Notes

Q1. Where had Billy come from? Is there any indication that he had never been to bath before?
Ans. Billy had come from London. He had never been to Bath before. This is evident when he asks
for directions for lodgings because he did not know the place.
Q2. What prompted him to enter the ‘Bed and Breakfast’ boarding house rather than try the
hotel not very far away?
Ans. Billy had only chanced upon the place when he was looking for ‘The Bell and Dragon’. It
was cheaper and he did not have to walk more to look for a place to stay.
Q3. Mention three things about the lady and her boarding house that you found strange, even
though Billy did not seem to consider them so.
Ans. The three things that seemed strange about the lady and her boarding house were the
fantastic cheapness of the room. The strange look she gave him all the way down the length of his
body. There were no other hats or coats in the hall.
Q4. What details did the landlady give Billy about Christopher Mulholland and Gregory
Temple? Did any of these details seem strange?
Ans. The landlady said that both of them were incredibly handsome, then went on to say that
they were tall, young, and handsome, just like Billy, although Mulholland was probably
a little shorter than Billy. She also corrected Billy and said that he had been a Cambridge
undergraduate when he came to her. She added that she had never seen anyone drink as much
tea as Mulholland.
She informed him that although Gregory Temple was twenty-eight years old, there wasn’t a
blemish on his body and his skin was just like a baby’s. She also told him that they hadn’t left the
Bed and Breakfast, and were in fact, still on the fourth floor, together.
The way the landlady has described Gregory Temple’s skin and body seem strange as these are
intimate details that a stranger shouldn’t be aware of.
Q5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Good gracious me,” he said. “How absolutely fascinating.” ...............................
.... “No, my dear,” she said. ‘Only you.' (Pg.77)





1. What time of the day was it when the traveler crossed the chasm? Quote two
phrases from the poem to support your answer.
Ans: The traveler crossed the bridge in the evening, during twilight. Two
instances from the poem that support this answer are:
An old man, going a lone highway
Came, at the evening, cold and gray... and
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
2. Do you think the old man was nervous about crossing the river? Quote two
phrases from the poem to support your answer.
Ans: To be written by the students.
3. (a) What does the old man do after crossing the river?
(b) How does a fellow pilgrim react to the old man’s actions?
(c) What does this tell you about the character of the fellow pilgrim?
Ans: (a) The old man builds a bridge after crossing the river.
(b) The fellow pilgrim is surprised at the old man building the bridge. He asks the
old man why he wants to build a bridge across a chasm that he will not cross again.