Caleb Williams

Mr. Clare fell ill, devastating Ferdinando, who chose to visit even though he knew Mr. Clare could be contagious (91). Mr. Clare knew he was dying, and they spent the day together talking and reflecting on the “curious […] line that separates life and death to mortal men” (92). Eventually, Mr. Clare confessed that he had made Ferdinando the executor of his will. He told Ferdinando to “not let the world be defrauded of [his] virtues” and that he knew that Ferdinando had a bad side when he felt that his honor was being disrespected (94). Ferdinando promised him that he would try to do better and stayed with him until he died.

Though still angry that Mr. Clare sided with Ferdinando, Barnabas acknowledged on hearing of the man’s death that he would otherwise have missed him. The chapter ends by noting that Mr. Clare was the only one who could have mediated the conflict between Ferdinando and Barnabas (97). 

Barnabas’s cousin, Emily Melville, was placed with Mrs. Tyrrel (Barnabas’s mother) after the loss of her parents. She grew into a small brunette with a sensible personality and a face scarred by smallpox (98-9). When living on the estate, she had become very close with a Mrs.