1840 Summary

Still wishing he could write like Washington Irving, Charlie is now the American consul at Amalfi on the coast of Italy and is stunned when Sam Swartwout arrives to see him early in December 1840. The celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is about to begin, and Charlie must put in an appearance. Initially he wonders if he needs to contact the police but then realizes that Sam simply wishes to see him and intends him absolutely no harm. They talk casually, discussing Charlie's vice-consul position at Antwerp, Belgium, of the book Charlie wrote about the lowlands while at Antwerp before Sam finally comes to the point of his visit. In 1837, he had invested everything he had in the coal mines in England, and the depression wiped him out. In 1839, he had disappeared from his position as the collector of the Port of New...