Happily for Levin, the old princess cut short his agonies by getting up herself and advising Kitty to go to bed.

But even at this point Levin could not escape another agony.

As he said good-night to his hostess, Vassenka would again have kissed her hand, but Kitty, reddening, drew back her hand and said with a naive bluntness, for which the old princess scolded her afterwards: "We don't like that fashion.

" In Levin's eyes she was to blame for having allowed such relations to arise, and still more to blame for showing so awkwardly that she did not like them.