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Everything in the hospital building which could not be moved was destroyed and she went even that far to have all brass knobs removed from the doors and thrown into the river so that the Germans would not get the metal. So Kovno fell, but the war went on and Nelka's hospital was reestablished some 40 or 50 miles to the rear as a rear unit taking care of the evacuated wounded.
Later in the spring we went to Cazenovia to the little house which Nelka's Aunt Susie had left her and spent finally a restful and quiet summer, which was our honeymoon time. We were also regaining our health, which had suffered from the starvation period. Nelka put on some forty pounds and I came back to normal after having been bloated from hunger, like some starved Hindu child.
Nelka's mother was Nellie Blow, the daughter of Henry T. Blow of St. Louis, Missouri. The Blow family, of old southern aristocratic stock, moved from Virginia to St. Louis in 1830. Henry T. Blow was then about fifteen years old and had several brothers and sisters. He was a successful business man who became very wealthy and was also a prominent public and political figure, both in St.
But with Tibi, Nelka's affection for her grew and grew, and they became unusually attached to each other. Like all dogs who are constantly with a person, they develop a great maturity and intelligence. Tibi did just that. She was a very highly developed animal, as I remember her well. The winter of 1910-1911 Nelka spent again with her aunt Martha in Washington.
We first planned to go to Siberia but then decided we would join the army of General Denikin in the South of Russia, and I was given an assignment there. Before sailing for Europe we went to New Orleans to visit Nelka's cousin and then sailed from there for Liverpool, and then to London and Paris.
Again she longed for Europe and especially Russia. Her little dog Tibi became of primary importance in Nelka's life. Despite her love for animals, Nelka admits that up to that time she had no special attachment or deep affection for dogs. Dogs were just something you had around you; they were part of everyday life, but that was about all.
While in Paris, in addition to the general subjects and the lectures at the Sorbonne, Nelka also studied music, in particular the violin, and at a time was quite proficient in it, though she did not keep it up, as she did with painting, which she continued for a number of years. Nelka's mother tried to bring her up in the Russian spirit with a great veneration for the memory of her father.
Having had a diversified education in various countries, speaking four languages and having traveled extensively through many countries, she had a cosmopolitan mind and outlook and was perfectly at home in any country and with any nationality, in any surrounding. Nelka's mind was always a very philosophical mind and which was never at rest.
Nelka de Smirnoff was born on August 19, 1878 in Paris, France. Her father was Theodor Smirnoff, of the Russian nobility. Her grandmother had tartar blood in her veins and was born Princess Tischinina. Nelka's father was a brilliant man, finishing the Imperial Alexander Lyceum at the head of his class.
The loss of those close to her were blows which did not heal easily and caused deep pain. The death of her little dog Tibi likewise gave a nearly exaggerated frustration and grief. Just like everything else in her life, Nelka's grief was complete. She in everything understood and accepted only completeness. Nothing in her life meant anything if it was only partial.
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