Chapter 50 Fifty

I think some people are born in a certain place, so to speak, they don't deserve it.Chance throws them into a random environment, but they always miss a hometown that they don't know where it is.They are strangers in their birthplace; the leafy lanes they have known so well from childhood, the populous streets in which they play with their companions, are to them but a place of passage.They may spend their whole lives aliens among their kindred and remain aloof among the only scenes they have ever known.Perhaps it is this strangeness in the native land that compels them to travel to foreign lands in search of a permanent residence.Perhaps in the depths of their hearts still lurked the habits and inclinations of so many generations ago, calling these wanderers back to the lands their ancestors left in ancient times.Sometimes a man stumbles upon a place and feels mysteriously that this is exactly where he lives, the home he has been looking for.So he settled down among these unfamiliar scenes and people he never knew, as if everything here was familiar to him since he was a child.Here at last he found peace.

I told Tiare a story about a man I knew at St Thomas' Hospital.This is a Jew named Abraham.He was a blond, stocky young man.She is shy and kind, but very talented.He was enrolled on a scholarship, and during the five years of study, as long as he had the opportunity to apply for any kind of scholarship, no one else would take it.He was first a resident physician and later a resident surgeon.No one does not recognize his extraordinary talent.At last he was elected to the governing body, and his future was assured.According to the inferences of the world, he will definitely become famous and rich in his own career.Before taking office he wanted a vacation; and as he had no money of his own he took a position as a doctor on a tramp bound for the Mediterranean.There is usually no doctor on this kind of freighter, but because there is a senior surgeon in the hospital who knows the manager of a shipping company that runs this route, the freighter hired Abraham because of the manager's affection.

A few weeks later, hospital leaders received a resignation letter, and Abraham declared his decision to relinquish the envied position.This incident made people feel extremely surprised, and all sorts of strange rumors spread like wildfire.Whenever a man does something unexpected, his acquaintances invent for him the most incredible motives.But since someone was ready to fill the void he left, Abraham was soon forgotten.No one ever heard from him again.The man just disappeared from people's memory. Once, about ten years later, I took a boat to Alexandria.One morning before landing, I was told to line up with other passengers and wait for the doctor to come on board to check my body.The doctor who came was a poorly dressed and stout man.When he took off his hat, I found that the man's hair was completely bald.I felt as if I had seen him somewhere before.Suddenly, I remembered.

"Abraham," I called. He turned his head, a look of surprise on his face.After a while, he also recognized me and immediately held my hand.After we had both marveled at each other, he invited me to supper at the British Club when he heard that I was going to spend the night in Alexandria.After our meeting, I expressed again that meeting him in this place was beyond my expectation.His current position is rather lowly, and his impression is very shabby.After that he told me his story.When he set off on a holiday in the Mediterranean, his whole thought was to return to London and take up his duties at St. Thomas' Hospital.One morning the freighter he was on docked in Alexandria, and from the deck he watched the sunlit white city and the crowds on the pier.He looked at the natives in their tattered gabardines, at the blacks from the Sudan, at the noisy throngs of Greeks and Italians, at the Turks in their turkey caps, and at the sunshine and blue sky.At this moment, a strange change occurred in his state of mind, and he couldn't describe what happened.The incident happened very suddenly, according to him, like a thunderbolt on a sunny day; but he felt that this metaphor was not appropriate, so he changed his words and said that he seemed to have received some inspiration.His heart seemed to be pulled by something.Suddenly, he felt a surge of ecstasy, a sense of infinite freedom.He felt as if he had returned to his hometown. He made up his mind then and there that he would spend the rest of his life in Alexandria.There was no difficulty in getting off the freighter; twenty-four hours later he was ashore with all his belongings.

"The captain must think you're crazy," I said with a smile. "I don't care what other people think as they like. It wasn't me who did it. It was a force in me that was far stronger than my own will. When I landed, I looked around. Thought I was going to a little hotel owned by a Greek; I thought I knew where to find it. Guess what? I walked up to this hotel without any trouble, and as soon as I saw the place Recognized immediately." "Have you ever been to Alexandria?" "No. I never left England before this trip abroad." Before long, he found a job at a public hospital, where he has remained ever since.

"Have you never regretted it?" "Never. Haven't regretted it for a minute. I earn just enough to live on, but I'm content. I don't ask for anything but to live like this until I die. I'm living a very good life." I left Alexandria the next day, and I did not think about Abraham again until a short while ago.That was when I was having dinner with another old friend who was a doctor, Alek Calmikel.Carl Mikael was back in England for a short break and I happened to meet him on the street.He did a great job in the Great War and was knighted.I congratulated him.We made an appointment to spend an evening together and catch up with each other.I promised to have dinner with him, and he suggested not inviting others so that we could have an undisturbed conversation.He had an old house in Queen Ann Street, which was very elegantly furnished, for he was a man of great taste.I saw a painting by Bellotto on the dining room wall, and two by Giovanni that I admired.When his wife, a tall, pleasant-looking woman in gold, left us, I smiled and told him how much his life had changed since we were medical students. big.In those days we considered a meal in a poor Italian restaurant in Westminster Bridge Street a very luxurious affair.Alek Calmickel now holds important positions in six or seven large hospitals, and I estimate that he can earn ten thousand pounds a year.Being knighted this time is just the first honor he will enjoy sooner or later.

"I've done well," he said, "but it's all thanks to a chance stroke of luck, which is strange." "I don't understand what you mean by that?" "I don't understand? Do you still remember Abraham? He should be the one who should have made great achievements. When I was a student, he beat me badly everywhere. Whether it was bonuses or stipends, he took them away from me. Go; I'll give in every time. If he goes on like this, I'll be where I am now. He's a genius at surgery. No one can compete with him. When he was appointed to St. Thomas's affiliated medicine When I was a registrar, I had absolutely no hope of entering the governing body. I could only practice as a doctor, and you know how likely it is for an ordinary practitioner to jump out of this slot. But Abraham let I got his seat, and I got his seat. This gave me a chance to advance step by step."

"I think what you said is true." "It's all luck. I think Abraham's gone crazy. There's nothing to be done with the poor thing. He's got a job with the Alexandria Sanitation Department--quarantine or something. Somebody Tell me he lived with an ugly old Greek woman and had half a dozen cubs with scrofula. So I figured it wasn't a matter of brains, but personality. What Braham lacked was character." personality?It seems to me that it takes a strong personality to be willing to throw away a life's career after only half an hour's consideration because one sees a greater significance in another way of life.If you take this step rashly and never regret it later, you need more personality.But I didn't say anything.Alec Calmickel continued in deep thought:

"Of course, I'd be too hypocritical if I pretended to regret Abraham's actions. Anyway, it's because he took such a step that I took advantage of it." He smoked a Long Corona Havana cigars, puffing smoke rings comfortably. "But if I hadn't been personally implicated in the matter, I'd be sorry for his squandering of talent. It's too painful for a man to squander himself like that." I very much doubt that Abraham really spoiled himself.Doing what you want to do most, living in the environment you love, being indifferent and peaceful, and not contending with the world, is this ruining yourself?On the contrary, to be a famous surgeon with an annual salary of ten thousand pounds and marry a beautiful wife is success?I think it all depends on how a person sees the meaning of life, on what he thinks he owes to society and what is required of himself.But still I said nothing; who am I to argue with a Sir?