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What happens in “The Schartz-Metterklume Method”?
Lady Carlotta misses her train
Lady Carlotta is delayed at a small station after stepping off the train to stop a carter from mistreating a horse. She is accustomed to her luggage travelling separately from her and sends a vague message saying she will arrive by another train.
Mrs. Quabarl mistakes her for the governess
At the station, Mrs. Quabarl approaches Lady Carlotta and assumes she is Miss Hope, the governess her family is expecting. Mrs. Quabarl’s confidence—and Lady Carlotta’s self-possession—turn the mistake into an opportunity. Rather than identify herself, Carlotta accepts the role and goes with Mrs. Quabarl to the Quabarl home.
The invented method becomes a lesson
At the house, Lady Carlotta’s confidence and fanciful stories unsettle the family. When Mr. and Mrs. Quabarl discuss how to make history more engaging for their children, she announces that she teaches using the “Schartz-Metterklume method.” The adults act as if they recognize the name, although the method is Carlotta’s invention.
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The next day, she puts the children to work acting out the story of the Sabine Women. Their reenactment becomes so physical that they drag the lodge-keeper’s daughters across the lawn. Mrs. Quabarl intervenes and orders Carlotta to leave. Carlotta tells her to keep the supposed governess’s luggage until she sends an address; she claims it includes golf clubs and a leopard.
The real governess arrives
Miss Hope turns up later, revealing the mistaken identity. Lady Carlotta returns to her actual hostess, who expresses sympathy for the delay. Carlotta answers, “Oh dear, no,” and says the journey was “not at all tiresome — for me.” The ending makes clear that the detour has been entertainment for Carlotta, even as it has disrupted the Quabarls’ household.
What is the Schartz-Metterklume method?
It is a made-up teaching method within the story. Lady Carlotta presents it as a way to help children understand history by acting it out. Its name sounds authoritative enough that the Quabarls pretend to know it, and the reenactment turns their request for vivid history teaching into comic disorder.
The joke is not that Saki is describing a genuine classroom technique. Rather, Carlotta improvises a plausible-sounding label, and the family’s desire to appear informed helps the deception succeed.
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What are the story’s main themes?
Mistaken identity and social authority
Mrs. Quabarl treats her assumption about Lady Carlotta as fact. Carlotta’s composure lets her occupy the governess’s expected role, briefly reversing the household’s usual hierarchy: the supposed employee dictates what happens, while the employers accept her claims.
Pretension and empty expertise
The Quabarls’ response to the invented method is revealing. Rather than admit they have not heard of it, they behave as if it is familiar. The story mocks the performance of knowledge, especially when social confidence matters more than asking a straightforward question.
Practical joking and amusement
Lady Carlotta is not a child playing a trick on an adult. She is an adult who sees an opening and prolongs the deception for her own amusement. A scholarly discussion of the episode describes it as a practical joke and highlights the reversal between the supposed subordinate governess and her employers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does the ending matter?
The arrival of the real Miss Hope resolves the identity confusion, but the final exchange supplies the story’s point of view. Carlotta has not experienced the journey as an ordeal: the disruption has entertained her. Her closing remark turns the inconvenience into a private joke and leaves the Quabarls, rather than Carlotta, with the consequences.
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About the title and the summary PDF
The exact-title Scribd page describes a user-uploaded summary adapted from the story; it should not be treated as an authoritative edition or publication record. For the complete story and attribution to Hector Hugh Munro, known as Saki, Open Textbook BC provides the full text. American Literature also presents a full-text version.
The story is associated with Saki’s collection Beasts and Super-Beasts. Publication dates should be treated cautiously: the Scribd upload says 1911, while other results point to the 1914 collection context. These details do not by themselves establish a definitive first-publication date.
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