"Aaron Pinkerton?"

Arthur stared at the somewhat stubborn imp in front of him, as if he had thought of something, and he asked half-jokingly, "Not a bad name, but I thought that someone with the surname Pinkerton might prefer to arrest criminals rather than become criminals." ”

When Pinkerton heard this, his eyes widened in surprise, perhaps because he had been blown by the cold wind at night for too long, and his lips were a little white: "Do you know my father?" ”

"Your dad?" Arthur pondered for a moment and asked, "Is your father a police officer, or a thief hunter?" ”

Pinkerton nodded: "He's a Glasgow police officer. ”

When Arthur heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "That's easy to do." Originally, I was still thinking about what to do with you in the future, after all, you are a helpless outsider, and if you are dealt with according to the regulations, even if I don't send you to the magistrate's court, I will have to hand you over to the workhouse.

But even in a workhouse, in this state you will most likely have to be sent out of the country. After all, the workhouses in the dioceses of London were now overloaded, and the local population was reluctant to pay even a single extra amount for the poor tax.

Now that you know that your father is a serious police officer, the rest will be easier. Officer Pinkerton in Glasgow, right? I'll find a way to get in touch. ”

Pinkerton hears that Arthur is going to send him back, and is about to say something.

But before he could speak, the door of the tavern was pushed open again.

I only heard the jingle bell rattle, and two familiar faces walked in outside.

It was Dickens, the journalist who applied to Scotland Yard for a half-day investigative interview with Taul Hamletz, and Officer Tom, who was in charge of escorting the protection.

When Arthur saw them, he smiled and raised his hand to say hello: "Charles, Tom, how are you doing today?" ”

When Tom saw Arthur, he was surprised and asked, "Arthur, what are you doing here so late?" ”

Arthur just leaned against the counter and tilted his head at Pinkerton: "For a little imp who touched London from Scotland alone." Meet the son of Officer Pinkerton in Glasgow, who just ran his way around Elder a while ago. ”

When Tom heard this, a trace of exhaustion appeared on his face: "So, are you going to throw him in prison?" ”

Arthur took a sip of his coffee: "You know, I'm a graduate of the University of London. From the perspective of utilitarian law enforcement, the reason why we want to throw people in prison is not out of personal hobby or anything, but so that they will not make the same mistakes again in the future.

There was something peculiar about this little ghost, and I thought the best way to get him out of London was to send him back to his father. Tom, you're going on a trip tomorrow, and it just so happens that you haven't had a vacation in a long time. Take your wife and Adam with you, and take the little imp to Glasgow and hand it over to Officer Pinkerton himself. When you come back, remember to go to the bureau to reimburse the travel expenses. ”

When Tom heard this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and he replied with a smile: "Okay, then I'll take him back first, and I'll take him out early tomorrow morning." ”

Arthur nodded, "I knew that it would be right to deal with this kind of thing and leave it to you." ”

At first, Pinkerton was reluctant to leave, but under Tom's hard work, he finally reluctantly left the tavern with Officer Tom.

Dickens watched the two of them out of the tavern, and then took a seat beside Arthur.

He hung his head and held the cup, hesitated for a long time, and finally mustered up his courage and asked, "Arthur, I ...... I've always had some questions I want to ask you, but of course, you can choose not to answer them if you find it inconvenient. ”

When Arthur saw him like this, he just smiled: "What you want to ask is probably about Hyde Park, right?" ”

When Dickens heard the name of the place, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at him: "You...... How do you know? ”

Arthur just pinched his chin: "Because of what happened to me, I'm afraid there is only one thing that can make you feel so difficult to speak." ”

Dickens smiled wryly and nodded, "I thought you would be very taboo about this kind of thing." ”

"It's really taboo, but if you do it, you do it, and it's worse to pretend that nothing happened blindfolded? After all, the former at least has a chance to explain, and the latter can't think of a second reason except for being weak-minded. But it's you, Charles, and you're willing to hear me talk about why, because we're familiar with each other. In general, other people are too lazy to listen to my explanations, so I don't bother to explain either. ”

When Dickens heard this, he only felt that the heavy air had become a lot lighter.

