Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 256 It's all about fate!
In early July, there were still two weeks before "A Study in Scarlet" began its serialization in "Good Words".

Lionel finally completed all his studies at the Sorbonne and passed his graduation exams with passing written and excellent oral exam scores.

The university system in this era was three years, and students did not need to submit a graduation thesis—that was something only doctoral students needed.

The process was rather uneventful, with no dramatic events occurring.

After the Christmas holidays, Sofia, this young lady, almost never came to the Sorbonne to "sit in" anymore, instead focusing all her energy on socializing.

Her loyal follower, Louis Alphonse, also became much more discreet, hiding in a corner every day, afraid that Lionel or Albert would notice him.

Dean Henry Patan strongly urged Lionel to continue his studies, but Lionel had already decided to take a long vacation.

The past year of juggling writing and academics has left him exhausted, and recently he has been spending two days every weekend at "Charpentier's Bookshelf".

"Two Children's Travelogue in France" achieved an "overwhelming victory" in the selection committee of the "French Reader" and was officially established as a primary reading material for upper elementary school students.

The selections of other authors are all "supplementary selections," including Lionel's "My Uncle Jules."

Georges Charpentier had already assembled the writing team for the "Montier Secrets," and Lionel spent his weekends on training tasks such as explaining exam points and establishing the format.

So by the time the graduation exams were over, he was numb and didn't want to touch anything that required thinking.

Although "A Study in Scarlet" is not very long, it was long enough for a bi-monthly magazine like "Good Words" to run until Christmas.

Although Le Parisien and Life Moderne are eagerly anticipating his new work, according to his agreement with Good Words, both newspapers will not be able to begin reprinting it until September.

He had a longer-standing relationship with Paul Pigut and George Charpentier, but the payment offered by editor Norman McLeod was more generous!
After receiving his Sorbonne diploma, Lionel seemed to have shed all his burdens and went straight to bed as soon as he got back to his apartment.

Lionel didn't wake up until noon the next day.

After having brunch prepared by Petit, Lionel began to open the letters, and his attention was soon drawn to a letter from Pierre Curie.

In his letter, Pierre Curie indicated that the modifications to the typewriter and bicycle had yielded initial results and invited Lionel to come and see them when he had time.

Lionel, who was looking for something to do, immediately announced after reading the letter: "This weekend, we're going to Montmartre!"

The workshop that "Delacroix & Co." rented for them was right there.

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The summer sun generously bathed the streets of Montmartre, where the air was thick with the smells of paint, sawdust, metal, and cheap tobacco.

The residents here are mainly artists, craftsmen, workers, and small vendors.

Nearby are small factories and workshops of all sizes, lined up one after another; in the distance is the construction site of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, with scaffolding everywhere.

The church's magnificent white dome is still under construction, creating a striking contrast with the surrounding secular life.

It seems even more ironic when you consider who it was built for.

As Lionel's rented carriage passed by, the accompanying notary, Monsieur Delacroix, suddenly remarked, "Parliament may grant an amnesty this year..."

Lionel looked up at the serious, upright man and asked, "Amnesty? For those exiled commune members?"

Mr. Delacroix replied, "The proposal is already under discussion, but it remains to be seen how many people will be able to return from 'New Caledonia'."

Lionel turned to look out the window: "I hope this is a real amnesty, and that they should all return to their homeland."

Mr. Delacroix was somewhat surprised: "You... are their sympathizers?"

Lionel remained noncommittal and did not answer the question. Instead, he pointed to the Montmartre Cemetery they had just passed by outside the window: "I heard that 'La Dame aux Camélias' is buried there?"

Mr. Delacroix did not press further, but nodded: "Yes, 'Plessy' is buried here—the workshop is just past the cemetery."

Sure enough, not far after the carriage passed the cemetery, they saw a row of handicraft workshops, and Pierre Curie was waiting for them at the door of one of them.

This used to be a small furniture factory. The "Delacroix firm" rented a warehouse from them and had access to any of the tools in the workshop.

