A Rose for the Young Man

摘要

Tom Russell toyed with his case as he gazed out of the window of the train. The twenty minute ride from his hometown to London where he had joined newly as a telegrapher had been uneventful. He was familiar with the sights along the way - rolling green countryside dotted with farmhouses here and there soon gave way to the smoke and grime of London's suburbs. Towering chimneys slowly came into view spouting smoke into the morning air, followed by dismal looking warehouses with hoardings which said, "Use Bovril" or "Ashton's, Trafalgar Square", and plump women dressed in aprons hanging up clothes in the balconies of cheerless apartments.