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International Marketing Strategy:

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Australia • Brazil • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States i
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BRIEF CONTENTS

PART I ANALYSIS 1
1 An introduction to international marketing 3

2 The world trading environment 42

3 Social and cultural considerations in international marketing 78

4 International marketing research and opportunity analysis 111

Part I Directed Study Activity:


International marketing planning: analysis 153

PART II STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT 159


5 International niche marketing strategies for small- and medium-sized enterprises 160

6 Global strategies 205

7 Market entry strategies 248

8 International product and service management 280

Part II Directed Study Activity:


International marketing ­planning: strategy development 320

PART III IMPLEMENTATION 325


9 International communications 326

10 The management of international distribution and logistics 371

11 Pricing for international markets 411

12 Strategic planning in technology-driven international markets 454

Part III Directed Study Activity:


International marketing planning: implementation, control and evaluation 489

iii
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iv CONTENTS

CONTENTS
Situation analysis 33
Resources and capabilities 33
Knowledge management 33
Corporate objectives 34
Marketing strategies 34
Implementation of the marketing plan 35
The control process and feedback 35
Preface xvii Reasons for success 36
About the authors xxiv Characteristics of best practice in international
Acknowledgements xxv marketing 37
Case study 1 Fast food: the healthy option goes
global 38
Case study 2 Going international? You need
a language strategy 39
PART I
2 THE WORLD TRADING
ENVIRONMENT 42
External factors impacting governments
ANALYSIS 1
and businesses 43
1 AN INTRODUCTION TO Environmental risks 45
Technology risks 45
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING 3
Political risks and world trading patterns 46
The strategic importance of international Looking back to look forward 50
marketing 4 The reasons countries trade 52
What is international marketing? 7 The theory of comparative advantage 52
International marketing defined 7 How comparative advantage is achieved 53
The international marketing environment 9 The international product life cycle 54
Political factors 10 Barriers to world trade 55
Economic factors 13 Marketing barriers 55
The developed economies 15 Tariff barriers 57
The emerging economies 16 Non-tariff barriers 57
Least developed countries 16 International Bank for Reconstruction
Currency risks 16 and Development (IBRD) 59
Social/cultural factors 17 International Monetary Fund (IMF) 61
Cultural factors 17 The World Trade Organization 62
Social factors 18 The development of world trading groups 63
Technological factors 23 Forms of market agreement 63
Technological development through the Free trade area 63
internet 23 Customs union 65
Technology and the cultural paradox 24 Common market 65
Legal factors 25 Economic union 65
Environment/sustainability factors 26 Political union 65
Differences between international and domestic The European Union 66
marketing 27 The Single European Market 66
The international competitive landscape 28 European Monetary Union 68
The international market planning process 28 Strategic implications 68
The planning process 29 Widening European membership 68
Major evolutionary stages of planning 30 United States–Mexico–Canada Trade Area 69
The international marketing planning The Asian Pacific Trading Region 70
process 30 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 70
Stakeholder expectations 31 Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 72

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CONTENTS v

Barriers to developing a cohesive trading The role of international marketing research 112
region 72 What big data is telling us 113
Case study 1 Export tourism increases host Opportunity identification and analysis 116
country’s GDP 74 Scanning international markets 116
Demand pattern analysis 119
Case study 2 The mobile/cell phone ­services
Multiple factor indices 119
market in Africa 75
Analogy estimation 119
3 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL Macro-survey technique 120
Risk evaluation 120
CONSIDERATIONS IN
World Economic Forum 120
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING 78
The Knaepen Package 121
Social and cultural factors 79 Business Environment Risk
What is culture? 80 Index (BERI) 121
The components of culture 81 International marketing segmentation 122
Language and culture 83 Geographical criteria 122
Culture and consumer behaviour 88 The business portfolio matrix 123
Is the buying process in all countries an Infrastructure/marketing institution
individualistic activity? 89 matrix 123
Who, within the family, does the consumer International segmentation 124
buying process include? And is this Mosaic Global 125
consistent across cultures? 90 Hierarchical country: consumer
Analyzing cultures and the implications for segmentation 127
consumer behaviour 91 The market profile analysis 128
Self-reference criterion 92 Analyzing foreign country markets 128
Cross-cultural analysis 92 Sources of information 128
The high/low context approach 93 Online databases 130
Hofstede’s 6-D model of national culture 93 Problems in using secondary data 132
Culture/communication typologies 97 Primary research in international markets 133
Social and cultural influences in B2B marketing 99 Problem discovery and definition report 134
Organizational buyers 99 Developing an innovative approach 135
Government buyer behaviour 99 Networking 136
The B2B buying process 100 Consortia 136
The role of culture in negotiation styles 100 The collection of primary data 136
Ethical issues in cross-cultural marketing 101 Organizing the research study 137
Bribery and corruption or gift giving? 103 Centralization vs decentralization 138
Bribery and corruption in business: a cultural In-house or agency 138
phenomenon 104 Research design 139
Piracy 105 Qualitative research 140
Survey methods 140
Case study 1 Sustainable Case Study:
Questionnaire design 143
Starbucks helps coffee farmers sustain their
Sample frame 143
­cultural heritage 108
Fieldwork 144
Case study 2 Cultural challenges of the Brazilian Report preparation and presentation 145
market 109
Case study 1 Global brands use of
4 INTERNATIONAL MARKETING big data 147
RESEARCH AND OPPORTUNITY Case study 2 Cultural segmentation map 148
ANALYSIS 111 Directed Study Activities 152
The role of marketing research and opportunity Directed Study Activity International Marketing
analysis 112 Planning: Analysis 153

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vi CONTENTS

Case study 1 Telensa: a shining light in smart


PART II cities 200
Case study 2 Pin it, share it, desire it, sell it 201

6 GLOBAL STRATEGIES 205


STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT 159
Global strategies of responsible businesses 206
Views of globalization and who has gone
5 INTERNATIONAL NICHE global 208
MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR COVID-19’s impact on global trade 211
SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED The drivers of globalization 214
ENTERPRISES 160 Alternative strategic responses 220
Global strategy drivers 221
The SME sector and its role within the global Globalization and standardization 222
economy 161 Standardization and adaptation 223
The role of SME internationalization in economic Globalized and customized 224
regeneration 163 Regional strategy 227
The challenges for SMEs from LDCs 163 International marketing management for global
Government support 166 firms 229
The nature of SME international marketing Global strategy implementation 229
strategies 167 Opportunities in emerging markets for global
Exporting 167 firms 229
Motivation 168 The emergence of MNEs from emerging
Barriers to internationalization 169 markets 230
Niche marketing of domestically delivered Global appeal and the changing basis of
services 172 ­competitive advantage 232
Importing and reciprocal trading 173 Increasing global appeal by building the global
Direct marketing and electronic commerce 173 brand 233
The nature of international development 175 Global brand management 233
Geographic development of SMEs 177 Creating a global presence by achieving global
Market concentration and expansion 178 reach 234
Where the domestic market is redefined 179 Managing diverse and complex activities
Where the SME international development is the across a range of similar but often disparate
result of networking 179 ­markets and cultures 236
Entrepreneur and family networks 179 Organization structure for transnational
Where the SME is born global 180 firms 237
Supply chain internationalization 182 Systems, processes and control 237
Developing relationships 184 Control 237
International strategic marketing management in Return on marketing investment 238
SMEs 184 Planning systems and processes 238
The McKinsey 7S framework 184 Building skills in transnational organizations 239
The generic marketing strategies for SME Staff and the problems of international
internationalization 185 management 240
The factors which affect the choice of an SME’s What makes a good international
international marketing strategy 187 manager? 240
Market factors 187 Management culture 241
Company factors 188 Management style and shared values 242
Country selection 189
Organization structure 190 Case study 1 Huawei: overcoming market
International entrepreneurship and fast growth 195 obstacles 243
The secret of high growth 195 Case study 2 Reshoring: rethinking global
The future of SME internationalization 199 reach 244

