Morris tribune., 1899-07-29
LIFE OF TOLSTOI.
INCARNATION CONCERNING HIS
EARLY LITERARY STRUGGLES.


Observation-Disclosures Tolstoi Profited by
the CeunseIs of NekrnssOT shown by
His s.War aud Peace"
Count Leo Tolstoi, to-day the most
remarkable figure in Russia. has once
more attracted the attention OF 81
Europe by his renewed attempts to Sc
cure imperial permission for the de-
portation of the members of the long
oppressed Dhoukhobortst.
The st. Petersburg Niva publishes
some interesting information with re-
gard to Tolstoi's early literary strug-
giles.
1t was in 1862 that Count Leo Tolstol
sent to The Contemporian of st. Pet
ersburg his first literary work. Child
hood" which he presented without
signature. It was only when the poet
Nekrassoff, who was the director OF
The Contemporian, urged him to sign
his writings and assured him that no
Russian review had the right to pub
fish an anonymous article that the
author decided to sign his name to MS
work. Nekrassoff praised his hrst
work, but at the same time wrote tc
TolStoi:
"As to the question of honoraries,
neglected to speak Of it in my first let
ter for the following reasons: 1t is the
custom with our reviews) not to pay
for the first work offered to the public
by debutant. Our greatest authors.
Gontcharof, Turgeneff. myself, we all
have passed by that road. 1 advise you
to submit to this rule, promising you
for your subsequent works the highest
price, the price we pay our best writer's
fifty rubles an impression leaf (s1x-
teen pages)' Another motive for my
omission Of this subject in my letter
was this: Before speaking Of 1t l
wished to see if the opinion of the pub
lie should accord with my own. 1t Is
certainly in your favor, I am very
happy to see that was not misled by
my opinion Of your first work, and It
is with lively satisfaction that offer
you the above conditions"
Three years later. in 1855, Tolstol
published In The Contemporary his
Souvenirs of Sevastopol." which SUI
fered severely at the hands of the CEN
sor In regard to that work Nekrassor
wrote to Tolst0i:
"The horrible mutilation which your
article suffered has turned my blood. l
cannot think of it even now without
work shall not be lost, It must always
bear witness to the rare power which
was able to exhibit a truth as strong
and as healthy as that contained In
your writings under conditions which
would have made it impossible for any
one but you to do such work. cam
not tell you how highly esteem your
writings, and to speak in general terms,
how highly I esteem the tendencies of
your talent and all the qualities which
render 1t so vigorous and so new. II
is just exactly what Russian society
needs-the truth. the truth Of which
here remains so little in our literature
since the death of Gogol. You are right
when you give so large place to his
love of truth. / do not know any one
in our day who makes himself eS
warmly loved as the one to whom [
write these words. and have only one
fear. It is that time and the misery OF
reality may make of you what they
have made of the majority of US by
killing the energy, without which there
are no writers-in fact. such as Ue
need in Russia. You are young, and
there are changes in course of prepara~
ton. which. let us hope, may finish |
well, and perhaps then your career
may be brilliant. will not console
you by saving that your work, even
mutilated as it is. has been considered |
admirable by many people. We who |
know the work In it's plentitude know |
that, mutilated as it is, it is only |
mass of words without cohesion. a |
work whose intimate meaning has dis |
appeared. Your story, the Coupe du |
Bois,' has suffered less from the CEN
sor, althoueh in that also several ines
timable features have been suppressed.
NY opinion of this novel is that in it's |
form it reminds us Of Turgenefr. buc
the resemblance ends there. All the
rest belongs to you alone, and you only
could have written it. Do not neglect I
such subjects. In all that concerns !
soldiers our literature furnishes moth
ing but trivalties. Under whatever
form you may express what you know
of military life your writings will be
and useful in the highest
degree.
That TOlstoi profited by the counse1s
of Nekrassoff we can see in his ceIe-
brated romance. "War and Peace
which he wrote not long after he re-
ceived the poets advice