Levin was standing1 rather far off. A nobleman breathing heavily and hoarsely2 at his side, and another whose thick boots were creaking, prevented him from hearing distinctly. He could only hear the soft voice of the marshal faintly, then the shrill3 voice of the malignant4 gentleman, and then the voice of Sviazhsky. They were disputing, as far as he could make out, as to the interpretation5 to be put on the act and the exact meaning of the words: "liable to be called up for trial."
The crowd parted to make way for Sergey Ivanovitch approaching the table. Sergey Ivanovitch, waiting till the malignant gentleman had finished speaking, said that he thought the best solution would be to refer to the act itself, and asked the secretary to find the act. The act said that in case of difference of opinion, there must be a ballot6.
Sergey Ivanovitch read the act and began to explain its meaning, but at that point a tall, stout7, round-shouldered landowner, with dyed whiskers, in a tight uniform that cut the back of his neck, interrupted him. He went up to the table, and striking it with his finger ring, he shouted loudly: "A ballot! Put it to the vote! No need for more talking!" Then several voices began to talk all at once, and the tall nobleman with the ring, getting more and more exasperated8, shouted more and more loudly. But it was impossible to make out what he said.
He was shouting for the very course Sergey Ivanovitch had proposed; but it was evident that he hated him and all his party, and this feeling of hatred9 spread through the whole party and roused in opposition10 to it the same vindictiveness11, though in a more seemly form, on the other side. Shouts were raised, and for a moment all was confusion, so that the marshal of the province had to call for order.
"A ballot! A ballot! Every nobleman sees it! We shed our blood for our country!... The confidence of the monarch12.... No checking the accounts of the marshal; he's not a cashier.... But that's not the point.... Votes, please! Beastly!..." shouted furious and violent voices on all sides. Looks and faces were even more violent and furious than their words. They expressed the most implacable hatred. Levin did not in the least understand what was the matter, and he marveled at the passion with which it was disputed whether or not the decision about Flerov should be put to the vote. He forgot, as Sergey Ivanovitch explained to him afterwards, this syllogism13: that it was necessary for the public good to get rid of the marshal of the province; that to get rid of the marshal it was necessary to have a majority of votes; that to get a majority of votes it was necessary to secure Flerov's right to vote; that to secure the recognition of Flerov's right to vote they must decide on the interpretation to be put on the act.
"And one vote may decide the whole question and one must be serious and consecutive14, if one wants to be of use in public life," concluded Sergey Ivanovitch. But Levin forgot all that, and it was painful to him to see all these excellent persons, for whom he had a respect, in such an unpleasant and vicious state of excitement. To escape from this painful feeling he went away into the other room where there was nobody except the waiters at the refreshment15 bar. Seeing the waiters busy over washing up the crockery and setting in order their plates and wine glasses, seeing their calm and cheerful faces, Levin felt an unexpected sense of relief as though he had come out of a stuffy16 room into the fresh air. He began walking up and down, looking with pleasure at the waiters. He particularly liked the way one gray-whiskered waiter, who showed his scorn for the other younger ones and was jeered17 at by them, was teaching them how to fold up napkins properly. Levin was just about to enter into conversation with the old waiter, when the secretary of the court of wardship18, a little old man whose specialty19 it was to know all the noblemen of the province by name and patronymic, drew him away.
"Please come, Konstantin Dmitrievitch," he said, "your brother's looking for you. They are voting on the legal point."
Levin walked into the room, received a white ball, and followed his brother, Sergey Ivanovitch, to the table where Sviazhsky was standing with a significant and ironical20 face, holding his beard in his fist and sniffing21 at it. Sergey Ivanovitch put his hand into the box, put the ball somewhere, and making room for Levin, stopped. Levin advanced, but utterly22 forgetting what he was to do, and much embarrassed, he turned to Sergey Ivanovitch with the question, "Where am I to put it?" He asked this softly, at a moment when there was talking going on near, so that he had hoped his question would not be overheard. But the persons speaking paused, and his improper23 question was overheard. Sergey Ivanovitch frowned.
