The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-01-29

SlreIcn. hfupSkaya never interrupt
ed him with questions while he was
working. But afterwards, in the eve
ming, they would walk right out to the
quietest part of the suburbs, and he
would outline with great enthusiasm
the main content of what he had writ
ten. They would then return to their
room where the meetings Of the Ed
itorial Board were held.
Martov used to come in the morn
ing to look over the post and sit near
ly all day long smoking and telling
all the latest news. He used to go on
and on, jumping from one subject to
another. "Martov is a typical jour
nalist," Lenin often said. "He is ex-
trenely talented, seems to grasp ev-
erything Immediately, extremely inn
questionable, but takes up a light at
titude towards everything" Other
comrades used to drop in and they
had long, heated arguments for hours
at a stretch. Most of the Russian
emigrants preferred talking, smoking
and sitting round the table drinking
endless glasses of tea. Lenin, how
ever, could not stand this and when
ever possible he tried to slip away for
a walk. His love for Nature attracted
him to the river, or far away to the
outskirts of the town. Seeing that
the long arguments and talks fatigued
Lenin, and were detrimental to his
health, Krupskaya went round to
Martov and asked him to come to see
them less frequently. It was agreed
that she should go to Martov and re-
port ON all the letters received from
Russia. But after two days the whole
scheme broke down. Martov could not
live without the long talks.
In London.
In April, 1902, Lenin came to Lon
don. AS Lenin had translated Webb's
Theory and Practice of Trade Union
ism" from English into Russian while
in exile in Siberia, and as Krupskaya
had learnt English from self-tutor
while in prison, they both thought
they would be able TO speak the Ian
guage. To their dismay, they found
that no one understood a word they
were talking about. Nor could they
understand a word of English "as
she is spoke" However, they started
learning the colloquial language as
siduously. They went to all kinds of
meetings, sat in the front, and at
tentively watched the speakers
mouth. Lenin used to go to Hyde
Park to hear an Irish Atheist whose
pronunciation he found easier to I'M
derstand than the London accent. He
also advertised and got two English
men to exchange English lessons for
Russian. Lenin was thus able to learn
the language fairly thoroughly.
Lenin also took great interest in
studying London. Except for the
British Museum, where he spent half
his time in the library, he did not like
visiting museums. Egyptian num-
mics and Babylonian clfheiform wear
led him. The only museum of which
he never tired, was a little museum
of the 1848 French Revolution, in Rue
des Cordileres, Paris. Very fond of
going round London on top of the
bus, he would observe the comfortable
semi-detached houses with gardens in
the residential parts of the city and
the squalid slums of the workers dis
tricts. 1.-TWO nations!" he would NUT
ter through his teeth in English to
Krupskaya. He always felt an attrac-
ton towards crowds, and often took
a bus ride on Saturday night through
the working class districts, watching
with interest the long rows of bar
rows with flares, and the people do
ing their Saturday shopping.
Already in those days, Lenin had
great hopes in the British workers.
He always tried to get as near to the
rank and file as possible He not only
listened to the Hyde Park orators,
talking about atheism, garden cities
and the bad conditions of shop assist
ants, but also went to various Social
list meetings in the suburbs, and