Doctor Syn · Chapter
A Bottle of Alsace Lorraine explained
Captain Collyer and his men cause a disturbance at the Ship Inn.
What happens
Captain Collyer and his men cause a disturbance at the Ship Inn. Mipps threatens to report them to the squire. The captain requests a bottle of Alsace Lorraine wine, which the landlady does not have. He then examines the kitchen and discovers a hidden trapdoor leading to a wine cellar, where a bottle labeled 'Alsace Lorraine, White, Rare 500' is found. Mipps is caught eavesdropping again.
Themes in this chapter
Law and Outlawry
Captain Collyer's search for smuggled goods and Mipps's threats to report him highlight the tension between lawful authority and illicit trade.
Supernatural and the Uncanny
The mute, earless mulatto cook with a cut-out tongue and his eerie, spider-like search of the room evoke a sense of the uncanny.
Characters to notice
- Captain Collyer
Leads the King's Men, orders a bottle of Alsace Lorraine, and discovers the hidden trapdoor.
- Mipps
Threatens to report the captain to the squire and is caught eavesdropping twice.
- Mrs. Waggetts
Landlady of the Ship Inn, unable to provide the requested wine.
- Jerry Jerk
Young Jerk reacts with horror at the idea of sailors in the church and is warned by the captain.
- Job Mallet
Bo'sun who assists in the search and discovers the wine cellar.
Key passages
“You’re a fine fellow to come lookin’ for smuggling, with a gang o’ blasphemous scoundrels wot kick up more to-do than the Tower of Babel.”
Mipps accuses the captain of hypocrisy for seeking smugglers while his own men cause chaos.
Mipps confronts Captain Collyer about the disorder caused by his crew.
“I have a fancy to try a bottle of Alsatian. Yes, a white wine from Alsace Lorraine.”
The captain expresses a specific desire for a rare white wine from the Alsace region.
Captain Collyer requests a wine that is not commonly available in the area.
“There’s a wine-cellar down there the size of an admiral’s cabin.”
The bo'sun reports finding a large hidden wine cellar beneath the kitchen.
Job Mallet discovers the concealed cellar after the mulatto finds a trapdoor.