The Young Visiters · Chapter
XII: How It Ended explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Salteena secures a job as a royal outrider, galloping after the Prince of Wales's carriage in Hyde Park. The Earl of Clincham marries Lady Helena Herring, and Mr. Salteena, feeling lonely, marries Bessie Topp, a maid of honour. Ethel and Bernard return from their honeymoon with a son and eventually have seven children. The Earl has two sickly daughters and considers divorce but abandons the idea. Mr. Salteena grows morose with a large family and pines for Ethel, while Bernard and Ethel remain happily married.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Aspiration
Mr. Salteena achieves his dream of a royal job, but his marriage to a maid and his noisy cottage life show the limits of his social ascent.
Love and Marriage
The chapter concludes the marriages of all main characters, contrasting Bernard and Ethel's happy union with Mr. Salteena's regret and the Earl's dissatisfaction.
The Absurdity of High Society
The Earl's consideration of divorce as a 'Mortification' and the comical description of Mr. Salteena's riding mishaps highlight the absurdity of aristocratic life.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Salteena
Secures a job as a royal outrider, marries Bessie Topp, fathers ten children, grows morose and pines for Ethel.
- Ethel Monticue
Returns from honeymoon with Bernard, has seven children, remains happily married.
- Bernard Clark
Happily married to Ethel, father of seven children, described as the happiest of the friends.
- Earl of Clincham
Marries Lady Helena Herring, has two sickly daughters, considers divorce but decides against it.
- Edward Procurio
Not mentioned in this chapter.
Key passages
“Mr. Salteena by the aid of the earl and the kindness of the Prince of Wales managed to get the job his soul craved”
With the Earl's help and the Prince of Wales's favor, Mr. Salteena obtained the position he desperately wanted.
Mr. Salteena's career ambition is fulfilled through aristocratic connections.
“Bernard Clark was the happiest of our friends as he loved Ethel to the bitter end and so did she him”
Bernard Clark was the most content of the group because he and Ethel remained devoted to each other until death.
The narrator affirms the enduring love between Bernard and Ethel.
“he grew very morose as the years rolled by and his little cottage was very noisy and his wife was a bit annoying at times especially when he took to dreaming of Ethel and wishing he could have marrid her”
Over time, Mr. Salteena became gloomy; his cramped cottage was chaotic, his wife irritated him, and he often fantasized about marrying Ethel instead.
Mr. Salteena's regret and dissatisfaction with his domestic life are revealed.