[Pride and Prejudice] Liz's Little Vest

Friday, July 1811, 11.

The torrential rain that began on Monday in Longbourne showed no signs of abating until today; and London, forty miles away, was also gloomy and depressed, although it did not see rain.

But at this time the Brits outside a clinic at the London School of Medicine were in no mood to talk about the weather.

In Mr. Jenner's letter on Monday, it clearly stated that the vaccinia experiment will be carried out at the medical school at noon four days later.

Most medical scientists and politicians thought he was crazy, because he mentioned the relationship between cowpox and smallpox in the Royal Society of Medicine, but he was ridiculed and criticized.No one believed him.

But now, amidst the criticism, he went one step further and started the experiment directly.

"Will vaccinating people grow horns?"

"People are people, and cows are cows. How can the two be connected?"

"It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous."

……

At eight o'clock on Friday morning, people began to gather at the door of the consulting room to watch the fun and laugh at this pretentious doctor with everyone.

At 11:30, a crowd gathered outside the clinic.

When the clock in the corridor pointed to 11:55, an old man in a white coat stood up and said:

"Gentlemen, in five minutes, the time agreed with us by Mr. Edward Jenner will arrive[5]."

There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.

"Mr. Jenner is not stage fright, is it?"

"Is he kidding us all? I've been waiting four hours to see him laugh."

"Well, I don't think he believes in the crazy stuff he's coming up with either."

The old man suppressed his voice and signaled that it would not be too late for everyone to wait until noon before drawing conclusions.He belongs to the neutral faction and usually has a good relationship with Dr. Jenner, but he doesn't believe in his suggestions.

At 11:59, everyone held their breath.The heart beats heavily with the second hand.

When the clock in the corridor struck 12 o'clock, two figures finally appeared at the end.

It's Mr. Jenner with a young lady.

The beautiful lady was wearing a brown cotton skirt, top hat, ribbon, and belt of the same color, and she looked like a well-born young lady.The style of the clothes doesn't look like people from the city, it should come from a squire family near London.

"Miss Laura, today's subject." Mr. Jenner introduced.

test subject?

A lady from a squire family?crazy...

Everyone looked at the beautiful lady in front of them in disbelief.

This Miss Laura is naturally Elizabeth who followed Jenner and his son to London early in the morning.She and Jenner had previously proposed to conduct the experiment anonymously, and Jenner expressed her understanding, because women always worry about their reputation.

Therefore, she is called Laura now, in order to commemorate her employer in her previous life, Mr. James Laura, who was really brave enough to inoculate vaccinia and conduct smallpox experiments.

"Gentlemen." Elizabeth greeted politely.

The gentlemen laughed at Jenner, but they wouldn't bother a woman, and most of them were still rubbing their eyes in disbelief that such a woman would be a test subject.

After another minute, a few people began to wake up and kindly reminded her to be cautious again and again, because this experiment was very likely to threaten her life.

"But what we are doing right now is to save the lives of millions of people in Europe." Elizabeth gave a perfect answer.

Impeccable.

The Brits present were all stunned by her answer, and they followed Jenner into the consulting room resentfully, and the eyes they looked at "Laura" changed from pure pity and disbelief to pity and admiration.

Elizabeth felt a little embarrassed being looked at by these people.Her self-confidence in doing this is not due to dedication, but because she knows the effect of cowpox and has [-]% confidence!

Although, as she said, this experiment has the potential to save tens of millions of lives in Europe.But human nature is selfish, and not many people are willing to sacrifice themselves to verify a small possibility.

Imagine that if she knew nothing about it in her previous life, she would definitely not dare to try this matter.

So facing such respect from the gentlemen, she felt guilty.

Her face flushed slightly, but the gentlemen couldn't see through what she was thinking, and they took it for granted that it was a normal nervousness of a lady.

"Miss Laura, this is still too dangerous. You can choose to quit now, and we won't blame Mr. Jenner." Kind-hearted people couldn't bear to see such a lady suffer, and persuaded them one after another.

"I believe in medicine." Elizabeth nodded to the man.

"Okay." The man took a step back.Since the lady insisted, there is no need for him to continue to be a good guy and offend everyone.After all, there are plenty of people waiting to see Mr. Jenner's jokes.

At ten past twelve, Elizabeth signaled to Mr. Jenner that she was ready.

Jenner carefully extracted the pus from the milkmaid suffering from cowpox, then gently cut "Laura"'s arm and applied the pus to her wound.

No one in the entire consulting room spoke.

At [-]:[-], the vaccination was completed.