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CONTENTS vii

7 MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES 248 Reasons for adaptation of the product 291
Product acceptability 292
The alternative market entry methods 249 Shortening product life cycles 292
Risk and control in market entry 252 Franchising, joint ventures and alliances 292
Indirect exporting 253 Marketing management 293
Domestic purchasing 253 Environmental and social responsibility
Export management companies or export issues 293
houses 253 Product policy 295
Piggybacking 254 Product strategies 295
Trading companies 255 Managing products across borders 297
Direct exporting 256 The product life cycle 297
Factors for success in exporting 256 Product portfolio analysis 298
Selection of exporting method 257 Introduction and elimination activities 299
Agents 258 Image, branding and positioning 300
Achieving a satisfactory manufacturer–agent Country of origin effects 300
relationship 258 International branding 301
Distributors 258 Brand categories 302
Other direct exporting methods 259 Brand value 303
Management contracts 259 Branding strategies 305
Franchising 259 Brand piracy 307
Exporting through online platforms 260 Positioning 307
Foreign manufacturing strategies without direct Innovation and new product development 308
investment 262 The most innovative companies 309
Reasons for setting up overseas manufacture The nature of new product development 309
and service operations 262 The new product development process 311
Contract manufacture 264 Approaches to technology transfer and the
Licensing 264 benefits for marketing 312
Foreign manufacturing strategies with direct Research and development strategies 312
investment 265 Success and failure in new product
Assembly 266 development 313
Wholly owned subsidiary 266
Case study 1 A silver lining: new ­product
Company acquisitions and mergers 266
developments needed 316
Cooperative strategies 270
Joint ventures 270 Case study 2 Accor inseparable services: online
Strategic alliances 271 and face-to-face 317
Minority stake share holdings 273 Directed Study Activity International Marketing
Case study 1 Wagamama’s international ­Planning: Strategy Development 320
expansion 276
Case study 2 IKEA in China: market entry flat
packed? 277
PART III
8 INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT AND
SERVICE MANAGEMENT 280
The nature of products and services 281 IMPLEMENTATION 325
International product and service
marketing 281 9 INTERNATIONAL
The international marketing of service 284
COMMUNICATIONS 326
The components of the international product
offer 285 The role of marketing communications 327
Products, services and value propositions 287 Internal marketing 327
Factors affecting international product and Relationship marketing 328
service management 289 External marketing 328

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viii CONTENTS

Communicating product and service Case study 1 Greenpeace: global


differentiation 329 campaigner 366
Communicating the corporate identity to Case study 2 How do corporate brands survive a
international stakeholders 329 global crisis? 368
The fundamental challenges for international
marketing communications 332
International marketing communications, 10 THE MANAGEMENT OF
standardization and adaptation 335 INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Towards standardization 336 AND LOGISTICS 371
Towards adaptation 338
International marketing communications The challenges in managing an international
strategy 339 distribution strategy 372
Communicating with existing and potential Selecting foreign country market
customers 340 intermediaries 373
The integration of communications 342 Indirect and direct channels 374
Coordination and planning of the Channel selection 376
international marketing ­communications Customer characteristics and culture 377
strategy 344 Company objectives and competitive
The marketing communications tools 344 activity 379
Word-of-mouth and personal selling 345 Character of the market 379
Exhibitions, trade fairs and experiential Capital required and costings 379
marketing 347 The coverage needed 381
Trade missions 348 Control, continuity and communication 381
Advertising 348 The selection and contracting process 381
Television advertising 349 Building relationships in foreign market
Press advertising 350 channels 382
The use of agencies and consultancies 351 Motivating international marketing
Sales promotions 352 intermediaries 382
Direct marketing 352 Controlling intermediaries in international
Communicating with the wider range of markets 383
stakeholders 352 Channel updating 384
Corporate identity 353 Developing a company-owned international
Sponsorship and celebrity endorsement 353 sales force 384
Product placement and celebrity Trends in retailing in international markets 385
endorsement 356 The differing patterns of retailing around the
Public relations 357 world 385
Crisis management 357 Traditional retailing 387
Online communications 358 Intermediary retailing 388
The nature of online communications 358 Structured retailing 390
Online advertising 359 Advanced retailing 390
Social media advertising 359 The globalization of retailing 391
Paid search advertising 360 Marketing implications for development of
Display advertising 361 international distribution strategies 392
Native advertising 361 Internet retailing 393
Developing profitable, long-term marketing The management of the physical distribution of
relationships 363 goods 396
The concept of relationship marketing 363 The logistics approach to physical
Database development 364 distribution 396
Customer relationship management 364 Customer service 397

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CONTENTS ix

The restructuring of physical distribution Countertrade and leasing 441


operations 397 Advantages and limitations of
The use of intermediaries 398 countertrade 444
Transportation 400 Leasing 444
Export processing zones 403 Deciding at what stage of the export sales process
Administrative problems resulting from the the price should be quoted 445
cross-border transfer of goods 403 The export order process 446
Documentation and electronic data Case study 1 The impact of cryptocurrencies 450
interchange (EDI) 404
Case study 2 Torque Developments
Packaging 405
International plc 451
The export sales contract 405
Global challenges 451
Case study 1 Bulk wine shifts the global wine
market 407
Case study 2 Poor packaging 5 lost profits 408 12 STRATEGIC PLANNING IN
TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS 454
11 PRICING FOR INTERNATIONAL
MARKETS 411 The challenge 455
The enabling technologies 456
Domestic vs international pricing 412 Technological innovation 457
The factors affecting international pricing Disruptive technologies 458
decisions 412 Convergent technology 460
Company and product factors 414 The internet and international business
Product and service factors 415 communications 460
The influence of cost structures on pricing 416 Online strategies 463
Specific export costs 420 The purpose of websites 463
Cost reduction 422 Organization sites 463
Economies of scale 424 Services online, on mobile, on the
Learning curve 424 move 464
Location of production facility and Information apps online 464
pandemics 424 Business transactions online 464
Market factors 425 Social network advancement 464
Developing pricing strategies 426 International e-markets and e-marketing 466
The objectives of pricing 427 Business-to-business (B2B) 466
Setting a price 428 Disintermediation and re-intermediation 468
Problems of pricing and financing international Business-to-consumer (B2C) 468
transactions 429
Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) 469
Problems in multinational pricing 430
International marketing solution integration 469
Coordination of prices across markets 430
Knowledge management 469
What is grey marketing? 431
Supply chain management 470
Counterfeiting 432
Value chain integration 470
Price coordination strategies 434
Virtual enterprise networks 471
Transfer pricing in international markets 436
Customer relationship management
Problems in managing foreign currency
(CRM) 472
transactions 438
Customization 472
What currency should the price be quoted
Strategic planning 473
in? 438
Technology-driven analysis 473
Should prices be raised/lowered as exchange
Internal data 474
rates fluctuate? 439
The impact of technology on international
Problems in minimizing the risk of non-payment in
strategy development 474
high-risk countries 440

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x CONTENTS

Internet-based market entry 474 Case study 1 Heart problems? Wearable tech
The impact of technology on strategy could save your life 484
implementation and control 475 Case study 2 Yum! Brands: eating into new
Some limitations of e-commerce for international markets 485
marketing strategy 478
Yum! Restaurants International 486
Legislation 478
Problems of application of existing law to the Directed Study Activity International Marketing
internet 479 Planning: Implementation, Control and
Other internet problems 479 Evaluation 489
Moving to a customer-led strategy 479
Sustainability and corporate social Glossary 495
responsibility 481 Index 502
The elements of the strategic plan 482 Credits 510

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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES,
ILLUSTRATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
LIST OF FIGURES 3.4 TRACE bribery risk matrix 104
3.5 Power distance measure 105
Chapter 1
1.1 Change in GDP and trade volume Chapter 4
worldwide, 2007–22 4 4.1 The 4 Vs of big data 113
1.2 Countries and regions by population 4.2 Delivery Hero’s process model 114
density 5
4.3 Nature of competition and level of market
1.3 Factors influencing international development 119
markets 10
4.4 The four-risk matrix 120
1.4 An alternative Big Mac index: how
4.5 Business portfolio matrix 122
many minutes to earn the price of a
Big Mac? 15 4.6 Market profile analysis 129
1.5 Holistic model of sustainability in global 4.7 Flowchart of the marketing research
marketing 27 process 134
1.6 Aspects of international marketing 4.8 Cultural segmentation map 148
planning 31
1.7 Some typical stakeholders of multinational Chapter 5
enterprises 32 5.1 The multilateral aspects of the
1.8 Essential elements of the international internationalization process 176
marketing plan 36 5.2 Geographic development of SMEs 177
5.3 MSMEs by region 178
Chapter 2 5.4 McKinsey 7S framework 184
2.1 Top 5 global risks in terms of 5.5 Ansoff growth matrix 186
likelihood 43
5.6 Factors affecting SME
2.2 International merchandise trade: internationalization 187
exports 48
5.7 SME: international country selection
2.3 Market entry barriers 57 strategy 189
2.4 Regional trading areas of the 5.8 Exploration and exploitation
world 66 strategy 190
2.5 Tourism value chain 74 5.9 Product structure 191
5.10 Geographic structure 191
Chapter 3 5.11 Levels of internationalization 192
3.1 Hofstede’s cultural onion 84
5.12 Characteristics of successful international
3.2 Power distance/individualism dimensions business-to-business marketers 194
across culture 96
5.13 Reason for failure of start-up
3.3 Negotiation strategy 101 businesses 197