He exhaled, and there was a smile on his face: "That's what I said." It's because we know each other, and I know who you are, so I know there must be some reason for this. At least you're not taking the initiative, right? ”

When Arthur heard this, he just shook his head: "You really guessed this wrong, I took the initiative to find the head to mention it." I'm afraid that things will continue to evolve, and I'm afraid that the Guards cavalry will have to be dispatched in the end. I think it's more cost-effective to let them take two sticks than to eat the cavalry's saber, or to squat for a few days. ”

"This ......," Dickens hesitated, "but what do you think of parliamentary reform?" Don't you support it? ”

"Parliamentary reform?" Arthur raised an eyebrow: "Are you referring to the parliamentary reform that gave the middle class the right to vote, but gave the workers their lives?" ”

"The middle class gets the right to vote?" Dickens was stunned and said, "No! Isn't parliamentary reform aimed at universal suffrage? ”

Arthur just smiled, "Do you think it's possible?" Universal suffrage? If it were, neither the Tories nor the Whigs could elect any of them, and the final ruling party would be the Birmingham Political League led by Thomas Atwood or the Capital Political League in London.

So, the Whigs spent so much effort to push for parliamentary reform, but the ultimate goal was to lose the election? Charles, do you think that's possible? If you're a true Briton and have been doing parliamentary interviews for some time now, you know that compromise is an important part of British politics.

In order to pass Bill A, we usually propose a Bill B that is even more unacceptable to the Parliament, but Bill B is not actually considered in the first place, and it exists to get the opposition parties to pinch their noses and agree to let A pass. ”

Dickens frowned slightly, he didn't seem to agree with Arthur's opinion: "This ......"

Arthur just held the coffee cup, he felt the temperature coming from the cup, and said: "Maybe there are some people in the Whig Party who really want to achieve universal suffrage, but as long as it is expanded to the entire Whig Party, then that small number can be ignored." Do you know why I think the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel are not bad? ”

Dickens asked, "Why?" ”

Arthur took a sip of coffee: "Because they are the few politicians who dare to go against the mainstream opinion of the party, the Catholic Liberation Act, I still can't believe that the Duke of Wellington, a figure known as a hard-line Tory politician, could make such a bold decision."

From the moment he signed the bill, his political career was almost over, but he still chose to sign it, which is not something that ordinary people would dare to do.

I admired him, and I did get the benefit of the bill, so I couldn't at least let others continue to smash the windows of his house in return for the favor. This does not do any good to those who smash the glass and those who are smashed.

Charles, you know, was ungrateful to the first benefactor of his early years, the creator of good fortune in life, and deserved retribution. To me, Sir Peel and the Duke of Wellington are lucky builders. ”

When Dickens heard this, his eyes couldn't help but light up: "For the first benefactor of his early years, the creator of good fortune in life, he should be retributed...... This sentence sounds good, is this another famous quote by Marcus Aurelius? ”

Arthur just laughed, "No, it's yours." ”

"Mine?" Dickens was stunned: "Do you mean I can put this in a book?" ”

"Anytime, of course." Arthur raised his coffee cup and touched him: "Charles, I wish you great things in the future." ”

Arthur asked, "Anyway, have you finished reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations?" ”

Dickens smirked embarrassedly, "I've read half of it, but I've been hooked on other books lately." ”

"Oh? What book? ”

Dickens smiled and took out a crumpled book from his bag: "This is it, Sir Thomas More's Utopia." Have you read the book? It's a very interesting work. ”

Arthur nodded: "Not only are the books interesting, but Sir Moore is also very interesting. At that time, our king Henry VIII wanted to divorce, and asked the nobles of the whole country to write a letter to the Pope, but Sir Moore, the Lord Chancellor, was unwilling to sign the joint letter.

Later, Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy, making himself the supreme head of the state religion, and Sir Moore was unwilling to swear faith to the king.

