“Ah, that is true,” he said. “We have had so many, the imperialist, the
civil war, and the war for self-defence.”
We then discussed the wonderful spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotism
with which England entered upon the war in 1914, and he wanted me to
read “Le Feu” and “La Clarté” of Barbusse, in which that spirit and its
development is so wonderfully described.
Then the telephone gave its damnable low buzzing. He looked at his
watch. He had promised me fifteen minutes on the revolving stand and
given me half an hour. He got down and went to the telephone. It did not
matter: I had done all I could. I had verified my measurements, and they
were correct, which was a relief, and so, it being 4 o’clock and I
mighty hungry, I said good-bye.
He was very pleased, said I had worked very quickly, called in his
secretary and discussed it with her, said it was _carascho_. I asked him
to give orders to have it removed to my studio, Room 31. Two soldiers
arrived and carried it out. I asked Lenin for his photograph, which he
sent for and signed for me.
I hurried after the two panting soldiers with their load. We passed
through the rooms of the astonished secretaries, out into the
corridors, past the bored and surprised sentries, and got through to the
main building. Two or three times they had to pause and deposit “Lenin”
on the floor, to the interest of the passers-by. At last he was safely
in Room 31, and they returned to Lenin’s room for the stands. It was a
good long way, and they were tired and dripping with sweat when their
job was done.
To my intense embarrassment, they refused money, though I offered them
stacks of paper notes. They refused very amiably, but firmly. I made
signs of imploration and signs of secrecy, but they laughed and just
pointed to their communist badges, and offered me their cigarettes which
were precious, being rationed.
At 4 Kameneff walked in, very surprised at Lenin being finished and
already back in my room. He had come in from a conference next door. He
went back and fetched in the Conference; eight or more men came in, some
with interesting heads, others just ordinary-looking workmen.
They all talked at once. One was Kalinin, whom I had seen in Lenin’s
room at an interview. Kalinin is the President of the Republic, and is a
peasant elected by the peasants. He was charming and promised to sit for
me, but is off to the front to-night for ten days, and offered to take
me with him. He told Kameneff that as I worked so rapidly I should find
some interesting heads to do there, especially General Budienny.
I said I thought it would be wonderful to do this work within sound of
the guns. Kameneff promised to ring me up at 9 o’clock to tell me if I
was to start at 10. Alas! It turned out to be a troop train, and not
possible for a woman.