Around the World in Eighty Days, Chapters Four to Eight

In which Phileas Fogg surprises Passepartout, his servant, beyond measure; a new security appears on the London Exchange; the agent, Fix, shows a very proper impatience; we are shown once more the uselessness of passports in police matters; and Passepartout perhaps talks a little more than is proper; and in which our narrator assures you that there will be a speaking female character at some point.



All right, we're well and firmly on our journey now, and our heroes have used up nearly seven of their eighty days. And see, I told you that robbery was going to be important! We've got a few more illustrations from Messrs. de Neuville and Benett, along with a couple of notes:

5:17 - A poor beggar woman.

At 7:42, mention is made of "the Alabama affair" as a matter of much discussion. During the American Civil War, ships outfitted and sailed from British docks (especially a ship called Alabama) were used as military vessels by the Confederate navy, despite Britain's official stance of neutrality. The North, after winning the war, claimed that the British had not exercised due diligence, so in 1871 a joint commission was created to settle the matter. They found for the Americans and awarded damages, a result which the British people were... not fans of.

8:39 - There was not a reader, to whatever class he belonged,
who did not devour the columns devoted to Phileas Fogg.

And here we meet the redoubtable Detective Fix:

Detective Fix

Around the 14:00 mark, we have references to "M. Lesseps" and "Stephenson, the engineer. These are Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lessep, a French diplomat best known for spearheading the development of the Suez canal that features so prominently here, and Robert Stephenson, a prominent English civil engineer who was brought in to evaluate the feasibility of the project.

At 16:45, Mr. Fix bemoans the current timid state of British criminals by making mention of Jack Sheppard, an English thief of the early 1700s who was notorious for having escaped from custody four times before being caught a final fifth time and hanged, all before his 23rd birthday. Plays and novels about him or with characters clearly based on him kept him in the British public consciousness long after his death.

On the docks of Suez, around 17:46, we meet a crowd of fellahs, who are Middle Eastern or Northern African agricultural workers, and then the British consul refers to "breaking bulk," which basically means unloading some individual pieces of cargo.

20:20 - After having vigorously pushed back the fellahs
who overwhelmed him with their offers of service....

28:00 - "My watch! A family watch...."

If you would like to read along, I unfortunately can't find my translation by Stephen W. White online, but the George Towele translation can be found at Zvi Har’El’s Jules Verne Collection, which is also where I got the illustrations, or the more accurate but rather fusty Henry Frith translation at Project Gutenberg. No reading ahead, though!