fork in her beautiful white hands covered
with rings, and began showing how the machine worked. It was
clear that she saw nothing would be understood from her
explanation; but aware that her talk was pleasant and her hands
beautiful she went on explaining.

"More like little penknives," Veslovsky said playfully, never
taking his eyes off her.

Anna gave a just perceptible smile, but made no answer. "Isn't
it true, Karl Fedoritch, that it's just like little scissors?"
she said to the steward.

"_Oh, ja,_" answered the German. _"Es it ein ganz einfaches Ding,"_
and he began to explain the construction of the machine.

"It's a pity it doesn't bind too. I saw one at the Vienna
exhibition, which binds with a wire," said Sviazhsky. "They
would be more profitable in use."

_"Es kommt drauf an.... Der Preis vom Draht muss ausgerechnet
werden."_ And the German, roused from his taciturnity, turned to
Vronsky. _"Das laesst sich ausrechnen, Erlaucht."_ The German was
just feeling in the pocket where were his pencil and the
notebook he always wrote in, but recollecting that he was at a
dinner, and observing Vronsky's chilly glance, he checked
himself. _"Zu compliziert, macht zu viel Klopot,"_ he concluded.

_"Wuenscht man Dochots, so hat man auch Klopots,"_ said Vassenka
Veslovsky, mimicking the German. _"J'adore l'allemand,"_ he
addressed Anna again with the same smile.

_"Cessez,"_ she said with playful severity.

"We expected to find you in the fields, Vassily Semyonitch," she
said to the doctor, a sickly-looking man; "have you been there?"

"I went there, but I had taken flight," the doctor answered
with gloomy jocoseness.

"Then you've taken a good constitutional?"

"Splendid!"

"Well, and how was the old woman? I hope it's not typhus?"

"Typhus it is not, but it's taking a bad turn."

"What a pity!" said Anna, and having thus paid the dues of
civility to her domestic circle, she turned to her own friends.

"It would be a hard task, though, to construct a machine from
your description, Anna Arkadyevna," Sviazhsky said jestingly.

"Oh, no, why so?" said Anna with a smile that betrayed that she
knew there was something charming in her disquisitions upon the
machine that had been noticed by Sviazhsky. This new trait of
girlish coquettishness made an unpleasant impression on Dolly.

"But Anna Arkadyevna's knowledge of architecture is marvelous,"
said Tushkevitch.

"To be sure, I heard Anna Ark