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Show How Curtis Found Tolstoy. Tolstoy is a good deal of a humbug. He is a great advertiser. He goes around barefooted in the garments of a peasant in order to give people something to talk about. In the winter he wearsN sheepskin clothing and a big fur cap, and those who know him well tell me that he is not familiar with the ordinary uses of water. He imitates the Russian peasants in that respect, as in others. They never bathe, and. like the Laplanders, seldom remove their clothing until it is outgrown or worn out. Tolstoy belongs to a noble family of high rank and distinguished in history. There are many of his name in Russia and it is an honored name also. He is the first Tolstoy, they say, that was ever a crank, but he is one of the first water. There is no question that he has done a great deal of good by his writlnga. that by exposing the wrongs of the peasants he has compelled the government to adopt important reforms but men hae been great philanthropists and served their country and mankind and juil : used bathtubs and dressed In civilized I c oth in Tolstoy s early books are brilliant, ml pictures of Russian Ufe are graphic and accurate; he is a master In the interpretation in-terpretation of the weaknesses and vices of mankind, but hia teachings are im-mor?l im-mor?l andnapernicious and his utterances are frequently blasphemous. Some of hih books are as bad as books can be, but there is no question of their dramatic forco and literary merU. |