Dear Arthur,

How are you doing? Well, life on the Beagle is quite fulfilling, but I can't help but write to you friends in London, and please say hello to Alexander, Benjamin, and Charles on my behalf, and let them not forget that they have a friend floating on the other side of the world.

Oh, I almost forgot, I might be offending Elder by saying that, but if Alexander and the others are willing to think of Elder as a species of the same dimension as themselves, then they can barely count two friends.

On February 28, the expedition officially entered the Amazon jungle from Bahia, Arthur, you can't imagine how happy a naturalist would be to see the dense and lush forest. Elegant forest grasses, strange parasitic plants, beautiful but deadly flowers, verdant foliage, the moment I stepped into the Amazon jungle, I felt that if there was a paradise on earth, it must be hidden in this endless green ocean.

But unfortunately, my euphoria did not last long, not long after the expedition team entered the Amazon, a tropical rainstorm began to fall in the sky, and everyone hid under a tree of more than ten meters to hide from the rain according to the experience and habits in Britain. The foliage of this large tree is so dense that it would probably be impenetrable if it were rains from London. But it turned out that the British experience had no effect on the Amazon jungle.

Elder was bored while hiding from the rain, so he picked up sticks on the ground and pretended to be the conductor of the orchestra, and the sailors who were struggling to do so were happy to cooperate with him, and they all started a concert in the mud puddle of the Amazon. Unfortunately, as soon as Elder raised his baton, we heard a loud clatter in the canopy, and then we saw a torrent rushing down the trunk.

At that time, Elder was singing loudly, but he was poured a big mouthful without paying attention. Hahaha, Arthur, do you know what it was like for a flood to fall from the sky? Imagine the Bible account: The flood flooded the earth for 40 days and nights, and the waters rose so high that even the mountains were submerged. The situation we encountered was not as exaggerated as the Bible suggests, but it was about the same.

The torrent of water roared down from the nearby trees, and everyone was so staggered that they couldn't stand up. We could only hold each other on the trunk of the tree, and we just survived in the current for almost half an hour. Luckily, the rainstorms in the Amazon came and went quickly, and if it weren't for that, Elder and I might have sunk into some river by now to feed the fish.

Having said that, when we were surveying the waters off the coast of Brazil, we also found several bands of turbid water, some of which were chocolate-colored, others light red or light green.

At first, I thought it was sediment washed into the sea by the flood, but later I realized that the bands were originally made up of plankton and crustaceans. The sealers who live in the neighborhood call it bait for whales. I don't know if whales actually feed on these things, but the terns, cormorants and large flocks of clumsy seals that live along the coast do include these little ones in their recipes.

These colorful bands are indeed very noteworthy, even if you look at the crustaceans alone, even Elder can't help but praise the small crabs that look like big prawns, and they walk in unison, which is even more beautiful than the light red array formed by the army.

What kind of force is driving them to take such magnificent steps, and the fish eggs, filamentous algae, and ciliates mixed with them are all randomly moving, is this really the power of God?

If this is the case, then God is too partial, why does he only teach crabs to walk the right way? Could it be that there is something wrong with the shrimp?

Arthur, if you have time, perhaps you could go to the church and help me ask the learned and eloquent bishops about this question. After all, in their mouths, any question can give you some reason. Oh, maybe you should wait until the crab specimens I sent you arrive. If you talk to the bishops that crabs are going to kick the right step, they're going to knock them out of the church.

Of course, although I may be a little sorry for Alexander when I say this. But please remind him more after the specimen arrives, I have already tasted this crab, it doesn't taste delicious, and it's too small, so please don't boil the specimen I managed to get in the pot.

By the way, if the bishops don't admit to the crabs, I beg you to forward the specimen to Mr. John Henslot, a beetle expert of the Linnaeus Society. When I was a student at Cambridge, Mr. Henslow took good care of me, and he must have appreciated these beautiful knick-knacks. Incidentally, there is also a species of octopus that changes color, but unfortunately, it seems to change color only when it is alive, and when it dies, it automatically loses this ability.

