shadow of britain

Chapter 747 The Queen's Speech
"Your Majesty dissolved Parliament, and God burned its temple"

Flames devoured the wooden beams, ceilings and the last vestiges of patience for lengthy parliamentary debates at the Palace of Westminster overnight.

When His Majesty the King dismissed Parliament with a wave of his hand three weeks ago, his subjects did not yet understand that this gesture was so portentous that it not only dismissed the members of Parliament, but also took away the palace.

Scotland Yard said the fire was caused by "improper dumping of charcoal residues", while the Senate Bishops said the fire was "God's expression of opinion". It is believed that the theological and police departments are currently competing fiercely for the right of interpretation.

"The King dissolves the House of Commons, God dissolves the House of Lords, and the division of labor between the two is clear"

If the burning of the palace was indeed the work of God, then His target was quite specific: the ceiling of the House of Lords was unrecognisable, and the House of Commons had no permanent home to begin with. In this case, this newspaper has the audacity to propose to the Treasury that Parliament be moved to the Thames, using river water instead of fire-fighting budgets.

"Three questions for London Fire Department: Who lit the fire? Who put it out? Who should be blamed?"

The standard answer from Whitehall is: not sure, don't know, don't understand.

"Three thousand citizens watched the Parliament burn, and only two of them tried to put out the fire"

We can’t put out ignorance, and we can’t put out fires, and unfortunately, the two often go together in the same room. But the good news is that at least most people didn’t vote against a firefighting budget.

"The Palace of Westminster creates stage effects that even West End theatre planners can never match in their lifetime"

It is more ominous than "Macbeth" and more brain-burning than "King Lear". All the props are real and the lighting is impeccable. The only drawback is that the next performance has not yet been scheduled because the theater is still cooling down.

"The fire burned with sincerity for twelve hours, long enough for Mr. Bernie Harrison to sponsor Poland 150 times."

We may have lost the roof of Parliament, but at least we saved Mr Bernie Harrison's "international experience". R.I.P., he didn't have to watch his beloved Parliament finally blush.

Viscount Melbourne: This is the stupidest event of the century

As of press time, this newspaper was unclear whether Viscount Melbourne was referring to last night's fire or the upcoming election.

Buckingham Palace may become the new seat of Parliament? For the first time in history! This is the first time I have seen a king walk into a trap.

Earlier today, at a royal council meeting held at St James's Palace, His Majesty the King proposed an idea that was "both benevolent and economical": Buckingham Palace, which was still in the final stages of renovation, would be temporarily used for meetings of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to resolve the urgent need after the fire.

This proposal shocked everyone present, including the waiter who served the tea and the royal decorator who claimed that he was only responsible for the wallpaper. It is well known that His Majesty served in the Royal Navy in his youth and was accustomed to sharing a cabin with rough sailors. This upbringing may explain why he felt that the MPs could also share a pot of tea and a glass of water with him.

Scotland Yard successfully maintained stability, leaving Parliament in ruins

It is worth mentioning that Scotland Yard was the first administrative force in London to arrive at the correct building door accurately. Amid the chaotic crowds and raging flames, Scotland Yard's performance was a model of professionalism. This group of the most professional police officers in the world not only successfully cleared the streets around the fire scene and arranged for the evacuation of the injured, but also had the spare capacity to coordinate the Horse Guards to help block the passage. This was the only bright spot in the fire scene. No one tried to propose a motion, and no one asked the flames to give way.

"We finally heard a unified voice in Westminster," said an enthusiastic onlooker, "and this time, it didn't come from four or five MPs interrupting each other."

……

The carriage moved slowly along Whitehall Street. Outside the window was the charred street scene after being washed by the fire department. The air still lingered with the smell of charcoal from last night's burning.

The afternoon sun shone through the makeshift tower scaffolding and slanted onto the surviving stone wall of the Palace of Westminster.

This was once the alley between the Middle Nave and the House of Commons Finance Committee, but now only a few Gothic arched windows and some charred and gray wooden beams remain.

Arthur sat opposite, tapping the silver ornament on the end of his cane with his right hand, which was wrapped in bandages to pretend to be "burned".