"That is a matter for each man's own decision," he said severely24.
Several people smiled. Levin crimsoned25, hurriedly thrust his hand under the cloth, and put the ball to the right as it was in his right hand. Having put it in, he recollected26 that he ought to have thrust his left hand too, and so he thrust it in though too late, and, still more overcome with confusion, he beat a hasty retreat into the background.
"A hundred and twenty-six for admission! Ninety-eight against!" sang out the voice of the secretary, who could not pronounce the letter r. Then there was a laugh; a button and two nuts were found in the box. The nobleman was allowed the right to vote, and the new party had conquered.
But the old party did not consider themselves conquered. Levin heard that they were asking Snetkov to stand, and he saw that a crowd of noblemen was surrounding the marshal, who was saying something. Levin went nearer. In reply Snetkov spoke27 of the trust the noblemen of the province had placed in him, the affection they had shown him, which he did not deserve, as his only merit had been his attachment28 to the nobility, to whom he had devoted29 twelve years of service. Several times he repeated the words: "I have served to the best of my powers with truth and good faith, I value your goodness and thank you," and suddenly he stopped short from the tears that choked him, and went out of the room. Whether these tears came from a sense of the injustice30 being done him, from his love for the nobility, or from the strain of the position he was placed in, feeling himself surrounded by enemies, his emotion infected the assembly, the majority were touched, and Levin felt a tenderness for Snetkov.
In the doorway31 the marshal of the province jostled against Levin.
"Beg pardon, excuse me, please," he said as to a stranger, but recognizing Levin, he smiled timidly. It seemed to Levin that he would have liked to say something, but could not speak for emotion. His face and his whole figure in his uniform with the crosses, and white trousers striped with braid, as he moved hurriedly along, reminded Levin of some hunted beast who sees that he is in evil case. This expression in the marshal's face was particularly touching32 to Levin, because, only the day before, he had been at his house about his trustee business and had seen him in all his grandeur33, a kind-hearted, fatherly man. The big house with the old family furniture; the rather dirty, far from stylish34, but respectful footmen, unmistakably old house serfs who had stuck to their master; the stout, good-natured wife in a cap with lace and a Turkish shawl, petting her pretty grandchild, her daughter's daughter; the young son, a sixth form high school boy, coming home from school, and greeting his father, kissing his big hand; the genuine, cordial words and gestures of the old man--all this had the day before roused an instinctive35 feeling of respect and sympathy in Levin. This old man was a touching and pathetic figure to Levin now, and he longed to say something pleasant to him.
"So you're sure to be our marshal again," he said.
"It's not likely," said the marshal, looking round with a scared expression. "I'm worn out, I'm old. If there are men younger and more deserving than I, let them serve."
And the marshal disappeared through a side door.
The most solemn moment was at hand. They were to proceed immediately to the election. The leaders of both parties were reckoning white and black on their fingers.
The discussion upon Flerov had given the new party not only Flerov's vote, but had also gained time for them, so that they could send to fetch three noblemen who had been rendered unable to take part in the elections by the wiles36 of the other party. Two noble gentlemen, who had a weakness for strong drink, had been made drunk by the partisans37 of Snetkov, and a third had been robbed of his uniform.
On learning this, the new party had made haste, during the dispute about Flerov, to send some of their men in a sledge38 to clothe the stripped gentleman, and to bring along one of the intoxicated39 to the meeting.
"I've brought one, drenched40 him with water," said the landowner, who had gone on this errand, to Sviazhsky. "He's all right? he'll do."
"Not too drunk, he won't fall down?" said Sviazhsky, shaking his head.
"No, he's first-rate. If only they don't give him any more here.... I've told the waiter not to give him anything on any account."
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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vindictiveness
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| 恶毒；怀恨在心 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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syllogism
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| n.演绎法，三段论法 | |
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consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wardship
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| 监护，保护 | |
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specialty
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| n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长 | |
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ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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crimsoned
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| 变为深红色（crimson的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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40
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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