Page 993 - of-human-bondage-

literature but directly from the torrid, scented plains and
the bleak mountains of their country. A few short months
now, and he would hear with his own ears all around him
the language which seemed most apt for grandeur of soul
and passion. His fine taste had given him an inkling that
Andalusia was too soft and sensuous, a little vulgar even,
to satisfy his ardour; and his imagination dwelt more will-
ingly among the wind-swept distances of Castile and the
rugged magnificence of Aragon and Leon. He did not know
quite what those unknown contacts would give him, but he
felt that he would gather from them a strength and a pur-
pose which would make him more capable of affronting
and comprehending the manifold wonders of places more
distant and more strange.
For this was only a beginning. He had got into commu-
nication with the various companies which took surgeons
out on their ships, and knew exactly what were their routes,
and from men who had been on them what were the ad-
vantages and disadvantages of each line. He put aside the
Orient and the P. & O. It was difficult to get a berth with
them; and besides their passenger traffic allowed the medi-
cal officer little freedom; but there were other services which
sent large tramps on leisurely expeditions to the East, stop-
ping at all sorts of ports for various periods, from a day or
two to a fortnight, so that you had plenty of time, and it was
often possible to make a trip inland. The pay was poor and
the food no more than adequate, so that there was not much
demand for the posts, and a man with a London degree was
pretty sure to get one if he applied. Since there were no pas-

Of Human Bondage