shadow of britain

Chapter 128 Arthur's farewell gift

Looking south from the top attic of Arthur's house, across the street is the prestigious Hyde Park.

Hyde Park was an ecclesiastical estate given to Westminster Abbey by the King's Grace until the 16th century.

However, in the 16th century, King Henry VIII officially announced his break with the Holy See on the pretext of his own divorce. He led the British Catholics to break away from the Catholic Orthodox Church, set up a separate camp of the Church of England, and declared himself the highest religious leader in England.

In addition, he ordered the dissolution of Catholic monasteries throughout England, so the estate of Westminster Abbey was automatically taken over to the royal family.

After Hyde Park returned to the royal family, it was transformed into a royal park and a royal deer hunting ground by Henry VIII.

During the reign of Charles I, whose head was beheaded by Cromwell, Charles I ordered the royal garden to be opened to the public in order to please the citizens of London, and this tradition has continued to this day.

The area of ​​Hyde Park is not small, covering more than 360 acres. In addition to various green trees, fountain sculptures, there are many interesting places in the park.

For example, the northeast corner of Hyde Park, where Arthur and Disraeli met today, is a special area called 'Speaker's Corner'.

At Speakers' Corner, you can see people expressing all kinds of political views almost every afternoon.

The content of the speakers' high-spirited talks can be said to cover all kinds of life.

Here, you can often see slavery advocates and anti-slavery fighters spitting foam at each other, or priests who dream of returning to the Middle Ages talking about 'I have a dream', and confronting them with a distance of several meters. Fans of Byron and Shelley, those atheists clamoring to sweep God into the dust of history.

Of course, this kind of place where the two sides exchange views fiercely is naturally indispensable to the representatives of the London tabloids demanding the abolition of stamp duty on newspapers, chanting "raise the banner of the no-stamp war", and the tavern owner who has recently become angry because of the "Beer Act" and brewers.

In such a place full of strange opinions, it is natural and reasonable that Mr. Disraeli's speech does not arouse the interest of others.

And at the southern end of Hyde Park, there is another place that can be called a heavyweight.

That was the location of the Cavalry Battalion in Hyde Park, where the old troop that Superintendent Clemens had served was stationed, and they were directly under the command of the Guards Cavalry Regiment dispatched by the Army Headquarters.

The Guards Cavalry Regiment has a long history. They were formed in Bruges during the Restoration of Charles II in 1658. At the beginning, the official name was "Loyal Cavalry Guards Directly under His Majesty the King", and the political composition of the Cavalry Regiment soldiers also changed. Very single, all members of the regiment are die-hard royalists in exile.

After 1788, the Guards Cavalry Regiment had lowered the social status qualifications for enlisting officers, and no longer required officers to be of noble origin, so they were ridiculed that 'the members of the Guards Cavalry Regiment are no longer a group of gentlemen, but a group of men. The Cheesemonger'.

Although the social composition of the regiment has changed, the ideological tradition of the Guards Cavalry Regiment has obviously been well inherited. After the reorganization, they still completed the 1685 rebellion as well as their predecessors suppressed the Monmouth Rebellion in 1810. Crackdown on riots in Piccadilly, London, for which he was awarded the 'honorable' title of 'The Butcher of Piccadilly'.

Arthur stood under the maple tree in Hyde Park, under the bright and soft white moonlight, it illuminated the half-red maple leaves trampled by his black riding boots. Clemens was bulging, his skin was pale, and his body had gradually stiffened.

Clemens' body was suspended from a thick hemp rope, which could not stop swaying slightly when the wind blew.

In his pocket was a postmarked letter that had not yet been mailed.

Arthur was smoking a cigarette, and he slowly exhaled a puff of white mist. Through the gap between the smoke and the tree branches, he could vaguely see the Marble Arch not far ahead.

Looking at the scene in front of him, he always felt that everything was so familiar.

He remembered the time when he had hanged a ghoul in the churchyard not long ago.

The Scotland Yard police officers on duty in the Bayswater area tonight have surrounded the place, and they are following Arthur's instructions to isolate the crime scene from the outside world.

Officer Field glanced at Arthur who was smoking leisurely, hesitant to speak.

For some reason, he was a little afraid of this boss who was about his age, although the police officers who had friendship with Arthur in Scotland Yard praised Inspector Arthur Hastings for being very kind.

