Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1889-09-26
AMIABLE BARBARIANS.
Anecdotes Told About TOlstOi and
MelikOff.

From the Gar down to the humblest
mujik the Russians are more or less Bar
barians from the point of view of the re-
fined West, but certainly most amiable
barbarians so far as foreigners are con-
cerned. Their hospitality knows no limits;
no trouble is too great when it is question
of obliging foreign visitor; but, charming
as they are, you are constantly being re-
minded OF the wildness of their real un-
derlying nature by the strange contrasts of
delicacy and brutality, OF civilization and
barbarlsm, which their daily life offers. To
hear the Russians talk about the under
written contemporary history of their So
cial and national life is like listening to the
stories of the Arabian Nights" The true
narrative of Skobeleff's career and death,
and the true narrative of the circumstances
of the assassination of the late Gar, are
far more thrilling and extraordinary than
print has ever told
As an example Of the strange contrasts of
real Russia we will cite two anecdotes that
were related to us by a distinguished off,
cial, whose intention was certainly not to
throw dust in our eyes, or even to astonish
us beyond measure. The conversatiOn
happened to turn upon General LOris Nell
koff, the famous chief of the dreaded third
section" The Emperor,we were told by our
informant, had given Loris Melikoff un-
bounded power to act against the Nihllists,
and had virtually created him vice En-
peror, as MelikOff himself used to say.
Now Milikoff had discovered that one of
the leading Nihilist chiefs was in the habit
of frequently visiting Count Tolstoi, the
novelist, and one day he went out to Toll
stoi's country house. Before the visitor
had announced himself, Tolstoi recognized
him, and said:
You are Loris Melikoff, chief of the
third section. Do you come to see me
officially, or as q private man? If you
come officially, here are my keys; search;
open everything You are free"
II come not officially" replied Melikof.
Very good" answered TolstOi; and call
ing two mujiks, he said to them: Throw
this man out of the housew
The mujiks obeyed Tolstoi to the letter,
and Loris Melikoff had to accept this
treatment, for in his way Tolstoi is a
mightier man even than "Our father the
Gar" In the eyes of the Russian people
he is an exceptional being, being more than
q saint and almost a savior.
The mention of Loris Melikoff brought
up another anecdote Some twelve years
ago the Emperor sent for Melikoff and an
nounced to him that the plague was raging
in two villages Of the empire, and ordered
him to do whatever was needful with q
view to stopping its ravages, at the same
time giving him unlimited powers.
Thereupon LOris Melikoff went first of
all to the Minister OF Finance, informed
him that he should perhaps require great
deal of money in order to carry out the
Emperor's commands, and demanded
credit of 5O,OO00OO rubles. The Minister
of Finance made q long face, but was
unable to refuse. Loris Melikoff then
posted to the villages in question, and hav-
ing observed the situation, telegraphed for
twenty fire engines to be sent from the
neighboring towns, had the pumps charged
with petroleum, and ordered the fremen to
approach the village by night, inundate
the cottages with petroleum, set them on
fire and save nobody. The order was exc
cuted; the cottages and their few hundred
inhabitants-men, women, children and
cattle-were burned to ashes, and these
two villages disappeared from the map of
Russia and from the registers of the en-
pire. The measure was radical, but it
stamped out the plague effectually. Lor;s
Melikoff thereupon reported to the Empe-
ror that his commands had been executed
and then called on the Minister of Finance
to tell him that out Of the credit of 50,OOO,-
600 rubles granted to him he spent only
200 rubles to buy petroleum, and that con-
sequently his Excellency the Minister
could dispose of the balance.
In both of these stories, which we have
reason to believe to be literally exact, we
find that curious mixture of the grandiose,
of ostentation and of barbaric recklessness
which are characteristic of the Rut sian
temperament.