Lud-in-the-Mist · Chapter
VI: The Wind in the Crabapple Blossoms explained
Hempie receives a letter from Luke describing strange events at the farm, including the widow's odd behavior, the daft weaver Portunus, and Ranulph's improved health.
What happens
Hempie receives a letter from Luke describing strange events at the farm, including the widow's odd behavior, the daft weaver Portunus, and Ranulph's improved health. Meanwhile, in Lud-in-the-Mist, summer passes quietly. Master Nathaniel is pleased with reports of Ranulph's wellbeing. The chapter then shifts to Miss Primrose Crabapple's Academy, where the pupils gossip about Miss Primrose's apparent courtship by Endymion Leer.
Themes in this chapter
The Poetry of Everyday Life
The chapter contrasts the mundane summer routines of Lud with the strange, poetic undercurrents at the farm and the Academy.
Tradition vs. Progress
Miss Primrose's old-fashioned ways and devotion to Duke Aubrey clash with the practical, commercial world of Lud.
Reality vs. Delusion
Luke's letter hints at hidden, possibly delusional, realities at the farm, while Miss Primrose lives in romantic fantasies.
Characters to notice
- Hempie
Receives and reads Luke's letter, decides not to show it to Master Nathaniel.
- Ranulph Chanticleer
Reported to be well and happy at the farm, writing cheerful letters.
- Master Nathaniel Chanticleer
Missing Ranulph but satisfied with reports of his health; enchanted by Endymion Leer's accounts.
- Endymion Leer
Returns to Lud and confirms Ranulph's improvement; rumored to be courting Miss Primrose Crabapple.
- Miss Primrose Crabapple
Head of the Academy, eccentric and sentimental about Duke Aubrey; subject of gossip due to Leer's visits.
- Prunella Chanticleer
A pupil at the Academy, titters about Miss Primrose's possible marriage.
- Viola Vigil
A pupil at the Academy, speculates that Leer wants Miss Primrose's savings.
- Dame Marigold Chanticleer
Reminisces with other old pupils about Miss Primrose's past follies.
Key passages
“I’m remembering what you said, and trying to look after the little master, but this is a queer place and no mistake, and I’d liefer we were both safe back in Lud.”
Luke recalls Hempie's advice and cares for Ranulph, but finds the farm strange and wishes they were home.
Luke expresses unease about the farm.
“And there’s a daft old man that they call Portunus and it’s more like having a tame magpie in the house than a human man, for he can’t talk a word of sense, it’s all scraps of rhyme, and he’s always up to mischief.”
Portunus is a crazy old weaver who speaks only in rhymes and causes trouble.
Luke describes Portunus's odd behavior.
“It was evident that, to use the words of Endymion Leer, he was learning to live life to a different tune.”
Ranulph was adapting to a new way of living, according to Leer.
Leer's assessment of Ranulph's transformation.
“Perhaps it is always with a touch of wistfulness that we remember old comic songs.”
Nostalgia for past humor often carries a hint of sadness.
Narrator reflects on how the ladies remember their schooldays.
