The newly elected marshal and many of the successful party dined

that day with Vronsky.

Vronsky had come to the elections partly because he was bored in

the country and wanted to show Anna his right to independence,

and also to repay Sviazhsky by his support at the election for

all the trouble he had taken for Vronsky at the district council

election, but chiefly in order strictly to perform all those

duties of a nobleman and landowner which he had taken upon

himself. But he had not in the least expected that the election

would so interest him, so keenly excite him, and that he would be

Advertisement..

so good at this kind of thing. He was quite a new man in the

circle of the nobility of the province, but his success was

unmistakable, and he was not wrong in supposing that he had

already obtained a certain influence. This influence was due to

his wealth and reputation, the capital house in the town lent him

by his old friend Shirkov, who had a post in the department of

finances and was director of a flourishing bank in Kashin; the

excellent cook Vronsky had brought from the country, and his

friendship with the governor, who was a schoolfellow of

Vronsky's--a schoolfellow he had patronized and protected indeed.

But what contributed more than all to his success was his direct,

equable manner with everyone, which very quickly made the

majority of the noblemen reverse the current opinion of his

supposed haughtiness. He was himself conscious that, except that

whimsical gentleman married to Kitty Shtcherbatskaya, who had _à

propos de bottes_ poured out a stream of irrelevant absurdities

with such spiteful fury, every nobleman with whom he had made

acquaintance had become his adherent. He saw clearly, and other

people recognized it, too, that he had done a great deal to

secure the success of Nevyedovsky. And now at his own table,

celebrating Nevyedovsky's election, he was experiencing an

agreeable sense of triumph over the success of his candidate.

The election itself had so fascinated him that, if he could

succeed in getting married during the next three years, he began

to think of standing himself--much as after winning a race ridden

by a jockey, he had longed to ride a race himself.

Today he was celebrating the success of his jockey. Vronsky sat

at the head of the table, on his right hand sat the young

governor, a general of high rank. To all the rest he was the

chief man in the province, who had solemnly opened the elections

with his speech, and aroused a feeling of respect and even of awe

in many people, as Vronsky saw; to Vronsky he was little Katka

Maslov--that had been his nickname in the Pages' Corps--whom he

felt to be shy and tried to _mettre à son aise_. On the left hand

sat Nevyedovsky with his youthful, stubborn, and malignant face.

With him Vronsky was simple and deferential.




Most Popular