Stepping into the workshop's warehouse, a wave of heat mixed with the smells of machine oil, metal, fresh wood chips, and a faint kerosene wafted towards you.

Files, pliers, wrenches, saws, hand drills... were scattered on the large workbench or hung on wooden boards on the wall. In the corners were piles of angle iron, brass, rubber of different thicknesses, buckets of glue, and wood.

Several unfinished parts were scattered to the side, and some structural and calculation drafts were scribbled on the blackboard on the wall.

Henri Poincaré, wearing only a shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, greeted Lionel with a hug: "Mr. Sorel, congratulations on your graduation!"

Lionel asked impatiently, "Where are the results? I can't wait to see them!"

Poincaré led the group to one side of the workshop, where two objects were covered with a clean canvas.

The first thing to be revealed was the completely modified typewriter, which was no longer recognizable as the original Remington No. 2.

The original iron outer shell was removed, revealing the complex internal mechanical structure.

Pierre Curie proudly began his presentation: "As you can see, Léon, based on your sketches and suggestions, we have solved the problem of 'visible typing'!"

He pointed to the intricate levers and linkages inside the machine: "We replaced all the wooden letter bars with thinner, more delicate metal letter bars."

Look at their structure—

He gently pressed a button, and the corresponding metal bar traced an elegant arc, with the hammer at the top striking the paper roll with a "snap"—the paper roll had been moved to the top.

Henri Poincaré proudly introduced it: "We call it the 'up-strike' typeholder!"

He pointed to the clear letter that had just appeared on the white paper: "Now you can see every character clearly without taking your eyes off the paper."

Pierre added, "Thanks to the use of a slimmer metal keypad, we were able to successfully increase the number of buttons..."

Lionel leaned closer and saw the familiar special character keys, and the positions of A and Q, Z and W had been swapped, which was more in line with the habits of French input.

Pierre Curie sat down at the completely modified typewriter and began to type.

A famous quote from Victor Hugo appeared on the paper: "Man is not born to drag chains, but to spread his wings."

However, the letters were not aligned vertically, the ink was uneven, and the problem even got stuck twice. It took the two of them quite a while to fix it.

Alice was the most excited: "This is amazing! Now I don't have to take the paper out to check anymore!"

Mr. Delacroix offered a suggestion: "Once the drawings are finalized, a sewing machine factory or a piano factory can be asked to produce samples on your behalf."

Pierre Curie enthusiastically called out to everyone, "Alright, now that we've seen the typewriter, let's take a look at another 'big toy'!"

As he spoke, he lifted another canvas, revealing a bicycle that had undergone extensive modifications!
Before Pierre Curie could even begin his introduction, a timid child's voice rang out from the warehouse doorway: "Good morning, Mr. Curie..."

Everyone turned to look and saw that it was a boy who was eight or nine years old.

Pierre Curie beckoned to the boy: "Don't be afraid, come here!"

He then turned to the others and introduced them: "He lives right next door. His father is a building surveyor who works near the cathedral."

Henri Poincaré patted Paul on the head: "Paul is very smart and interested in these things. He comes here to help out whenever he has free time these past few months."

Seeing so many strangers, the boy became a little shy and leaned against Pierre Curie: "Good morning, gentlemen and ladies."

I am Paul, Paul Langevin…

Lionel: "..." What a twisted fate!
Pierre Curie burst out laughing: "Paul, why have you suddenly become so shy?"

"Didn't you say last time that you wanted to get into the Sorbonne and be my student? Where did that enthusiasm go?"

Lionel crouched down and said earnestly to Paul Langevin, "Paul, listen to me, being a student of Mr. Poincaré isn't so bad after all..."

Pierre Curie was displeased: "Hey, Leon, what do you mean?"
Paul must be my student! No one can take him from me!

Lionel could only stand up and pat Pierre Curie on the shoulder: "Pierre, you chose this yourself..."

　We've finally reached this scene. The entire "improvement and invention" subplot was all built around this moment...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)