shadow of britain

Chapter 597 Poaching the corner
Did you know that Pushkin and I were friends? I went to his house several times and he even read his poems to me in person!
——Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, The Inspector General

Shubinsky was a burly man with a shiny beard and a neat uniform. He took out the two precious medals that he had put away earlier to hide his identity and hung them on his chest.

One of them was a long service medal awarded to reward him for his stable and reliable service in the army, while the other, a third-class Order of St. Stanislav with red and green stripes, has a story worth telling.

This medal was originally a Polish medal of honor, but after the Tsar concurrently served as the King of Poland, the Order of St. Stanislav was naturally absorbed into the Russian honor system and became one of the important honors awarded to Russian imperial officials and nobles.

However, this medal was mainly awarded to officials who had served in the Kingdom of Poland for a long time.

But it is suspicious that Shubinski never served in the Kingdom of Poland, yet he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, Third Class.

Of course, this does not mean that if you do not work in Poland, you cannot make contributions to Poland. As a top student of Russian history at the University of London, Arthur firmly opposes the view that some people refute that Shubinsky does not deserve this medal. The place of work cannot be the only reference for awarding medals. As we all know, even if you are in Liverpool, you can still make contributions to Poland if you want.

Perhaps because he was overwhelmed by the joy of meeting the great musician Mendelssohn, Shubinsky even forgot that Arthur had studied Russian history.

To put the Order of St. Stanislav in front of him is like standing in a court and shouting 'I am a murderer'.

Arthur left his friend here and told him to stay calm while he went ahead to inform Mendelssohn and others to go out to meet the guests.

Shubinsky waited here for a while, but he couldn't suppress his anxiety.

He paced hurriedly back and forth backstage at the theater, with even a thin layer of sweat on his forehead - today was a big day, and he had never thought that he would be able to meet the great composer Mendelssohn!
His "Midsummer Night's Dream" Overture and "Hebrides Overture" were considered as must-have pieces for concerts and aristocratic gatherings by the Russian upper class. Prince Odoevsky, Princess Mikhailovna and other big names were his loyal fans.

In order to please this artist who was highly respected in the social salon, Shubinsky could not help but prepare appropriate words in advance.

He wiped his forehead while rehearsing to himself: "Mr. Mendelssohn, I personally admire your talent deeply! That "Midsummer Night's Dream" is really amazing, ah! How... how much of our Russian soul -"

He paused, thinking that "Russian soul" was not appropriate enough, and quickly changed his words, "What a transcendent German temperament!"

Shubinsky had just arrived at this point in the rehearsal when he suddenly found that the door of the preparation room was pushed open and Arthur led a strange man in.

Shubinsky quickly put on a flattering smile, trotted forward, stood in front of the two men and bowed deeply, his voice low but full of flattery: "Dear Mr. Mendelssohn! It is really an honor to meet you - no, it is an honor for all music lovers tonight that we can welcome a cultural giant like you!"

He deliberately used big words like "cultural giant" to add a touch of elegance, and was even worried that his usual vulgar pronunciation would damage his image.

Heineguli looked at the Russian gendarmerie colonel in front of him strangely. He did not speak first, but cast his gaze at Arthur beside him, as if to question - where did this country bumpkin come from?

Shubinsky turned a blind eye to Heine's strange behavior. He thought that his flattery was not enough, so he continued to talk: "Mr. Mendelssohn, your music is like the sound of nature, and even reminds me of the splendor of our St. Petersburg Opera House - of course, compared with your works, ours are just country tunes..."

He chuckled in a low voice, fearing that any hint of self-boasting in his words would offend Mendelssohn's sensitive identity as an artist.

Arthur finally found an opportunity to speak during Shubinsky's breath: "Sergey, I'm sorry, this is not Mr. Mendelssohn."

"Ah?" Shubinsky was surprised at first, then he straightened his back and asked, "What's wrong with Mr. Mendelssohn? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Well..." Arthur explained, "You should know that musicians usually have some quirks, and Mr. Mendelssohn's quirk is that he hates being disturbed before going on stage. Although I have tried my best, he still insisted on refusing the request to meet him."

