第四十八章 第二十四章
觐见礼将近尾声。人们相互告别时还在议论着最近的新闻、新授予的恩典和高官们的职位变动。
"要是玛丽亚·鲍里索夫娜伯爵夫人当陆军大臣，瓦特科夫斯卡娅公爵夫人当总司令就好了，"一个身穿镶金线制服、头发灰白的小老头对一位向他打听新任命的美丽宫女说。
"那我也当个副官，"宫女笑着说。
"您已经有任命了，主管教会事务。您的助手是卡列宁。"
"您好，公爵！"小老头对一个走近的人说。
"你们刚才在说卡列宁什么？"公爵问。
"他和普佳托夫都得到了亚历山大·涅夫斯基勋章。"
"我还以为他早就有了呢。"
"不，您看他，"小老头用他那顶绣金礼帽指了指站在大厅门口、身穿宫廷制服、肩挂新红绶带的卡列宁，他正与一位帝国会议的重要成员谈话。"他像一枚铜币一样得意洋洋，"他补充道，停下来与一位身材魁梧的英俊宫廷侍从握手。
"不，他看起来老多了，"宫廷侍从说。
"工作操劳嘛。如今他整天在起草方案。现在不给他把方案按要点解释清楚，他是不会放过一个可怜人的。"
"您说他看起来老了？'他可是情场得意'呢。我想莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人现在正吃他妻子的醋呢。"
"哦，得了，请不要说莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人的坏话。"
"她爱上卡列宁有什么不好吗？"
"但卡列宁夫人真的在这里吗？"
"嗯，不在宫里，但在彼得堡。我昨天在莫尔斯卡亚街上遇见她，她挽着阿列克谢·弗龙斯基的胳膊，'臂挽着臂'呢。"
"'这个人没有...'"宫廷侍从正要开口，但为了给一位皇室成员让路，他停下来鞠躬。
人们就这样不停地议论着阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇，挑他的毛病，嘲笑他。而他则挡住了他抓住的那位帝国会议成员的路，正逐条向他解释自己的新财政方案，一刻也不敢中断，生怕他溜走。
几乎就在他妻子离开阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇的同时，他迎来了一个官员生涯中最痛苦的时刻——仕途停滞的时刻。这个停滞期已经到来，每个人都能感觉到，但阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇本人尚未意识到他的仕途已经结束。是因为他与斯特列莫夫的争执，还是因为他妻子的不幸，或者仅仅是因为阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇已经达到了他注定的极限，在那一年里，每个人都清楚地看到他的仕途走到了尽头。他仍然担任着重要职务，参与许多委员会和会议，但他已是一个过气的人物，人们对他不再抱任何期望。无论他说什么，提出什么，别人听起来都像是老生常谈，而且正是那些不合时宜的东西。但阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇并没有意识到这一点；相反，由于被排除在政府活动的直接参与之外，他比以往任何时候都更清楚地看到别人行动中的错误和缺陷，并认为指出纠正方法是他的责任。在他与妻子分居后不久，他就开始撰写关于新司法程序的第一份备忘录，这是他未来注定要写的无数备忘录中的第一篇。
阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇不仅没有注意到自己在官场中的不利处境，不仅对此毫不担忧，反而对自己的活动比以前更加满意。
"没有娶妻的，是为主的事挂虑，想怎样叫主喜悦；娶了妻的，是为世上的事挂虑，想怎样叫妻子喜悦。"使徒保罗如是说。如今在每一行动上都以《圣经》为指南的阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇常想起这段经文。在他看来，自从没有妻子以后，他正是在这些改革方案中比以前更热心地侍奉着主。
那位会议成员显然不耐烦地想摆脱他，但这并没有让阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇感到不安；他只是在一位皇室成员经过时，趁着那位会议成员抓住机会溜走时，才停止了自己的阐述。
剩下自己一个人，阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇低头沉思了一会儿，然后随意地环顾四周，向门口走去，希望在那里遇见莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人。
"他们身体都多么强壮健康啊，"阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇想，看着那位刮得干干净净、鬓角喷香、体格魁梧的宫廷侍从，以及那位公爵被紧身制服勒得发红的脖子。他得从他们身边走过才能到门口。"真可谓世人皆邪恶，"他又斜眼瞥了一眼那位宫廷侍从的小腿，想道。
阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇不紧不慢地走着，带着惯常的疲惫而庄重的神色向刚才谈论他的人鞠躬致意，然后朝门口望去，目光寻找着莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人。
"啊！阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇！"小老头说，眼中闪着恶意的光芒。就在卡列宁与他们走齐并冷冷地点头致意时，"我还没向您祝贺呢，"小老头指着卡列宁新得的绶带说。
"谢谢您，"阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇回答。"今天天气多么'美好'啊，"他补充道，用他特有的方式强调了"美好"这个词。
他很清楚他们在嘲笑他，但他不指望从他们那里得到任何东西，除了敌意；对此他早已习惯了。
看到莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜那从紧身胸衣上方露出的黄色肩膀，以及她那双召唤他过去的美丽而沉思的眼睛，阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇微微一笑，露出了洁白完好的牙齿，向她走去。
莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜的裙子让她费了不少心思，她最近所有的裙子都是如此。她现在着装的目标与三十年前追求的完全相反。那时她希望用一些装饰品来打扮自己，越装饰越好。现在正好相反，她被迫穿戴上与她的年龄和身材极不协调的东西，以至于她唯一的焦虑是如何使这些装饰品与她外表之间的反差不那么骇人。就阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇而言，她成功了，在他眼中她是迷人的。对他来说，她是那包围着他的敌意和嘲笑之海中唯一的岛屿——不仅对他怀有善意，而且充满爱意。
穿过一排排讥讽的目光，他像植物被阳光吸引一样，自然而然地被她那充满爱意的目光所吸引。
"我祝贺您，"她说，眼睛看着他的绶带。
他抑制住喜悦的笑容，耸了耸肩，闭上眼睛，仿佛在说那不会让他感到快乐。莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人非常清楚，那是他主要的满足来源之一，尽管他从不承认。
"我们的天使怎么样？"莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人问，指的是谢廖沙。
"我不能说对他十分满意，"阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇说，扬起眉毛，睁开眼睛。"西特尼科夫对他也不满意。"（西特尼科夫是负责谢廖沙世俗教育的家庭教师。）"正如我跟您提过的，他对那些应当触动每个人和每个孩子心灵的最重要问题有些冷漠……"阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇开始阐述他除了公务之外唯一关心的问题——儿子的教育。
当阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇在莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜的帮助下重新恢复生机和活力时，他觉得有责任承担起对他留下的儿子的教育。以前从未对教育问题感兴趣过的阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇花了一些时间从理论上研究这个问题。在阅读了几本人种学、教育学和教学法的书籍后，阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇制定了一个教育计划，并聘请了彼得堡最好的家庭教师来监督执行，他便着手工作，这个课题一直让他全神贯注。
"是的，但那颗心。我在他身上看到了他父亲的心，有这样的心，孩子不会走错的，"莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜热情地说。