His eyes turned to Victoria opposite him. Mrs. Letzen was sitting next to the princess. The Hanoverian governess was looking down at her diary.

"Mrs. Letzen, I have written down the famous Latin saying you just said." Victoria said softly, "But I would like to hear Sir Arthur talk about what happened yesterday again. What he says is always as fascinating as Shakespeare's plays."

Arthur, who was sitting opposite him in a blue-black suit, raised his eyes and smiled. He bowed slightly and said, "Since Your Highness regards fire as a literature lesson, I will start with the stage effects."

Arthur said slowly, "Let's start with the cause. It wasn't some horrific arson plot, nor was it a revolutionist seeking revenge on Parliament. On the contrary, it all started with the most British things: accounting audits and furnace ashes. Yesterday, Parliamentary Secretary Richard Wilbury received instructions from Treasury officials to destroy the outdated government accounts during the recess of Parliament.

Mr. Wilbury was an old-fashioned gentleman who never asked for help from others. He did not hand the accounts over to the janitor, but burned them himself. According to him, he first divided the accounts into two piles and threw them into the two heating furnaces in the House of Lords for the nobles to keep warm. Then he got up, closed the door, and left. But these ancient account books burned extremely vigorously in the furnace, even more passionately than the debate in the House of Commons during this session. The furnace of the House of Lords had been in disrepair for many years, and the brick joints had long been loose, so the hot charcoal residue burned through the floor along the chimney and brick joints, and then ignited the wall. "

Victoria opened her mouth slightly. Even though she was just a girl who rarely left Kensington Palace, she still realized how ridiculous this matter was.

She asked, "Isn't there anyone who can stop it?"

"Of course someone tried to stop them." Arthur added slowly, "The wife of the Westminster Palace doorman smelled a strong burning smell. She called her husband and broke open the door that Wilbury had closed. She saw the flames and the burning curtains, tables and chairs. But the bad thing was that after the door was broken open, fresh air was also introduced, which further fueled the fire. So the doorman and his wife ran away, and the fire got out of control. Half an hour later, even Windsor Castle could see the fire rising from Westminster Palace. Scotland Yard also tried its best to mobilize manpower, and the fire brigade from the nearby police district was the first to arrive at the scene in time. But unfortunately, the officers of Scotland Yard found that there were only two manual water pumps in front of the huge Westminster Palace. And when the London Fire Department connected the water hose to the Thames, they found that the Thames was in the dry season in October."

At this point, Arthur cast his eyes towards the "spectacular" scene outside the window: "So, as you can see, the House of Lords was completely burned down, St. Stephen's Church where the House of Commons is located was also burned down, and the Speaker's residence was also not spared. Fortunately, Westminster Abbey escaped the disaster, but I have to be honest, this was somewhat due to luck, because the night wind direction was not blowing towards it last night."

When Victoria heard this, she couldn't help but exclaimed softly, "It seems that even God can't stand it anymore."

Arthur smiled when he heard this: "The MPs really should thank God."

"Isn't it the Bishop of Westminster who should thank God?" asked Victoria. "The place where the MPs met was burned down."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said, "If it's burned down, it can be rebuilt. Maybe they have been thinking about moving to a new place for meetings for a long time. Besides, if you ask me what part of this disaster is most worth writing into the script, it's not the fire or the fire fighting, but the process of the parliament repeatedly rejecting the fire budget for many years."

As Arthur spoke, he tapped the inside of the carriage with his cane and pointed to a heartbroken old man who was paying his respects among the ruins of Westminster Palace. "Do you know that old gentleman?" he asked.

"Who is he?"

"Mr. William Manby, of the Royal Society."

Arthur spread his hands slightly exaggeratedly and said, "A visionary inventor, a glorious retired army captain. But Mr. Manby is different from ordinary soldiers. He doesn't like to kill people on the battlefield, but likes to save people. Thirty years ago, he was stationed at the Great Yarmouth Barracks on the seashore, and he could see warships and merchant ships passing by on the sea every day. You know, the climate at sea is sometimes very bad. Once encountering extreme weather such as storms, it is usually difficult for crew members to escape.

