I have been reading Maugham's "The Knife" recently, but I haven't finished it yet.

One of the reasons why I like Maugham is his sharp and poisonous tongue, and the most important reason is the detailed description of the characters, which made me couldn't help but describe this person's appearance, character, and ideas in my heart. Thoughts and all, it's such an amazing journey of imagination for me.

Eliot Templeton in Maugham's works appears to be very elegant and graceful, but after reading the entire article, you know that the author does not appreciate this false elegance.

Elliott Templeton is nearly sixty years old. He is tall, has good facial features, and an elegant demeanor. His thick black curly hair is slightly dyed with white frost, which makes him even more majestic.

He has always been well-dressed. Small items can be purchased at Chavit Clothing Store, but clothes, hats and shoes must be purchased in London.

She lives in an apartment on the left bank of the Seine in Paris, on the fashionable Avenue Saint-Guillaume. People who didn't like him called him a broker, and this slander made him very angry.

He has a unique vision and profound knowledge. He does not deny that in the years when he first settled in Paris, he gave advice to wealthy collectors who wanted to buy paintings and provided them with a helping hand.

In social circles, once he heard that a certain British and French aristocrat wanted to sell a fine painting, and he happened to know that a director of an American museum was visiting such and such a master's excellent painting, he would be happy to see it come to fruition. , thread the needle for it.

There are many aristocratic families in France and some in England. Such families are sometimes in a dilemma and have to sell a painting signed by Master Boole (the famous furniture maker) or a writing desk made by Chippendale (the famous furniture maker). Of course, they are willing to do so as long as it is not publicized. There is a person who is knowledgeable, elegant and cautious in handling matters.

People would naturally think that Elliot would get a fortune from this kind of transaction, but everyone was educated and no one wanted to say it clearly.

The small-minded person is not polite and insists that everything in his house is put out for sale. He invites rich Americans to come to Chishang for a sumptuous lunch. After drinking and drinking, there will be one or two pictures. A previous painting has disappeared, or a piece of inlaid furniture has been replaced by a piece of lacquer.

If anyone asked why a certain item was missing, he would give a clear explanation, saying that the item was not in good taste and that he had exchanged it for something far superior in quality.

He also added that it would be boring to watch the same thing all day long!

In fact, he is indeed a snobbery, an out-and-out snobbery, a snobbery without any shame.

As long as he can be invited to any restaurant, as long as he can be on the guest list, or have a relationship with a famous and grumpy old lady, he can endure all kinds of hardships, endure insults and abuse, and endure sarcastic comments. I can swallow the feeling of being useless.

In this regard, he can be said to be unyielding.

Eliot's sister and her daughters Isabel and Gregory Brabazon.

Brabazon is an interior decorator. His sister, Mrs. Bradley, is a widow with three children, two sons and one daughter. The sons have grown up and have families. One is working in the Philippine government, and the other is a widow. He inherited his father's career and served in the diplomatic community, now in Buenos Aires.

Mrs. Ridley’s husband had been sent to several countries as a missionary and worked as a first-class secretary in Rome for several years. Later, he was sent to a small republic on the west coast of South America as a minister. Eventually he died in office.

Elliot's father-in-law, Chester Bradley, saw the development prospects in Chicago and came here to join a law firm. Anyway, he made enough money to feed and clothe his children.

Mrs. Bradley showed me some photos of so-called "ancestral houses" in the countryside. Elliott seemed a little unhappy; what I saw in the photos was a very inconspicuous farmhouse. , there is a beautiful small garden, but the barn, cowshed and pigsty are only a stone's throw away from each other, and the surrounding area is a deserted plain.

I couldn’t help but think: It was not without success for Mr. Chester Bradley to abandon his old house and seek development in the city.

Mrs. Bradley must have been a beautiful woman when she was young, with generally good facial features and really beautiful eyes.

But now her face is sallow, she has hardly applied any makeup, and her muscles are flabby. It is obvious that she has completely lost the battle with middle-aged obesity. I guess she still refused to give in, because when she sat down, her back was straight on the hard-backed chair; no doubt, wearing that tortured armor-like tights, it was better to sit on the hard-backed chair than to sit on the soft cushion. The chair is more comfortable.

She wore a blue gown covered with lace ornaments. The high collar was stiffened with whale bones. Her white hair was permed into wavy patterns. The hair style was extremely complicated. Look. It's quite graceful to go up there.

The other guest hadn’t arrived yet, so in order to wait for him, we wandered around chatting.

Larry was Lawrence Darrell, and Isabel was probably engaged to him. Isabel was tall, with an oval face, a straight nose, pretty eyes, and full lips, and had the characteristics of the Bradley family.

She is very beautiful, but a little bit fat. I think it is probably due to her age. In a few years, she may become slimmer. Her hands were beautiful, but she was also a little chubby. Even the calves exposed under her short skirt looked a little chubby.

Her complexion was healthy and flushed, which was obviously related to the physical exercise and the drive home in the convertible.

She is radiant, full of vitality, exudes vitality, has a naughty and cheerful spirit, exudes satisfaction with life and a sincere sense of happiness, which makes people happy to see her.

No matter how elegant Eliot is, her naturalness and innocence will make her look vulgar in comparison.

Mrs. Bradley's pale, wrinkled face looks tired and old due to her energetic contrast.

Lali looks very young, about the same height as Elliot, less than six feet, thin, with soft and flexible limbs, sweet appearance, neither handsome nor ugly, quite shy, and has no personality. Outstanding.

What I find interesting is: According to my memory, since he entered the room, he didn't say five or six words, but he seemed very comfortable. Even though he didn't speak, he seemed to be participating in a conversation, which was all very disturbing. Amazing.

I noticed that his hands were very long, but considering his size, they were not big. The shape looked beautiful, and at the same time, they were powerful.

I think the artist must be happy to paint these hands. He is relatively thin, but he does not look weak. On the contrary, I dare say he is quite powerful and tenacious.

His face was serene and solemn, so dark that if it weren’t for the tanness, the color would be invisible; his features were regular but not outstanding; his cheekbones were quite high and his temples were sunken. , the dark brown hair is slightly curled, and the eyes look bigger than they are, because they are sunken deeply into the eye sockets, the eyelashes are thick and long, and the color of the eyeballs is very special, not the kind that Isabel, her mother, and uncle have. Hazel, but a deep color, the irises and pupils are almost the same color, which gives his eyes a special charm.