The landowner chuckled under his white mustaches.

“There are some among us, too, like our friend Nikolay Ivanovitch, or Count Vronsky, that’s settled here lately, who try to carry on their husbandry as though it were a factory; but so far it leads to nothing but making away with capital on it.”

“But why is it we don’t do like the merchants?  Why don’t we cut down our parks for timber?” said Levin, returning to a thought that had struck him.

“Why, as you said, to keep the fire in.  Besides that’s not work for a nobleman.  And our work as noblemen isn’t done here at the elections, but yonder, each in our corner.  There’s a class instinct, too, of what one ought and oughtn’t to do.  There’s the peasants, too, I wonder at them sometimes; any good peasant tries to take all the land he can.  However bad the land is, he’ll work it.  Without a return too.  At a simple loss.”

“Just as we do,” said Levin.  “Very, very glad to have met you,” he added, seeing Sviazhsky approaching him.

“And here we’ve met for the first time since we met at your place,” said the landowner to Sviazhsky, “and we’ve had a good talk too.”

“Well, have you been attacking the new order of things?” said Sviazhsky with a smile.

“That we’re bound to do.”

“You’ve relieved your feelings?”

Chapter 30

Sviazhsky took Levin’s arm, and went with him to his own friends.  This time there was no avoiding Vronsky.  He was standing with Stepan Arkadyevitch and Sergey Ivanovitch, and looking straight at Levin as he drew near.

“Delighted!  I believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you...at Princess Shtcherbatskaya’s,” he said, giving Levin his hand.

“Yes, I quite remember our meeting,” said Levin, and blushing crimson, he turned away immediately, and began talking to his brother.

With a slight smile Vronsky went on talking to Sviazhsky, obviously without the slightest inclination to enter into conversation with Levin.  But Levin, as he talked to his brother, was continually looking round at Vronsky, trying to think of something to say to him to gloss over his rudeness.

“What are we waiting for now?” asked Levin, looking at Sviazhsky and Vronsky.

“For Snetkov.  He has to refuse or to consent to stand,” answered Sviazhsky.

“Well, and what has he done, consented or not?”

“That’s the point, that he’s done neither,” said Vronsky.

“And if he refuses, who will stand then?” asked Levin, looking at Vronsky.

“Whoever chooses to,” said Sviazhsky.

“Shall you?” asked Levin.

“Certainly not I,” said Sviazhsky, looking confused, and turning an alarmed glance at the malignant gentleman, who was standing beside Sergey Ivanovitch.

“Who then?  Nevyedovsky?” said Levin, feeling he was putting his foot into it.