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 CHAPTER II

his return home, Vronsky found a note from Anna. She wrote:—

This invitation, given in spite of her husband's formal prohibition, seemed strange to him; but he finally decided to go to Anna's.

Since the beginning of the winter, Vronsky had been promoted as colonel; he had left the regiment and was living alone. After having finished his breakfast, he stretched himself out on the divan, and in five minutes the recollection of the wild scenes of the preceding days became curiously mingled in his mind with Anna and a peasant whipper-in, who had performed an important part in the bear-hunt; finally he fell asleep. He awoke; night had come. Shivering with apprehension, he hastily lighted a candle. "What has happened to me? What terrible dream have I had?" he asked himself. "Yes, yes, the peasant, a dirty little man, with a disheveled beard, bent something or other up double, and pronounced some strange words in French. I did n't dream anything else; why am I so terrified?"

But, in recalling the peasant and his incomprehensible French words, a sense of something horrible sent a cold shiver down his back.

"What nonsense!" he thought as he looked at his watch. It was already half-past eight; he called his man, dressed quickly, went out, and, entirely forgetting his dream, thought only of being late.

As he approached the Karenins' house, he again looked at his watch, and saw that it lacked ten minutes of nine. A high, narrow carriage, drawn by two gray horses, stood in front of the door; he recognized Anna's carriage.

"She was coming to my house," he said to himself;