The Shadow of Great Britain

397: Chapter 231: The Editorial Department’s Story (6K)_3 397: Chapter 231: The Editorial Department’s Story (6K)_3 Tennyson, seeing this, quickly gestured to Great Dumas not to be impulsive, “Alexander, thanks for your good intentions, but it’s really not necessary; I’ve already dropped out of school.

Once an arrow is shot, there’s no getting it back and besides, it’s just too expensive to pay a hundred or two hundred pounds a year for a second- or third-rate diploma from Cambridge.”

“A hundred or two hundred pounds?” Great Dumas trembled at the thought, “Are Cambridge diplomas made of gold or what?

To pay so much just to attend school?

If someone completed their studies in full, all this money spent on schooling would be enough to buy two houses in London.”

At this point, Great Dumas suddenly realized something, “So, that means Charles, the little baldy, comes from a rather wealthy family?”

Arthur glanced at him, “What do you think?

I’ve told you before, I’m the only true ‘country bumpkin’ among us all.”

Tennyson seemed very open-minded, and he chuckled, “Arthur, you can’t say that, now I am one too.

Getting back to the point, the education at Cambridge is actually pretty boring.

At the beginning of the year, when William dropped out, I thought about whether or not I should just quit too.

Now that my father has passed away, it gave me a formal reason to resign from school.

So, having resigned, it’s done.”

Great Dumas, puzzled, asked, “Your friend Mister Thackeray, his father died as well?”

Arthur looked at Great Dumas, “Alexander, you do have a way with words.”

Tennyson shook his head, “William’s father passed away earlier, but he was a senior official of the East India Company, and on top of that, William is an only child; so he was able to inherit a considerable estate.

Although William has a good nature, he is a bit reclusive, so he didn’t manage relationships with his classmates very well, plus the previous setback from Mister Carter, and several unsuccessful attempts at submitting manuscripts to magazines.

So at the beginning of the year, he processed his withdrawal and went straight to the Weimar Republic in Germany, planning to learn poetry and art from Mister Goethe.”

Upon hearing this, Great Dumas couldn’t help but marvel, “Goethe?

That’s truly willful!”

Arthur echoed, “I think it’s mainly because he has money.

But I reckon he will gain something from the trip, after all, even Berner, who always looks down on Mister Goethe, can only deem Mister Goethe a ‘rhyming slave’.

This means that even his detractors cannot deny the beauty of Mister Goethe’s poetry.”

At this juncture, Arthur suddenly asked, “But speaking of which, I remember that Cambridge has places for self-supporting students, does it not?

Sir Isaac Newton graduated by supporting himself as a student worker.

If you could become a self-supporting student, there should be a discount on the tuition, and then Alexander and I could probably help you make up the rest of the amount and living expenses.”

Upon hearing this, Tennyson quickly waved his hand, “Arthur, I truly appreciate your willingness to help.

But the status of a student worker isn’t so easy to secure.

There tend to be more of them in Natural Philosophy, whereas for Classical Studies, which I was studying, there is no such thing.

After all, only in areas like mathematics, physics, chemistry, are apprentices needed to assist the professors.”

Great Dumas became even more confused as he listened, “What’s this about student workers?

Can Cambridge students really be divided into first, second and third class?”

“Indeed.”

Tennyson nodded, “To be precise, students at both Cambridge and Oxford are divided into three classes; the best are the nobility students, like Lord Byron, for instance.

They hardly need to take exams to graduate smoothly.”

The next ones, like Charles and I, are the self-supporting students.

Those studying Theology, like Charles, are typical of self-supporting students.

Upon graduation, they can become settled priests in the Anglican Church, with a decent salary, benefits, and respectable social status.”

The worst off are the working students like Sir Isaac Newton.

Although they receive a tuition discount, they have to take care of much of the drudgery, such as cleaning the campus, serving tea and water to the professors, running errands for the nobility students, and so on.

“I remember that there was always a rumor around campus that Sir Isaac Newton managed to fund his studies by needling nobility students into doing business with him.

Cambridge in the seventeenth century was not quite the same as it is now, the campus and the town of Cambridge were almost completely interconnected, with muddy rubbish-filled grounds, dirty rivers, beggars, tradesmen, vagrants, prostitutes, farmers, you name it, the town had them all, so opportunities for business were everywhere.”

As Tennyson got to this point, he couldn’t help but make a joke.

He consoled himself by saying, “Perhaps Sir Newton was too preoccupied with business, and so he only managed to graduate with a second-class degree from Cambridge.

Thinking about it that way, it seems leaving Cambridge isn’t such a big deal after all.”

“Second-class degree?” Great Dumas looked back at Arthur, “What class of degree did you get at the University of London?”

Arthur tipped his hat, not talking about himself, and instead asked, “Three-year full-course Gold Medal, what do you think?”

Great Dumas then inquired, “And Eld?”

Arthur sipped his tea, “Also first-class.”

“Ah?!” exclaimed Great Dumas, “How did he manage to get a first-class?”

“I don’t know,” shrugged Arthur.

“But the professors in the Classical Studies department all say that the tea leaves Eld sends are top-notch.”

At this, Arthur suddenly had an epiphany, he pondered for a moment, then spoke up, “Alfred, although it’s not quite appropriate for me to say this, I don’t think you necessarily need to study Classical Studies at Cambridge.

And since you’ll be moving to London anyway, why not find a school that’s economical and won’t interfere with your work?”