The Shadow of Great Britain

380: Chapter 226: Education Issues (4k2)_2 380: Chapter 226: Education Issues (4k2)_2 “But to prove that you two are not lying, tomorrow I will have Tom prepare two sheets of spelling for you.

If you can write down all the words correctly, I will believe what you just said, and I will also arrange for you to transfer to a better, more suitable school.

How do you both feel about that?”

Pinkerton was initially quite pleased, but upon hearing that he had to switch from one school to another, he couldn’t help feeling some dismay, “Officer, can’t we just not attend school?

I think it’s quite fine as it is, and I’ve already learned to spell quite a few words.

Had it not been for this incident, I would probably have jumped from the first grade to the third by the end of this term.”

“Oh!

Is that so?

Congratulations then, Allen, you now have the basic qualifications to become a clerk or perhaps a journalist.”

Saying this, Arthur changed his tone, “However, for employees of the London Police Intelligence Bureau, or for becoming an outstanding detective, knowing how to spell words is far from enough.”

“But…”

Pinkerton replied, “My late father, now buried in the ground, said that to find a job in society, merely studying is often of little use.

For instance, if a wealthy family wants to hire a laundry maid, they mostly rely on recommendations from their current maids.

Or take the mines, most of those who come are relatives of current miners.

The sons of priests continue to be priests, and most Royal Navy officers often have a general for an uncle or grandfather.

Isn’t it the same with Mr.

Carter?

If my dead father hadn’t passed away, perhaps I would have also become a policeman in Glasgow.”

Arthur smiled, “Allen, there is some truth in what your father said.

However, you also need to consider that you have someone like me standing in front of you.

Not only Eld Carter belongs to the group of Royal Navy officers, there are captains who have climbed up from being swineherds, although few, but if you insist on looking, you can still find a few.

The worst part is, up to now, you still haven’t realized what you possess.

You currently have an uncle who is a priest and a Royal Navy officer floating at sea, a police uncle sitting right here, and yet you and Adam…”

Arthur paused as there was a sudden knock at the door.

The door was pushed open, and Louis Bonaparte stood outside holding a stack of documents, about to enter but was bewildered by the two youngsters in front.

Arthur pointed at him and said to the two lads, “See, there’s even an Emperor here.

All you two need to do now is study well.

As for these rotten issues that occur at school, I can’t promise they won’t happen again, nor will I force you to endure them in silence.

But you can’t skip school just because you dislike it.”

“I dislike talking about my past experiences, but Allen, Adam, for the two of you, I feel it’s necessary to say something.

Is studying unimportant?

If you aim to become some big figure, maybe studying isn’t that crucial.

But if you just want to have a better life, then studying is extremely important.”

“You may think I look quite impressive now, but I had a much worse time at the age of nine compared to you.

Allen, you lost your father at nine, and I was the same.

Ever since I can remember, I didn’t even know what my father looked like.

Neighbors say he might have been drafted into the Royal Navy, and over the years, there has been no news of him; he might have died at sea long ago.”

“As for my mother, after enduring several years, she did the same as your mother and remarried, following a stranger to who knows where.

The reason I didn’t starve to death was largely due to the kindness of neighbors and the local parish priests.

Of course, the most important thing was that I had a strong constitution and never encountered any major diseases in my life.”

“From the age of seven, I served as a live scarecrow in the fields of York.

I remember it was early spring, and from dawn, I would sit atop the ridges, throwing stones at crows that came to peck at the seeds, sitting there until the sun went down before going to sleep.”

“Even now, I occasionally have nightmares about those scenes, sitting there all alone, surrounded by silence, with my butt aching from the hard, cold early-spring earth, feeling cold and hungry, without anyone to talk to, as if time had frozen.

I didn’t want to be doing that job, but there was no alternative; I had to do something in exchange for some bread.”

“Moreover, even those with both parents had to do such work, let alone me who was without both.”

“However, once the seeds began to sprout, my circumstances would improve slightly.

Then I would go to help the farm owner herd sheep.

During the busy harvest season, I would help the adults harvest barley, tossing and carrying bundles of barley into wagons and then into the barn.”

“After all these were done, I shifted roles to become a little pig feeder.

And in the winter, I carried a hoe and followed the hired farmers to plow the fields, starting a new cycle for the next year.”

Exactly because of that, the moment I had the chance to read, I clung to it as desperately as a drowning man clutches at a straw.

At that time, I didn’t know that I could become an inspector at Scotland Yard; I just knew that reading more could help me, a man stuck in the hell of York’s countryside, get out.

Being a company clerk or perhaps a copyist might not sound like much, but for me at that time, it was already a luxurious aspiration.

Agares, propping himself on Arthur’s shoulders, said with a teasing smile, “No need to thank me, Arthur, it was a small effort.

But it’s also amusing, living these days, when I first met you, you were thinking about stealing a ‘Bible’ from the local priest.

Had I come a bit later, would you have converted to God?

Or do you think life was just too boring?”

Before Arthur could respond to Red Devil’s remark, two little devils had already jumped off their chairs and admitted their mistake to Arthur.

“Sorry, Mr.

Hasting.”

Louis Bonaparte also opened his mouth in surprise, “This…

I had thought that a gentleman as cultivated as you had probably received a good family education…

I didn’t expect you to be a farmer’s son?”

Great Dumas then popped his head out from behind him, the Frenchman said self-mockingly, “A farmer’s son?

That’s still a higher status than my ancestors.

But this world is quite magical, Arthur, how did you come up with the idea of having someone from the Bonaparte family be your police secretary?

The most absurd part is, he actually agreed!”

Louis Bonaparte, however, didn’t take Great Dumas’s words to heart, he said, “Mr.

Dumas, there is nothing absurd about it.

I think learning at Scotland Yard is better than wandering the streets and alleys of London.”

Upon hearing this, Great Dumas wanted to say something, but the words tasted off on his tongue.

As a French Republican, he, like his friends Hugo and Balzac, harbored extremely ambivalent feelings towards Napoleon and his family members.

Although they unanimously considered Napoleon a usurper, they highly regarded the legacy and the splendid past that Napoleon had left for France.

It was because of this that, during his initial meeting with Louis Bonaparte, he didn’t speak ill of him, and even felt an inexplicable kinship.

On one hand, it was because he bore the Bonaparte name; on the other hand, it was because this fellow had participated in the Carbonari revolt in Italy.

However, when he saw the article published by Louis Bonaparte in ‘The Economist’, that feeling of kinship quickly turned into deep skepticism and confusion.

Because Great Dumas really couldn’t understand something called the Republican Empire, this innovative regime was unheard of and unseen, exceeding the bounds of what Great Dumas considered his already fanciful imagination.

Just as Great Dumas pondered what exactly Louis Bonaparte was up to, the police secretary took the initiative to approach Arthur, handing over a file to him.

“Sir, Bernie Harrison, the MP, sent someone to Scotland Yard this morning wanting to have a meeting with Chief Rowan.

But it seems Chief Rowan is not feeling well, he left early to rest at home.

He recommended that Harrison should meet with you first.

If you see no issue, I can send him a reply now.

How about that coffee shop outside Whitehall?”