Lord Tony’s Wife · Chapter
The Moor explained
Two travelers, a Frenchman and a local Westcountryman, journey through the desolate November fog on the Somerset moors to reach the Bottom Inn.
What happens
Two travelers, a Frenchman and a local Westcountryman, journey through the desolate November fog on the Somerset moors to reach the Bottom Inn. The Frenchman, impatient and weary, complains about the cold, mud, and poor riding conditions. Upon arrival, he meets a woman who informs him that a captain is waiting in the coffee-room, and that pack horses carrying contraband brandy and cloth will pass through later that night.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Disguise
The clandestine meeting at the Bottom Inn and the disguised identities of the travelers suggest hidden motives and secret dealings.
Suffering and Endurance
The harsh journey through fog, mud, and cold highlights the physical endurance required of the characters.
Characters to notice
- Citizen Chauvelin
The stranger, a Frenchman with a Gallic accent, rides through the fog to the Bottom Inn, impatient and cold.
- Paul Friche
The local Westcountryman guide, poorly dressed and unskilled on horseback, leads the way to the Bottom Inn.
- Fleury
The captain waiting in the coffee-room at the Bottom Inn, having come from Bristol earlier that afternoon.
Key passages
“Silence. Loneliness. Desolation. And the darkness of late afternoon in November, when the fog from the Bristol Channel has laid its pall upon moor and valley and hill.”
The scene is utterly silent, lonely, and desolate, with November fog from the Bristol Channel covering the landscape.
Sets the mood of isolation and foreboding for the chapter.
“Twenty minutes, mordieu . And I have ridden since the morning. And you tell me it was not far.”
The Frenchman complains that he has been riding all day and is frustrated that the journey is still not over.
Reveals the Frenchman's impatience and discomfort.
“It ain't their hour not yet. You'll 'ave the 'ouse to yourself till after midnight. After that there'll be a bustle, I reckon. Two shiploads come into Watchet last night—brandy and cloth, Mounzeer, so the Captain says, and worth a mint o' money.”
The innkeeper's wife explains that the inn is quiet now but will be busy later with smugglers bringing contraband from Watchet.
Foreshadows the smuggling operation and the secret meeting.