Chapter 39
Arthur yielded his seat to Tony and Tom, leading Eldred to a nearby table.
Eldred, remembering Arthur’s earlier proposition about the subsidy, finally recalled the business Arthur had approached him with.
He asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted me to draw a map? What kind of map are you looking for?”
Arthur replied, “Actually, it’s not a map. Didn’t you also mention in the information you just gave me that few people have seen Fred’s true face?
And whenever there are few witnesses to a crime, the police find it difficult to create an accurate sketch of the perpetrator based on the victim’s description.
So, I intend to implement a brand new criminal investigation technique.”
“A brand new technique?”
Eldred pondered for a while but couldn’t grasp what Arthur was up to. He asked, “Just tell me straight, what do you want me to draw?”
Arthur said, “I want to divide the human face into nine regions. Then, I’ll find one hundred people with different facial features and have you draw the nine regions based on their appearances, completing a total of nine hundred different drawings.
This way, in the future, we can provide nine regional samples for victims to choose from, ultimately forming a portrait closest to the criminal, known as a composite sketch technique.”
Upon hearing this, Eldred was so surprised his jaw almost dropped.
“Arthur!”
“What’s wrong?” Arthur took a sip of tea.
Eldred exclaimed, “This is a brilliant idea! You’re truly born to be a police officer!”
Arthur raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, you agree?”
“But I can’t draw!”
Elder said sheepishly, “I learned to draw nautical charts, so I could manage if you asked me to draw a map. But if it’s portraits, I really don’t have the skills.”
Hearing this, Arthur also encountered a difficulty. “That’s a problem. Besides you, I don’t know anyone else who can draw…”
Seeing his good friend so troubled, Eldred changed his tune and said, “Although I can’t, I know where to find someone who can. And these people not only can draw, but they draw very well, and the price should be relatively cheap.”
“Is there such a place?”
Eldred nodded. “Of course! Just go to the Royal Academy of Arts next to Trafalgar Square!”
“Are you kidding me? The Royal Academy of Arts is full of renowned artists, their paintings could be worth a year’s budget for the Greenwich Police District.
Eldred, you don’t need to hold a grudge like that, I just made a few jokes. If you do this, I’ll really have to lock you up.”
“What are you talking about!”
Eldred said, “I’m not asking you to find the professors there. Although those professors are all well-fed, the apprentices who learn from them are all starving.
I once went with my uncle to visit the academy, and many of the apprentices were children from poor families. For the kind of simple portrait sketches you need, I bet they could finish it within ten days or half a month.
Offer them a reasonable price, and many people would be eager to take the job.”
Arthur initially thought Eldred was just making things up, but hearing him say this, it seemed somewhat feasible.
He asked, “That place shouldn’t be easy to get into, right? How do I get in?”
“No need to sneak in.” Eldred patted his chest and assured him, “One day when you’re free, go for a walk around Trafalgar Square in the evening. Many of the impoverished artists selling their paintings there are from the Royal Academy of Arts. Just pick one who looks decent and ask.”
As soon as Eldred finished speaking, Darwin, who was lecturing Tony and Tom, also chimed in.
“Arthur, speaking of which, I think what you want to grasp is not only medical knowledge, but more importantly, chemistry and pharmacology.
Although I can teach you a bit, I’m not clear on many of the recent advancements.
If you want to obtain higher-level knowledge, you can try attending the lectures organized by the Royal Society at Gresham College.
It gathers the top scientists in all of Great Britain, with almost every month featuring the latest discoveries. It would definitely be beneficial for you to listen.”
Arthur curiously asked, “Lectures from the Royal Society? Are their tickets expensive?”
Darwin shook his head. “Even if they are expensive, they’re not as expensive as tickets to the Royal Opera House. And how expensive lecture tickets are depends on how you look at it.
For just one shilling, you can listen to the most advanced scientific knowledge. In my opinion, that’s actually a great deal.”
Arthur initially thought the lecture fees were calculated in pounds, but he didn’t expect it to be just one shilling.
As Darwin said, the cost of seeing a play at the Royal Opera House would be enough to attend dozens of lectures.
This was simply too cheap.
He hurriedly asked, “When are these lectures usually held?”
Darwin replied, “That’s hard to say, but they’re generally held quite frequently. Because the Royal Society’s research funding, besides accepting donations, mainly comes from the income of scientific lectures.
Recently, due to the Royal Society’s tight budget, they’ve been holding lectures every day.
But if you want to go, it’s best to book tickets in advance, because scientific lecture tickets are very popular among the middle and upper classes, especially ladies.
You may not know this, but due to the frequent technological breakthroughs in recent years, Royal Society scientists often make headlines, so they’ve gradually become as popular as artists.”
As soon as Darwin finished speaking, Arthur recalled the memory of being squeezed almost into a pancake by the crowd chasing after Paganini when he went to see a play with Eldred that day.
He was about to back down, but his good friend Eldred spoke up again.
“Arthur, if you want to go, I can get you a few tickets.”
“You can get them?”
Arthur looked Elder up and down. “Didn’t you claim to be an insulator of science? When did you also become interested in attending scientific lectures?”
Eldred said, “I’m not interested in science, but my cousin is different! Didn’t Charles say that attending scientific lectures is now fashionable?
My cousin loves to follow trends, whether it’s intricate pleats, French perfumes, or even scruffy scientists, as long as it’s related to fashion, she likes it.
If you want to go, I’ll grab a couple of tickets from my cousin when I go to my uncle’s for dinner. If I remember correctly, she bought season tickets, and not just one, sometimes she likes to go with her girlfriends.”
Arthur was surprised. “Is your cousin that rich?”
Eldred proudly said, “Of course! Did you forget what I told you before? Some Royal Navy captains earned three or four hundred thousand pounds after the Napoleonic Wars.
Although my uncle only became a fifth-rank captain towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he still managed to capture two French warships, and on top of that, he had a share of the spoils from his time as a first mate, so he still has a hundred thousand pounds.
My uncle has been stationed with the Mediterranean Fleet in the Ionian Islands and Malta for years, and he doesn’t have time for my cousin, so naturally she gets her way.”