Titanic

Chapter 9

Ruth ran into a group of dignitaries on the deck and was despised by others. Fortunately, Andrews helped her and saved her face.Ruth believes that "Titanic" is a pocket-sized society with clear outlines, first-class cabins, second-class cabins, third-class cabins, and crew are clearly defined and clear.

After her second dinner on the Titanic, Ruth wandered the deck.In a few hours, she will be on the move.Now, Ruth was somewhat nervous and her heart was beating faster, more because of excitement.In her mind, she imagined the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat, which had been dusty for thousands of years, with ancient characters, yellowed pages, curled edges, and incomplete wear.But everything is so mysterious and antique, and you need to be very careful when flipping through it. A little force may tear the manuscript.

Titanic Ruth began to worry that her recklessness would damage this priceless treasure, but she couldn't resist the powerful temptation to take a look.She even imagined the scene of Umar walking out of the manuscript, like the genie in Aladdin's magic lamp, half of his body floating in the air, speaking wise words. "I hope he doesn't speak ancient Persian, then I can't understand it!" Thinking about it, Ruth laughed to herself.

Jack sat on a far chair, covering his face with "In vain" and peeking at Ruth from time to time over the top edge of the book.The more he looked at it, the more he felt that Ruth was a little weird, as if there was some shady secret.This further strengthened Jack's determination. He believed that as long as he kept an eye on Ruth, there would be a chance for revenge.

Ismay, the owner of White Star Company, Captain Smith, and Andrews, the chief designer, accompanied several guests and walked over from the other end of the deck.There were men and women among the guests.They passed Ruth, and one of them, an elderly lady, was very smartly dressed and caught Ruth's eye.The lady glanced at Ruth, who was staring at her intently, and raised her head proudly.It seems that she has long been used to being noticed, but she is dismissive of ordinary people.What's more, she is a young and beautiful lady, which makes her feel a little sour in her heart, which is no longer youthful.

Her arrogant gesture stung Ruth's pride and made her feel very angry.Careful Andrews noticed this detail, slowed down on purpose, and signaled Ruth to walk with him.

Ruth: "Mr. Andrews, are these the dignitaries on board again?"

Andrews: "That's right. That handsome gentleman is Sir Cosimo, a prominent nobleman; that is Major Azbad? A good friend of the former President Theodore Roosevelt; and that rich man, Mr. George Weidener and his wife and son, who made trams. In short, they have different identities, either rich or wealthy. He has a high position and a prominent family." Andrews deliberately missed the lady who was rude to Ruth.

Ruth: "However, there is one thing in common. They are all first-class VIPs, living on the highest floor of this palace on the sea. This ship is really like a microcosm of our society."

Andrews asked curiously, "How do you say that?"

Ruth: "Look, at the bottom of this ship are the crew members who are doing heavy physical work. They are responsible for burning the boiler and running the engine. It must be dirty and hot."

Andrews: "That's right. Near the keel of the ship, there's the boiler room, the engine room and the fuel tank."

Ruth: "So, they symbolize the lowest level of manual labor in our society. Further up is the third class, and the situation of the people there is not much better. There are all kinds of people, from all over the world, and the language barrier There are different races and occupations. The situation in the second class is slightly better, there are businessmen, teachers and people who do other decent jobs. Including me, although educated and from a better family than the people below, but They are far worse than the people on top of their heads. They are the essence of this society, they are the people standing on the top of the pyramid, they are either prominent or extremely rich. Isn’t this the structure of society? But here it is more concentrated and more obvious. First class, second class, third class, the boundaries are clear and clear. If you cut this ship from the middle, what you see is our society. A cross-section, a sharply defined, pocket-sized version of society.”

Andrews nodded sympathetically, "Miss Ruth, I admire your unique analytical ability and incisive conclusion." ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡The stylishly dressed lady was walking in front, now she turned her head and found that Andrews was talking with the young lady she saw just now. Andrews: "Mr. Andrews, why are you lagging behind? Hurry up and catch up!"

Ruth was expressionless and gave the other party a cold look.While answering, Andrews said to Ruth in a low voice: "Miss Ruth, don't be angry, I will take you there and save face for you."

Ruth nodded, she didn't want to lose to this old woman.The two quickened their pace and followed the large team.Seeing that Ruth followed, the fashionable lady asked in surprise, "Mr. Andrews, who is this lady?"

Both Ismay and Captain Smith had met Ruth before, knew that she was Andrews' friend, and nodded to her politely. The fashionable lady was even more surprised when she saw that several important people on board knew Ruth. I underestimated this little girl, she is not an ordinary person.The change in her inner thoughts made her expression a lot more respectful.

Andrews said: "This is Miss Ruth, my friend. She is a very knowledgeable and intelligent girl. I believe her joining will bring us all a happy time."

Ruth introduced herself, "Ruth Cabot."

Everyone else greeted Ruth cheerfully, except for the dazed look on the fashionable lady's face.She was mentally searching for information, like a modern Internet search engine, trying to find a Cabot among the dignitaries she knew and connect Ruth with him.However, the result of the search is "No results to display".