"是的，也许吧……至于我，我只是尽我的责任。这是我所能做的一切。"
"您到我这儿来，"莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人停顿片刻后说，"我们得谈一件对您来说很痛苦的事。我宁愿付出一切来避免让您想起某些事情，但别人并不是这么想的。我收到了'她'的一封信。'她'现在在彼得堡。"
提到妻子，阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇打了个寒颤，但他的脸上立刻呈现出那种死一般的僵硬，表明他对此完全无能为力。
"我预料到了，"他说。
莉迪亚·伊万诺夫娜伯爵夫人欣喜若狂地看着他，为他的灵魂之伟大而流下喜悦的泪水。
The levee was drawing to a close. People met as they were going away,
and gossiped of the latest news, of the newly bestowed honors and the
changes in the positions of the higher functionaries.
“If only Countess Marya Borissovna were Minister of War, and Princess
Vatkovskaya were Commander-in-Chief,” said a gray-headed, little old
man in a gold-embroidered uniform, addressing a tall, handsome maid of
honor who had questioned him about the new appointments.
“And me among the adjutants,” said the maid of honor, smiling.
“You have an appointment already. You’re over the ecclesiastical
department. And your assistant’s Karenin.”
“Good-day, prince!” said the little old man to a man who came up to
him.
“What were you saying of Karenin?” said the prince.
“He and Putyatov have received the Alexander Nevsky.”
“I thought he had it already.”
“No. Just look at him,” said the little old man, pointing with his
embroidered hat to Karenin in a court uniform with the new red ribbon
across his shoulders, standing in the doorway of the hall with an
influential member of the Imperial Council. “Pleased and happy as a
brass farthing,” he added, stopping to shake hands with a handsome
gentleman of the bedchamber of colossal proportions.
“No; he’s looking older,” said the gentleman of the bedchamber.
“From overwork. He’s always drawing up projects nowadays. He won’t let
a poor devil go nowadays till he’s explained it all to him under
heads.”
“Looking older, did you say? _Il fait des passions_. I believe Countess
Lidia Ivanovna’s jealous now of his wife.”
“Oh, come now, please don’t say any harm of Countess Lidia Ivanovna.”
“Why, is there any harm in her being in love with Karenin?”
“But is it true Madame Karenina’s here?”
“Well, not here in the palace, but in Petersburg. I met her yesterday
with Alexey Vronsky, _bras dessous, bras dessous_, in the Morsky.”
“_C’est un homme qui n’a pas_,...” the gentleman of the bedchamber was
beginning, but he stopped to make room, bowing, for a member of the
Imperial family to pass.
Thus people talked incessantly of Alexey Alexandrovitch, finding fault
with him and laughing at him, while he, blocking up the way of the
member of the Imperial Council he had captured, was explaining to him
point by point his new financial project, never interrupting his
discourse for an instant for fear he should escape.
Almost at the same time that his wife left Alexey Alexandrovitch there
had come to him that bitterest moment in the life of an official—the
moment when his upward career comes to a full stop. This full stop had
arrived and everyone perceived it, but Alexey Alexandrovitch himself
was not yet aware that his career was over. Whether it was due to his
feud with Stremov, or his misfortune with his wife, or simply that
Alexey Alexandrovitch had reached his destined limits, it had become
evident to everyone in the course of that year that his career was at
an end. He still filled a position of consequence, he sat on many
commissions and committees, but he was a man whose day was over, and
from whom nothing was expected. Whatever he said, whatever he proposed,
was heard as though it were something long familiar, and the very thing
that was not needed. But Alexey Alexandrovitch was not aware of this,
and, on the contrary, being cut off from direct participation in
governmental activity, he saw more clearly than ever the errors and
defects in the action of others, and thought it his duty to point out
means for their correction. Shortly after his separation from his wife,
he began writing his first note on the new judicial procedure, the
first of the endless series of notes he was destined to write in the
future.
