The Shadow of Great Britain

462: Chapter 254 London Focuses on You (6K4) 462: Chapter 254 London Focuses on You (6K4) Deep in autumn, London rarely sees the sun early, and by evening, the twinkling stars can faintly be seen behind the night sky’s curtain of clouds.

Under the bright moonlight, the newly installed kerosene streetlamps along the roads were lit one by one, bidding a permanent goodbye to the pitch-black nights where one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face, and the shining city that never sleeps was no longer exclusive to Halloween, nor were the brightly lit streets merely for guiding the reawakened spirits away from this city.

Outside the Astley Circular Theatre, built in imitation of the ancient Roman Colosseum and partially open-air, the streets were bustling with activity.

Carriage drivers could be seen on the roads, waving their whips, as well as proper gentlemen escorting either their own wives or someone else’s.

However, just for tonight, it might be that most couples were in non-marital relationships.

Because it happened to be Halloween, whether it was due to tradition or to cover up the private nature of men and women’s relationships, almost everyone was wearing half-masks that covered the upper part of their faces.

The masks were of various styles, with a plethora of colors and patterns.

Some couples chose to dress up as Nelson and his mistress Lady Hamilton, others enacted the love story of Tristan and Isolde, and still others were more daring, portraying Shakespeare’s classics—Romeo and Juliet.

Of course, among the couples there were also many who pursued fashion and novelty.

For the evening, some gentlemen chose to dress in Scotland Yard police uniforms, while their companions wore red dresses and carried beige parasols.

If one was a reader of “British” magazine, they would definitely recognize that they were imitating the protagonists, Mr.

Hastings and his assistant Miss Helen from the “Hastings Case Files”.

Of course, there were also those dressed as other bestselling characters from “British” magazine, such as Mr.

Pickwick, the Count of Monte Cristo, the Young Duke, and even Robin Hood could occasionally be spotted on the streets.

Regrettably, perhaps due to the difficulty of imitation, Darwin’s science popularization work “Monkey’s Story” sadly lost out in the Halloween mask competition.

After all, the most accurate impersonator, Mr.

Eld Carter, was currently adrift in the seas near Argentina on a fantastical voyage.

Although Mr.

Carter’s absence somewhat diluted the festive atmosphere of Halloween, the pumpkin lanterns hung outside the street shops still added a lot to the ambiance of tonight’s performance.

Following the shopkeepers’ instructions, their assistants busily displayed their best-selling goods outside the shops, loudly hawking to attract customers.

The sweepers, who made their living by clearing horse dung and cleaning carriage paths for ladies and mistresses, also seized this business opportunity.

Thanks to the numerous masquerade balls and various salons being held all over London tonight, they no longer had to squabble over a single job, turning red in the face and coming to blows.

There were enough carriages tonight for everyone to have a share of the work.

Although there were many evening parties in London tonight, and all the theatres brought out their special programmes prepared for the Halloween night to try to get ahead in the increasingly competitive fight amongst London’s leading theatres, none of this diminished the attention on the Astley Circular Theatre’s show.

Thanks to advertisements in London’s major newspapers, residents knew the Astley Theatre’s programme for the night weeks in advance.

Even the most sophisticated British gentlemen, accustomed to the most topical performances, couldn’t help but be drawn by their show lineup.

Under the same moonlit sky, in the backstage resting room of the Astley Theatre, Arthur placed a biscuit into his mouth and picked up his cup of tea.

In his other hand, he was holding a newspaper.

With a gentle flick of his arm, headlines suddenly came into his view.

“The Count of Monte Cristo and The Pickwick Papers have officially authorized stage adaptations”

Alexander Dumas: “Although I have achieved unprecedented success in the genre of fashion novels, let us not forget I started off writing plays.

The script for The Count of Monte Cristo is also penned by me, and I guarantee its quality is no less than my earlier work Henry III and His Courts.”

Charles Dickens: “Although The Pickwick Papers is not yet finished, I believe the content so far is enough for the first act.

Just like Alexander said, bringing one’s own work to the theatre stage is truly exciting.

I think the Astley Theatre has the best stage settings and professional actors, and I am very happy to be able to collaborate with them.

Finally, I wish the audience a perfect premiere on Halloween night and hope you have a great time!”

“London Philharmonic Society announces Halloween schedule, pianist and conductor Mr.

Arthur Hastings of the second orchestra to aid Astley Theatre”

“It is believed Mr.

Hastings will release several new personal compositions on Halloween day, and music connoisseurs who appreciate Hastings’ style should not miss out.”

In an interview, Mr.

Jacob Mendelssohn, member of the London Philharmonic Society and celebrated pianist, commented: “I know there is a lot of criticism in Britain about Arthur at the moment.

They say that Arthur only has one piece a year, other than ‘The Bell’, he plays nothing else.

Everyone is guessing whether the Muse’s affection for him has entirely run out?

I have had such doubts too, and as his friend, I was quite worried about him.”