"Well, it's true that musicians always have such quirks." Shubinsky said with regret, "Arthur, isn't it the same for you? When I was in London before, I heard from others that you went to the theater to perform every Sunday night, but you stopped seeing guests since early Saturday morning."

"Oh……"

Arthur sighed softly. He didn't expect Shubinsky knew about this.

If there was any benefit to being a musician, this was the greatest.

Somehow, people seem willing to forgive artists their faux pas and transgressions, as if they would be unworthy of their reputation if they weren't eccentrics.

Arthur consoled him, "Although you can't meet Mr. Mendelssohn, the person next to me is equally famous. Please allow me to introduce him to you - Mr. Heinrich Heine."

Shubinsky turned his gaze to Heine. He was stunned for a moment, then he said in a more humble voice: "Oh! So you are Mr. Heine! Your poems are simply the crystallization of human wisdom! I can even say without exaggeration that your poems make a rough man like me appreciate a kind of-"

He racked his brains and finally found a word, "Sublime emotion! Yes, sublime emotion! I have always dreamed that we in Russia could have a great poet like you, who could write such exquisite verses... uh... every word of yours carries a poetic freedom..."

Heine narrowed his eyes. Although he had no idea who the gentleman in front of him was, the two medals on his chest and his thick Russian accent made it clear to Heine that this guy was a person in power in the "Polar Bear Autonomous Territory".

Heine said with a hint of amusement: "Freedom? This is a rare compliment, especially from an official like you."

Shubinsky's heart trembled slightly, but he immediately forced a smile and said vaguely: "Oh, Mr. Heine, you are a great poet. Poets are naturally free! This is what we admire." He hurriedly added, "As long as it does not violate... uh, freedom under social order, you know, hehe. Look, our greatest Russian poet - Pushkin, isn't he living freely in St. Petersburg now, freely composing his poems? By the way, it was our enlightened Emperor Nicholas I who ordered Pushkin's pardon from exile."

Heine looked at the colonel bragging about the emperor while abroad and sighed softly: "Well, sir, Russia's freedom is indeed... very, very unique."

Shubinsky's German language skills were obviously not enough for him to distinguish advanced words like "originality". Instead, he responded more excitedly: "Oh! Thank you for your appreciation of our Russian culture!"

He wanted to think of a few more words of praise, but he had obviously run out of ideas, so he bowed repeatedly with a smile on his face.

Finally, he did not forget to defend Heine: "I think the way Austria and Prussia treated you was unfair. You are such a good person. It is hard to imagine that those indecent poems were written by you. In my opinion, someone must have framed you."

"There aren't many people as sensible as you these days."

Heine raised his hand to say goodbye to Shubinsky. He was worried that if they continued talking, the other party might invite him to Russia.

For Heine, the easternmost limit of his activities was Leipzig. If he went further east, he would be too confident about his life safety.

Heine had just left the lounge, and Shubinsky was still immersed in the excitement of making friends with this poet who was hated by the Austrian Empire. Suddenly, thunderous applause came from the front of the theater, followed by deathly silence.

Just as Shubinsky was wondering, the first note of the Turandot Overture sounded like thunder, and the deep brass and rapid violin sound opened the prelude to this oriental dynasty tragedy. The notes revealed a strong tension, as if telling of the frozen fate and the irresistible wheel of fate.

The entire orchestra performed in unison, producing a powerful and tense sound. The shocking bass sounded like war drums beating on an ancient city wall, creating an atmosphere of majesty and solemnity.

Shubinsky was surprised and said, "Oh my God! Is this Mr. Mendelssohn's latest work? This musical style is simply unprecedented! I thought his new work must be a religious program like "Matthew Passion"."

Immediately afterwards, "Jasmine Flower" sounded as scheduled.

Shubinsky frowned and listened quietly for a moment, then he said without hesitation: "This sounds like a Chinese song!"

Arthur asked in surprise, "Have you heard of it?"

"I haven't heard this song, but I have heard songs of a similar style." Shubinsky said, "Once, I was in charge of escorting exiles to Chita. Occasionally, I would run into some Chinese merchants and laborers in the market in Chita. If you listen carefully, you will find that the tunes of the songs they sing are similar to this song."

Arthur murmured to himself: "Chita..."

