Chapter 8 6

August 19, 1916 Queen's Hall Central London, Marylebone * At the end of the concert, the musicians packed their instruments into velvet-padded boxes, and the audience rose.Some people stood in the aisle and chatted, and some people walked towards the exit.Everyone spoke in a low voice at first, and then the volume became louder and louder. Ashley sat in the last row watching the Great Western Railway's train timetable.He had seen Yin Mozhen, and was waiting for her to go out when he saw him.Ashley took out the pen in his pocket and circled the train from Paddington to Didcot at 9:38.

Yin Mozhen sat down beside him, fixed her eyes on the stage, leaned her head into his ear and said: So it was really you. Ashley put the train timetable in his coat pocket. He said: Maybe people will think you are following me. Did you like this concert? I like it very much. Then why sit in the back? I'm late. Why are you late? Ashley smiled, looking at the aisle. I stood outside for a while, wondering if I should come in. Glad you came in. An old lady on crutches wanted to pass, and they got up to make way, and they didn't sit down again. Ashley stammered: I'm leaving on Thursday. I mean the weather is fine. Do you want to take a walk?

Yin Mozhen said yes.Ashley said they could go to Green Park or Hyde Park, but Regent's Park was the closest. Yin Mozhen said: No matter what, you should go to Regent's Park. Regent's Park is the most beautiful, and if you are tired of England, you can also visit its French garden.Although you are going to France soon, but Yin Mozhen didn't finish her sentence, she bit her lip and looked towards the exit.Ashley looked at her, waiting for her to speak. But what? She shook her head. I really shouldn't say it, but I don't think you'll be visiting the gardens there.

They walked in Regent's Park, where fountains and hedges lined up, and the sun made their faces gold.Ashley frowned when he saw the empty stone flowerpot. Without flowers, everything changes. But I still remember the original look. Yin Mozhen stepped forward to touch the flowerpot. Crocuses were originally grown here, and the loveliest flower has the strangest name.The purple hyacinths are over here, I'm sure.There are daffodils over there, and beyond that are geraniums and dahlias Ashley held the military cane tightly behind his back.A group of wounded soldiers in blue hospital uniforms walked by, followed by two nurses.Ashley talks about his officer training, and Inmogen says she's preparing for Somerville College entrance exams.

Ashley said: I sympathize with you.I was terribly afraid of Cambridge's pre-baccalaureate exams, compared to how easy it was to write a pen and join the army.Is Somerville difficult? It's not too difficult, but I want to apply for a scholarship, so I need decent grades.But I have learned these before, so it is fairly simple. learned? Yin Mozhen nodded.It's a bit embarrassing to say, but you must understand, Mr. Worthingham, that the situation was very chaotic.If I wanted to learn painting or music like Mom and Eleanor, no one would have a problem.But I want to gain knowledge, not just describe life, I want to experience.So I was determined to get into Somerville College, and after a long fight with my father, I took my Easter entrance exams, but I didn't prepare well enough to do well.I can speak English and Greek well, Latin is very weak, and mathematics can only be said to be miserable.

Yin Mozhen glanced at Ashley and frowned. You know, it felt really bad at the time.My mother did her best to get Eleanor into the Slade School of Art, but I went to Oxford by myself.When I got there, I found that everything was different from what I imagined. All the academies were vacant for military trainees.During the four days of the exam, I lived in the coldest room at Oriel College, because Somerville College was temporarily converted into a hospital.By the morning of the third day, the whole thing seemed ridiculous, there was a war out there, there were rebels in Ireland, and I was shaking in bed, thinking about algebra

You haven't finished the exam? Yin Mozhen sighed and shook her head.Now I will take the test again.I was in London for a few months, long enough for me to think things through.Sooner or later one learns that it's not enough to be smart and thoughtful, you have to do something, you have to create some corner of goodness in the world, it doesn't matter how small it is.For a few weeks I made up my mind to go to France and work as a midwife for a Quaker charity, but papa objected immediately, saying I should go to Somerville anyway. Ashley laughed.Yin Mozhen smiled and shook her head, pretending to be angry.

He is right.It's so hard to be a field nurse, I can't even watch a nosebleed.I just want to do something useful, but the problem is that I have no training in anything, so I have to learn more first. Start with algebra? Yin Mozhen wrinkled her nose. Please, don't mention this.Wait, if I suddenly hide behind a tree, it means seeing my tutor, Mr. Brighton, who thought I was sleeping at home with a fever today. They stepped out of the garden area and into the wide lawn. Ashley looked at Yin Mozhen and said: I think your family members are very different from mine, and your sister is very interesting.

Yin Mozhen shrugged.do not know.Eleanor and Charles's lives and ideas are quite compatible, but their marriage is very ordinary, and so are my parents.My dad is very conservative, but he married a wife who was completely different from him. You said he was Swedish, but you were born here? Yin Mozhen shook her head.Eleanor and I were both born in France.Dad was sent to work at the embassy in France, where he met Mom and fell in love, but looking at them now, it is absolutely impossible to see that they were ever in love.My dad was young and hip, and my mom was studying sculpture at the Académie Julian.

