Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog),[Note 1] published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K.

Jerome of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. The book was
initially intended to be a serious travel guide,[1] with accounts of local history along the route, but the humorous elements took over to
the point where the serious and somewhat sentimental passages seem a distraction to the comic novel. One of the most praised
things about Three Men in a Boat is how undated it appears to modern readers the jokes seem fresh and witty even today.[2]
The three men are based on Jerome himself (the narrator Jerome K. Jerome) and two real-life friends, George Wingrave (who
would become a senior manager at Barclays Bank) and Carl Hentschel (the founder of a London printing business, called Harris in
the book), with whom Jerome often took boating trips. The dog, Montmorency, is entirely fictional [1] but, "as Jerome admits,
developed out of that area of inner consciousness which, in all Englishmen, contains an element of the dog."[2] The trip is a typical
boating holiday of the time in a Thames camping skiff.[Note 2] This was just after commercial boat traffic on the Upper Thames had
died out, replaced by the 1880s craze for boating as a leisure activity.[citation needed]
Following the overwhelming success of Three Men in a Boat, Jerome later published a sequel, about a cycling tour in Germany,
titledThree Men on the Bummel (also known as Three Men on Wheels, 1900).

Summary[edit]
Three Men in a Boat - map of tour

The story begins by introducing George, Harris, Jerome (always referred to as "J."), and Jerome's dog, a fox terrier called
Montmorency. The men are spending an evening in J.'s room, smoking and discussing illnesses from which they fancy they suffer.
They conclude that they are all suffering from "overwork" and need a holiday. A stay in the country and a sea trip are both
considered. The country stay is rejected because Harris claims that it would be dull, the sea-trip after J. describes bad experiences
of his brother-in-law and a friend on sea trips. The three eventually decide on a boating holiday up the River Thames, from Kingston
upon Thames to Oxford, during which they will camp, notwithstanding more of J.'s anecdotes about previous mishaps with tents and
camping stoves.
They set off the following Saturday. George must go to work that day, so J. and Harris make their way to Kingston by train. They
cannot find the right train at Waterloo Station (the station's confusing layout was a well-known theme of Victorian comedy) so they
bribe a train driver to take his train to Kingston, where they collect the hired boat and start the journey. They meet George further up
river atWeybridge.
The remainder of the story describes their river journey and the incidents that occur. The book's original purpose as a guidebook is
apparent as J., the narrator, describes passing landmarks and villages such as Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Church, Magna
Carta Island and Monkey Island, and muses on historical associations of these places. However, he frequently digresses into
humorous anecdotes that range from the unreliability of barometers for weather forecasting to the difficulties encountered when
learning to play the Scottish bagpipes. The most frequent topics of J.'s anecdotes are river pastimes such as fishing and boating and
the difficulties they present to the inexperienced and unwary and to the three men on previous boating trips.
The book includes classic comedy set pieces, such as the story of two drunken men who slide into the same bed in the dark,
the Plaster of Paris trout in chapter 17, and the "Irish stew" in chapter 14 made by mixing most of the leftovers in the party's
food hamper:
I forget the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted; and I remember that, towards the end, Montmorency, who had
evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air, reappearing, a few minutes
afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner; whether in a
sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say.

Chapter 16

Other memorable sections include chapter 3's description of the author's Uncle Podger creating chaos while hanging a picture, and
chapter 4's discussion of "Advantages of cheese as a travelling companion".

Reception[edit]
One might have imagined that the British Empire was in danger. The Standard spoke of me as a menace to English letters;
and The Morning Post as an example of the sad results to be expected from the over-education of the lower orders. I think I may
claim to have been, for the first twenty years of my career, the best abused author in England.

Jerome K. Jerome, My Life and Times (1926)

The reception by critics varied between lukewarm and hostile. The use of slang was condemned as "vulgar" and the book was
derided as written to appeal to "'Arrys and 'Arriets" then common sneering terms for working-class Londoners who dropped their
Hs when speaking. Punch magazine dubbed Jerome "'Arry K. 'Arry".[3] Modern commentators have praised the humour, but
criticised the book's unevenness, as the humorous sections are interspersed with more serious passages written in a sentimental,
sometimespurple, style.
Yet the book sold in huge numbers. "I pay Jerome so much in royalties", the publisher told a friend, "I cannot imagine what becomes
of all the copies of that book I issue. I often think the public must eat them."[4] The first edition was published in August 1889 and
serialised in the popular magazine Home Chimes in the same year.[Note 3] The first edition remained in print from 1889 until March
1909, when the second edition was issued. During that time, 202,000 copies were sold.[5] In his introduction to the 1909 second
edition, Jerome states that he'd been told another million copies had been sold in America by pirate printers.[6] The book was
translated into many languages. The Russian edition was particularly successful and became a standard school textbook. Jerome
later complained in a letter to The Times of Russian books not written by him, published under his name to benefit from his success.
[7]
Since its publication, Three Men in a Boat has never been out of print. It continues to be popular to the present day, with The
Guardian ranking it No. 33 of The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time in 2003, and Esquire ranking it No. 2 in the 50 Funniest Books
Ever in 2009.[8] In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's surveyThe Big Read.[9]

