That winter, London was as gray and cold as ever. Smoke hovered over the Thames River, the gas lamps on the street cast semi-transparent halos, and the palace curtains were always half-drawn to keep its secrets from prying eyes.
In the office of the University of London, Arthur Hastings smoked alone.
The gunfire beneath the Tower of London, the despondency when exiled to Hanover, the frantic flight during the service in Russia, all were now fleeting memories.
In the vile, exceedingly mundane world of politics, it's not always a bad thing to occasionally stand on the sidelines. For oftentimes, it is only then that a politician can observe the conflicts of various forces with detachment and examine the world from a fresh perspective, weighing pros and cons. Therefore, amidst the ups and downs of the political scene, there's nothing more fortunate than a temporary setback.
