# XVII: The Tenant of the Palanquin explained — The Room in the Dragon Volant > Chapter companion for The Room in the Dragon Volant by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. ## What happens The Marquis d'Harmonville visits the narrator and asks for a ride to Paris. At the narrator's hotel, they encounter the Count de St. Alyre, who requests assistance with funeral arrangements for his cousin, Monsieur de St. Amand. The narrator agrees to handle the burial paperwork. Later, at the Dragon Volant, the narrator dines with Tom Whistlewick and Monsieur Carmaignac, who discuss the scandalous discovery of a corpse inside the palanquin from the masked ball, sparking rumors of necromancy and police investigation. ## Themes in this chapter ### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality The palanquin conceals a corpse, and the Count's request for the narrator to sign in his own name hints at hidden legal motives. ### Danger and the Supernatural The discovery of the corpse and rumors of necromancy create an atmosphere of mystery and potential danger. ## Character check-ins ### Marquis d'Harmonville Visits the narrator to ask for a ride to Paris after his carriage accident. ### Count de St. Alyre Appears at the narrator's hotel with his arm in a sling, requesting help with funeral arrangements for his cousin. ### The Narrator Agrees to assist the Count with burial paperwork and later dines with Whistlewick and Carmaignac. ### Tom Whistlewick Dines with the narrator and recounts the discovery of a corpse in the palanquin. ### Monsieur Carmaignac Dines with the narrator and provides commentary on the palanquin incident and police involvement. ## Key lines > I was surprised to see a man seated in an easy chair, with his back towards us, reading a newspaper. He rose. It was the Count de St. Alyre, his gold spectacles on his nose; his black wig, in oily curls, lying close to his narrow head, and showing, like carved ebony over a repulsive visage of boxwood. The narrator is startled to find the Count de St. Alyre waiting in his room, described as having a sinister appearance with his gold spectacles and black wig. _Highlights the Count's unsettling presence and the narrator's discomfort._ > Its door was forced; and, judge what was their disgust, when they discovered, not a living man, but a corpse! When the palanquin was opened, the servants found a dead body instead of a living person. _Reveals the shocking truth behind the palanquin's mysterious weight._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters/xvii-the-tenant-of-the-palanquin - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_room_in_the_dragon_volant_se/chapters