abroad; his new nachalnik or chief, who had just been appointed, and had come to Moscow to look into affairs; and lastly, his brother-in-law, Karenin, whom he was bound to invite to dinner.
Stepan Arkadyevitch liked to go out to dinner, but what he liked better still was to give a choice little dinner-party with a few select friends. The program that he made out for this day pleased him,—fresh perch, with asparagus, and a simple but superb roast of beef, as pièce de résistance, and the right kinds of wine. Among the guests he expected Kitty and Levin, and, to offset them, a cousin and the young Shcherbatsky; the pièces de résistance among the guests were to be Sergyel Koznuishef, a Muscovite and philosopher, and Karenin, a Petersburger and man of affairs. Moreover he would invite the well-known Pestsof, a comical fellow, a youth of fifty years, an enthusiast, a musician, a ready talker, a historian and a liberal, who would be the sauce or garnish for Koznuishef and Alekseï Aleksandrovitch. He would put every one in good spirits and stir them up.
The second instalment of money from the sale of the wood had been recently received and was not all gone; Dolly for some time had been lovely and charming; and the thought of this dinner in every respect delighted Stepan Arkadyevitch. He was in the happiest frame of mind. There were two things which were rather disagreeable. But these two circumstances were drowned in the sea of joviality which rolled its billows in Stepan Arkadyevitch's soul. These two circumstances were: in the first place, when the evening before he had met Alekseï Aleksandrovitch on the street, he had perceived that he was stern and cold; and uniting the fact that Alekseï Aleksandrovitch had not called or sent word of his presence with certain rumors that had reached his ears about his sister's relations with Vronsky, Stepan Arkadyevitch suspected serious trouble between the husband and wife. This was one unpleasant thing.
The second slight shadow was the fact that the new nachalnik, like all new chiefs, had the reputation of be-
