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 "Well, I won't say anything," said he. "I am very .... very .... hap .... Akh! how stupid I am!"

And he took Kitty in his arms, kissed her face, her hands, and then her face again, blessing her with the sign of the cross.

And Levin was filled by a new feeling of affection for the old prince when he saw how tenderly and fervently Kitty kissed his great, strong hand.

CHAPTER XVI

princess was sitting in her easy-chair, silent and beaming; the prince was sitting beside her; Kitty was standing near her father, holding his hand. All of them were silent.

The princess was the first to bring their thoughts and feelings back to the affairs of real life; and the transition gave each of them, for a moment, a strange and painful impression.

"When shall the wedding be? We must announce the marriage, and have them betrothed. But when shall the wedding be? What do you think about it, Aleksandr?"

"There is the person most interested," said the prince, pointing to Levin.

"When?" replied the latter, reddening. "To-morrow! If you wish my opinion; to-day, the betrothal; to-morrow, the wedding."

"There, there, that'll do, mon cher; no nonsense!"

"Well, in a week, then."

"One would really suppose that you had lost your senses."

"But why not?"

"Mercy on us!" said the mother, smiling gayly at his impatience. "And the trousseau?"

"Is it possible that a trousseau and all the rest are indispensable?" thought Levin, with alarm. "However, neither the trousseau, nor the betrothal, nor anything else, can spoil my happiness! Nothing can do that!"