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) Summary

The novel, narrated by the Englishman J., tells of a boat trip J. takes up with Thames River with his
friends George and William SamuelHarris. His prose is rambling, and often digresses into anecdotes or long
observational passages.

One night, the three men smoke together in J.'s London apartment, discussing their anxiety over their sicknesses.
The reader can discern that they are actually hypochondriacs. After researching diseases at the British Museum, J.
has recently concluded that he suffers from every disease known to man except for housemaids knee. The men
decide that a vacation will be good for their health, and after some deliberating, they decide to spend a week
rowing up the Thames with their dog, Montmorency.

The men make arrangements for the trip. They decide to bring a cover for the boat so they can sleep in it, rather
than bringing a tent or staying in inns. They compile a long list of items to bring, but quickly realize that they should
only pack the essentials. Although they are friends, J. seems to dislike Harris, and compares him at length to J.s
incompetent Uncle Podger. They end up bringing a hamper of food, clothing, a cover for the boat, and a methylated
spirit stove for cooking. Packing takes a long time because the men keep forgetting items they need, and prove
somewhat ill-fit for the the task.

The men oversleep on the morning they are supposed to leave, and have trouble determining which train to board
for Kingston, from which they intend to embark. They eventually make it, though, and begin the journey. J. describes
some local landmarks, including Hampton Court and some pubs that Queen Elizabeth dined in. Harris tells a story
about getting lost in the hedge maze at Hampton Court.

The men pass through their first lock that is, a section of the river where the levels are lowered or raised between
gates, to regulate traffic and water flow. J. comments on how irritating it is when women wear boating clothes that
are too delicate to get wet. George separates from the group to do some work for his employer in Shepperton.
Harris proposes visiting a cemetery to see an interesting tombstone, but J. rejects this idea, finding cemeteries
depressing. Harris falls into the food hamper while trying to get some whiskey.

When J. and Harris stop to lunch on the riverbank, a man accuses them of trespassing and tries to blackmail them.
Harris, a large man, physically intimidates the visitor and they journey on. J. warns readers not to be taken in by
these thugs, who usually do not work for the landowner they claim to represent.

He then recounts some embarrassing stories, in which he and Harris both make fools of themselves at pretentious
parties Harris by singing a comic song, and J. by pretending to speak German. J. describes a few more local points
of interest, and the two men reunite with George in Shepperton.

Harris and J. convince George to tow the boat from the shore; towing is an arduous task that can lead to problems if
the tower becomes distracted. J. recalls various incidents when he was boating and the tow-line became tangled or
detached entirely.

The men have a satisfying dinner and sleep in the boat. The next morning, they wake up early and George tells J. a
story about accidentally starting his day at 3 a.m. because he forgot to wind his watch. Later that morning, J. falls in
the water and Harris fails in attempting to make scrambled eggs. As they pass Magna Charta Island, J. describes
what it would have been like to be a peasant when the Magna Carta was signed.

When the men pass Datchet, they reminisce about an earlier trip, when all the inns were full there and they had to
sleep at a local's house. That night, they sleep at an inn in Marlow. Montmorency chases a large cat, but is too
intimidated to attack it.

The next day, they pass more historical landmarks, including Bisham Abbey. They run out of drinking water, and are
disgusted when a local lock-keeper suggests that they drink from the river. Harris falls off the edge of a gulch while
trying to eat supper.

The next evening, they cook Irish stew, and George plays the banjo. However, he is a beginner and his music is so
awful that Harris and J. persuade him not to play for the rest of the trip. George and J. go for drinks in the town of
Henley that night, but get lost on their way back. When they eventually find Harris sleeping in the boat, he explains
that he had to move it because he was attacked by a flock of aggressive swans.

J. describes some of the mishaps that he and George experienced when they first learned to row. The men pass
through Reading without incident, although J. does offer a brief history of the town. As they approach Goring, they
discover a womans corpse floating in the water. They later learn that she drowned herself after having a child out
of wedlock and finding herself unable to support it.

