Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-07-18

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k world by two stupendods facts the
81 Kremlin and Tolstoy
The Kremlin. with all It's churches ana
palaces. its giant bell and its giant can
non. symholizcs RdssiaS past. I"ISt"y'
with his aspirations and Inconsistencies
his unrest and mysticism symbolizes
Russians present.
Many think he Is Hike John the Zap
tist-a voice in the wilderness predicting
Russians future. Undoubtedly h" feels
himself called rs reformer When he
visited the Warthurg where the bIhl'
was translated lnto German, he wrote
into his diary only three words; Luther
Is great" Many think he Is the poIitical,-
religious, social md artistic Luther OF
Russia,
on the other hand. there are those
who believe he is insane. The same the
nrv has been advanced about the Apostle
paul. the prophet Mahomet and the lib
orator John Brown. Lomhroso goes SO
far ms To connect all genius with In
sanity.
Whatever view one might take, TolStoy
Is A stupendous fact; his philosophy vol
>anic force If crank, he Is the CO.
lossns of cranks. He is the one russian
who has conquered Japan. His works
\nve even been translated into Slamese'
He is the best known literary figure In
tho world today. PoScur or apostle, taRcr
or philosopher he IS the most INDUSTRIOUS
lunatic at large. The Inconsistencies or
his life, the absurditles Of his doctrine
Hre patent 10 all; here Is m anarchist
who teaches nonreSistance, an nristocrat
who follows the plow; yet his greatness
md influence none will question, for he
thinks with n sledgehammer, and his
works are read In frivolous Paris the
snme as in fnnatical Persia.
writing of Half IA Century.
Since Ibsen died he has been the only
,uthor of world wide fame. His great
novel, WAR and Peace" whose 1000
pages seem like Sarmatian steppes to
American readers accustomed to short
b,tes Is regarded by the Russians as their
"Iliad." II depicts the principal events
Of Napoleon's invasion, the burning Of
Moscow, the retreat of the 'grande
armee." 1t shows a Napoleon far different
from the traditional MAN Of Destiny"
1t is full OF horror and pity, like the
battlepictures of the painter Vcrest-
chaSln. II ms 'lput mum ~ '''"'N ''N
sentiment IN favor Of universal peace; In
fact. It Is not unlikely that the Car
called the famous conference Mt The
Hague under the influence Of Tolstoy' s
pen Flauhcrt, the great French novelist,
after reading WAR and Peace OK
claimed: "C'est du Shakespeare" which
ought to restrain Tolstoy bit when he
calls Shakespeare "repulsive and tedious. y
Others Of Tolstoys books have attained
equal celebrity and wide circulation.
anna Karenina" does for the life of the
family, the conflicts of individual souls,
what "Wnr and Peace" does for the
throes of nations. Anna Is woman who
stoops TO degradation and ultimately dies
by suicide. The curious courtship of Levin
and Kitty, as described In this novel, is
the counterpart of Tolstoys OWE love af
fair with Sofia Baer who became his
wife. He proposed to her in the same
manner, writing down with chalk the
first letters of the words In his sentences
and letting her guess them.
His last great novel, Resurrection,
pictures the repentance and eXpiatlon OF
man who has sluned deeply. The
Kreutzer Sonata" sex problem novel
cite stirred the whole world and oh
talned wide circulation in America be
cause John WanamaKer; as postmaste
general refused 10 let IT pass through thu
malls.
He has written plays also, this many