shadow of britain

Chapter 172 All Eyes On (4K6)

"When the captain turned around, he saw Tanglar standing behind him. On the surface, Tanglar seemed to be waiting for his order, but in fact, like him, he was looking away at the young sailor. The two men Although they are both staring at Edmond Dantès, the expressions and meanings in their eyes are quite different..."

The phonograph played here, and the sound of reading suddenly stopped.

The gentlemen and ladies present were listening with great interest, and they couldn't help but said to Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, which novel is this? It sounds quite interesting."

Colonel Fitzroy, who served in the Royal Navy, also asked with interest: "I just like these novels where the protagonist is a sailor, but there are not too many such novels on the market, and most of them are in bookstores now. It's a fashion novel. The protagonists are weak noblemen, or other types of romantic people. Maybe other people like to read that kind of book, but for those of us who make a living at sea, that kind of book is really interesting to read nothing."

Elder couldn't help criticizing: "Yes, like Litton Bulwer's "Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman", what are they written about, I don't understand why it can be read at all. It sells so well. And Mrs. Gore's So Women; or, Today's Manners, I wasted my money for it."

As soon as Elder said this, it immediately attracted rebuttals from many ladies and ladies.

"It is very rude of you to say that. Both Mr. Bulwer and Mrs. Gore are very talented writers in Britain."

"Yes, especially Mrs. Gore's 'So Women; or, Manners of the Day', which even the late King George IV read and said, 'This is the best and funniest book ever published. novel'."

"That's right! Although His Majesty the late King made many mistakes during his lifetime, his literary accomplishments are generally recognized as good. He bought all the published books of Mr. Bulwer and kept them in his every book. A residence. And when Mr. Bulwer's "The Disconnector" was not published, His Majesty the King sent someone to his mansion to pick up the manuscript twice, just to be able to read its latest chapter. That's all."

With just one sentence, Elder instantly fell into the situation of being attacked by the ladies.

Seeing this situation, Mrs. Cowper could only laugh and relieve the young man who had urinated in her arms.

She changed the subject and asked Arthur, "Mr. Hastings, are there any more chapters left? I'd love to hear what happens next."

The drunk General Smith also said in a daze, "That's right, Mr. Hastings, if you have anything, please come up with it quickly, I'm eager to hear it."

Arthur saw that the atmosphere was almost heated up, so he smiled and took out a few chapters of manuscripts that he had prepared from his bag.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Should you circulate it yourself or should I read it to you?"

The captains of the navy shouted: "You can read it, and everyone sits and listens together. On the ship, when we are free, we often find someone to read novels to the boys."

The ladies also expressed their opinions one after another: "The salon of the Blue Sox Club also has this rule. Scientists publish their scientific research results, and writers read their latest masterpieces."

Hearing this, Mrs. Codrington, who is an avid fan of Paganini and a new fan of Hastings, hastily added: "Mr. Hastings is still a musician. It seems that after today's salon, we have to Hold a small meeting in private, and incorporate the musician's own latest repertoire into the new charter."

The ladies of the Blue Sock Club expressed their opinion unanimously: "Agreed!"

"Dear ladies, this manuscript is not my work. Who is its real author? Let me introduce you slowly after I finish reading these new chapters."

After speaking, Arthur was no longer polite, he moved a round stool and sat in the center of the stage with a smile.

Not only the guests looked at him expectantly, but even Mr. Mocheles and the musicians put down their instruments.

For the musicians of the symphony orchestra, today's work is very comfortable. Not only are the working hours shortened, but there are also fascinating stories to listen to.

I saw Arthur sitting on the stool, reading the manuscript in his hand word by word.

He read Chapter 2 Father and Son, Chapter 3 The Catalan Village, and Chapter 4 The Conspiracy in one go.

And when he read Chapter 5's wedding banquet, the manuscript in his hand also came to an end.

The guests were overwhelmed. When they saw Arthur stop reading aloud, they thought he was tired from reading. General Smith, who was addicted to listening, hurriedly poured a glass of wine for Arthur and handed it to Arthur.

The drunken general walked around and said, "Mr. Hastings, drink some wine to moisten your throat, and tell the big guy the story behind. Damn, why did Mr. Dantès show up at the wedding?" He was arrested at the scene, so why did he get involved with Napoleon?