The men attempt to wash their clothes in the Thames, but the clothes only come out dirtier than before. That night,
they drink at a pub in Wallingford with a large fish hanging on the wall. All of the patrons claim to have caught the
fish themselves, but George accidentally knocks it over, and the men realize that it was made of plaster of Paris.

The friends continue toward Oxford, where they plan to turn around and row back toward London. J. describes a
time that he and George went rowing and, by falling over at exactly the wrong moment, managed to ruin a
professional photographers pictures. J. describes the attractions of Dorchester, Clifton, and Abingdon, which include
Roman ruins and the grave of a man who fathered 197 children.

They manage to navigate a difficult stretch of river near Oxford, and spend two days there. J. interrupts the story to
warn readers about renting a boat in Oxford because they tend to be of poor quality there.

On the way back from Oxford, it rains terribly, and the men find themselves cold, wet, and miserable. They soon
decide to abandon the boat and spend the rest of the trip at an inn. That night, they enjoy a delicious supper and
toast their decision to abandon the boat. Montmorency barks in agreement.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) Themes

Country/City life
Jeromes portrayal of the relationship between urban life and the natural world is complex, and at times
contradictory. Early in the book, the men decide to take a river trip because they believe that natures calmness and
beauty will give them an escape from the stress of living in London. To some extent, this is true the men do seem
to forget their hypochondria when they are on the river, and they enjoy many calm moments. However, they also
discover that the countryside is not as peaceful as it seems. The men have great difficulty performing basic chores
such as cooking and navigating the boat, and they quickly cease the trip when it begins to rain on their way back to
London. Ultimately, they come to accept that country life can be every bit as demanding as life in the city.
Hypocrisy
Much of the humor in Three Men in a Boat is derived from the characters hypocritical behavior especially that of
J., the narrator. J. frequently digresses from the narrative to write long, scathing takedowns of people and behaviors
that annoy him. While the rants themselves are often quite witty, Jerome adds another layer of humor by having J.
himself be guilty of the behaviors he criticizes. One of the novels many examples of this comes when he grows
angry at George and Harris for being lazy, while he himself avoids chores as often as possible. By making his
narrator unreliable in this way, Jerome ensures that the negative, critical aspects of the story remain enjoyable and
lighthearted. And yet the point remains apt, especially since characters almost everywhere in the book show a
tendency to speak a certain way while acting in an opposite manner.
Impossible desires
According to Jerome, impossible desires are a part of human nature. Although this worldview sounds somewhat
bleak, he conveys it through comedy about his characters wanting what they cannot have, and then losing interest
on occasions when they do get what they wish for. The most important example of this is how the three mens
attitude toward rowing changes over the course of the novel. At the beginning, they see the boat trip as a welcome
escape from their stressful routines. However, by the end of the novel, they are so tired of living in the boat that
they end the trip early to stay at an inn. Jerome suggests that although we all must cope with impossible desires,
the best way to live a satisfying life is to pursue variety but ultimately return to the lifestyle that suits who we
actually are.
Pretension
Much of Jeromes satire targets pretension, especially the pretensions of the middle and upper classes. His
treatment of pretension is similar to his treatment of hypocrisy, and the two themes are themselves closely related.
Pretension has more to do with how people present themselves to the world. One of the most scathing sequences in
the novel comes when Jerome skewers the pretensions of J. and his friends, who discuss philosophy and pretend to
speak German in an effort to be high-class. In this passage, Jerome is not mocking the activities, but rather the
fact that they are pursuing them not out of genuine interest, but rather in hopes of bolstering their reputations
among their friends. Overall, Jerome presents a world of people who develop illusions about themselves that are
easily punctured if they are closely examined.
Social class
Jerome's examination of social class is both nuanced and interesting for its time. Throughout his life, Jerome did not
fit easily into one social class. His father was a skilled worker and a lay preacher, and before Jeromes birth, his
family was solidly middle-class. However, they were plunged into poverty when he was two years old, and he had to
take several menial jobs as a young man. Nevertheless, he remained immersed in arts and letters, and managed to
support himself through his creative work. (After Three Men in a Boat became successful, he was set for life and
thus experienced life in England from many different socioeconomic perspectives.) Three Men in a Boat is unique in
that it features characters from all walks of life, generally portraying them positively. The titular men are white-
collar, middle-class workers, but they encounter many members of the lower classes on their trip, and even witness
some of the privations caused by extreme poverty. While Jerome does not overtly criticize the English class system,
he does portray characters from different social classes with skill and sensitivity.
Morality
In Three Men in a Boat, Jerome presents a nuanced, humanistic view of morality. The episodes in the novel show
that everyone is guilty of sin to a greater or lesser extent, and he even makes this point explicitly when the men
find the corpse of a woman who committed suicide. Because of this universal tendency, Jerome argues that people
should refrain from judging each other for their moral lapses. We are all guilty of seeing ourselves differently from
how we actually are, and hence should be careful to assume we have authority to judge others. Indeed, J.s
judgments of the people around him are often written to reflect poorly on him for judging, even though they also
provide much of the novels humor.
Happiness
Three Men in a Boat can be understood as an exploration of what it takes for humans to be truly happy. For the
novels characters and for many real laborers in Victorian England a holiday presents a very special occasion
that is anticipated all year. As he chronicles the mens trip up the Thames, Jerome parses what it means to have a
satisfying holiday and by extension, to be happy. The men bicker constantly and are incompetent at performing
even basic tasks, which makes the trip just as stressful if not more so than their lives in London do. However,
through his humorous and serious digressions, Jerome conveys that happiness is not about doing particular
activities or being with certain people, but rather about appreciating ones current situation and surroundings. One
should explore variety but then return to who one actually is.

