# A Bottle of Alsace Lorraine explained — Doctor Syn

> Chapter companion for Doctor Syn by Russell Thorndike.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/doctor_syn_se/chapters/v-a-bottle-of-alsace-lorraine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/doctor_syn_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/doctor_syn_se/chapters