Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

Without waiting for the lady to answer, she immediately added: "God loves the world, and there is no difference in the color of this 'world'. You always say that black people don't know anything, and they don't understand anything. That's because they don't have the opportunity to receive education. Like those poor white people with red necks, they don't have a good education, they can't afford to buy niggers, and they grow cotton in their own fields, what's the difference between them regardless of the color of their skin? No, right? Educated Black slaves can even become housekeepers, and their vocabulary and grammar in writing letters are not fundamentally different from those of white masters. So what is the problem? I think it is that they have no opportunity to receive education, regardless of the color of their skin."

The ladies didn't speak for a while.

Black slaves who can read and write letters can be sold for double the price. Everyone understands the value of knowledge. Going to a private girls' school, no matter how naughty the children are, they have to go to school obediently, otherwise they will be willing to degenerate. The bad role models are those poor white people who have not received education, are illiterate and have no brains.

Poor whites are not uncharacteristic and down-to-earth people, but people feel sorry for them, thinking that if they could get an education, they would be decent southern gentlemen and ladies.

But of course, the objection still exists, "You are wrong, the reason why blacks are not eligible for education is because they are inherently inferior, and their skin color shows their inferiority. White is sunshine and light, and black is black. It is night and darkness. The white man is born to be the master, the ruler, and the black man is only a slave."

"You mean, everything is skin color?"

Miss Perlman said proudly: "Of course."

Josephine thought for a while, "Don't you think it's a bit contradictory for you to think that 'God so loved the world' is correct on the one hand, and on the other hand to think that black people are inferior because of their dark skin?"

Mrs. Emile now felt that she had to stop her daughter from continuing, "Okay, don't talk about these things, these should only be considered by men. Lydia, the sample booklet of clothes that brought Miss back from Paris Bring it out. Let me tell you, Mrs. Andensson, you've got to look at these latest Parisian fabrics, and it would be the most beautiful dress for Cynthia's wedding. The bride!"

The ladies, relieved at last, discussed the impending wedding of Cynthia Antonson.

Mrs. Emile sold clothes in the name of Mrs. Valenti, a tailor, and presented a sample booklet of new-style clothes to the rich ladies present. A small piece of square cloth the size of a man's palm was pasted on the cardboard, which was enough to see how expensive and beautiful the cloth was.

There are about 4 to 50 pieces of clothing materials in a sample booklet, which is thick and beautifully bound.

Ladies in the south don't worry about having no money to spend, they only worry about not having money to spend.The southern states are all raw material producers, the inland are plantations, and the coastal cities are profiting from import and export trade.Because there are no textile factories in the local area, the cotton has to be shipped to the north and the European continent, and then high-end clothing materials are imported from the European continent.

The eternal topics of the ladies are the patterns and prices of clothing materials, the style of long skirts, and the size of jewelry. If you want to change the topic, you only need to turn a corner in these aspects, and the effect will be immediate.

Josephine didn't think about having to refute these ladies all at once. It's actually impossible to change other people's thinking, especially if you want others to completely change their own inherent views. Only God can do it.

In the evening, the dance at the Andensson's house.

Mrs. Emile and Josephine changed their ball skirts with the help of the black female slaves. Josephine dressed up elaborately as a sample for the clothing business.

Unexpectedly but predictably, Philippe Terente got an invitation to a ball at the Andansson house.

"Miss Robillard, we meet again."

The charming young gentleman spoke English with a northern accent. He was tall and handsome, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a straight nose, thin red lips, a square forehead, and a righteous face.

This type of face gives people a sense of stability, stability, and integrity, and it can be said to have an excellent appearance; the face is highly symmetrical from the bridge of the nose to the left and right, and when you smile, you have a mouthful of white and neat teeth, which indicates that this person is from a good background, a wealthy family, and is in good health. .

Madame Emile took an immediate liking to the young gentleman.

"you are?"

"Please allow me to introduce myself, Philip Talent, from Boston." He smiled smugly.

Boston is one of the earliest immigrant settlements in North America, and Boston Harbor is one of the major ports on the east coast of the United States, as important as New York Harbor.The Tarents may have been one of the upstart families born of Boston's earliest settlers.Emile made a note in her heart that she wanted to find someone to inquire about the Terente family.

"This is my mother, Mrs. Robillard. Mom, I met Philip on the ship," Josephine introduced lightly. "He is a gentleman. If he is not from the north, he is almost perfect."

Philip couldn't help laughing a few times, but he realized in time that such indulgent laughter was inappropriate in a ballroom, and he quickly suppressed it.

"Do I have the honor of asking you to dance, Miss Robillard?"

"I just want to waltz." She put her hand in his outstretched palm.

"as you wish."

Philip Talent was a good partner, almost as good as Rhett Butler.The waltz was passed down from Europe as a social dance, and it is very suitable for a man and a woman to get close to each other in public, talk, dance, and deepen their understanding.