In addition, I have to warn you one last thing that the specimen I sent back contains a species of pufferfish, which not only pierces the surface of the hand, but also has a highly poisonous needle prick. I've found this thing in the stomachs of a couple of dead sharks, and you'll have to keep an eye on Alexander, don't let him eat it.

Well, the next time I write to you, it will be from Argentina or Tierra del Fuego. Anyway, the jaguar that Elder hunted tasted really good, but unfortunately the meat is really not good to keep, otherwise I would have sent some back for you and Alexander to feast on. Of course, all this is premised on the fact that the merchant sailors who help us deliver the message do not steal food.

Your friend, a witness to the extinction of the Amazon, an egalitarian supporter of the little crab and the giant prawn, and a well-known foodie in the Amazon and the Andes, Charles Darwin.

July 5, 1831, on the eve of departure from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The firewood in the fireplace crackled, and the cold atmosphere in the room had faded a lot.

Everyone held the coffee cup and listened to Arthur read the letter, while pouring a sip of hot coffee in their stomachs, and only felt that their whole body was warm.

Dumas heard Arthur read the end of the letterhead, and immediately felt that the potato pie in his mouth was not fragrant.

He muttered, "Isn't it just a crab?" What's the big deal if I taste it, can't you ask Charles to send more? If you are a jaguar, you can make it into bacon or cured meat! Didn't Charles and Elder eat bacon? It's all the same way to make it. As for the spiny pufferfish is poisonous or something...... Hehe, how do I know if I don't taste it? ”

Dickens sat on the carpet, clasped his knees with his hands and sighed: "We are both Charles, but now Charles in Cambridge has seen much more of the world than I do." The storms of the sea, the jungles of the Amazon, and even the discolored octopuses and crabs that kick and queue up. If I hadn't known Charles, I'd have thought he was making up stories. O my God! Who would have thought that all this would be true! ”

Disraeli's eyes rolled sharply, and he suddenly proposed, "Arthur, these novel stories sound too topical. It just so happens that our "British" is short of manuscripts, and if we sort out the manuscript sent back by Charles a little and publish it in the magazine, it will definitely help increase sales. In this way, we can also explain to readers why "Monkey's Tale" has been discontinued. Since Charles and the others left, almost every issue of the reader's letter has accused him of running away. ”

When Arthur heard this, he frowned slightly, and said, "Are you going to tell the reader that the reason for the author's interruption is to engage in "The Theory of Evolution"? Well...... But really, it sounds like a pretty good reason. And these letters of Charles are indeed wonderfully written, and if we publish them under the name "Diary of the Voyage of the Beagle", together with a few illustrations of the specimens sent back by Charles, it will definitely be a big hit. ”

"Hmm......" Disraeli also nodded, "That's right, and the painters with the illustrations also use the best ones, and we don't lack the money for these specimen illustrations now." Another day, when you're free, you and I will go to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts to find out. ”

When Arthur heard this, he took out another letter hidden under Darwin's letterhead: "Then Elder's side, are we going to go out?" ”

Hearing this, Disraeli hurriedly opened the glasses case, took out the pair of gold-wire glasses frames that he had bought for fake Sven and had no lenses, and put them on the bridge of his nose.

He spoke: "We still have to review Mr. Carter's manuscript carefully, it is illegal to publish erotic literature in Britain." I'm about to run for Congress, and I can't afford to repeat Bernie Harrison's mistakes. ”

Hearing this, Alexandre Dumas just waved his hand and said, "That's not a big deal, it's a big deal that we set up a Paris branch, we in France have never cared much about this." And it seems to me that Elder alone is enough to carry the burden of the Paris Branch. ”

Arthur chimed in: "That's right, Benjamin, if the British, of which you are the majority shareholder, has an erotic scandal, although you can't be elected to parliament in Britain." But if you can change the district to Paris in time, you will probably win by a large margin.

