was

relating some story that had occurred at his school. Facing him

sat a middle-aged officer in the Austrian military jacket of the

Guards uniform. He was listening with a smile to the hollow-

chested youth, and occasionally pulling him up. The third, in an

artillery uniform, was sitting on a box beside them. A fourth

was asleep.

Entering into conversation with the youth, Katavasov learned that

he was a wealthy Moscow merchant who had run through a large

fortune before he was two-and-twenty. Katavasov did not like

him, because he was unmanly and effeminate and sickly. He was

obviously convinced, especially now after drinking, that he was

performing a heroic action, and he bragged of it in the most

unpleasant way.

The second, the retired officer, made an unpleasant impression

too upon Katavasov. He was, it seemed, a man who had tried

everything. He had been on a railway, had been a land-steward,

and had started factories, and he talked, quite without

necessity, of all he had done, and used learned expressions quite

inappropriately.

The third, the artilleryman, on the contrary, struck Katavasov

very favorably. He was a quiet, modest fellow, unmistakably

impressed by the knowledge of the officer and the heroic

self-sacrifice of the merchant and saying nothing about himself.

When Katavasov asked him what had impelled him to go to Servia,

he answered modestly: "Oh, well, everyone's going. The Servians want help, too. I'm

sorry for them."

"Yes, you artillerymen especially are scarce there," said

Katavasov.