=======================================================

Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog Summary & Study Guide Description

Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information
and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Three Men in a Boat: To
Say Nothing of the Dog by Jerome K. Jerome.

"Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog" is Jerome K. Jerome's amusing account of a two-week boat trip
up the Thames River from London to Oxford and back. The trip is taken by his friends George and Harris and
himself, along with his rat terrier, Montmorency.

After a few false starts in the preparations, the three men leave on their journey in a rented rowboat. As they pass
each town and village along the way, J. provides brief, humorous histories of the area and the various monarchs
and other notable figures associated with it. His imagination is slanted toward the chivalrous days of knights and
damsels, and he often imagines these kinds of scenes as they pass along the river, while sometimes letting his
idyllic daydreams distract him from important things, such as watching where he is steering the boat.

The three men are good friends, and enjoy each others' company despite their occasional flare-ups. Jerome's
descriptions acknowledge that they all take themselves too seriously at times and his humor is self-effacing when
their pride or cockiness leads them into ridiculous situations. The young men are financially comfortable, but are
not to proud to sleep two or three to a bed in a hastily-rented spare room in a pinch. They imagine themselves to
be handy and proficient outdoorsmen, but are confounded by tasks such as setting up a tent or cooking over a
camp stove. Jerome depicts these situations with a gentle humor.

Much like the river journey it depicts, the book meanders from place to place, from topic to topic, and Jerome salts
the book with hilarious anecdotes about his friends that he is reminded of by various events on the trip.
Montmorency is treated as one of the characters, and his predilection for catching rats and starting fights is
depicted with the same tone of admiration J. offers his human friends.

The men make their way to Oxford, sometimes camping in their canvas-covered boat, sometimes staying at inns,
and enjoy two days at Oxford before heading back downstream to London. As they leave Oxford, it begins to rain,
and despite their original insistence to stick out the whole journey, they guiltily leave their boat behind and take
the train for the final leg. The book ends with the three men (and the dog) enjoying a fine meal in a London
nightclub, toasting themselves and their friendship.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) Summary and Analysis of Preface and Chapters 1-3
Summary

Preface
Jerome introduces his book as being commendable nor for its style or relevance, but rather for its straightforward
truth. He insists that the boat trip he details actually took place, and that the characters he speaks of are actual
humans, not literary constructions.

He believes that no other books can claim to be more truthful, and hopes that its simplicity helps his message come
across more clearly.

Chapter 1
The narrator, J., is smoking in his room with his friends, George and William Samuel Harris, and his
dog Montmorency. The men, all hypochondriacs, are chatting about their latest illnesses, each man certain that he
is in danger of death or serious disease.
In a flashback, J. recollects how he once went to the British Museum to research a treatment for his hay fever, and
after reading about diseases, convinced himself that he was suffering from every illness known to man except for
housemaids knee. J.s doctor, clearly recognizing the man's paranoia, prescribed him beefsteak, beer, walking, and
good sleep habits, and urged him not to stuff up your head with things you dont understand (10).

J. still believes that he suffers from every disease, but he is especially concerned about his liver condition the
main symptom of which is a general disinclination to work of any kind (10).

The friends decide that taking a vacation together would restore their health, and debate locations for a week-long
excursion. J. suggests a rural, old-world spot, but Harris wishes to avoid remote locations and counters with the
suggestion of a sea cruise. J. vetoes that idea because one week is not enough time to overcome seasickness and
actually enjoy the trip. He notes to the reader that no one admits to being seasick on land, but that many people
have trouble with it when actually on a ship. George suggests taking a boat trip down the Thames, an idea that
everyone approves. Though J. worries that Montmorency will get bored in the boat, they decide to bring him along
anyway.

