×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.


image

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Part 7. Chapter 7.

Part 7. Chapter 7.

Levin reached the club just at the right time. Members and visitors were driving up as he arrived. Levin had not been at the club for a very long while—not since he lived in Moscow, when he was leaving the university and going into society. He remembered the club, the external details of its arrangement, but he had completely forgotten the impression it had made on him in old days. But as soon as, driving into the wide semicircular court and getting out of the sledge, he mounted the steps, and the hall porter, adorned with a crossway scarf, noiselessly opened the door to him with a bow; as soon as he saw in the porter's room the cloaks and galoshes of members who thought it less trouble to take them off downstairs; as soon as he heard the mysterious ringing bell that preceded him as he ascended the easy, carpeted staircase, and saw the statue on the landing, and the third porter at the top doors, a familiar figure grown older, in the club livery, opening the door without haste or delay, and scanning the visitors as they passed in—Levin felt the old impression of the club come back in a rush, an impression of repose, comfort, and propriety. "Your hat, please," the porter said to Levin, who forgot the club rule to leave his hat in the porter's room. "Long time since you've been. The prince put your name down yesterday. Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch is not here yet." The porter did not only know Levin, but also all his ties and relationships, and so immediately mentioned his intimate friends.

Passing through the outer hall, divided up by screens, and the room partitioned on the right, where a man sits at the fruit buffet, Levin overtook an old man walking slowly in, and entered the dining room full of noise and people.

He walked along the tables, almost all full, and looked at the visitors. He saw people of all sorts, old and young; some he knew a little, some intimate friends. There was not a single cross or worried-looking face. All seemed to have left their cares and anxieties in the porter's room with their hats, and were all deliberately getting ready to enjoy the material blessings of life. Sviazhsky was here and Shtcherbatsky, Nevyedovsky and the old prince, and Vronsky and Sergey Ivanovitch.

"Ah! why are you late?" the prince said smiling, and giving him his hand over his own shoulder. "How's Kitty?" he added, smoothing out the napkin he had tucked in at his waistcoat buttons.

"All right; they are dining at home, all the three of them." "Ah, 'Aline-Nadine,' to be sure! There's no room with us. Go to that table, and make haste and take a seat," said the prince, and turning away he carefully took a plate of eel soup. "Levin, this way!" a good-natured voice shouted a little farther on. It was Turovtsin. He was sitting with a young officer, and beside them were two chairs turned upside down. Levin gladly went up to them. He had always liked the good-hearted rake, Turovtsin—he was associated in his mind with memories of his courtship—and at that moment, after the strain of intellectual conversation, the sight of Turovtsin's good-natured face was particularly welcome. "For you and Oblonsky. He'll be here directly." The young man, holding himself very erect, with eyes forever twinkling with enjoyment, was an officer from Petersburg, Gagin. Turovtsin introduced them.

"Oblonsky's always late." "Ah, here he is!" "Have you only just come?" said Oblonsky, coming quickly towards them. "Good day. Had some vodka? Well, come along then." Levin got up and went with him to the big table spread with spirits and appetizers of the most various kinds. One would have thought that out of two dozen delicacies one might find something to one's taste, but Stepan Arkadyevitch asked for something special, and one of the liveried waiters standing by immediately brought what was required. They drank a wine glassful and returned to their table.

At once, while they were still at the soup, Gagin was served with champagne, and told the waiter to fill four glasses. Levin did not refuse the wine, and asked for a second bottle. He was very hungry, and ate and drank with great enjoyment, and with still greater enjoyment took part in the lively and simple conversation of his companions. Gagin, dropping his voice, told the last good story from Petersburg, and the story, though improper and stupid, was so ludicrous that Levin broke into roars of laughter so loud that those near looked round.

"That's in the same style as, 'that's a thing I can't endure!' You know the story?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch. "Ah, that's exquisite! Another bottle," he said to the waiter, and he began to relate his good story. "Pyotr Illyitch Vinovsky invites you to drink with him," a little old waiter interrupted Stepan Arkadyevitch, bringing two delicate glasses of sparkling champagne, and addressing Stepan Arkadyevitch and Levin. Stepan Arkadyevitch took the glass, and looking towards a bald man with red mustaches at the other end of the table, he nodded to him, smiling.

