Chapter 132: The Art of Language
Chapter 132 The Art of Language
Early morning sunlight poured into 36 Lancaster Gate along the edge of the window.
Arthur was holding a cup of tea, leaning back leisurely in his sitting chair, idly reading the newspaper in his hand.
Sunday, the time of rest, was, in the meantime, one of the perks of being promoted to superintendent.
Normally at this time, he would either be out patrolling the streets of Greenwich Borough, or sitting in his office at the police station, dozing off.
But today, he finally had some time to devote to some personal matters.
His eyes scanned the headlines of the Times.
‘Whigs Again Introduce Parliamentary Reforms in House of Commons in Attempt to Drag Nation Toward Abyss of Divisiveness’
Sir Peel’s powerful defense of the Tories: Reform is shaking Britain to its political foundations; we cannot afford a repeat of the French Revolution.
Soon after, he turned to the pressed back of the Poor Politics Monthly, the same incident, only this time the headline was changed to – “Robert Peel’s sophistry in defense of his intransigent conservative stance: a stern condemnation of the Whigs for raising the cost of election bribery and undermining the rules of the game
Arthur couldn’t help shaking his head when he saw this.
The Red Devil’s voice sounded quietly.
“Arthur, have you found it? The so-called ruler’s art is like a lawyer’s art of arguing, the core of which lies mainly in knowing how to formulate words and phrases. As long as one picks the right words to express, supplemented by exaggerated arguments, with constant repetition, stating in a verbose manner, adhering to the method of absolutely not proving anything by reasoning, then one can easily persuade the public. Words are so powerful that, with a good choice of words, one can give the most obnoxious thing a good name and make it acceptable to everyone.”
Arthur took a sip from his teacup as he said lightly, “I have to admit, you may be right on that point. A lot of the time the public’s hostility towards us is purely because we’re called the police.
They don’t know us and haven’t spent any time with us, but as soon as they see our uniforms, they can’t wait to start picking fights, and this occurs most frequently in the East End of London.
I don’t know if I’ve spoken to you about it, but the Irish paupers who live there have even taken to attacking the police as an act of proving their courage, and God knows what’s going on in their heads.”
The Red Devil grimaced and shrugged, “Maybe it’s too many potatoes.”
Arthur put down the newspaper in his hand and sighed, “But anyway, nowadays the Duke of Wellington’s cabinet is on the verge of a storm. Mr. Huskisson was killed by a train, and the Tory route to unite the Huskisson faction has fizzled out as a result.
The Wellington Cabinet has lost its absolute majority in the House of Commons, so now they can hardly put forward any motions, and although their seat in the House of Lords is still secure, the House of Lords only has the power to veto or pass motions in the House of Commons.
So now the entire parliamentary system of Great Britain could be said to be almost completely paralyzed. The Whigs and the Tories can’t do anything about anyone, and apart from cursing in Parliament, there’s nothing anyone can do about legislative issues.”
Agares flipped the newspaper in front of Arthur, and the Red Devil spoke, “The general election is going to be held in the second half of October this year, and judging from the current situation, the Tory Party will definitely lose. And not just a defeat, they will be met with a huge loss like Waterloo. Wellington and Robert Peel are expected to be in power for a long time. Arthur, you might want to think about finding yourself a way out. Why don’t we go and contact the Duke of Sussex in the meantime?
After all, Director Rowan and a portion of your colleagues at Scotland Yard are notoriously hostile to your rapid promotion!”
Arthur rubbed his temples as he pointed at the news headlines on the newspaper.
“I can’t say you’re wrong, but at least not yet. Look at what this is, the Belgians in Brussels have revolted, the clergy, merchants, laborers and peasants are all dissatisfied with the Dutch Protestant rule over Belgium, and this is the subsequent ripple from the French revolution.
It was fortunate that the Catholic Emancipation Act had been passed earlier, or the Irish would have followed their example and dealt Britain a death blow. But now it seems that even if the Irish would not follow suit, the July Revolution in France had already created a sense of restlessness in the air of Europa.
All this time, the unstable elements of society may be slowly bubbling up, after all, they’ve all waited a long time to see this spark. Perhaps I’ll have to seriously consider your earlier suggestion that Sir Peel grant us police officers permission to change our names, it’s just too dangerous to keep tabs on the restless elements with that title.
On the one hand, we’d have to be careful not to provoke them. On the other hand, I’m responsible for the lives of my subordinates. Everyone comes to work at Scotland Yard to make a living, not to get killed.”
Red Devil narrowed his eyes and asked, “You want Scotland Yard to change its name?”
Arthur shook his head and said, “If Scotland Yard changed its name up and down the line, then the point of changing the name would be lost. Also, you just mentioned a very important point. There are quite a few middle and high level people in Scotland Yard who are hostile to me, and I don’t want them to think that I’m meddling in the affairs of their precincts. So that’s why it’s just a matter of changing the name from my own precinct.
With Sir Peel’s permission, it would be a good idea to get a separate department out this time, and while it would still have to be funded out of local policing fees, I would like it to be directly under the Home Office.
Agareth, what you said before is true, but not entirely. Whether the ruling party is Whig or Tory doesn’t really affect me that much. Neither party has that much of a grudge against me, and if I can’t mix it up, then the reason will most likely be within Scotland Yard.”
“Whoa! My dear Arthur. Do you know what I like best in you?”
The Red Devil heatedly rubbed his hands together, “You’re always a quick learner, I just gave you a slight reminder about the use of the language arts, and you’re so quick to extrapolate so much on that basis. In order to keep a better eye on potential disturbances, you can just take it to Sir Pierre.
As far as I’m concerned, why don’t you just say that the creation of a new department directly under the Ministry of the Interior is your little scoundrel’s way of trying to find a way out of the situation? Your suggestion is sensible and reasonable, and given your relationship with Peel, the results will speak for themselves as to exactly where his first governorship will fall once this new department not under the jurisdiction of Scotland Yard is established.”
Hearing this, Arthur stretched out into the sunlight outside the window, and with both hands behind his back, he looked out at Dumas, who was happily planting garlic in the garden downstairs, and in his mind he was already rehearsing exactly how he was going to behave in front of Sir Peel in a few days’ time in the most understated and modest manner possible.
He might need a little Eastern wisdom from his homeland in this matter.
Arthur murmured as he mulled over and savored the phrasing.
“And I’m really not being modest, how do you think I, a superintendent of Scotland Yard, ended up in the new department of the Ministry of the Interior ……”
(end of chapter)