en air
heavy with the perfume of the linden-trees. Late tea was always served
in the house, in the large hall, accompanied by various viands, and by
wild strawberries fetched by the peasant children.

That evening the count talked to me chiefly about the pamphlets on the
Hopedale community and the peace doctrines advocated by Adin Ballou,
which had been sent to him shortly before from America. He had then
learned for the first time that his principles in that direction had
been anticipated, and he seemed to be genuinely gratified to know that
this was the case. He prophesied that this movement in favor of
non-resistance would attract much more attention in the future than it
has attracted in the past. The fate of Mr. Ballou's community did not
seem to shake his faith.

Naturally, the house was the first point which engaged our attention. In
1860, Count Tolstoy, being then thirty-two years of age, made up his
mind unalterably that he would never marry. All the world knows that
when the count has irrevocably determined upon anything he immediately
furnishes substantial proof of his convictions. On this occasion his
demonstration took the form of selling the manor house, which was taken
down and set up again on another estate in the same government by the
purchaser. The wings of the former house alone remained, detached
buildings, such as were used in the olden days to accommodate the
embroiderers, weavers, peasant musicians and actors of the private
troupes kept by wealthy grandees, as a theatre, or as extra apartments.
The count occupied one of these wings.

Two years later, he changed his mind and married. He brought his
beautiful bride of half his age to this tiny wing,--it chanced to be
tiny in this case,--and there she lived for seventeen years. The
horrible loneliness of it, especially in winter, with not a neighbor for
miles, unless one reckon the village at the park gate, which could not
have furnished anything but human beings, and never a congenial
companion for her! Needless to say that she never had on a low-bodied
gown, never went to the theatre or a ball, in all her fair young life;
and to the loneliness of the country must be added the absolute
loneliness during the absences of the count, who had much reading to do
in Moscow for the historical portions of his great war drama. When he
got tired of his village school, of his experiments upon the infant
peasant mind, of things in general, he could and did g