"Brother." A middle-aged doctor patted Mr. Jenner on the shoulder, "Although I don't recognize you, thank you very much for your attempt. Thank you too, Miss Laura, for your dedication to the medical profession."

"Then we'll see you at Christmas," Jenner said, when Christmas was scheduled for the smallpox experiment.

"See you at Christmas."

"Mr. Jenner, I withdraw my previous accusations. You are a brave doctor. Although I am not optimistic about this study, I wish you success."

The person who spoke was a man in his 30s. He was wearing an expensive black velvet suit, which made his stature even more prominent.It's just that the eyes have lost their luster. He should be a blind man with a gloomy expression.

"Thank you for your well wishes, Viscount Bill, and see you at Christmas."

"See you at Christmas."

……

The guests in the consulting room said goodbye one after another. After everyone left, Mr. Jenner bowed deeply to the lady in front of him.

"Miss Elizabeth, thank you for your trust and devotion. I think the pressure on you is probably more than mine."

Well, quite the opposite.

Elizabeth silently thought that she had no pressure, because the historical facts were in front of her.

But of course she couldn't tell him the absurd truth, so she just smiled and said:

"I said I believe in medicine, Mr. Jenner. Needless to say, I just want you to keep it a secret from my family. I don't want them to worry about me."

"Of course."

"I have one more request."

"I will do my best, Miss Elizabeth."

Elizabeth smiled softly: "Let's talk in the carriage, hurry back first, otherwise my sister will be suspicious."

There was some slight redness and swelling where the vaccinia had been inoculated on her hand, but she could easily hide it by covering her sleeves.

The carriage drove out of the gate of the London Medical School, passed through Shadwell Street and Greenfield Street, and the White Church came into view.

it's beautiful.

Elizabeth sighed, in fact, what Darcy said before was not bad, some aspects of the countryside are indeed monotonous.It is impossible to see such a magnificent and magnificent building in Longbourne.

Perhaps her sisters should go out more in the city, to open their eyes, and not just indulge in the militia of Meryton.

The carriage passed Whitechapel, Lehman Street and Fenchurch Street, and the Thames loomed[2].

Mr. Jenner spoke first: "Miss Elizabeth, I guess your request is about your sister?"

"That's right, it's about Manli."

Elizabeth was not surprised by Mr. Jenner's speculation.

In fact, she originally planned to go to London with Jenner and his son alone on this trip, but after seeing Manli obsessed with "Principles of Natural Science" for a week, she changed her plan.

Mary was not at all interested in country life.Especially under the influence of Mr. Jenner Jr., after opening the door to a new world, she even lost her appetite for famous notebooks.

"Why did the apple hit Newton?"

"Why did the lightning strike Franklin?"

"How did Hooke observe the orbits of comets?"

Whenever Mary asked her these questions, Elizabeth felt her nerves begin to fail, and wished that Mr. Jenner would take Mary home immediately.

No, compared to Mr. Jenner's home, Manli would probably prefer to stay at the Royal Society of Physics.

Therefore, when she learned that she would be staying at the home of one of Mr. Jenner's female students, Christine, who also happened to be a physics enthusiast, Elizabeth suggested that Manley go with her on the weekend.

Mr. Jenner has no objection, Manli is very excited, and Mr. Jenner Jr. is not happy on the surface, but secretly happy in his heart.

……

"Mary is very interested in physics."

"Obviously." Jenner laughed.

Elizabeth: "..."

is obvious.

After all, when they arrived in London in the morning, the first thing Elizabeth did when she got out of the carriage was to thank God.

Along the way, Manli and Jenner were noisy, arguing about the application of Newton's three laws, which made her feel as if she had returned to the era of riding a carriage with Collins.

Of course, complaints are nothing but complaints. Elizabeth saw that Manli had found something she was interested in, and she was happy for her from the bottom of her heart, and she was also willing to fight for opportunities for her.

"Miss Manley is very talented," Jenner added.

"You think so?" Elizabeth's eyes lit up.

"I can't say for sure, but at least interest is the best teacher."

While speaking, the carriage crossed the Thames and arrived at the apartment where Ms. Christine lived on Bailey Street.

It was a new two-story brick house, apparently recently extended.It can be seen that Ms. Christine is not rich.

After the door opened, Elizabeth saw a young brown-haired girl, dressed plainly and with a gentle expression.

If Mr. Jenner hadn't told her, she would never have imagined that the weak-looking lady in front of her was actually his proud student, who had a very high talent in medicine and was also a physics enthusiast.

"Miss Christine." Elizabeth greeted.

