The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 1772 - 88: The Decline of the London University System (Part 3)

You shot the Lord in the chest, the Lord tolerated it.

But you shot Robert Cali, the Lord couldn’t tolerate it.

You refused to allocate educational funding to the University of London, the Lord could donate and fund it himself.

But trying to merge the University of London with King’s College and even changing the name of the University of London, all those who studied here could not tolerate it.

If this matter were to be pushed forward during Arthur’s tenure, it would be a disservice to Mr. Jeremy Bentham at the top, and to Lord Brougham and Earl of Dalmo at the bottom. How would Sir Arthur Hastings face the fellow townsfolk of Westminster from now on?

The most difficult part of the issue is that apart from the University of London system’s people, everyone, whether Tory or Whig, supports it.

Arthur fell silent in contemplation, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the wooden edge of the carriage window.

"Hey, Arthur, what are you thinking about?" Eld patted Arthur on the shoulder, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I’ve been talking for ages, what do you think?" Eld started: "Miss Flora Hastings, that personal lady-in-waiting of the Duchess of Kent."

"What were you saying just now?"

"Stop pretending." Eld glared at him: "I’ve been talking all along the way, what do you think of Flora? She’s been mentioning you quite a bit lately."

"What did she say?" Arthur asked distractedly: "Is she praising my diligent teaching, or is she complaining that I never offer her a seat when we meet?"

"Neither." Eld waved his hand, uncertain how to begin: "She said that during her recent visit home, she heard some gossip that seemed to be about your lineage."

Arthur slowly raised his eyebrows: "What gossip? That I’m the illegitimate child or grandchild of the first Marquis of Hastings? Wasn’t that gossip started by you?"

"When did I ever spread such gossip? Arthur, you shouldn’t wrong me." Eld said with righteousness: "Do I look like someone who spreads gossip?"

"Why wouldn’t you be?" Arthur counted on his fingers: "Who passed on the gossip between Viscount Melbourne’s deceased wife Lady Ponsoby and Lord Byron to me?"

"Was that gossip? That was all true!"

"I know it’s true, but you said she once attached a tufts of bloody... ahem, hair to a love letter to Lord Byron as a gesture of devotion and pain, is that true as well?"

"How could it not be true? Absolutely!"

"How do you know it’s true?"

"Of course! Because I saw that love letter with my own eyes!"

"Ah?!"

Arthur was startled, he never thought this was true, he used to think Eld was just idly creating scandalous rumors.

But upon further thought, given Lady Ponsoby’s madness, she might really do such a thing.

After all, when Byron’s coffin was brought back from Greece to Britain, she once rushed out from the street to cry over it in front of tens of thousands of people, and several people couldn’t pull her off the coffin.

And she previously published that book, with extremely bold wording, describing her love affair with Byron, "Glenarvon"...

Mind you, that book is considered by the book publishing committee to be as notorious as many of Eld Carter’s anonymous works, even a higher grade of banned book, and has been on the controlled list for years.

Such a person doing anything is not particularly surprising.

Eld saw Arthur had gone silent, feeling his reputation was finally cleared, and proudly said, "Now you believe me, right?"

"Speak." Arthur leaned back in his chair: "What exactly did Miss Flora hear?"

"She said..." Eld glanced at Arthur, slowing his tone: "The Earl of Huntingdon, the distant relative of the Hastings family who restored the title in 1819; his aunt’s family near the Scotland and England border, the priest of the parish is named Johnston. That old man is gossipy, but oddly has a frighteningly good memory, and the old priest brought up a twenty-year-old story..."