Chapter 1886： Art or reality?

The two nephews and nieces of Jim Williams actually have nothing to do with the Williams family. Their surname is Brown, and they are responsible for receiving Williams' nephew Arthur.

"Hey, buddy, you guys are in a hurry, my mother only made some special snacks, not too formal, please forgive me~"

After greeting each other, Arthur Brown apologized.

Yang Cheng also responded politely, "We took the liberty to bother, so please don't be offended~"

The Mercer House, which has now been transformed into a museum, does not seem to be as bleak as described in the book. It is very popular. Of course, when the museum is closed, except for a few tourists who are still shopping in the souvenir shops downstairs, most of them are It's gone.

Arthur took them to the living area on the second floor, facing the oil portrait of Jim Williams.

The left and right sides are the living room and the dining room. What makes Yang Cheng more puzzled is that no servants are seen on the entire second floor. Has the Williams family fallen to this level?

Arthur's mother, Mary Williams, sister of Jim Williams, was busy in the kitchen at this time, and many dishes were already on the table.

Charles introduced, "Savannah and Charleston are similar in terms of food. Since the two cities are located at the mouth of a low-lying river, people outside call us'lowland', which creates a unique'lowland' cuisine. ."

Yang Cheng still knows this little knowledge. Most Americans like to eat male crabs because they are afraid that the yolk of female crabs will stain their hands. However, in Charleston and Savannah, there are special female crab soups that look different. It has a flavor, after all, it is difficult to find this delicacy in other seaport cities in the United States.

Unexpectedly, Mary Williams would also cook this dish. In addition, he also saw the "sesame shortbread" he saw in the open-air market before. According to Charles, this is a traditional dessert that has been forgotten by many people.

The masterpieces of the "Lowland" cuisine include the "fresh shrimp polenta" carefully stewed with shrimp, sausage and corn flour, and the "Frogmore Braised Stew" named after the small fishing port of Georgia. .

Before the abolition of slavery in the United States, a large number of black slaves engaged in arduous work such as fishing and growing rice. The big fish harvested from fishing had to be handed over to the planters. Only the small shrimps that were inconspicuous to the planters could be removed from the black If the slave stayed, the black slave put together unremarkable common ingredients such as shrimp, potatoes, corn, celery, and sausage, and simmered it into a fragrant "Frogmo stew." The dish itself is a living history of "Lowland".

Unexpectedly, eating a meal would give him a sense of history. Yang Cheng felt that he would remember today’s meal for a long time.

When the dishes were not ready, Arthur invited everyone to sit down and talk.

Just on the phone, Charles expressed his intentions. In fact, if the two were not in business contact, he would not agree to this kind of thing, after all, it involves the privacy of the family.

But Charles is his very important partner. He can't afford to offend him, so he can only pinch his nose to admit it, and has to let his mother cook by herself.

Don’t look at Charles being like the third grandson in front of Yang Cheng, but in Charleston and Savannah, he is also an out-and-out "nobleman". He has to build a power ranking list and firmly enter the top ten. .

Facing such a person, Arthur did not have the courage to say no.

"Sit down, what do you want to know?" Arthur's expression is as helpless as it is. There have been countless people trying to inquire about secrets with him over the years, but he has basically fooled him.

Charles said, "Although it is very impolite to do so, I think everyone is curious about the outcome of the case."

Arthur spread out his hand, "In fact, what was written here, including what people are circulating now, is true! The case ended in the sudden death of his grandfather.

As for ghost revenge, I can't give you the answer. "

In, the author puts Savannah into a big stage, where everyone here does not want to be a supporting role for others:

The antique dealer who influences Savannahs socializing with Christmas parties, the old black man who walks a non-existent dog, the woman who can sing 6,000 songs, the troublesome but always charming and charming lawyer, and the male body All the "Queens of Savannah" who have been transgendered and become **** stunners are all weird, letting their souls commotion, trying to make their own voices on the lively stage.

As for whether one's own behavior is wrong or right, and how it affects others, it is probably not what Savannah people care about.

Just as in the cemetery at midnight, the half hour before 12 o’clock is “good” and the half hour after 12 o’clock is “evil”. Good and evil alternate and are intricately complex. The author tries to show the unique human nature of America to the fullest.

But this is, after all, even if a realistic case is exposed, it is still the essence. Since it is, there must be artistic changes, or appropriate exaggerations.

