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"I don't know why it is," responded Vronsky, "in all Moscow

people-present company of course excepted," he put in jestingly,

"there's something uncompromising. They are all on the defensive,

lose their tempers, as though they all want to make one feel

something...."

"Yes, that's true, it is so," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, laughing

good-humoredly.

"Will the train soon be in?" Vronsky asked a railway official.

"The train's signaled," answered the man.

The approach of the train was more and more evident by the

preparatory bustle in the station, the rush of porters, the

movement of policemen and attendants, and people meeting the

train. Through the frosty vapor could be seen workmen in short

sheepskins and soft felt boots crossing the rails of the curving

line. The hiss of the boiler could be heard on the distant rails,

and the rumble of something heavy.