STARTING MOSCOW.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLII, Issue 9594, 31 August 1921, Page 6

STARTING MOSCOW.

FAMOUS ACTRESS' DEATH. A (PITIFUL APPEAL. The following are exteacts from two letters received m England recently from Moscow. The first, is dated April 15:— u 'Elena Pavlovna (Mile. Muratova, one of the leading actresses of the •'■ Moscow Art Theatre) is dangerously , ill. She has now for more than a month been confined to her bed with a very high temperature. She is literally/starving, as she cannot digest the horrible stuff that they call bread and soup, with which we are fed here. She is delirious and keeps repeating 1 only one sentence: "If only I could have an orange . . . only one little orange!" *•' Yesterday the doctor told me that I he might be able to pull her through if only she could have an orange. My dear friend, do help us. Try to send ] us somehow a few oranges, even one only, try through the Soviet Delegation. Do try! Get your English friends to help you, those who have j been to Moscow who have been to the Art Theatre and a-emember Mile. Mur-atova-in the "Cherry Orchard'? and j other plays. Perhaps they could man- : age to have an orange sent to us at once, and so save a human life. We cannot get any oranges here for love or money, although we are ready to pay 100,000 roubles for one. I>o your best and send us an orange immediately." The letter was written on May 3 :— "Muratova is dead. She never got her orange. But for us now the word 'orange' has become a symbol, and you would be surprised to hear how often we repeat it m our own little circle For us the word 'orange is the symbol of everything that we have not, of everything that has been taken away from us, of everything that you have over there : freedom, peace, things beautiful and nice, things' that we can. only dream of here. An orange means to us a warm room, ai new book, nice food, children that are- not crying from hunger. An orange means to us a pair of shoes with soles that are not worn-out, a peaceful 1 our m a cosy room, .water m the taps, theright to say and think what one lil-.cs, and first of all to be able to feel that you are again m touch wiVn the outside world. "Muratova is dead, and standing round her grave the other day tlirre was only one thought m each of oiiv heads : Whose turn will it be next ? And will somebody be able to get us" an orange? .... 'only one little orange.' . . . .'*.' © • i