As a promising young man, a first mate and acting captain on a ship, there is absolutely no need for him to do such self-destructive things.

I guess someone must be setting him up!It must be the accountant of the ship, Donglass, who wants to replace Mr. Dantès as the new captain, do you think I am right? "

General Kirkland also nodded in sympathy: "That's right, didn't you hear that clearly? This is the game they made for him, just like the one I did back then!
I was doing well and had a bright future, but one day a bitch stockbroker approached me and told me there were a few good stocks to buy that would definitely go up in value in the future.I was too damn young to believe his nonsense!

As a result, less than a month later, I was sued in court. They accused me of manipulating the stock market. The amount involved was as high as 13.9 pounds, and my charges were established so damn easily!

Then I was dismissed from the military by those idiots in the Navy Department. My rank, position, medals and honors, as well as my seat in the Congress, were all wiped out from top to bottom.I was so forced by them to go to South America to seek a living!
These bastards who are hiding behind their backs and playing dirty tricks are all of the same fucking virtue!Come and meet me head-on with the seeds!You see, if I don't use a bomb boat to blow up the fucker! "

General Codlington hurriedly comforted him when he heard the words: "Okay, Thomas, you were punished because of your bad temper. If you hadn't gathered your subordinates to run to Mr. Burdett's mansion to support him, you would have beaten him." Injured a few officers sent by the Army Department to arrest him, how could those people miss you?"

Kirkland stared and said, "Birdett is my brother. If I don't support him, who will support him? Besides, his case is also very unclear. Who can explain clearly? After all, these days framed, There are too many bastards playing tricks!"

Kirkland's emotions were agitated, but the concerns of the ladies and ladies over there were different from his.

Mrs. Milbanke couldn't bear it and said: "Mr. Dantès, the hero, is really unfortunate. He was clearly in love with Miss Maisy Tess, but he was taken away on such a happy day as the wedding ceremony. Miss Maid Tess's Cousin Fernand is too worthless, he has a crush on Meiser Tess, so he is unwilling to fulfill them, so he joins forces with the accountant on the ship to frame Mr. Dantès."

Mrs. Cowper also blinked her charming eyes, and the trembling eyelashes also expressed her mood: "Okay, Mr. Hastings, don't be a fool, ladies and gentlemen can't help it, you Just read it down quickly."

Arthur just shrugged helplessly when he heard this. He smiled and said, "Sorry, everyone. It's not that I don't want to read on, but I don't know what's going to happen next, because my friend Alexandre Dumas only wrote this .If you want to know the details of the funeral, you can only listen to him explain it next time."

"Huh? How can you get stuck here?"

"Oh! my God! Mr. Hastings, will you sleep to-night? I can't."

"It's really not possible, you can make up a paragraph later."

"Wait, is this an unfinished novel? Alexandre Dumas, I seem to have heard this name somewhere."

"Ah! This is the Frenchman who was rescued from the sea by the Royal Navy and Scotland Yard?"

"No wonder the background of the story is set in France, and the plot has something to do with Napoleon. Now I can understand."

When Colonel Fitzroy heard this, he gradually came to his senses: "Mr. Hastings, I remember that Mr. Dumas seems to be living in your house now, right?"

Arthur smiled and nodded, "That's right, Alexander lives in my house."

Miss Ada Byron, who had been working hard on the questions before, was dissatisfied when she heard this, and said with a pen in her mouth: "Then please ask him to urge him to write the following plot quickly. The story is stuck in the Here, it’s worse than not being able to solve a math problem.”

After hearing this, Arthur just raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Don't worry, I will put Alexander in a Faraday cage after I go back, and then connect him with high-voltage electricity outside. I won't release the manuscript until he finishes writing it." He came out."

Elder thought about the scene and couldn't help shivering. He muttered, "Or it must be you."

Mrs. Somerville also sighed: "That's what I said, but I can't hear the story behind, I just feel itchy in my heart, and I'm not in the mood to dance."

"Mr. Hastings, I... I am definitely not as important as His Majesty the King, and it is impossible for me to force Mr. Dumas, but if it is possible, after the later manuscript comes out, can you let me take a share?"

"Mr. Hastings, I want one too!"

