I found that I had lost what little liking I had for it. As I had no
friends in Valencia, I never left the house; I had nowhere to go. I
passed my days stretched out on the roof, or, else, in reading. After
debating long what I should do, and realizing fully that there was no
one obvious plan to pursue, I determined to finish my course, committing
the required subjects mechanically. After adopting this plan, I never
failed once.

When I came up for graduation, the professors made an effort to put some
obstacles in my way, which, however, were not sufficient to detain me.

Admitted as a physician, I decided next to study for the doctor's degree
at Madrid.

My former fellow-students, when they saw that now I was doing nicely,
all exclaimed:

"How you have changed! Now you pass your examinations."

"Passing examinations, you know, is a combination, like a gambling
game," I told them.

"I have found a combination."




X