The National tribune., 1910-12-15
THINKS ABOUT TorsToi."
A Chicago Girl Gives Her Views Of the
Russian Pessinlist-rhought Him
Dirty and Doan,atlc

Russian Observation-Disclosures Him
Dirty and Dosn,atic.
Miss Robin Bruce Dare, q charming 6
young Illinoisen. who has been visiting
In Washington Tor some weeks. has q
very lively recollection of Tolstoi. whom
she saw at his homo in Yasnaya,
Poland, year or two ago. Miss Dare
did not visit Telstoi because shs want
ed to. but because some friends with
whom she was travelling had letters of
Introduction to him, and she went
along. 'I had no desire at all to meet
him." Miss Dare declared quite frank
Iy. 'I had read but very little that he
had written, and that little was most
unplessing to me personally. 1t SEEM
ed to me that ToIstoi, not being able
TO make the world over and bring its
people to measure everything by his
own standard. simply stood off and
snerled. making all existing things ap-
pear as unlovely as possible, so that
the standard he wanted to set up might
appear in the very best light.
Now please remember" Miss Dare
begged, that my opinion is that OF a
very young woman. I'm only 20. you
know. and was two years younger then,
and / love life dearly and all the beau
tiful things in it. 1 realize that it can
be made very unlovely by those who
close their eyes to progress and pros
perity, and who eat to live, dress to
escape the police, and sleep to forget.
The little reading Of Tolstoi 1 have
managed led me to believe that this
was about his belief, and so l rather OBJ
jected to turning aside from a Won
hinp
to visit a man none of us cared for
Just because he was one of the curios-
tiles that should be inspected.
Now 1 am rather glad I went, be-
cause | can say at least that ! saw him
in his home, saw his wife, and l know
that if he had net bats in his upper
story as my big brother puts it, he
was so perilously imbued with that
genius that is allied to insanity that
/ at least would he most uncomfort-
able if ! thought / had to lodge in the
same house with him.
The way to get to the TolStoi home
is not d lovely. one, and when you get
to 1t, the house stands on a little hill,
with the most forlorn, dirty, never
pretty-town anyway, running right up
TO the Toistoi grounds. L could not
help contrasting the rundown and
gone-to-seed lands of the Tolstois with
homes of like importance in my own
United States. The place didn't look
AS tho it had ever had any care be-
slowed upon it. and if it were in the
South, we would say it belonged to a
'po' white The house proper is a
two-story frame rambling structure,
badly needing carpenter and painter.
1t was all gone to seed. 1 can think
of no better expression for it.
When Tolstoi appeared he looked
exactly ike his pictures, old. warped
a
might have been tall once upon a time.
His long, grizzled hair didn't look as
tho it had ever seen comb OF brush
or soap or water. He wore the blue
blouse and trousers of jeans, and both
were dirty past redemption. He wore
high boots into which his tousers were
stuffed, and the blouse which was big
enough for a man twice his size, and
was worn as well as soiled, was belted
at the waist. His beard struggled all
over his breast and from the 'pent-
house of his overhanging, shaggy eye
orows he fairly glared at my friend
who had come to talk to him. Frank
ly, l was amazed at Tolstois appear
ance. He talked about books and I
remember that he found fault with al
most every boor which my friend, who
IS writer, spoke of, and attacked the
intent of their authors. He said nasty
things about religion and the churches;
he expressed disdain of most social con-
venances, and he got into a very heated
state with my friends over American in
stituttons. He declared that we were
fast becoming greater slaves than the
subjects of the Car, and, oh, N.Y. how
he did sputter when he struck the SUBJ
ject of the Car. 1t must have been
good to hate anybody as he did the
Gar.
When the Countess appeared on the
scene. l wondered how it ever hap
pened that she had loved that man,
and If that sOured, gnarled, grouchy
DID codger could ever have fallen gem
timely in love with any woman. II
was told, however, that when he was
young and dashing soldier chat he
cut quite swathe and went the pace
I'LL III health called a halt. Then Toll
stoi turned monk and there you are
lie says himself that he had worn out
all the pleasures and passions of life
when he met his wife, and that he had
committed about all the crimes in the
decalogue. He had turned against the
Church even then. His wife was the
laughter of German professor. She
Nas pretty. young, cultured and has a |
splendid education-quite. as good as
FolStoi himself, in fact. She bore him 8
children. while he lived largely upon her
money and hard work. She went to
little hut when she married Tolstoi.
not lar from tne present house, where
she lived till all her children were born.
She had no servants, no governess, no
anything but hard work. Yet she rear
ed that family in the best way. gave
eacn an education, and yet kept much
Of her prettiness. She has now q
placid, motherly face and fgure-not
much figure, if I must tell the truth.
Folstoi spent his time tearing up and
doWn the confines. of Russia, kicking
against existing conditions. as nearly
IS -. couid learn, studying the lives of
the people and teaching them rebellion,
while his children, cooked and cared
Tor by their devoted mother, were al
most strangers to their father. Coun-
tess Tolstoi made their clothes, taught
them music, French and German and |