# Last of Smethurst explained — Travel Essays

> Chapter companion for Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson.

## What happens

The narrator travels by train to Keswick, meeting a burly man who is a friend of Smethurst. After arriving, he visits the lake at night, encounters three playful girls in the moonlight, and later returns to the hotel where he meets a London theatre manager who dominates the conversation with poems and anecdotes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Human Connection and Community

The narrator forms a quick friendship with his fellow traveler, shares a pleasant encounter with three girls, and bonds with the theatre manager over stories.

### Nature and the Sublime

The moonlit lake, gusty wind, and wild chase of shadows evoke the sublime beauty and power of nature.

## Character check-ins

### Smethurst

Seen briefly at the train station, handing clay pipes to the narrator's companion and calling farewells as the train departs.

### Mr. Jones

The burly man in brown clothes who shares the train carriage and later dines with the narrator at the hotel.

## Key lines

> The sky was covered with flying scud; and, as this was ragged, there was quite a wild chase of shadow and moon-glimpse over the surface of the shuddering water.

The sky was filled with ragged clouds, causing shadows and glimpses of moonlight to chase each other across the trembling lake.

_Describes the dramatic and restless atmosphere at the lake._

> They were just high enough up in the social order not to be afraid to speak to a gentleman; and just low enough to feel a little tremor, a nervous consciousness of wrongdoing—of stolen waters, that gave a considerable zest to our most innocent interview.

The girls were of a social class that allowed them to talk to a gentleman without fear, yet they felt a slight thrill of impropriety that made the innocent conversation more exciting.

_Highlights the social dynamics and the playful tension in the encounter._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se/chapters/last-of-smethurst
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se/chapters