Chapter 122 Chapter 122

Philip and Sallie agreed to meet at the National Gallery on Saturday.Sallie promised to go there as soon as the shop was over, and to dine with Philip.The last time I saw her was two days ago.But during these two days, Philip's excited heart never calmed down for a moment.It was for this reason that he was not in a hurry to find Sally.During this period Philip repeated meticulously what he was going to say to Sally, and practiced the tone and manner of addressing her.He had sent a letter to Dr. South, and now he had in his pocket the answering call from Dr. South that morning: "That moron has been dismissed. When will you be here?" Philip walked down Congress Avenue. go.The weather was fine that day, and the bright, white sun hung in the sky. Wisps of sunlight fluttered and twinkled on the street.The streets are crowded with thousands of people and are extremely crowded.In the distance, a mist like silk gauze flutters slowly, casting a layer of clear light on the tall buildings and making them look more elegant and graceful.Philip walked across Trafalgar Square.Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.He spotted a woman ahead of him and thought she was Mildred.The woman was of Mildred's stature, and walked in the same way as Mildred, with her feet shuffling slightly.His heart was pounding.Without thinking about it, he quickened his pace and rushed forward. When he got to the position next to the woman, the woman suddenly turned her face.Philip now realized that he did not know the woman at all.Her face was older, lined and sallow.Philip gradually slowed down his pace.He felt infinitely relieved, but suddenly felt a sense of disappointment.He couldn't help being afraid of himself.Was he never free from the bondage of that passion?He felt that, in the depths of his heart, no matter what had happened in the past, the indescribable and intense longing for that vulgar woman was always present and everywhere.That ambiguous entanglement left a great scar on his soul.He knew that this kind of spiritual wound could never be healed. In the end, only when his eyes were closed could his desire be filled.

Philip tried to drive away the pain in his heart.He thought of Sally, with her soft blue eyes flickering now and then, and an involuntary smile formed on his lips.Philip went up the steps in front of the National Gallery and sat in a front room so that he could see Sally when she appeared.Every time he is in the middle of the picture, he always has a sense of confidence in his heart.In fact, he is not looking at the pictures, he just lets the bright red colors and graceful lines cultivate his soul.He couldn't stop thinking about Sally.In London, Sally stood tall and radiant like a cornflower among the orchids and rhododendrons in the shop.Already in the hop fields in Kent Philip had known that Sally was not of the city.He firmly believed that in the softly radiant Dorset County, Sally would be born into a rare beauty in the world.Just as he was wandering in daydream, Sally stepped in.Philip quickly stood up and went forward.Sally was all in black, with white trim at the cuffs, and a muslin collar round her neck.They both shook hands.

"Have you been waiting for a long time?" "Not long. Only ten minutes. Are you hungry?" "fine." "Then shall we sit here for a while?" "up to you." They sat shoulder to shoulder, but neither spoke.Seeing Sally sitting beside him, Philip was very happy.Sally was so radiant that Philip felt as warm as spring.The brilliance of life illuminated the surroundings of her body like a halo. "Well, how are you feeling recently?" Philip finally couldn't hold back, and asked, with a smile on his face while speaking. "Oh, good. It was a false alarm."

"yes?" "Aren't you happy to hear that?" Suddenly, Philip felt a strange emotion in his heart.He had always been convinced that Sally's suspicion was well-founded, but it never occurred to him that something might go wrong, and such a thought never crossed his mind.In the blink of an eye, all his assumptions were disrupted, and the picture of life outlined by day and night was just a dream in the end, and it would never become a reality.He is free from the shackles again!free!There is no need to give up any of the plans he conceived, life is still in the palm of his hand, and he can shape it into whatever he wants.He was not excited at all, but full of melancholy.His heart was heavy.The future unfolded in front of his eyes was so deserted and empty.It seems that for many years, he has experienced hardships, crossed a vast ocean, and finally came to the wonderful kingdom of heaven.However, just as he was about to step into the heaven, a gust of headwind suddenly blew him into the vast ocean again.Because for many years he had indulged in the patches of sweet meadows and the pleasing forests of the lower world, so this vast and lonely sea filled his heart with distress and depression.He could no longer withstand the invasion of loneliness and the impact of the storm.Sally stared at Philip intently with her pair of clear eyes.

"Aren't you happy?" she asked again. "I thought you'd be flattered." Philip's eyes widened at Sally, who was staring at him. "I don't know," he muttered. "You're queer. Most men would be glad to hear that." Philip realized that what he had just said was a complete self-deception.In fact, it was not the spirit of self-sacrifice that drove me to consider marriage, but my desire for a wife, family and love.Seeing his wife, family and love all slipping through his fingers, a feeling of despair gripped his heart.He needs a wife, a home, and love more than anything else in the world.What Spain and its cities like Córdoba, Toledo, and León, what did he care about them?What were the pagodas of Burma and the lagoons of the South Sea islands to him?America is just around the corner.He seemed to feel that all his life he had acted in accordance with the ideals instilled in him by others through words and handwriting, and never acted in accordance with his own wishes.His whole life was always governed by what he thought he ought to do, not by what he really wanted to do.He made an impatient gesture and stopped thinking about those things.He always lives in the vision of the future, but misses the good opportunities in front of him one after another.What is his ideal?He thought of his desire to weave a delicate, beautiful pattern out of the intricacies and meaningless details of life.A man comes into the world, works, marries, has children, and dies quietly.This is the simplest yet most perfect pattern of life.Did he realize this?Surrendering to happiness may mean admitting failure, but this kind of failure is much more meaningful than a thousand victories.

Philip glanced briefly at Sally, wondering what she was thinking.Then he looked away. "I just wanted to propose to you," said Philip. "I thought you might, but I don't want to get in your way." "You will never get in the way." "Then you're not going on a trip? Didn't you say you're going to Spain and other places?" "How did you know I was going on a trip?" "I ought to know a little about that sort of thing. You talked about it with my father, and they ended up having a quarrel. I know all that." "I don't care about those things now." Philip paused for a moment, then whispered to Sally in a hoarse voice: "I don't want to leave you! I can't leave you either!"

Sally didn't answer.He didn't know what she was thinking. "I wonder if you will marry me, Sally." Sally sat there, motionless.There was no trace of expression on her face.She did not look at Philip as she spoke. "up to you." "you are not willing?" "Oh, of course I'd love to have a family of my own, and besides, it's time for me to start a family." Philip smiled brightly.Now he has figured out her mind.As for her attitude, he was not surprised. "But you won't marry me?" "I don't want to marry any other man."

"Then it's settled." "My parents will be amazed, won't they?" "I'm so happy." "I want to have lunch," Sally said. "Dear!" Philip took Sally's hand with a smile, and held it tightly in his own.The two of them stood up and both stepped out of the art gallery.They stood for a while by the railing, looking at Trafalgar Square, where carriages and buses came and went, and people came and went, hurriedly, in every direction.At this time, the sun is in the sky, shining brightly.