第561章

第561章therewereagreatmanyladies，amongthemseveralmoscowacquaintancesofnikolay’s；butamongthementherewasnoonewhocouldbecomparedwiththecavalierofst.george，thegallanthussar，thegood-natured，well-bredcountrostov.amongthementherewasanitalianprisoner—anofficerofthefrencharmy；andnikolayfeltthatthepresenceofthisprisonergaveanaddedlustretohim—therussianhero.hewas，asitwere，atrophyofvictory.nikolayfeltthis，anditseemedtohimasthougheveryonelookedattheitalianinthesamelight，andhetreatedtheforeignofficerwithgraciousdignityandreserve.

assoonasnikolaycameininhisfull-dressuniformofanofficerofhussars，diffusingafragranceofscentandwineabouthim，andsaidhimselfandheardseveraltimessaidtohim，thewords，“betterlatethannever，”peopleclusteredroundhim.alleyeswereturnedonhim，andhefeltatoncethathehadsteppedintoapositionthatjustsuitedhiminaprovincialtown—apositionalwaysagreeable，butnowafterhislongprivationofsuchgratifications，intoxicatinglydelightful—thatofauniversalfavourite.notonlyattheposting-stations，atthetaverns，andinthesmoking-roomofthehorse-breedinggentleman，hadhefoundservant-girlsflatteredbyhisattention，buthere，atthegovernor’sassembly，therewere（soitseemedtonikolay）aninexhaustiblemultitudeofyoungmarriedladiesandprettygirls，whowereonlywaitingwithimpatienceforhimtonoticethem.theladiesandtheyounggirlsflirtedwithhim，andtheoldpeoplebeganevenfromthisfirsteveningbestirringthemselvestotryandgetthisgallantyoungrakeofanhussarmarriedandsettleddown.amongthelatterwasthegovernor’swifeherself，whoreceivedrostovasthoughhewereanearkinsman，andcalledhim“nikolay.”

katerinapetrovnadidinfactproceedtoplaywaltzesandécossaises，anddancingbegan，inwhichnikolayfascinatedthecompanymorethaneverbyhiselegance.hesurprisedeveryoneindeedbyhispeculiarlyfreeandeasystyleindancing.nikolaywasalittlesurprisedhimselfathisownstyleofdancingatthatsoirée.hehadneverdancedinthatmanneratmoscow，andwouldindeedhaveregardedsuchanextremelyfreeandeasymannerofdancingasnotcorrect，asbadstyle；butherehefeltitincumbentonhimtoastonishthemallbysomethingextraordinary，somethingthattheywouldbesuretotakefortheusualthinginthecapital，thoughnewtothemintheprovinces.

alltheeveningnikolaypaidthemostmarkedattentiontoablue-eyed，plump，andpleasinglittleblonde，thewifeofoneoftheprovincialofficials.withthena？veconvictionofyoungmenwhoareenjoyingthemselves，thatothermen’swivesarecreatedfortheirspecialbenefit，rostovneverleftthislady’sside，andtreatedherhusbandinafriendlyway，almostasthoughtherewereaprivateunderstandingbetweenthem，asthoughtheyknewwithoutspeakingofithowcapitallythey，thatis，hownikolayandthewife，wouldgeton.thehusbanddidnot，however，appeartosharethisconviction，andtriedtotakeagloomytonewithrostov.butnikolay’sgood-humouredna？vetéwassolimitlessthatattimesthehusbandcouldnothelpbeingdrawnintohisgayhumour.towardstheendoftheevening，however，asthewife’sfacegrewmoreflushedandanimated，thehusband’sgrewsteadilymoremelancholyandstolid，asthoughtheyhadagivenallowanceoflivelinessbetweenthem，andasthewife’sincreased，thehusband’sdwindled.