shadow of britain

Chapter 310 Don’t generate electricity here
When Faraday heard Arthur's words, he was slightly startled at first, and then he immediately realized what Arthur was talking about.

He held his forehead and shook his head helplessly: "I almost forgot what your job is. You are a policeman. Scotland Yard is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, right? Therefore, Viscount Melbourne not only sent a bunch of affairs officers, but also And brought you here to be a lobbyist?"

Arthur clarified solemnly: "You misunderstood. I just learned about it from the mouths of those affairs officers. And I never intended to advise you to forgive Viscount Melbourne. You have your own methods and principles of doing things." .From the time you entered the field of scientific research, everything you did was absolutely correct.

Sir David was so harsh on you, but you never held a grudge. Even after he passed away, you used your meager savings to build a mausoleum for him with your own money. You also converted his laboratory into a Memorial Hall.I can't see into a person's heart, but I can see a person's behavior.

You won't have any problems.If you have a conflict with the Viscount Melbourne, he has definitely gone too far.You are justified in being angry with him, and I support you 100% on this matter. "

Arthur's words caught Farah off guard. He originally thought that Arthur would definitely say all the good things for Viscount Melbourne, but he didn't expect that Arthur actually did the opposite and didn't even say half a good word for him. said the minister in charge.

Faraday waved his hand quickly and said: "Arthur, I am very happy that you can support me. However, I am not as perfect as you said. In short, this matter is over. Now that it has passed, let it pass. Let’s not mention it again from now on.”

"Of course, I listen to you."

As Arthur spoke, he reached into his arms and took out a check, which he placed squarely on the experimental table in front of Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, that's it for today. These days, Wheatstone My husband is busy in the laboratory of the Royal Society. I haven't seen him for a while and I miss him quite a bit. So, I would like to say goodbye to you and wish you a happy life."

Arthur turned around, tugged at the ruffles on his shirt chest, raised his brows slightly, and had a confident smile of unknown meaning on his face.

Agares, who was lying on the experimental table, saw this and trimmed his nails while shaking his head and counting down: "Three, two, one..."

"Arthur, wait!" Faraday's voice sounded from behind Arthur.

Agares sighed, and he didn't know whether he was admiring or criticizing him. The red devil said, "What a born devil."

Arthur adjusted his expression, then turned around and asked, "Do you have anything else to ask me for?"

Farah held up the check with a serious face: "Arthur, did you forget to take something with you?"

Arthur shook his head seriously and said: "I'm sure not, Mr. Faraday. That check was originally given to you. It is the fruit of your labor. How can I keep it as my own?"

Faraday looked at Arthur, his brows frowning more and more: "Arthur, you are a very good young man, and I admire you very much. Because of this, I don't want to ruin our friendship because of such a trivial matter. Take advantage of the opportunity. Now, take this check back to the person who gave it to you, and let’s just pretend that nothing happened, okay?”

When Arthur heard this, he refused equally seriously: "Mr. Faraday, it is impossible for me to return this check to Mr. Rothschild. Besides, the success of the Astley Theater performance is inseparable from As the organizer, he should pay you for the various instruments and chemicals you provided, so why would you save money for a banker?"

"Is this the reward Mr. Rothschild gave me?"

Faraday was stunned for a moment, then declined: "I'm very grateful for his kindness. But I didn't contribute much to the performance. As for those instruments and chemicals, although some of them were made by me, they all belong to The collective property of the Royal Society. Besides, you used the things very carefully after loaning them out and did not damage their usability, so naturally you don’t need to pay compensation. As for chemicals... you can at most reimburse a little for the materials, a little. It's just liquid carbon dioxide, it's not worth three hundred pounds."

Arthur was filled with righteous indignation when he heard this: "Mr. Faraday, since Mr. Rothschild is willing to pay so much, it means that your product is worthy of this price. You are a scientist, but you do not understand economics. The price of an item is determined by The market determines it. If someone is willing to pay a high price to buy it, then it is reasonable to sell it at a high price.

This is just like the tea we often drink. If you buy tea from Eastern origins, you can buy a basketful of it for just a few pennies.But if you go to Covent Garden Market, you'll pay sixpence for a jar.And if you go to Chuan Ning Tea Store to buy it, even if you pay one shilling, they will use weights and scales to calculate it carefully for you, and they will not give you even a little bit of ground tea.

