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"Yes, but women with a shadow usually come to a bad end," said

Anna's friend.

"Bad luck to your tongue!" said Princess Myakaya suddenly.

"Madame Karenina's a splendid woman. I don't like her husband,

but I like her very much."

"Why don't you like her husband? He's such a remarkable man,"

said the ambassador's wife. "My husband says there are few

statesmen like him in Europe."

"And my husband tells me just the same, but I don't believe it,"

said Princess Myakaya. "If our husbands didn't talk to us, we

should see the facts as they are. Alexey Alexandrovitch, to my

thinking, is simply a fool. I say it in a whisper ... but doesn't

it really make everything clear? Before, when I was told to

consider him clever, I kept looking for his ability, and thought

myself a fool for not seeing it; but directly I said, he's a

fool, though only in a whisper, everything's explained, isn't

it?"

"How spiteful you are today!"