The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-03-20

The meeting took place in a room on
the second floor of a cafe-restaurant
in Rue Orleans No. IL. Immediately
recognized Lenin among those who
had gathered; heswas bending over a
game of chess.
l do not remember the agenda of
the meeting, but at any rate / believe
there were no particularly notable
questions. Lenin spoke on one of
these questions for about ten minutes,
think. But why was it that after
his rather commonplace speech my
feelings were so radically changed?
1t is very difficult to describe them.
changed from the condition of grave
depression in which l had been for
over year as the result of an illegal
existence under the difficult condi-
lions of the terrible political reaction
Of 19O9-1O-I changed from this feel
ing of simultaneous physical and
moral brokenness, a condition which
had become chronic and almost
habitual-not even the fresh Paris
impressions could dispense i'll
changed to quite new and opposite
state, one of courage and freshness.
1t was exactly as if had recuperated
after grave illness. This wave
Of life, this current of yigor and be-
lief poured forth from the words,
voice, gestures and glance of this man
who appeared to be so squat and ordi-
nary, and who had said quite platitudi-
nous things in unpretentious and sim
pie language.
MANY years have passed since
A'A then, much water and much blood
have flowed and my impression Of
this first meeting with Lenin, which
caused such sharp change in the
whole Of my feelings, can never be
effaced. Afterwards / had occasion
to hear that many comrades had ex-
perienced the same thing in the same
or similar circumstances.
At the end of the meeting Valerian
came up to me with Nadezhda Con
stantinovna, who said: $50 it is you,
Natasha, who refused to come to us?
Well, Ilyitch has commissioned me to
drag you along without fail. Come
to us tomorrow evening at o'clock"
She said all this so firmly and at the
same time in such a friendly way
that l at once ceased to resist.
At the appointed time came to him
at Rue Marie-Rose No. 4, second floor.
Afterwards began to come frequently
to this apartment and | remember it
perfectly we'll. There were two
rooms, one of which was larger with
alcoves for bed and kitchen. In the
middle of the big room there was
plain wooden table (after they went
away I got the use of it and it surely
still stands there in the apartment
which left in Paris); along one of
the walls was long row of wooden
shelves filled with books, and there
were also few chairs. This was the
room Ilyitch worked in. In the small
room Nadezhda Constantinovna
worked.
The kitchen, as customary among
all our emigres, also served as a din
ing room. 1t was there that we sat
soon after l arrived, all having supper
around the table and drinking tea.
They made me relate all the news.
At first did not know what to
start with, still thinking that the SOM
bre picture which 1 had left behind
me in Russia was already known to
everyone, and was of no particular in
terest. But this did not last for more
than a minute, and afterwards I saw
everything in a new light, l myself
felt an interest in what was reIat-
ing and | soon became quite encour-
aged. The reason for this change lay
in my listeners, and above all in
Lenin. He was full of eagerness and
attention. My account of the posi-
ton of the work in Odessa and Eka-
terinoslav, the attempt to publish the
Odessa Trade Union Herald" which