"Who's that?" asked Levin.

"You met him once at my place, don't you remember? A good-natured fellow." Levin did the same as Stepan Arkadyevitch and took the glass.

Stepan Arkadyevitch's anecdote too was very amusing. Levin told his story, and that too was successful. Then they talked of horses, of the races, of what they had been doing that day, and of how smartly Vronsky's Atlas had won the first prize. Levin did not notice how the time passed at dinner.

"Ah! and here they are!" Stepan Arkadyevitch said towards the end of dinner, leaning over the back of his chair and holding out his hand to Vronsky, who came up with a tall officer of the Guards. Vronsky's face too beamed with the look of good-humored enjoyment that was general in the club. He propped his elbow playfully on Stepan Arkadyevitch's shoulder, whispering something to him, and he held out his hand to Levin with the same good-humored smile. "Very glad to meet you," he said. "I looked out for you at the election, but I was told you had gone away." "Yes, I left the same day. We've just been talking of your horse. I congratulate you," said Levin. "It was very rapidly run." "Yes; you've race horses too, haven't you?" "No, my father had; but I remember and know something about it." "Where have you dined?" asked Stepan Arkadyevitch.

"We were at the second table, behind the columns." "We've been celebrating his success," said the tall colonel. "It's his second Imperial prize. I wish I might have the luck at cards he has with horses. Well, why waste the precious time? I'm going to the 'infernal regions,'" added the colonel, and he walked away. "That's Yashvin," Vronsky said in answer to Turovtsin, and he sat down in the vacated seat beside them. He drank the glass offered him, and ordered a bottle of wine. Under the influence of the club atmosphere or the wine he had drunk, Levin chatted away to Vronsky of the best breeds of cattle, and was very glad not to feel the slightest hostility to this man. He even told him, among other things, that he had heard from his wife that she had met him at Princess Marya Borissovna's. "Ah, Princess Marya Borissovna, she's exquisite!" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, and he told an anecdote about her which set them all laughing. Vronsky particularly laughed with such simplehearted amusement that Levin felt quite reconciled to him.

"Well, have we finished?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, getting up with a smile. "Let us go."


Part 7. Chapter 7.

Levin reached the club just at the right time. Members and visitors were driving up as he arrived. Des membres et des visiteurs montaient en voiture à son arrivée. Levin had not been at the club for a very long while—not since he lived in Moscow, when he was leaving the university and going into society. Levin n'était pas au club depuis très longtemps - pas depuis qu'il vivait à Moscou, quand il quittait l'université pour entrer dans la société. He remembered the club, the external details of its arrangement, but he had completely forgotten the impression it had made on him in old days. Il se souvenait du club, des détails extérieurs de son agencement, mais il avait complètement oublié l'impression qu'il lui avait faite autrefois. But as soon as, driving into the wide semicircular court and getting out of the sledge, he mounted the steps, and the hall porter, adorned with a crossway scarf, noiselessly opened the door to him with a bow; as soon as he saw in the porter's room the cloaks and galoshes of members who thought it less trouble to take them off downstairs; as soon as he heard the mysterious ringing bell that preceded him as he ascended the easy, carpeted staircase, and saw the statue on the landing, and the third porter at the top doors, a familiar figure grown older, in the club livery, opening the door without haste or delay, and scanning the visitors as they passed in—Levin felt the old impression of the club come back in a rush, an impression of repose, comfort, and propriety. Mais dès qu'il entra dans la large cour en demi-cercle et sortit du traîneau, il monta les marches, et le portier de la salle, orné d'un foulard croisé, lui ouvrit sans bruit la porte avec un arc; aussitôt qu'il aperçut dans la chambre du portier les capes et les galoches des membres qui trouvèrent moins de peine de les faire descendre; dès qu'il entendit la mystérieuse cloche qui le précédait alors qu'il montait l'escalier facile et tapissé, et vit la statue sur le palier, et le troisième porteur aux portes du haut, un personnage familier vieilli, dans la livrée du club, s'ouvrir la porte sans hâte ni retard, et scrutant les visiteurs au passage, Levin sentit revenir la vieille impression du club à la hâte, une impression de repos, de confort et de convenance. "Your hat, please," the porter said to Levin, who forgot the club rule to leave his hat in the porter's room. "Long time since you've been. "Il y a bien longtemps que vous ne l'avez pas été. The prince put your name down yesterday. Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch is not here yet." The porter did not only know Levin, but also all his ties and relationships, and so immediately mentioned his intimate friends. Le portier ne connaissait pas seulement Levin, mais aussi tous ses liens et relations, et a donc immédiatement mentionné ses amis intimes.

