Anna Karenina

not care to pursue the conversation in that strain,
and she turned to the old Countess.
"Thank you so much. The time has passed so quickly. Good-by,
Countess."
"Good-by, my love," answered the Countess. "Let me kiss your
pretty face. I speak plainly, at my age, and I tell you simply that
I've lost my heart to you."
Stereotyped as the phrase was, Madame Karenina obviously believed it
and was delighted by it. She flushed, bent down slightly, and put
her cheek to the Countess's lips, drew herself up again, and, with the
same smile fluttering between her lips and her eyes, she gave her hand
to Vronsky. He pressed the little hand she gave him, and was
delighted, as though at something special, by the energetic squeeze
with which she freely and vigorously shook his hand. She went out with
the rapid step which bore her rather fully developed figure with
such strange lightness.
"Very charming," said the Countess.
{PART_ONE|CHAPTER_XVIII ^paragraph 30}
That was precisely what her son was thinking. His eyes followed
her till her graceful figure was out of sight, and then the smile
remained on his face. He saw out of the window how she went up to
her brother, put her arm in his, and began telling him something
animatedly- obviously something that had nothing to do with him,
Vronsky, and at that he felt annoyed.
"Well, maman, are you perfectly well?" he repeated, turning to his
mother.
"Everything has been delightful. Alexandre has been very good, and
Marie has grown very pretty. She's very interesting."
And she began telling him again of what interested her most- the
christening of her grandson, for which she had been staying in
Peterburg, and the special favor shown her elder son by the Czar.
"Here's Lavrentii," said Vronsky, looking out of the window; "now we
can go, if you like."
{PART_ONE|CHAPTER_XVIII ^paragraph 35}
The old butler who had traveled with the Countess came to the
carriage to announce that everything was ready, and the Countess got
up to go.
"Come; there's not such a crowd now," said Vronsky.
The maid took a handbag and the lap dog, the butler and a porter the
other baggage. Vronsky gave his mother his arm; but just as they
were getting out of the carriage several men ran suddenly by with
panic-stricken faces. The stationmaster, too, ran by in his
extraordinarily colored cap. Obviously something unusual had happened.
The crowd was running to the tail end of the train.
"What?... What?... Where?... Flung himself!... Crushed!..." was
heard among the crowd.
Stepan Arkadyevich, with his sister on his arm, turned back. They
too looked scared, and stopped at the carriage door to avoid the
crowd.
{PART_ONE|CHAPTER_XVIII ^paragraph 40}
The ladies got in, while Vronsky and Stepan Arkadyevich followed the
crowd to find out details of the disaster.
A watchman, either drunk or too much muffled up in the bitter frost,
had not heard the train moving back, and had been crushed.
Before Vronsky