Shadow of great britain

On the rickety carriage, Arthur held a box containing a gramophone in his arms.

In his hand, he held a round record that had just been recorded and was made of tin, wax and wooden boards.

This record is far less expensive and exquisite than the collector's vinyl records that cost thousands of dollars each in later generations, but its service life is uncharacteristically astonishingly short.

According to Whetstone's estimation, the sound quality of this improvised record might not be guaranteed after playing it about twenty times.

Although he was confident he could make a better one, it was certainly too late to serve it out for Sunday dinner.

But even such a crude and rushed work was enough to surprise Arthur. After all, he originally thought that it would be good for Wheatstone to take a prototype of the phonograph in just one week.

But he obviously underestimated Charles Wheatstone's attainments in acoustics, as well as the practical ability and creativity of this young British scientist who came from a musical instrument family to combine new inventions with musical instruments.

Sitting opposite him, Elder was still immersed in the shock he felt when the gramophone played the piano music for the first time.

"This... this is really a great invention! It can actually seal people's voices. Oh my God, I always thought that maybe only God could do this."

Elder murmured: "With this gramophone, I'm afraid musicians will be unemployed from now on, right?"

Arthur replied: "Instead of worrying about the musicians, you should worry more about your next sea training."

Elder raised his eyebrows and said: "Arthur, by the way, I know you understand art, but what I don't know is that this little boy can actually play the piano. When did you learn this?"

Arthur glanced at the red devil sitting by the car window.

Agares bought a decent black tuxedo from somewhere. The red devil hummed a tune, closed his eyes, and waved his arm like a whip, as if he was not sitting on the car window at this time, but It is standing in the Golden Hall in Vienna.

Arthur sighed: "If I said I just learned it, would you believe it?"

Elder was full of disbelief: "Come on, Arthur, if you can play to this level just after learning, it only means that your musical talent is beyond reach. The original British song """ commemorating the victory of the Battle of Victoria" "Wellington's Victory", instead of spending a lot of money to go to Vienna to find Beethoven to compose the music, I should go directly to the Yorkshire countryside to find you."

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said, "That's not okay."

"Why?"

Arthur said: "Because playing the piano is too deadly. Elder, I remember the Battle of Victoria in 1813. I was 3 years old at the time. A three-year-old child cannot do such a big business."

Elder curled his lips: "Don't you have to work hard for everything? But it doesn't seem to be a big deal if you don't become a musician. You are the superintendent of Scotland Yard at a young age. You live alone next to Hyde Park. There are six rooms and two halls in the building, and I even have to invite you to General Codrington's banquet. Calculating it this way, it seems that the average 20-year-old musician is generally not good at it compared to you."

When Elder said this, he held his pipe in his mouth, crossed his legs and began to care about Arthur's emotional problems.

"At the age of 20, it may be a little early to get married, but you have to think about it carefully. If you get a girl from a wealthy family, you can take advantage of the momentum in the other family's family and you will skyrocket."

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but joked: "Elder, this doesn't sound like you. Didn't you always say that you wanted to make a world on your own before? It's only been more than a year, and your life path has changed." It’s turned upside down. Forget about awakening the ‘Royal Navy blood’ in you, now even when choosing a partner, do you plan to find someone with both wealth and background?”

Unexpectedly, Elder didn't care about these things at all. He said: "Arthur, you don't understand. You have to seize the opportunity you should seize. You have handled so many big cases at Scotland Yard. If you have the same merit, you should seize it." For a noble man, he might have been transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by now. But you still stay at Scotland Yard. What does this mean? It shows that you still lack background.

Besides, even if you don't like it, you can still make fun of it. In London's social circles, many people rely on this trick to get promoted and make a fortune. "

Arthur saw his expression of 'Young people should not be too young', so he asked in cooperation: "Are all the upper-class social circles in London playing this kind of thing?"

As expected, when Elder heard this, he felt as if he had been given a shot of blood.

He whispered: "You have asked the right person. Let me ask you, do you know General Nelson's mistress - Mrs. Hamilton's Emma Hart?"

When Arthur heard the name, he felt a little familiar, as if the Red Devil had mentioned it to him before: "I just heard it a little bit."

Seeing that he didn't know, Elder introduced him enthusiastically.

"Mrs. Hamilton is one of the legends in London's upper-class social circle. Mrs. Hamilton was originally an ordinary commoner. Her father was a blacksmith, and her mother was a maid. She herself was originally doing jobs such as handyman and nanny. She was even almost deceived by a man and turned into a prostitute.

But her fate took a turn for the better when she met Lord Charles Grenville. Lord Grenville took a fancy to her beauty, so he took her home and taught her various upper-class clothes. She also had a special education in literature and art.

