Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-26
COUNT TOLSTOY,,
HIS NOBLE WIFE.
A Gifted Woman Who Deserves
No Small Measure of Her Illus.
trious Husbands Fame.
FIGHTS FOR HUSBANDS RIGHTS
A Glimpse of Her Home in Moscow,
And of the Family Life at
Yasnaya POlyana.
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
London oct. philosophers, au-
thors, teachers those who go to learn,
those who go to worship at the shrine
OF Count Tolstoy those who take the
long trip out to Yasnaya Polyana for
mere curiostys sake, an Of them catch
only fleeing glimpses Of the wonderful
woman, Countess Tolstoy Those who
go to the Tolstoy home on busmess-as
| have lately done--see more OF her and
appreciate to the fun the fact that but
for her TolstOy would today be a beg
gar; a deCrepit invalid with his physi-
cal powers wasted and gone years ago,
practically unknown to the world, With
out publishers to scatter his teachings
broadcast as soon as he was ready TO
give them forth
Perhaps this sounds rathet strong,
hut the writer who has spent some days
I'm the Tolstoy family, he's had excellent
opportunities Of judging Of the great
noVelists Wife, ana has since had a
rather definite idea that she has de-
| served a larger share Of her husbands
fame than the public has generally ac-
corded To her So many or us have
, written so much about Count Tolstoy
that It may be OF interest TO devote
| short article TO his wife, giving there
| In some first-hand Impressions
A GIFTED WOMAN.
Madame Tolstoy, handsome highly
| educated, practical, has been the pow
| er behind the throne. engineer Of the
! elaborate Tolstoy machinery. which so
| speedily would have gone to smash
without her. She persists In keeping
herself In the background and Is quite
content to remain unknown, But If she
survives her husband as IS moro than
| likely as she Is 20 years his junior. she
| probably viii have yet the recognition
which her intellectual powers and ac-
complshments should bring her
When Count Tolstoy met her she was
mere girl, the daughter OF physician
! In MOSCOW He was already a faded
man of the world with strange relig-
ious ideas Just beginning to crop out.
He knew the women OF the Russian
arlstocracy well, and had decided In his
own mind that there were no good wo-
men In the world and that he would
never marry
SO In his customary erratic way, he
sold the lovely old mansion on his coun-
try estate, which had come TO him
through his grandfather one of Cath
crime the Greats famous generals. Then
he met the countess and she changed
the whole world for him. They We're
married In 1862 and she began her life OF
constant self sacrifice by going out to
a little hut on the Polyana estate-all
that was left Of the big house.
CAPABLE ENOUGH FOR TWO.
There she lived for II years in a lone
~ deserted place, miles away from any
town. Tolstoy was then going up and
| down the Russian empire studying So
clal conditions and absent from home
for months at q time The countess
attended 10 her houseWork--they were
too poor 10 have many seryants-she
nursed each one OF her thirteen chill
dren, she dispensed with governesses
and taught them herself German,
French, ana English, gave them music
lessons made their clothes and her
own. Then as soon as her husband be-
gan book, she began revising it,trans-
lating II from Russian into French or
German copying II In her clear hand
writing so that the printer could read
it-she Is about the only person who
can make head or tail of the counts
writing-and attending tn the publica-
tion OF the book when IL was finished
And every night during these long,
lonely seventeen years at polyana. she
dressed herself FOR dinner with all the
dignity that a Countess Tolstoy, wife
Of the head Of one of the nOblest fami-
lies in Russia, should observe. She
never had beautiful or costly gown
for many years, but she always man
aged to appear Ike the great lady she
Is. and she had a few wonderful old
jewels which were family heirlooms.
Count Tolstoy pays no attention at all
TO the royalties on his books, and he
even went so far years ago as 10 de-
clare TO his wife that they had no
| right TO receive money for his work.
But AS the family property had to be
sold piece by piece 10 get the money
10 buy bread for the children. Countess
Tolstoy reballed and threatened To leave
him unless he let her collect the money
which was due him. She thought they
had MS much right 10 Il as the publish
ers who were getting rich from the
counts hooks, SO now all the business
is transacted through her
THE LITTLE HOUSE IN MOSCOW
She has paid or an the debts on III,
estate and q few years ago she bough
Il p;cuy little house In Moscow which
r,trs h.r a v.UEcc TO See somethnl
't We ara people and know what Il
E,'Gt uu iu H., world. IL stands In
& 5rllSn,iu Slrien and there Is hricl
| Nali scvcu feet high surrounding 10 90
. tina, ',- fatally i've there almost as Sc
. cNGsd "a in the country. The hous
Is low ana two-storied, plastfrcd ON th
: outside as e. the custom iu Russia
and with small windows.
There IL q small room on the frs
, Goor whore visitors are generally show
. nist, then taken 90 the draoingroor
upstairs, where the countess is 90 b
I found Il Is a large room with
low ceiling furnished very simply wit
7 FHt..N ID Grand MINI