Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-01-21
TOLSTOY'S DAUGHTER
TELLS EXPER|ENCESON
RUSSIAN FIRING LINE
Child of Worlds Greatest PaC-
fist BewiIdered by Battle
field Friendship of Soldiers
Who Wounded Each Other
BY COUNTESS roYsToY,
Daughter of Leo Tolstoy. world-Famous
Author of Russia.

NOOpNFlSnt, lJlO' Dy the NeWSpdPSl LII
terprise Association.)
MOSCOW Russia, Jan. 19-About a
fortnight after / first left Moscow as a
nurse on an ambulance train our work
began when we were sent to bring wound
ed from G., 1T is pretty town pic
turesquely situated, but here and there
were deep, round holes made by the Ger
man shells and opposite the station were
ruined buildings and pine trees half a
century old uprooted and broken with
splinters Of shrapnel scattered over all.
Night had fallen and rain was driz-
zling on us. All was quiet. The big
station, it's walls riddled by shots and
its windows broken, was thing of the
dead Suddenly we heard the sharp,
cracking, abrupt sounds OF rifle firing,
and we learned then that the Germans
were only two miles distant! The next
morning when we went through the town
we found that few inhabitants remained.
Cossacks. infantry, officers and trains OF
wagons passed by.
Several of the officers asked us for
newspapers. "Will you believe it," they
said. "for six weeks we have not heard
what is going on in the world?'
OFFICERS STILL CHEERFUL.
And how are things going on here?'
| asked these officers, unshaven and
wearing dirty uniforms. but bright and
full of spirits.
VERY WELL" they replied. 1.-The GER
mans have lost their go. We used to
have a hard time of it making them
surrender. Now it is much easier-they
are worn out and hungry"
But they have done a lot of damage
here"
"Oh. that's nothing! You just go into
the church and see what ii is like there.
They kept their horses in it and even
desecrated the chalice!
Later we met an old man who was
standing in front of his house and mov-
ing his arms in a peculiar manner.
'Is he mad?" asked one of our or
derlies
The old man turned quickly in our
direction and began to shout and curse
YOU'D go mad yourselves if you'd
been robbed and ruined three times over
like me!' Then the thunder of cannon
drowned out the sound of his weak
voice.
We received seventy-four wounded,
among them thirty-nine seriously wound
ed German prisoners, some of whom
were not more than afteen or sixteen
years of age. One of them asked me IL
it could be possible that all Russians
were as kind as the surgeons and nurses
who were attending them. When l asked
him why this surprised him he answer
ed "Our officers told US that all Rus
slams are cruel, and that they would
torture us if we were taken prisoners.
Next we were ordered to R, which
was crowded with wounded. L was
deeply moved by the peasants of the
rEri,o hVrt 1Oh a
they could to the stations where our
train stopped. They would pass up
through the windows to the wounded
bread, apples, linen and pickles
1t was also touching to see how the
soldiers shared these gifts with one
another. One nurse wished to divide
them by lot since there were not enough
for all, but the wounded men did not
approve of such a method. mo, no,
nurse, don't!' a man would say. Let
him have all of this pickle. l can do
without it, l don't want it,"
One trip l made in a car filled en-
tirely with German wounded You
should have seen how they enjoyed
their tea and bread. I'VE have had
nothing hot to drink these two months!"
they said.
When / went to help one officer who
lazy moaning he said to me in German
that one Oh the OiueIllSS lldu lOlu MN
that / was Count Leo Tolstoy's daugh-
ter, adding that he had read my father
works.
but do you not know that my
father was against war; l asked
Yes" he answered. "But do you
think that we wanted this war? No,
we went because we were ordered to
gor'
fortnight later we were transfer
ing wounded from the hospitals in G.
to B.. | had some trouble on the way
with an officer who was evidently suf-
fering from concussion of the head and
back He could not speak, but a nurse
from the hospital where he had been
warned me that he was capricious and
sometimes wanted to drive everybody
away and to throw everything on the
floor.
However, l managed to feed him and
even to carry on a conversation with
him in writing. The nurse told him
that 1 was Leo Tolstoy's daughter. and
he smiled and wrote: L had not the
happiness of being in Yasnaya while
my ideal was living. The heavy blow of
his death fell while / was still in the
military school"
Here at B. soldier was having his
wound dressed when a German was car
Hello, partner" he said to the German.
You know, were acquainted-we
wounded each other There was not a
trace of anger, hatred or reproach in
his voice.