Chapter 104 Chapter 104

Every other Monday, Lane & Company hosts a social evening.It happened the second week after Philip's arrival.He made an appointment with a female colleague in the department to go with him. "Be gentle with them," said the lady colleague to Philip, "just as I do with them." The saleswoman was Mrs. Hodges, a mid-forty-five-year-old woman with unevenly dyed hair, tiny blood vessels on the yellow face, and pale blue against the yellowish whites of her eyes. eyes.She was interested in Philip.Philip had not been in the shop a week before she called upon him by his Christian name.

"You and I know the consequences of this," continued Mrs. Hodges. Mrs. Hodges told Philip that her last name was not Hodges.But when she was talking, she kept saying "My son Mistralakis".Her husband, though a barrister qualified to appear in the High Court, treated her with the utmost rudeness.She was the kind of woman who was used to being free, so she left her place in a fit of anger.But then again, she had known what it was like to have her wife next to her in her carriage, darling--she called everyone darling--so they were always late at dinner.Mrs. Hodges was in the habit of picking her teeth with the point of her gigantic silver brooch.The brooch was crossed with a whip and a hunting whip, with two spurs in the middle.Philip felt very uncomfortable in this strange surroundings.The girls in the shop called him "The Arrogant Guy."Once, a girl called him "Phil," but he didn't realize she was calling him, so he ignored it.The girl jerked her head back and called him a "proud rooster".The second time they met, the girl called him Mr. Carey in a serious but barbed voice.The girl's name was Jewel, and she was soon to marry a doctor.Her female companions had never seen the doctor, but they all said he must be a gentleman, for he gave Miss Jewelle many pleasant presents.

"Don't take what they say to your heart, my dear," Mrs. Hodges advised Philip. "You have to experience what I have experienced in the past. Those girls are also very pitiful, and they don't know much more than others! Don't worry, no matter what they say about you, don't be angry, when they Will love you." Social evenings are held in the underground restaurant.The dining table was pushed aside to make room for dancing, and the little tables were set up for a round of whist. "The heads of the company were at the meeting early," Mrs. Hodges said.

Mrs. Hodges introduced Philip to Miss Knight, a classmate.Miss Bennet was the preeminent beauty of Lane's company.She is a stocker in the petticoat department.She was talking to the stocker in the men's hosiery department when Philip entered.Miss Bennet was a stocky figure; her broad face was heavily painted with makeup; her breasts were so heavy that they threatened to burst her bodice; her flaxen hair was neatly combed.She was overdressed, but neatly tidied up. She was dressed in black with a high collar.Wearing clean gloves on his hands, he didn't even take them off when playing cards.There were heavy gold chains around the neck, bracelets on the wrists, and two round head pendants on the ears, one of which was that of Queen Alexandra.She carried a black satin bag in her hand, and kept chewing brown candy.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Carey," she said. "You're coming to the party for the first time, aren't you? I think you're a little cramped, but there's no need, really." Miss Bennet took great pains to keep people from feeling restrained.She kept patting people's shoulders, and then laughed heartily. "I'm not a naughty one, am I?" she cried, turning her face towards Philip. "You must think of me? But I can't help it." Everyone who came to the party was there.The vast majority are young shop assistants, among them are young men who have not yet found a girlfriend, and there are also young girls who have not yet found a loving young man to accompany them out for a walk.There were a few young men, looking like gentlemen, wearing ordinary suits, snow-white ties, and a bright red handkerchief in their watch pockets. They were all eager to try and show their talents here.They have an air of being busy and absent-minded.Some showed a confident and smug look, while others were so anxious that they kept looking around with eager eyes.After a while, a girl with thick hair like a cloud sat down at the piano, her fingers nimbly brushed over the keys, making a loud noise.After the audience quieted down, she glanced around and announced the title of the song:

"Russian Joyride Song" The girl dexterously tied the bell around her wrist, and at that moment, the audience burst into applause.She responded with a smile, and then a rousing tune popped out.At the end, the applause was louder than before.After everyone calmed down, she played another sketch depicting the sea.Only a series of slight vibratos are heard, symbolizing the crashing waves on the shore; the roaring chords and a sudden step on the forte pedal indicate the approaching storm.Afterwards, a gentleman came out and sang a song called "Say Goodbye to Me," and then had to add a "Lullaby."The audience present had elegant taste and were full of enthusiasm.They applaud each performer vigorously until the performer agrees to add to the show.In this way, no one will have any suspicion of favoritism.Miss Bennet came to Philip in a grand manner.

