The Mysteries of Udolpho Volume 1, Chapter 4 Summary

  • Time to hit the road, Jack. Valancourt accompanies the St. Auberts on part of their journey, since he's headed in that direction anyway (sure, Valancourt).
  • More talk about the beauty of the scenery. Like, it's really, really pretty. Enough to make St. Aubert cry.
  • St. Aubert is getting to like Valancourt quite a lot after spending so much time with him. His one reservation? Valancourt has never been to Paris.
  • Finally, Valancourt bids his new buddies adieu and heads off in another direction.
  • As Emily and St. Aubert are ambling along on their journey, St. Aubert just can't stop thinking about the banditti (bandits) that might be lurking in the woods.
  • Next thing the St. Auberts know, a voice is calling for them to stop their carriage. Oh man, is St. Aubert ready to defend his daughter from the banditti.
  • St. Aubert pulls a pistol from his bag and shoots wildly into the darkness. He hears a groan—and then the voice of Valancourt!
  • Yep, Valancourt has once again been mistaken for a bandit. He has a pretty bad arm injury from getting shot, but at least he's alive.
  • The St. Auberts decide to take Valancourt with them to Beaujeau to get treatment.
  • When they ask him why he was creeping in the bushes, Valancourt admits he got lonely traveling by himself. He decided to overtake the St. Auberts on the road.
  • The group passes by a band of gypsies, which scares Emily half to death. Luckily, the gypsies are more interested in eating dinner than attacking the carriage.
  • Once the group arrives at Beaujeau, a surgeon checks out Valancourt's arm and tells them it's a flesh wound.
  • The good doc also tells Valancourt to cool it on the traveling for a while and stay in Beaujeau until the wound heals.
  • St. Aubert is kind of suspicious about the doctor's expertise, so he resolves to wait until Valancourt can be moved to a better doctor in a neighboring village.
  • St. Aubert also does a little digging into Valancourt's family background. The dude is actually from a pretty well-known family in Gascony. Not bad, Valancourt.
  • But St. Aubert remembers that Valancourt still hasn't been to Paris. Cue le sigh.
  • As the travelers begin to make their way to Rousillon, St. Aubert gets really tired. He plans to stop over at a convent in order to get some quality rest.
  • But before they reach the convent, everyone talks a little bit more about how much they love the landscape. The St. Auberts find out that Valancourt loves nature, too. Kindred spirits!
  • When they reach the convent, Emily hits the hay pretty fast. But she gets up in the middle of the night to reflect on the beauty of the universe and write a poem about it.
  • While the monks are chanting in the distance, Emily contemplates God's blessings and writes about them. Girl, you are profound.