Chapter 2
The men begin to make plans for their boat trip. George and J. want to camp along the river, believing that sleeping
outside will offer a true escape from the city. J. writes sentimentally and poetically about the beauty and power of
nature.

However, Harris points out that camping would be unpleasant if it rains, so they decide to camp on nights with good
weather and sleep in inns when the weather is poor. J. believes Montmorency will preferhotels because they offer
more excitement and stables that the dog can run around in. J. explains to the reader that Montmorencys adorable
appearance endears him to everyone who meets him, but he is actually a hyperactive troublemaker.
The men leave for a pub, to further discuss arrangements for the trip.

Chapter 3
At the pub, they compile a list of what they need to pack. Harris volunteers to write out the list, and J. compares him
for the reader to his Uncle Podger, who always volunteers to help others but bungles the job because he is so
accident-prone. Further, Uncle Podger ends up causing more work for everyone else because of his general
incompetence. To illustrate his point, J. tells a lengthy story about how Uncle Podger once caused chaos for his
entire household when trying to complete the simple task of hammering a nail into the wall.
Because the men do not want to leave anything behind, the list soon becomes ridiculously long. George suggests
that they bring only the things they cannot do without, and they agree to travel light, even deciding to bring a cover
a sleep in the boat so that they do not need to pack a tent. George promises that it will be easy to wash their
clothes in the river with a bit of soap, and J. and Harris trust him (although J. notes that they will later regret this).

Analysis
Three Men in a Boat straddles multiple genres, largely without drawing any attention to its tonal shifts. When the
book was published in 1889, critics were not quite sure what to make of it. Superficially at least, it is structured as
travel guide. Today, travel guides are often presented as reference works, and are not meant to be read cover-to-
cover. In the nineteenth century, however, it was common for works of this genre to be written as one long itinerary.
Jerome initially intended Three Men in a Boat to be a serious travel narrative, but his humorous digressions
eventually become so prominent that the book was reconceived as a comic novel. What is most fascinating, though,
is that there are still serious and honest passages that reflect the original intention, which creates a notable mix of
tones. Because of this, modern and nineteenth-century critics alike tend to deride the book as uneven.
Jeromes two main modes of humor are satire and observational humor. Satire is a mode of writing the uses irony to
criticize society. It is often humorous, but does not necessarily have to be. Although some satirical novels are very
dark, Jeromes lighthearted satire is mostly concerned with illustrating and gently mocking the pretensions and
hypocrisies of certain social conventions.

Observational humor sometimes overlaps with satire, especially in this case. It is a type of humor that draws its
subject matter from human behavior and daily life, attempting to show the absurdity of human behavior by focusing
of everyday, banal details. One example of observational humor is Jeromes discussion of people who claim never to
get seasick. The digression is meant to illustrate how most people present themselves as one type of person, in a
way that's almost expected, even if they are all quite different.

In fact, the frequent use of this type of humor does provide a fairly consistent absurdist worldview. Most of Jerome's
irony suggests that people are usually unaware of the extent to which they delude themselves. For instance, J.'s
tone reveals that he clearly understands that he does not suffer from so many diseases, and yet he continues to
progress as though it were true. Throughout the novel, Jerome revels in illustrating the illusions that men and
women construct, usually fooling themselves most of all. Even though the novel remains rooted in everyday
concerns, Jerome sees a regular absurdist vein that runs throughout them.
In fact, the Preface itself can be revisited after reading the text and seen as a joke itself. First, Jerome did
not actually have a dog that he brought on the trip, which immediately contradicts the preface's insistence on its
simple truth. In fact, the story is as fictional as it is factual. However, even without knowing this fact, the preface's
humility reads as somewhat silly and false, as though he were saying 'I just wrote what happened.' He insists he will
not use literary tropes, though he does so frequently (although sometimes to mock them). Despite its seeming
simplicity, the Preface provides a microcosm of the novel's contradiction between irony and earnestness.
Chapter 2 features the books first significant instance of Jeromes alternation between lighthearted humor and
sentimental description. His long-winded description of nature's beauty is very different from the humorous
passages in both tone and style. One could be forgiven for being momentarily confused, for looking through these
descriptions for some sense of irony that they lack. Tonally, the description is very serious, and takes an idealistic,
uncritical view of nature. Jeromes style also changes dramatically. While the humorous passages are clear, concise,
and conversational, Jerome uses very formal and flowery diction in the descriptive sections here. He relies heavily
on the detailed, syntactically complex writing style that was common in literary Victorian prose.

