Chapters IV & V Summary

In Chapter IV, the tale begins in earnest. Six years after his marriage, the narrator's brother has four children of his own and has taken responsibility for an orphaned teenage girl named Louisa Conway. Major Stuart arrives in Philadelphia on a tour of the colonies and recognizes Louisa as his own daughter. Her mother had fled to America with Louisa while Major Stuart was serving in Germany. The Major leaves Louisa in the care of the narrator's brother while he finishes his travels. Major Stuart frequently sends letters detailing his journeys.

On a May afternoon, one such letter provokes a debate between the narrator's brother, now identified as Wieland, and Henry Pleyel. The debate carries on into the evening when they realize they had left the letter in the temple and Wieland goes to retrieve it to settle a...