Besides, the Viscount of Melbourne treats you so excessively, which is even more difficult for me to stand.I must admit that a scientific annuity of three hundred pounds a year is indeed not a small amount of money, but if he uses this money to make you surrender, then he is wrong.Your value is much higher than he thinks, and higher than you think.As long as the chemicals made by Faraday's hands can be sold for hundreds or thousands of times the price, this is your best counterattack against him! "

Seeing Arthur being so angry, Faraday hurriedly comforted him: "Arthur, don't be so excited. There is no hatred between Viscount Melbourne and I, and it's not a matter of money. I'm not short of money, and I don't have to worry about rent." , the Royal Society provided me with a free two-bedroom apartment. In addition, I can also receive a fixed salary of 80 pounds per year. If I want to start new research, the Royal Society will also subsidize part of the material money for me. I As the son of a blacksmith, my father never imagined that his son would be able to live the life he does now. I live a better life than most people, and I am really very satisfied materially."

When Arthur heard this, he pretended to be stunned and said: "Ah...you...it turns out that you and Viscount Melbourne didn't have a conflict over money?"

Faraday was also stunned: "Because of money? Arthur, what do you think is the reason for the conflict between me and him?"

Arthur pretended to be embarrassed and said: "I... I feel that the three hundred pounds subsidy is not worthy of your value. If the parliament does not want to provide the subsidy, it does not need to provide it. If it wants to provide you with the subsidy, it must provide it no matter what." Just three thousand pounds a year."

Faraday was dumbfounded by Arthur's words: "Arthur, three hundred pounds and three thousand pounds are the same to me. I am not short of money, and I don't want to accept government subsidies. They should use the money to make more money." Wherever it is useful. As for Viscount Melbourne, what I need from him is not three hundred pounds, but a formal and solemn apology."

As soon as Faraday finished speaking, Arthur immediately stopped him and took advantage of the situation. He asked: "Is it too easy for him to forgive Viscount Melbourne with just an apology?"

Faraday persuaded: "Arthur, you take the matter too seriously. This matter is a question of apology from beginning to end. Viscount Melbourne must reflect on his arrogant attitude. Apart from that, I don't know anything." need."

When the red devil on the side heard this, he laughed so hard that he slapped his thigh repeatedly and said: "The dam opened its mouth on its own initiative. It seems that the loaches are going to take advantage of the opening."

Arthur glanced at him, then patted his chest and assured Faraday: "Don't worry, although I am not as important as you in the scientific community. Even in Scotland Yard, I am just an insignificant little policeman, but I will definitely Take your words to the Viscount of Melbourne. He will either apologize to you or accept my resignation application. Anyway, he will have to choose one of these two things."

After saying this, Arthur didn't give Faraday a chance to stay anymore, and rushed out of the laboratory with a quick step.

Behind him, only Faraday's voice of dissuasion was left: "Arthur, don't be impulsive, this is really not a big deal!"

Arthur trotted all the way, the bandage around his neck shaking.

It wasn't until he ran a long distance that he stopped under a big tree, took out his pipe and put it in his mouth.

The sound of a match striking the phosphorus surface was heard, and accompanied by a burst of inhalation and exhalation, white smoke rose from under the tree.

"It's done."

Arthur took two puffs of his cigarette and was about to go back and explain the situation to several affairs officers. However, as soon as he crossed the corner, he found that the affairs officers were gathered around a lady, nodding and bowing to greet her.

And that lady looked familiar to Arthur.Although she was wearing a floral dress that was not too conspicuous today, the iconic pigeon blood red ring shining on her knuckles still made Arthur recognize her identity at a glance.

That was Lady Cowper, the sister of the Viscount Melbourne and one of the lovers of the Viscount Palmerston.

Mrs. Cowper asked: "Is Mr. Faraday willing to reconcile?"

The affairs officers replied with sweating profusely.

"He...we have very sincerely asked for his forgiveness, but...Mr. Faraday, his attitude is extremely tough and he will not compromise at all."

"As you know, scientists usually have some quirks... In Mr. Faraday's case, it is mainly reflected in his unusually stubborn temper, like a donkey."

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she raised her fan to cover her mouth, her eyes full of anger: "You are so rude! How can you compare the greatest scientist in Britain and the most cultivated gentleman of the Royal Society?" Where’s the donkey?!”

Bart, the clerk, also realized that he had lied. He quickly apologized: "Sorry, madam! There is a problem with my metaphor. I mean Mr. Faraday's temperament is almost like a Scotsman. But don't worry, we have just said Send someone else to continue to persuade him, I believe our colleague will be able to find a solution."

