# On the Sambre Canalised: To Quartes explained — Travel Essays

> Chapter companion for Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson.

## What happens

The narrator and the Cigarette depart from the Grand Cerf, battling rain and wind as they travel through a blighted industrial landscape. After receiving help from grimy workmen at Hautmont, the weather clears, revealing a serene pastoral scene along the Sambre River. They encounter fishermen and later, at Quartes, a group of children and a young woman who engage them in friendly conversation, admiring their canoes and gear.

## Themes in this chapter

### Travel and Discovery

The journey along the Sambre reveals both industrial decay and pastoral beauty, highlighting the contrasts encountered during travel.

### Human Connection and Community

Interactions with workmen, fishermen, and children showcase moments of generosity, curiosity, and shared humanity.

## Character check-ins

### The Cigarette

Travels with the narrator; engages in chaffing talk with children along the towpath.

## Key lines

> In Scotland, where also you will get services for nothing, the good people reject your money as if you had been trying to corrupt a voter.

In Scotland, people refuse payment for help as if you were attempting bribery.

_Reflects on cultural differences in accepting gratuities._

> I do not affect fishes unless when cooked in sauce; whereas an angler is an important piece of river scenery, and hence deserves some recognition among canoeists.

I have no interest in fish unless they are sauced, but I value fishermen as part of the landscape.

_Humorous observation on the aesthetic role of anglers._

> I hate cynicism a great deal worse than I do the devil; unless perhaps the two were the same thing?

I despise cynicism more than the devil, unless they are one and the same.

_Philosophical musing on the nature of cynicism._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se/chapters/on-the-sambre-canalised-to-quartes
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