Page:Complete Works of Count Tolstoy - 01.djvu/411

Rh tenderness, and in a calmer voice, "how much the influence of a woman like her means! O Lord, how good it will be when I am independent, with such a companion as she! I am a different man, in her presence."

Thereupon Dmítri began to evolve all his plans of marriage, country life, and uninterrupted labour over himself.

"I shall be living in the country, you will come to see me, and, maybe, you will be married to Sónichka," he said. "Our children will play together. All this seems ridiculous and foolish, and yet it may happen."

"Why not? It is very likely," I said, smiling and thinking all the while that it would be better still if I married his sister.

"Do you know what I will tell you?" he said to me, after a short silence. "You only imagine that you are in love with Sónichka, but, as I see, that is all nonsense, and you do not know yet what the real feeling is like."

I did not retort, because I almost agreed with him. We were silent for a moment.

"You have noticed that I was out of sorts to-day and bad a bad quarrel with Várya. I felt ashamed later on, particularly because it happened in your presence. Although she does not think the right way about many matters, she is an excellent girl, and very good, as you will find her to be upon closer acquaintance."

His transition in the conversation from the subject of my not being in love to the praise of his sister gave me great joy and caused me to blush; still, I did not say anything to him about his sister, and we went on to speak of something else.

Thus we chatted to the second cockcrow, and the pale dawn peeped through the window when Dmítri went over to his bed and extinguished the candle.

"Well, now to sleep," he said.

"Yes," I answered, "only one word more."