Passing through the outer hall, divided up by screens, and the room partitioned on the right, where a man sits at the fruit buffet, Levin overtook an old man walking slowly in, and entered the dining room full of noise and people. Traversant le hall extérieur, divisé par des écrans, et la pièce cloisonnée sur la droite, où un homme est assis au buffet de fruits, Levin rattrapa un vieil homme qui entrait lentement et entra dans la salle à manger pleine de bruit et de monde.

He walked along the tables, almost all full, and looked at the visitors. He saw people of all sorts, old and young; some he knew a little, some intimate friends. There was not a single cross or worried-looking face. Il n'y avait pas une seule croix ou un visage inquiet. All seemed to have left their cares and anxieties in the porter's room with their hats, and were all deliberately getting ready to enjoy the material blessings of life. Sviazhsky was here and Shtcherbatsky, Nevyedovsky and the old prince, and Vronsky and Sergey Ivanovitch.

"Ah! why are you late?" the prince said smiling, and giving him his hand over his own shoulder. "How's Kitty?" he added, smoothing out the napkin he had tucked in at his waistcoat buttons. ajouta-t-il en lissant la serviette qu'il avait rentrée au niveau des boutons de son gilet.

"All right; they are dining at home, all the three of them." "Ah, 'Aline-Nadine,' to be sure! There's no room with us. Go to that table, and make haste and take a seat," said the prince, and turning away he carefully took a plate of eel soup. Allez à cette table, dépêchez-vous de vous asseoir, »dit le prince, et se détournant, il prit avec précaution une assiette de soupe d'anguille. "Levin, this way!" a good-natured voice shouted a little farther on. It was Turovtsin. He was sitting with a young officer, and beside them were two chairs turned upside down. Il était assis avec un jeune officier, et à côté d'eux se trouvaient deux chaises renversées. Levin gladly went up to them. He had always liked the good-hearted rake, Turovtsin—he was associated in his mind with memories of his courtship—and at that moment, after the strain of intellectual conversation, the sight of Turovtsin's good-natured face was particularly welcome. "For you and Oblonsky. He'll be here directly." The young man, holding himself very erect, with eyes forever twinkling with enjoyment, was an officer from Petersburg, Gagin. Le jeune homme, se tenant très droit, les yeux toujours pétillants de jouissance, était un officier de Pétersbourg, Gagin. Turovtsin introduced them.

"Oblonsky's always late." "Ah, here he is!" "Have you only just come?" said Oblonsky, coming quickly towards them. "Good day. Had some vodka? Well, come along then." Levin got up and went with him to the big table spread with spirits and appetizers of the most various kinds. Levin se leva et alla avec lui à la grande table où se trouvaient des spiritueux et des amuse-gueules des plus divers. One would have thought that out of two dozen delicacies one might find something to one's taste, but Stepan Arkadyevitch asked for something special, and one of the liveried waiters standing by immediately brought what was required. On aurait pensé que sur deux douzaines de délices, on pouvait trouver quelque chose à son goût, mais Stepan Arkadyevitch a demandé quelque chose de spécial, et l'un des serveurs livrés debout a immédiatement apporté ce qu'il fallait. Je zou gedacht hebben dat je van de twee dozijn lekkernijen iets naar je smaak zou vinden, maar Stepan Arkadyevitch vroeg om iets speciaals, en een van de obers in livrei die klaarstond, bracht onmiddellijk wat nodig was. They drank a wine glassful and returned to their table.

