tried to find means of remedying the position.
From her feminine point of view she could see only one solution, namely,
for Nicholas to marry a rich heiress. She felt this to be their last
hope and that if Nicholas refused the match she had found for him, she
would have to abandon the hope of ever getting matters right. This match
was with Julie Karagina, the daughter of excellent and virtuous parents,
a girl the Rostovs had known from childhood, and who had now become a
wealthy heiress through the death of the last of her brothers.

The countess had written direct to Julie's mother in Moscow suggesting a
marriage between their children and had received a favorable answer
from her. Karagina had replied that for her part she was agreeable, and
everything depend on her daughter's inclination. She invited Nicholas to
come to Moscow.

Several times the countess, with tears in her eyes, told her son that
now both her daughters were settled, her only wish was to see him
married. She said she could lie down in her grave peacefully if that
were accomplished. Then she told him that she knew of a splendid girl
and tried to discover what he thought about marriage.

At other times she praised Julie to him and advised him to go to Moscow
during the holidays to amuse himself. Nicholas guessed what his mother's
remarks were leading to and during one of these conversations induced
her to speak quite frankly. She told him that her only hope of getting
their affairs disentangled now lay in his marrying Julie Karagina.

"But, Mamma, suppose I loved a girl who has no fortune, would you expect
me to sacrifice my feelings and my honor for the sake of money?" he
asked his mother, not realizing the cruelty of his question and only
wishing to show his noble-mindedness.

"No, you have not understood me," said his mother, not knowing how to
justify herself. "You have not understood me, Nikolenka. It is your
happiness I wish for," she added, feeling that she was telling an
untruth and was becoming entangled. She began to cry.

"Mamma, don't cry! Only tell me that you wish it, and you know I will
give my life, anything, to put you at ease," said Nicholas. "I would
sacrifice anything for you--even my feelings."

But the countess did not want the question put like that: she did not
want a sacrifice from her son, she herself wished to make a sacrifice
for him.

"No, you have not understood me, don't let us talk about it," she
replied, wiping