Arthur stepped forward and said at the right time: "Mr. Bart, I'm glad you didn't compare Mr. Faraday to a Scottish donkey. If I had known that you thought of him this way, I wouldn't have said anything to persuade him for you."

Mrs. Cowper couldn't help but be surprised when she saw Arthur: "Mr. Hastings? How could you be... Oh, I almost forgot. In addition to being an upright police officer, you are also a talented scientific researcher."

Arthur took off his hat and greeted with a smile: "Madam, good afternoon. It's been a long time since I saw you, and you still look so dazzling."

When Mrs. Cowper saw Arthur's red-glowing black eyes, she felt her irritable mood calm down a lot.

"I'm also glad to see you again. Mr. Hastings, your demeanor is as good as ever. They just said that someone else went to persuade Mr. Faraday. Could the person who takes on the important responsibility be..."

Arthur smiled and nodded: "Madam, your wisdom and beauty are simply equal. A lady like you usually brings good luck to relatives and partners, so this time Mr. Faraday decided to forgive Viscount Melbourne. ”

"Oh, my God!"

Mrs. Cowper folded her hands and pressed her chest: "Mr. Hastings, I heard William say before that Scotland Yard is important enough to be worth half of the Ministry of Home Affairs. I didn't believe it at that time, but now it seems that he Everything I said is true. I really don’t know how to thank you on behalf of William. Look at the good things he did. If you hadn’t come forward to help, Mr. Faraday would definitely not have calmed down so quickly. "

Arthur smiled and said: "Madam, this is not a big deal, it is just a small effort. However, Mr. Faraday also said that there are preconditions for his forgiveness of the Viscount. He requires that the Viscount must solemnly apologize to him."

Mrs. Cowper, who knew that her brother was stuck in the swamp, agreed without much thought: "This is as it should be. Even if you don't mention it, I will let William apologize to Mr. Faraday. He can Parliament sat carelessly, but he must not treat an eminent and highly esteemed person like that, either to Mr. Faraday or to you."

Arthur was still thinking about how to apologize to Viscount Melbourne. When Mrs. Cowper took the initiative to ask for help, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

Arthur took off his hat again and said thanks: "Madam, your respect for science is simply unprecedented. I will truthfully tell her what you have done for Mr. Faraday. Then I will not waste your time." , let’s talk next time we meet.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Cowper took the initiative to reach out to Arthur, and Arthur subconsciously stretched out his bandaged right hand to take it.

Agares leaned against the tree trunk and yawned and reminded: "Wrong!"

Arthur was so startled that he trembled all over. He quickly moved to his left hand to catch Mrs. Cowper's palm and kissed it gently, then said goodbye and turned around.

Fortunately, the other party did not discover the true nature of this episode.

Mrs. Cowper just watched Arthur's back walk away with relief, and finally raised her fan to cover her mouth and smiled.

"It's just a kiss on the hand, but he is still shy. Such young people are so rare nowadays. He has outstanding appearance, outstanding talent, and a good eloquence. He is not an aristocrat, but he has the demeanor of an aristocrat. He is obviously a scientific researcher, but He has a funny attitude like a poet. What a pity. If he had a distinguished father, even just a baron, I would definitely recommend him to attend Queen Charlotte's Ball next year to meet those newly-grown-ups from aristocratic families. It’s such a pity for all of us ladies…”

Arthur walked around the corner of the walk, leaned his back against the wall and took a deep breath.

In just one week, he has performed so many stage plays in a row that even the most popular actors in London may not have as many rehearsals as him.

He took out the handkerchief in his pocket and wiped his sweat. He was thinking about taking a rest. Unexpectedly, before he could catch his breath, he caught a glimpse of his friends gathered in front of a small building not far ahead. outside the window.

Alexandre Dumas and others looked inside and exclaimed in surprise.

"my Lord!"

"Is that Mr. Wheatstone? I almost don't recognize him?"

"Is this Charles Whetstone? If you cover his face and tell me he is Elder Carter, I will believe it!"

The apprentices of the Royal Society, with sweat on their foreheads, shouted at the top of their lungs at the window: "Stop it! Mr. Wheatstone, please stop the electricity, we are not going in!"

Arthur walked to the window and took a look inside. Although it was only a glance, the visual impact it brought to him was unparalleled. It was a scene he had never seen before.The electric light shone on Arthur's face, lighting up his face hidden in the shadow of his hat.

Arthur was silent for a moment, and finally spoke to Wheatstone in the room: "Charles, listen to my advice, you can do anything, but don't generate electricity here."

(End of this chapter)