It was decided that the rubbish left after some
repairs had been done to the barracks should be used for mending
and filling up the ditches in their street, 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. This and many other things vastly increased the
popularity of the teacher. He wrote petitions for them and
published various remarks in the newspapers. For instance, on
one occasion Vaviloff's customers noticed that the herrings and
other provisions of the eating-house were not what they should
be, 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 old and not very
good herrings, and the cabbage . . . also . . . was old. It is
only too well known that anyone can put many a five-kopeck piece
in his pocket in this way. And what is the result? It has not
been a success; I was greedy, I own, but the cleverer man has
exposed me, so we are quits . . ."
This confession made a very good impression on the people, and it
also gave Vaviloff the opportunity of still feeding them with
herrings and cabbages which were not good, though they failed to
notice it, so much were they impressed.
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