They walked into the shade of a giant willow tree, and Yin Mozhen sat down by the root of the tree.Ashley hesitated for a moment before sitting beside her, not too close. He grabbed a handful of grass and threw it into the air, then looked at her. Ashley said: I am confused, so are you British? That's hard to say, right?I was born in France, moved to Berlin when I was five, came here when I was nine, and my mum never left the UK after that.Linguistically, my French is pretty good, mostly from continued reading, and my German is not too bad.But Swedish is not very good, and Eleanor is not much better. She can speak a little when necessary, but if you ask me to write, even if I kill me, I can't write.as for english

There is no foreign accent.It's just that the words are not the same as the average British. Yin Mozhen nodded.Yes, others have said the same.I'm officially Swedish, but I don't know the country, not even what Stockholm looks like.If I had to choose a city, I would choose Paris over London without even thinking about it.As for Berlin, strange to say, I have an attachment to Berlin because it reminds me of my childhood.I don't know how it all adds up, I'm not French, I fail Swedish and I'm definitely not German. Then you are British. she laughed.as long as you are happy. They chatted in French for a while, and Yin Mozhen said that Ashley's accent was very good.They thought it was amusing, so they spoke a few phrases of Greek and some German in low tones. Ashley said: Don't be too loud, people will think you are a spy, if you Yin Mozhen blinked.Spies are everywhere, and I'm only my own spy. The narrow lake in the park was drained dry by the war.Ashley took Yin Mozhen along the lake, passing a temporary post office where letters from France were distributed.They sat down on a bench with a good view. Yin Mozhen said: If I ask you why you want to join the army, will you be upset? For wearing a uniform, I think I look handsome in a uniform.And I'm sick of getting White Feather 8 every time I ride the tram. 8. The white feather is a symbol used to ridicule those who dare not enlist in the front line. You don't like serious talk. sometimes. Try to be serious, please, I really want to know. Ashley looked at her mockingly.I don’t know if you have heard that our country is at war.There is almost no one in our college who has not gone to the army. So your style is, you just follow what other people do? no. I don't think so either.I don't mean to be hard on you, Mr. Worthingham, but I have my own views on wars and armies, and I know it's probably all wrong.It's like reading only the Morning Post if you only listen to people like Mr. Russell.so i really want to know why you 9. It should refer to Bertrand Russell (1872︱1970), a British philosopher and a famous pacifist.Lost his teaching position at Trinity College, Cambridge, for his opposition to Britain's participation in World War I. I'm tired of Cambridge.I thought there was more to life than endless Latin, and I was foolish enough to think that if I didn't go to war I'd be missing out on something great. But you told Eleanor you wanted to do your duty. That's the truth, people can't just live for themselves, I tried, it's not right. Going to war is how you live for others? Be it. Even if you want to kill someone? Ashley hesitated.Yin Mozhen shook her head and touched his sleeve. Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, we didn't know each other very well, I just messed up the vibe Ashley said: You are right to ask, I think the answer should be that we should kill only to save people. It doesn't seem worthwhile to kill another person to save one person.How do you know that you are really saving someone? This question will probably never be answered. Yin Mozhen looked at Ashley and narrowed her eyes. Let me tell you, you don't look as aggressive as the average soldier, I've always thought soldiers have definite ideas about everything. It is impossible for a thinking person to have an absolutely certain idea about anything, especially a complicated one, and war is a deadly complicated one. What about climbing? Ashley smiled.It's not complicated, it's simple. They fell silent.Ashley squinted his eyes and looked at the orange-red sun on the other side of the lake that was about to dip into the water.Yin Mozhen looked at her hands. I heard that France is in a bad state right now. I know. Do you think it's as bad as they say? Definitely worse. you know what ashley you have to go Of course I have to go. She shook her head and put her hand on Ashley's.Her palm was cold, so soft that he was shocked. I just want to say that you can do whatever you want, I just don't understand why a person who loves climbing mountains should go to war.A lot of Germans are amazing mountaineers, aren't they? certainly. They have a park like this in Berlin too, and in that park there must be two people like us talking about these things, and one of them is about to go to war.Don't say it's not true, because it is.If you don't go, he won't go, the world will be different, and none of us need to say goodbye. It's a nice idea, but it's a pity that it can't be realized Just believe and it will happen.We can't worry about what the rest of the world is going to do and think.You're here, I'm here, we can do whatever we want, that's the most important thing. Ashley nodded.The sun was setting, and the sky was gradually turning purple.Yin Mozhen withdrew her hand and said that it was almost seven o'clock, and she should go to Mayfair to have dinner.Ashley grinned. I think you will miss that dinner. Yin Mozhen turned her face away, not wanting him to see the smile on her face. She said: Yes, it should be too late.