no one paid any heed to him, and he thought he was no use to any one, he slipped out into the smaller hall, where, as before, he found consolation in watching the servants. The old servant asked him if he would have something to eat, and Levin consented. After he had eaten a cutlet with beans, and had talked with the servants about their former masters. Levin, not caring to go back to the crowd which was so unpleasant to him, walked about the galleries.
The galleries were full of well-dressed ladies, who were leaning over the balustrades endeavoring not to lose a word that was said in the hall below, and around them was standing and sitting a throng of elegantly dressed lawyers, professors of the gymnasia with spectacles on, and officers. Everywhere they were talking about the elections and the proposed change in the marshal, and saying how interesting the voting was. As Levin stood near one group, he heard a lady saying to a lawyer: —
"How glad I am that I heard Koznuishef. It pays to go hungry for it. It was charming. How distinctly I could hear all he said. There is not one who equals him in the court, only Maidel, and even he is not nearly so eloquent."
Finding a comfortable place near the railing. Levin leaned over and tried to look and to listen. All the nobles were sitting behind screens in the parts of the hall devoted to their various districts. In the center of the hall stood a gentleman in uniform, and in a light but clear voice he was saying: —
"You will now cast your votes for Staff-Captain Yevgeni Ivanovitch Apukhtin as candidate for the position of marshal of the nobility of the government."
A deathlike silence ensued, and again a weak, senile voice was heard: —
"He declined."
Again the same thing began, and again, "He declined." So it went on for about an hour.
Levin, leaning on the balustrade, looked and listened. At first he was filled with amazement, and was anxious
