The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

Jeremy Melford writes from the town of Harrogate: He and the rest of his family have now departed from London and are gradually making their way northward. Harrogate has some similarities with Bath and has many social activities. Jeremy relates an incident that occurred on the road from London to Harrogate: Matthew gave Humphry Clinker the role of bodyguard during the trip. While Jeremy was absent, Humphry and Matthew were alerted that men were approaching the coach with the intention to attack and rob it.

As Humphry prepared for action, “declaring that he would stand by [Matthew Bramble] to the last drop of his blood” (158), Edward Martin arrived on the scene, and helped Humphry to frighten away the thieves. Martin is the man who committed the robbery that Humphry was falsely accused of, and he helped to prove Humphry’s innocence. After assisting Humphry and the Bramble family, Martin asks if they would consider employing him in the future, as he wants to turn his life around. Matthew agrees to consider this request.

Matthew dislikes the town of Harrogate and continues to suffer from various ailments. He is also growing more and more skeptical of physicians and treatments.