So, the compassionate Mr. Manby designed a marine life-saving device, which used a mortar to fire a shell carrying a rope from the shore to the ship, and relied on this strong rope to pull the sunken ship ashore. Later, he designed a trouser-shaped life preserver and a lifeboat. You may have heard of the Royal Lifeboat Institution, which was founded by Mr. Manby. "

Victoria nodded in confusion. "It sounds like Mr. Manby is indeed a commendable gentleman, but what does he have to do with the fire?"

Arthur smiled and replied, "Remember the portable fire extinguisher I introduced in the natural philosophy class this morning?"

"You mean the four-gallon copper jug ​​you brought? It contained, as I recall, three gallons of pearl ash solution and compressed air."

"Yes, that fire extinguisher was also invented by Mr. Manby." Arthur recounted the whole story. "In the past 14 years, Mr. Manby has come to the door of Parliament almost every year to petition, calling on the members to build large water storage stations to solve the problem of fire water sources, and to set up a fire police organization to prevent fires before they happen. But not even one member of Parliament has ever paid attention to this old man who shouted at the top of his lungs. No matter whether it was the members of Parliament or the Mayor of London, they all started to play dumb when money was mentioned. They always thought that Mr. Manby was a salesman selling fire extinguishers and fire patrol cars."

Victoria couldn't help but get angry when she heard this: "The books always say that Parliament is the place in this country that can best accommodate the future. I didn't expect it to be unable to hold even a few buckets of water. This is clearly a matter of life and death!"

"That's why..." Arthur nodded slightly, "That's why I dare to suggest that Your Highness might make some adjustments to the speech at the upcoming commemorative event."

As he spoke, he took out Victoria's homework from the leather bag he carried with him. The first speech that Victoria had spent two hours to complete was already densely covered with various revision suggestions.

Victoria took the manuscript and carefully opened the title page.

If it was just Arthur's corrections, Victoria might not have been so nervous, but Arthur had told her before that in order to make this speech perfect, not only Arthur, but also Alfred Tennyson, the most outstanding young poet in the British literary world, would strictly review it with the same attitude as he treated the manuscript of "The Englishman".

Victoria saw that the beginning of the manuscript was written in bright red ink - this was not only a condolence for Officer Robert Carley, but also a blessing to the police officers who had always been loyal to their duties in the Westminster fire, the Cold Bath incident, and in all other critical moments.

"Did you write this?"

Arthur looked at Victoria's slightly raised eyebrows, smiled and shook his head in denial: "Tennyson wrote it."

Victoria continued reading: "While many people were loudly arguing about the future of the country, some people were silently guarding the present in the flames. Officer Robert Cali was not a man who shouted slogans in the council chamber, but a man who always chose to stay on the streets, in the coal smoke, and at every moment when he could have turned around and fled."

"This is my embellishment." Arthur reached out and flattened the corner of Victoria's manuscript: "Based on your original sentence structure."

Victoria stared at the words for a long while before she asked hesitantly, "Sir, are these words... too intense?"

She was obviously thinking of her mother's teachings. Although the Duchess of Kent has always held Whig positions, her expectation for her daughter is to try not to make too many controversial remarks.

Even though the Duchess of Kent disliked the Tories, she did not think that such an attitude should be expressed by Victoria. The same was true for the Whigs.

However, Arthur didn't think so. He smiled gently and said, "Your Highness, you must understand that there are two kinds of words in this world. One is spoken to the ears. The other is written into the heart. If you want the officers of Scotland Yard to remember this speech thirty years later, it cannot be just decent, but must have weight."

He paused and pointed to the last paragraph of the manuscript: "You wrote 'May he rest in peace' at the end, but I suggest changing it to 'May his name not be forgotten'. This is not just for him, but for all those who see you as the future. Those names who may not have titles or votes, but stand in front of us in every crisis. Your Highness, all of us, everyone at Scotland Yard, regard you not as the Crown Prince, but as the Queen."

Victoria stared at Arthur, and suddenly remembered her fear and dissatisfaction with her mother and Conroy.

After a long moment, the teenage girl nodded slightly and said, "I will change it, if this is what you expect of the queen."

(End of this chapter)