Barnaby Rudge · Chapter
Chapter 61 explained
On the same night, Mr.
What happens
On the same night, Mr. Haredale, with the sexton's help, binds his prisoner and transports him to Chigwell, seeking a conveyance to London. The villagers, fearing the rioters' vengeance, refuse to assist, but a postboy helps harness the chaise. They travel through the night, encountering Catholic families fleeing the city and hearing of the panic that prevents them from hiring transport. They reach the Mansion House, where a portly old gentleman pleads with the Lord Mayor for protection, but the Lord Mayor offers only an alderman. Haredale then takes the prisoner to Sir John Fielding, who commits him to Newgate. Haredale watches the prisoner be chained and locked away, then feels the weight of anxiety for those left behind.
Themes in this chapter
Guilt and Retribution
Mr. Haredale's relentless pursuit of the murderer and his satisfaction in seeing him imprisoned reflect the theme of retribution.
Social Injustice and Class
The Catholic families' helplessness and the Lord Mayor's dismissive attitude highlight the social injustices faced by the marginalized.
Mob Violence and Chaos
The threat of the mob and the panic it causes pervade the chapter, affecting even the authorities' ability to act.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Geoffrey Haredale
Conducts the prisoner to London, seeks justice, and secures his committal to Newgate.
- Solomon Daisy
Assists Mr. Haredale in binding and transporting the prisoner.
- The Blind Man
Not present in this chapter; no check-in.
Key passages
“On that same night—events so crowd upon each other in convulsed and distracted times, that more than the stirring incidents of a whole life often become compressed into the compass of four-and-twenty hours—on that same night, Mr. Haredale, having strongly bound his prisoner, with the assistance of the sexton, and forced him to mount his horse, conducted him to Chigwell;”
That very night, amid the chaos of the times, Mr. Haredale, with the sexton's help, tied up his prisoner and made him ride to Chigwell.
Highlights the urgency and compression of events during the riots.
“The consternation was so extreme that even the horses which had escaped the flames at the Warren, could find no friends to shelter them.”
The panic was so great that even the horses that had fled the fire at the Warren found no one willing to take them in.
Illustrates the widespread fear and lack of aid.
“But not a man among them dared to help him by so much as the motion of a finger.”
Not a single man among them was brave enough to offer even the slightest help.
Shows the villagers' terror of the rioters' threats.