The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1889-10-02

Interesting Anecdotes of Tolstoi and Meii-
kon.

Interesting Anecdotes OF Tolstoi and Meii-
koff.
From the Gear down to the humblest
mujik, the Russians are more or less
barbarians, from the point of view OF
the refined West, but certainly most
amiable barbarians, SO far as foreign
ers are concerned. As an example of
the strange contrasts of real Russia we
We Will cite two anecdotes that were
related to us by IA distinguished official.
The conversation happened to turn
upon General Loris Melikoff, the
famous chief of the dreaded Third
Section" The Emperor. we were told
by our informant, had given Loris
Melikoff unbounded power to act
against the nihilists, and had virtually
created him Vice Emperor, as Melikoff
himself used to say. Now, Melikoff
had discovered that one of the leading
nihilist chiefs was in the habit of fire.
quently visiting Count Tolstoi the
novelist, and one day he went out to
Tolstoi's country house Before the
visitor had announced himself, Tolstoi
recognized him, agd said:
"You are Lois Melikoff, chief of the
Third Section. Do YOU come to see
me officially, or as a private man? If
you come officially, here are my keys !;
search; open everything. You are
free"
Il come not officially replied Nell
koff.
"Very good, answered Tolstoi, and
calling two muiiks he said to them :
3 |, =, % l, hxTt
The muiiks obeyed Tolstoi TO the
letter, and Loris Melikoff had TO ac-
cept this treatment, for in his way
Tolstoi is a mightier man than even
"our father the Gar" In the eyes of
the Russian people he is an exceptional
being being more than a saint and al
most a savior.
The mention of Loris Melikoff
brought up another anecdote. Some
twelve years ago the Emperor sent for
Melikoff and annouced to him that the
plague was raging in two villages of
the empire, and ordered him to do
whatever was needful with view to
stopping its ravages at the same time
giving him unlimited POWERS.
Thereupon Lor1s Melikoff went first
of all TO the Minister of Finance,
informed him that he should per-
haps require great deal of money
In order TO carry out the Emperor's
commands, and demanded n credit of
$4,000, 900 of rubles. The Minister of
Finance made long face, but was UNI
able to refuse Loris Melikoff then
posted to the village in question, and,
having observed the situation, he tele-
graphed for twenty fire-engines TO be
sent from the neighboring towns, had
the pumps charged with petroleum,
and ordered the fremen to approach
the villages by night, inundate the cot
tages with petroleum, set them on fire,
and save nobody. The order was exc
cuted, the cottages and their few hun
dred nhabitants-men, women, chill
dren, and cattle-were burned to ashes,
and those two villages disappeared
from the map of Russia and from the
registers of the empire. The measure
was radical, but it stamped out the
plague effectually. Loris Melikoff
thereupon reported to the Emperor
that his command had been executed,
and then called on the Minister of
Finance to tell him that out of the
credit of $4,000, coo of rubles granted
to him he had only spent 300 rubles to
buy petroleum, and that consequently
his excellency the Minister could dis
pose of the balance. Theodore Child,
az Harper'S Magazine.