Of very different character were the two bosom friends Martinòvsky and Starinkyèvitch, usually called “the two Vanitchki,” though really only one of them answered to the name of Ivan. Starinkyèvitch was another favourite of our little society, invariably good-tempered and full of fun. His jokes, _bon-mots_, and nonsense would often send us all into fits of laughter, when his own hearty ringing laugh was sure to dominate all the others. He too was talented, but not steady and persevering like Yatzèvitch. He was one of those fortunate beings who are able to get the gist of a passage with one rapid glance; but he squandered his gifts, attempting everything, and doing nothing thoroughly. He was almost girlishly tender, clinging, and confiding by nature; but could on occasion become passionate and violent. Moscow was his birthplace, and he was sent straight from the University in 1881, when a mere boyish student, to twenty years’ imprisonment, simply because he refused to say from whom he had received a manifesto that was found in his possession. He was an enthusiastic member of the _Naròdnaia Vòlya_. They say that two friends are generally of opposite temperaments, and the two Vanitchki certainly bore out that theory. While Starinkyèvitch was gay and lighthearted, Martinòvsky was grave, sedate, almost morose. He seldom smiled, and I can never remember hearing him laugh. He was a man of iron will, commanding and even despotic in character. I cannot imagine his ever being brought to yield a hair’s-breadth on any subject; on the contrary, he seemed always to contrive to bring others round to the fulfilment of his wishes. He was without doubt an extremely gifted and capable man, who might have made his mark as a leader in public affairs if he had had the chance. He was above all things practical; yet could immerse himself on occasion in theoretical problems, and was one of the first in the prison to take up the study of Marxism. He too came from Moscow, and like his friend Starinkyèvitch, had been condemned to twenty years’ imprisonment. Martinòvsky had been sentenced, in the same case as Sundelèvitch, Kviatkòvsky, and others, to fourteen years’ “katorga,” and an attempted escape brought him an addition of another six years. His having been chosen _stàrosta_ (head-man) by his comrades proves the complete trust they placed in him, and he was in every way a model representative of our interests.