"Wasn't my hair in disorder?" thought Kitty, but seeing the enthusiastic smile that lighted up Levin's face, she felt that on the contrary the impression she had produced was good, and she replied, blushing and laughing merrily:—
"Truly, I don't remember."
"How heartily Turovtsuin laughs!" said Levin, looking at his moist eyes and his sides shaking with laughter.
"Have you known him long?" asked Kitty.
"Who doesn't know him?"
"And I see that you think that he is a bad man."
"Not bad; but he doesn't amount to much."
"That is unjust. I beg you not to think so any more," said Kitty. "I, too, once had a very poor opinion of him; but he is a sweet-tempered and wonderfully good man. His heart is gold."
"How can you know what kind of a heart he has?"
"We are great friends. I know him very well. Last winter, a short time after—after you were at our house," said she, rather guiltily, but with a confiding smile, "Dolly's children had the scarlatina, and one day Turovtsuin happened to call on my sister. Would you believe it?" she said, lowering her voice: "he was so sorry for her that he stayed to take care of the little invalids. For three weeks he played nurse to the children. .... I am telling Konstantin Dmitritch of Turovtsuin's kindness at the time of the scarlatina," said she, turning to her sister.
"Yes, it was remarkable; it was lovely!" replied Dolly, looking with a grateful smile at Turovtsuin, who was conscious that they were talking about him. Levin also looked at him, and was surprised that he had never understood him till then.
"I plead guilty, and I will never again think ill of people," said he, gayly, speaking honestly, exactly as he thought at the time.
