The History of Henry Esmond · Chapter
IX: I Make the Campaign of 1704 explained
Esmond joins General Lumley's suite, is gazetted to Brigadier Webb's regiment, and participates in the siege of Bonn.
What happens
Esmond joins General Lumley's suite, is gazetted to Brigadier Webb's regiment, and participates in the siege of Bonn. He learns of the death of the young Marquis of Blandford, which ends Frank's hopes for Beatrix's advancement. The army marches toward the Mozelle, and at the Battle of Blenheim, Esmond is wounded and nearly dies. After recovering, he returns to London, eager to see Beatrix, and is welcomed by the Dowager.
Themes in this chapter
War and Military Life
Esmond's experiences in the campaign, siege, and battle highlight the realities of military service.
Love and Duty
Esmond's longing for Beatrix contrasts with his military obligations; his mistress's letters hint at a conflict between love and duty.
Family and Kinship
The death of Lord Blandford affects Frank's family ambitions; Esmond's bond with his mistress and the Dowager is evident.
Characters to notice
- Henry Esmond
Protagonist; joins General Lumley, fights at Blenheim, is wounded, and returns to London.
- Dowager Lady Castlewood
Receives Esmond warmly upon his return to London.
- Beatrix Esmond
Esmond's romantic interest; he is eager to see her at Kensington.
- Lady Castlewood
Esmond's mistress; writes to him during the campaign, hinting at his return.
- Frank Castlewood
At Cambridge; his hopes for Beatrix's advancement are dashed by Blandford's death.
- Tom Tusher
Governor to Frank Castlewood at Trinity College, Cambridge.
- John Lockwood
Faithful servant who saves Esmond's life after the Battle of Blenheim.
- Lord Blandford
Son of the Duke of Marlborough; dies of smallpox at sixteen.
Key passages
“He went immediately and paid his court to his new general, General Lumley, who received him graciously, having known his father, and also, he was pleased to say, having had the very best accounts of Mr. Esmond from the officer whose aide-de-camp he had been at Vigo.”
Esmond promptly visited General Lumley, who welcomed him kindly, citing his acquaintance with Esmond's father and favorable reports from the officer Esmond had served under at Vigo.
Esmond's introduction to his new commander.
“The young Marquis of Blandford, his Grace’s son, who had been entered in King’s College in Cambridge, (whither my Lord Viscount had also gone, to Trinity, with Mr. Tusher as his governor,) had been seized with smallpox, and was dead at sixteen years of age, and so poor Frank’s schemes for his sister’s advancement were over, and that innocent childish passion nipped in the birth.”
The Duke's son, Lord Blandford, died of smallpox at sixteen, ending Frank's plans to advance his sister's prospects.
Death of Blandford and its impact on Frank's ambitions.
“A dim sense, as of people groaning round about him, a wild incoherent thought or two for her who occupied so much of his heart now, and that here his career, and his hopes, and misfortunes were ended, he remembers in the course of these hours.”
Esmond recalls a vague awareness of groaning around him and fleeting thoughts of Beatrix, feeling that his life and hopes were ending.
Esmond's near-death experience at Blenheim.
“Jack Lockwood said he talked in the wildest manner during his delirium; that he called himself the Marquis of Esmond, and seizing one of the surgeon’s assistants who came to dress his wounds, swore that he was Madam Beatrix, and that he would make her a duchess if she would but say yes.”
In his fever, Esmond deliriously claimed to be the Marquis of Esmond and mistook a surgeon's assistant for Beatrix, promising to make her a duchess.
Esmond's delirium reveals his deep feelings for Beatrix.
