The National tribune., 1910-12-15

Enslish. which they all speak nswless-
ly. am told.
When Tolstoi began to write his
books. Countess Tolstoi was his aman-
uensis. She always revised what he
| wrote and translated 1t into French
and German. Sometimes she rewrots
his books half a dozen times before
they suited her ideas of a finished pro-
duction. Yet you see Tolstoi gets all
the credit for them. Countess Tolstoi
has been his devoted helpmeet for
nearly so years. 1 believe they were
married in 1863. When money began
| to come in and she could establish a
| better home for herself and children.
| she did so, and gave them improved ad-
vantages which were impossible for.
them when they were young. Then
! Tolstoi quit work and began to teach
| his down grade religion He wanted
| his wife to sell everything and live in
hut again-wanted this sweet. help
full woman who had given her young
years to bearing his children and writ
ing his books for him to give up music,
comfortable quarters, decent clothes,
good human companionShip, all that
| makes life bright and happy, to go live
| in a Russian hut again. Did you ever
| see a Russian hut? No? Well don't
| OF all the gloomy. impossible places on
the face Of the green earth to live In. q
| Russian hut Is the most comfortless
| Because his wife would not give her
| patrimony to the poor TolstOi left her
| left that devoted woman, i'll because OF
his cruel toHgue-lashing, and went off
by himself TO live his pigs life. oh,
l know it sounds awful, but 1 can't call
il anything else TolStOi showed by his
soiled clothing-hc mad been in his Ii
brary at work on n book-by his dirty
hair and beard. by his unclean body,
for his hands were a sight with stubby.
| knotty fingers and black nails, that he
loved best the place where he could
wallow in his uncleanness, talk to his
boon companions without hindrance,
eat his black bread without trouble,
and consort with the peasants. to whom
he was a god. L think Tolstoi gloried
in being a Car himself among that
class of people who believed him to be
divinely inspired, simply because his
hand was ready to deal out his wifes
money to anybody and everybody who
made a poor mouth. I say his wife's,
because he would have been in what
the Russians call a poor-hOuse IL Coun-
tess TOlstoi had not helped him make
the money and saved IL for him after
ward.
"Tolstoi's manner was abrupt. his
language brusque. dictatorial emphatic.
You could have no opinion that opposed
his. My friend found but one subject
on which they could agree. Tolstoi
said that Abraham Lincoln was the
greatest man the world had ever pro-
duced. You will see that Tolstoi except
ed not even himself. He belittled all
our writers and thinkers, stamped them
all n g. but thought Henry George
little snort of being great.
IL came back TO the United States
loving it better, and Tolstoi even less.
did not enter into the conversation at
any time during the two hours that my
friends and I were there, so 1 just
studied this man whom the world
counts great II 1 had children not
one of them should open the covers OF
a book written by Tolstoi.
II think his life was hideous. He
tried to pull down government, and
would have US go back to feeding with
the beasts and dressing in skins He
nearly broke his wife's heart with his
cruelty and coldnsss to her when after
all those awful years of struggle with
work and poverty there was not the
shadow of change toward him. / doubt
not his writings were erudite. for 7
have heard several society women de-
clare lately that they were Just grand
and 1 thought of that horrible 'Kreut-
zer Sonata" and gloomy Resurrection
For my single self think that prefer
my own clean-hearted American men
who are so busy taking care Of their
wives and children and building homes
that they have not time to ride the
length and breadth of the land denounc-
ing the Government, the Church and
H.,
food, art, literature, and, in fact, their
kind. l CLEAN from TolstoPs own con-
fession that he was a reformed iber-
tine. Having burned his candle to the
socket, ne snarled at the rest of ths
world that still loves candle, and even
cottons to an electric light when it can
get it.
I'm prejudiced, know am, but I
had two hours in which to study Toll
stoi, and l came away thinking he was
the rudest, coarsest, dirtiest iconoclast
and egotist that ever came within my
horizon. He made farce of his pow
erty.' He dressed, ate and housed him.
self like beggar. What. color of pow
erty had that for him? He knew that
MS Countess would see that he had all
the food and clothing he wanted, and
ne never had to think where his next
meal was coming from. Why, anybody
could almost enjoy poverty of that
kind, for, like the little boy who hurt
his toe and laughed over the pain, we
know that our wealth would bring even
greater comfort to us after a season of
denial The boy laughed because the
toe would feel SO GOOD when ii quit
hurting When Tolstoi ate his black
bread for lunch in his filthy hut with
loW-browed peasants. he had his course
dinner at the Tolstoi home, and spent
the night in his luxurious study with
his wonderful library, and Countess Toll
stol to write out his seething thoughts
In the mean little village named
Tula, which joins the Tolstoi acres,
were handful of dirty. abjectly ig-
norant peasants who were ToIstoFs
dear familiars. They adored him. Oh,
yes indeed. Tolstoi gave to them reg
uiarly his allowance from the estates
which his wife had the good sense to
decline to sell Who would not adore
man who did that?
L have often wondered what Toll
stoi would have done had he been really
penniless. and forced to hustle for his
bread and butter. And, then, at the
very end of life he sneaked off from
his wife to die dramatically in a mon-
astery. He was Tolstoi TO the end