3/y FATHER. 



D i I 



the Russian sage at Yasnaya Poliana. 

 The two had great talks, the substance 

 of which can be found in father's writ- 

 ings. He was very sorry for the 

 Countess, who had managed to hold the 

 home together, and keep a roof over the 

 philosopher's head. He himself would 

 have given away everythmg he had. She 

 also prevented him bringing his children 

 up as peasants amongst the rather low 

 type on his estate. Walking through a 

 small village one day they came upon a 

 house in flames, and hearing that there 

 was supposed to be a boy still within, 

 Tolstoy dashed into the house to save 

 him. As he did not reappear, father fol- 

 lowed, and dragged the Count out just 

 before the roof fell in. The boy, it 

 turned out, was not there at all. The two 

 had a long argument upon the right to 

 use force, if necessary, to defend one's 

 life and property. Tolstoy would have 

 none of it. But if, said father, a man 

 was going to kill your daughter, and 

 you could save her by striking him 

 down, ought you not to do so ? Tol- 

 stoy, after a moment, admitted that 

 under these circumstances force might 

 perhaps be used. During the night, 

 though, having evidently reflected on 

 the subject, he came into father's room, 



and waked him up to say that he was 

 wrong, and that even in such an extreme 

 case force should not be used ! 



From Moscow, father went to Rome, 

 where he remained for some time, and 

 wrote his book, " The Truth About 

 Russia." Although he never saw the 

 Pope, Leo XIII., he got to know many 

 cardinals and princes of the Church, 

 and, of course, hosts of political folk. 

 I have forgotten the name of the car- 

 dinal, long since dead, with whom he 

 consorted most, but I was considerably 

 impressed to hear father say that iti s 

 was the only man he had ever met who 

 had shown concern about his soul's sal- 

 vation. He met many Russian friends 

 in Rome, and was always very fond of 

 the city. In his case at any rate the 

 legend came true, for he drank of the 

 fountain of Treve, and saw again several 

 times that marvellous collection of 

 modern buildings, mediaeval churches 

 and ancient rums which makes up what 

 was once Imperial Rome. 



In a later number I hope to tell about 

 father's Pilgrimage of Peace round 

 Europe, on which I accompanied him, 

 when he visited almost every capital on 

 the Continent, and met all the leading 

 men in international politics. 



THE KING AND PRINCP^SS MAKV AT ALDKHSHOT. 



ITopical. 



