صفحة 737 من 2288

Darya Alexandrovna had done her hair, and dressed with care and

excitement. In the old days she had dressed for her own sake to

look pretty and be admired. Later on, as she got older, dress

became more and more distasteful to her. She saw that she was

losing her good looks. But now she began to feel pleasure and

interest in dress again. Now she did not dress for her own sake,

not for the sake of her own beauty, but simply that as the mother

of those exquisite creatures she might not spoil the general

effect. And looking at herself for the last time in the

looking-glass she was satisfied with herself. She looked nice.

Not nice as she would have wished to look nice in old days at a

ball, but nice for the object which she now had in view.