38 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



the evening and was greatly embarrassed, not knowing 

 where to find a lodging. A young German in the 

 station offered him a room in his own family's house 

 and took him there. The next morning, very early, 

 Elie ran out to buy his books and, in his haste, forgot 

 to note the number of the house and the name of 

 the street ; it was with the utmost difficulty that he 

 found the place again. Much disturbed by this mis- 

 adventure, he hastened to start for Wiirzburg and, 

 on arriving there, met with a great disappointment ; 

 all the professors were absent, this being the middle 

 of the holidays, and the lectures were not to begin for 

 six weeks. The poor boy, thus alone for the first time 

 among strangers, felt completely lost. He was given 

 the address of some Russian students and he hastily 

 sought them out, full of joy and hope, only to be 

 received coldly and distrustfully by his compatriots. 

 After this discouraging reception, he sadly proceeded 

 to look for a room, and having found one in the house 

 of a disagreeable old couple, he brought his bag there. 

 But, as he began to unpack it, he was seized with a 

 feeling of such utter despair that he hastily put his 

 luggage together again and announced to his elderly 

 hosts that he was going. Surprised and indignant, they 

 abused him so brutally that his distress only increased ; 

 he rushed to the station, took the first train, and 

 returned to Panassovka without a stop. This hurried 

 return disconcerted his family, but, seeing the state 

 he was in, nobody reproached him. His mother had 

 felt much anxiety on his account, and was in fact not 

 sorry to keep him a little longer under her wing. 

 Thus, in dismal failure, ended that first journey 

 abroad, so ardently desired. The result might £ave 

 been very different if Elie had reached Wiirzburg at 