The luxury of the mansions and parties here can’t conceal the sinful activities behind the scenes; in the midst of drunkenness and bustling, the result is often just loneliness and loneliness, but for this empty vanity fair, people still flock like moths to the fire, obviously. This part of Savannah is the epitome of the beauty of sin and temptation in the South.

But someone once said that only in a certain detective who mainly tells the horror stories that happened in the apartment, the furniture style of the second half of the nineteenth century can be fully described and analyzed.

The placement of furniture is also the location of deadly traps, and the layout of the suite dictates the path for the victim to escape.

This kind of detective began in Allan Poe. From the 1860s to the 90s, the interior scenery of the bourgeoisie—the huge decorative slabs on the surrounding walls are covered with reliefs, and the corners of the sun are not seen. Potted palm trees, behind the balcony is a low parapet wall, and the long corridor resounds with the singing of the flames of gas lamps-only suitable for the dead.

Only when dead bodies appear, the lifeless luxurious interior decoration makes people feel comfortable.

Among the detectives, what is more interesting than the oriental landscape is the scenes in the noble houses of the East-Persian carpets and upholstered chairs, hanging oil lamps and Caucasus daggers. . .

Death always comes on schedule, and it feels more like irony. At the end, after several court trials were unable to determine the case, the rich man suspect suddenly died at his home, and the place was where the murder happened. Is it really the wrongdoer? Instead of meeting the expectations of readers or capitalist aesthetics?

This is the only place where Yang Orange is suspicious. Is it possible that Jim Williams committed suicide because he couldn't stand the rumors and gossip?

Or is it the ‘masterpiece’ of someone related to the victim’s life?

Arthur suddenly said, "I can show you the study room, where my uncle passed away. Since then, no one has used the room."

Yang Cheng readily agreed. Back then, John Burrant caught his writing materials without much effort, and everyone was quite willing to talk about themselves in front of him.

I have said many times that this is a city of gossip. Everyone in Savannah is keen to gossip, not only the living but the dead.

Anything can be passed down into a bizarre event, such as a very simple thing, an event that happens at home in daily life, "Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones puts on her coat."

But in the mouth of the Savannah, it became, "Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on the coat that her third husband gave her before she smashed her head with the gun."

According to the French positivist theory of Danner's school, the character of the character has a direct relationship with the geography and climate: the south has enough sunshine, and the people are warm, and the north has a cold climate and many people are indifferent.

If this is the case, then perhaps the warm and humid "coastal empire" climate and the lazy southern atmosphere have nurtured the Savannah people's gossip character. In fact, this is the Savannah's favorite entertainment. activity.

This murder, which drew people's appetites, came late only after half the progress of the book.

Although the huge gunfire in the mansion of the respected antique dealer Jim Williams awakened the quiet town in that misty morning, the murder was not a gimmick that the author intended to describe.

In Berland’s writings, the murder seemed to be just for the appearance of more people in the small town. The mistaken JC, the arrogant district attorney, the stubborn old judge, and the defense lawyers team were eager to end the trial. The jurors who went home to cook later, as well as the UMNO who had been tricky but could not guess the name card, were all involved.

The entire murder case, together with the lawsuit, is a grand party. You know, the party is the tradition of the Jim Williams family and the "life goal" of the upper class in Savannah.

Every Christmas, Jim Williams carefully selects guests He writes the names on the file card and divides them into two stacks, one is on the list, the other is lost.

Anyone who offends him during the year will inevitably be left out at the party invitation. Unfortunately, he had to spend the Christmas party in the years after the case happened.

This litigation dragged on for 8 years. Jim Williams filed an appeal tenaciously three times. In the fourth trial, the jurors rendered their verdict in a quarter of an hour. They were worried that it would be too rash to notify the judge immediately, so they sat down again. It took three quarters of an hour to announce.

In this protracted litigation, Berrantt has always spoken to the readers with his unhurried tone, and he did not forget to add some Savannah secrets in the gap between the litigation. Everyone is here. There is a dirty little secret, and the murder is just one of a series of gossip stories in the town.

And the beginning of all this was the beginning of Yang Cheng's small, simple, low-key and luxurious study in front of them!

"As you can see, the scene at the time of the incident is still maintained here, intact, except for the necessary cleaning, including the placement of each book, you can visit it at will~"

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