A woman comes to Sherlock Holmes begging for his help to solve the mystery of her sister’s death. Quite a sum of money is offered for their dowries and her sister consequently died before her wedding day. Now the woman is afraid that she will meet the same fate.
Alexander Pope's introduction to the work.
Mr. Douglass' disdain for the institution continues to grow.
Carol is disappointed by her experience at the Thanatopsis Club.
Colonel Pyncheon helps convict the owner of a seven-gabled house (Matthew Maule) of witchcraft. At the gallows, Matthew curses and the Colonel. On the day the Colonel opens the seven-gabled mansion, he is found dead. Future generations experience unhappiness and Hepzibah (the current resident) opens a ten-cent shop.
Zeus fills the Achaeans with fear before sending an important message to Hector. Odysseus Diomedes inspire the Achaeans fight courageously.
Patroclus asks a favor of Achilles, who is still absent from the battle. Patroclus is slain, but not before telling Hector of his own dire fate.
The central character, John Melmoth, is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life and spends that time searching for someone who will take over the pact for him; the novel actually takes place in the present, but this backstory is revealed through several nested stories-within-a-story that work backwards through time (usually through the Gothic trope of old books).