WITH COUNT TOLSTOI. l°3 



with him to discover that, like the rest of us, he has 

 his weak points. The Count does not altogether dis- 

 dain notoriety, though he may not be conscious of it. 

 He seemed to me to possess a fair share of " author's 

 vanity." In spite of the humiliation of the spirit and 

 suppression of human exaltation, which is the chief 

 foundation of his creed, Tolstoi likes Americans, be- 

 cause of the English-speaking world, we were the first 

 to translate, read, and appreciate his productions. The 

 taste for Russian literature was acquired in the United 

 States before it spread to England. 



There have been visitors to Yasnia Polyana who 

 have carried away the uncharitable conviction that 

 the peculiarities of the Count's daily life are theatri- 

 cal; that he acts an eccentric part. Sometimes, during 

 our conversations, I, too, thought him knowingly 

 affected, but eventually decided that all his peculiari- 

 ties come from sincere convictions and honest eccen- 

 tricity of character. 



At times, when talking, Tolstoi leaves the visitor 

 momentarily in doubt whether he is not imposing on 

 your credulity and trying to fathom your understand- 

 ing ; but the final impression is that he is sincere. 

 There is a curious mixture in him of a deep knowledge 

 of the world and the innocence and confidence of a 

 child. Nobody would try to practice a deception on 

 him as a man of the world, because he would feel in 

 advance that Tolstoi would be sure to see through it. 

 But by appealing to the benevolent side of his charac- 

 ter, it required little penetration to see that the appli- 

 cant would have him at a great disadvantage. 



The young man who acted as a butler at the house, 



