Sentence:  He fled to Switzerland to escape military service, and there was <WSD>befriended</WSD> by the revolutionary, Angelica Balabanoff, who, pitying him in his misery and loneliness, <WSD>befriended</WSD> him, helping him translate a German pamphlet because he did not know the language. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To act as a friend to, to assist.