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"If there was anything on her side at the time, it was nothing

but a superficial attraction," pursued Oblonsky. "His being such

a perfect aristocrat, don't you know, and his future position in

society, had an influence not with her, but with her mother."

Levin scowled. The humiliation of his rejection stung him to the

heart, as though it were a fresh wound he had only just received.

But he was at home, and the walls of home are a support.