shadow of britain

Chapter 153 Goodbye Cambridge
On the central street in Greenwich District, a stagecoach was driving staggeringly.

In the carriage, Arthur looked at Elder who was sitting opposite him, whistling and reading the tabloids, and couldn't help sighing, "Didn't I tell you to buy new clothes? Do you think the clothing stores in Greenwich are better than those in London?" West End?"

Elder turned to the next page of the newspaper indifferently. While reading the exciting plot on it, he replied: "It's too expensive to buy a new suit that can attend a high-class banquet. Besides, I'm not very social. Daren, maybe you may not be able to attend a banquet in a month, and you buy clothes but don’t wear them very much, which is too bad.”

"Then what to do? Although I heard them say that the ladies and ladies of the 'Blue Sox Club' don't pay much attention to whether the scientists who give their lectures are well-dressed, but do you guys understand science? Let me ask you, what is a left hand?" The rule, what is the right-hand spiral theorem, it really doesn’t work, you must at least understand the Hastings force, right?”

Elder took out a pair of delicate scissors from the pocket of his jacket, carefully cut out the content he was satisfied with today along the edge of the newspaper, and put it in his arms.

"Arthur, don't worry about me. I usually go directly to my uncle's house to get the costumes for the banquet. Anyway, he took a boat to the Ionian Islands, where the Mediterranean Fleet is stationed, last month. We are about the same size, so what if he lends me his big suitcase of clothes?"

Arthur heard the words, knowing that this kid must have no good intentions, he asked: "You think about taking things from your uncle's house every day, can your aunt and cousin agree?"

"Why don't you agree?"

Elder raised his eyebrows and said: "Mrs. Codrington also invited them to a banquet. Didn't I tell you? General Codrington is my uncle's old superior. Since I want to go, they always You can't just sit and watch me disgrace the Carter family at the banquet, can you? By the way, Arthur, I have to make an agreement with you, if no one asks my sister to dance at the banquet, you have to help her out."

"How to get out?" Arthur asked with a frown, "I don't know how to dance, if I go up to ask her out, I won't just lose her face in the end."

Elder clutched his forehead with a headache: "That will be difficult. After that little girl heard that I knew you, one of the guests of honor at the banquet, she pestered me to let her show off at the Sunday banquet Even if you can't dance, you have to find a way to show her."

Arthur glanced out the car window: "Show it? It's easy to handle. Later, you let your sister replace you and help me shake the hand and crank the generator at the banquet."

Hearing this, Elder couldn't help complaining: "Arthur! Can you stop coming up with such bad ideas? The reputation of noble ladies is 'weak' and 'beautiful'. 'Can continue to turn the hand generator'? Is this plausible? If you think about it again, I am not willing to let her end my colorful life so soon."

Arthur couldn't help sighing helplessly when he heard this: "Why do women always pay more attention to their appearance than trying to make themselves appear smarter?"

When Elder heard this, he couldn't help but snorted coldly, and lifted his collar: "It's very simple! Because most men are stupid, but only a few are blind."

Arthur raised his eyebrows and asked, "So? Which part do you belong to?"

"Hmph..." Elder waved his hand indifferently and said, "Arthur, I am very self-aware in this regard."

"Thank God." Arthur took the half-cut newspaper from him: "The original intention of our University of London was not to allow you to receive such an education."

Agares, who was sitting on the car window looking at the scenery, heard the words, smirked and whistled: "Oh! It seems that the teaching philosophy of the University of London is indeed open, and stupid men and blind men who don't understand style can be treated equally. Sit in class."

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, but before he and Elder continued to discuss whether he was blind or not, Elder had already put the troubles caused by his sister behind him.

This guy was full of thoughts about what kind of encounter he would have at the banquet: "Oh! Arthur, tell me, if I get a love at the ball, should I accept it? Or should I reject it? merciless?"

Arthur flipped through the newspaper and said, "If this happened before I hunted down Fred, I might persuade you to refuse. After all, you are going to sail around the world soon, and it will take five or six years. Hurt your relationship with your partner. But now, after boarding the Beagle, my attitude has changed."

Elder was stunned: "Why?"

Arthur put down the newspaper and replied seriously: "Because as your good friend, I would rather see you have a relationship with a human being than a fish. Elder, you have to reflect on yourself. If you continue to do this, You're going to hell sooner or later!"

"Oh! Arthur!" Elder was moved: "You finally understand why I always have that impulsiveness. This is not a problem with my personal conduct, but the commonality of sailors who make a living at sea."

"I fully understand you, and I finally understand why the Beagle has a priest on board."

Arthur said: "The reason why Colonel Fitzroy let Charles follow the Beagle is to ask him to replace God to forgive you anytime and anywhere. Elder, you listen to me, and repent to Charles in time after making a mistake. Reduce your sins. After you die, you must go to heaven, and you must not go to hell."

Elder comforted: "Arthur, you are always so considerate of your friends."

Arthur shook his head: "No, Elder, you think too much of me. I don't think about you, but for myself. I just don't want to see you in hell after I die."

Elder was a little unhappy when he heard the words: "Arthur, you fucking! How did I offend you? You hate me so much? Drinking, going to the theater, when did I not take you?"