Under the cultivation of Lord Grenville, Emma Hart became an instant hit when she first appeared at a social banquet. It didn't take long for her to become recognized in the circle as "the most beautiful woman in England".

Just when everyone thought Emma Hart would be with Lord Grenville, the Lord actually transferred her to his uncle Sir William Hamilton in order to repay his high debt, and Emma naturally Became Mrs. Hamilton. "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but frown and said, "But how did she get involved with General Nelson?"

Elder replied: "That's because Sir Hamilton served as the British Minister in Naples at that time, so Emma naturally followed him. She made good use of the social skills she learned in London, and soon became the The darling of Naples high society.

At this time, General Nelson had just defeated the French Navy at the mouth of the Nile River in Egypt, and was promoted to commander of the Mediterranean Fleet. The two fell in love at first sight in Naples, and their relationship developed by leaps and bounds. Not only did Sir Hamilton not blame them, but he graciously returned to London with them. "

When Arthur heard this, his eyelids twitched: "Are you sure? I know it's not unusual to have a mistress these days, but if this behavior is made public, I'm afraid not many British people can accept it, right?

After all, our recently deceased old King George IV was attacked by public opinion every day when he wanted to get a divorce. There were even members of the parliament who complained about Queen Caroline.

Even if Sir Hamilton didn't care about Nelson and Emma's affairs, didn't London's major newspapers and tabloids attack them? "

Elder said disdainfully: "If someone else did this, he would definitely be stepped on in the mud. But that is the soul of the Royal Navy, Horatio Nelson! If General Nelson is still alive, I am afraid that even Wellington Even the Duke can't hold him down steadily, so how can our former King compare with him?"

Arthur asked: "What about after the Battle of Trafalgar? Without Nelson, Mrs. Hamilton's fate may not be too good."

Elder nodded and said: "You guessed it right. Before the Battle of Trafalgar, General Nelson could still be regarded as a human being, but after his death at Trafalgar, he had become a kind of hero in Britain. Symbolized. This kind of hero obviously cannot have any stain, so for the sake of Nelson's reputation, Mrs. Hamilton was quickly abandoned by the London social circle. Everyone regarded her as nothing, and her name and experience became a piece of cake. A taboo that cannot be said."

Arthur asked: "Isn't this a failure case? Why did you mention her to me?"

"Someone is successful!"

Elder said: "The most typical female success story is Harriet Wilson. She made a fortune in the upper class by relying on her relationships with a bunch of people. Even when she was After she retired, she continued to serialize her past love stories in newspapers.

As long as those old lovers don't pay, she will expose their names and quirks in her love history. And if the money is enough, she will even sing a few words of praise for them.

The most successful male case in recent years is none other than Henry Temple, Viscount Palmerston. Although there is no conclusive evidence, many people say that Viscount Palmerston had affairs with at least three of the seven major patrons of the Allmark Club.

If it were not for the help of these ladies, Viscount Palmerston would not have been able to mix so well in social circles and political circles, nor would he have been accepted by the Whig Party immediately after breaking away from the Tory Party. "

Arthur had already heard of the name 'Olmark Club', and as for the title 'Viscount Palmerston', it was written in the textbooks, and it was impossible not to learn it.

He suddenly became interested and asked: "Can you tell me the story in detail? For example, the seven female patrons of the Allmark Club, or Palmerston."

When Elder heard this, he thought Arthur had figured it out. He patted Arthur on the shoulder happily: "Arthur, you finally understand. If you want to be a big shot, you can't rely on yourself."

"Of course." Arthur smiled and patted the box in his arms: "I definitely can't do it by myself. I have to rely on recording."

Elder was stunned by what he said: "Recording? What do you want to do?"

"nothing."

Arthur smiled and replied: "Elder, you don't think that the gramophone was invented just for a dinner party, or for listening to a piece of music, right? If possible, I hope it can become our Scotland Yard, Or it could be a powerful tool for the LPS to combat organized crime."

Elder was shocked by Arthur's thoughts: "Arthur, don't you think that the Whig and Tory MPs are also organized crime?"

When Arthur heard this, he did not respond directly. He just shrugged slightly and replied with a smile: "Elder, our responsibilities also include combating unorganized crime."

When the carriage that Arthur and Elder were riding in drifted away, Charles Wheatstone stood in front of the shop and lingered for a long time without leaving.

I saw the sun shining on Wheatstone's face. He covered his forehead covered with sweat beads, with a look of disbelief on his face: "Oh my God! What on earth was that thing that Mr. Hastings played just now?"