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Levin and he were very friendly, and so Levin used to venture to

sound Sviazhsky, to try to get at the very foundation of his view

of life; but it was always in vain. Every time Levin tried to

penetrate beyond the outer chambers of Sviazhsky's mind, which

were hospitably open to all, he noticed that Sviazhsky was

slightly disconcerted; faint signs of alarm were visible in his

eyes, as though he were afraid Levin would understand him, and he

would give him a kindly, good-humored repulse.