Shadow of great britain

Greenwich Borough, on the street near Sundial Square.

Arthur was sitting on a rickety carriage wearing a neat police uniform.

In his hand, he held a copy of the "London Social Guide" that he bought from a second-hand bookstore, and read every word on it carefully.

Although he has been in London for five years, he has never attended any serious banquets and dances.

The reason for this is very simple.

First, due to his personality, he prefers to stay alone in his cabin and read books that can entertain himself, rather than gathering together to breathe the turbid air in various social places.

Second, it was because his social status was too low in the past.

Half a year ago, he was just an ordinary patrolman of Scotland Yard. Naturally, such a small role would not attract the attention of upper class society. Rich young men like Elder who were willing to hang out with him would only appear on the campus of the University of London.

Therefore, since Arthur graduated, during the period when Elder was training hard in the Royal Navy, his social activities basically consisted of gatherings with a few friends such as Tom and Tony, and even drinking a bottle of wine. I’m reluctant to order too many things in restaurants.

After all, of the two guys, Tom and Tony, one has already started a family, and the other is working towards the marriage requirement stipulated by Scotland Yard, which is to 'prove that he has at least 20 pounds in savings'.

Of course, even though Arthur has been promoted to superintendent and his personal wealth has been rising rapidly, he had no intention of developing in the social field before accepting General Codrington's invitation.

This is because the various social rules of British society in the 19th century were extremely cumbersome. For Arthur, who was not born and raised in the UK and was not from a serious British middle class, it would not be possible to fully understand these things overnight. It can be done.

Take the "London Social Guide" that Arthur is holding in his hand. Even though he has tried very hard to memorize it since he went to work this morning, he still hasn't completely figured it out until now.

After reading this book, what makes Arthur most fortunate is that there are no women in his family, and he himself is a lonely man.

In the social field, these upper-class aristocratic ladies or women from middle-class business families pay more attention than the gentlemen, and the interactions between men and women will lead to a long list of taboos.

There are various written and unwritten rules for them to wear skirts. Skirts should be divided into various types such as dances, dinners, walks, rides, etc. There are also special country clothes when going back to the countryside to visit relatives or have gatherings. For grand occasions, you should wear the most gorgeous evening dress.

Of course, although these costumes sound very diverse, in fact, the ones most commonly worn by young ladies and ladies may still be black dresses, because in this era, they wear black for a period of time almost every year to mourn the deceased. Husband, parents, brothers and sisters or in-laws.

And when Arthur saw the next paragraph about the regulations on male-female communication, he suddenly felt that a heavy marble had been placed on his head that was filled with all kinds of complicated regulations.

When riding in a carriage, a gentleman will never sit next to a non-relative woman, and he must sit on the side facing away from the direction of the horse's travel, and give up the seat opposite to the lady. And always be careful not to step on women's skirts. When getting off the bus, gentlemen should get off first and be ready to help ladies who are wearing large skirts and have difficulty moving.

Arthur didn't care much about this. Anyway, he had little chance of encountering such an encounter.

There were never ladies in the car with him, but ordinary gentlemen.

For example, the top student in the Department of Classical Literature at the University of London, who often starts with 'Fuck' and ends with 'Shit', is a master of the language of sailors in the Royal Navy, and is the greatest legacy of British literature in the 19th century. 'Walking on the Thames River on the Earth' '—Mr. Elder Carter.

Or maybe he has been writing books all his life, but in the end he is not as good as his 6-year-old son. He often claims to be peace-loving, but when he disagrees, he opens his arsenal and takes out 3,500 tons of ammunition to bomb the Tuileries Palace in Paris. As a result, his net worth doubled and he had to moisturize the British curly-haired fat man - Alexandre Dumas.

There is also the Pope of Science, Charles Darwin, who studied theology at Cambridge University for several years, but ended up not reading the Bible very much. Instead, he fell in love with Lamarckism and thought the creationism of priests was bullshit.

At most, there is a tabloid journalist who, although he will be hailed as the 'living Shakespeare' in the future, has never been able to catch the eye of Mr. Elder Carter, the first British literary critic - Charles Dickens.

When interacting with these people, you really don't need to pay as much attention as when interacting with upper class society, unless a few of them suddenly want to put a skirt on themselves.

Just when Arthur thought he could escape, his eyes fell on a line of words below.

—A proper young unmarried woman should not go out without a chaperone, nor should a proper lady look about for an acquaintance or stop in a crowded street to chat.

—If a young woman does see her gentleman friend in the street and feels that she cannot turn a blind eye, she should reach out.

——When a gentleman finds his female friend, he cannot take the initiative to say hello. Instead, he must wait for the lady to recognize him, and then use the hand farthest from the lady to take off his hat in return.

——Note: If the lady extends her hand, it is regarded as an invitation. The gentleman needs to turn and walk with the lady at this time instead of stopping there to avoid embarrassment to both parties. The conversation between the two must also be careful not to be too enthusiastic or loud, but must be discussed within the scope of etiquette standards. When speaking, the words should be as brief as possible to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and avoid inestimable damage to the reputation of both parties. Saving blow.

