"I know, of course," said Levin, "that that simply means that you would
like to see me, and I'm exceedingly glad. Though I can fancy that, used to
town housekeeping as you are, you must feel in the wilds here, and if
there's
anything wanted, I'm altogether at your disposal."
"Oh, no!" said Dolly. "At first things were rather uncomfortable, but now
we've settled everything capitally-- thanks to my old nurse," she said,
indicating Marya Philimonovna, who, seeing that they were speaking of
her, smiled brightly and cordially to Levin. She knew him, and knew that
he would be a good match for her young lady, and was very keen to see the
matter settled.
"Won't you get in, sir, we'll make room this side!" she said to him.
"No, I'll walk. Children, who'd like to race the horses with me?" The
children knew Levin very little, and could
not remember when they had
seen him, but they experienced in regard to him none of that strange feeling
of shyness and hostility which children so often experience towards
hypocritical, grown-up people, and for which they are so often and
miserably punished. Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the
cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children
recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be
disguised. Whatever faults Levin had, there was not a trace of hypocrisy in
him, and so the children showed him the same friendliness that they saw in
their mother's face. On his invitation, the two elder
ones at once jumped out
to him and ran with him as simply as they would have done with their nurse
or Miss Hoole or their mother. Lily, too, began begging to go to him, and
her mother handed her to him; he sat her on his shoulder and ran along with
her.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Darya Alexandrovna!" he said, smiling
good-humoredly to the mother; "there's no chance of my hurting or
dropping her."
And, looking at his strong, agile, assiduously careful and needlessly wary
movements, the mother felt her mind at rest, and smiled gaily and
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approvingly as she watched him.
Here,
in the country, with children, and with Darya Alexandrovna, with
whom he was in sympathy, Levin was in a mood not infrequent with him,
of childlike light-heartedness that she particularly liked in him. As he ran
with the children, he taught them gymnastic feats, set Miss Hoole laughing
with his queer English accent, and talked to Darya Alexandrovna of his
pursuits in the country.
After dinner, Darya Alexandrovna, sitting alone with him on the balcony,
began to speak of Kitty.
"You know, Kitty's coming here, and is going
to spend the summer with
me."
"Really," he said, flushing, and at once, to change the conversation, he said:
"Then I'll send you two cows, shall I? If you insist on a bill you shall pay
me five roubles a month; but it's really too bad of you."
"No, thank you. We can manage very well now."
"Oh, well, then, I'll have a look at your cows, and if you'll allow me, I'll
give directions about their food. Everything depends on their food."
And Levin, to turn the conversation, explained to Darya Alexandrovna the
theory of cow-keeping, based on the principle that the cow is simply a
machine for the transformation of food into milk, and so on.
He
talked of this, and passionately longed to hear more of Kitty, and, at the
same time, was afraid of hearing it. He dreaded the breaking up of the
inward peace he had gained with such effort.
"Yes, but still all this has to be looked after, and who is there to look after
it?" Darya Alexandrovna responded, without interest.
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She had by now got her household matters so satisfactorily arranged,
thanks to Marya Philimonovna, that she was disinclined to make any
change in them; besides, she had no faith in Levin's knowledge of farming.
General principles, as to the cow being a machine for the production of
milk, she looked on with suspicion. It seemed to her that such principles
could only be a hindrance in farm management. It all seemed to her a far
simpler matter:
all that was needed, as Marya Philimonovna had explained,
was to give Brindle and Whitebreast more food and drink, and not to let the
cook carry all the kitchen slops to the laundry maid's cow. That was clear.
But general propositions as to feeding on meal and on grass were doubtful
and obscure. And, what was most important, she wanted to talk about Kitty.
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