The Moon And Sixpence 50.2

In a few weeksthe authorities received his resignation of the coveted position on the staff.It created profound astonishment, and wild rumours were current. Whenever a mandoes anything unexpected, his fellows ascribe it to the most discreditablemotives. But there was a man ready to step into Abraham's shoes, and Abrahamwas forgotten. Nothing more was heard of him. He vanished.

It was perhapsten years later that one morning on board ship, about to land at Alexandria, Iwas bidden to line up with the other passengers for the doctor's examination.The doctor was a stout man in shabby clothes, and when he took off his hat Inoticed that he was very bald. I had an idea that I had seen him before.Suddenly I remembered.

"Abraham," I said.

He turned to mewith a puzzled look, and then, recognizing me, seized my hand. Afterexpressions of surprise on either side, hearing that I meant to spend the nightin Alexandria, he asked me to dine with him at the English Club. When we metagain I declared my astonishment at finding him there. It was a very modestposition that he occupied, and there was about him an air of straitenedcircumstance. Then he told me his story. When he set out on his holiday in theMediterranean he had every intention of returning to London and his appointmentat St. Thomas's. One morning the tramp docked at Alexandria, and from the deckhe looked at the city, white in the sunlight, and the crowd on the wharf; he sawthe natives in their shabby gabardines, the blacks from the Soudan, the noisythrong of Greeks and Italians, the grave Turks in tarbooshes, the sunshine andthe blue sky; and something happened to him. He could not describe it. It waslike a thunder-clap, he said, and then, dissatisfied with this, he said it waslike a revelation. 

几个星期以后，医院领导人收到一份辞呈，阿伯拉罕声明他决定放弃这个人人嫉羡的位置。这件事使人们感到极其惊诧，千奇百怪的谣言不胫而走。每逢一个人干出一件出人意料的事，他的相识们总是替他想出种种最令人无法置信的动机。但是既然早就有人准备好填补他留下的空缺，阿伯拉罕不久也就被人遗忘了。以后再也没人听到他的任何消息。这个人就这样从人们的记忆里消失了。

大约十年之后，有一次我乘船去亚历山大港①。即将登陆之前，一天早上，我被通知同其他旅客一起排好队，等待医生上船来检查身体。来的医生是个衣履寒酸、身体肥硕的人。当他摘下帽子以后，我发现这人的头发已经完全秃了。我觉得仿佛过去在什么地方见过他。忽然，我想起来了。

①在埃及。

“阿伯拉罕。”我喊道。

他转过头来，脸上显出惊奇的神色。愣了一会儿，他也认出我来，立刻握住我的手。在我们两人各自惊叹了一番后，他听说我准备在亚历山大港过夜，便邀请我到英侨俱乐部去吃晚饭。在我们会面以后，我再次表示在这个地方遇到他实在出乎我的意料之外。他现在的职务相当低微，他给人的印象也很寒酸。这以后他给我讲了他的故事。在他出发到地中海度假的时候，他一心想的是再回伦敦去，到圣·托玛斯医院去就职。一天早晨，他乘的那艘货轮在亚历山大港靠岸，他从甲板上看着这座阳光照耀下的白色城市，看着码头上的人群。他看着穿着褴褛的轧别丁衣服的当地人，从苏丹来的黑人，希腊人和意大利人成群结队、吵吵嚷嚷，土耳其人戴着平顶无檐的土耳其小帽，他看着阳光和碧蓝的天空。就在这个时候，他的心境忽然发生了奇异的变化，他无法描述这是怎么一回事。事情来得非常突兀，据他说，好象晴天响起一声霹雳；但他觉得这个譬喻不够妥当，又改口说好象得到了什么启示。