The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-20

active service he began to write short
stories and novels. In this lite airy work
he had instant success, His boz ks re
praised by the critics, and read elges ly
by the novel readers of st. Pc, ersbGrg
and Moscow. When Tie war came TO a
close, Tolstoi was already a famous au-
thor and the career CT ct writer
was open before him. He made his home
now at st. Petersburg, and was re eived
wit open arms by the literary and fash
ionable circ. es CT the cap ia. He fire.
quenied the cubs d theatres, went to
balls and d.np.r parties, gambied, fought
duels. drank, and led generally the dis
slpated life VIII ch is the rule among men
of his class on the banks of tue Neva
But still he found no peace for his soll
In all these diversions. At bottom he
was always a serious man, Ion ing to le I'd
good life, and nct knowing how to set
10 work about it. He had long since lost
faith in the 70 mai reliEi of the Rus
sian Church, and he did not know where
10 look for a true religi n He travel d
abroad, and sought to discover the se-
cret Of right livirg from the learned men
whom he met in France and Germany and
England, but he received little hip fro n
them. When the serfs were freed in 1861
he went lack to the 90 ntiy 10 /, e, AMI
for a year or two occupied himse in en-
deavoring to ut them for their new fr e
DIN, establishing a ChoJl for them in his
own village of Yasnaia Poliana and act
ing as principal of it himself. 1t was
shortly after this that he married, and
for ten or fifteen years his domestic re-
lations the needs Of large family the
managemo MT of his es at $, the Compo-
sition of his great b oks. Anna Karen m
and War and Peace, SO engross d his at
tention that he was able to s lence he
demands Of his soul fer a tr-ly le yious
conception OF life.
Let us for a moment look at the man
Toistoi, as he was at fifty. He is @ rich
man with large landed estates. He is an
arlstocrat, a member of a noble family.
He is one of the most dist ngulshed
writers of the world, and his books are
translated into all the principal languages
He has a devoted wife and fine family
of children growing up around him
Would it be possible to find a man more
happily situated? And yet he tells us
that at fifty he could scarcely keep him
self from commi ing suicide. He felt he
had no religion, did not know what he
was living for, saw nothing in the future
but DEATH
But Tolstol was no coward, and suicide
is coward ce. He made up his mind to
find the truth II truth was to be found.
He began to read and study; he applied
to his friends, to the professors In the col
leges, and the pr ests in the churches.
For several years he strugg ed with the
great question of life and DEATH of good
and evil, but he obt lined little satisfac-
ton. He was a practical man. and he
wanted q practical religion that would
change the life of those that professed 1t,
but as he looked around him he saw re-
ligious people living much like the ire
ligious He was sure that they were de-
ceiving themselves with their forms and
ceremonies. He set to work then upon
the study of the Gospels for himself and
tried to permeate his mind with the spirit
Of the teachings of Jesus. He became
particularly attracted by the Sermon on
the Mount, ard read it again and again,
and gradually its meaning grew clearer
and clearer TO him. He became convinced
that the kernel of the Gospel was love,
love for God and love for men, love ex-
tending to our enemies and to those that
hate and prosecute u.s. love so strong
that It would prevent us under all cir
cumstances from usnig violence against
them, love shining like the sun or
heaven on the evil and on the good, on
the lust and unjust. This conviction
grew stronger and stronger In Tolstol
Consciousness until It filled his whole life
bNA@9NNs
filled with great Joy, ard he determined
70 dedicate the remainder OF mis-
davs to such works Of love as
he could perform. He looked upon
h,s mast life In the Tight of his new
love and felt profoundly disguised
with II. Was II possible to love his neigh
hor as himself and go on living In luxury
while his neighbors were overWhelmeo ny
noverty? Was 1t consistent with CHRIST
teaching for him to live as one Oh sIndl'
society Of rich and aristocrauc people
soornjng nine-tenths of mankind as their
,,Fariors refusing to sit at table with
,ha,,, or TO regard them as brothers, ana
thasa too. the very people who proVldea
.her, with the necessities and Injuries Oh
i,fA9 No. It was not. He would nave
acme with IL all. He would cease to separ-
ate himself from the mass of his felloWs
hv his dress, his manners and his occu-
nations. and he would admit nlmsell 70 "
what God made him, simple human
- Ijlre all the rest Accordingly, he
began to simplify his way of living, 70
wear n peasants clothes, to work win
bis bandA to do without the luxuries TO
which he had been accustomed. HIS love
extended beyond men to the animal world
He did not take up shooting again. for
he would not find pleasure in causing
main, and there are so many pleasures
which hurt no one lie Stoppcu eathls
meat. for he did not like the idea OF
slaughtering animals, and he soon found,
as many others had done. that he was
lust as well and strong In vegetarian
diat aa he had been before on a flesh diet.
lie went on writing as literary man,
hut no longer for fame or for money, but
rather TO make his new discovery known
TO the world, namely, that people would
be happy II they obeyed the command
ment OF Jesus, to love each other.
had the great pleasure Of visiting him
at his country home IL 1891, VIII he had
already been leading this life for a dozen
years. In his peasants blouse with his
patrlarchal beard, his kindly, searching
eyes, lis frank and sincere m1nner. bis
geniality, and his seriousness withal, h
looked as the early Christians must rave
looked and the love which had become
the essence Of his life Was evident In ey-
cry word and gesture. A lit g sto OF
an event which occurred a day or two
before my arrival will show how he as
ser,s his influence In his own family. II