Dukhobors, who were forced to emigrate to Canada! What did they accomplish?”
Then Tolstoy could hardly keep his patience any longer. He was hurt to the quick, because he had spent his life for the Dukhobors. “Ah!” he cried, “so you have settled everything and know everything. You think you know that the Dukhobors accomplished nothing, and that they might have done much more, if they had only been as clever as you! You are the only ones with vision, are you? Pardon me, pardon me, and let me tell you plainly that this self-confidence is due to your fixed ideas which blind you. You must get rid of these errors which betray you.”
The revolutionaries asked Tolstoy to give them time to think over the matter, and Tolstoy bade them farewell, with every mark of tenderness, saying, “I shall be very happy if our talk has not been in vain.” All his excitement had vanished, and he was like a little child.
THE CAKE FESTIVAL
