The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1804: Chapter 104: Mr. Carter Always Brings Surprises

Just as Arthur picked up his teacup, staring blankly at the wisp of steam rising from the surface of the tea, a heavy and slow set of footsteps came from the other end of the staircase.

”Damn it! Who waxed this staircase? It’s too slippery.”

Arthur looked up towards the top of the stairs, and sure enough, he saw the hungover Eld staggering down the stairs.

After a drunken night, a good sleep could restore his vigor.

For Eld, this was nothing unusual. Perhaps it was because the Carter family had long roots in Ireland, which gave them a bit of the Irish resistance to alcohol. In any case, the men of the Carter family were always good drinkers and rarely troubled by hangovers.

”Good morning, Your Excellency, Dean,” Eld yawned with his eyes squinting, ”Preparing lessons so early? The kids studying at the University of London these days are quite lucky.”

Arthur shook his head helplessly, ”Should I say you sleep well, or that you haven’t learned a bit?”

”Sleeping well is a fact, and not learning much is also a fact,” Eld sat down openly opposite him, ”By the way, do you know what happened in the House of Lords between Lord Brougham and the Duke of Wellington the other day?”

”What happened?” Arthur recalled Lord Brougham’s character and temperament and immediately sensed trouble, ”He didn’t mock the Duke directly in the House of Lords, did he?”

Speaking of Lord Brougham, although he often appeared as a gentle and tolerant mentor in front of Arthur, those who knew him were aware that the gentle and tolerant side of Brougham was as rare as Christmas and Easter, only appearing occasionally once a year.

For most of the time, his friends saw him as someone who couldn’t tolerate a grain of sand in his eye. To his enemies, he was simply harsh, ungrateful, sharp-tongued.

Sure enough, the facts were as Arthur had suspected.

Eld poured himself a glass of tea, ”You’re not far from the truth. To be more detailed, our board chairman, Lord Brougham, while speaking on the University Oath Bill proposed by Lord Radno the day before yesterday in the House of Lords, fell into his old ways. His main point was that the Duke of Wellington opposes the University Oath Bill merely because he doesn’t understand modern thought, knows nothing about the conscience of students, and says the world needs sharper minds, not more uniformed uniforms and sabres.”

Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but cover his forehead and shake his head slightly, ”He’s always sharp-tongued. But I can understand why he said that. It seems the union of the University of London and King’s College not only upset students like us but also infuriated him.”

”Indeed,” Eld nodded, ”But I heard this time he had a setback.”

”Hmm?” Arthur was puzzled by Eld’s words.

Eld put down his teacup, and although he wasn’t present at the scene, even he felt quite uncomfortable imagining the scene, ”Just as Lord Brougham was passionately delivering his speech, the Duke of Wellington suddenly raised his hand from across the room and loudly stated: ’Now, be careful what you say next.’

Hearing this, even Arthur felt a chill, ”Lord Brougham didn’t confront the Duke, right?”

”No,” Eld replied, ”Greville says Lord Brougham seemed to be frightened at the time, immediately interrupted his speech, and changed the subject. But I think you can only believe half of what Greville says at most, as he seems to resent Brougham, spreading the news to embarrass him whenever an opportunity arises.”

Arthur knew a bit about Greville too, ”I remember Lord Brougham seems to hold this Privy Council secretary in contempt, right? And you said last time, he’s quite vain and jealous?”

”Indeed,” Eld shrugged, ”But ultimately, it seems the situation at the University of London isn’t looking good. The Duke of Wellington appears to have an unusually firm stance against liberalizing university education.”

”I suspect His Excellency the Duke might be hindered by the titles of honorary chancellor of Oxford University and president of King’s College,” Arthur took a sip of tea, ”Although the Duke of Wellington can’t be considered a representative of high Tories and is much more open-minded than them, he retains the traditional aristocratic mindset. If someone else had those honorary titles, they’d likely just add them to their business card. But if you give the Duke of Wellington such a title, he isn’t just a nominal figurehead.”

Hearing this, Eld thought for a while, pinching his chin, then suddenly seemed to realize something, slapping his thigh, ”Well, no wonder!”

”What’s the matter?”

Eld explained, ”Did you forget? As long as the Duke of Wellington is in London, he makes a point to take a walk around Hyde Park every day. I even saw him last time chastising some youngsters galloping on horses in the park, as their horses frightened the elderly who were walking. After that, several signs were put up along the riding path, specifying speed limits for riding and prohibiting trespassing onto the lawn. I didn’t know why before, but now I realize it’s because he holds the honorary title of Hyde Park’s warden!”

Arthur was unfazed, ”What about it? Didn’t His Excellency the Duke set up a complaint box at the park entrance before? Maybe you won’t believe this, but I’ve often seen him reviewing those complaint letters when I visited Apsley House. Moreover, I heard he’s also drafting a set of traffic rules for the park, including things like keeping to the left and prohibiting carriages from turning around on tree-lined roads to avoid blocking the way. To establish these traffic rules, he even wrote to consult my opinion.”