xi
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xii CONTENTS

Chapter 6 Chapter 9
6.1 Multinational enterprises: themed 9.1 External, internal and relationship
areas 206 marketing 328
6.2 Map of the world showing developed, 9.2 The dimensions of international marketing
transitional and developing economies 211 communications 329
6.3 World Health Organization Coronavirus 9.3 Model of communication 333
(COVID-19) dashboard, situation by 9.4 International communication
WHO region 213 decisions 336
6.4 Predicted trends in global growth 2021 213 9.5 Push and pull marketing channels 340
6.5 Export declines in three major economies, 9.6 Typical customer journey map 343
by industry 214
9.7 Internal and external international
6.6 The benefits of global sourcing 216 communications programmes 345
6.7 Company orientation in global strategy 9.8 Types of online advertising 359
development 221
6.8 Alternative worldwide strategies 222
Chapter 10
6.9 Globalization and customization push and 10.1 Distribution channels for business
pull factors 225 goods 375
6.10 The global pyramid of wealth 230 10.2 Distribution channels for consumer
goods 376
Chapter 7 10.3 The 11 Cs 376
7.1 Market entry methods and the levels of
10.4 Vertical distribution channel 389
involvement in international markets 249
10.5 The export order and physical process 404
7.2 Risk and control in market entry 252
7.3 Piggybacking 255
7.4 The components of the export marketing
Chapter 11
mix 256 11.1 The 3Cs of domestic pricing 413
7.5 Framework for international market entry 11.2 The 7Cs of international pricing 413
using digital technology 262 11.3 Market skimming strategy factors 427
11.4 Market penetration factors 428
Chapter 8 11.5 Three types of grey market 433
8.1 The product-service continuum 281 11.6 Seizures of counterfeit and pirated
8.2 The three elements of the product or goods: top economies of provenance,
service 286 2016 433
8.3 The international product cycle 298 11.7 Seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods:
8.4 The portfolio approach to strategic analysis top industries, 2016 434
(BCG matrix) 300 11.8 A framework for selecting a coordination
8.5 The brand value equation 303 method 436
8.6 Brand valuation 305 11.9 The export order process 446
8.7 New product categories 309
8.8 New product development processes 311 Chapter 12
8.9 The arguments for and against centralization 12.1 The growth in technology by 2025 458
of research and development 313 12.2 Layers of technology 484

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CONTENTS xiii

LIST OF TABLES 5.3 The difference between exporting and


international niche marketing 171
Chapter 1 5.4 International niche marketing: development
1.1 World population by region 5 opportunities 172
1.2 Theories of internationalization 9
1.3 United Nations sustainable development Chapter 6
goals 11 6.1 The conduct of responsible
1.4 Births per woman 2005–10 to predicted business 207
2095–2100 19 6.2 Top 20 companies in the world by
1.5 Top 20 megacities of the world and revenues 209
projections for the future 20 6.3 The top 20 non-financial multinational
companies ranked by foreign assets,
Chapter 2 2019 210
2.1 Overview of the world economic outlook 6.4 The top 20 non-financial multinational
projections 44 companies from developing and transition
economies, ranked by foreign assets,
2.2 Ease of doing business rank: selected
2018 212
countries 48
6.5 Drivers of globalization 215
2.3 GDP growth, annual percentage change 50
6.6 Benefits and risks of outsourcing 217
2.4 Balance of trade 52
2.5 Government debt-to-GDP ratio 60
2.6 Main types of trade associations 64 Chapter 7
7.1 Who provides what in partnerships between
Chapter 3 firms from developed and developing
countries? 270
3.1 Percentage ownership of big and small smart
appliances 79
3.2 Communication styles in low and high Chapter 8
context cultures 94 8.1 Cariuma value proposition 288
3.3 The six dimensions (6-D model) of national 8.2 The 30 best global brands 2017 and
culture 94 2020 304
3.4 Differences in buyer–seller relationships
styles 102 Chapter 9
9.1 Drivers for online communications 332
Chapter 4
9.2 Global advertising expenditure by media,
4.1 Competitiveness factors 121 2015–2020 349
4.2 Infrastructure/marketing institution matrix 124 9.3 Global advertising spend by medium,
4.3 The 12C framework for analyzing 2017–2021 350
­international markets 129 9.4 Predicted ad spend by media in India, the
4.4 Online databases 130 UK and Mexico in 2021, % 351
4.5 Advantages and disadvantages of different 9.5 Standardization versus adaptation:
survey approaches 141 marketing communication strategies of
multinational companies on the European
Chapter 5 textile market 355
5.1 Criteria for medium, small and micro-sized 9.6 Advertising spend, US$ billion 360
enterprises 161 9.7 Social media sites and audiences that follow
5.2 Enterprise size and exporting activity 168 brands 361

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xiv CONTENTS

9.8 Time spent on the internet by consumers via Chapter 2


any device 362
2.1 McDonald’s 100 per cent sustainable
9.9 E-commerce penetration: percentage of packaging helps reduce ­environmental
population that bought something online risk 46
(via any device) in one particular month
2.2 South Africa’s manufacturing export for busy
during the year 362
people 49
2.3 Regulations frustrate importers of
Chapter 10 alcohol 56
10.1 Retailers: typical differences between
2.4 Škoda: from shameful to stardom 69
developing and developed countries 387
2.5 North Korea: open or closed? 70
10.2 Top ten global powers of retailing,
FY 2019 391 2.6 China and India: the ­technology
challenge 71
10.3 Global online sales, US$ million 394
Chapter 3
Chapter 11
3.1 Nose piercing and culture 82
11.1 Factors influencing the pricing strategy 414
3.2 Hofstede’s cultural onion 84
11.2 The effect of additional export sales on
contribution 418 3.3 Language and meaning: lost in
translation 86
11.3 Escalation of costs through exporting using
the ‘cost plus’ export pricing model 421 3.4 Who is speaking your language? 88
11.4 ‘Top down’ export pricing model: wine sold 3.5 Cultural dimensions for international sport
from an Australian vineyard to retail outlets advertising 89
in Hong Kong 422 3.6 What does the international language
11.5 Comparison of grey market and of emojis tell us? 98
counterfeits 434 3.7 Blockchain: pure ethically sourced
11.6 (A) Incoterms stages and services at each diamonds 103
stage of the export sales process – rules for
any mode of transport 447 Chapter 4
11.6 (B) Incoterms stages and services at each stage 4.1 Big data: big deliveries in over 50
of the export sales process – rules for sea and countries 114
inland waterway transport 448 4.2 Global and glocal ­segmentation
research 126
Chapter 12 4.3 Research suggested India was full of
12.1 Development of the internet 465 potential. But sometimes reaping returns is
slow business 133
12.2 Checklist for international strategic
planning 482 4.4 Omnibus telephone survey: what do you
want to ask the experts? 137
4.5 The use of social networks to understand
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS global consumer opinion 145

Chapter 1 Chapter 5
1.1 Banyan Tree Hotel and Resorts: three 5.1 Born in Berlin, raised globally 162
sustainable development goals 12 5.2 Climate change action by local SMEs 165
1.2 Born global Sproxil reduces economic drain 5.3 Win–win through DHL knowledge exchange
in African countries 14 with Botswana SMEs 170
1.3 Megacities: how do nanostores survive? 21 5.4 Who is best and what makes them
1.4 Product placement laws in films 25 best? 174

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CONTENTS xv

5.5 Family networking 180 9.2 ‘You can’t stop us’ 337
5.6 SMEs and corporate ­citizenship: sharing 9.3 Pay attention to their play face – free the
harmony 198 kids 341
9.4 Socio-cultural differences 351
Chapter 6 9.5 Reputation Institute: which company has the
6.1 Child exploitation to ­benefit smartphones best reputation in the world? 354
and environmentally friendly cars 208 9.6 We are Social: latest details of consumer
6.2 JPMorgan: being the outsourcer and social spaces 362
outsourcee 218
6.3 Tata Group reaching out around the Chapter 10
world 220 10.1 Japanese keiretsu and the automotive
6.4 Hard Rock Café localizing memorabilia and industry 378
merchandising 224 10.2 Distribution networks full of
6.5 Developing countries learning through the accommodation for ­leisure travellers 380
Internet of Things (IoT) 231 10.3 Nina Interiors: from a soft furnishing
6.6 Uber: pulled out and profited 235 store to an importing and exporting
superbrand 386
Chapter 7 10.4 Comparative retailing traditions 388
7.1 How does H&M group enter new markets 10.5 Freight forward: Seagoing giant freight
in ­countries outside Sweden? H&M’s market containers just get bigger 399
entry modes 250
10.6 A slow train to China? 402
7.2 Pure play e-tailer exporting industry-changing
products 251
Chapter 11
7.3 Mexico: developing into a big player in
11.1 Fairtrade – what is it and what is the
manufacturing 267
price? 417
7.4 Overexpansion: blinded by the sun’s
11.2 Fruit Ninja: extra costs for online gaming
energy 268
success 419
7.5 Facebook’s Instagram acquisition photo-
11.3 Technology ousts out counterfeiters in
sharing businesses 269
China 435
Chapter 8 11.4 Ecuador’s bartering system: everyone
wins 442
8.1 Gastronomy in sacred places 285
11.5 B2B cooperation between Diageo and
8.2 Value proposition: Cariuma and its consumers pension trustees 443
join together in climate action 288
11.6 Leasing a cloud 445
8.3 Red Bull adapts as it flies round the
world 290
Chapter 12
8.4 Recycling services: dealing with the world’s
waste 296 12.1 Pee power® 457
8.5 Gillette innovating for a closer and more 12.2 Artificial intelligence, machine learning and
sustainable shave 299 zero emissions 459
8.6 Patagonia innovators with plastic, goose and 12.3 mHealth, texting and voicemails 462
duck down, and beer 310 12.4 Jack Ma supporting global
entrepreneurs 467
Chapter 9 12.5 Health insurance where
9.1 Ethical communication by H&M Group: it is needed 475
two-way dialogue with stakeholders 330 12.6 A sky full of drones 477

