He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 212

212. Finding Luke Howard

April 1798.

The cold winter passed, and a warm spring arrived.

The sluggish London sewer network construction project resumed as planned with sufficient funding.

Thanks to this, the stench on the streets of London had largely disappeared, earning positive feedback from the citizens.

Every week, Tae-oh visited the site and closely checked the construction’s progress.

‘At this rate, we should finish construction well before the expected London Great Flood next year. Thankfully.’

***

Amidst being incredibly busy with sewer maintenance and marriage agency operations, Tae-oh constantly tried to find someone whenever he had time.

The person Tae-oh was looking for was Luke Howard, whom he knew from the 21st century.

Finding this man, credited with providing the foundation for modern meteorology, was crucial to preparing for the London Great Flood.

However, Luke Howard, who seemed easy to find, turned out to be much more difficult to locate in the 18th century than expected.

In an era without a proper resident registration system, finding an address with just a name was nearly impossible.

Even at the ‘Askesian Society,’ a scientific gathering he supposedly attended, no one knew his home address.

Moreover, the gathering itself was irregular, making Luke Howard’s attendance uncertain.

After many twists and turns, he was fortunately able to find out where he was currently working through a magazine called *The Gentleman’s Magazine*.

◈ London, Fleet Street.

‘It seems I was looking too far… he was really working right nearby.’

Tae-oh stood on Fleet Street, holding the address of Mr. Howard’s workplace obtained from the magazine.

Looking around, Tae-oh soon found the place where he worked.

‘Next to the brick house… oh, yes… judging by the apothecary’s carriage parked there, I seem to have come to the right place.’

The carriage in front of the small shop had the symbols of an apothecary [a person who prepares and sells medicines], a mortar and pestle.

Clunk-

As he opened the door of the shop, the unique, strong scent of dried herbs and various medicinal ingredients tickled his nose.

Tae-oh looked around the shop.

An old wooden counter was located directly in front of the entrance, with a brass scale equipped with weights on top of it.

Behind the counter, dried medicinal herbs and various pharmaceutical equipment were neatly organized, reflecting the owner’s personality.

The shop was divided into two rooms, one for greeting customers, and an inner room appearing to be the space where the apothecary prepared medicines.

Clatter-thud-crush-

The sound of grinding and crushing something had been leaking from the inner room for a while.

“Is the owner here?”

Tae-oh raised his voice, and the sound stopped. Soon, a young man emerged.

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. How may I help you?”

Somewhat sunken and hollow eyes, a sharp nose, and a calm, intelligent gaze.

His appearance was similar to the portrait of Luke Howard seen in 21st-century history books.

“Are you, by any chance, Mr. Luke Howard?”

Upon hearing his exact name, Howard realized that he was not a customer and showed a wary look.

“Yes, I am… Who are you?”

“Haha, I see. Pleased to meet you. My name is Theo Sanderson.”

His eyes widened at the name.

“Could you possibly be… Earl Theo Sanderson?”

Tae-oh smiled and replied to his question.

“I don’t know if I’m the person you’re thinking of, but it’s true that I am Earl Theo Sanderson.”

“What? Really? Are you the Earl Sanderson who survived the shipwreck recently?”

“Ah, yes. Then it seems I am definitely the one. Haha.”

***

While drinking the herbal tea that Howard brought out, Tae-oh explained why he had come.

“…Ah, so you saw the article I contributed to *The Gentleman’s Magazine* and were intrigued enough to come and find me?”

“Yes, that’s right. Since the appearance of an unfamiliar grayish fog in England, strangely hot and humid air has frequently appeared, and despite the persistence of abnormal climate phenomena, I deeply sympathized with the content that expressed frustration with the scientific community’s failure to provide a clear explanation.

And I couldn’t help but be impressed when you connected the surge in respiratory patients, called ‘black fever,’ to the abnormal climate and explained its cause.”

Howard was very embarrassed by Tae-oh’s praise.

“No, it’s too much praise. I merely looked into the cause. I haven’t even come up with any special measures for it.”

Tae-oh shook his head and said.

“The ability to examine the exact cause is the most important thing. Only when you know the cause and can assess the changes can you find appropriate countermeasures.

By the way, I noticed that you briefly touched on clouds and the formation of rain. Could you explain that content in more detail?”

“Ah, you’re referring to the part that was briefly described at the end due to space constraints. Actually, regarding the relationship between clouds and rain…”

Although he had a somewhat introverted personality, Howard’s scientific knowledge and depth were so precise and profound that it was hard to believe he was an 18th-century person.

In particular, his stories about cloud formation, weather processes, and the chemical composition of rain were so detailed that they surprised Tae-oh, who had studied torrential rain with 21st-century science.

Howard, who had been passionately explaining for a while, couldn’t hide his apologetic expression at the loud church bells.

“Oh dear, has time already passed this much? I seem to have committed a great discourtesy by talking about boring things in front of the Earl, whom I’m meeting for the first time.”

“No, not at all. They were truly informative and interesting stories.”

Howard scratched his head and felt embarrassed.

“I’m very relieved if you think so. Actually, my wife always warns me. She tells me never to bring up natural phenomena like clouds or rain in front of other people. Haha.”

Tae-oh, who was laughing with him, cautiously brought up the main point.

“Actually, the reason I came all the way here is not just because of my interest in your article.”

“It’s because I desperately need Mr. Howard’s knowledge and passion, as you mentioned.”