"Miss Elizabeth, thank you for your help to the teacher." Christine blinked and whispered, "The journey is tiring, and you will feel unwell for a while after the vaccination. You should rest for a while."

"Excuse me, Manli...?"

"Miss Manli and Jenner are reading in the study. Don't worry, I told her that you and your teacher will go to the medical school to meet an elder, and she won't think too much about it."

She will be relieved to keep Manli steady.

Elizabeth said thank you to Christine, and then felt sleepy, and her head felt slightly uncomfortable, like a precursor to a low-grade fever.So I said sorry again, and went to the second floor to rest first.

--

Saturday.

Four consecutive days of torrential rain made the sun rare today.The sun shone brightly on the withered grass, as if it had covered the ground with a layer of gold.

Like a gold prospector, Collins came to Netherfield Manor early and put the letter he had been clutching for a quarter of an hour into the mailbox.Then on the way back, he abandoned the carriage and insisted on walking.

While pacing, while praying.

"Mr. Collins!"

A carriage pulled up beside him, and Collins opened his eyes to see that it was his future brother-in-law.

"Mr. Bingley." There was a smile on his face, and then when he found another passenger in the car, the smile was even more pervasive. "Dear Mr. Darcy!"

"We're getting ready to go to Ben's," said Mr. Bingley.

"Welcome to the humble house." When Collins said this, he consciously substituted himself as the owner of the class house. "It's a pity that Cousin Elizabeth and Cousin Manly left for London yesterday."

"To London?" Darcy was taken aback, subconsciously clenched the light yellow top hat in his hand.

It was the one that Miss Elizabeth had her eye on on Tuesday.

It's a pity that the shopkeeper said that this hat has been reserved by other customers. If you want to buy it, you need to transfer it from the Cleveland head office in London next month, and you may have to add a five pound fee.

Elizabeth was a little disappointed. After struggling for a while, she decided to give up. She didn't choose any other hats, and went home empty-handed.

Mr. Darcy wanted to give the lady a surprise, so when he went to London for business two days ago, he deliberately detoured to the Cleveland main store to buy the top hat.On the way back, he suddenly realized the abruptness of his behavior.

But at the same time, he had to admit that at the beginning of planning the gift, he had been vaguely expecting the lady's reaction when she saw his intention.

There is no reason to take back a gift once it has been bought.It's a pity that just when he made up his mind to continue this abrupt behavior, he was told that Miss Elizabeth was out.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy." Collins reported. "The cousins ​​set out early on Friday morning, and the old lady said they were traveling with Mr. Jenner."

"Going with Mr. Jenner?" Darcy was surprised. Yesterday, Mr. Jenner clearly said that something happened to the Royal College of Medicine. How could this have something to do with Miss Elizabeth?

"Yes, Mr. Darcy. I don't know." Collins answered mechanically.

Darcy did not continue to ask.

"Come on, Darcy. Don't you want to go back to deal with business after going to the class?" Bingley said, "Mr. Collins, do you want to go with us?"

"That's wonderful."

"Wait, Charles." Darcy seemed to have struggled with his thoughts, "I forgot an urgent matter, so I won't go with you."

After finishing speaking, he jumped out of the carriage without waiting for Bingley to stay, looking a little embarrassed from behind.

Fortunately, they had just left the manor, and it took less than 5 minutes to walk back now.

"Dear Mr. Darcy!"

Collins gave up praying and took the carriage together just to flatter Darcy along the way. He is not going now. Who should he say flattering words to?

So Collins also jumped out of the carriage that had just boarded for a few seconds: "Let me go back with you."

"Don't bother."

"It is my honor to accompany you, dear sir. It just so happened that I left a letter to the beautiful Miss Bingley. Now that I think about it, it is better to explain the content of the letter in person, so as to win the lady's favor. "

Darcy paused, rubbing his temples irritably.

"Don't bother."

"No trouble, it's my pleasure, Mr Darcy."

……

Collins' call brought him back from the impulse.

He jumped out of the carriage just now, thinking of going to London to see Miss Elizabeth at once!

God, when will he, who is always rational, be emotional?

The author has something to say:

Thank you, Mo Yuan, for the cute nutrient solution!

Note:

[1].The incident of Elizabeth's vaccination draws on the historical cowpox experiment in 1796, and the narrative is inspired by Chapter 36 of "Around the World in Eighty Days".This kind of experiment definitely violates the IRB today, but in the 1800s human experiments should not have had any ethical review haha.

[2].The place names are compiled by myself based on Google Maps, so I don’t need to verify them~