Arthur looked helpless: "No, no, Elder, there is nothing wrong with our friendship. I just don't want to be ridiculed by the devils in hell after death: 'Look, everyone, that guy standing over there , he had a friend who went to hell because of the sun fish.'

Elder, if you insist on going to hell after death, I will have to try to go to heaven. "

Elder rolled his eyes when he heard the words, and he punched Arthur directly on the shoulder: "I really have you! I must clarify to you again and again that I have never had anything to do with fish. This time I just want to explain to you the special customs of the sailors."

After finishing speaking, Elder hurriedly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, what did you go to Greenwich for today? Aren't you working at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Metropolitan Police Department now? The purpose of coming here today is to miss my poor and humble self in the past ?”

Arthur saw that he didn't want to mention this, so he followed the slope down the donkey: "I'm here to find a gentleman who runs a musical instrument store in Greenwich, and he will also be one of the shining stars at the Sunday banquet."

Arthur stretched out his head and glanced out of the car window, and said to the coachman, "The trouble stops here. For the rest of the road, we can just walk over by ourselves."

After finishing speaking, Arthur pushed open the car door and led Elder through the muddy streets and crowds after the rain. The two passed through the apartment that the real estate agent had introduced to them before. Not far away was a brown A three-story red brick house with a cedar roof.

On the first floor, there is a billboard next to the red door facing the street, which reads: Inherited for three generations, high quality and low price, master craftsmanship, no deception.

The signboard on the door marked its name - Wheatstone Musical Instruments.

And through the shop window, you can also see rows of musical instruments hanging on the clean walls painted with white paint.

There are not only court instruments such as violins, pianos and harps that can be used in big scenes, but also rebek, pan flute or flute commonly used by street performers.

Of course, there are also trumpets used in the army to give orders and control the speed of the troops, and the army drums hung around the neck and beaten while advancing.

Elder squatted by the window and took a look, couldn't help but nodded and said: "I didn't expect there to be such a store in Greenwich. The variety of musical instruments in this store is almost as rich as those of the largest musical instrument stores in London. But has the owner of this store lost his mind? Why did he open the store in Greenwich? How many people here have the leisure to buy these things? If he opened the store in the West End, he would definitely make a lot of money. "

Arthur opened the door and said, "Maybe he opened the store here just to avoid so many customers coming. Elder, you don't know, this gentleman is a weird person."

Just as the two pushed open the door, the door frame rang a bell hanging behind the door.

There was only a ringing of jingle bells, and the few customers in the deserted store couldn't help but look back at the two of them.

But soon, they turned their attention to the eight-stringed harp hanging on the wall.

"Alfred, I've never seen this instrument before, why don't we try to use this new thing as an accompaniment at the school's poetry art festival this year?"

"Uh...William, should we use it in your poems or mine? Or we should be more careful, new things may not be more reliable than old ones. Actually, I don't think there is any need for accompaniment. You can also chant..."

Elder heard them talking about poetry, and the top student of the Department of Classical Literature at the University of London couldn't help leaning over: "Am I lucky enough to be able to join the discussion between the two gentlemen? I am not talented, and I happen to have some unique ideas about poetry." opinion."

The two young men looked at Elder vigilantly. One of them seemed a little shy, while the other was full of arrogance.

Several people were silent for a while, and finally the shy one opened his mouth to help Elder: "Sir, our poems are not worthy of any stage, so I won't trouble you."

But the arrogant young man on the other side was a little dissatisfied when he heard this. He corrected: "Alfred, don't always be so humble. Your poetry won the gold medal in Cambridge last year. You should be more courageous." , don’t always be so timid.”

The shy young man rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly, and said, "But...but...William, didn't you write a funny scene about my award-winning poem last year? I think my poem There may indeed be flaws.”

Hearing this, the arrogant young man couldn't help but tongue-tied: "Alfred, I didn't write that funny scene...not to target you. I didn't know you at that time, besides, if I thought you Are you going to make secondary creations based on your works? Alfred, you have to be confident, Cambridge students should be confident!"

When Elder heard the word 'Cambridge' repeatedly mentioned by the other party, his eyelids couldn't help jumping. He took a step back, shook his head at Arthur and said, "God! Did you hear that? Cambridge, it's unlucky to go out today , We are really unlucky! Listen to what he is talking about? There is poetry in Cambridge, which is the biggest joke in the world!"

Elder thought that his voice had been lowered enough, but he didn't expect that his words still fell into the other party's ears.

The proud young man stepped forward, frowning and asked: "Sir, what do you mean? Are you looking down on the brilliant art and brilliant civilization created by Cambridge?"

Seeing him being so aggressive, Elder couldn't help taking a step back, and replied with a smile: "No, of course not. To be honest, I quite appreciate the works of your Cambridge students, just like that...uh..."

He paused for a long time, but he couldn't recall anything in his head. In desperation, he could only grab Arthur's clothes: "Arthur, do you remember? Just what I told you last time is The one in Cambridge, the one who wrote about it...it’s pretty good.”

Arthur didn't want to intervene in the conflict caused by Elder, a troublemaker, but since it was already like this, he had to remember it together.

"Ah! You're talking about that song, right? That's what, um..."

Arthur racked his brains to remember, and suddenly a flash of light flashed in his mind: "Yes, that's the one, I leave gently, just as I came lightly, I waved gently, to be the clouds in the western sky... ..."

(End of this chapter)