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xvi CONTENTS

LIST OF MANAGEMENT Chapter 8


CHALLENGES 8.1 Global brands: do they care what happens
down the supply chain? 294
Chapter 1 8.2 Google: brand extensions and new product
1.1 How SMEs internationalize 17 developments 306
1.2 The Silk Road reopens as the China-Pakistan 8.3 Meeting emerging market needs with frugal
Economic Corridor 34 engineering 314

Chapter 2 Chapter 9
2.1 Cybercrime affects businesses globally 47 9.1 Volkswagen’s global insult on
2.2 Do high debts mean high risk? 61 Instagram 334
2.3 Small businesses help Rwanda recover 72 9.2 Socio-cultural challenge: self-reference
criteria in advertising decisions 346
Chapter 3 9.3 The importance of research:
3.1 Walking the talk: researching body standardization – should you or shouldn’t
language 85 you? 355
3.2 What’s the risk? 90 9.4 Tiger Woods returns with new
sponsors 356
3.3 Pirates roaming the high seas 106

Chapter 4 Chapter 10
4.1 Pokémon Company goes worldwide 117 10.1 Increasing the number of 3D printers from
now until 2035 374
4.2 Grameen Foundation: micro-funding
helps incipient markets develop and 10.2 Government and e-Choupal: farming in the
grow 118 Wardha District 389
4.3 Networking helps you stand out in a 10.3 The Philippines: growth potential but
crowd 135 distribution headaches 395
10.4 Amazon Prime Air 400
Chapter 5
5.1 SMEs and crowdfunding 166 Chapter 11
5.2 SMEs in India: outsourcing human resource 11.1 Top down pricing model for sugar
management 183 exports 423
11.2 Fighting back: unauthorized watch dealers –
Chapter 6 watch out! 431
6.1 What exports declined during 11.3 Commodity price challenges 439
COVID-19? 214
6.2 Go global, stay local 227 Chapter 12
12.1 Technology and personalization: thank you
Chapter 7 Adidas 461
7.1 What happens in Vegas at BrewDog, stays in 12.2 Fairbnb: a sustainable digital supply
Vegas at BrewDog 261 chain 471
7.2 Joined-up thinking: Africa and the 12.3 Palm oil and social responsibility 481
Gulf 272
7.3 Plastic and food: the perfect strategic
alliance 274

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
PREFACE

Introduction
Markets and marketing are becoming ever more international in their nature, and managers around the
world ignore this fact at their peril. To achieve sustainable growth in markets that are becoming increasingly
global, or merely to survive in domestic markets that are increasingly attacked by international players, it is
essential that organizations understand the complexity and diversity of international marketing. Their man-
agers must develop the skills, aptitudes and knowledge necessary to compete effectively around the globe.
This new revised edition of International Marketing Strategy continues to meet the needs of the interna-
tional marketing student and practitioner in an up-to-date and innovative manner. It recognizes the increas-
ing time pressures of both students and managers and so strives to maintain the readability and clarity of
the previous editions, as well as providing a straightforward and logical structure that will enable them to
apply their learning to the tasks ahead.

Structure of the book


As in previous editions, the book is divided into three main subject areas – analysis, strategy development
and implementation – each of which has four chapters. For each chapter the learning objectives for the
reader are stated at the outset and these then lead to the key themes of the chapter which are explored in
the text. Boxed ‘Illustrations’ throughout the text enable the reader to focus on the key issues and discuss
the practical implications of these issues for international marketing strategy development. ‘Management
Challenges’ in each of the chapters provide examples of the kind of practical dilemmas faced by international
marketing managers in their everyday operations. Throughout the text we highlight a number of continuing
and emerging themes in the management of international marketing. We provide the opportunity to explore
the different mindsets of many types of businesses that depend on international markets for their survival
and growth: from small subsistence farmers, to born global innovative technology businesses, to the global
brand giants.
Success in international marketing is achieved through being able to integrate and appreciate the interac-
tion between the various elements of the international marketing strategy development process, and this is
addressed in two ways. First, at the end of each chapter two case studies are included. While the main focus
of the chapter ‘Case Studies’ is on integrating a number of the chapter themes, the reader should also draw
on their learning from the chapters that have gone before to give a complete answer. Second, at the end of
each part there is a more comprehensive ‘Directed Study Activity’ for the reader that focuses on international
marketing strategy development. At the end of Part I this activity is concerned with analysis, at the end of
Part II with strategy development and at the end of Part III with implementation. The format for these study
activities is similar so that the three Directed Study Activities, when added together, integrate all the learn-
ing from the book and provide a practical and comprehensive exercise in international marketing strategy
development for the reader.

xvii
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xviii PREFACE

New for this edition


All the chapters have been revised and updated to ensure the inclusion of the latest developments in interna-
tional marketing and in response to the changing focus of international marketing and the new challenges
posed by the new patterns of developments in global markets. For this reason, we provide many examples
of international marketing and innovation in the newly emerging economies of Africa, particularly South
Africa, and the Middle East, adding to the examples of development in Asian markets that we also include
and build further on the website. We also explain the increasingly global risks, such as natural disasters and
the increasing use of the internet as a purchasing and process tool by consumers, and the changing develop-
ment and implementation plans that international organizations, large or small, are making
In Chapter 1 we have included a full section introducing sustainability in an adapted PESTLE approach to
examining the environmental influences on international marketing. Sustainability is about considering the
environmental impact of everything we do and ensuring there is longevity. This means encouraging a holistic
way of thinking in our responses to the global marketing challenges we identify, together with the oppor-
tunities that technology and ‘being responsible’ bring for businesses engaging in the international arena.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a contraction in the volume of global trade; however, environmental
disasters and cybercrime are shaping the agenda for both governments and business. The implications of
these risks and political changes have altered the business landscape. These are discussed in Chapters 2 and
3 where we examine the world trading environment and discuss the institutions that aim to influence world
trade. Chapters 5 and 6 on international marketing in SMEs and global firms have been expanded to include
a section examining the skills base needed by global managers, the implications of the strategy development
issues, how some companies are born global rather than grow internationally, and the age-old mantra that
marketers must understand their target market and not assume all consumers, or workforces, are the same.
Further examples of international companies from emerging markets provide the basis for discussion of the
different contexts faced and the alternative growth strategies.
Customers around the world are more comfortable with the use of technology, and are becoming daily, if
not hourly, users of social media, mobile commerce and cloud computing. We also highlight online/internet
engagement of different business-to-business and business-to-consumer situations throughout the chapters,
particularly recognizing how new social media and the technology that drives this has impacted upon dif-
ferent geographic, economic, social and cultural contexts. This is examined particularly in the chapters in
Part III where we focus on implementation issues. Chapter 12 focuses on this further when we examine
how technology not only supports but drives invention and reinterpretation of international marketing com-
munication strategies and delivery mechanisms. It examines how these enable individuals and businesses to
use the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and robots to their advantage.
The majority of the Case Studies, Illustrations and Management Challenges are new or updated. We have
endeavoured to ensure the material we use reflects a global perspective and have included practical examples
from across the world. For this edition we have included a number of our new Case Studies, Illustrations and
Management Challenges from north and south Africa and the Middle East, and other emerging countries,
in response to the advice and suggestions from reviewers, tutors and students. The authors have focused on
responding to the needs of readers who are developing their international marketing skills in Europe, the
Americas, Asia and Africa or other parts of the world. Moreover, we believe that organizations operating in
these countries face some of the most significant and interesting international marketing challenges today
and are developing the most novel solutions. Each Illustration and Management Challenge has questions
highlighting specific issues that should be considered in the context of both the industry it focuses on and
the area of the world it is spotlighting.
The Directed Study Activity (DSA) is an innovative section at the end of each part with the objective of
encouraging readers to integrate their learning from the chapters and the parts. The DSA at the end of Part
I highlights the rapid development of the mobile phone services market in Africa and uses this scenario as
a backdrop for examining trading infrastructure issues, consumer behaviour issues and the development
of a latent and exciting market. We focus in DSA 2 on the companies from emerging markets that are

