THREE MEN IN A BOAT
SUMMARY LESSON 11-19
Chapter 11 begins with George telling J. a story about how he forgot to wind his watch before bed and ended up waking up at 3 in the morning. This aroused the suspicion of the police constables who found him walking around London in the wee hours of the morning. J., George and Harris went for a morning swim and later Harris, who had no idea how to make srambled eggs, tried his hand at it and failed miserably. They later arrive at Magna Carta island and J. mused about being a peasant at the time when King John signed the Magna Carta.
In Chapter 12, the men passed through Picnic Point where King Henry was known to have courted Anne Boleyn. J. spoke about the predicament of the locals who must have had a hard time giving privacy to the couple. He later added that it is indeed awkward walking in on couples who were “spooning”. They passed through the place where Earl Godwin was known to have choked after being accused of Edward the confessor’s brother’s murder. They finally came across a boy who offered them a place to stay in and they were grateful for it. After having forgotten the mustard at home, the trio settled for a can for pineapple to eat with lunch. They soon gave up after unsuccessfully trying to open the can. They passed by three old men fishing who cursed them because Harris’ poor steering disturbs the water. The friends decided to stay at an inn in Marlow that night.
In Chapter 13, the trio passed through Marlow, Bisham Alley and Medemenham where they came across an abbey where an order of prodigious monks once lived. During lunch, Montmorency got intimidated by a cat and its menacing stare. They stocked up on food in Marlow but they found it difficult to leave due to the large number of steam-launches in the water. Faced with a water shortage, the trio pondered about drinking the river water. They eventually ended up drinking some water from a nearby cottage which they thought was from the river as well. The day ended comically with Harris falling off the edge of a gulch and J and George thinking he was dead.
In Chapter 14, the men make Irish strew but they ended up over-peeling the potatoes. Montmorency caught a water rat which he thought could be added to the stew but the men declined. The stew turned out to be delicious. Startled by the tea-kettle, Montmorency attacked it. George’s dismal banjo playing was accompanied by Montmorency’s howling. This prompted the others to request him to never play again. It was mentioned that George was forced to have sold his banjo due to complaints from his landlady and the passersby. After a night out, George and J. forgot where the boat was docked. Eventually they followed Montmorency’s barks and found the boat. Harris narrated an incident where he single-handedly fought of a swarm of aggressive swans whose nest they disturbed.
In Chapter 15, the friends discussed who will tow the boat since it is the most strenuous job. They rowed the boat to Reading where J. would tow it for a while. Since J. had had some experience in rowing, he named the different types of rowing a boat as well as the common mistakes people make when they try rowing for the first time. He described punting as a type of rowing where the passenger propels the boat in the right direction pushing a long pole into the riverbed. He then warned them about the hazards of punting by recounting a story of a friend who was left clinging to the pole as the boat drifted away. He also mentioned another occasion when he and his friends heckled an amateur punter mistaking him for someone they knew. Harris added by narrating an incident where he held a person’s head under water thinking he was a friend. The chapter ends with J sharing another anecdote involving his friend Hector.
The men approach Reading in Chapter 16. J. mentioned that the now polluted and crowded Reading was once a popular destination for Londoners to escape the plague. They got a respite from rowing when an acquaintance with a steam-launcher helped them by towing their boat for miles. They saw the corpse of a woman floating in the water as they reached Goring. They took her to the coroner and found out that she had killed herself because she begot a child out of wedlock and her family abandoned her.
In Chapter 17, the men tried doing their laundry by washing their clothes in the river but they ended up making them even dirtier than before. They readily pay a washerwoman who charged three times the normal rate to wash their clothes since they were so dirty. Later, J. emphasized on the importance of lying about one’s fishing prowess. George and J. go to a pub in Wallingford. Three patrons tried to take credit for a large trout hanging on the wall. Each had his own story and an estimation of its weight. Their lie was exposed when George grabbed on to the trout to stop himself from tripping and ended up displacing it. It fell on the ground and shattered into pieces. It is then revealed that the fish was made of plaster of Paris.
Chapter 18, starts with J.’s discussion of the Thames without “its flower-decked locks”. He narrated another anecdote involving him and George in Hampton Court where a photographer took pictures of a steam-launch. He called out to the duo to stay away from the frame. In an attempt to keep their boat out of the frame, both fell with their feet up in the air. Their feet took up nine-tenths of the image and the annoyed owner of the steam-launcher refused to foot the bill.
In the 19th Chapter, the trio went to Oxford. Montmorency also regaled himself by fighting with the other stray dogs. J. explained the logic behind why some people who vacation on the Thames start from Oxford and move down to London. It helped their boats to move along with the current. He said that the boats in Oxford are too bad to be rented hence it is important to bring one’s own boat. He recounted when he had once mistaken an Oxford boat for an ancient artifact. The incessant rains ruined their journey back from Oxford. They pass their time by playing penny nap and listening to George playing the banjo. Though he was ridiculed for his banjo-playing skills in a previous chapter, George rendered a mournful tune of “Two lovely black eyes”. This caused the other two to be more depressed. They aborted their trip and retired into an inn in Pangbourne where they regaled the guests with their adventures and misadventures from the trip. In the end, they raised a toast their decision to abandon the trip. Montmorency barked in order to concede with the three.