At once, while they were still at the soup, Gagin was served with champagne, and told the waiter to fill four glasses. Levin did not refuse the wine, and asked for a second bottle. He was very hungry, and ate and drank with great enjoyment, and with still greater enjoyment took part in the lively and simple conversation of his companions. Gagin, dropping his voice, told the last good story from Petersburg, and the story, though improper and stupid, was so ludicrous that Levin broke into roars of laughter so loud that those near looked round. Gagin, baissant la voix, raconta la dernière bonne histoire de Pétersbourg, et l'histoire, quoique impropre et stupide, était si ridicule que Levin éclata de rire si fort que les proches regardèrent autour d'eux.

"That's in the same style as, 'that's a thing I can't endure!' "C'est dans le même style que" c'est une chose que je ne peux pas supporter! " You know the story?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch. "Ah, that's exquisite! Another bottle," he said to the waiter, and he began to relate his good story. "Pyotr Illyitch Vinovsky invites you to drink with him," a little old waiter interrupted Stepan Arkadyevitch, bringing two delicate glasses of sparkling champagne, and addressing Stepan Arkadyevitch and Levin. Stepan Arkadyevitch took the glass, and looking towards a bald man with red mustaches at the other end of the table, he nodded to him, smiling.

"Who's that?" asked Levin.

"You met him once at my place, don't you remember? A good-natured fellow." Levin did the same as Stepan Arkadyevitch and took the glass.

Stepan Arkadyevitch's anecdote too was very amusing. Levin told his story, and that too was successful. Then they talked of horses, of the races, of what they had been doing that day, and of how smartly Vronsky's Atlas had won the first prize. Puis ils parlèrent des chevaux, des courses, de ce qu'ils avaient fait ce jour-là et de la manière intelligente dont l'Atlas de Vronsky avait remporté le premier prix. Levin did not notice how the time passed at dinner.

"Ah! and here they are!" Stepan Arkadyevitch said towards the end of dinner, leaning over the back of his chair and holding out his hand to Vronsky, who came up with a tall officer of the Guards. Vronsky's face too beamed with the look of good-humored enjoyment that was general in the club. He propped his elbow playfully on Stepan Arkadyevitch's shoulder, whispering something to him, and he held out his hand to Levin with the same good-humored smile. Il appuya son coude sur l'épaule de Stepan Arkadyevitch, lui chuchotant quelque chose, et il tendit la main à Levin avec le même sourire de bonne humeur. "Very glad to meet you," he said. "I looked out for you at the election, but I was told you had gone away." "Je t'ai veillé aux élections, mais on m'a dit que tu étais parti." "Yes, I left the same day. We've just been talking of your horse. I congratulate you," said Levin. "It was very rapidly run." "Yes; you've race horses too, haven't you?" "No, my father had; but I remember and know something about it." "Where have you dined?" asked Stepan Arkadyevitch.

"We were at the second table, behind the columns." "We've been celebrating his success," said the tall colonel. "It's his second Imperial prize. I wish I might have the luck at cards he has with horses. Well, why waste the precious time? I'm going to the 'infernal regions,'" added the colonel, and he walked away. Je vais dans les «régions infernales» », ajouta le colonel, et il s'éloigna. "That's Yashvin," Vronsky said in answer to Turovtsin, and he sat down in the vacated seat beside them. He drank the glass offered him, and ordered a bottle of wine. Under the influence of the club atmosphere or the wine he had drunk, Levin chatted away to Vronsky of the best breeds of cattle, and was very glad not to feel the slightest hostility to this man. Sous l'influence de l'atmosphère du club ou du vin qu'il avait bu, Levin discuta avec Vronsky des meilleures races de bétail, et fut très heureux de ne pas ressentir la moindre hostilité envers cet homme. He even told him, among other things, that he had heard from his wife that she had met him at Princess Marya Borissovna's. "Ah, Princess Marya Borissovna, she's exquisite!" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, and he told an anecdote about her which set them all laughing. Vronsky particularly laughed with such simplehearted amusement that Levin felt quite reconciled to him. Vronsky rit particulièrement avec un amusement si simple que Levin se sentit tout à fait réconcilié avec lui. Vooral Vronsky lachte zo eenvoudig van geamuseerdheid dat Levin zich helemaal met hem verzoend.

"Well, have we finished?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, getting up with a smile. "Let us go."