The Shadow of Great Britain

352: Chapter 215 The Elegant Connoisseur of the 19th Century (5K6) 352: Chapter 215 The Elegant Connoisseur of the 19th Century (5K6) On the Thames River today, a variety of transport ships are still jam-packed as usual, but the water traffic conditions are noticeably worse than normal.

The cause of the congestion is starkly obvious; one only needs to look eastward to know who is really to blame for the crowding on the river.

That culprit is none other than the Old London Bridge, boasting 19 arches and standing over the Thames River for more than six hundred years, a stone bridge rebuilt in 1209 that holds the living memories of several generations of Londoners.

As one of the strangest structures in all of Europe, the Old London Bridge is not merely a passage for Londoners to traverse between the banks of the river.

Its design is asymmetrical, and even its 19 arches vary in size.

Strangely enough, the bridge also bristles with various shops, residential buildings, a small church, and a gatehouse displaying the heads of traitors.

Rather than a bridge, it might as well be termed a small residential area within London proper, and if you wish, you could even spend your entire life on this bridge, which may not boast a beautiful exterior but certainly possesses a unique design.

However, perhaps it’s precisely because Old London Bridge is crammed with all sorts of bizarre buildings that its original function—as a bridge—has been significantly weakened.

After all, not every citizen of London is willing to endure the narrow bridge path waiting to cross the river.

Many hot-tempered, time-pressed, and daring citizens typically opt to wade through the river by feeling their way under the arches from the bridge below.

Although most Londoners can pass through here quite luckily, the river’s strong currents mean that every few days, there are always a few unlucky ones who don’t make it.

This is why London gave birth to the seemingly absurd civilian self-help group “Thames Drowning Victims’ Rescuers Society”—statistical data show that there is a robust demand among Londoners for saving drowning victims.

Of course, Parliament is not oblivious to the immense trouble Old London Bridge causes for Londoners who need to cross the river to get to work.

Since 1799, Parliament began exploring the feasibility of constructing a new London Bridge, and during this period, several praised new architectural designs emerged but were mostly aborted due to local parishes’ doubts about their viability and the land area required for construction.

After prolonged discussion, in 1824, the London City Government finally negotiated compensation schemes with the parishes and officially announced that the government and local companies would jointly fund the project, appointing the renowned bridge construction engineer Mr.

John Rennie to supervise the building of a new London Bridge, which has a total length of 928 feet, a width of 49 feet, and is built with a granite five-span structure.

Not so long ago, after seven years of construction, the new London Bridge was finally opened to traffic, and the Old London Bridge thus fulfilled its historical mission.

After enduring changes over six centuries, it finally faced the same fate as its ancient predecessor—”the wooden London Bridge built by the Romans in the year 50.”

Indeed, it was ordered to be destroyed by the government.

It will be buried in the Thames River’s bed along with those small shops and residential buildings on it—Britain’s true historical museum.

There, it will meet Iron Age shields, Roman tiles, Viking battle-axes, medieval clay pipes, and Tudor leather boots.

Such a momentous occasion could hardly lack for the ever-curious Londoners.

For some reason, they always flock to crowded places.

But dynamite is evidently not selective, and in no time, several onlookers crouching not far from the London Bridge’s arches were blown into the river by the blast wave.

Amidst the gasps and exclamations from gentlemen and ladies on the bank, people only saw volunteers from the “Thames Drowning Victims’ Rescuers Society,” already awaiting their turn, stripping down to their shirts to dive into the river for the rescue.

Yet, these enthusiastic gentlemen could not muster a good mood for such incidents, and the onlookers merely heard them grumbling as they swam and rescued people.

“Can’t these idiots use their brains?

Don’t they know to stay back when watching all the excitement?

They stay so close; I bet a few more will end up in the river today!”

“If they listened to advice, we wouldn’t have to be perched by the river every day.”

“Don’t just stand there, Martin and the others are in the river saving people, you all better get those tubes cleaned!”

“Mr.

Morgan!

Something’s happened!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It seems we’re running low on tobacco.”

“Damn, today really is unlucky.

Andrew, take the money and quickly go to a nearby store to buy a few more boxes!”

Arthur stood by the river with Colt, who had just finished lunch at the café.

Colt, witnessing the scene below the dam, felt that his entire worldview had been shaken.

These gentlemen, devoting their spare time to social welfare activities, were giving mouth-to-mouth to the drowning victims while indifferently sticking tubes into the backside of everyone regardless of age or gender and taking heavy drags of smoke in a manner reminiscent of lung cancer sufferers before hastily blowing smoke rings into the tubes.

Colt’s lips quivered as he watched, and after a long while, he could not help but sincerely admire the scene.

“We have never seen such technology in our part of the world.

Although everyone has long known about the high medicinal value of tobacco and indeed that absorption through the gastrointestinal tract is highly efficient, coming up with the simple idea of using a tube to help drowning victims absorb the tobacco’s medicinal effects is indeed a remarkable innovation.

Although I’m reluctant to admit it, I must say that present-day Britain represents the most advanced civilization in the world.”