Or if you can persuade people to change their voting to secret ballot, then I think you can win in London as well. But there is no way, now the votes are all by name, so the gentlemen naturally can't vote so freely. ”

Hearing this, Alexandre Dumas nodded: "This is still quite pertinent, the temperament of the citizens of Paris has always been that they don't like to hide and tuck, but London is different." ”

Dickens laughed twice, and he pointed to Elder's letterhead and urged, "Anyway, there are just a few of us here, and there is no need to hide it." So Arthur, just read it quickly. ”

Arthur unfolded his letterhead, greeted by the smell of the sea, and just as he was about to paint a picture for everyone, the first sentence written on Eld's letterhead almost choked him.

Arthur, fuck it, I almost fucking got raped by a dolphin!

I'll bet you a penny, this dolphin is probably an Oxford dropout! And after dropping out, I also went to Cambridge to receive re-education!

It's obsessive, this place in Rio de Janeiro is really my nemesis!

I was cheated out of my money by two bitches, I almost washed me into the Garden of Eden by flooding in the Amazon jungle, and now I can't even leave the port from Rio de Janeiro!

On our departure from Rio de Janeiro to La Plata on July 5th, I was on deck basking in the sun and enjoying the salty sea breeze. Suddenly, white waves suddenly appeared on the blue sea, and then hundreds of dolphins broke out of the shackles of the sea, jumping out of the sea one after another, rolling to reveal its vigorous posture.

We were sailing at about eight to nine knots, but the dolphins were not only able to keep up with us, but they were also able to move nimbly through the bow and stern of the Beagle, and they seemed to have fun using it as a pastime.

What a spectacle it is! Arthur, you know me, when I encounter this kind of scene, the classical literature cells all over my body can't help but be restless, seeing the morning glow on the sea and these sea elves, I can't help but praise it, and I plan to write a poem!

I immediately remembered Lord Byron's poem "The Girl of Athens", and I finally understood Lord Byron's mood when he wrote this poem.

Facing the turbulent golden sea and this group of beautiful creatures that are drifting away from us, I can't help but recite it.

"O maiden of Athens, give my heart, my heart, my heart back before we part!

Or, since it's out of me, keep it and take the rest!

Listen to my parting vows: You are my life, and I love you.

I'm going to chase it with that unrestrained curly hair, every Aegean wind.

I'm going to kiss the red on your cheeks with my dark jade eyes, and my eyelashes.

I will swear by the eyes of the deer: You are my life, and I love you.

And the red lips that I have been wanting to taste for a long time, and the light and tight waist.

I will rely on these flowers of love, which are more than all words express.

I want to say, with a string of joys and sorrows of love: you are my life, I love you. ”

However, as soon as I recited this, the railing I was holding on to was probably rotten by the waves. Lao Tzu didn't pay attention, and actually fell directly into the sea along the railing.

The dolphins were going to go away, but when I found out that I had fallen into the sea, they actually turned back from the surface. A few dolphins caught me in the middle, and at once pushed me to the surface of the sea, so that I would not drown. But before I could thank them, I suddenly felt as if something was pushing me behind me.

When I look back, I can't bear to describe that scene.

It was then that I realized that they were not gentle and touching Athenian maidens, but the roughest, most rude, and most savage Spartans of the sea!

Although they didn't succeed in the end, I really it, it wasn't enough to be humiliated by the dolphins, the point was that the boatload of people was still standing on the deck watching! But they were far away at the time, so it shouldn't be clear what happened to me.

I didn't even tell Charles about it, and when the people on the boat rescued me, they just saw me and didn't say a word.

Colonel Fitzroy thought I was too frightened, so he asked the ship's doctor to prescribe some medicine and let me go back to the cabin to rest.

But how can a person come out of the pain so quickly when he has this kind of experience?

At that time, I was lying in the crew lounge, looking at the scenery outside the porthole, and I only felt that my life had become gray, and I seemed to be dozens of years old all of a sudden. As soon as I closed my eyes, the scene of falling into the sea was like a nightmare that lingered in my mind.

I could barely sleep the whole night, and I struggled on the boat until three o'clock, and then I barely felt a little sleepy.

