“No, truly, what are we to do, your honor?…Eh? What do you think?”

“Move neither hand nor foot. Let the street be ruined…”

“Some of the houses are almost coming down…”

“Let them fall; don’t interfere; and when they fall ask assistance from the city. If you don’t get it, bring a suit in court. Where does the water come from? From the city? Let the city then be responsible for the destruction of the houses.”

“They will say the water comes from the rain…”

“Does rain destroy the houses in the city? Eh? They take taxes from you but they do not let you speak of your rights. They destroy your life and property and at the same time force you to repair it! Fiddlesticks!”

And half the street, convinced by Kuvalda, the radical, decided to wait till the rain water swept away their houses. The others, more sensible, found in the teacher a man who composed for them a convincing report for the town authorities. In this report the refusal of the street’s inhabitants to comply with the resolution was so well founded that the authorities actually responded to it. The street was allowed to use the rubbish left after the repairs to the barracks, and for the transport of this five horses were given by the fire brigade. Still more, they even saw the necessity of laying a drain-pipe through the street at the earliest opportunity. This and many other things vastly increased the popularity of the teacher. He wrote petitions for them and published notices in the newspapers. For instance, on one occasion Vaviloff’s customers noticed that the herrings and other provisions of the pub were not up to the mark, and after a day or two they saw Vaviloff standing at the bar with the newspaper in his hand making a public apology.

“It is true, I must acknowledge, that I bought moldy, not very fresh herrings, and the cabbage…well, that too was a bit withered. It is only too well known that everyone wants to put as many a five-kopeck piece in his pocket as he can. And what is the result? It has not been a success; I was greedy, I own, but the cleverer man has exposed my greed, so we are quits…”

This confession made a very good impression on the people, and it also gave Vaviloff the opportunity of getting rid of his herrings and cabbages, for so much were they impressed that they failed to notice what they were eating.

This incident was very significant, because it not only increased the teacher’s popularity, but also acquainted the man in the street with the effect of press opinion.

It often happened, too, that the teacher delivered lectures on practical morality in the public house.

“I saw you,” he said to the house painter Yashka Tyurin, “I saw you, Yakov, beating your wife…”

Yashka was not a little tight after two glasses of vodka, and was in a dare-devil mood.

The people around looked at him, expecting him to “kick up” a row, and all were silent.

“Did you see me? And how did you like it?” asked Yashka.

This was met with subdued laughter.

“I did not like it,” replied the teacher. His tone was so earnest that the people around kept silent.

“Sorry, I was doing my best,” said Yashka, with bravado, scenting that the teacher would get the better of him. “The wife is satisfied…She has not been up today yet…”