吉蒂走后，列文独自留下，顿时感到心绪不宁。没有她在身边，他焦躁难耐，恨不得转眼就到明天早晨——那时他就能再见到她，与她永结同心。一想到要熬过没有她的十四个小时，他竟感到害怕，仿佛面对死亡一般。他必须找人说话，不能独处，好打发时间。最称心的伙伴莫过于斯捷潘·阿尔卡季奇，但他说要去参加一个晚会——其实是去看芭蕾舞。列文只来得及告诉他，自己有多么幸福，多么爱他，永远永远不会忘记他为他所做的一切。斯捷潘·阿尔卡季奇的眼神和微笑让列文明白，他完全理解这份心情。
“哦，这么说，还不是死的时候？”斯捷潘·阿尔卡季奇激动地握住列文的手说。
“不——不——！”列文说。
达丽娅·亚历山德罗夫娜与他告别时，也说了些祝贺的话：“看到你和吉蒂重逢，我真高兴！老朋友是值得珍惜的。”列文不喜欢达丽娅·亚历山德罗夫娜这番话。她无法理解这一切有多么崇高，多么超乎她的想象，她不该胆敢提及此事。列文与他们道别后，为了不让自己独处，便跟上了哥哥。
“你去哪儿？”
“我去开会。”
“那我也去。可以吗？”
“去做什么？也好，走吧。”谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇微笑着说。“你今天怎么了？”
“我？我是太幸福了！”列文说着，摇下了他们乘坐的马车车窗。“你不介意吧？车里太闷了。我是太幸福了！你为什么一直没有结婚？”
谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇笑了。
“我很高兴，她看起来是个好姑……”谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇刚开了口。
“别说了！别说了！”列文大声喊道，双手抓住哥哥皮大衣的领子，把他的脸埋了进去。“她是个好姑娘”——这话多么简单、多么俗气，与他的感受格格不入。
谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇罕见地开怀大笑。“好吧，至少我可以为这件事感到高兴。”
“明天再说吧，明天再说，现在什么都别说！什么都别说，别出声！”列文说着，又用皮大衣把哥哥裹紧，补充道：“我真喜欢你！那么，我能去参加会议吗？”
“当然可以。”
“今天讨论什么？”列文问，脸上一直挂着笑容。
他们到了会场。列文听着秘书结结巴巴地宣读会议记录——显然秘书自己也不明白读的是什么——但列文从这个秘书的脸上看出，他是个善良、可爱、好心的人。这从他宣读记录时的慌乱和窘迫就能看出来。接着开始了讨论。大家争论的是某笔资金的挪用问题和某条管道的铺设问题。谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇对两位成员言辞尖锐，洋洋洒洒地说了一大通，带着胜利的神气；另一位成员在纸上写了些什么，起初怯生生地发言，但随后便极其刻薄而精彩地反驳了他。接着，斯维亚日斯基（他也在场）也说了些什么，话语十分得体而高尚。列文听着他们，清楚地看出，那些亏空的钱款和管道都不是什么真实的问题，他们并没有真的生气，他们都是最善良、最亲切的人，彼此之间一切都那么愉快而美好。他们没有伤害任何人，大家都乐在其中。让列文惊讶的是，今天他能够看透他们每一个人，从细微的、几乎难以察觉的迹象看透每个人的灵魂，清楚地看出他们心地都很好。而列文本人，今天也受到了他们所有人的特别喜爱。这一点从他们与他说话的态度，以及那些素不相识的人看他时那友好而亲切的眼神就能看出来。
“怎么样，喜欢吗？”谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇问他。
“非常喜欢。我从没想到开会这么有意思！精彩！太棒了！”
斯维亚日斯基走到列文面前，邀请他去家里喝茶。列文完全想不起、也记不清他以前不喜欢斯维亚日斯基什么，觉得他哪里有什么不足了。他是个聪明而又极其善良的人。
“非常高兴，”他说，并问候了斯维亚日斯基的妻子和妻妹。由于一种奇特的联想，因为他想象中斯维亚日斯基的妻妹与婚姻有关，他忽然想到，没有比他更适合倾诉自己幸福的人了，于是他很高兴去拜访他们。
斯维亚日斯基问起他庄园里的改良措施，像往常一样，他总觉得如果欧洲没有先例，就什么也做不成。而现在，这一点丝毫没有惹恼列文。相反，他觉得斯维亚日斯基说得对，整个事情都没什么价值，而且他看到了斯维亚日斯基那奇妙的温和与体贴——他避免完全表达自己那正确的观点。斯维亚日斯基家的女眷们尤其令人愉快。列文觉得她们似乎已经知道了一切，并且同情他，只是出于礼貌才什么也不说。他在她们家待了一小时、两小时、三个小时，谈论各种各样的话题，唯独没有谈论那充满他心房的一件事，他没有注意到自己已经让她们厌烦得要命，而且早就过了她们的睡觉时间。
斯维亚日斯基打着哈欠把他送到门厅，对他朋友这种奇怪的兴致感到费解。已经凌晨一点多了。列文回到旅馆，一想到现在独自一人，怀着满腔焦急，还要熬过十个小时，不禁感到惶恐。值夜班的仆人点起了蜡烛，正要离开，却被列文叫住了。这个名叫叶戈尔的仆人，列文以前就注意过，此刻更觉得他是个非常聪明、出色、尤其是心地善良的人。
“哎，叶戈尔，不睡觉很难受吧？”
“只能忍着！这是我们分内的事，您知道。在富贵人家干活要轻松些；但在这儿挣得多些。”
原来叶戈尔有家室，三个儿子和一个女儿，女儿是个裁缝，他想把她嫁给马具店的一个出纳员。
列文听了，便对叶戈尔说，在他看来，婚姻中最重要的就是爱情，有了爱情就会永远幸福，因为幸福只取决于自己。
叶戈尔认真地听着，显然完全领会了列文的意思，但为了表示赞同，他说了一句让列文大为惊讶的话：他给好东家干活时，总是很满意；现在对老板也很满意，虽然老板是个法国人。
“真是个了不起的好心人！”列文心想。
“那么，叶戈尔，你结婚的时候，爱你的妻子吗？”
“爱！怎么不爱？”叶戈尔回答。
列文看出，叶戈尔也处于兴奋状态，想要倾诉自己内心最深切的感受。
“我的生活也很不寻常。从小……”他眼睛发亮地开始说，显然被列文的热情感染了，就像人们被呵欠传染一样。
但就在这时，门铃响了。叶戈尔走了，留下列文独自一人。他晚饭几乎没吃什么，在斯维亚日斯基家也没喝茶、吃晚饭，但他根本想不起吃饭的事。他前一晚没睡，但此刻也毫无睡意。房间里很冷，但他却感到闷热。他打开窗户的两扇活动窗，在敞开的窗前坐下。窗外是积雪覆盖的屋顶，可以看到一个装饰着链条的十字架，十字架上方是冉冉升起的北斗七星，以及带着淡黄色光芒的五车二。他凝视着十字架，又看看星星，吸进房间里均匀流动的清新而冰冻的空气，如梦一般追随着脑海中浮现的形象和回忆。凌晨四点钟，他听到走廊里有脚步声，便探头往门外看。是他认识的那个赌徒米亚斯金，从俱乐部回来了。他眉头紧锁，咳嗽着，一副愁容。“可怜的不幸的人！”列文心想，对这个人的爱和怜悯使他眼里涌出了泪水。他想和他聊聊，安慰安慰他，但想起自己只穿着衬衫，便打消了念头，重新坐到敞开的窗前，沐浴在寒冷的空气中，凝视着十字架优美的线条——那线条对他沉默却充满意义——以及冉冉升起的、色泽深黄而明亮的星星。七点钟，传来人们擦地板的声音和某处仆役的钟声，列文觉得自己开始冻僵了。他关好窗户，洗了脸，穿好衣服，走到街上。
When Kitty had gone and Levin was left alone, he felt such uneasiness
without her, and such an impatient longing to get as quickly, as
quickly as possible, to tomorrow morning, when he would see her again
and be plighted to her forever, that he felt afraid, as though of
death, of those fourteen hours that he had to get through without her.
It was essential for him to be with someone to talk to, so as not to be
left alone, to kill time. Stepan Arkadyevitch would have been the
