Shadow of great britain

There are two ways of life for people who make a career out of academics. One is to live 'for' academics, and the other is to live 'by' academics. The latter studies to improve life, and the former studies to improve the world. The teaching goal of the University of Göttingen is to devote all its efforts to shaping people who live "for" academics. Why do we do this? This is because we have seen that, students, your generation will completely reshape the German national spirit!

——Sir Arthur Hastings, Chancellor of the University of Göttingen and Special Representative of the State, speech at the opening of the autumn semester of the University of Göttingen in 1833

Arthur stood in the auditorium of the University of Göttingen, wearing a black academic robe that hung down to his ankles. The slender tailoring looked particularly solemn on his tall and tall figure.

The robe is made of fine wool, thick yet elegant, and the black fabric has a calm sheen under the sunlight. The edge of the robe is decorated with velvet trim, and the delicate texture adds a sense of nobility to this outfit, while the delicate silver embroidery on the collar of the robe is a symbol of academic prestige.

As his words fell, applause poured in from every corner of the auditorium, instantly flooding the entire space. The professors nodded slightly in agreement, while the freshmen clapped politely while looking curiously at the group of seniors whose cheeks were slightly red due to excessive excitement.

Since they have just entered school, most freshmen don't understand why the seniors are so excited.

But professors and lecturers are quite aware of the hidden meaning of the new superintendent's speech just now.

The phrase "German national spirit" is a very sensitive word at this point in time. However, the superintendent said it quite naturally on such an important occasion. This is enough to illustrate his deep understanding of the German national movement and the promotion of freedom. the attitude of the ideological trend.

Whether it was for his stance or for his courage, they all had reason to give Arthur the warmest applause.

Seeing the cheering students in the audience, Arthur just smiled and waved gently.

The flat-topped academic hat he wore on his head had the brim slightly raised, and the gold tassel in the center of the hat hung down to one side, swaying slightly with his every move.

The brief opening ceremony came to an end quickly, and most students were still whispering excitedly until they left.

The remaining students hurried to the school square, because they had a meeting to be held there, and the newly established Göttingen Social Activities Enthusiasts and Event Planning Organization was about to announce the voting results there. , the first president of the association will issue a declaration of victory and be sworn in after the vote count.

Seeing that the students were almost gone, Arthur looked at Fiona sitting in the first row while packing up the materials on the podium.

"You don't need to come here. It's just a speech at the beginning of the school year. There's nothing interesting to hear. It's hard to come to Germany. You should visit nearby attractions. Walk ten miles east of the city and you can see the Wella Valley. There is a mountain at the top of the mountain. The castle called Hanauhausen was built by the Wende family in the 11th century. It was once an important military fortress of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the place is now abandoned, it is still worth seeing. "

Fiona shook her head and said, "I'm not interested in the Middle Ages."

"Not interested?"

Arthur held the speech under his arm and frowned as he thought: "What about the mythical stories? Although the Harz Mountains are a little far away from Göttingen, the natural landscape is absolutely worth mentioning. The highest peak of the Harz Mountains is Brocken Mountain. It is the most famous place of magic and legend in German mythology. Many of the "Grimm's Fairy Tales" created by the Brothers Grimm in our school are set there, such as "The Witch of Broken Hill" and so on. "

Fiona quickly lifted up her long skirt and stood up: "Since there is already a witch there, why should I go to the Harz Mountains to steal her job?"

"Ah..." Arthur waved his hand and said: "There are not only witches there, Princess Rose also lives there. In addition, there are dwarves, elves and bears."

Fiona stood in the audience with no intention of leaving. She stretched out her hand towards Arthur, frowned slightly and said, "You seem to want to send me away?"

"How is that possible?"

Arthur took off his academic hat and walked down the podium and held her hand: "I just think that since you don't understand German, you will inevitably feel lonely in a rural place like Göttingen."

"Who told you I couldn't speak German?"

Fiona said disdainfully: "You only know that my family immigrated from Russia, but you don't know that our ancestors were originally Germans."

