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Show DEATH OnOLSTOl' PASSING OF VENERABLE WRITER WHO HAD ADMIRERS ALL OVER THE CIVILIZED WORLD. Although a Born Aristocrat, This Gifted Gift-ed Russian Chose the Life of a Peasant and Battled With all His Might for the Masses. Astopava, RusBla. After a life-long battlo for right as ho saw It, Count Leo Tolstoi has beon vanquished in a contest with tho grim reaper, his death occurring Saturday morning. Countess Tolstoi nnd tho atton-ing physicians wero nt his bedside when tho end came, tho last moments of tho man who numborcd his admirers by thousands nil over tho world bo-Ing bo-Ing poncoful and calm. Tolstoi, accompanied only by Dr. Mnkovetskl, left his homo nt Yasnaya 1'ollna with tho purpose of ending his days In solitude, to which ho moro and moro Inclined in his latter years. Learning that ihs rotrent had been discovered, ho insisted upon proceeding proceed-ing on his ournoy to tho Caucasus, wero ho hoped to spend his last days Dlose to tho Tolstoinn colony on tho shores of tho Black sen. But on tho railroad Journey ho was overcome with exhaustion and tho cold, and Dr. Mnkvoetskl was com-pollod com-pollod to havo him transferred to tho llngstatlon at Astapova, whore ho was tnado as comfortable as possible in tho rude woodon building. His wlfo and members of his family hastened to his bedside, but tho physicians phy-sicians deemed it nnvlsablo to keep them away from tho count during Ids conscious moments, fearing the out- COUNT LEO TOLSTOI. como of tho amotion tholr presence would cause tho patient. Tho vonor-ablo vonor-ablo writer passed away without a word of farewell to tho members of his family. Count Lyof Nlkolavltch Tolstoi, usu ally called Count Leo Tolstoi, novelist novel-ist and social roformor, was born August Au-gust 28, 1828, at Yasnaya-Pollana, in tho provlnco of Tula, Russia. When 23 years of ago ho ontored tho army and served In tho cavalry In tho Caucasus Cau-casus and In tho defense of Sebasto-pol Sebasto-pol against tho British and Fronch filled fi-lled forces. Ho first made a roputatlon In litora-aturo litora-aturo by a Borlcs of vivid skotches written from Sabastopol, and when ho left tho army soon after tho Crimean Cri-mean war, ho dovoted himself entirely to literature Tolstoi was several times threatened threaten-ed with expulsion from Russia and was several times, according to report, re-port, 'upon tho point of being exiled; but ho seemed on tho wholo to have boon treated with unusual leniency In vlow of his pronounced vlows. He was, howovor, cxpollod frqm Moscow In July, 1901, and had slnco resided nt Ynsnnya-Pollana. Although Tolstoi camo of an nrls-tocratlc nrls-tocratlc family, ho was at heart t peasant In tho best sonso of tho word, devoted to tho Improvement of the condition of tho Russian masses anc eager to lead thorn In tho right path With theso objects In vlow, as oarlj as 1875, ho organized peasant schooli on a now, original baBls, co-operated In tho Improvement of cheap, populai publications, organized rollef for the Btnrvlng population of mlddlo Russia In 1891-92, renounced his property lr copyright, land and money, and, It tho recont agrarian disturbances actually, act-ually, hut vainly, Invited tho peasant! to plundor his estato at Yaanaya-Po liana. Thoro ho lived tho llfo of a ponsant In a peasnnt'B hut, partaking only ol simple peasant's food and wearing tho peasant's costumo rough blouso, broad, leather bolt, fur cap, long board, wldo trousors tucked Into high cowhldo boots. But although TolBtol choso the ox-lstenco ox-lstenco of a peasant, his family occupied occu-pied tho substantial family mansion on tho Yasnaya-Pollana estato, not far from Tolatol'B poasant hut. |