The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Tristram reiterates his plan: He will write “two volumes every year” as long as his mind and body allow him to do so (385). Though his spirit remains strong, his health is suffering. He may not finish his project. He has so much to write and so much to say, he explains, and no one can write his story but himself. This desire motivates him to keep moving. He plans a trip to Europe and begins his new narrative when he is in Dover, about to set off for a tour of the continent.

The sea is rough and makes Tristram feel “sick as a horse” (386), but he arrives in the French port of Calais. Many travel writers have described Calais, he says, so he need not go into detail. When he does attempt to describe parts of the town and its history, he comes dangerously close to becoming sidetracked again. When he realizes he is nearly reproducing the 50-page long account of the siege of the town in 1346 written by Rapin, he stops himself.

Tristram travels from Calais to Boulogne and complains that French transport is always unreliable. He reaches Montreuil, where he meets an innkeeper’s daughter named Janatone.