INTERVALS OF REST--IN OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES
The only intervals of freedom and rest which Leo Nikolaevitch could
enjoy from the indescribably painful conditions of life at Yasnaya
Polyana at that period were afforded him by the rare occasions when
he succeeded in getting away for a week or two to stay with some one
of his more intimate friends. Thus during the last year of his life
he stayed on two occasions with his daughter Tatyana Lvovna, in the
Mtsensk district, and with me (I was in exile from the Tula
province), the first time at Kryokshino in the Zvenigorodsky district
near Moscow, and afterwards at Meshtcherskoe in the Serpuhovsky
district. But he very rarely succeeded in arranging these visits, and
only did so with great trouble, since Sofya Andreyevna opposed them
in every way; and if, in spite of her opposition, he did make up his
mind to go away, it would sometimes happen that at the last minute
she would decide to go with him, which, of course, spoilt the chief
object of the excursion.
I remember on both occasions when he came to us how extremely
shattered, worn out and ill Leo Nikolaevitch looked, and how
perceptibly before our eyes he improved physically and revived
spiritually. Even on the second or third day of a calm life, and in a
circle of friends of the same way of thinking, who guarded his
spiritual peace and fully respected his independence, he was
completely changed. It was as though some crushing, agonising burden
had fallen off him; his face was brighter in expression, his
movements became vigorous, in the morning he worked with
concentration for many hours on end at his writings, amazing us all
by the number of written pages which he afterwards gave us to copy
out. During his daily walks he went so rapidly and so far that it was
difficult for people much younger to keep up with him. With the
visitors of the most varied kind, of whom numbers were always
flocking to see him, and from whom no one in our house shut him off
as at home, he carried on lively conversations in his free time, in
that way coming into direct contact with the surrounding world. In
conversation with his friends no one interrupted him or contradicted
him at every turn, an annoyance to which he was continually subjected
at home, and therefore communion with those surrounding him here
afforded him joyous spiritual relief. Everything showed what vast
stores of energy were still preserved in him; it was clear that under
favourable conditions he might for many years to come lead an active
life to the joy and profit of humanity.
His inner spiritual revival was shown very conspicuously in the fact
that every day he became more and more drawn to artistic creation. At
first he noted down characteristic meetings and conversations which
took place during his walks. And each time before he went away he
told me with confident eagerness that great, purely artistic works
were stirring within him and taking shape in his soul, and that he
hoped now to set to work upon them. But these plans were not destined
to be realised, since on his return to Yasnaya Polyana the painful
conditions which have been indicated already were renewed, and calm
creative work was inconsistent with them.
Altogether the difference between his condition, both physical and
spiritual, when he arrived and when he left us was striking. I
remember how I met him in the garden at the end of his last stay with
us at Meshtcherskoe, where he had arrived almost in a state of
collapse. He walked quickly and he looked remarkably vigorous and
many years younger. With an air of lively surprise he greeted me with
the words: "I don't understand what it is in your diet, but whenever
I stay with you my digestion seems to become perfect." It is well
known that the best conditions for a man suffering from defective
digestion are simple, not elaborately prepared, food adapted to his
requirements, and above all an even, untroubled spiritual atmosphere
in all his home life. But Leo Nikolaevitch expected so little by way
of attention from others to his needs and tastes, he attached so
little significance for himself to the influence of external
surroundings, that it seemed as though it did not enter his head to
connect the state of his health with the conditions surrounding him.