Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-08
EXILE
TELLS OF LIFE
TALKS TO MEMS MEETING AT
Y. m. C. A.
Is a Member of the Russian Aristoe-
raey and Was Sent to Siberia
for Activity in
Politics

witzky, an exile from Russia, yester-
! day afternoon before the mems meet
| ing at the Y. M. c. A. The count is a
| fluent speaker and told of his trials
and prosecutions in the land Of the
great white czar. lie said in part.
Before 7 approach my subject and
| tell you what Jesus Christ meant and
means to me / have to tell you who
/ am and what 1 was.
\ ~ was born in 1871 in st. Petersburg,
| Russia. My parents were of the Oldest
aristocratic families in Russia, dating
from the beginning Of the twelfth cen-
tury. NV father was an honest states
man, straightforward and liberal
minded man, fifty years in advance of
his times. He was a Christian in the
| full sense of the word. He never
missed a chance to attend church; he
gave away secretly liberal aims; he al
ways had for everybody that word of
kindest sympathy, of hope and cheer
that awakened in people (fallen even to
deepest degradation) that sparkle of
| light, love and good that often re-
deemed them and brought to Jesus
Christ. He taught me to look upon
every man as upon a brother. He was
a general for thirty-siX years and one
OF the assistants of the minister of
war of the Russian empire, before
ers of military districts (who had 10000
soldiers under their command) would
shrink and tremble when my father
would only glance at them (having
found out their crookedness, graft or
brutal i'll treatment of soldiers), he
would call in and invite to our table
a passing beggar who begged for aims
in the name of Christ and treat the
man with our best, as If the person was
ID H.. .4r.A T. l.]1wz -
cripple or an aged poorly clad person to
cross a crowded fashionable thorough
fare, to the amazement and disapproval
of passers by.
Tried to Follow Lessons
"I tried to follow the object lessons
in humanitarianism Of my late father,
but as I grew older I became more and
more attached to the things of the
world, and to the false teachings of
society. 1 was at that time an Off
Ger of a crack cavalry regiment of the
guards. I had plenty of money and
was spoiled by everybody. 1 was (as I
see it now little czar' in my own
little society world and was not very
bad boy I thought that was much
better than other officers, for I never
struck soldier or commissioned
officer during drill; I never failed to
throw aims while riding in my car
riage to some beggars, but I had no
time to question them, to enter into
their wants, into the lives Of the other
half of the Russian people. I was
speeding to pink tea of Princess So
and So, or Baroness So and So and
could not be late, and then what would
the Russian Mrs. Grandy say If she
saw me talking to a dirty beggar man
Cr woman in the streets? No, no; had
no time, some other day would see to
help them more, but today I'll throw a
quarter or 20 cents to them. Go on,
coachman, or I'll be late at the theater.
And so L lived. thinking only of my
pleasures, of my social duties, of not
breaking the rules of conventionality
and l forgot Christ! But in his loving
kindness he did not forget me. a poor
sinner, and by a marvellous chain of
tests of my faith, brought me to him
self, and now I'll tell you what he did
for me.
Sees the Light
God made some noble-minded people
cross my path and open my eyes to the
question how the other half lives.
Like scales fell from my mental eyes
and I became most unhappy man, in
spite that was at that time 1S97) at
the height of my career; everything
was coming my way. / had a beauti-
full, loving wife, had two little cherub
boys. I was esteemed by my chief and
comrades, l was promoted, decorated
and so on I became very proud, but
1 could not sleep. I could not eat deli
cate rarebits when I knew the Russian
people were starving, living under ter
rible oppression of the cruel and un-
scrupulous officials in ignorance and
wretchedness.
"I determined to give my mite to the
cause of uplifting these people. I
opened a free school on my estate with
the hope that education would make
the new generation happier, but my
father and even myself had powerful
enemies. / was accused of having
started q secret school to spread anti
governmental ideas and was arrested
on the evening of the day when my
beloved father-in-law, Count Luxem-
burg, had died.
Lack of time prevents me from tell
ing you how was morally and physi-
cally tortured by the gendarmes during
the fifteen months of solitary secluslon
in the fortress of st. Peter and Paul.
I was put in dark damp cell, in which
felt myself already buried, so like a
grave was it. No trial was given
me. / hoped and prayed to be released
and restored to my family. but instead
of that by order of the present czar
was oCllSiSNdB WlNliOhL a. uOdllh6 ONClii
to four years of hard labor. At that
time we did not hear about brain
storms, but surely experienced many.
One day 1 wanted to escape to punish
my enemies; another. wanted to COM
nit suicide. hoped that would
awaken from a terrible nightmare and
find myself among my dear family.
But no. 1t was real that was a con-
vict by Russian law dead one My
wife from that moment was a widow,
free to marry if she chose. My chill
dren Gone was born while / was in the
fortress)-orphans, my property was
confiseated When / had been parted
from my dear ones, when heavy chains
were put on my feet-who never knew
but silk and the lightest
shoes-but now swollen from rheuma-
tism and scurvy from lack of air, the |
same unhealthy food and lack of exer-
else, I felt that was really alone in |
the world and was dead to all my
happy past. / felt that I had no pro-
tector, not a single friend but Jesus
Christ. who shed his blood for all sin