The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-10
M. Pettinati, in T. P.'s weekly.

| IN a remote corner of the Isle of Capri, beneath a warm and ever blue Italian
 sky, Maxim Gorky the colossus of Russian litreature. the popular agitator | and revolutionnaire, has made a second nome" for over seven years, in order | to escape the terrible fate which would await him If he should cross once more the Russian frontier. The Villa Spinola,
 where "Alexei Maximoivitch Pjesikoff, alias Maxim Gorky, house painter" Gas | described by the Russian police). has set his abode of peace and of study would hardly supply tho romantic writer with | favorable matter for fantastical story about the home life of his exceptional conspirator whose fame has rapidly aroused the attention of the whole world. A quaint, modern house. half built on the rocks, with terrazzo opening toward the sea and allowing the visitor to enjoy view over miles of land and water; eX- ceedingly simple but tasteful and com fortable furniture; an enormous number | of books almost in every corner ranged in precise order on big shelves; some an- | tiaue and obviously innocuous weapons; several admirable sketches by modern painters; few photos of well known men of letters and philosophers of all nations; half dozen palms to interrupt the severe monotony of the decorations-such is the Italian home of Maxim Gorky, home which one would scarcely think possible | for a man whose fame should have brought him great wealth.
 | Yet, although Maxim GorlSy has now won practically the highest mark of pop ularity amongst living writers, his man. ners have certainly not been affected by the immense success which has crowned his work. The whole life of Gorky has been struggle from shoemaker to kitcli- en boy, from baker to street porter, from chorister in travelling company to apple seller, from solicitors clerk to globe trot- | ter, from railway servant to novel writer. from railway servant to novel writer, Maxim Gorky, although only AZ, has led the most strenuous, the most romantic. and the most stormy career that human mind could imagine. But nothing has changed the mildness of his nature. the kindness of his ways, the modesty of his manners, the simplicity of his life, which make it quite impossible for anyone who meets him for the first time not to sue cumb to his striking power of fascination, Gorky is undoubtedly the most "uncon- venttional' of all famous" men, so un- conventional, indeed, that few minutes of conversation with him are quite suffi- cient to create an atmosphere of cordiali- ty. notwithstanding the fact that he hard ly speaks any language but his own one. He would scarcely be pleased to entertain conversation on his work, nor does he wish to be asked too many questions about himself; but he takes great inter- est in any argument referring to science. literature, music and art The wealth of information which he displays during his conversations is astonishing; he is fa- miliar with almost every branch of sci ence; he speaks of music and of art only as one who knows them well; he is con-
 versant with philosophy, from Plato to Emerson; he is acquainted with the liter
 ary masterpieces of the world, from Dante to Dickens and scott
 l His life at Capri is entirely devoted to
 his literary work and to the work of or
 ganizing the Russian revolutionary party, which he ardently supports both morally
 and financially. He sometimes works for 16 hours a day, continuing his labors until | 2 or o'clock in the morning. Nothing so
 much as the calm of a night in front of the sea, far away from the noise of the
 town. with only the sound of the waves
 breaking on to the rocks below, could bet
 ter fit his temperament. Nowhere in | Russia could I work so we'll and study so much as here" he once wrote to a
 friend "As soon as go. to Russia find
 myself in the thick of the movement, and | have devoted myself to self education. | Sometimes he finishes his work early
 in the afternoon, then he joints a fishing
 party fishing being his exclusive pas time which he usualiy snares with his
 wife and with a very few guests, most of them being Russian people. There is
 always something new in fishing" he
 once said to a friend; "and, besides. love silence, you know. and fishing does moi require a great deal of talk.' At present l Gorky is engaged writing a new play l dealing with Russian social life, which
 will be first played in Berlin, but he does not wish to speak of 1t until finished Apart from his literary work. as have
 said. he is deeply engaged in the revolu-
 tionary movement of his own country