"Huh?" Arthur said in surprise: "Why are your family running around? They sound like gypsies."

Fiona couldn't help but became furious when she heard this. She pinched the back of Arthur's hand severely: "How dare you insult me ​​like this? Your family is the Gypsy!"

Arthur realized that he had made a mistake, and quickly smiled and apologized tactfully: "Maybe you guessed it right. I heard the parish priest in our hometown said that I seemed to be born in a caravan."

Only when Fiona heard this did she realize that she had almost forgotten Arthur's weird temper.

This graduate of the University of London and a disciple of Jeremy Bentham implemented the motto of the University of London quite thoroughly.

The University of London adheres to the principle of teaching without distinction. Religion, race, and occupation are not important here.

And Arthur's social circle is almost as chaotic as the campus of the University of London. Even one of his friends can often represent quite a lot of identities.

Black, fat, literary, sentimental, artilleryman, republican.

Bonaparte, British nationality, military cadet, policeman, republican emperor.

Fiona, who realized this, quickly lost her temper, but she couldn't help but advise: "You told me before that after you step down as superintendent, you may be transferred to Russia. So you'd better remember "The second greatest insult to a Russian is to say that he has gypsy blood."

"Huh? Is this the second largest?" Arthur asked with interest: "Then what is the first largest?"

Fiona snorted: "Say he's a Mongolian."

After saying this, Fiona did not forget to warn: "But you'd better not say that, because if you say this, he will probably fight you to the death."

Arthur was puzzled and asked: "Why? Just because I said he was a Mongolian, the Russians want to fight me desperately?"

Fiona held up a small parasol, held Arthur's arm and said, "Aren't you a college student studying history? Then you should know that the Russians were conquered by the Mongols before. So, if you scold a Russian, With Mongolian ancestry, this is not only calling him a barbarian, but also scolding one of his old grandmothers who was once raped by the Mongols. It’s strange that he doesn’t fight with you.”

Arthur thought for a moment and asked: "What if I want to praise a Russian? What should I say?"

Fiona puffed up her chest proudly: "That's someone like me. You praise him for looking like he has German ancestry and doesn't look like a pure Russian. If you say that, then he will probably invite you. drink wine."

"Do you have German blood in you?" Arthur took two steps back and looked at Fiona again. However, after looking at Fiona for a long time, he still couldn't see the dashing and heroic appearance of the dragoon: "I don't look like it!"

"Why is it different?" Fiona said angrily: "I am one-eighth of German blood!"

Arthur didn't know what she was angry about: "But Heine told me that German girls walk like dragoons. You know, dragoons are mostly bow-legged because they ride horses all year round. You have How long have you had these symptoms?”

When Fiona heard this, she quickly changed her words: "Oh, then I guess my German bow legs are covered up by my other one-eighth French blood."

When Arthur heard this, he felt that this bitch was probably playing tricks on him again: "Where did your one-eighth German and one-eighth French blood come from?"

"From my great-grandparents and my maternal great-grandparents."

Fiona enumerated her treasures: "They all came to Russia during the reform period of Peter the Great. My French maternal great-grandfather was introduced as a technical craftsman, and my great-grandfather was a low-level officer recruited from Germany. From Peter the Great From the beginning until the reign of Empress Catherine, foreign technical experts, military officers, engineers and scholars were constantly recruited to Russia. Since most of them were Germans, if you have German ancestry, then your ancestors are. Most of them are not ordinary people, so people of German descent have an inherent sense of superiority in Russia.”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly realized that the chain of contempt for blood in Europe was really long.

The French ancestry is at the top, followed by the Italian, Spanish and German ancestry who despise each other, followed by the Polish, Lithuanian and Russian ancestry who despise each other, and then Mongolia.

As for British blood, this blood is like British politics. Although everyone thinks it is important, it is not included in the continental system, and it is not willing to be admitted.

However, this does not mean that Britain does not have its own internal chain of contempt.

