Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-11-21
ALL RUSSIA !
M0URNS F0R.
LEO TOLST0I
Continued from Page one)

Moscow and in St. Petersburg. In
the Crimean campaign. as the COM
mander of a mountain battery, Tol.
stoi distinguished himself by brave
and effective service. He had frs.
hand experience with war which was
most valuable to him in his later
work. Leaving the army at the close
of the war. Count Tolstoi found most
fiattering reception in st. Petersburg.
He was sought as a nobleman, as a
returning hero and as a litterateur
He soon became utterly Disguised
with his surroundings at ST. Peters
burg and with his own life there. He
described himself afterward as hav.
ing been a murderer, adulterer, rob-
Der and liar in this period, although
his crimes were not of a sort usually
described by these terms. He relir.
ed TO Jasnaya Poliana, near his birth
place. and remained there all his life.
Count Tolstoi was married in Sep
TENDER 1862, to the daughter of a
Moscow university professor She
had obtained a diploma from the uni
versity when she was II years old,
In her society he found the utmost
comfort and happiness. They had
sixteen children, buk the cares o;
motherhood did not prevent the
Countess from serving as his amanu-
ensis all through his labors as an
author
One of Tolstoi's first acts on retir-
ing to his country estate to free his
serfs. In advance OF the degree of the
Gear. He devoted himself TO plans
for the education and betterment
Of the peasantry. After a while he
became wrought up over what seem,
ed to him the purposelessness OF life
He contemplated suicide but gave Il
up. He went into all varieties of
philosophic investigation.
Among some of his own peasants
Tolstoi reached the conclusion that a
literal following of the gospels
brought about the living OF a truly
useful and happy life. He settled
down to a life of manual labor and
extreme simplicity of diet and con
duct. This was about 1880. In the
last twenty years the principal writ
ings Of Tolstoi have been my Confess
sion," "A Criticism of Dogmatic The.
ology," never translated, THE Four
Gospels Harmonized and Translated
What Believe" sometimes called
My Religion" The Gosuel in Brief,
What Must We Do Them ION
Life, also called Life; The Kreut-
ger Sonata treating of the sex sies-
ton; THE Kingdom Of God Is With
in You. THE Christian Teaching,
Where is Art?" and "Resurrec-
ton" t
In these books he set forth progress
sively and fearlessly his views of true
living. They were much more at vari.
ance with the views of the Russian
Government. Tolstoi expected TO be
prosecuted directly for writing them.
The Government however went no
further than to suppress some of the
books, to mutilate others and to ban
ish some of his friends. The Cow
eminent has inspired the publication
of books combating the ideas OF Toll
stoi. Recently the author went even
further than preaching through novels
and addressed himself directly 20 the
Car in a letter i'm which he predict
ed renewal of the terrors Of Nj
hilism and the horrors Of the pre-.
vention Of Nihilism by massacre II
the Gar did not manifest change
OF heart.
4 frequent visitor at Tolstois home
thus described the distinguished auth.
or at work: "He has always been
hard but spasmodic worker. There
are times when for months he will
hardly put pen to paper. but when be
has a task I'm hand that Interests him
he will work with relentless purpose
and absorbing zeal. When he is ac-
tually working, no one d1res inter
rupt him-even his wife makes II a
rule not to disturb him"
For many years Tolstoi refused TO
accept payment for his writings; he
gave away much OF his property
These things, as we'll as his love for
associating with the poorest peasan
4 try, we're not altogether pleacing To
/ his wife
"Tolstoi's chief literary work in the
last years Of his life was an exclusive
autobiography, on which he spent
hours of steady work nearly every
day. He was a strict vegetarian and
almost a total abstsiner, drinking on