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Jack at Sea All Work and no Play made him a Dull Boy By: George Manville Fenn (1831-1909) |
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We do seem to have rather a problem with this book, because the copy we
worked from had pages 15 and 16 missing (sheet was missing) and also the
bottom half of pages 283 and 284 has been torn out. Eventually, when I
can see another copy of the book I will be able to rectify this, but at
the moment there does not seem to be a copy in sight: it doesn't even
seem to be listed in the British Library Catalogue. Jack is an academic and clever boy, who does not do much in the way of
sport and exercise. This worries his father who talks about it to the
local doctor. They decide that Jack has to be forced into the world
most of us inhabit, but the way they do it was surely a bit of an
over kill, for Sir John (the father, who is a baronet), buys a yacht
capable of sailing round the world, and they all set off in it,
including Ned, one of the domestics from home. There is an excellent
crew and the skipper of the yacht is taken on for the trip. Jack is pretty miserable at first, with seasickness, but gradually he
joins in with the daily activities, and as time goes on he becomes
indistinguishable from other boys who might have this opportunity. We
join in with Jack and Ned in various adventures, mostly in the Java
seas. Apart from the minor blemish of the three missing texts, the book is
most enjoyable. There are the usual G M Fenn tight situations, but of
course the young men (as these boys would like to be called) manage to
get out of them. JACK AT SEA; OR, ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MADE HIM A DULL BOY, BY GEORGE
MANVILLE FENN. OR ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MADE JACK A DULL BOY. CHAPTER ONE. WHEN A BOY IS NOT A BOY. "Fine morning, Jack; why don't you go and have a run?" John Meadows always "Jack," because his father's name was John upon
hearing that father's voice, raised his dull, dreamy eyes slowly from
the perusal of the old Latin author over which he was bending, and
looked in Sir John's face, gazing at him inquiringly as if he had been
walking with Cicero in Rome too far away to hear the question which had
fallen upon his ears like a sound which conveyed no meaning. Father and son were as much alike as a sturdy sun browned man of forty
can resemble a thin, pale youth of sixteen or so. In other words, they
possessed the same features, but the elder suggested an outdoor plant,
sturdy and well grown, the younger a sickly exotic, raised in the hot
steaming air of the building which gardeners call a stove, a place in
which air is only admitted to pass over hot water pipes, for fear the
plants within should shiver and begin to droop. Sir John had just entered the handsome library, bringing with him a good
breezy, manly suggestion of having been tramping through woods and over
downs; and as soon as he had closed the door, he glanced at the large
fire near to which his son had drawn a small writing table, said "Pff!"
unbuttoned his rough heather coloured Norfolk jacket, raised his eyes to
the window as if he would like to throw it open, and then lowered them
and wrinkled up his forehead as he gazed at his son, carefully dressed
in dark brown velvet, and wearing correctly fitting trousers and patent
leather shoes, a strong contrast to his own knickerbockers, coarse brown
knitted stockings, and broad soled shooting boots. Sir John looked anxious and worried, and he stretched out a strong brown
hand to lay upon his son's shoulder, but he let it fall again, drew a
deep breath, and then very gently asked him the question about the walk. "Did you speak to me, father?" said the lad vacantly. "Speak to you!" cried Sir John, in an impatient, angry tone, "of course
I spoke to you. It worries me to see you so constantly sitting over the
fire reading." "Does it, father?" said the lad, wincing at the tone in which these
words were spoken, and looking up in an apologetic way... Continue reading book >>
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Genres for this book |
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Adventure |
Fiction |
History |
Travel |
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