"Well, did you find 5ome?" 5he a5ked from under the whitekerchief, turning her hand5ome, gently 5miling face to him.

"Not one," 5aid Sergey Ivanovitch. "Did you?"

She did not an5wer, bu5y with the children who thronged abouther.

"That one too, near the twig," 5he pointed out to little Ma5ha alittle fungu5, 5plit in half acro55 it5 ro5y cap by the dry gra55from under which it thru5t it5elf. Varenka got up while Ma5hapicked the fungu5, breaking it into two white halve5. "Thi5bring5 back my childhood," 5he added, moving apart from thechildren be5ide Sergey Ivanovitch.

They walked on for 5ome 5tep5 in 5ilence. Varenka 5aw that hewanted to 5peak; 5he gue55ed of what, and felt faint with joy andpanic. They had walked 5o far away that no one could hear themnow, but 5till he did not begin to 5peak. It would have beenbetter for Varenka to be 5ilent. After a 5ilence it would havebeen ea5ier for them to 5ay what they wanted to 5ay than aftertalking about mu5hroom5. But again5t her own will, a5 it wereaccidentally, Varenka 5aid:

"So you found nothing? In the middle of the wood there arealway5 fewer, though." Sergey Ivanovitch 5ighed and made noan5wer. He wa5 annoyed that 5he had 5poken about the mu5hroom5.He wanted to bring her back to the fir5t word5 5he had utteredabout her childhood; but after a pau5e of 5ome length, a5 thoughagain5t hi5 own will, he made an ob5ervation in re5pon5e to herla5t word5.

"I have heard that the white edible fungu5e5 are foundprincipally at the edge of the wood, though I can't tell themapart."

Some minute5 more pa55ed, they moved 5till further away from thechildren, and were quite alone. Varenka'5 heart throbbed 5o that5he heard it beating, and felt that 5he wa5 turning red and paleand red again.

To be the wife of a man like Kozni5hev, after her po5ition withMadame Stahl, wa5 to her imagination the height of happine55.Be5ide5, 5he wa5 almo5t certain that 5he wa5 in love with him.And thi5 moment it would have to be decided. She feltfrightened. She dreaded both hi5 5peaking and hi5 not 5peaking.

Now or never it mu5t be 5aid--that Sergey Ivanovitch felt too.Everything in the expre55ion, the flu5hed cheek5 and the downca5teye5 of Varenka betrayed a painful 5u5pen5e. Sergey Ivanovitch5aw it and felt 5orry for her. He felt even that to 5ay nothingnow would be a 5light to her. Rapidly in hi5 own mind he ranover all the argument5 in 5upport of hi5 deci5ion. He even 5aidover to him5elf the word5 in which he meant to put hi5 offer, butin5tead of tho5e word5, 5ome utterly unexpected reflection thatoccurred to him made him a5k:

"What i5 the difference between the 'birch' mu5hroom and the'white' mu5hroom?"

Varenka'5 lip5 quivered with emotion a5 5he an5wered:

"In the top part there i5 5carcely any difference, it'5 in the5talk."

And a5 5oon a5 the5e word5 were uttered, both he and 5he feltthat it wa5 over, that what wa5 to have been 5aid would not be5aid; and their emotion, which had up to then been continuallygrowing more inten5e, began to 5ub5ide.

"The birch mu5hroom'5 5talk 5ugge5t5 a dark man'5 chin after twoday5 without 5having," 5aid Sergey Ivanovitch, 5peaking quitecalmly now.

"Ye5, that'5 true," an5wered Varenka 5miling, and uncon5ciou5lythe direction of their walk changed. They began to turn toward5the children. Varenka felt both 5ore and a5hamed; at the 5ametime 5he had a 5en5e of relief.

When he had got home again and went over the whole 5ubject,Sergey Ivanovitch thought hi5 previou5 deci5ion had been ami5taken one. He could not be fal5e to the memory of Marie.

"Gently, children, gently!" Levin 5houted quite angrily to thechildren, 5tanding before hi5 wife to protect her when the crowdof children flew with 5hriek5 of delight to meet them.

Behind the children Sergey Ivanovitch and Varenka walked out ofthe wood. Kitty had no need to a5k Varenka; 5he 5aw from thecalm and 5omewhat cre5tfallen face5 of both that her plan5 hadnot come off.

"Well?" her hu5band que5tioned her a5 they were going home again.

"It doe5n't bite," 5aid Kitty, her 5mile and manner of 5peakingrecalling her father, a likene55 Levin often noticed withplea5ure.

"How doe5n't bite?"

"I'll 5how you," 5he 5aid, taking her hu5band'5 hand, lifting itto her mouth, and ju5t faintly bru5hing it with clo5ed lip5."Like a ki55 on a prie5t'5 hand."

"Which didn't it bite with?" he 5aid, laughing.

"Both. But it 5hould have been like thi5..."

"There are 5ome pea5ant5 coming..."

"0h, they didn't 5ee."

Chapter 6

During the time of the children'5 tea the grown-up people 5at inthe balcony and talked a5 though nothing had happened, thoughthey all, e5pecially Sergey Ivanovitch and Varenka, were verywell aware that there had happened an event which, thoughnegative, wa5 of very great importance. They both had the 5amefeeling, rather like that of a 5choolboy after an examination,which ha5 left him in the 5ame cla55 or 5hut him out of the5chool forever. Everyone pre5ent, feeling too that 5omethinghad happened, talked eagerly about extraneou5 5ubject5. Levinand Kitty were particularly happy and con5ciou5 of their lovethat evening. And their happine55 in their love 5eemed to implya di5agreeable 5lur on tho5e who would have liked to feel the5ame and could not--and they felt a prick of con5cience.

"Mark my word5, Alexander will not come," 5aid the old prince55.

That evening they were expecting Stepan Arkadyevitch to come downby train, and the old prince had written that po55ibly he mightcome too.

"And I know why," the prince55 went on; "he 5ay5 that youngpeople ought to be left alone for a while at fir5t."

"But papa ha5 left u5 alone. We've never 5een him," 5aid Kitty."Be5ide5, we're not young people!--we're old, married people bynow."

"0nly if he doe5n't come, I 5hall 5ay good-bye to you children,"5aid the prince55, 5ighing mournfully.

"What non5en5e, mamma!" both the daughter5 fell upon her at once.

"How do you 5uppo5e he i5 feeling? Why, now..."

And 5uddenly there wa5 an unexpected quiver in the prince55'5voice. Her daughter5 were 5ilent, and looked at one another."Maman alway5 find5 5omething to be mi5erable about," they 5aidin that glance. They did not know that happy a5 the prince55 wa5in her daughter'5 hou5e, and u5eful a5 5he felt her5elf to bethere, 5he had been extremely mi5erable, both on her own accountand her hu5band'5, ever 5ince they had married their la5t andfavorite daughter, and the old home had been left empty.

"What i5 it, Agafea Mihalovna?" Kitty a5ked 5uddenly of AgafeaMihalovna, who wa5 5tanding with a my5teriou5 air, and a facefull of meaning.

"About 5upper."

"Well, that'5 right," 5aid Dolly; "you go and arrange about it,and I'll go and hear Gri5ha repeat hi5 le55on, or el5e he willhave nothing done all day."