Jeromes attitude toward nature is strongly influenced by Romanticism, a movement in literature and visual art that
peaked in the first half of the nineteenth-century. It emphasized the beauty and majesty of nature, and encouraged
people to privilege emotion over logic. Jeromes Romantic influence can be seen in his sentimental view of nature
and his professed distaste for modernity.

And yet it is the foibles of modernity and civilization that provide most of the novel's push. These are clearest in
Jerome's digressions, which he frequently uses to go on extended comedic 'riffs.' These riffs are often quite notable
and distinct from anything else in the novel. The Uncle Podger section is a perfect example. Though it initially
serves to illustrate a point about Harris, it quickly becomes its own segment, an almost slapstick scene. Once
Jerome establishes the irony - that sometimes the most helpful person proves the least helpful - it becomes all
about gags. Further, the Uncle Podger section features a very different set of characters. While J. and his friends are
privileged, urban gentlemen, Uncle Podger is the head of a large country family. When it was first published, Three
Men in a Boat was criticized for pandering to working-class readers (My Life 75). Digressions like the Uncle Podger
anecdote are what inspired this criticism.
However, Jeromes digressions are not always overtly comedic. Many of the sentimental passages about the beauty
of nature are also digressions, and Jerome's criticism of materialistic people has a serious edge as well (26-27). Of
course, that passage employs a wry irony even despite its formal, serious language, since the speaker is clearly as
materialistic as the people he criticizes. J. briefly breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges this irony when the
narrator stops himself and writes: I beg your pardon really. I quite forgot (27). In other words, he discovers yet
another illusion that he uses for himself.

Finally, it is worth noting that the digressive structure gives the novel a stream-of-consciousness style, as though
Jerome were constructing it as he went along. While it is possible that this is entirely accurate, it is equally plausible
that Jerome means deliberately to explore a variety of approaches and subjects, all with an eye on entertainment. If
so, then the style could be more suitably likened to that of a contemporary stand-up comedian than to more
'traditional' Victorian novels.

Chapter 4

Continuing to plan, the friends discuss what they will need for cooking. Although paraffin oil stoves are more common, they decide to
bring a methylated spirit stove, remembering how the paraffin oil had oozed everywhere on a previous boat trip.

For breakfast and lunch, they choose food that is easy to cook - but not cheese, because of its strong smell. J. launches into a long
digression about when his friend Tom once asked him to transport some cheese on a train journey. Everyone sitting in J.s car left
because the smell was too strong. When J. delivered the cheese to Tom and his wife, Toms wife refused to stay in the house until
the cheese was eaten. They could not escape the cheese's stench until they buried it miles away at the seaside.

Back at his house, J. volunteers to pack the clothes, believing himself an exceptionally efficient packer. However, he keeps
forgetting items, and then has to unpack in order to fit them in. To the reader, he expounds briefly on his habit of losing his
toothbrush when traveling.

Harris and George watch J. pack with great amusement, and volunteer to pack the food when J. finally finishes. They are no better
at it they constantly forget items, and Harris steps in the butter. Throughout it all, they keep tripping over Montmorency. After
some bickering, they finish, and assign George to wake them up at 6:30 the next morning.

Chapter 5

However, they oversleep, only waking when Mrs. Poppets comes in at nine. Harris and J. are greatly irritated with George, and
their mood grows worse when they learn that the days weather forecast is poor. J. digresses to complain about how often weather
forecasts are inaccurate. He also concocts a hypothetical story about staying inside when the forecasts predict rain and missing a
beautiful day, and then believing the forecast of sun the next day, but ending up wet.

When they finally depart, the greengrocers errand-boy mocks them for their immense amount of luggage. As the men wait for a taxi,
passers-by speculate about where they are going. Eventually, they hail a taxi to the train station, but none of the conductors there
know which train they should take. When one conductor tells them that nobody knows where the trains are supposed to go, they
give him a half-crown bribe and luckily end up heading towards Kingston, disembarking when they reach the river.

Chapter 6

As the men row through Kingston, J. provides some background on the area. (Although Kingston is now a suburb and part of
Greater London, it would have been an independent town when Jerome wrote Three Men in a Boat in 1889.) J. describes how
many of the pubs in this area claim that Queen Elizabeth dined there. He also tells about a shop that boasts a beautiful carved oak
staircase, which the present owner has covered in blue wallpaper.

