Shadow of great britain

Chapter 401 Lionheart Elder Carter

Ada's words instantly aroused Elizabeth's interest.

As a bedridden girl, she has not been more than 500 feet away from home for 10 years since she fell off a horse when she was 15 years old.

She knew very little about the changes in the outside world.

The window to understand the outside world is only a few newspapers, and at most some school stories mentioned by younger brothers and sisters.

For a British girl who loves literature, Byron and Shelley are undoubtedly their heroes. But judging from the information revealed by Ada, these two heroes do not seem to be as majestic and magnificent as their works.

Elizabeth had also chatted about her husband with Mrs. Shelley before, but for some reason, Mrs. Shelley was not willing to talk too much about the details of life. The content of the chat between the two was more limited to literary communication.

Arthur saw that the topic was about to slip into some uncontrollable areas, so he quickly put down the tea cup to smooth things over.

"Miss Barrett, I heard before that you seem to like the article "The St. George Flag Rises as usual"?"

"ah……"

Elizabeth blushed for a moment when Arthur told her the central point: "I...it can't be said that I like it, but more can be said that I love it. It is really an outstanding work. Seeing Elder Carter jump into the sea and meet During the shark fight, my heart seemed to be gripped. He suffered so much injustice in the Amazon, went through countless hardships and looked down upon by others, but he still did not succumb to the injustice brought to him by fate. Faced with the trials given by God, he raised the flag of St. George and grabbed the throat of the shark with his hands covered with calluses and wounds. He was like the legendary Greek fire thief, a Prometheus on the sea, A true Royal Navy sailor."

When Arthur heard this, his eyebrows trembled.

Only then did he realize that he and Dickens might have been too artistic in some creative details.

But seeing the light in Elizabeth's energetic eyes, he didn't want to expose the matter no matter what. He could only quietly listen to what this lovely young lady said slowly.

When Elizabeth talked about Elder, her whole body seemed to be full of energy, and her restrained attitude gradually relaxed.

"If "St. George's Flag Rises" was a completely fictional story, I might not be so excited. But in Mr. Dickens's reply to me, he told me that this story actually has a prototype, and the prototype character is still there. I know you very well. He is a friend of yours who is serving in the Royal Navy. His name is Elder Carter?"

When Arthur heard this, the sweat on his back immediately dropped.

The veteran Scotland Yard sergeant has never been more nervous than he is now when facing the most vicious East End gangsters.

"Well..." Arthur pretended to ponder, trying to give himself more time to think.

But Ada, who was sitting in the armchair next to him, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Arthur looked at her blankly. It took him a long time before he remembered that Ada and Elder had met, and it was at the Blue Stocking Salon hosted by Mrs. Codrington.

Mrs. Shelley frowned and asked, "Ada, what are you laughing at?"

Ada concealed her dress and sat down on the chair dignifiedly: "It's nothing, I just think the way Mr. Hastings thinks is interesting."

Arthur quickly winked at her to signal her not to talk nonsense.

But Ada ignored this, neither nodding nor shaking her head, but picked up the tea cup and looked at the decorative art in the living room.

Elizabeth was completely unaware of what was happening around her, and all her attention at the moment was focused on that mysterious man—Mr. Elder Carter.

"Mr. Carter, what kind of person is he?"

"Mr. Carter..."

Arthur thought about it for a long time, and then carefully gave his evaluation: "Actually, Mr. Carter and I are old friends. We have been classmates since college. Although we each chose different careers after graduation, We often get together together. Generally speaking, Mr. Carter is a pure person, a philanthropic person, a person with interests different from ordinary people, and a person who is willing to sacrifice his life in pursuit of great ideals. If we want to use the protagonist in the poem to describe To describe him, I prefer him to be a Byronic hero, and coincidentally, his idol is also Byron."

Arthur's words were extremely tactful, but he basically mentioned all the points he could mention.

Not only Ada understood these words, but also Mrs. Shelley.

As Byron's daughter, Ada can interpret that the Byronic hero in Arthur's mouth is mostly the protagonist of his father's posthumous work "Don Juan".

Although Byron portrayed Don Juan in the novel as an innocent victim who fell in love again and again unconsciously, but was always suppressed because of decadent Catholic concepts.