But not long after I fell asleep, I suddenly heard a terrible cow cry in my ears, and I opened my eyes tiredly, thinking that I had sailed to the deepest and darkest abyss of hell because of the sins that could not be washed away.

With Charles's help, I reached the deck on crutches, and it was a dark night, with no stars in the sky and no moon in sight. Colonel Fitzroy ordered the lights to be raised, and the searchlights shone on the shore, and I could see which of the terrible cow cries were coming from, and it turned out to be flocks of seals and penguins.

Fat seals wriggle their bucket-like waists, roll on the beach with their big bellies, and they slap their bellies twice from time to time to make a little noise, and to be honest, they look like Alexander.

As for the penguins, their skin is black and white, and they seem to be very polite to each other, and they bow slightly when they meet their companions in respect.

Arthur, you may not believe it, but these penguins look like you were at General Codrington's banquet back then. Of course, they are different from you, they are missing a monocle and a proper top hat. If I could put a cane on them, I don't think anyone at a London social banquet would be more gentlemanly than these penguins.

Seeing these scenes, I not only felt sad in my heart. Why did a young and energetic young man with a lot of wealth in Britain come to such a place? Am I here to see these seals and penguins? But I could see them even if I stayed in London!

And you and Alexander do it better than penguins and seals!

I thought to myself, "Oh, my God! Why on earth would you punish your most loyal believer like this? Are you trying to make me Jesus? If you really want me to enlighten the world and make me the Messiah, then please crucify me and stain this blue ocean with my dried blood. But please don't humiliate me with such behavior, why do you use dolphins to be my Judas?

I gazed into the deep dark sky, clutched the cross on Charles's chest, and prayed to God by holding the cross to my chest.

In the silence, I couldn't feel anything, Charles's neck was pulled by me uncomfortable, he wanted to scold me, then he scolded.

These noises of the world could no longer stop me from standing firm in my faith.

Suddenly, as if I felt an answer from God, there was a light rain in the sky, thunder and lightning and dark clouds, and suddenly, a thunderbolt streaked across the sky, and even though I closed my eyelids, my eyes were still illuminated by the brilliant light.

Immediately afterward, I heard a cry of exclamation from Charles in the wind and rain, and he shouted, "Look! That's St. Elmer's Light! ”

I opened my eyes suddenly, and I will never forget that this is probably the most gorgeous and beautiful scene I have ever seen in my life.

On the mast of the Beagle, a lightning net was attached, which was a brilliant blue-white flash like a flame, and it slowly bloomed and bloomed. Arthur, at this time, I suddenly remembered the Oriental myth you told me before.

I'm afraid it's the holy lotus flower under the seat of the Buddha, right?

I don't want to hide it from you, Arthur, and that night, I cried.

Who are you?

Where are you from?

Where are you going?

Along the way around the world, I have been asked these three questions by countless people.

It's just that at that time, I didn't understand the meaning of these three questions.

But, now, I figured it out.

From this moment on, I finally understood.

I am an Oriental monk.

I'm from the Tang Dynasty.

I want to go to the west to learn the scriptures.

Amitabha, Arthur, I must ask you solemnly, is that what the monks call it?

By the way, it's also a secret that I quietly converted to proselytism, so don't talk about it nonsense, or you'll get me in trouble.

By the way, one last question for you, the oriental story you told me in the past, the protagonist is called Wukong, right?

Well, this is a good name, I borrowed it for the time being.

Finally, if you have time, remember to ask me if there is any sect of monks who are allowed to marry wives.

Your friend, Beagle Walker, a Royal Navy layman, and the first monk in South America, Elder Goku Carter.

Painted on July 8, 1831, at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, Argentina.

Arthur saw the end of the letter and savored it for a while before he finally sorted out Elder's mental journey.

