not dull by oneself,” Levin replied abruptly.

“I am fond of the country,” said Vronsky, noticing, and affecting not to notice, Levin’s tone.

“But I hope, count, you would not consent to live in the country always,” said Countess Nordston.

“I don’t know; I have never tried for long. I experienced a queer feeling once,” he went on. “I never longed so for the country, Russian country, with bast shoes and peasants, as when I was spending a winter with my mother in Nice. Nice itself is dull enough, you know. And indeed, Naples and Sorrento are only pleasant for a short time. And it’s just there that Russia comes back to me most vividly, and especially the country. It’s as though...”