shadow of britain

Chapter 55 The Confused Case

Funeral fraternity?
Arthur walked out of old Fagin's house, looking at the muddy street in front of him, he was still thinking about the key words he mentioned just now.

According to the old Fagin, this kind of funeral mutual aid is very popular among the poor in London today.

Although the British Isles have entered the era of industrialization, many traditional customs have not disappeared because of the passage of the Middle Ages.

As an important ritual in Christianity and British culture, funerals still hold an important and unique place in the hearts of many people.

In the parish of St. Giles, every poor family has a common, unwritten rule.

They save threepence a week for the father of the family, twopence for the mother, and onepence for the children, but the money is not used to improve their lives, but to do things for their afterlife. Prepare.

In the traditional concept of the British, no matter how poor the deceased was, they should have a decent and grand funeral, because this may be the only trace of dignity they can enjoy in this life.

Thinking of this, Arthur felt a little familiar, but also a little sad.

Because of the different cultures, it is often difficult for him to understand some cultural customs here.

But the emphasis on mourning after death reminded him of the land that he had dreamed about countless times.

Only now did he understand why the old people stubbornly considered the funeral before being buried. Only those who have suffered for a lifetime can understand the true meaning of this ceremony.

It may be a bit old-fashioned, but this is also the proof that they tell the world that they have lived, and it is the last trace of their past in the world.

"Arthur?" Officer Tom called him softly: "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing?" Arthur re-smoked his extinguished pipe and asked, "Are there a lot of funeral societies like this among the poor in London?"

Tom held Adam in one hand, and scratched the back of his head with the other: "It should be quite a lot. My wife also mentioned some to me, not only the funeral mutual aid society, but also the medical aid society, the women's reading society, the textile workers' support society, and A whole bunch of messy associations, some of which I can't name."

Tony frowned when he heard this: "What kind of associations are these? Couldn't they be Jacobin-like radical organizations like the London Correspondence Association and the Sheffield Constitutional Knowledge Association?"

Tom hurriedly waved his hand in denial when he heard the words: "No, no, they are just simple mutual help associations. For example, the Women's Reading Club is an association where ladies gather to study and study.

For a few pennies a week, each member can borrow free reading materials in their library, and if a member is sick and unable to work, the association will also give her a part of financial support until she recovers.

And like Medicaid, families who can't afford a doctor team up to hire a long-term doctor to serve each member.Of course, the membership fee is also calculated according to the size of the family, and the more people there are, the more they will pay.

This is what poor people come up with when they have no other options, not organized Jacobins. "

Arthur took a breath: "It doesn't matter even if it is, anyway, free associations are allowed now, and the most we can do is to strictly monitor them.

As long as they don't make big news about cabinet assassinations like the 1820 Cato Street plot, let's just turn a blind eye and let them go.

After all, I don't want to hear the news of the army's departure in the city of London. It will not be good for both parties.

If there were mutual aid groups like this all over London and beyond, I believe the world would be a better place, at least better than it is now.

Then maybe we Scotland Yard cops won't have to lug around with sticks all day, and I'll be able to get a cheap penny paper. "

Hearing this, Tony curled his lips and shook his head: "Arthur, your idea is too beautiful. I don't ask them to sell me a penny newspaper, I just ask those street vendors to see other people in police uniforms in the future. Just spit on us."

Dickens took out the notes from the discussion with old Fagin just now, read them repeatedly, and asked: "According to Mr. Fagin, there are people around here who are adopting homeless people and using them to defraud funeral allowances? "

Arthur nodded slightly: "Although that's what you said, but if you think about it carefully, it doesn't make sense. In other words, it doesn't make sense for everyone's disappearance.

Judging from the data we have so far, it is not only vagrants and frail women who are missing, but also many homeless men in their prime of life.

Moreover, many of them have just been released from prison. I went to Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to check the criminal files of these people two days ago. Some of them were charged with violent crimes.

It may not be so easy for those who made money to get this group of people to die obediently. "

Tony thought for a while, and suddenly asked with a dark face: "Arthur, you mean that bad old man didn't tell us the truth? I'll go back and find him!"

Unexpectedly, before Tony could take a step, he was held back by Arthur.

"He should have said everything he could, but what he said was not the same thing as what we wanted.

There should be cases of defrauding funeral allowances for family members who have died, but at least there is no large-scale concentration at present.

Otherwise, the Duke of Sussex should not be the first to call the police, but other families who attended the funeral relief service.

After all, a large number of people died when a strange family just joined the association, as long as it is a normal person, it will feel that something is wrong. "

Arthur flipped through the missing list in his hand again, and he said, "When I was talking with Mr. Fagin just now, I reclassified the missing data at hand, and it turned out that I found a very interesting question .”

Tony hurriedly asked, "What's the problem?"

Arthur said: "The distribution of disappearance time of young and middle-aged men has always been relatively uniform, but the proportion of disappearance of women, middle-aged and elderly men and street children has been rising in the past two months.

According to the Duke of Sussex's report, only nine women went missing in the past six months, but six of them went missing in the past two months.

Don't you find it interesting that the number of missing middle-aged and elderly men and homeless children has also increased sharply in these two months?This shows what? "

Hearing this, the Red Devil on the side suddenly covered his mouth and snickered, "Oh! My dear Arthur, I didn't expect you to find out that something was wrong so quickly."

Dickens was stunned for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses: "Arthur, you mean that the disappearance is actually involved in more than one case?"

Arthur took a deep breath: "No, it's not that he was involved in more than one case, but that he was involved in more than one type of case."

(End of this chapter)