The Prince and the Pauper: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

Hendon takes off toward Southwark, searching for any hint of where Edward or his captors are—but to no avail. That night, Hendon stops at a hotel to decide what to do next. He theorizes that Edward will undoubtedly escape but he won’t return to London—he’ll go to Kent because he knows that’s where Hendon is headed. Hendon plans to head to Kent through the woods, looking for clues as he goes. Unbeknownst to Hendon, earlier that day a youth came to get Edward from the hotel and led him into Southwark. When Edward refused to go on and he demanded Hendon come to him, the youth told him that Hendon was injured. This convinced Edward to keep following until they reached an abandoned barn in the woods. Once there, John Canty—who’d followed them in a disguise—revealed himself and he told Edward he changed his name to John Hobbs.

John asks Edward where Nan, Bet, and their mother are because they never arrived at the bridge. Edward says his mother is dead and his sisters are in the palace. This makes the youth, Hugo, laugh, but John takes it as more evidence of his son’s madness and he tells Edward (as Tom) to rest. Edward steals off to one corner of the barn and he makes himself a bed in the hay. He thinks about his father’s death until he falls asleep—although most people dreaded Henry’s violence, Edward can only remember his gentle love and affection. When Edward wakes up, there is a huge group of ruffians—men, women, and even children—in the barn. They are all drinking and singing loudly, evidently preparing for a long night of revelry. Many people who appear disabled—for example, one has eye patches and another has a fake leg—reveal that they are in perfect health.

As Edward also picks up on John’s conversation with the Ruffler (the chief of the gang). John evidently belonged to the gang in the past and everyone is glad to have him back. The gang is bigger now (there are 25 people) and they are traveling east. Many of the people in the gang are former beggars who have been whipped, had their ears cut off, or were even branded and sold as slaves—all for begging. One man, Yokel, shares the story of how his innocent mother was burned as a witch because a patient died in her care. Yokel and his wife were whipped for begging and his wife died from the punishment, and their children all starved to death (Yokel thinks they’re better off because living in England is like hell). Yokel kept begging until he was branded and sold as a slave.

Yokel says he’ll be hanged one day, but Edward comes forward and declares that Yokel won’t be hanged because that law will be struck down. Someone asks who the boy is, and Edward says he’s the King of England, which is met with uproarious laughter. John tries to explain that the boy is mad, but Edward responds by threatening to have John hanged for murdering someone. John threatens to beat him, but the Ruffler stops him. The Ruffler tells Edward that he can fancy himself a king if he wants, but not to commit treason because the gang is loyal to the king. Someone calls out that Edward shall be known as “Foo-Foo the First, King of the Mooncalves” and they throw a mock coronation and dramatically try to kiss his feet. Edward feels hurt and offended, believing they couldn’t be crueler if he had insulted them.