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142
ANNA KARENINA

prise at the sight of a stately house ornamented with columns, and surrounded by a park filled with ancient trees of various shades of green.

"Isn't it beautiful? And the view from the second story is magnificent."

They came into the dvor, or court, paved with small stones and ornamented with flower-beds; two workmen were at this moment surrounding a bed filled with loam with roughly trimmed stones. They stopped under a covered entrance.

"Oh, they have already arrived," said Anna, as she saw the saddle-horses being led away. "Isn't that horse a pretty creature? that cob; he's my favorite. Bring him here and give him some sugar! Where is the count?" she asked of the two servants in livery who came hurrying out to receive them. "Ah, here he is!" added she, perceiving Vronsky with Veslovsky coming to meet them.

"Where shall we put the princess?" asked Vronsky of Anna, in French, and, without waiting for an answer, once more greeted Darya Aleksandrovna, and this time he kissed her hand,—"in the large balcony chamber, I suppose?"

"Oh, no, that is too far off. Better put her in the corner chamber. We shall see more of each other. Come, come," said she, giving her favorite horse some sugar which the lackey had brought.

"Et vous oubliez voire devoir," she added, turning to Veslovsky, who was already in the porch.

"Pardon, j'en at tout plein les poches," he replied, smiling, and thrusting his fingers into his waistcoat pocket.

"Mais vous venez trop tard," she replied, wiping her hand, which the horse had mouthed in taking the sugar.

Anna turned to Dolly,—

"You'll stay with us a long time," said she. "Only one day? That is impossible."

"That is what I promised,—and the children," answered the latter, ashamed at the wretched appearance