## Chapter 213: The True Meaning of a Literary Magazine
“Well, Mr. Vidocq, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your invaluable experience in the field of criminal investigation. I believe Scotland Yard and all the citizens of London will benefit from the cases you shared today.”
Vidocq adjusted his hat and stood up, “As I told you, there’s nothing difficult about solving cases, you just need to understand one thing—things are rarely what they seem, like skim milk disguised as cheese.”
“You don’t need to tell me that, young man, you probably figured that out before I did. I was still sitting in prison when I was twenty.”
Arthur just laughed, “And the best way to get those criminals to confess is not through harsh execution, but by ensuring justice is served for them.”
Vidocq couldn’t help but look at Arthur with renewed respect. He reached out and patted the young man on the shoulder.
“You’ve grasped the essence of it. If someone is willing to give up a good life and risk being beheaded to do something, besides a few psychopaths, most of them have their own unspoken reasons.”
“As long as you can find the secret behind them and solve their problems, they won’t mind giving up their lives. Because from the moment they act, this kind of criminal has already made up their mind to die.”
“You’ve understood so much at such a young age, I’m sure you’ll be a good policeman in the future. The only thing you need to do now is be careful not to get caught in the whirlpool of power struggles. I suffered from this, that’s why I was constantly ostracized at the Paris Police Headquarters.”
Arthur just smiled wryly, “It’s the same all over the world, France and Britain seem to be no different. Mr. Vidocq, you’re telling me this too late, we’re all at the mercy of fate in our line of work.”
Vidocq laughed, “You’re right, thinking back, I’m a fifty-year-old geezer, and I can still provoke their envy by solving a few cases, it’s simply impossible for you, a twenty-year-old, not to be suppressed.”
“Gold will always shine, that’s a load of crap. The truth is, gold will be ostracized wherever it goes. Of course, there are exceptions, that is, if you’re the bank’s gold, in other words, you need a background.”
Arthur picked up his notebook filled with notes and stood up, escorting Vidocq to the door.
“I learned a lot from you today, from using walnut stain to darken the skin, using wax to make fake blisters, or using coffee grounds stuck together to imitate facial blemishes.”
“These disguise techniques are simply unparalleled. Where did you learn all these techniques?”
Vidocq adjusted his hat and tapped his cane, “Part of it I figured out myself, the other part I learned from my lovers. Don’t forget, one of my former lovers was a famous actress in Paris.”
“Although she only saw me as a little pet to relieve her boredom, I did learn a lot from her.”
“But what I taught you today is not the most advanced, I remember you said you have a concert at the Covent Garden Theater this weekend? I’ll show you a real high-level trick then.”
After saying this, Vidocq straightened his clothes and strode toward Hyde Park across the street.
But his last words made Arthur frown, “Show me a high-level trick?”
He turned back to Alexandre Dumas, who was sitting at the dining table sipping coffee and reading The Human Comedy, “Alexandre, I think you should find somewhere to hide on Sunday. Mr. Vidocq didn’t take you away directly today, but who knows what he’s thinking?”
“If he brings people to break in and forcibly take you back on Sunday when I’m not home, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you in time.”
Dumas waved his hand dismissively, “Come on, knowing him, he wouldn’t bother doing that. Mr. Vidocq is full of rebellion, he hates the Republicans and the Royalists, he only likes to do things according to his own intuition. If he was really willing to be obedient, he would be the head of the Paris Police Headquarters now, how could it be someone else?”
Hearing Dumas mention this, Arthur couldn’t help but laugh and ask, “You didn’t say I hadn’t thought about it, when Mr. Vidocq talked about the French Revolution, you didn’t refute or criticize him, Alexandre, that’s not like you. Don’t you call yourself a Republican warrior? Mr. Vidocq slandered the Republic, how can you say nothing?”
Hearing Dumas mention this, Arthur couldn’t help but laugh and ask, “You didn’t say I hadn’t thought about it, when Mr. Vidocq talked about the French Revolution, you didn’t refute or criticize him, Alexandre, that’s not like you. Don’t you call yourself a Republican warrior? Mr. Vidocq slandered the Republic, how can you say nothing?”
Dumas rolled his eyes, “Of course I want to say something, but it depends on the situation. The governor Joseph Lebon that Mr. Vidocq mentioned was indeed a complete bastard.”
“Just because a parrot he raised could say ‘Long live the King’, he had to chop off his head. Anyone identified as a noble had to be sent to the guillotine. And he also encouraged the local people to inform on each other, a small Ostend could actually find hundreds of nobles, Lebon wasn’t revolting anymore, he was killing for pleasure and seizing property.”
“It’s because of these kinds of people in the Revolution that it failed. In terms of republicanism, I still agree with Mr. Hugo’s point of view—there is absolute humanitarianism on top of the absolutely correct revolution. People shouldn’t do evil for the sake of doing good, overthrowing the monarchy is not for setting up the guillotine forever, knocking down the crown, but sparing the head.”
Arthur took a sip of tea after hearing this, “So that’s your reason for opening the arsenal and bombarding the Tuileries Palace?”
Dumas glared, “Opening the arsenal is for revolution, after the revolution succeeds, I’ll consider whether to spare the head.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow, “What if the king’s head is pierced by a bullet before the revolution succeeds?”
Dumas shrugged, “Then he’s just out of luck, I only promised not to liquidate him.”
Arthur laughed, “You’re pretty clear about that.”
Then he changed the subject, “But after listening to Mr. Vidocq’s experience today, I realized that the escape of Edmond Dantes, the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo, is…”
Dumas coughed, blushing, “I did borrow some of Mr. Vidocq’s real experiences, but I also did some artistic processing, you can’t just conclude that I’m plagiarizing. And most importantly, Mr. Vidocq doesn’t mind us playwrights borrowing his experiences, he enjoys being written into books.”
“Balzac, Hugo, and I are all his friends, he tells us his legendary experiences and teaches us some practical criminal knowledge. In return, we naturally write him into books and make him famous.”
Arthur just nodded, “That’s a pretty French personality. But speaking of which, since Mr. Vidocq doesn’t mind others using his experiences to create books, does that mean I can too?”
Dumas raised an eyebrow, “Of course you can, but you’d better add some of your own experiences. If it’s completely authentic, everyone might as well go read Mr. Vidocq’s memoirs, the English version isn’t nonexistent.”
“Besides, I also think you should take this opportunity to write a book. The magazine’s pages are still empty, and we need some other articles to fill the content. We don’t expect much from you as a novice, at least it’s better than Eldred.”
Hearing this, Arthur returned to the table and sat down. He pondered for a while, then his eyes caught sight of the crow mask placed in the deepest part of the bookcase.
He looked at the blank paper in front of him and then at The Human Comedy held by Dumas.
A flash of inspiration struck his mind, and in an instant, Arthur seemed to have suddenly discovered the true use of a literary magazine.
He might be able to use this magazine, destined to become a sensation, to do something more important than making money, something he couldn’t achieve even as a Scotland Yard inspector.
Arthur picked up the quill, dipped it in the inkwell twice, his usually steady hand hesitated for a moment, and finally, trembling, he put pen to paper.
Dumas sat beside him, looked up and saw an attractive title on the paper—The Hastings Detective Collection: The Dead from St. Giles.
The second update will be tomorrow morning, and in the future, there will be one update in the morning and one in the evening.
(End of Chapter)