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Another random document with
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Notwithstanding all which, however, our train reaches Jemelle (the
nearest station to Rochefort) in safety, and in the midst of a wind
sufficient, if not to take our heads, to take our hats off, we and our
belongings come to the ground. It takes some minutes to get our
nine packages together; and when we present ourselves at the door
of the diligence, it is nearly full. I look despairingly at the nurse and
all the children, and decide that the younger members of the family
must go by diligence, and the elder shall walk with me to Rochefort.
But the Rochefortians are too polite to permit such a thing. Two of
them insist upon getting out and giving up their places to the
children. I protest against such a proceeding, of course, as in duty
bound, but they will hear of no excuse, and start off walking at such
a pace that they are out of sight before the diligence is set in motion.
At last the luggage is all packed away on the top, and we are all
packed away inside, in company with two gentlemen, who open the
conversation pleasantly by asking us where we come from, and
telling us that we must not expect to find Rochefort as large as
Brussels, which, to say truth, we had scarcely anticipated. The talk
becomes fragmentary, for the diligence rattles and jolts over the
stony, hilly road, and the bells on the horses’ collars jangle in unison;
and the baby is so enchanted with the noise, that he shouts till no
one can be heard but himself. But twenty minutes’ purgatory brings
us into a long, steep, narrow street, paved with stones, and bordered
with grey-and-white houses; and I have hardly time to ask, ‘Is this
Rochefort?’ when the diligence draws up before a whitewashed
house with a sign swinging before the door, and I am asked if we are
for the Hôtel Biron. No, we are for the Hôtel de la Cloche d’Or; and
as no one seems to be for the Hôtel Biron, the diligence continues to
climb the stony street until it reaches the summit, and halts before
the Hôtel de la Cloche d’Or.
Here we all unpack ourselves; and a buxom German landlady,
with a kind, motherly face, comes down the steps to greet us. She
has received my letter; the beds are all ready for us; the dinner will
be on the table in half-an-hour; we are to be pleased to enter, and
make ourselves at home. We are very pleased; for we are dreadfully
tired (not cold, for the weather is unnaturally mild), and have not had
anything substantial to eat all the day. We climb up the steps of the
hotel, which looks just like a farmhouse abutting on the main street,
and find ourselves in a sanded room, containing a long wooden
table, with benches either side of it, and bearing evident
reminiscences of smoking and drinking—in fact, ‘not to put too fine a
point on it,’ the public tap-room—but where we are met by the
landlady’s two eldest daughters, Thérèse and Josephine, who are
beaming in their welcome. They usher us into a second room, where
the children scream at the sight of a table laid for dinner, and the four
corners of which bear bowls of whipped cream and custard, and rosy
Ardennes apples, and biscuits just out of the oven. The little people
want to begin at once, and cannot be brought to see the necessity of
washing their faces and hands first, or waiting till the meat and
potatoes shall be placed upon the table. Would Madame like to see
the chambres-à-coucher at once? Madame saying yes, Thérèse
catches up the youngest child but one, and, preceded by Josephine,
we enter first a scullery, next a bricked passage, thence mount a
most perilous set of dark narrow stairs, and stumble into a long
whitewashed corridor, which terminates in a glass-door opening on
to a garden. Here three doors successively thrown open introduce us
to our bedrooms; and the trunks having been brought up the
breakneck stairs, we take possession at once. The little white-
curtained beds are small, but beautifully clean, and each one is
surmounted by its eider-down quilt in a coloured cotton case. Two
little islands of carpet in a sea of painted boards represent the
coverings of the floors; and the washing-stands are only deal-tables,
and there are no chests of drawers; but we inhale the fresh, vigorous
breeze which is pouring through the windows (open even at that
season), and think of fever-infected Brussels, and are content. But
though it is all very nice and clean, we cannot possibly wash without
water, nor dry our hands without towels.
An imbecile shout from the door for anybody or anything brings a
broad-featured, rosy, grinning German girl to our aid, who, when she
is asked her name, says it is Katrine, but we can call her by any
name we please. The pronunciation of ‘Katrine’ not presenting those
difficulties to our foreign tongues which the owner of it seems to
anticipate, we prefer to adhere to her baptismal cognomen, instead
of naming her afresh, and desire Katrine to bring us some hot water
and towels; on which she disappears, still on the broad grin, and
returns with a pail of warm water, which she sets down in the middle
of the room. We manage well enough with that, however, but are at
our wits’ end when, on being asked for more of the same fluid with
which to mix the baby’s bottle, she presents it to us in a washing-
basin. But as, a few minutes after, I encounter her in the corridor
carrying a coffee-pot full to E—’s room, I conclude that in Rochefort it
is the fashion to use vessels indiscriminately, and resolve
thenceforth to take the goods the gods provide, without questioning.
On descending to the dining-room, we find that the gods have
been very munificent in their gifts. After the soup appears roast beef;
and as we are very hungry, we cause it to look foolish, and are just
congratulating each other on having made an excellent dinner, when
in trots Thérèse, pops our dirty knives and forks upon the tablecloth,
whips away our plates, with that which contains the remainder of the
beef, and puts down a dish of mutton-chops in its stead. We look at
one another in despair; we feel it to be perfectly impossible to begin
again upon mutton-chops, and I am obliged to hint the same to
Thérèse in the most delicate manner in the world. She expostulates;
but to no purpose, and leaves the room, mutton-chops in hand. But
only to give place to her mother, who enters with a countenance of
dismay to inquire what is wrong with the cooking that we cannot eat.
Nothing is wrong; we have eaten remarkably well. It is our
capabilities of stowage which are at fault. Will we not have the hare,
which is just ready to be served up?
Sorry as we are to do it, we must decline the hare; and as we
affirm that we are ready for the pudding, and nothing else, we feel
we have sunk in Madame’s estimation.
The pudding, a compote of apples and preserves, with the
whipped cream and custard, is delicious; and as soon as we have
discussed it, we are very thankful to stretch ourselves under the
eider-down quilts, and know the day to be over. We have done work
enough that day to entitle us to twelve hours’ repose; yet we are all
wide-awake with the first beams of the morning sun.
We dress ourselves with the pleasurable anticipation of seeing
new things, however simple, and come downstairs to a breakfast-
table, in its way as plentifully spread as the dinner-table of the night
before. We have an abundance of milk,—so fresh from the cow that
it is covered with froth, and the jug which contains it is quite warm,—
eggs, cold meat, home-made bread in huge brown loaves, good
butter, and strong clear coffee. In fact, we come to the conclusion
that our landlady knows how to live, and we no longer marvel at the
rosy cheeks and full forms of Thérèse and Josephine, nor that
Madame herself fills out her dresses in such a magnificent manner.
E— has been for a stroll before breakfast, and brings back a
report of ruins on the high ground; he has already unpacked his
sketch-books and sharpened his pencils. We, not being walking
encyclopædias, seize our Continental Bradshaw, and find that the
ruins are those of a castle in which Lafayette was made prisoner by
the Austrians in 1792.
As soon as breakfast is concluded, we rush off to see the ruined
castle, which stands on an eminence just above the hotel, and which
our landlady (who walks into our sitting-room and takes a chair in the
most confiding manner possible whenever she feels so inclined)
informs us, although not open to the public, belongs to a lady whose
house is built on the same ground, and who will doubtless allow us
to look over it. We can see the remains of the castle before we reach
them, and decide that it must have been uglier and less interesting
when whole than now, having been evidently designed with a view to
strength rather than beauty. The little winding acclivitous path which
leads to it, bounded by a low wall fringed with ferns and mosses, is
perhaps the prettiest part of the whole concern; but just as we have
scaled it, and come upon the private dwelling-house, our poetic
meditations are interrupted by the onslaught of half-a-dozen dogs
(one of which is loose, and makes fierce snaps at our unprotected
legs), which rush out of their kennels at chains’ length, and bark so
vociferously, that we feel we have no need to make our presence
known by knocking at the door. A child appears at it; and we inquire
politely if we may see the ruins, at which she shakes her head, and
we imagine she doesn’t understand our Parisian French.
But in another moment we are undeceived, for the shrill, vixenish
voice of a woman (may dogs dance upon her grave!) exclaims
sharply from the open door, ‘Fermez, fermez; on ne peut pas entrer.’
The child obediently claps it to in our faces, and we retrace our