——Gentlemen should not smoke in front of ladies, and ladies should not go up and talk to gentlemen when they are smoking, because this may cause the other party to pinch out a good cigar, both of which are inappropriate. Performance.

When Arthur saw this, he couldn't help but take out his pipe and look at it, and muttered: "Fortunately, I smoke it relatively cheaply."

And when his eyes continued to move downward, he finally began to understand why the old butler of the Rothschild family strongly suggested that he hire a few experienced servants when he came to visit that day.

——If the reader of this book moves to a new home, especially to an upper-class residential area, he should remember that the servants you send will visit everywhere and leave business cards in the mailboxes of neighbors.

——The person who receives the business card will usually return the business card within a week or directly visit the residence, which will help enhance your reputation in the place where you live and your influence in the social circle.

——If a lady is moving to a new home, or if an adult male in the family is unable to visit the new neighbor for some reason, the lady should travel by carriage, and your manservant should carry the business card, and he should pass the business card to the owner.

——A married woman who has changed her surname should bring one business card with her own name and two business cards with her husband's name. If there are unmarried daughters or tenants at home, their business cards should also be handed over.

——Note: The name of the unmarried daughter should be written below the mother’s business card.

Arthur looked at these dense regulations and felt goosebumps all over his body.

In order to reasonably integrate into the upper-class social circle and expand his intelligence sources and influence, this matter seems to be far more difficult than he imagined.

He closed the book and rubbed his sore eyes.

Agares sat on the seat opposite him with his legs crossed: "What? Finished reading so quickly?"

Arthur shook his head quite frankly: "I'm not as good at reading and memorizing as you think, especially those related to complicated etiquette. It's not easy for me to continue reading."

When the red devil heard this, he snapped his fingers, and a thorn-covered vine suddenly appeared in his hand. From the look on his face, he seemed to be using this thing as a pointer.

The Red Devil knocked on the cover of the "London Social Guide" with dissatisfaction and urged: "Arthur, this is not possible. If you can't handle Codrington's banquet, how can you squeeze into the Allmark Club in the future? At the banquet? In addition to these, you also need to learn to dance, German waltz, Viennese waltz, French quartet and salon dance, British Regency dance, Scottish roll dance...

Oh, by the way, you'd better learn the traditional male dances of Britain - the ancient Roman sword dance and the Morris dance. These two dances are suitable for sword masters like you who have both strength and skill. "

Arthur said helplessly: "Learn slowly. Anyway, this is my first time. Didn't the old housekeeper of the Rothschild family say that Mrs. Codrington is a member of the 'Blue Stocking Society'?"

The Blue Stocking Society has always been tolerant towards young scientists, and has also given scientists some privileges. After all, I can even appear at banquets wearing blue stockings, so there should be no problem if I make a small mistake in etiquette.

Besides, won’t Elder appear there tonight? Although the boy has always been unconventional, he is still a noble young master of the Carter family. He must remember these basic social etiquette clearly. If I am unsure about something, I just ask him. "

When the red devil heard this, he couldn't help covering his mouth and said with a bad smile: "Arthur, are you sure?"

Arthur originally had some expectations for Elder, but when the red devil asked this question, he instantly lost his mind.

He always likes to rely on his own knowledge and strength to do things, but this is the first time he relies on the strength of others, and this first time the person is actually Elder, which makes Arthur feel guilty no matter how much he thinks about it.

He covered his forehead and gritted his teeth and said: "There is a saying in the East, 'I am born to be useful', and the Western Bible also records that 'when God closes this door, he will definitely open another for you. "A Door," Elder can't be an exception that transcends the Eastern and Western systems, right?"

The red devil didn't answer when he heard the words. He just turned around in a circle, and in an instant he was seen changing into a black dress with exquisite details.

He straightened the red bow around his neck and said to Arthur.

"Consistent with social etiquette and the proximity between you and Codrington, I recommend that you arrive at Codrington's mansion between three-thirty and four o'clock in the afternoon.

My price is quite fair, one dance for one soul, social etiquette quick course is a little more expensive, I can help you get ten souls. If your balance is insufficient, I can also accept credit, but interest must be calculated. "

Having said this, the Red Devil rolled up his sleeves, glanced at his watch, smiled and said, "Don't worry, Arthur. Now, you still have two and a half hours to think about it."

Arthur looked at Agares and couldn't help but shook his head: "Agares, if you continue to maintain this appetite, I won't be able to feed you for a long time."

The red devil pressed his hands on his chest and pretended to compliment him: "Oh! My dear Arthur, you must not underestimate yourself. As long as you can be ruthless, you, the little villain, will be invincible."

"Invincible?"

Arthur shook his head and pointed at the looming factory outside the car window. On the dirt floor outside the factory, there was a group of workers playing football with smiles and ideas on their faces. This was what Arthur was doing. destination of the trip.

He came here specifically to count the guns, ammunition and other weapons that the Greenwich Police District had stored here during the workers' riots a few days ago.

The Red Devil glanced outside: "Aren't they just a group of football and entertainment workers from the Woolwich Arsenal? What are you pointing at them?"

Arthur shrugged helplessly: "According to my understanding and memory, I am not invincible, but the team formed by the workers of Woolwich Arsenal, their 'Arsenal' is invincible."