Shubinsky thought he didn't know where Chita was, so he introduced it to him enthusiastically: "It's the Trans-Baikal region. Chita is the most important city and military fortress in the region. Of course, it is also one of the most fucked-up places of exile in Russia. You can think of it as the Canada and Australia of the UK."

Arthur asked curiously, "Let's assume that if a diplomat applies, is it possible for him to be allowed to go to Transbaikal?"

"This..." Shubinsky replied half-jokingly: "Oh my God! You are not going to Chita to spy on our military intelligence, are you?"

"What if I don't go to Chita?"

"Not going to Chita? Then what other places are there in Trans-Baikal?" Shubinsky waved his hand. "If you want to be frozen into an ice sculpture in the snowy wilderness, you can walk in the wilderness of Trans-Baikal. Of course, I can't rule out the possibility that there are such weirdos, such as Mr. Alexander von Humboldt."

At this point, Shubinsky suddenly paused, as if he remembered something: "Oh my God! I almost forgot that you are also a natural philosophy researcher like Humboldt. Then I think I can understand why you want to cross the entire Siberia!"

"Mr. Humboldt? The president of the Berlin Academy of Sciences?" Arthur had a good impression of this gentleman who had once attended the European Electromagnetic Conference for the University of Göttingen. "Did he do anything big in Russia?"

Shubinsky felt that this was not valuable information, and it was known to almost everyone in Russia, so he did not hide it from Arthur: "You should know that when Mr. Humboldt was young, he went deep into the tropical rain forest of South America and conducted a five-year scientific expedition there, right?"

Arthur nodded and said, "I know this. Mr. Humboldt's Travels in the Tropical Regions of the New World is one of my friend's favorite books."

Shubinsky continued: "Because Humboldt had made outstanding contributions in this regard, His Majesty the Tsar took the initiative to invite him to visit Russia a few years ago and entrusted him to participate in the geographical survey of the Russian government and conduct scientific investigations in the Far East. In eight months, Humboldt set out from St. Petersburg, passed through Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, crossed the Ural Mountains, entered Siberia, went deep into the Ob River and Irtysh River basins, and reached the Balkhash Lake area near the Chinese border. The journey was more than 15,000 kilometers.

During this expedition, he discovered many unprecedented plants and animals, collected a large amount of data and specimens, and made detailed records of mineral resources, geomagnetic phenomena, and climatic conditions. Not only His Majesty the Tsar, but the whole of Russia was excited about Humboldt's discovery. After the expedition, His Majesty not only agreed to Humboldt's suggestion and established the All-Russian Geomagnetic Observatory in St. Petersburg, but also gave him the highest honor, allowing him to give lectures at all universities in Russia, calling on professors across the country to emulate Humboldt and encourage students to follow Humboldt's example. "

After hearing this, Arthur finally understood what Herzen had mentioned earlier about the "Humboldt's speech at Moscow University incident".

Judging from Shubinsky's description, at least in this matter, the Tsar's original intention was indeed good, but his subordinates turned it into a bureaucratic thing.

Shubinsky encouraged Arthur by saying, "Old friend, you are also a researcher of natural philosophy. Don't you have a great reputation in the field of electromagnetism? Russia has always valued scholars, and this is a tradition. Empress Catherine invited Euler, the Bernoulli brothers, and Goldbach to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences to preside over mathematical work, invited John Schumacher to preside over astronomical work, and summoned Pallas to investigate the Far East. And our current Tsar, he obviously also wants to restore the grandeur of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Although you are British, it does not mean that you cannot work for Russia."

After that, Shubinsky gave an example: "In our gendarmerie, there is a young man of British nationality, Mr. Richard Huett, who has now become a captain of the cavalry. When we planned to recruit him a few years ago, we were a little worried that the nationality issue might cause a conflict between the two countries. So Count Benckendorff wrote a letter to Sir William Turner, the British ambassador to Russia at the time, and emphasized that 'the mission of the gendarmerie is to maintain social stability, not to target Britain'. As a result, no one expected that Sir William Turner replied that according to British law, citizens of the country do not need special permission to join the Russian gendarmerie, and there are no explicit regulations to restrict Richard Huett from joining the gendarmerie. Haha, he doesn't seem to care about it at all."

(End of this chapter)