The most important thing is that he can bring benefits to everyone. All the first-line patrol officers of Scotland Yard have received a salary increase of 20.00% five because of the efforts of Inspector Hastings.

But Field always felt that under his radiant and upright figure, there was a dark place unimaginable for ordinary people.

He endured it for a while, and finally he couldn't help but ask, "Inspector Hastings, aren't you going to check the corpse?"

Arthur glanced at him, smiled and shook his head: "I'm off work, although for the public's benefit, I don't mind working overtime to handle the case. However, Hyde Park is not my jurisdiction."

After hearing this, Field pondered for a while, and he always felt that there seemed to be some deep meaning in this sentence.

He asked again tentatively: "But don't you plan to check the letter in the pocket of Superintendent Clemens? Everyone is very curious about the letter."

Arthur raised his eyebrows: "Guess what it is?"

"I guess?" Field was stunned for a moment: "A suicide note? Or, a proof of a will for property division?"

Arthur nodded slightly: "I have a different point of view from yours. I guess it was a letter of resignation."

"Resignation letter?" Field thought for a while: "You mean, you think Superintendent Clemens committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pressure of dereliction of duty at work?"

Arthur shook his head when he heard this: "It doesn't matter whether he commits suicide in fear of crime or not. It may not be possible to live. But if everyone wants a person to die, then he must die."

Field was stunned by what Arthur said: "Why is that?"

Arthur paused, as if he couldn't answer the question either.

But after he was silent for a moment, he still gave an explanation that he thought was more appropriate: "Because people are social."

Officer Field nodded thoughtfully when he heard this, but soon he turned to ask: "Then shall we notify the news media? Or should we press this matter down?"

Arthur poured out the ash in the pipe, raised his toes and gently crushed the sparks on the ground bit by bit: "This is not up to us to decide. How to do it depends on Director Rowan or someone higher than him. Decide."

When Field heard this, he looked at the speaker's corner not far away. As we all know, it is the most free area of ​​speech in the whole of Great Britain, but compared with Arthur's words, it looks so ironic. behind the scenes.

He asked with a wry smile, "But didn't we say we want freedom of the press? Publication censorship has just been lifted. If we do this, I'm afraid it will not meet the public's expectations of government departments, right?"

Arthur smiled and patted Field on the shoulder: "Charles, I'm glad you think so. But you also have to understand that where there is light, there will be shadows. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press can only be achieved if the government thinks it is safe. It only existed at the time, so you understand that the Duke of Wellington's cabinet is not stable now.

We are the police of Scotland Yard, and Scotland Yard's primary task is to protect the lives and property of the public. To do this, we must first maintain the stability of social order.In fact, I shouldn't have said these things to you, but I think you are a very good person, so I will tell you some things that should not be said.

Do you know General Codrington?It's okay to look through his resume, it will be helpful for your future development.Charles, you are still young, and some truths that are harmful to social stability are not beneficial, so don't publish them.Unless these truths are so numerous that they affect the happiness and interests of the vast majority of people, some things should still be dealt with internally. "

When Field heard this, he always felt a little familiar.

He thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "I almost forgot your origin. You graduated from the University of London, and you are a follower of Jeremy Bentham? I remember that when I passed by Westminster last time, I heard Until his supporters are preaching utilitarianism on the side of the road."

Field thought Arthur would nod in affirmation, but he saw him shaking his head slightly.

Field saw a reddish gleam in his eyes.

"Mr. Bentham's ideals are lofty, but as humble as I am, I can only absorb part of them. For a Scotland Yard policeman, you must first consider how to survive in this environment for a long time. I can't say anything about it. Mr. Qin's great ideals and visions, I can only do my best to be their shadow.

People like Mr. Bentham are responsible for telling human beings how the world should move forward. They are responsible for guiding human beings to find the light.And the task of an insignificant person like me is to remind people at all times not to forget what exists behind the light.If anyone dared to remove the light, something like me would be unleashed. "

When Arthur said this, he couldn't help but look up at Clemens' face that looked terrified and hideous because of his death.

White moonlight shone on Arthur's side face. On the bright side, Arthur's calm face was seen, while on the dark side, Arthur's shining red pupils and the corners of his mouth gradually raised.

Arthur took off his hat, folded his hand on his chest, and bowed slightly to Clemens' body.

Behind him was the floating phantom of a smiling Agares.

"Superintendent Clemens, I'm sorry I couldn't see you off in person."

(End of this chapter)