It may be supposed that Vengerov again came to the assistance of S. A.
T. and solved her doubts, after which she went on with her work and
finished it at the end of October, 1913. Being in Petersburg, she
personally handed it over to Vengerov.[E] The work did not satisfy
Vengerov, as he did not find in it what, evidently, particularly
interested him, namely, information as to the life in Yasnaya Polyana
during the time when _War and Peace_ and _Anna Karenina_ were written.
Vengerov wrote to S. A. T. about this, urging her to fill up the gap, to
write a new additional chapter. S. A. T. did this. She sent the new
material to Vengerov accompanied by the following letter:
YASNAYA POLYANA,
STATION ZASSYEKA,
24 MARCH, 1914.
MUCH-RESPECTED SEMEN AFANASEVICH: You are perfectly right in your
observation that I left a great gap in my autobiography, and I
thank you very much for advising me to write one more chapter; I
have now done so. But the question is, have I done it well, and is
the new material suitable? Hard as I tried, and carefully as I
searched for materials for that chapter, I found very little, but I
have made the best use of it which I could.
In the former manuscript which I gave you in Petersburg, Chapter 3
should be cut out and the new one which I enclose in this letter
substituted. The chapter had to be corrected considerably, things
altered, struck out, and added.[F]
The chapter about the children in the new material has been
slightly altered at the beginning, and all the rest remains without
alteration, as in the former manuscript.
Be so good as to note the Roman figures marking chapters, but
divide it up into chapters anew at your discretion.
As I have not the whole manuscript in its final form before me, I
cannot do it myself and am obliged to trouble you. Please also
write me a word to say you have received the new chapter and give
me your opinion, which I value greatly.[G]
Accept the assurance of my sincere respect and devotion.