Howard looked back with an expression that he didn’t understand what it meant.

“Yes? My knowledge and passion are needed…?”

“As Mr. Howard revealed in his magazine article, many countries in Europe, including England, are experiencing significant material and human losses due to unprecedented weather anomalies.

And I believe that this problem is not a one-time event but a natural disaster that can continue to repeat itself in the future.

Of course, it is impossible to completely prevent natural disasters with the insignificant power of humans, but I believe that if we know in advance and prepare, we can minimize the damage.

For these reasons, I am here today to make an important proposal to Mr. Howard.”

Howard listened intently to Tae-oh’s story, holding his breath.

“I have repeatedly told His Majesty the King that an independent national institution is needed to predict such large natural disasters.

Thankfully, His Majesty, who is very interested in science, said that he would establish it immediately if there was a suitable person.

So, under the order of His Majesty the King, we are planning to establish a national institution called the ‘London Royal Meteorological Institute,’ and I am here to recommend Mr. ‘Luke Howard’ as its first director.”

Howard simply blinked his eyes at the completely unexpected offer.

“No… what… what…?”

“Please take the position of director of the Royal Meteorological Institute, Mr. Howard.”

“…Yes? What qualifications do I, someone like me, have to take on such a great position…?”

“What do you mean you don’t have the qualifications? After talking to you, it’s clear that you have more than enough qualifications.”

Howard stared at Tae-oh with dazed eyes for a long time, and suddenly the area around his eyes turned red.

He quickly lowered his head, as if he was ashamed of himself.

Since he was young, he had an extraordinary interest in the sky and the weather, but he had to choose the path of an apothecary according to his father’s wishes, a profession he was not very interested in.

And after a difficult apprenticeship, he finally became an apothecary and succeeded in setting up a business in London.

However, his heart was still filled with passion for clouds and meteorology.

Howard would study clouds and explore the principles of air pollution and the chemical composition of rain whenever he had time after work, gradually fulfilling his desire for weather analysis.

To Howard, Tae-oh’s proposal was something he could only imagine in his dreams.

But the fact that something he had always imagined was becoming a reality made him feel overwhelmed without realizing it.

Tae-oh, who read Howard’s emotions, added encouragement to him, who was bowing his head without saying anything.

“I know you have various concerns because of your current job, but I really hope you will do this. If you agree to take on the role, you will have the full support of the country, and I will personally become a strong supporter.

Then you will be able to do all the research you wanted to do without worrying about money, and above all, it will be a job that can help and give hope to many people through the power of science, so I hope you will not hesitate too long and accept it.”

◈ Windsor Castle, King’s Presence Chamber.

18th-century England was an era that valued and fostered science as an important foundation for national development.

In particular, George III was a monarch who showed more interest in science than previous kings.

King George summoned George Adams, a talented maker of scientific experimental tools at the time, to create scientific instruments that played an important role in modern scientific history and had them stored in the royal gallery. He also showed extraordinary passion for science by setting up a separate scientific laboratory in the ‘Kew’ area in western London.

The ‘Royal Society of London,’ an official scientific organization founded in the early 17th century, was able to make remarkable progress thanks to the active support of George III.

Because George III had so much interest in science, ‘Luke Howard,’ whom Tae-oh brought and introduced, could not help but receive a great welcome.

“…Therefore, the movement or shape of clouds can be an important means of predicting the weather, Your Majesty.”

Even with Luke Howard’s long explanation, George III listened to the end without getting bored at all.

“Hahaha, indeed! I never knew there was so much meaning in floating clouds. It wasn’t just a simple mass of water droplets.

Yes, yes. Then, as Earl Sanderson said, we can observe them well, find out the weather in advance, and warn of danger.

If we know the weather when doing important work, we can prevent losses that would not have occurred otherwise, so how great a guide would it be for many people?”

Tae-oh nodded and said.

“That is correct, Your Majesty. Even if we cannot predict the weather very accurately, if we can warn of major changes, I believe we can prevent large-scale damage as well as economic benefits.

Therefore, as I mentioned last time, I would like to create a ‘London Royal Meteorological Institute’ of a different form from the Radcliffe Observatory [an astronomical observatory] currently located at Oxford University and establish an independent institution specialized in meteorology as soon as possible.”

The Radcliffe Observatory was one of the most modern observatories in Europe at this time.

This observatory was equipped with various astronomical observation equipment such as large refracting telescopes, reflecting telescopes, and solar telescopes, and became the center of British astronomy in the early 19th century.

In particular, from 1813, it recorded daily weather observations, including temperature, and is considered the beginning of the modern UK Meteorological Office.

However, Tae-oh wanted to create a Royal Meteorological Institute specialized for the upcoming weather disasters and climate predictions, including the London Great Flood in a year.

So, he wanted to invest in this and train talents related to meteorology at the Theo School, and King George willingly participated in this and promised to provide support and sponsorship.

“Earl Sanderson, I will tell the minister in charge of my science department to quickly raise a concrete plan to create the Royal Meteorological Institute with Luke Howard as its head so that it can be established as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will carry out your orders.”

Howard, who had been very nervous since morning at the thought of meeting King George, finally smiled brightly.

July 1798.

The ‘London Royal Meteorological Institute,’ which did not exist in future history, was founded in London, and Luke Howard was selected as its first director.

With this, the last puzzle to prevent the tragedy of the ‘London Great Flood,’ which took the lives of Princess Maria and countless London citizens, was also completed.