As a result, the enraged king threw him into the Tower of London, and sent a bunch of people to commit perjury and convict him of treason. As a sign of mercy, Henry VIII also pretended to change the method of execution from dismemberment to beheading.

But Sir More's first reaction to hearing of this was to quip: 'God bless my relatives and friends from such mercy'. And when he walked up to the guillotine, he actually had the heart to joke with the executioner, saying, 'Please help me go up, as for how to get down, I have already arranged it myself'. ”

Dickens couldn't help laughing: "Sir More is indeed a very interesting man, but what does this have to do with the book Utopia? ”

Arthur pointed to the title of the book and said, "Don't you notice that the title of Utopia is also a joke made by Sir More?" ”

"This ...... What does this say? ”

Arthur said, "Charles, as a future writer, maybe you should go and supplement the Greek." Utopia is actually a compound of two Greek words, 'ou' for 'nothing' and 'topos' for 'place', so the actual meaning of utopia is actually 'there is no such place'.

This book is not the same as Plato's Republic. If you read this book with a serious attitude, not only will you fail to see it for what it is, but you will also be fooled by Lord Moore. But it's not a big deal, and perhaps Sir Moore intended to make fun of us readers when he wrote this book. ”

"Yes...... Is it? Dickens frowned and stroked the cover of the book: "But ...... But I think the utopia in this book is quite good, isn't it the world that everyone wants in the book? ”

When Arthur heard this, he only raised his eyebrows: "I thought so at first, but after experiencing so many things happening around me, and the people I came into contact with, and after talking to some of my old friends, my opinion has changed a little. ”

Dickens couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it utopia that people are after?" ”

"Of course not."

Arthur leaned back in his chair: "Well, how can I tell you?" For most people, what they want is complicated. They want anarchist personal freedom, utopian social welfare, chauvinistic national policy, militaristic international relations, a capitalist commodity economy, a nihilistic attitude to work, and a feudal view of marriage and love. Oh, by the way, and most importantly, there has to be the sexual openness of primitive societies. ”

As soon as Arthur finished saying this, the red devil sitting on the counter couldn't stop patting his thighs and looking up and laughing wildly, his tongue was about to pop out: "Arthur! You've finally seen the doorway! ”

When Dickens heard this, his face suddenly became strange: "Then if these things are realized, what kind of thing will this be?" ”

"I don't know." Arthur shrugged his shoulders and said, "Anyway, I don't think even God can satisfy them." But if they can become king of Great Britain, and if they can assure Parliament that they will renounce interference in domestic and foreign policy, then the cabinet may be able to reluctantly accede to their demands. But Charles, you know, there are 20 million people in Great Britain, and there is only one king, so our biggest problem now is how to find 40 trillion subjects for our 20 million kings. ”

When Dickens heard this, he was puzzled: "Then if they can't be kings, won't these things change?" ”

"Change, of course you have to change." Arthur said, "But if they don't give up some of the demands, none of the above demands will be realized." You know, Britain is a suffrage, and now people are telling them in the dunghole that if they get the right to vote, they can meet all their demands, but in reality they don't really intend to give them the right to vote.

It's not a good sign that the workers are being deceived all the time and having fun with it. I think they should have fought for some factory legislation or something like that, after all, in the eyes of the Whigs, it was when they were most valuable. There are some things that I don't ask for now, but they just don't wait. ”

When Dickens heard this, he lowered his head and was silent for a while, then sighed suddenly.

He took out a notebook from the canvas bag he was carrying, and said, "That's it, let's not talk about these frustrations." Arthur, you also know that I've been doing parliamentary interviews lately, and I've got some news coming out of the parliamentarians about the Whig Cabinet's list of members, are you interested in that? ”

When Arthur heard this, he blinked, "If you don't mind telling me about it, of course I'm willing to hear it." ”

Dickens opened his notebook, rubbed his temples, and said, "If nothing else, once the Tories are out of power and the Whigs come to power." The Home Secretary, one of the three great thrones in the Cabinet, would probably be drawn from among the Viscounts of Palmerston, Melbourne, Bedford, and his brother Lord John Russell......"

(End of chapter)