J. uses this as an occasion to meditate on how people always want what they cannot have, and do not want the things they do
have. He recalls a former classmate named Stivvings, who was dedicated to his studies but was often too sick to complete his
work. Meanwhile, the other boys hoped to get sick to avoid schoolwork, and became sick only when vacation came around.
Returning to the subject of the oak staircase, J. writes at length about how people in the future will consider quotidian objects like
dinner-plates and cheap figurines as priceless works of art, much as his contemporaries consider the day-to-day objects of prior
civilizations to be priceless.

In the boat, Harris and Montmorency accidentally spill the contents of the food hamper. As they row past Hampton Court, J. initially
marvels at the buildings beauty, but then decides that it would be too dark and depressing to live in all the time.
Harris tells his friends about the time he attempted the hedge maze at Hampton Court. The map, given out in advance, seemed
quite simple, so that Harris was confident he could easily best the maze. His confidence attracted a mob of 20 people who were lost
in the maze, and they turned on him when he realized the maze was more complicated than he thought it was. They wandered for a
long time, until a young groundskeeper came to fetch them, and got lost himself. An older groundskeeper eventually guided them
out.

The men agree to send George through the maze on their return trip.

Analysis

J.s digressions serve multiple functions. Most importantly, they give Jerome the opportunity to experiment with different types of
humor. In both the paraffin oil and the cheese stories, Jerome uses hyperbole that is, exaggeration to turn mundane experiences
into comedy. The difficulty with packing provides an opportunity for slapstick, while the discussion of weather men is one commonly
heard even today.

The digressions also help to characterize J. Because the plot of Three Men in a Boat is so tightly focused on George, Harris, and
J.s trip down the river, J.s digressions and flashbacks give readers a chance to learn about his past and his personal qualities.

One thing we learn about J. is that he is a classic unreliable narrator. Jerome conveys this to readers by using dramatic irony that
is, situations where the readers understand what is going on even when the speaker does not. As previously discussed, one
example of this is J.'s discussion of his diseases in Chapter 1. Readers are supposed to understand that J. is a hypochondriac, not
that he is actually ill. The dramatic irony is not limited to J.s understanding of his surroundings; it also applies to his tone. For
example, J. writes with apparent earnestness that he cant sit still and see another man slaving and working (36). Attentive readers
will know from previous chapters that this is not true. The disconnect is meant to show us that J. is pompous and hypocritical,
qualities that Jerome tends to play for laughs. Again, this particular point - that people construct illusions to fool themselves -
continues to manifest throughout the novel.

And yet the novel is notable for several more serious digressions as well. Chapter 5, for instance, gives readers a brief glimpse of
why J. dislikes urban life so much. As George, Harris, and J. travel through London on their way to the Thames, they encounter a
wide variety of people, most of whom are unsavory and vulgar. Rather than helping the men with their bags, they mock them and
speculate rudely about where they are traveling. The confusion at the train station is another example of the hectic confusion that J.
is trying to escape. Despite the jovial tone of the novel, one can sense a pervasive cynicism about people, a cynicism that often
extends even to the people who are ostensibly his friends.

By this point in the text, readers may begin to wonder why J. constantly criticizes Harris. Harris will continue to be J.s proverbial
punching bag throughout the text. On second thoughts, Jerome writes, I will not repeat what Harris said. I may have been to
blame, I admit it; but nothing excuses violence of language and coarseness of expression, especially in a man who has been
carefully brought up, as I know Harris has been (55).

Part of the reason for this criticism is to demonstrate J.s hypocrisy; he himself is guilty of many of the character flaws he attributes
to Harris. Harris also provides Jerome with an outlet for slapstick and insult comedy, which does not always fit into J.s wry
observational humor. Through Harris, Jerome gets an opportunity to cater to readers who might not be interested in J.s ironic satire.
But finally, by using one of his friends as an antagonist, Jerome is able to more effectively deliver his light but cynical worldview.

Jeromes editorializing about both London and about life in general is typical for a travel narrative from this period. According to
the scholar Mulreann OCinneide, Victorian travel writers often used travel as a platform to express their views on other topics.
There was a precedent for this in fiction as well. Gullivers Travels andCandide, both immensely popular in England throughout
the nineteenth century, are both satires disguised as fictional travel narratives. As the critic Samuel Pickering points out, the travel
narrative and the comic novel have similar purposes and structures. Travel narratives make foreign life seem familiar, and comic
novels turn a critical eye on the familiar and make it seem foreign (Pickering 678). By this point in Three Men in a Boat, a reader
can discern that Jerome was, intentionally or not, pursuing both of these ends at the same time.

