had many sides to his character, as we shall see, and that is what makes him so intensely interesting.
Tolstoy was a deeply affectionate man, loving above all things his home, his wife, and his children. If ever he had to leave them for a time, even if it were only on a hunting expedition, he would always as he approached his home say, "If only all is well at home!" Whatever he did, he did with his whole heart and soul. He was an enthusiastic schoolmaster, a keen sportsman and farmer, and an excellent gardener and beekeeper. He looked into everything on his estate and insisted upon having all his pigs washed, and there were as many as three hundred!
So Tolstoy's life was as full as it possibly could be. For the first ten years of his married life he was so much occupied with the cares of family life, and the life of a country gentleman, that he had less time for thought and did not worry himself quite so much about the reasons of life. He was also absorbed in his writing, and being a perfect giant for work, was able during this period—in spite of his numberless activities—to write two very great novels, besides many shorter stories and primers for children.
"War and Peace," an historical novel of the time of Napoleon, and requiring an immense amount of research, and "Anna Karenina" are as great as any novels that have been written in any country. Tolstoy's extraordinary powers of observation and his acute, almost uncanny, understanding of human na-
