was a member. But even if Karenin had not been able to get this place for his brother-in-law, a hundred other people—brothers, sisters, cousins, second cousins, uncles, aunts—would have got it for Stiva Oblonsky, or some place as good, together with the six thousand rubles' salary which he needed for his establishment, his affairs being somewhat out of order in spite of his wife's considerable fortune.
Half the people of Moscow and St. Petersburg were relatives or friends of Stepan Arkadyevitch; he was born into the society of the rich and powerful of this world. A third of the older officials attached to the court and in government employ had been friends of his father, and had known him from the time when he wore petticoats; a second third addressed him familiarly in the second person singular; the others were "hail fellows well met." He had, therefore, as his friends, all those whose function it is to dispense earthly blessings in the shape of places, leases, concessions, and the like, and who could not neglect their own. And so Oblonsky had no special difficulty in obtaining an excellent place. All he had to do was not to shirk, not to be jealous, not to be quarrelsome, not to be thin-skinned, and he never gave way to these faults, because of his natural good temper. It would have seemed ridiculous to him if he had been told that he could not have any salaried place that he wanted, because it did not seem to him that he demanded anything extraordinary. He asked only for what his companions were obtaining, and he felt that he was as capable as any of them of performing the duties of such a position.
Stepan Arkadyevitch was liked by every one for his good and amiable character and his unimpeachable honesty. There was moreover something in his brilliant and attractive personality, in his bright, sparkling eyes, his black brows, his hair, his vivid coloring, which exercised a strong physical influence as of friendliness and gayety on those who came in touch with him.
"Aha, Stiva! Oblonsky! Here he is!" people would generally say, with a smile of pleasure. Even if