But this does not prevent that in local Spanish folktales, Don Juan is actually a charming, but shameless Spanish nobleman who steals jade and beauty everywhere. Legend has it that he would lure women into bed whenever he saw them, and would have sex with a different woman every night.

As for why Byron portrayed Don Juan as an innocent victim, this is probably because he substituted his own experiences and fantasies into it.

In Byron's version of "Don Juan", the protagonist is seduced by a married woman at the age of 16 because he cannot withstand temptation. In order to cover up the scandal, his parents sent him on a boat trip.

As a result, the ship encountered a storm at sea, and he drifted alone to a beautiful Greek island, where he fell in love with the pirate leader's daughter in a pastoral style. The furious pirate leader knew about it and sold him to the Ottoman Turks. slave market.

Because of his handsome appearance and elegant conversation, he was soon sold by slave traders as a maid to the harem of the Ottoman Sultan. This development of wolves entering the flock naturally triggered a series of romantic affairs.

When the Russo-Turkish War broke out, Don Juan took advantage of the chaos to escape from the palace and joined the Russian army. He was praised by the Russian Marshal Suvorov for his bravery in combat, and thus met the Russian Empress Yekater. Lina II. Not surprisingly, Don Juan later gained the queen's favor and was appointed Russian ambassador to Britain.

As for the subsequent plot, due to Byron's unexpected death, it was not continued.

Whenever Elder talked about "Don Juan" with Arthur, he would inevitably sigh, because according to Lord Byron's understanding of the British corrupt social circle, Don Juan's story was really exciting when he arrived in England. As a result, he accidentally became an eunuch, which has to be said to be a great loss to the world literary world.

When Arthur first saw this book, he was quite shocked. Mr. Hastings believes that with this copy of "Don Juan" alone, Lord Byron will not die of hunger even in the 21st century. Needless to say, no matter what he does, he can become the Tarzan Beidou in the field of stallion novels.

Although onlookers privately gave "Don Juan" a very high evaluation, as Byron's wife, Mrs. Milbank's most hated book was "Don Juan".

Because the beginning of the book is basically based on Byron's affair with his sister. Regardless of Byron's beautification of this plot, it is basically the cause and effect of this guy leaving Britain for Greece under pressure from public opinion.

Both Ada and Mrs. Shelley understood Arthur's subtext, but this does not mean that Elizabeth also understood it.

Her cheeks were flushed, and the word Byronic hero, far from dispelling her interest in Elder, only heightened her curiosity.

"In other words, Mr. Elder Carter is indeed a living person? I remember that "The St. George Flag Rises" also said that he liked literature very much. Although his poems were not recognized by the world, he still persisted in Following this path that he firmly believes in. So, is he also the author of "The Englishman"?"

"Um……"

Arthur felt that he was riding a tiger, and if he hadn't felt that doing so was too rude to a paralyzed lady, he might have said goodbye.

Arthur considered his words and said: "Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from you. Mr. Carter is indeed our author. You like religion and history, and you are also a loyal reader of our "The British", so I guess you must have read it." That Robin Hood movie? That's Mr. Carter's work."

"Oh my God!" Elizabeth covered her mouth and opened her eyes wide: "It turns out...is that Carter Mr. Elder Carter? I thought he was still in the struggle now, but I didn't expect his many years of hard work. It has paid off, and I remember even Sir Scott praised his work. I... I'm so happy for him."

"You are really a kind person. Well... Mr. Carter will be very happy if he knows that he has supporters like you. I'm not kidding, he can even fly the Beagle with a maximum speed of 13 knots because of you. It makes 1,300 knots of horsepower."

The Red Devil put his arm on Arthur's shoulder and smiled: "1300 knots? Arthur, are you planning to let him leave the earth?"

Although Arthur's expression remained calm, the observant Ada discovered that the placket on the chest of this calm Scotland Yard police officer seemed to have been wet.

"The Beagle?"

Elizabeth asked curiously: "I remember this is the name of Mr. Darwin's research ship. Could it be that he is staying with Mr. Darwin at this time, engaged in that great scientific research voyage around the world?"

Elizabeth had just finished asking, and before Arthur could respond, she exclaimed as if she had woken up: "Oh... I almost forgot! "The Flag of St. George Rises" takes place in South America. Could it be that this is The real experience on the Beagle? Oh my God! It seems that this voyage is more dangerous than I imagined. I pray to God that Mr. Carter and Mr. Darwin can return safely."

