## Chapter 153: Farewell to Cambridge, Again
A public carriage rattled along the central street of Greenwich.
Inside the carriage, Arthur sighed, gazing at Eld, who was whistling and reading a newspaper across from him. “Didn’t I tell you to buy a new suit? Do you really think Greenwich’s clothing stores are better than those in London’s West End?”
Eld nonchalantly flipped to the next page of the newspaper, his eyes glued to the sensational story unfolding before him. “Buying a new suit for high society events is too expensive. Besides, I’m not a social butterfly; I might not even attend a single event in a month. It’s a waste of money to buy clothes I wouldn’t wear.”
“What then? Though I heard that the ladies of the ‘Blue Stocking Society’ don’t care much about whether the scientists who lecture them dress properly, do you even understand science? Tell me, what is the left-hand rule? What is the right-hand screw rule? At the very least, you should understand the Hastings Force!”
Eld pulled out a pair of delicate scissors from his coat pocket, carefully cutting out the parts of the newspaper he found satisfactory and tucking them away.
“Arthur, don’t worry about me. I usually just borrow formal wear from my uncle. He sailed to the Ionian Islands last month, the Mediterranean base of the Mediterranean Fleet. We’re about the same size, so what’s wrong with borrowing his clothes for a while?”
Arthur knew this rascal was up to no good. “You’re always thinking about taking things from your uncle. Will your aunt and cousin agree?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
Eld raised an eyebrow. “Mrs. Codrington also sent invitations to them. Didn’t I tell you? General Codrington is my uncle’s former superior. Since I’m going, they can’t just watch me embarrass the Carter family at the party, can they? By the way, Arthur, I have to tell you, if nobody asks my sister to dance at the party, you have to help her out.”
“How?” Arthur frowned. “I can’t dance. If I go up to her, I’ll be the one embarrassed, not just her.”
Eld clutched his forehead in distress. “That’s a problem. That little girl heard that I know you, one of the guests of honor at the party, and she’s been bugging me to let her show off. Even if you can’t dance, you have to come up with a way to make her stand out.”
Arthur glanced out the window. “Stand out? That’s easy. Have your sister replace you and help me crank the hand-cranked generator at the party.”
Eld complained upon hearing this. “Arthur! Can you stop having such bad ideas? Noble ladies are known for being ‘gentle’ and ‘beautiful’. Why does it become ‘able to continuously crank a hand-cranked generator’ when it comes to my sister? Does that make sense? Think again, I’m not ready to have my colorful life end so soon.”
Arthur sighed helplessly. “Why do women always focus more on their appearance instead of trying to make themselves appear more intelligent?”
Eld snorted and adjusted his collar. “Simple! Because most men are stupid, but only a small portion are blind.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “So? Which part do you belong to?”
“Humph…” Eld waved his hand dismissively. “Arthur, I’m very self-aware in this regard.”
“Thank heavens.” Arthur took the half-cut newspaper from his hand. “The reason we established the University of London is not to give you this kind of education.”
Agareus, sitting on the window sill watching the scenery, whistled mischievously. “Oh! It seems that the teaching philosophy of the University of London is indeed open. Stupid men and insensitive blind men can sit in the classroom equally.”
Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, but before he and Eld could continue discussing whether he was blind, Eld had already forgotten his sister’s troubles.
This guy was filled with fantasies about what kind of encounters he would have at the party. “Oh, Arthur, what do you think? If I fall in love at the ball, do you think I should accept it or reject it without mercy?”
Arthur flipped through the newspaper and said, “If this had happened before I chased after Fred, I might have advised you to reject it. After all, you’re about to embark on a circumnavigation, which will take five or six years. Time can damage the relationship between you and your partner. But after boarding the Beagle, now, my attitude has changed.”
Eld was stunned. “Why?”
Arthur put down the newspaper and answered earnestly. “As your good friend, I would rather see you have a relationship with a human than a fish. Eld, you have to reflect on yourself. If you continue like this, you’ll end up in hell sooner or later!”
“Oh, Arthur!” Eld was touched. “You finally understand why I always have that kind of urge. It’s not that I have a problem with my own character, but it’s a common trait among sailors who make a living at sea.”
“I fully understand you, and I finally understand why the Beagle had a chaplain on board.”
Arthur said, “Captain FitzRoy let Charles follow the Beagle just so he could ask him to forgive you in place of God anytime, anywhere. Eld, listen to me, confess your sins to Charles in time, and reduce your sins in time. When you die, you must go to heaven, never to hell.”
Eld was comforted. “Arthur, you’re always so considerate of your friends.”
Arthur shook his head. “No, Eld, you’re thinking too highly of me. I’m not thinking of you, but of myself. I just don’t want to see you in hell after I die.”
Eld was unhappy to hear this. “Arthur, you bastard! What did I do to you? You hate me so much? Drinking, watching plays, when did I not bring you along?”