The corners of his eyes twitched and he couldn't stop, and for this friend of his, even if he was in a stable state of mind like Arthur, he couldn't help but mutter: "Why are things always so bad with Elder ? ”

As for the red devil on the side, he couldn't stand up with a smile for a long time: "If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell?" Elder has found a shortcut to hell! ”

And Dumas and the others, who listened to Elder's letter, were also silenced one by one by this friend with a clear brain circuit.

Dickens asked, "So?" He's a Buddhist monk now? ”

Arthur shook his head lightly and said, "Forget it, Charles, Elder only knows about monks if he knows that there is such a thing as a monk in the world. He didn't even know that being a monk meant shaving his head. ”

"Can you be a monk with a bald head?" Dumas took a puff of his cigarette and said, "There are too many Britannica. ”

Disraeli emphasized: "Alexander, we only have a lot of bald people here, but bald people still have some hair!" ”

Alexandre Dumas nodded slightly and said, "Then I'll correct it, there are still quite a lot of fake monks in Britain." ”

Dickens looked at Elder and thought about it, and asked, "So this letter can be reported?" How do I feel that the content of this letter is more explosive than erotic literature? ”

Arthur also felt that Held's letter was a little hot, he hesitated for a long time, and finally sighed and said: "Let's just change the second half, the dolphin thing will also be changed as much as possible, adapted to meet the Amazon cannibals, but the determined Royal Navy soldier Elder withstood the test of life and death, and after depression, he saw the light of St. Elmer descended from God, and under the witness of the magical lightning that has been passed down from generation to generation by this sailor, Elder seems to have seen the soul of the Royal Navy, Horatio Hero. General Nelson beckoned to him. Eventually, Elder untied the knot, and after all the vicissitudes of life, Elder Carter's faith in God became more and more solid. Finally, add the sentence 'God bless Britain' to conclude with a sentence. ”

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he couldn't help but complain: "God bless America, isn't this a Yankee maxim?" Arthur, you're plagiarizing! ”

But Disraeli apparently disagreed with Alexandre Dumas, and he replied: "The Yankees are all made in Britain, and if God bless America, then God must bless Britain first, Alexander, you have to figure out the cause and effect first." ”

After that, Disraeli didn't forget to give Arthur a thumbs up, nodded and praised: "This story sounds very politically correct." If this story had spread more widely, it would have been impossible for Elder to be stuffed into the church and become a bishop when he returned. ”

When Dumas heard this, he also squeezed his eyebrows and teased: "Do you still have to canonize him or something?" ”

"Indeed." Arthur took a sip of tea and calmed down and said, "Wukong is fighting to defeat the Buddha, of course, no matter what the saint is or what the Buddha is, after all, he is still a monkey." ”

While everyone was talking, Dickens had already drawn up the synopsis of the story on the manuscript paper in front of him.

He held the pen in his mouth and asked, "What do you think is a good name for this story?" ”

Alexandre Dumas pondered for a moment: "How about Conquest of the Dolphins?" ”

Dickens shook his head with his teacup and said, "But isn't Mr. Carter conquered?" And for the sake of his reputation, the dolphin cannot appear in this story. ”

Disraeli pondered for a moment: "What about 'Sea Crusade'?" ”

Dickens pondered: "This is good, but it may not be very good to combine with the theme." ”

Just as everyone hesitated, Arthur sighed and said, "Let's call it "The Flag of St. George Rises as Usual." St George's Cross corresponds to the Royal Navy, rising as usual to represent Elder coming out of depression. Although I don't think this guy seems to be depressed at all, he is just idle. But in any case, it's all for the sake of publicity, Charles, you just write it. ”

Dickens bowed his head slightly when he heard this, he lifted his pen and dropped the title on the top of the manuscript, and then snapped his fingers and said, "Good! I also think this is a good topic, so let's decide on it. In the next issue of "British", we will mainly promote "The Voyage Diary of the Beagle" and "The Flag of St. George Rises as Usual". ”

Disraeli also clenched his fists to cheer everyone on: "It's just a good time to verify how far our "British" strength has progressed!" Guys, work hard and see if we can create two new sea gods in Britain during the time the Beagle sails! ”

(End of chapter)