steps, with a conviction that the lady is like her castle—more strong
than beautiful. E— is so disgusted that he will not even sketch the
ruins from the opposite side of the road, up which another
precipitous path leads us to a long walk, which in summer must be a
perfect bower, from the interlacing of the branches of the trees with
which it is bordered; and from which we have a far better view of the
ruins than the utmost politeness of their owner could have afforded
us. But no; judgment has gone out against them; we decide they are
heavy and unpicturesque, and not worth the trouble; and we walk on
in hopes of finding something better: and are rewarded. At the close
of the long over-shadowed walk, a quaint little chapel, beside which
stands a painted wooden crucifix nearly the size of life, excites our
curiosity, and, walking round it, we come upon one of the loveliest
scenes, even in the month of February, that Nature ever produced.
A green valley, creeping in sinuous folds between two ranges of
high hills; one rocky and coated with heather, the other clothed with
wood. Beneath the rocky range there winds a road bordered by
trees,—along which we can see the red diligence which brought us
from the station taking its jangling way,—and beside it runs a stream,
terminating in a cascade and a bridge, and the commencement of
the lower part of Rochefort. All the fields are cut upon the sides of
hills, and are diversified by clumps of rock covered with ferns, and
usually the groundwork of a well, protected by a few rough planks, or
the fountain-head of a mountain-stream which trickles down until it
joins the river. This is the valley of Jemelle, to see which in the
proper season would alone be worth a journey to Rochefort. We look
and admire, and lament the impossibility of ever transferring such a
scene to canvas as it should be done; and then we turn back
whence we came, and find we are standing at the entrance of an
artificial cave, situated at the back of the crucifix before alluded to,
and which forms perhaps as great a contrast to the natural loveliness
we have just looked upon, as could well be. Apparently it is the tomb
of some woman, by the framed requests which hang on either side
that prayers may be offered for the repose of her soul; but had her
friends turned out upon her grave all the maimed and motley rubbish
to be found in a nursery playbox of some years’ standing, they could
scarcely have decorated it in a less seemly manner. At the end of the
cave is a wooden grating, behind which is exhibited one of those
tawdry assemblages of horrors which tend more perhaps than all
else to bring ridicule on the Roman Catholic religion, so utterly
opposed are they to our conceived ideas of what is sacred. Two or
three rudely-carved and coarsely-painted, almost grotesque, wooden
groups of the dead Christ, the Holy Family, and the Crucifixion, form
the groundwork of this exhibition: the interstices being filled up with
gold-and-white jars of dirty artificial flowers; framed prints of saints
with lace borders, reminding one of the worst description of
valentines; and composite figures, supposed to represent the same
individuals, and which may have cost fifty centimes apiece. The
collection is such as to make the spectator shudder to see holy
things so unholily treated; and it is difficult to conceive how, in this
century, when art has been carried to such a pitch that even our
commonest jugs and basons have assumed forms consistent with it,
anyone, even the lowest, can be satisfied with such designs and
colouring as these things display.
Returning homeward by the lower part of the town, we pass a
maison religieuse dedicated to St Joseph, and in the garden see the
good little sisters joining their pupils, to the number of forty or fifty, in
a merry game of ‘Here we go round the mulberry-bush,’ and
apparently taking as much pleasure in the exercise as the youngest
there. The church and churchyard stand at this end of Rochefort.
There is nothing in the building to attract one’s notice, except that we
agree that it is the ugliest we have ever seen; but we walk round the
little churchyard, the paucity of graves in which speaks well for the
climate of the place. The crosses and railings, made of the
commonest wood and in the most fragile manner, are all rotting as
they stand or lie (several having assumed the recumbent position);
and we are leaving the spot with the conviction that we have wasted
five minutes, when we come against a crucifix fastened by heavy
iron clamps against the wall of the church. A common iron cross,
rusty and red from damp and age, with a figure nailed on it of the
most perfect bronze, old and hard, and dark and bright, and as
unchanged by weather and exposure as on the day (perhaps
hundreds of years ago) it was first placed there.
Toiling up the street again, and examining the shops as we go, I
say that, much as I like Rochefort, I do not advise any one to come
here in order to purchase their wedding trousseau, or lay in a stock
of winter clothing. We look in vain for something to buy in
remembrance of the place; but can see nothing out of the way,
except it is a yellow teapot, holding at the least four quarts, and with
a curled spout to prevent the tea coming out too fast, which must be
almost necessary with such a load of liquid. The teapot is delicious,
and quite unique; but scarcely worth, we think, the trouble of
transportation. We have but just decided this matter to our
satisfaction when we come upon a ‘miscellaneous warehouse,’ upon
whose front is painted ‘Cartes pour les grottes de Rochefort,’ and
remember that we must see the famous grotto, and turn in to ask the
price of admission. Five francs a-head; children half-price. We think
the charge is high; but Monsieur C— (to whom the grotto belongs)
takes us into his house and shows us prints of the different views of
its interior, which fire our imagination to that degree, that we decide
at once to see it the next morning. We look over a book also in which
visitors to the grotto have written down their first impressions; and
these testimonials excite our curiosity still further. A Persian
describes himself as having been suddenly transported into
fairyland; and can liken the vast caverns to nothing but the palace of
his great master the Sultan, and the various forms assumed by the
stalactites to those of lovely houris grouped about him. A French
poet, in rapturous verse, compares the grotto to the enchanted halls
of the Arabian Nights, and the stalactites to ‘frozen tears.’ Every
traveller declares the sight to have been more wonderful and
beautiful than anything he has ever seen before, until we become
quite sorry to think we must put off seeing it until the morning; and
our expectations are heightened by the rapid assurance of Monsieur
C— (who always keeps his hands moving, and never stops to
consider his commas), that it is ‘trèsbeautrèsbeautrèsbeau!’
However, we agree to return the next day at eleven o’clock, when he
promises the guides shall be in readiness for us; and we go home to
another excellent dinner, the pleasure of which is only marred by the
fact that Thérèse will make us use the same knives and forks for
every course; and we haven’t the strength of mind to resist.
Yesterday I spoke to madame on the necessity of engaging
someone during the mornings to read French and German with the
girls, as we shall most likely be here for a month; and it is too long a
time for them to be idle. Madame did not think I should find a
demoiselle in Rochefort who could instruct them; but there is a
professeur here who has passed all his college examinations, and
who, if he has the time, will doubtless be very glad of the
employment. I asked her to send for the professeur that I might
speak to him on the subject; and here, just as we have done dinner,
he arrives; for madame throws open the door, and with a certain
pride in her voice (pride that Rochefort should possess such an
article), announces ‘Monsieur le Professeur.’ I glance up, thinking of
Charlotte Brontë and her professor, and hoping this one may not
prove as dirty and seedy and snuffy, and, to my amazement, see
standing on the threshold a lad of about seventeen or eighteen,
dressed in green trousers and a blue blouse, and holding his cap in
his hand. The two girls immediately choke, and bury their faces in
their books, which renders my task of catechising rather a difficult
one; and I glance at E— for aid, but his countenance is almost level
with the table as he pretends to draw. So I find there is nothing to be
done but to beg the professeur to be seated,—a request which he
steadily refuses to comply with; and as he stands there, twisting his
cap in his hands, he looks so like a butcher-boy, that it is a mercy I
do not ask him what meat he has to-day.
But the poor young man is so horribly nervous, as he tells me that,
though qualified for a tutor, he has never taught before, that I have
not the heart to refuse him on account of his youth; besides, is he
not the sole professeur in Rochefort? So I give him leave to come
the next morning, and try, at all events, what he can do with the girls;
and he looks very happy for the permission. And we see him a
minute afterwards, striding proudly down the street, whistling as he
goes, and holding his head half an inch higher for having ‘got a
situation.’ Of course the children make merry over him for the rest of
the evening, and cannot recall the appearance of their professeur
without shrieks of laughter; but he comes the next morning,
nevertheless, to commence his duties, and proves to be quite as
particular as older teachers, and much more competent than some,
and takes the youngest girl completely aback by telling her she shall
