Doctor Syn · Chapter
Doctor Syn Takes Cold explained
The King's men arrive in Dymchurch and are marched to the courthouse, where Captain Howard Collyer meets Squire Sir Antony Cobtree.
What happens
The King's men arrive in Dymchurch and are marched to the courthouse, where Captain Howard Collyer meets Squire Sir Antony Cobtree. The squire dismisses the notion of smuggling on Romney Marsh, attributing local troubles to superstitions about witches. Doctor Syn is present in the library and engages with the captain. Later, as the sailors settle into the vicarage barn, Syn becomes disturbed by the sight of a mulatto sailor, Bill Spiker's companion, and shivers violently in the cold fog.
Themes in this chapter
Law and Outlawry
Captain Collyer's mission to 'hang every smuggler on Romney Marsh' contrasts with the squire's denial of smuggling, highlighting tensions between official law and local realities.
Supernatural and the Uncanny
The squire discusses local beliefs in Marsh witches and ghosts, while Doctor Syn's unexplained reaction to the mulatto sailor introduces an eerie, uncanny element.
Community and Loyalty
The squire's claim of absolute authority over the farmers and his assertion that they are honest because he gives them no chance to be otherwise reflects the tight-knit, controlled community of the Marsh.
Characters to notice
- Doctor Syn
Present in the library reading; engages Captain Collyer in conversation; becomes visibly disturbed by the mulatto sailor and shivers from the cold.
- Captain Collyer
Arrives with the King's men; introduces himself to the squire and Doctor Syn; explains his mission to suppress smuggling; accepts lodging at the courthouse.
- Sir Antony Cobtree
The squire of Dymchurch; meets Captain Collyer; dismisses the existence of smugglers and witches on the Marsh; boasts of his control over the local farmers.
- Job Mallet
The bo'sun; reports to the captain that Bill Spiker and the mulatto have been sent for rum.
- Bill Spiker
A gunner among the King's men; returns to the barn carrying a barrel of rum with the mulatto.
Key passages
“My faith! he cried, looking from the butler to the captain, and then at the line of naked cutlasses. Have the French landed at last?”
The squire, startled by the armed sailors, jokingly asks if the French have invaded.
Shows the squire's initial surprise and his humorous, unflappable demeanor.
“To hang every smuggler on Romney Marsh, said the captain.”
Captain Collyer states his mission is to execute all smugglers in the area.
Establishes the captain's ruthless intent and the central conflict of the chapter.
“Do you believe in ghosts? said the squire.”
The squire abruptly asks the captain if he believes in ghosts.
Introduces the theme of superstition and the squire's strategy to downplay smuggling.
“Who's that man? he said to the captain, shivering violently, for a cold fog had risen with the night.”
Doctor Syn, trembling in the cold fog, asks the captain about the identity of the mulatto sailor.
Highlights Syn's intense reaction and foreshadows the mulatto's significance.