ns, of social reorganization; I used to read
such deep and impenetrable authors that their thoughts did not seem
to be a part of them--and now a prostitute warmed me with her body,
and I was in debt to a miserable, shameful creature, banished by a
society that did not want to accord her a place. The wind blew and
groaned, the rain beat down upon the boat, the waves broke around
us, and both of us, closely entwined, trembled from cold and hunger.
And Natasha consoled me; she spoke to me in a sweet, caressing
voice, as only a woman can. In listening to her tender and naive
words, I wept, and those tears washed away from my heart many
impurities, much bitterness, sadness and hatred, all of which had
accumulated there before this night."

At daybreak, they say good-bye to each other, and never see one
another again.

"For more than six months, I looked in all the dives and dens in the
hope of seeing that dear little Natasha once more, but it was in
vain...."

* * * * *

We find him again at Nizhny Novgorod at the time of the call for
military recruits. Gorky was reformed, for, he says, "They do not
accept those who are fallen." Meanwhile, he became a kvass merchant
and exercised this trade for several months. Finally, he became the
secretary of a lawyer, named Lanine. The latter, who had a very good
reputation, took a deep interest in the poor boy whom life had
treated so ill. He became interested in his intellectual development
and, according to Gorky himself, had a great influence on him. At
Nizhny Novgorod, as at Kazan, Gorky felt himself attracted by the
circle of young people who discussed the "cursed" questions, and he
soon was noticed by his comrades. They spoke of him as "a live and
energetic soul."

Easy as life was for Gorky in this city, where he remained for a
while, the "wanderlust" again seized him. "Not feeling at home
among these intelligent people," he traveled. From Nizhny Novgorod,
he went, in 1893, to Tzaratzine; then he traveled on foot through
the entire province of the Don, the Ukraine, entered into
Bessarabia, and from there descended by the coast of the Crimea as
far as Kuban.

In October, 1892, Gorky found himself at Tiflis, where he worked in
the railroad shops. That same year, he published in a local paper
his first story, "Makar Choudra," in which already a remarkable
talent was evident.

Leaving Tiflis after a short sojourn there, he came to the banks o