The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-05-13
ECCENTRIC LSTOI,
His Toilet, His Diet, and His Daily Round
of Life.

Count Leo Tolstoi reads, writes and
receives his friends in his bedroom.
1t is an apartment some fifteen feet
square without a carpet and always
underheated. In one corner stands an
old green leather sofa on which he
sleeps with single rug. His couch is
quite unincumbered with mattress.
sheets or pillows. Near the sofa there
is a pile of boot lasts, avis, knives,
leather strips and all sorts of shoe
makers materials. Weaving ma
chinery, half-finished cloths, pitch
forks. picks and shovels lie in the
widest confusion all over the rest of
the room, so that stranger, suddenly
set down in it, would think himself in
the quarters of peasant, a weaver,
and shoemaker. The only thing to
disturb his belief in the occupancy of
the humble trinity would be great
case full of books, many in the most
expensive bindings imaginable, for,
with all his simple notions, Count Toll
stoi is bibliophile.
The philosophers daily life is occu-
pied with all sorts of duties which a
man of letters is usually supposed not
to discharge. He rises at 5 o'clock,
water on his head, neck and breast.
include only blue checked jumper of
linen, pair of trousers, and heavy,
ill-ftting peasants boots. He never
brushes his hair, and his apology for
combing it is the thrusting through it
twice of the five fingers of his left
hand
A. oSoIooI- bo Io,roe b;e ,ooo, for
the dining room on the second floor.
There the counts guests and scholars,
of whom there is always burdensome
number at the Jesnada Poljana castle,
are already assembled for tea. Their
host never joins them in taking the
great Russian beverage, however. He
prefers coffee. The rest of the break
fast consists of white bread, fresh but
ter cream, and a peculiar cheese
which Tolstoi prepares with his own
hands. Most of the breakfast party
come and go from month to month.
Three persons only are regular MEM
bers of it year in and year out. They
are the Countess Anna Michallowna
and the counts two young daughters,
Nadeshda and Ljubow Qove). The
conversation at breakfast is light, even
to the point of friyolity. The daily
news the domestic aft , IS of the cas-
tie, and family matters at large are
usually the subjects. Tolstoi chooses
this style of topics, for he prefers to
discuss his doctrine and his works only
in his work-room.
He devotes his time between break
fast and noon to cleaning stovepipes,
polishing stoves, mending boots, shov-
cling snow in winter, and other like
manual labor. From u to l he Dimes
His dinner. as well as his o'clock
supper, consists of milk and butter,
and the same sort of cheese and bread
as his breakfast. Count Tolstoi chooses
this curious diet because he is vege-
tartan. He defends the opinion that
man has no right TO kill and consume
living organism. The Russian
painter, He, once asked Tolstoi: is
not the vegetable living organism?"
The count thought profoundly for sew
eral minutes, aud then replied: 'Well.
in time science may help us to such an
extent that we will not find it neces-
sary to kill even a vegetable organ
ISM
From to 3 o'clock p. m. Tolstoi
receives the calls of scholars and
guests. He talks freely and deeply
with all. He rarely plunges into a
conversation of any length, however.
without setting out for himself and his
visitor two glasses of peasant kvas of
his own brew. Count Tolstoi's hours
for writing are from 3 or o'clock to
6. After supper he works at shoe
making for Il little while or sees his
family, then gets out of his jumper.
trousers and boots. and crawls in be-
tween his rug and green leather sofa
for the niUht