With a light rotation, the man's hand is placed on the woman's waist, the woman's hand is placed on the man's shoulder, and the other hand is placed in the man's hand.

The waltz is very popular with men. It was almost impossible for the previous social dance to touch the woman's body, so in the early days of the rise, the waltz was regarded as a "dirty" dance, but soon, men realized that this immodest pas de deux could With legal access to a woman's body in public, the waltz became a popular social dance.

"You did not invite me to your ball yesterday."

"I thought you didn't need an invitation to come in."

"That's not the behavior of a gentleman."

"Didn't you always laugh at Southern gentlemen for being boring and uninteresting?"

"How could it be?" He smiled innocently and honestly again. "You must have misheard me. I will not denigrate southern gentlemen under any circumstances."

"You are a hypocrite."

Philip laughed again. "Permit me to apologize again for my indecisiveness."

"Aren't you apologizing to the 'Southern gentlemen' you humiliated?"

"That will be a secret between you and me." He took Josephine's hand and kissed her finger lightly. "When are you leaving for New York?"

"Next month. What about you?"

"I'm going to Charleston and then to Richmond. I can accompany you to New York. I know some people in New York who can help you."

"No, I've already found a candidate, and my brother will accompany me to New York."

"So, I hope we can see you in New York. I remember you said that you have never been to New York. It is September. Soon, New York will enter winter and it will be very cold. I hope you can bring enough winter coats. There are enough warm socks and gloves."

This person is really interesting, the mother-in-law seems to be a housekeeper, and the black mother doesn't care as much as he does.

"You talk too much, you spin too slowly, you should focus on dancing."

Dancing is one of the few recreational activities in this era. Everyone loves to dance. The soles of the feet don’t stop for a moment. The toes tap on the floor, the heels tap on the floor, spin, spin, spin, and the dance skirt is on the floor. Rotate into a gorgeous flower.

The earrings dangled on the sideburns, and the light of jewelry flashed in the eyes.

The smell of perfume from France permeated the ballroom, the smell of dry cotton thread after candles were lit.

The smell of cream cake, the smell of coffee, the smell of roses.

All this constitutes a real world.

Rhett Butler watched with interest.

Young Talent was a charming young man, handsome, and a great dancer, and it is said that he and Josephine had known each other on the Rider.The combination of a charming lady in the south and a noble gentleman in the north is a bit new, but it's hard to say what the future will hold.

He understands what it means for a man to show courteousness to a beautiful woman; he also understands how to show courteousness to a lady, but courtship is followed by consequences, courtship defaults to pursuing this lady, and even entering into a marriage contract , and marriage, he thought it was not suitable for him.

Almost all unmarried men in the ballroom want to invite Miss Robillard to dance, but she only chooses those men from the upper class and good looks, and doesn't even look at men who are inferior.

In his opinion, everyone has a price. As a beautiful lady, of course she should choose the man with the highest value.

Of course, he himself is not on this list.Ever since his good old man kicked him out of the house, he was automatically disqualified from marrying a Southern lady.In Savannah, he can still participate in some social activities through Robillard's house, because his mother has a good relationship with Eulalie, and Mrs. Emile is willing to accept him as a guest of Robillard's house; In Charleston, apart from a few limited social events at Eulalie's house—most of which were beyond the reach of an unmarried man—he had nowhere to go.

The inability to participate in social activities did not affect him that much. He was busy running from south to north, euphemistically called "export trade", and his business scope ranged from tea to coffee beans, from cotton to cloth, and jewelry that ladies like. , but the quantity is not too large, because it is difficult to obtain large-scale business.

The author has something to say:

*A brief discussion on the economic costs and impacts of the American Civil War (author Han Tie, professor at Nankai University) calculates that if the U.S. uses full redemption to liberate all black slaves, it will cost 27 billion U.S. dollars. If the sum is used for 30 The long-term bond with an annual interest rate of 6% is used to repay. All citizens of the United States (excluding former slaves) pay $7.5 per person per year, which will be gradually reduced within 30 years;

If the gradual redemption method is adopted to emancipate all black slaves, the cost is less, only 5.5 million U.S. dollars, and the national burden is 1.5 U.S. dollars per person per year excluding former slaves, and 1.3 U.S. dollars per person per year including former slaves.

Economists estimate that the combined direct losses of the North and South in the American Civil War exceeded $66 billion.The indirect loss is 52 billion in the north and 95 billion in the south. The loss in the south is much higher than that in the north. The main profit-making method of agriculture has shrunk sharply.

The American Civil War also affected the British and French economies, because the largest cotton raw material country no longer exported cotton to Europe (the Northern Navy’s blockade of the southern sea trade), making British and French textile factories have to find another cotton raw material country, and Indian cotton replaced America. cotton.