he emerged again, as it were, dirtier than before, with
reddened, half-closed eyelids, weak voice, and general bloodless
appearance. A conjecture as to where he was during this time was
suggested by a smell of spirits, beside the fact that students from the
laboratory had often seen him late at night at the corner of the
Leipziger and Friedrichstrasse in earnest consultation with some
unhappy creature of the streets, and that he was often seen haunting
remote streets in the eastern districts in the company of women.

Barinskoi declared he was the correspondent of a large St. Petersburg
paper, and that he made great efforts to remove the prejudices of
Russia against Germany, and to give his readers a respect for their
great neighbors. By chance one day Wilhelm read the page of Berlin
correspondence, and found that from first to last it was full of
poisoned abuse, insult, and calumination of Berlin and its inhabitants.
At the next opportunity he put it before Barinskoi's eyes without a
word. He started a little, but said directly, quite calmly: Yes, he had
read the letter too; naturally it was not by him; the paper had other
correspondents, who hated Germans, he could do no more than put a stop
to their lies, and find out the reality of their misrepresentations.

Early in this short acquaintance it was clear that Barinskoi was in
constant money difficulties. By his own representations the paper paid
him very irregularly, and the most curious accidents constantly
occurred to prevent the arrival of the expected payments. Once the
money was sent by mistake to the Constantinople correspondent, and it
was six weeks before the oversight was cleared up. Another time a
fellow-writer who was traveling to Berlin undertook to bring the money
with him. On the way he lost the money out of his pocket-book, and
Barinskoi had to wait until he went back to St. Petersburg, to inquire
into the case. By such fool's stories was Wilhelm's friendship put to
the proof. Barinskoi did not stop at borrowing money occasionally, with
sighs and groans, but every few days, often at a few hours' interval, a
new and larger loan would frequently follow.

All this was a dubious method of consolation, and yet Dr. Schrotter, or
rather Paul Haber, decided that though further contact with Barinskoi
must be avoided, he was an object of increasing interest to Wilhelm.
Barinskoi had many ideas in sympathy with his, which he did not find in
others, and their vie