In September 1862 Tolstoy married Sophia Andreevna Behrs, the daughter of a military doctor. He was at this time thirty-four years of age, his bride being sixteen years younger. Miss Behrs was not only beautiful, she was an exceedingly cultured girl, having passed various examinations at the Moscow University. According to her brother, the manner of their courtship was practically identical with that of Levin and Kitty in “Anna Karènina.” Countess Tolstoy at the age of forty-eight is described by Sergyeenko in “How Count Tolstoy Lives and Works,” as having “An open, expressive countenance, with vivacious, fearless eyes, which she constantly brings near to the objects at which she is looking. At her very first words one feels her straightforward nature. In her manner there is not even a shadow of truckling to suit the tone of any one whomsoever; her own individual note is always audible.” About the time of his marriage, Tolstoy was described as “a tall, wide-shouldered thin-waisted man, with a moustache, but without a beard, with a serious, even a gloomy expression of face, which, however, was softened by a gleam of kindliness whenever he smiled.” [Sidenote: =Count Tolstoy at work in the fields= _see page_ 10] Living at Yasnaya Polyana winter and summer, with but rare intervening visits to Moscow, Tolstoy interested himself in all the practical details of farming. Probably his own experiences of the physical labour of mowing are depicted as those of Levin in “Anna Karènina.” “The work went on and on. Levin absolutely lost all idea of time, and did not know whether it was early or late. Though the sweat stood on his face, and dropped from his nose, and all his back was wet as though he had been plunged in water, still he felt very well. His work now seemed to him full of pleasure. It was a state of unconsciousness: he did not know what he was doing, or how much he was doing, or how the hours and moments were flying, but only felt that at this time his work was good.” Tolstoy was also an enthusiastic sportsman--a diversion which occasioned him two serious accidents--and, in addition to fulfilling the duties of a Justice of the Peace, he set himself to grapple with the novel conditions of land-owning, a complicated and arduous task to which he applied himself with characteristic energy and shrewdness. Indeed, his interests were manifold and exacting. Yet during this busy period he by no means neglected his literary work. The composition of his novel “War and Peace” began immediately after his marriage, and extended over a period of eight years. His wife copied out the manuscript of this work no less than seven times as he altered and improved it. “War and Peace” was followed by “Anna Karènina,” which was not completed until 1876. [Sidenote: =Facsimile of a portion of Tolstoy’s MS.= _see page_ 11]