companion most congenial to him, but he was going out, he said, to a
_soirée_, in reality to the ballet. Levin only had time to tell him he
was happy, and that he loved him, and would never, never forget what he
had done for him. The eyes and the smile of Stepan Arkadyevitch showed
Levin that he comprehended that feeling fittingly.
“Oh, so it’s not time to die yet?” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, pressing
Levin’s hand with emotion.
“N-n-no!” said Levin.
Darya Alexandrovna too, as she said good-bye to him, gave him a sort of
congratulation, saying, “How glad I am you have met Kitty again! One
must value old friends.” Levin did not like these words of Darya
Alexandrovna’s. She could not understand how lofty and beyond her it
all was, and she ought not to have dared to allude to it. Levin said
good-bye to them, but, not to be left alone, he attached himself to his
brother.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to a meeting.”
“Well, I’ll come with you. May I?”
“What for? Yes, come along,” said Sergey Ivanovitch, smiling. “What is
the matter with you today?”
“With me? Happiness is the matter with me!” said Levin, letting down
the window of the carriage they were driving in. “You don’t mind?—it’s
so stifling. It’s happiness is the matter with me! Why is it you have
never married?”
Sergey Ivanovitch smiled.
“I am very glad, she seems a nice gi....” Sergey Ivanovitch was
beginning.
“Don’t say it! don’t say it!” shouted Levin, clutching at the collar of
his fur coat with both hands, and muffling him up in it. “She’s a nice
girl” were such simple, humble words, so out of harmony with his
feeling.
Sergey Ivanovitch laughed outright a merry laugh, which was rare with
him. “Well, anyway, I may say that I’m very glad of it.”
“That you may do tomorrow, tomorrow and nothing more! Nothing, nothing,
silence,” said Levin, and muffling him once more in his fur coat, he
added: “I do like you so! Well, is it possible for me to be present at
the meeting?”
“Of course it is.”
“What is your discussion about today?” asked Levin, never ceasing
smiling.
They arrived at the meeting. Levin heard the secretary hesitatingly
read the minutes which he obviously did not himself understand; but
Levin saw from this secretary’s face what a good, nice, kind-hearted
person he was. This was evident from his confusion and embarrassment in
reading the minutes. Then the discussion began. They were disputing
about the misappropriation of certain sums and the laying of certain
pipes, and Sergey Ivanovitch was very cutting to two members, and said
something at great length with an air of triumph; and another member,
scribbling something on a bit of paper, began timidly at first, but
afterwards answered him very viciously and delightfully. And then
Sviazhsky (he was there too) said something too, very handsomely and
nobly. Levin listened to them, and saw clearly that these missing sums
and these pipes were not anything real, and that they were not at all
angry, but were all the nicest, kindest people, and everything was as
happy and charming as possible among them. They did no harm to anyone,
and were all enjoying it. What struck Levin was that he could see
through them all today, and from little, almost imperceptible signs
knew the soul of each, and saw distinctly that they were all good at
heart. And Levin himself in particular they were all extremely fond of
that day. That was evident from the way they spoke to him, from the
friendly, affectionate way even those he did not know looked at him.
