Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the tramps. Practice Quiz — The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XVIII. The Prince with the tramps.
Who is put in charge of Edward ("Jack") at the start of Chapter 18?
Hugo. The Ruffler assigns Hugo to watch over Edward and warns him not to be too rough with the lad.
What does the Ruffler command John Canty to do regarding Edward?
Keep away from Edward and let him alone.
How do the tramps treat the farmer's family when they invade the farmhouse?
They eat all the food, chuck the housewife and daughters under the chin, throw bones and vegetables at the farmer and sons, and butter the head of one daughter who resists their advances.
What threat do the tramps make before leaving the farmhouse?
They threaten to come back and burn the house over the family's heads if anyone reports their behavior to the authorities.
What scheme does Hugo propose when they cannot find anything to steal in the village?
Hugo will fake a seizure ("fall down in a fit") while Edward pretends to be his weeping, desperate brother and begs for pennies from passersby.
How does Edward respond to Hugo's begging scheme?
He flatly refuses. He tells the kind stranger the truth — that Hugo is "a beggar and a thief" who has already picked the man's pocket.
What happens immediately after Edward exposes Hugo to the stranger?
Hugo leaps up and runs away. The stranger chases Hugo while raising a "hue and cry." Edward flees in the opposite direction and escapes.
Why is Edward turned away from the farmhouses after his escape?
Because of his ragged clothing — his appearance marks him as a vagrant. "His clothes were against him."
What phrase does Twain use to explain why Edward eventually tries begging for food despite his pride?
"Hunger is pride's master."
Where does Edward take shelter for the night?
In a barn. He sneaks in while two farm laborers are working, then makes a bed from horse blankets after they leave.
What mysterious experience terrifies Edward in the barn?
He feels something touch him in the dark — a "light touch from this noiseless and invisible presence" — and is paralyzed with fear, imagining ghosts or a corpse.
What does Edward discover the mysterious "presence" in the barn actually is?
A sleeping calf. He follows the bunch of hair to what he thinks is a rope, which turns out to be the calf's tail.
How does Edward use the calf to survive the night?
He rearranges his blanket bed next to the calf, cuddles against its warm back, and pulls the covers over both of them for warmth.
What does Edward resolve to do once he discovers the calf?
He resolves to "waive rank and make friends with the calf," treating it as a companion rather than a lowly creature.
What is the weather like during the night while Edward sleeps in the barn?
A fierce storm with rising winds, rain driving along the roof, and gusts that make the barn quake and rattle.
What literary device does Twain use when the King of England is refused food because of his rags?
Dramatic irony — the reader knows Edward is the true king, but the farmers see only a beggar and treat him with contempt.
What does the barn scene's buildup of terror followed by the calf reveal illustrate?
Twain's use of suspense and comic deflation — he builds gothic tension around the mysterious touch, then resolves it with the harmless, humorous discovery of a calf.
How does the chapter end?
"The Majesty of England slept on, undisturbed, and the calf did the same, it being a simple creature, and not easily troubled by storms or embarrassed by sleeping with a king."
What theme does Edward's rejection at the farmhouses illustrate?
The theme of clothing as social identity — in Tudor England, people were judged entirely by their external appearance, not their true worth.
How does Twain describe the night sounds Edward hears while wandering alone?
As remote, spectral, and mournful: voices like "formless drifting blur," sheep bells "vague, distant, indistinct," cattle lowing in "vanishing cadences," and dogs howling over "viewless expanses" — all making Edward feel utterly alone.