Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-12-09

life cf luxury In order to die
in solitude saddened the civilized
world, accustomed though l.. was to
his eccentricities and prepared for his
passing by his lingering Illness
That he should desire to spend the
last OF his days in solitude surprised
no Sae aeqwiinteJ with his career,
buR M f,s' shSdDN Etas61al1Ay..desert
the wife who had borne him sixteen
children was difficult of belief, even in
the light of his well known eccentrici-
ties Of character.
Tolstoy proceeded to an old mon
astery in the government Of Kaluga,
which adjoins the government Of lula
on the west, in which his sister Is
n nun. and thence fled until his fail
ing strength forbade further travel
ing
At the little railway station of Asia
pova he was taken Ill, and there, in
rude hut. he died. The wife he had
deserted sat beside the body for
hours, often kissing the face 1.-THE
light Of the world is out" she said re-
peatedly.
Because of hts trouble with the
church no requiem was sung at the
humble bier
The suggestion Of a failing mentality
was accepted by many persons In ex-
PLANTATION of the counts sudden leave
taking, which caused the countess to
twice attempt suicide. In a letter left
for his wife the count said:
Il cannot continue longer. to live
surrounded by luxury, and, like many
other old men. retire from the world
to complete my life in solitude. 1 ask
that you do not seek my place Of So
3ourn and that you do not come to 1t
II 1t is discovered. beg forgiveness
tor the grief that may cause you"
Long Lived Life Of Peasant.
The novelist's reference to living
amid luxurious surroundings was sig
nificant Of his state of mind, as he has
long lived the life of peasant. While
his family occupied a substantial man
sion on the Yasnaya Poliana estate,
Tolstoy dwelt in peasants hut. par
taking only Of the simple peasants
food and wearing the peasants cos
tune, rough blouse, wide trousers
tucked into high cowhide boots, a
leather belt and fur cap. He had not
always continued this humble mode Of
life, but 1t had been his choice.
TOlstOy had been In Ill health for
some time. He suffered frequent faint
ing spells and was unconscious for
hours.
In his writings TOlstoy has condemn
ed suicide as immoral and irrational
and as indicating a perverted view Of
the significance Of life. He said:
The perversiOn is in the assumption
that life is meant for my enjoyment,
whereas its purposes are the attain
ment Of personal perfection and to
help in the process which Is being
worked out by the whole life Of the
world. Men are given their lives and
the possibility of dying natural deaths
only on condition that they serve the
life OF the whole world, whereas the
suicide exploits life as long as It Is
agreeable and refuses to serve the
life Of the world as soon as it becomes
unpleasant, ignoring the likely fact
that his service began only at that
moment when his life became burden
some. Every work Is at first unpieas-
aIfk'
Tolstoy was born on his family e.
tate on Aug. q. 1928, and came Of an
aristocratic family. He married the
present Countess Sophie in 1861. He
was peasant at heart, and his life
had been devoted largely to the better
ment OF the peasantry, which motive
was the inspiration of the major part
Of his writings.
The picture, suggested by the cable
dispatches, of an old man in his eighty
second year wandering off into the
woods to die alone and the wife. who
has shared his trials and victories for
q half century, forlorn and deserted,
attempting to drown herself and then
following her husband and nursing
him-this was the tragedy of the Count
and Countess TOlStOy.
Countess Tolstoy is a woman Of fine
breeding and education. Her maiden
name was Sophia Behrs, and she was
the second daughter of Moscow ply
stefan with large practice among the
nobility. The Tolstoy and Behrs fam
lilies had long been intimate, the moth
er Of the present count and Sophia's
mother having been schoolgirl friends.
II was after Tbistoy had served In
the Crimean war and had already
achieved some reaowti as an author
and while he was recovering from nm
illness at His old home at Yasnaya Pc
Llama that the Behrs family made
Visit to the Tolstoys and young Toll
ef6T ana Sophie had nm opportunity to