be punished if she is not steady.
At eleven o’clock the next morning we are all ready to view the
grottoes, and E— and I, with the two eldest children, start off on our
expedition. The way to their entrance lies through Monsieur C—’s
park, which in summer must be a very charming resort. He has
collected here all the wild animals indigenous to the Ardennes, and
shows them to us as we walk to the mouth of the grottoes. Close to
his house he has a splendid wolf and three foxes—the golden, silver,
and common fox. I should have preferred to keep these interesting
specimens a little further off from my own nose; but there is no
accounting for tastes. In the aviary he has squirrels, guinea-pigs,
doves, pigeons, and the most magnificent pair of horned owls I have
ever seen. These birds, which are as fierce as possible, have eyes
of jet and amber, as big as half-crowns, and when in their rage they
spring at passers-by, they make a noise with their beaks just like
castanets.
A little farther up the park we come upon the Ardennes deer, which
are thicker built and less graceful than the English fallow-deer, with
which they are consorting; and a wild boar, with fierce tusks and a
savage grunt, wallowing in a parterre of clay, which, nevertheless,
knows his master, and puts his ugly snout out to be scratched
between the palisades of his domain. Monsieur C— only conducts
us as far as the entrance of the grotto, and there delivers us over to
the care of the guides, two in number, who each carry a couple of
petroleum lamps, and have ‘Grottes de Rochefort’ written on their
hatbands. They ask us if we will have costumes to enter the caves
with, and we decline, not knowing the dirt we shall encounter; but we
exchange our own hats for little, grey linen ones, trimmed with a
cockade and bunch of small red feathers in front, made after the
pattern of those adopted by the monkeys on the organs, and in
which we appear very comical to each other’s eyes. Everything is
ready, and down we go—down the first flight of steps, which is steep
but easy, and which, Monsieur C— shouts after us, will be the most
difficult descent of all (I wonder if he impresses that fable on all his
visitors) until the ivy and fern-covered entrance is passed, and we
enter the very mouth of the cave, which is yet light enough to let us
see that several such flights have still to be descended. We have
hardly reached the middle of the second, and daylight is not yet left
behind us, when E— calls out that he cannot breathe, and must go
up into the fresh air again. The guides insist that monsieur must be
mistaken, and no one is ever taken ill there. I insist, on the other
hand, that monsieur’s wishes must be complied with, and we must
reaccompany him to the top, which we do. I would rather not go back
again then, and make the dark pilgrimage alone with the children,
but E— begs we will, and the girls look disappointed; so we retrace
our steps, leaving him in the park.
I confess that as I go down the second time I feel a little nervous,
and my limbs shake. I don’t like this going down, down, down into
the shades of eternal night, with no companions but two little
children.
But at last we stand on level ground again. There is no light
anywhere except from the guides’ lamps, the foremost one (who is
always spokesman) waves his above his head, and introduces la
grande salle. I look up and around me, but all is black as pitch. I feel
that I am standing on broken flints and a great deal of mud; and as
the guide’s lamp throws its faint gleam here and there, I see that the
cavern we stand in is very vast and damp, and uncommonly like a
huge cellar; but I can’t say I see anything more. In another minute
the guide has turned, and leads us through a passage cut in the
rock. We are not going up or downstairs now, but picking our way
over slippery stones and between places sometimes so narrow and
sometimes so low, that our shoulders get various bumps and
bruises, and the guide’s warning of ‘Garde tête!’ sounds
continuously. Every now and then we come upon a larger
excavation, which is called a salle, and given some name
consequent on the likeness assumed by the stalactites contained in
it. Thus one is called salle de Brahma, because it contains a large
stalactite, somewhat resembling the idol of that name. Another salle
du sacrifice, because its principal attraction is a large flat stone at the
foot of which is another, shaped sausage-wise, and entitled tombeau
de la victime. We pace after the guides through these cavernous
passages for what appears to me miles, my mind meanwhile being
divided between fear that I should leave my boots behind me in the
slushy clay, or that either of my children should tumble down or
knock her head. Every cavern is like the other, and I look in vain for
stalactites which shall remind me of ‘houris grouped about the
sultan,’ or ‘frozen tears.’ The guides occasionally produce a fine
effect by burning a little red fire, or letting-off a rocket, or climbing
singly up the more perilous places, that we may watch the gradual
ascent of their flickering lamps, and judge of the height of the larger
salles. But I suppose the enthusiastic scribblers in the visitors’ book
would consider me the possessor of a very darkened intellect if they
heard me affirm that I have seen better effects on the stage, and
climbed greater heights with much more convenience. Perhaps I
have not a sufficiently appreciative soul for grottoes; but the greater
part of the grotto of Rochefort comes up exactly to my idea of a
mine, and nothing more.
The ‘glittering’ stalactites are nowhere. The cave is lined with
stalactites, but (with the exception of a few white ones) they are all of
a uniform pale-brown colour, and have no idea of glittering or being
prismatic. The greatest wonder of the grotto is its vastness, which
may be estimated from the fact that we are two hours going over it,
and then have not traversed the whole on account of fresh works
being carried on in parts. We penetrate to its very depths to see the
river and the waterfall, but the mud is so excessive that we are
compelled to stop, and let the guide descend with his lamp and flash
it over the water, which is really very pretty, and, strange to relate,
contains good trout.
Then we plough our way upwards again; up fungus-covered
ladders, and wet, slippery stairs, upon which it is most difficult to
keep a footing, until we arrive at decidedly the finest sight there—the
salle du sabbat. Here the guides send up a spirit-balloon, to show us
the height and extent of the vast cavern, and we are rather awe-
struck, particularly as, in order that we may see the full effect, the
other guide plants us on three chairs and takes away both the lamps,
leaving us seated in the darkness, on the edge of a precipice. The
blackness is so thick about us that we can almost feel it; and the
silence is that of death. My youngest girl slips her little hand in mine,
and whispers, ‘Mamma, supposing he weren’t to come back again!’
and I can’t say the prospect pleases. However, the balloon reaches
the top of the cavern, and is hauled back again; and the guide does
come back; and, whilst he is assisting his fellow to pack it away, I
sing a verse of ‘God save the Queen,’ for the children to hear the
echo, which is stupendous.
Then we see the prettiest thing, perhaps, we have seen yet. At the
top of the salle du sabbat there is a kind of breakage in the side, and
a large cluster of stalactites. One guide climbs up to this place and
holds his lamp behind the group, whilst the other calls out ‘la femme
qui repose;’ when lo! before us there appears almost an exact
representation of a woman, reclining with crossed legs, and a child
on her bosom. It is so good an imitation, that it might be a figure
carved in stone and placed there, and I think the sight gave us more
pleasure than anything in the grotto. We have come upon several
groups of stalactites already, to which the guides have given names,
such as l’ange de la résurrection, l’oreille de l’éléphant, and le lion
Belge; but though they have, of course, borne some resemblance to
the figures mentioned, the likeness is only admitted for want of a
better. This likeness, however, is excellent, could hardly be more
like; and we are proportionately pleased. With the salle du sabbat
and the balloon the exhibition is ended; and we are thankful to
emerge into the fresh air again, and to leave slippery staircases and
the smell of fungi behind us.
We feel very heated when we stand on the breezy hill again, for
the grotto, contrary to our expectation, has proved exceedingly
warm, and the exercise has made us feel more so; and daylight
looks so strange that we can scarcely persuade ourselves we have
not been passing the night down below. We have picked up several
little loose bits of stone and stalactite during our progress, and when
we reach home, we spread them out before us on the table, and try
to remember where they came from. Here is a bit of marble, veined
black-and-white; and here is white stone, glistening and silvery. Here
is the stalactite, a veritable piece of ‘frozen tears’ and couchant
houris.
Well, we have been a little disappointed with the grottoes of
Rochefort, perhaps; we have not found the crystallisations quite so
purple-and-amber as we anticipated, or the foundations quite so
clean; but, after all, it is what we must expect in this life. If the grotto
is not so brilliant as we expected, it is at least a very wonderful and
uncommon sight; and so in this life, if we can but forget the purple-
and-gold, we may extract a great deal of amusement from very small
things, if we choose to try. With which bit of philosophy I conclude.
A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTMARE;
Or, The Amateur Detective.

