During the whole of that time he was alternately in two different moods. One mood when not in her presence: when with the doctor, who smoked one thick cigarette after another and extinguished them against the rim of the overflowing ashpan; when with Dolly and the Prince, where they talked about dinner, politics, or Mary Petrovna's illness, and when Levin suddenly quite forgot for an instant what was happening and felt just as if he was waking up; and the other was in her presence, by her pillow, where his heart was ready to burst with pity and yet did not burst, and there he prayed unceasingly to God.
Durante aquellas horas interminables, Levin conoció alternativamente dos diferentes estados de ánimo: uno, cuando alejado de Kitty estaba con el doctor, que fumaba uno tras otro gruesos cigarros, apagándolos en el borde del cenicero, lleno ya de ceniza, o bien cuando estaba con Dolly o con el Príncipe y hablaban de política, de la enfermedad de María Petrovna o sobre otro tema cualquiera, en animada conversación. En estos momentos, Levin olvidaba por completo lo que le estaba –ocurriendo a su esposa y sentía firme su ánimo y despierto su pensamiento.