Arthur looked a bit helpless. “No, no, Eld, there’s no problem between our friendship. I just don’t want to be mocked by the devils in hell after I die: ‘Everyone look, that guy over there, his friend went to hell for fornicating with fish.’
Eld, if you insist on going to hell after you die, I have to work hard to go to heaven.”
Eld rolled his eyes. “You’re a real son of a bitch! I must reiterate that I never had anything to do with fish. I was just trying to explain the special local customs of sailors.”
With that, Eld quickly changed the subject. “Speaking of which, what are you doing in Greenwich today? Aren’t you working at the Metropolitan Police Headquarters? Are you here today to reminisce about your past poverty?”
Seeing that he didn’t want to mention it, Arthur followed suit. “I came to find a gentleman who runs a musical instrument shop in Greenwich. He’ll be one of the shining stars at the party on Sunday.”
Arthur stuck his head out the window and said to the driver, “Please stop here. We’ll walk the rest of the way.”
With that, Arthur opened the door, leading Eld through the muddy streets and crowded crowds after the rain, passing the apartment the estate agent had introduced them to. Not far away was a three-story red brick house with a brown cedar shingle roof.
A billboard stood next to the red door facing the street on the first floor, which read: “Three Generations of Legacy, Quality and Value, Master Craftsmanship, Honest Prices.”
The sign above the door bore its name: “Whiston Musical Instruments.”
Through the shop windows, one could see rows of musical instruments hanging on the clean white-painted walls.
There were courtly instruments like violins, pianos, and harps, as well as street performers’ instruments like rebecs, panpipes, and flutes.
Of course, there were also trumpets used by the military to give commands and control the speed of troops, as well as drums hung around the neck to beat as they marched.
Eld squatted by the window and took a look, nodding involuntarily. “I didn’t expect Greenwich to have a shop like this. The variety of instruments in this shop is simply unmatched by the largest instrument shops in London. But is the owner of this shop crazy? Why open a shop in Greenwich? How many people here have the leisure to buy these things? If he opened a shop in the West End, he could make a fortune.”
Arthur pushed open the door and said, “Perhaps he deliberately opened the shop here so that he wouldn’t have so many customers. Eld, you don’t know, this gentleman is a strange one.”
As soon as they pushed open the door, the frame hit the bell hanging on the door.
There was a series of tinkling sounds, and the few customers in the quiet shop turned to look at them.
But soon, they turned their attention back to the eight-stringed lyre hanging on the wall.
“Alfred, I’ve never seen this instrument before. Why don’t we try using this new thing for accompaniment at the school’s poetry and art festival this year?”
“Uh… William, is it for your poem or my poem? Let’s play it safe. New things are not necessarily more reliable than old ones. Actually, I think it’s better not to have accompaniment, just plain recitation will do…”
Eld heard them talking about poetry, and this London University Classical Literature major couldn’t help but lean in. “May I join your discussion, gentlemen? I’m no scholar, but I do have some unique insights into poetry.”
The two young men looked at Eld warily. One seemed shy, while the other had an arrogant look in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, the shy one finally broke the ice for Eld. “Sir, our poems are not worth your attention, so we’ll spare you.”
But the arrogant young man was unhappy to hear this. He corrected him, “Alfred, don’t be so humble. Your poem won the gold medal at Cambridge last year. You should be more courageous, don’t be so timid.”
The shy young man touched the back of his head awkwardly and said, “But… but… William, didn’t you write a farce about my award-winning poem last year? I think my poem might have flaws.”
The arrogant young man’s tongue got tied when he heard this. “Alfred, I didn’t write that farce to… to target you. I didn’t know you back then. Besides, if I thought your work was bad, would I have specially made a secondary creation based on your work? Alfred, be confident, Cambridge students should be confident!”
Eld’s eyelids twitched when he heard the other party keep mentioning the word ‘Cambridge’. He took a step back and shook his head at Arthur. “God! Did you hear that? Cambridge, we’re really unlucky today! Listen to what he’s saying. Cambridge even has poetry, that’s simply absurd!”
Eld thought he had lowered his voice enough, but he didn’t expect his words to reach the other party’s ears.
The arrogant young man stepped forward, frowning and demanding, “Sir, what do you mean? Are you looking down on the brilliant art and glorious civilization created by Cambridge?”
Eld saw how aggressive he was and couldn’t help but take a step back, grinning and replying, “No, of course not. To be honest, I quite admire the works of your Cambridge students, like that… uh…”
He paused for a long time, but couldn’t recall anything. In a panic, he could only tug at Arthur’s clothes. “Arthur, do you remember? The one I told you about, that Cambridge… uh… who wrote that… uh… it was pretty good.”
Arthur didn’t want to get involved in the conflict caused by Eld, this troublemaker, but since things had come to this, he had to recall it together.
“Ah! You mean that one. The one that… uh…”
Arthur racked his brains, and suddenly a light flashed in his mind. “Right, it’s that one, softly I went, as softly as I came, softly I waved my hand, bidding farewell to the clouds in the west…”
(End of Chapter)