# III explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Arthur Machen.

## What happens

Salisbury, a man of habit, returns home drenched and prepares a hot gin and water before sleeping. The next morning, he retrieves the crumpled paper from his pocket, reads its cryptic message, and initially laughs it off as nonsense, tossing it into his desk. He then settles into his morning routine, but later recalls a conversation with Dyson about a dead woman and a doctor's claim that her brain was that of a devil. Salisbury recounts how he tracked down Dr. Black, now a broken and feeble man, after Black's wife's death.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Urban Mystery

The cryptic message and the strange encounter in the archway evoke a sense of hidden meanings and urban secrets.

### Madness and Psychological Horror

Salisbury's apprehension about the paper and the doctor's disturbing claim about the dead woman's brain hint at psychological unease.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Salisbury

Returns home drenched, prepares a hot drink, and later retrieves the crumpled paper from his pocket, reading its cryptic message.

### Mr. Dyson

Listens gravely to Salisbury's tale and writes down the doggerel, suggesting it might have a meaning.

### Dr. Black

Mentioned as the Harlesden doctor who claimed the dead woman's brain was that of a devil; later encountered by Salisbury as a broken, feeble man.

## Key lines

> brain of a devil?" "Yes, yes, but he was speaking, of course, metaphorically. It's really quite a simple matter if you only look at it like that." "Ah, well, you may be right; but yet I am sure you are not.

Dyson dismisses the idea of a literal devil's brain, calling it metaphorical, but Salisbury remains unconvinced.

_The conversation reveals a disagreement over the nature of the dead woman's brain._

> Q. has had to go and see his friends in Paris," it began. "Traverse Handel S. 'Once around the grass, and twice around the lass, and thrice around the maple tree.'

The cryptic note mentions someone going to Paris and includes a strange rhyme about circling grass, a lass, and a maple tree.

_Salisbury reads the seemingly nonsensical message from the crumpled paper._

> The brain of a devil." He spoke quite coolly, and never moved a muscle. 'The brain of a devil,' he repeated, 'and I have no doubt that Black found some way of putting an end to it.'

A man of science calmly asserts that the dead woman's brain was that of a devil, implying Black may have ended her life.

_The doctor's shocking statement about the woman's brain is recounted._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_6_se/chapters/iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_6_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_6_se/chapters