The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 988: Chapter 53 Art Patron_2

The Great Dumas saw that Arthur was unwilling to relent, so he had to use Heine as an example: “Arthur, it’s not just me who thinks this painting is good. Heinrich even wrote a poem praising it specifically.”

“Then why didn’t Heinrich buy it? Or did he send Mr. Delacroix a bill for 1,000 Francs after writing the poem, just as he did with Liszt?”

“I’m not sure about that.” The Great Dumas shrugged and said: “After he comes back from boating, you can ask him yourself. However, I believe Heinrich’s poem for this painting wasn’t overly influenced by financial considerations.”

Arthur frowned and said: “Heinrich went boating? Is he meeting a lady today? He wouldn’t have forgotten that he’s supposed to submit the manuscript ‘On Romanticism’ today, would he?”

The Great Dumas felt a bit deflated hearing this and said: “From what I’ve observed, Heinrich is probably still not over his infatuation with his two cousins. The person he went boating with is not a lady but a young poet from Denmark. But that’s not important, Arthur, are you sure you don’t want to buy this painting? Mr. Delacroix’s works aren’t like bread that you can buy fresh every morning.”

Arthur saw that he was about to leave, strolled forward, and smilingly grabbed the Great Dumas’s shoulder: “Alexander, I only said my financial resources are insufficient, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find a good buyer for this painting.”

“Hmm?” The Great Dumas turned his head and asked: “Have you met another wealthy person recently?”

“Not someone I’ve met recently, but a prince I’ve known for many years.”

“A prince?”

Arthur nodded slightly and said: “The President of the Royal Art Association, Grand Master of the Freemasons’ United Grand Lodge of England, and also the President of the Royal Society, the Duke of Sussex, Prince Augustus Frederick. I dare say he must be interested in this painting, and the price he can offer is surely much higher than what I, a second-class secretary, can provide.”

The Great Dumas pondered for a moment: “This… Are you planning to write a letter to His Royal Highness?”

“No need for such trouble; when it comes to collecting artworks, His Royal Highness usually entrusts others to handle it.” Arthur raised a cup of red tea and leaned back on the sofa: “The first time I met His Royal Highness, our friend Lionel Rothschild was beside him. At that time, he was introducing to His Royal Highness a Brazilian turtle specimen he had painstakingly acquired. Alexander, do you understand what I mean?”

Victor, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but whistle. He laughed cheerfully and shouted to his subordinates at the front desk of the office: “Tallman, Cyclops, take a card from Sir Hastings to the Rothschild Bank to handle large loan business. If the bank manager asks about the reason for the loan, bring him to the office to see the Sir himself.”

The Great Dumas understood Victor’s meaning and, with a slight curl of his lip, said: “It seems that Mr. Delacroix’s painting will have no trouble selling now, and Lionel, who spent a lot of money, has to thank you as the intermediary.”

Arthur casually picked up the newspaper again and said: “The value of money is different for people at different stages. You may think Lionel spent a lot, but he may not see it that way. If Rothschild directly gives hundreds of Pounds to the Duke of Sussex, it would be an insult to His Royal Highness, but if it is through Mr. Delacroix’s painting, then it is art appreciation. Alexander, you have to change your old perspective. Many bankers in Paris haven’t yet turned this corner in their minds, so everyone calls them parvenus. But Rothschild has already touched this threshold, so their family already has three people ennobled in Austria.”

“Indeed!” The Great Dumas sarcastically remarked: “Those who give money directly are parvenus, while those who bribe with art are nobility.”

“Wrong.” Victor, with a pipe in his mouth, said: “Alexander, the biggest difference between the two lies in whether you have access.”

“Say whatever you want, you lot of cops.”

The Great Dumas sat down next to Arthur and fished out a few pages of letter paper after fumbling around for a long time: “Arthur, take a look at this. Heinrich has unearthed a rising star for our ‘Brits,’ this Danish friend he went boating with.”

Arthur put down the newspaper and accepted the manuscript, and after just one glance he couldn’t help but frown: “A poetry collection? Although Heinrich’s judgment is usually good, currently the poetry section competition on ‘Brits’ is extremely fierce.”

Just as Arthur said, as the most prestigious genre in classical literature, poetry has always been the focal point hunted by numerous literary giants.

Even on a magazine like ‘Brits’ that mainly deals in popular literature, the poetry section still boasts the towering figures of Heine and Tennyson, and lurking behind them is the resilient and determined Miss Elizabeth Barrett. Most importantly, the anonymous poet ‘Lionheart’ Mr. Eld Carter still frequently sends back his impromptu masterpieces from South America.

Moreover, compared to novels and dramas, whether foreign poetry will be popular in Britain to some extent doesn’t only depend on the quality of the poems; the translation level also significantly affects its final expression.

The reason ‘Brits’ previously dared to distribute Heine’s poetry collection was because Heine had already made a name for himself in Europe, and many readers had long been reading the original German and the French translations of his work, so there wasn’t much risk in distributing his work.

However, this young poet from Denmark not only lacks fame in Britain, but even though his manuscript has been thoughtfully translated from Danish into French, Arthur found many awkward phrases.

From a commercial publishing standpoint, it is undoubtedly an unqualified work.

Arthur held his forehead, reading the manuscript over and over, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find much that stood out in these poems. Worst of all, unlike Eld’s collections, they weren’t particularly violent or controversial, meaning they lacked a topic of discussion.

“Alexander.” Arthur regretfully said: “If this manuscript were written in Danish, then every line would surely be beautiful. But when translated into other languages, it loses its original flavor. Of course, I’m not doubting Heinrich’s judgment, but if his friend could produce some novel works, they might align better with the publishing nature of ‘Brits’.”

Hearing Arthur’s reply, the Great Dumas seemed to have anticipated this and showed a conspiratorial smirk: “Arthur, those are your words. If he can write a story, then you should publish it for him. In fact, he has indeed adapted a short story from Spanish folklore recently, which Heinrich previously submitted to the ‘Constitutional Newspaper,’ but they politely declined it for various reasons. Of course, it’s not because his writing was bad but due to some political considerations, just like Mr. Delacroix’s painting.”

“Can I see it?”

“Of course.” The Great Dumas, like a magician, pulled out a pre-prepared manuscript from his pocket: “Check out how he writes.”

Arthur took the manuscript, skimmed it, and just felt that there was an indescribable taste in the Danish young man’s wording.

If reviewed with ‘Blackwood’s’ usual acerbic tone, the entire article came across as immature and naive.

But the more Arthur read, the more familiar the story seemed.

– Once upon a time, there was a King. He loved new clothes. Most of the money in the treasury was spent on his outfits. He didn’t care about the army, was not concerned with state affairs, and didn’t even like walking. He just liked to change into new clothes from morning till night, almost every hour…

The Great Dumas leaned against the sofa and strongly recommended: “These days, you can find a slew of poets, playwrights, and novelists in Europe, but a good fairy tale writer is not easy to come by. Arthur, both Heinrich and I believe this young man named Hans Christian Andersen is quite promising. Ahem… Of course, we appreciate him not just because this ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ seems to satirize Louis Philippe’s government.”