face of this manager and of Korneï, and of all without exception whom he had met during those two days. He felt that he could not defend himself from the detestation of people, because this detestation did not arise from the fact that he had himself committed any wrong action, for in that case he might have hoped to regain the esteem of the world by improvement in conduct, but from the fact that he was unhappy, and with an unhappiness that was odious and shameful. He knew that it was precisely for the reason that his heart was torn that they would be pitiless to him. It seemed to him that his fellow-men persecuted him as dogs torture to death some poor cur maimed and howling with pain. He knew that the only safety from men was to conceal his wounds from them, and he had instinctively tried for two days to do so; but now he felt that he had no longer the strength to continue the unequal struggle.
His despair was made deeper by the knowledge that he was absolutely alone with his suffering. In all Petersburg there was not a man to whom he could confide all his wretchedness, not one who would have any pity for him now, not as a lofty functionary, or even as a member of society, but simply as a human being in despair: he had no such friend.
Alekseï Aleksandrovitch had lost his mother when he was ten years old; he had no remembrance of his father; he and his one brother were left orphans with a very small inheritance; their uncle Karenin, a man of influence, held in high esteem by the late emperor, took charge of their bringing up.
After a successful course at the gymnasium and the university, Alekseï Aleksandrovitch, through his uncle's aid, made a brilliant start in official life, and, full of ambition, devoted himself exclusively to his career. He formed no ties of intimacy either in the gymnasium or in the university, or afterward in society; his brother alone was dear to him, but he entered the department of foreign affairs, went abroad to live, and died soon after Alekseï Aleksandrovitch's marriage.
While Karenin was governor of one of the provinces,