I am an author. I am something worse than that—I am a Press writer.


I am worse than that still—I am a Press writer with a large wife and a
small family. And I am an Amateur Detective! I don’t mean, of
course, that I reckon the last item as part of my profession, but my
friends always come to me if they are in any difficulty, and set me to
do all kinds of queer jobs, from restoring and reconciling a truant
husband to his wife, to making the round of the ‘Homes for Lost
Dogs’ in order to find Lady Softsawder’s pet poodle. Even Jones
couldn’t complete his great work, ‘The Cyclopædia of the Brain,’
without asking my assistance (for a consideration, of course) with his
fifth section, ‘The Origin of Dreams.’ Jones is full of fire and
imagination, but he does not care for plodding, and he knew me of
old for a good steady compiler. I agreed with alacrity. ‘The Origin of
Dreams’ would fill those hungry little mouths of mine for three
months at the very least. But how to do it whilst they gaped around
me!—how to cover the one table in my solitary sitting-room with
valuable works of reference at the risk of their being touched by
greasy fingers!—how to wade through volume after volume, placing
a mental mark there and a material one here, whilst my offspring
either surreptitiously removed the one or irretrievably obliterated
remembrance of the other, by attracting my attention to the manner
in which they attempted to scalp each other’s heads or gouge out
each other’s eyes! I tried it for a week in vain.
My Press work I had been accustomed to do at office, but this,
which was to be based upon the contents of certain ponderous
black-lettered tomes which Jones had been collecting for ages past,
must be carried on at home, and the noisy, wearisome day gave me
no time for reflection, and left me without energy to labour at night. I
was about to resign the task in despair—to tell Jones to give it to
some more capable or more fortunate labourer in the wide field of
speculation—when Fate came to my rescue in the person of the
Hon. Captain Rivers, Lord Seaborne’s son.
‘My dad’s in an awful way about his ward, young Cockleboat,’ he
remarked to me, in his friendly manner, ‘and he wants your
assistance, Trueman, if you’ll give it him.’
‘Why, what’s the matter, Captain Rivers?’
‘Haven’t you heard? Cockleboat’s made a fool of himself. He fell in
love with a nursemaid, or a barmaid, or some such sort of person—
he, with his twenty thousand a-year in prospect; and when the
governor remonstrated with him—told him ’twas nonsense and
couldn’t be, and all that sort of thing, he actually ran away!’
‘Left Lord Seaborne’s house?’
‘Of course, and without a word of explanation. Now, dad doesn’t
want to make the affair public, you know, unless it becomes
necessary, so he hasn’t said a word to the police; but he wants you
to find out where Cockleboat is—you’re so clever at that sort of thing
—and just bring him home again.’
‘An easy task, certainly. And you don’t even know which way the
lad has gone?’
‘Well, we think we’ve traced him to Norwich, and dad thought if
you wouldn’t mind going up there for a bit, and keeping your eyes
open; of course we should make it worth your while, you know, you
might hear something of the young scamp for us.’
‘What on earth can be his motive for leaving home?’
‘Well, perhaps the lady lives up that way, or Julian may have got it
into his head that he’ll work to support her. He is but twenty last
birthday, and will not be of age, by his father’s will, for the next five
years—very lucky for him, as it’s turned out, that he will not be.’
‘True. I think I remember seeing the lad at Lady Godiva’s last
season. Didn’t he act there in some private theatricals or charades?’
‘I believe he did. Now, Trueman, what’s your decision? Will you go
to Norwich for us or not?’
‘I will start to-morrow if your father wishes it.’
The offer had come most opportunely; even as Captain Rivers
was speaking it had flashed through my mind that here was the very
opportunity that I desired to carry out my project of writing the fifth
section of Jones’ Cyclopædia;—a remote lodging in one of the back
streets of the quiet old city of Norwich, whence I could carry on my
inquiries all day, and where I might sit up and write out my notes all
night. And Lord Seaborne’s generosity in such cases was too well
known to permit of any doubt on the subject whether I should not (by
accepting his proposal) be killing two birds with one stone. So I did
accept it, with gratitude, and having obtained all the information
possible respecting the mysterious disappearance of Master Julian
Cockleboat, I packed up the black-lettered tomes, and, embracing
my smiling wife and children, who appeared rather pleased than
otherwise at the prospect of getting rid of me for a few weeks,
started for Norwich.
I have a great respect for old county towns: there is a dignified
sobriety and sense of unimpeachable respectability about them that
impresses me. I like their old-world institutions and buildings—their
butter crosses and market steps; their dingy bye streets with
kerbstones for pavements; their portentous churches and beadles;
their old-fashioned shops and goods and shopmen. I like the quiet
that reigns in their streets, the paucity of gas they light them up with,
the strange conveyances their citizens ply for hire—in fact, I like
everything with which the world in general finds fault. So it was with
a sense of pleasure I found myself wandering about the streets of
Norwich, on the look-out for some place in which to lay my head. I
had rather have been there than at the seaside, although it was
bright July weather, and I knew the waves were frothing and
creaming over the golden sands beneath a canopy of cloudless blue
sky. I preferred the shaded, cloister-like streets of the county town,
with its cool flags under my feet, and its unbroken sense of calm.
I did not turn into the principal thoroughfares, with their gay shops
and gayer passengers, but down the less-frequented bye-ways,
where children playing in the road stopped open-mouthed to watch
me pass, and women’s heads appeared above the window-blinds,
as my footfall sounded on the narrow pavement, as though a
stranger were something to be stared at. Many windows held the
announcement of ‘Rooms to Let,’ but they were too small—too
modern, shall I say—too fresh-looking to take my fancy.
I connected space and gloom with solitude and reflection, and felt
as if I could not have sat down before a muslin-draped window, filled
with scarlet geraniums and yellow canariensis, to ponder upon ‘The
Origin of Dreams,’ to save my life. At last I came upon what I
wanted. Down a narrow street, into which the sun seemed never to
have penetrated, I found some tall, irregular, dingy-looking buildings
—most of which appeared to be occupied as insurance, wine, or law
offices,—and in the lower window of one there hung a card with the
inscription, ‘Apartments for a Single Gentleman.’
It was just the place from which to watch and wait—in which to
ponder, and compare, and compose,—and I ascended its broken
steps, convinced that the birthplace of ‘The Origin of Dreams’ was
found. A middle-aged woman, with an intelligent, pleasing face
answered my summons to the door. The weekly rent she asked for
the occupation of the vacant apartments sounded to me absurdly
low, but perhaps that was due to my experience of the exorbitant
demands of London landladies. But when I explained to her the
reason for which I desired her rooms, namely, that I might sit up at
night and write undisturbed, her countenance visibly fell.
‘I’m afraid they won’t suit you, then, sir.’
‘Why not? Have you any objection to my studying by night?’
‘Oh, no, sir. You could do as you pleased about that!’
‘What then? Will your other lodgers disturb me?’
Her face twitched as she answered, ‘I have no other lodgers, sir.’
‘Do you live in this big house, then, by yourself?’
‘My husband and I have been in charge of it for years, and are
permitted to occupy the lower floor in consideration of keeping the
upper rooms (which are only used as offices in the day-time) clean
and in order. But the clerks are all gone by five o’clock, so they
wouldn’t interfere with your night-work.’
‘What will, then?’
‘I’m afraid there are a good many rats about the place, sir. They
will breed in these old houses, and keep up a racket at night.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind the rats,’ I answered, cheerfully. ‘I’ll catch as
many as I can for you, and frighten away the others. If that is your
only objection, the rooms are mine. May I see them?’
‘Certainly, sir,’ she said, as she closed the door behind me and led
the way into two lofty and spacious chambers, connected by folding-
doors, which had once formed the dining-saloon of a splendid
mansion.
‘The owners of the house permit us to occupy this floor and the
basement, and as it’s more than we require, we let these rooms to
lodgers. They’re not very grandly furnished, sir, but it’s all neat and
clean.’
She threw open the shutters of the further apartment as she
spoke, and the July sun streamed into the empty room. As its rays
fell upon the unmade bed, my eye followed them and caught sight of
a deep indentation in the mattress. The landlady saw it also, and
looked amazed.
‘Some one has been taking a siesta here without your permission,’
I said, jestingly; but she did not seem to take my remark as a jest.
‘It must be my good man,’ she answered, hurriedly, as she shook
the mattress; ‘perhaps he came in here to lie down for a bit. This hot
weather makes the best feel weak, sir.’
‘Very true. And now, if you will accept me as a lodger, I will pay
you my first week’s rent, and whilst I go back to the railway-station to
fetch my valise, you must get me ready a chop or a steak, or
anything that is most handy, for my dinner.’
All appeared to be satisfactory. My landlady assented to
everything I suggested, and in another hour I was comfortably
ensconced under her roof, had eaten my steak, and posted a letter
to my wife, and felt very much in charity with all mankind. So I sat at
the open window thinking how beautifully still and sweet all my
surroundings were, and how much good work I should get through
without fear of interruption or distraction. The office clerks had long
gone home; the upper rooms were locked for the night; only an
occasional patter along the wide uncarpeted staircase reminded me
that I was not quite alone. Then I remembered the rats, and ‘The
Origin of Dreams;’ and thinking it probable that my honest old couple
retired to bed early, rang the bell to tell my landlady to be sure and
leave me a good supply of candles.
‘You’re not going to sit up and write to-night, sir, are you?’ she
inquired. ‘I am sure your rest would do you more good; you must be
real tired.’
‘Not at all, my good Mrs Bizzey’ (Did I say her name was Bizzey?),
‘I am as fresh as a daisy, and could not close my eyes. Besides, as
your friends, the rats, seem to make so free in the house, I should
burn a light any way to warn them they had better not come too near
me.’
‘Oh, I trust nothing will disturb you sir,’ she said, earnestly, as she
withdrew to fetch the candles.
I unpacked my book-box and piled the big volumes on a side
table. How imposing they looked! But I had no intention of poring
over them that night. ‘The Origin of Dreams’ required thought—deep
and speculative thought; and how could I be better circumstanced to
indulge in it than stationed at that open window, with a pipe in my
mouth, looking up at the dark blue sky bespangled with stars, and
listening (if I may be allowed to speak so paradoxically) to the
silence—for there is a silence that can be heard?
When Mrs Bizzey brought me the candles, she asked me if I
required anything else, as she and Mr Bizzey were about to retire to
the marital couch, which I afterwards ascertained was erected in the
scullery. I answered in the negative, and wished her good-night,
hearing her afterwards distinctly close the door at the head of the
kitchen stairs and descend step by step to the arms of her lord and
master. But Mrs Bizzey’s intrusion had murdered my reverie. I could
not take up the chain of thought where she had severed the links.
The night air, too, seemed to have grown suddenly damp and chilly,
and I pulled down the window sash with a jerk, and taking out my
note-book and writing-case drew a chair up to the table and
commenced to think, playing idly with my pen the while. Soon the
divine afflatus (the symptoms of which every successful writer knows
so well) came down upon me. I ceased to think—or rather to be
aware that I was thinking. My pen ran over the paper as though
some other hand guided it than my own, and I wrote rapidly, filling
page after page with a stream of ideas that seemed to pour out of
my brain involuntarily. Time is of no account under such
circumstances, and I may have been scribbling for one hour or for
three, for aught I knew to the contrary, before I was roused to a
sense of my position by hearing a footfall sound through the silent,
deserted house.
Now, although I have described my condition to be such as to
render me impervious to outer impressions, I am certain of one thing
—that no noise, however slight, had hitherto broken in upon it. It was
the complete absence of sound that had permitted my spirit to have
full play irrespective of my body; and directly the silence was
outraged, my physical life re-asserted its claims, and my senses
became all alive to ascertain the cause of it. In another moment the
sound was repeated, and I discovered that it was over my head—not
under my feet. It could not, then, proceed from either of the old
couple, whom I had heard lock themselves up together down below.
Who could it be?
My first idea, emanating from my landlady’s information that the
noise might proceed from rats, I had already dismissed with
contempt. It was the reverberation of a footstep. There could be no

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