Seeing this, Ada, who had been silent all the time, suddenly said: "Perhaps Mr. Hastings should introduce Mr. Carter to everyone. I am also very interested in this gentleman. His strong and indomitable will. With the charm of a Byronic hero and his magnificent life experience, he will definitely have many stories to tell us."

Hearing this, Elizabeth couldn't help but look down at her thin legs, then suddenly raised her head and smiled: "Forget it, that would be too troublesome for him. Although I really want to get to know him, Mr. Carter is not sailing around the world. ?"

Ada stood up and sat next to Elizabeth, held her hand and said: "Miss Barrett, have you forgotten? You can write letters to him. Although the distance across the Atlantic is a bit far, But life on the ship must be very boring, maybe Mr. Carter is also looking forward to someone to chat with him?"

"this……"

Elizabeth's eyes lit up for a moment, but then she became hesitant: "But... wouldn't that seem too overestimating? Why would he care about someone he doesn't even know? My life is not that exciting, nor is it What interesting things can I share with him? Will he like my half-baked little poems?"

Mrs. Shelley looked at Elizabeth's lowered head, stepped forward and comforted: "Although I don't think this is a very good idea, there is always no problem in making a few more friends. Even though Byronic heroes have All kinds of shortcomings, but they are usually, as Mr. Hastings said, quite philanthropic and not likely to bully a beautiful heart.”

Write to Elder?

Or let a woman write to him?

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't sit still.

He was about to say something persuasive, but as soon as his butt left the seat, he realized that this matter didn't seem particularly bad.

Just like Mrs. Shelley was worried about Elizabeth's mental state, Arthur, as Elder's most reliable friend, was also worried about Elder's mental state.

Because this little aristocratic young man who came from an authentic Anglican Church family had even been forced to consider converting to Buddhism and going to the Eastern Tang Dynasty to learn Buddhist scriptures.

Although Arthur did not intend to interfere with personal religious beliefs, for Elder, who was interested in furthering his career in Britain, becoming a monk was not really a good idea.

Among other things, there is not even a single Buddhist temple in Britain.

Moreover, according to legal provisions, the scope of the government's grant of stipends to clergy is limited to pastors of the Anglican Church, which does not include abbots and abbots.

Two lonely hearts hug each other to keep each other warm. As long as the two never meet, there should be no problem. And if nothing else, Elder is very good at making people laugh, although in most cases, he doesn't do it intentionally.

Moreover, even if we consider the worst case scenario, Elder's letter is written in vulgar and ugly words, at least Arthur can intercept it and review it first, and work with Dickens to imitate Mr. Carter's masterpiece in "St. George's Flag Rises Still". level of polish.

If he and Dickens together are not enough, then add Alexandre Dumas, the Parisian love saint. This fat man is not only accomplished in dramas and novels, but also knows how to write letters to ladies.

Moreover, didn’t the editorial department recently have a female emotional analyst, Mr. Stendhal?

Although Stendhal couldn't win over the well-informed group of actresses, if he wanted to make a lady who had been bedridden for many years happy, his little notebook would probably come in handy.

Thinking of this, Arthur couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up with a smile and said to Elizabeth: "Miss Barrett, I have been very worried about my friend's mental state recently. Although he is an indomitable warrior, the long-term voyage Life is still gradually wearing down his heart. I am really afraid that one day he will commit suicide.

If you are willing to help me, why not agree to correspond with him? Although this may not necessarily work, we can try it first. In exchange, you can ask him to tell you stories about South America in your letters, and I can also send you some of the specimens he sent back from afar. "

"This..." Elizabeth stared at her feet, she was a little unsure: "Can a person like me really help others?"

"A person like you?" Arthur said with a smile: "If you are talking about your feet, I'm sure you will get better slowly. By then, maybe you can be like Mr. Carter Go see other places in the world for yourself.”

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth was doubtful. Although she felt that Arthur was probably comforting her, her years of illness still left her with some illusions.

Arthur nodded seriously and said: "Maybe it will be today, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be a few years, but I am absolutely sure that you will finally stand up. As long as you can be like Mr. Carter, from His letters capture that lion’s heart.”