her to spend the summer with them. Stepan Arkadyevitch greatly
approved of the arrangement. He said he was very sorry his
official duties prevented him from spending the summer in the
country with his family, which would have been the greatest
happiness for him; and remaining in Moscow, he came down to the
country from time to time for a day or two. Besides the
Oblonskys, with all their children and their governess, the old
princess too came to stay that summer with the Levins, as she
considered it her duty to watch over her inexperienced daughter in
her _interesting condition_. Moreover, Varenka, Kitty's friend
abroad, kept her promise to come to Kitty when she was married,
and stayed with her friend. All of these were friends or
relations of Levin's wife. And though he liked them all, he
rather regretted his own Levin world and ways, which was
smothered by this influx of the "Shtcherbatsky element," as he
called it to himself. Of his own relations there stayed with him
only Sergey Ivanovitch, but he too was a man of the Koznishev and
not the Levin stamp, so that the Levin spirit was utterly
obliterated.

In the Levins' house, so long deserted, there were now so many
people that almost all the rooms were occupied, and almost every
day it happened that the old princess, sitting down to table,
counted them all over, and put the thirteenth grandson or
granddaughter at a separate table. And Kitty, with her careful
housekeeping, had no little trouble to get all the chickens,
turkeys, and geese, of which so many were needed to satisfy the
summer appetites of the visitors and children.

The whole family were sitting at dinner. Dolly's children, with
their governess and Varenka, were making plans for going to look
for mushrooms. Sergey Ivanovitch, who was looked up to by all
the party for his intellect and learning, with a respect that
almost amounted to awe, surprised everyone by joining in the
conversation about mushrooms.

"Take me with you. I am very fond of picking mushrooms," he
said, looking at Varenka; "I think it's a very nice occupation."

"Oh, we shall be delighted," answered Varenka, coloring a little.
Kitty exchanged meaningful glances with Dolly. The proposal of
the learned and intellectual Sergey Ivanovitch to go looking for
mushrooms with Varenka confirmed certain theories of Kitty's with
which her mind had been very busy of late. She made haste to
address some remark to her mother, so that