e I am,
alone, even as that fire. Only no light comes from me, nothing but fumes
and smoke. If I could only meet a wise man! Someone to speak to. It is
utterly impossible for me to live alone. I cannot do anything. I wish I
might meet a man."

Far away, on the river, two large purple fires appeared, and high above
them was a third. A dull noise resounded in the distance, something
black was moving toward Foma.

"A steamer going up stream," he thought. "There may be more than a
hundred people aboard, and none of them give a single thought to me.
They all know whither they are sailing. Every one of them has something
that is his own. Every one, I believe, understands what he wants. But
what do I want? And who will tell it to me? Where is such a man?"

The lights of the steamer were reflected in the river, quivering in
it; the illumined water rushed away from it with a dull murmur, and the
steamer looked like a huge black fish with fins of fire.

A few days elapsed after this painful night, and Foma caroused again. It
came about by accident and against his will. He had made up his mind to
restrain himself from drinking, and so went to dinner in one of the
most expensive hotels in town, hoping to find there none of his
familiar drinking-companions, who always selected the cheaper and less
respectable places for their drinking bouts. But his calculation proved
to be wrong; he at once came into the friendly joyous embrace of the
brandy-distiller's son, who had taken Sasha as mistress.

He ran up to Foma, embraced him and burst into merry laughter.

"Here's a meeting! This is the third day I have eaten here, and I am
wearied by this terrible lonesomeness. There is not a decent man in the
whole town, so I have had to strike up an acquaintance with newspaper
men. They're a gay lot, although at first they played the aristocrat and
kept sneering at me. After awhile we all got dead drunk. They'll be here
again today--I swear by the fortune of my father! I'll introduce you to
them. There is one writer of feuilletons here; you know, that some one
who always lauded you, what's his name? An amusing fellow, the devil
take him! Do you know it would be a good thing to hire one like that for
personal use! Give him a certain sum of money and order him to amuse!
How's that? I had a certain coupletist in my employ,--it was rather
entertaining to be with him. I used to say to him sometimes: 'Rimsky!
give us some couplets!' He would start