The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-01-24
AMIABLE BARBARIANs.


N"'~OLE 6AHBARIANS.
Anecdote Of Tolstoi. the Russian Nove,,st.
ana General Melikoff.
From the Tsar down to the bnmh,as.
mujik. the Russians are more or less
oaroarians. from the point of view of
the refined West, but certainly most
amlabie barbarians, so far as foreion-
ers are concerned. Their hospitality
knows ho limits; no trouble is too
great when it is question of obligine
d foreign visitor; but charming as thew
are you are constantly being reminded
OF the wildness of their real underly-
ing nature by the strange contrasts OF
dellcacy and brutality, of civilization
ana barbarism. which their daily life
offers. To hear the Russians talk
about the unwritten contemporary
history OF their social and national
life is like listening to the stories of
the Arabian Nights. The true nara
tive of Skobeleff's career and death.
and the true narrative of the circum-
stances OF the assassination of the late
Isar. are far more thrilling and ex-
traordinary than print has ever told.
AS an example of the strange con-
trasts of real Russia we will cite two
anecdotes that were related to us by a
distinguished official. 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 Melikoff.
the famous chief of the dreaded third
section" The Emperor, we were told
by our informant. had given Lorin
Melikoff unbOunded power to act
against the Nihilists, and had virtually
created him vice-Emperor, as Melikofi
himself used to say. Now, Melikofi
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
Tolstois country house. Before the
uisitor 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 private man? If you
come officially. here are my keys
search, open every thing. You are
free"
Il come not officially" replied Nell
koff.
Very good" answered Tolstoi; and
calling two mujiks, he said to them
Throw this man out of the houser'
The muiiks Obeyed Tolstoi to the
letter, and Loris Melikoff had to accept
this trea ,nent, for in his way Tolsto
is mightier man even than 'oul
father the Tsar." In the eyes of the
Russian people he is an exceptional
being, being more than a saint, and
almost a savior.
The mention of LOris Melikof
brought up another anecdote. Some
twelve years ago the Emperor sent fol
Melikoff and announced to him that the
plague was raging in two villages O.
the empire, and ordered him to de
whatever was needful with view tc
stopping its ravages, at the same time
giving him unlimited powers.
Thereupon Loris Melikoff went first
of all to the Minister of Finance. in.
formed him that he should perhaps re.
quire a great deal of money in order tt
carry out the Emperor's commands
and demanded credit of fifty millions
of rubles. The Minister of Finance
made a long face, but was unable to re-
fuse. Loris Melikoff then posted to the
villages in question, and having OBJ
served the situation, he 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 villages
by night, inundate the cottages with
petroleum, set them on fire and save
nobody. The order was executed; the
cottages and their few hundred inhab
.tants-men, women, children and cat
tle-were burned to ashes, and those
two villages disappeared from the maj
of Russia and from the registers o.
the empire. The measure was radical
but it stamped out the plague effectu-
ally. Loris Melikoff thereupon re-
ported to the Emperor that his com
mands had been executed. and then
called on the Minister of Finance tc
tell him that out of the credit of fifty
millions of rubles granted to him he
had spent only two Hundred rubies to
buy petroleum. and that consequently
his Excellency the Minister could dis
pOes 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 char
acteristic of the Russian temperament.
Theodore Child, in Harper's Maya
zine.