TABLE OF CONTENTS 



vu 



CHAPTEK XXXVII. WALKS AND TALKS WITH TOLSTOI _ 

 MAKCH, 1894 



Moscow revisited. Little change for the better. First visit to 

 Curious arrangement of his household. Our first discussions ; condition of 

 the peasants; his view of Quakers; their &quot;want of logic.&quot; His view of 

 Russian religious and general thought. Socrates as a saint in the Kremlin. 

 His views of the Jews ; of Russian treatment of prisoners. His interest in 

 American questions. Our visit to the Moscow Museum ; his remark on the 

 pictures for the Cathedral of Kieff ; his love for realistic religious pictures; 

 his depreciation of landscape painting ; deep feeling shown by him before 

 sundry genre pictures. His estimate of Peter the Great. His acknowledg 

 ment of human progress. His view of the agency of the Czar in maintain 

 ing peace. His ideas regarding French literature ; of Maupassant ; of Balzac. 

 His views of American literature and the source of its strength ; his discus 

 sion of various American authors and leaders in philanthropic movements ; 

 his amazing answer to my question as to the greatest of American writers. 

 Our walks together; his indiscriminate almsgiving; discussion thereupon. 

 His view of travel. The cause of his main defects. Lack of interchange of 

 thought in Russia ; general result of this. Our visit to the Kremlin. His 

 views of religion ; questions regarding American women ; unfavorable view 

 of feminine character. Our attendance at a funeral ; strange scenes. Fur 

 ther discussion upon religion. Visit to an &quot;Old Believer&quot;; beauty of his 

 house and its adornments ; his religious fanaticism ; its effects on Tolstoi. 

 His views as to the duty of educated young men in Russia. Further discus 

 sion of American literature. His hope for Russian progress. His manual 

 labor. His view of Napoleon. His easy-going theory of warlike operations. 

 Our farewell. Estimate of him. His great qualities. His sincerity. Cause 

 of his limitations. Personal characteristics related to these. Evident evolu 

 tion of his ideas. Effect of Russian civilization on sundry strong men ... 72 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. OFFICIAL LIFE IN ST. PETERSBURG 



1892-1894 



Difficulty in securing accurate information in Russia ; the censorship of 

 newspapers and books ; difficulty in ascertaining the truth on any question ; 

 growth of myth and legend in the Russian atmosphere of secrecy and repres 

 sion. Difficulties of the American Minister arising from too great proneness 

 of Americans to believe Russian stories ; typical examples. American adven 

 turers; a musical apostle; his Russian career. Relation of the Legation to 

 the Chicago Exposition ; crankish requests from queer people connected with 

 it ; danger of their bringing the Exposition into disrepute ; their final suppres 

 sion. Able and gifted men and women scattered through Russian society. 

 Russian hospitality. Brilliant festivities at the Winter Palace ; the Blessing 

 of the Waters; the &quot;palm balls&quot; ; comparison of the Russian with the Ger 

 man Court. Visit of Prince Victor Napoleon to St. Petersburg ; its curious 

 characteristics. Visit of the Ameer of Bokhara ; singular doings of his son 

 and heir. Marriage of the Grand Duchess Xenia ; kindness, at the Peterhof 

 Palace, of an American &quot; Nubian.&quot; Funeral of the Grand Duchess Catherine ; 

 beginnings of the Emperor s last illness then evident. Midnight mass on 

 Easter eve ; beauty of the music. The opera. Midnight excursions in the 

 northern twilight. Finland and Helsingfors. Moscow revisited. Visit to the 

 Scandinavian countries. Confidence reposed in me by President Cleveland. 

 My resignation ....................... 101 