"Yes, the price is not a problem. I just ask you to let Mr. Dumas write faster. He has opened my wallet now, and he can take out the money from my pocket just by moving his pen. go out."

Seeing this, Arthur knew that he had achieved his propaganda purpose.

He put his hands on his chest with a smile and bowed slightly: "Thank you for your support. I think my friend Alexander will be very happy when he finds out. But ladies and gentlemen, don't be so anxious, because in two weeks, Alexander will officially open his own story column in the newspaper. If you don’t mind, you can leave me your business card, and I will send someone to notify you one by one after it is confirmed in which newspaper it will be serialized in.”

When Arthur said this, he looked up at the sky outside the house again, and said goodbye: "It's getting late, I finished the science demonstration, and it's time for me to go home. I would like to apologize to everyone here, everyone should Knowing that I am a Scotland Yard police officer, I have to be at Metropolitan Police at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Codrington remembered the little request that Arthur had made with her. She nodded quickly and said, "It's okay, Mr. Hastings, we can understand. There is no way for this to be necessary for work."

Upon hearing this, Arthur smiled and nodded and left.

But before he could leave the ballroom, Miss Ida Byron winked at him.

She stuffed the draft paper into his hand, and then said to him: "The music played on the gramophone is very nice, but I think it's better for you to play it yourself."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully: "You know art very well, Miss Byron, because I think so too."

After finishing speaking, he paced out, but before he could go out, someone called him again, it was Mr. Mochelles.

Mr. Mochelles chased after him in a hurry, and shouted: "Mr. Hastings! Don't you think about the matter of the London Philharmonic Association? You only need to attend two concerts a month when you come to us. Yes. You may not know that since Mr. Paganini brought the concert mania, the income level of musicians has also risen.

I guarantee that with your talent, you will earn no less in our band than you would in Metropolitan Metropolitan Police.How about this, how about I go back and discuss it with a few committee members of the association. As soon as you are in place, we will pay you an appearance fee according to the standard of a skilled pianist.

After one concert, your income should be around ten to fifteen pounds, and based on 24 performances a year, your income should be around three hundred pounds.And this income level will continue to rise in the future. If you work harder, it will definitely not be a problem for your annual income to exceed [-] pounds in the future. I really beg you to seriously consider my suggestion. "

Arthur originally wanted to reject Mochelles' proposal, but he heard that the income of musicians is so high now, even several times that of a superintendent of police, so he hesitated when he reached the point of his mouth.

"This……"

Seeing him hesitating, Mocheles immediately understood that there was something to be done about it, and he quickly added: "Or, even if you don't want to work full-time, you can come here to play a part-time performance once in a while, and we will definitely not treat you badly in terms of remuneration. you."

The Red Devil, who had been eating and drinking in the ballroom, heard the words, took out the handkerchief pinned to his chest, wiped his oily mouth, and said, "Arthur, why are you hesitating? I'm going to work part-time for a concert. You can make ten pounds, which is almost as much as what you earn at Scotland Yard for a month. It’s no big deal to use the time off to start a side business. It’s not about starting a company or doing business, and it’s not against your Scotland Yard rules. House Rules."

Arthur heard this, thought for a while, and finally held Mocheles' hand: "Mr. Mocheles, you may not know that music has always been my dream, thank you for giving me The opportunity to touch your dreams. I think that people should work harder when they are young, sometimes it is not enough to be too realistic."

When Mocheles heard this, his hanging heart was finally relieved, and he shook Arthur's hand heavily with a smile on his face.

"You're right, Mr. Hastings. Then, it's settled. When you are free, just come to the London Academy of Music and find me. You should pass by there when you come here. General Codrington's house is not far away, just off Baker Street."

"Okay, see you later, Mr. Mochelles."

Arthur heaved a sigh of relief. Just when he felt that he was finally going to end today's tiring journey, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a low-key, luxurious carriage parked in front of the mansion.

There was a reddish light in the corner of his eyes, and he always felt as if someone was watching him through the curtain of the car window.

But before he could think it through, he heard the impatient coachman of the high-end London carriage rental company who had been waiting for him say: "Mr. Hastings, can we go back?"

Arthur hesitated for a moment, but in the end he didn't walk to the luxurious carriage across the road.

He sat in his carriage and straightened his collar in the cold autumn night: "Let's go, let's go back."

(End of this chapter)