Seeing her hesitation, Ruth decided to take the initiative. "Hello, what should I call you? Dear lady."

The fashionable lady hadn't recovered yet, and Andrews replied on her behalf: "This is Duff? Mrs. Gordon, she is the most outstanding fashion designer, and she has her clothing stores in London and Paris."

Mrs. Gordon nodded to Ruth, "Nice to meet you, Miss Ruth".

A group of people continued to walk on the deck.Sir Cosimo and Major Bart continued to discuss their topic, their voices were a little high, and there seemed to be an argument.Ruth listened carefully and immediately understood that they were discussing the American Revolutionary War.It is indeed interesting to discuss this issue between an English nobleman and an American major.

Sir Cosimo: "Of course I know what the United States has achieved today. It is becoming stronger and an important force in the international community. However, I insist that if it chooses to stay in the Commonwealth system, it will be beneficial to both parties. There are benefits. If the United States and the United Kingdom are still one, you can imagine what that means? In this world, do we have rivals?"

Major Batt: "But we must respect history and the choices of the American people. Even from a pragmatic standpoint, if the United States is still a colony of the Commonwealth, it will be difficult for him to create today's civilization and prosperity, people's freedom and Happiness will also be greatly reduced."

Sir Cosimo said angrily: "The mission of our king and government is to protect and promote the freedom and well-being of the people..."

Major Butter interrupted him bluntly, "You may ask those who suffered in the Revolutionary War, what did the British army do to them? What does the freedom and happiness promised by the King and your government mean?"

Sir Cosimo said maliciously: "Of course there is no kindness to a traitor."

Seeing that the small talk between the two parties was about to turn into a fierce quarrel, Ismay hurriedly came forward to smooth things over, saying, "Gentlemen, please don't forget that there are ladies here, and they are not interested in political issues, let's change the subject!" He said Looking at Ruth, "Miss Ruth, do you have any questions of interest?"

Ruth: "I'm most interested in the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat, but unfortunately you can't meet my request."

Ismay rolled her eyes helplessly and had nothing to say.Mr. Weidener asked curiously: "What do you mean by the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat? Is it the one written by Mr. Umar himself? Or the original manuscript translated by Mr. Fitzgerald?"

Ruth: "Mr. Umar's original manuscript, of course."

Sir Cosimo and Mr. Weidener exclaimed at the same time, "Oh my God! That's really a treasure"; "It's been thousands of years!" They also began to entangle Ismay, the "Titanic" The most powerful person in the world, "Mr. Ismay, can you open our eyes?" "Yes! It's good to just take a look, this kind of thing is rare!"

The wry smile on Ismay's face was like shooting himself in the foot. Rejecting these dignitaries is not as easy as rejecting Ruth.

Seeing this, Andrews quickly came forward to smooth things over, saying, "Everyone, don't embarrass Mr. Ismay! If he has the right to display this cultural relic, I think he will be very generous. But there is nothing he can do!"

Hearing what Andrews said, everyone was silent, and they couldn't force others to do what they wanted.Ruth glanced at Andrews with some dissatisfaction. If everyone agreed to force Ismay to take out the original manuscript of the "Rubaiji", she would not have to bother to peek at it.However, this hope was completely destroyed by Andrews' words.

Andrews didn't notice Ruth's expression, and seized the opportunity to change the subject, "Although I don't know much about Umar himself, I have read the Rubaiyat, and I don't know much about his translator, Mr. Fitzgerald. Great admiration, he is such a genius. I think the author of the Rubaiyat as we know it should be Umar Fitzgerald, this book can be widely known, the credit of Mr. Fitzgerald is The biggest thing is not only because he translated the original poem into English, but also because of his spiritual writing and poetic creation. What do you think?"

Both Sir Cosimo and Mr. Weidener nodded in agreement.Andrews went on to say: "There is a reason why Mr. Fitzgerald chose to translate the Rubaiyat. He himself is a person who knows how to enjoy life. He likes flowers, music, and boat trips. Including Thackeray ("Fame and Fortune") Many writers were his friends, including the author of the Rubaiyat. The English translation of the Rubaiyat was published in 1857. It started as a thin pamphlet, and the publisher dropped it in a fourpenny booklet. But no one would take a look at it. In the end, there was no way, the publisher reduced the price to one penny, but still did not buy it. It was not until 1860 that this pearl buried in the sand was unearthed by a discerning person. Reprinted and circulated widely.”

Major Bart interjected, "The world is really impermanent! The success or failure of a person or a book is unpredictable."

Ruth: "However, gold always shines! Mr. Umar is also very grateful to Mr. Fitzgerald. If the author of the "Rubaiji" is defined as Umar? Fitzgerald, He must have no objection."

Major Bart jokingly asked: "Listen to you, do you know Mr. Umar very well?"

Everyone laughed, and Ruth laughed it off.

(End of this chapter)