Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-11-20
count leo T0LST0|, THE
FAMOUS RUSSIAN WRITER,
MEETS A PEACEFUL END
Passes to Great Beyond Surrounded
by Members of His Family

Astapova, Russia, Nov. 2O.-Counr
Leo Tolstoi died peacefully. this
morning. Dr. Makovetsky and other
attending physicians and Countess
Tolstoi were at his side when the.
end came. 1t was recognized long
before that his case was hopeless and
at five O'Clock in the morning, after
the Countess had been summoned and.
other members OF the family had
gathered in an adjoining room, the
physicians issued a bulletin announc-
ing that activity Of the heart had
almost ceased and that Tolstoi's con-
dition was extremely dangerous.
Several of the physicians were.
greatly overcome by the approaching
death of Russia's great writer. Tol-
stoi, accompanied only by DR.. Mako
vetsky left him home at Yasnaya,
Poliana for the purpose of ending his
days in solitude, to which he more
and more inclined during his latter
years. This pilgrimage led him to-.
the monastery at Shamardine. in the
province OF Kaluga, where he remain
ed as the guest of his sister Marie.
who is a nun in the cloister. Learn
ing that his retreat had been discov-
cred, he insisted upon proceeding OH
his jOnurney to Caucasus, where he
hoped to spend his last days close to
the Tolstoan colony on the shores OF
the Black Sea. But during the rail-
road journey he was overcome with
exhaustion and cold, and DR.. Mako
v"tsky was compelled to have him
transferred to the kag station at AS
tapova, where he was made as COM
Portable as possible in the rude wood
en- building
For five days he has lain there
suffering first from bronchitis and
afterwards from inflammation of the
lungs. Specialists were called from
Moscow and other places, but not
Withstanding their utmost efforts. the
heart of the great Russian responded
but feebly to restoratives and stimu-
! lants. On Saturday attacks of heart
failure increased alarmingly, and
many hours prior to the end the phyr
slcians had given up all hopes.
| Countess Tolstoi was admitted to
the sick room for the first time last
night. but her husband failed to rec
ognize her. She had fastened to his:
| bedside when she learned several
days ago that his illness was serious,
but the physicians had deemed it ad-
visable that she be kept away from
the Count, fearing that her presence
might cause the patient efotion. 9th
er members of the family were from
time to time admitted to his presence
! and his daughter Alexandra has been
! in constant attendance
Count Lyof Nikolaivitch Tolstoi,
usually called Count Leo Tolstoi, nov
elist and social reformer, was born
, August %. 1928, at Yasnaya Poliana-
! in the province of Tula, Russia
When % years old he entered the
army and served in Caucasus and i'm
the defense of Sebastopol against the
| British and French allied forces. He
/ first made reputation in liaterature
! by series of Vivid sketches written
from Sebastopol. When he left the
army soon after the Crimean war, be-
devoted himself entirely to literature1
His War and Peace" tale of tho
invasion of Russia by Napoleon in
1872, is regarded in Russia as being
his masterpiece. though his ANNA
! karenina," which appeared in 1876
and THE Cossacks" found greater|
favor abroad. where his "Kreutzer|
Sonata. translations of which were|
published in 1890. also attracted wide
attention.
Tolstoi wrote much on education
and published a number of Short
stories and "reminiscences of child
hood. but of recent years he bad|
devoted himself to religious teaching|
he made return, not evil" the key|
stone OF his Christian faith, and in|
sisted that a literal Interpretation oil
the Sermon on the Mount was the onI
! ~ rule of Christian life.
In 1901 Tolstoi was excommunicatl
ed by the Holy Synod. and in OctoberI
1902. he deposited his memories anGI
diaries with the curator Of the Rum;
yanz Museum on the condition thatI
they should not be published until
ten years after his death. and inI
November of the same year he legal
ly made over his whole fortune, in
cluding his real and personal estate
to his wife and children
In 1895 Tolstoi wrote a powerful
cindication of the Doukhobor sect!
which during that year had suffered
great persecution from it's religious
professions On Russian censors re-
fusing to permit its publication, Toll
stoi applied to the London Times
which printed the lengthy article ID
full. He continued from that time I'd
address his literary efforts to tho
British press. On March II, 1896, tho
London Daily Chronicle published
long letter from Tolstoi To ifs cnr4}