"I believe you can either play the piano or sing," she said slyly. "It shows on your face." "I'm afraid I can't do anything." "Can't even recite?" "I'm not good at anything." The clerk in the men's knitwear department is a famous reciter.The clerks under him kept asking him to come out and perform a recitation for everyone.Without much urging from them, he recited a long poem of intense tragedy.While reciting, his eyeballs rolled and he put his hand on his chest, appearing to be in grief.But the last line of the verse leaks the theme of the whole poem. It turns out that he didn't have cucumber for dinner.The audience responded with a burst of laughter, but the laughter was a bit forced, because everyone was familiar with his long poem.Miss Bennet neither sang nor played nor recited.

"Well, she has her own set of tricks," explained Mrs. Hodges. "Why, don't you make fun of me. But I know a little about palmistry and superhuman eyesight." "Ouch, look at my hand, Miss Bennet," cried Miss Bennet's girls, each eager to please her. "I don't like xiangshou, I really don't. I've said a lot of horrible things to people and it all came true. It makes people a little superstitious." "Oh, Miss Bennet, just this once." A small crowd surrounded Miss Bennet.She cryptically told anecdotes about good and bad people, money in a letter, and travels, all while the crowd burst into bursts of embarrassing screams, happy giggles, sad boos and admiring cheers , Some people flushed with embarrassment.In the end, she spoke until huge beads of sweat burst out on Fen's face.

"Look at me," she said, "I'm sweating like rain." Dinner starts at nine o'clock, and free pancakes, bread, sandwiches, tea and coffee are provided, but whoever wants to drink mineral water has to pay for it himself.The young man is bold and unrestrained, and often invites the women to drink ginger ale, but the ladies always decline politely out of politeness.Miss Bennet alone preferred ginger ale.At the party, she always had two bottles, sometimes even three, but she insisted on paying for them herself.Those young people liked her cheerfulness. "She's a weird old girl," people said, "but, mind you, she's not a person, just like some women are."

Immediately after supper, the game of upgrade whist began.In the blink of an eye, the restaurant was buzzing.When people moved from one dining table to another, the shouts and laughter were endless.Miss Bennet felt herself getting hotter and hotter. "Look at me," she said, "I'm dripping with sweat." After a while, a young man stood up and said, if you still want to dance, you'd better hurry up and start right away.The girl who was accompanying just now sat down in front of the piano, raised one foot, and stepped on the forte pedal resolutely.She played a soft and divine waltz, beating out the bass and pressing the high-octave stop with her right hand at intervals.She also changed her way, playing music with her hands crossed on the bass.

"She plays very well, doesn't she?" said Mrs. Hodges to Philip. "What's even better is that she never went to school, it's all by her ears." Miss Bennet loved dancing and poetry more than anything else.She danced well, with slow steps, and a look in her eyes, as if she were in deep thought.She talked about the floors, the heat, and dinner, and she was out of breath.She said the floors in Portman's dormitory were the highest grade in London.Yes, she likes to dance there; the people there are wonderful people, and she wouldn't dance with people she didn't know.Hey, if that's the case, people may laugh at it, and I don't know why.Almost everyone present danced well and had a great time.One by one, their heads were full of juice, and the high collar of the young man was softened by the juice and drooped down. Philip stood by and watched.At this moment, an unprecedented sense of depression hit his heart.He felt alone and lonely, almost unbearable.He didn't leave the party because he was afraid of appearing too arrogant.So he talked and laughed with the girls, but his heart was full of sadness.Miss Bennet asked him if he had a girlfriend. "Not yet," replied Philip, smiling. "Oh, well, there's a lot of girls here, and you pick them. Some of them are very nice and respectable girls. I don't think it'll be long before you'll have a girlfriend." She watched Philip slyly. "Be good at them," said Mrs. Hodges. "That's what I told him just now." The party didn't end until about eleven o'clock.Philip tossed and turned and could not sleep.Like everyone else, he put his sore feet outside the covers.With all his might, he restrained himself from thinking about the life he was leading.At this time, the soldier's slight snoring sound came from his ear.