After all, even if it is classified according to English accent, it can be divided into several levels.

The highest level is for those who speak English, the second level is for those with Scottish and Welsh accents, the third level is for those with Irish accents, the fourth level is for those who cannot speak English, and the last level is for those who can speak American English.

Fiona said this and asked curiously: "What about you? What bloodline do you have?"

Arthur shrugged upon hearing this and said: "God knows, if I were not a gypsy, my ancestors might have been digging in the fields of York since the time of William the Conqueror."

Fiona looked at this York boy who claimed to be an eighth-generation poor farmer. She covered her mouth with a fan and said with a smile: "That's not necessarily true. Your surname is Hastings. Maybe your ancestors were in the Hastings battle that decided the fate of England." The surname given during the battle."

Speaking of this, Fiona looked at Arthur's real face that was almost illusory, and couldn't help but think of the day when he unveiled his coffin in the church: "Dear, sometimes I even think about you. Are they really human beings? After all, it is impossible for humans to..."

Arthur hurriedly interrupted her: "This is the University of Göttingen. Madam, I ask you not to spread superstition here. This will cause a lot of trouble for my work."

Fiona hesitated to speak, but finally she couldn't help but said: "I guess, have you actually lived for a thousand years?"

Arthur chuckled: "If I really lived for a thousand years, then I would be a failure to be like this now. Even if I started working a thousand years ago, I should have saved at least tens of thousands by now. Pound?"

When Agares, who was chewing an apple under the tree, heard this, he spat out the apple peel with a loud sound. The red devil, who had lived for more than two thousand years, glared at Arthur and cursed: "Arthur, you boy! Damn it!" , Who are you scolding?”

Arthur pretended not to hear Agares's angry scolding. He changed the topic to the other end and said, "By the way, how have Charles been these two days?"

Fiona replied calmly: "Don't worry, since the incident with Delfina, I have been more cautious in doing things. No matter where Mr. Wheatstone goes, there will be two people following him. He is coming He tried to escape on the way to Göttingen, but after so many failures, he has probably resigned himself to his fate. Moreover, he seems to be in a good mood these past two days. During the day, he helped the observatory build telegraph equipment, and at night he helped you translate. He couldn't put it down because of his book "Calculation of Current". He also found a German book to study on his own, saying that he wanted to communicate with Mr. Ohm."

Arthur was surprised when he heard this: "Charles actually offered to meet someone else?"

Fiona nodded lightly and said: "He actually didn't want to meet Ohm directly at first. On the first day, he just asked us to send a message to Ohm, but due to their language barrier, the communication between the two was not smooth. After sending letters back and forth more than a dozen times, Mr. Wheatstone became anxious. He seemed to have some new idea and he had to explain it clearly to Mr. Ohm."

Arthur stopped and frowned: "New idea?"

Fiona curled her lips and said: "Why are you surprised by this? In my opinion, it is more suspicious that two grown men send letters more than ten times a day?"

"It's not surprising." Arthur replied: "When Charles was in London, he and Alfred from the editorial office sent a bunch of telegrams to each other every day. If it weren't for the inefficiency of writing letters, I guess with his nature , it is enough to export one quarto novel every day.”

"This is really weird."

"You haven't told me what new ideas he has? What does he say in the letter?"

"I can't understand either. But the general meaning seems to be that Mr. Wheatstone agrees with Mr. Ohm's point of view, and he has a way to help Mr. Ohm prove his theory. The specific method seems to be through some kind of bridge experiment. "

"Bridge's experiment?"

Arthur was confused when he heard this: "Do I have to build a bridge for them to get out from the venue?"

"Then I don't know." Fiona replied: "When the telegraph equipment is ready, you can send a telegram yourself and ask him."

The two people walked out of the Göttingen campus while talking, but before they had gone far, they saw a carriage slowly approaching the school gate.

Two heads stuck out of the carriage window, and they were Mendelssohn and Liszt waving their hats at them.

"Arthur, good news, we've solved the tenor problem!"