"He's spoiling me," Lvov said to his wife; "he assures me that

our children are splendid, when I know how much that's bad there

is in them."

"Arseny goes to extremes, I always say," said his wife. "If you

look for perfection, you will never be satisfied. And it's true,

as papa says,--that when we were brought up there was one

extreme--we were kept in the basement, while our parents lived in

the best rooms; now it's just the other way--the parents are in

the wash house, while the children are in the best rooms.

Parents now are not expected to live at all, but to exist

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altogether for their children."

"Well, what if they like it better?" Lvov said, with his

beautiful smile, touching her hand. "Anyone who didn't know you

would think you were a stepmother, not a true mother."

"No, extremes are not good in anything," Natalia said serenely,

putting his paper knife straight in its proper place on the

table.

"Well, come here, you perfect children," Lvov said to the two

handsome boys who came in, and after bowing to Levin, went up to

their father, obviously wishing to ask him about something.

Levin would have liked to talk to them, to hear what they would

say to their father, but Natalia began talking to him, and then

Lvov's colleague in the service, Mahotin, walked in, wearing his

court uniform, to go with him to meet someone, and a conversation

was kept up without a break upon Herzegovina, Princess

Korzinskaya, the town council, and the sudden death of Madame

Apraksina.

Levin even forgot the commission intrusted to him. He

recollected it as he was going into the hall.

"Oh, Kitty told me to talk to you about Oblonsky," he said, as

Lvov was standing on the stairs, seeing his wife and Levin off.

"Yes, yes, maman wants us, _les beaux-frères,_ to attack him,"

he said, blushing. "But why should I?"

"Well, then, I will attack him," said Madame Lvova, with a smile,

standing in her white sheepskin cape, waiting till they had

finished speaking. "Come, let us go."




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