Chapter 7
After passing Hampton Court, the men row through a lock that is, a section of the river where the levels are
lowered or raised between gates, to regulate traffic and water flow. This particular lock attracts many picnickers and
pleasure-boaters, and J. remarks how nice it is to see people dressed up in their summer clothes. However, he
criticizes his friends outfits Harris has chosen to wear yellow, which does not suit him, and George has bought an
ugly new blazer for the trip.
J. digresses to consider how womens boating clothes tend to be pretty but impractical. He recounts a time he and a
friend took several women rowing. The women wore such delicate clothes that even a drop of water would stain
them, and they were unable to have fun on the trip because they were concerned about ruining their outfits.

The boat nears Hampton Church, and Harris proposes stopping to visit the graveyard, where someone named Mrs.
Thomas is rumored to have a funny tombstone. J. protests, as he finds cemeteries depressing. For the reader, he
recounts a time that he visited one with his friends. He refused to enter, and insulted the groundskeeper rudely
when the man offered to show him the graveyards points of interest.

However, Harris insists on visiting the tombstone. George has gone into town to run some errands for the bank
where he works. J. and Harris bicker about whether to visit the cemetery, and Harris decides he needs a drink. While
trying to find the whiskey bottle, he falls head-first into the food hamper.

Chapter 8
Harris and J. stop to eat lunch by the side of the river. A man appears and accuses them of trespassing, threatening
to report them to the landowner. Harris a large man physically intimidates the visitor until he leaves. J. explains
to the reader that the man was expecting a bribe, and most likely did not work for the landowner at all. He adds
that these attempts at blackmail are common along the banks of the Thames, and that tourists should avoid paying
people who do this.

J. then launches into a diatribe on the violence he would like to inflict on landowners who actually do enforce
trespassing laws on tourists like himself, since their claim at owning the river is specious in his mind.
J. shares his feelings with his friends, and Harris insists that he feels more anger towards the owners than J. does. J.
chides Harris for his intolerance, and tries to convince him to be more Christian.

During their conversation, Harris mentions that he would sing a comic song while hunting the owners, so J. then
digresses to explain how Harris believes himself a fine singer of comic songs, while he is actually quite terrible at it.
He tells the reader of a party where Harris demanded he be allowed to sing, and then embarrassed himself and the
piano players who tried to help him. Jerome relates part of this section in play-form.

J. then digresses to tell of a time he and others embarrassed themselves at a party. Two German guests, whom
everyone was mostly ignoring, interjected to insist that a colleague of theirs could sing the funniest German songs
they had ever heard. They offered to fetch him, and the man soon arrived to play. Though it turned out that his song
was actually tragic, J. and the other guests laughed constantly, thinking it polite to do so. However, they actually
angered the pianist, and the two German liars escaped before the song was finished, having played their practical
joke.

The boat approaches Sunbury, where the backwaters flow in the opposite direction. J. recounts another boat trip on
which he tried to row upstream in this area, but was only able to keep the boat in the same place. He lists a few
points of interest around Sunbury and Reading, including a Roman encampment from the time of Caesar, a church
that holds a torture instrument called a scolds bridle, and a dog cemetery.

When Harris and J. arrive at the village of Shepperton, they reunite with George, who surprises them by announcing
that he has bought a banjo.

Analysis
In Chapter 7, Jerome sends up the same Romantic writing conventions that he seemed to embrace in the novels
earlier chapters. He writes:

It was a lovely landscape. It was idyllic, poetical, and it inspired me. I felt good and noble. I felt I didnt want to be
sinful and wicked any more. I would come and live here, and never do any more wrong, and lead a blameless,
beautiful life, and have silver hair when I got old, and all that sort of thing (64).

The lyrical descriptions in this passage are typical of Romantic writing, as is the notion that nature can bring out a
persons best self. Because of these qualities, the passage is similar to other sentimental descriptions that appear in
the novel. However, Jerome shows a sense of self-awareness here that he does not always demonstrate elsewhere.
By wrapping up the description with all that sort of thing, he suggests an ironic distance from Romantic
conventions, and gently mocks their sentimentality even as he seems to sincerely embrace their ideas. To connect
this to one of the novel's other primary themes, he seems to gently suggest that this embrace of nature as a
manifestation of man's best self is simply another illusion that we use.

These chapters also reveal more of J.'s meanness of spirit. He mocks the outfits of both of his friends, and
mercilessly insults the graveyard custodian in a flashback. In a more serious novel, episodes like these might affect
J.s relatability; however, Jerome instead makes his narrators flawed personality a source of comedy. This may be
one reason why critics derided Three Men in a Boat as vulgar when it was first released (My Life 75). In the
Victorian era, many readers and critics expected fictional characters to be either role models or explicit villains
(Golden 9). Although Jerome was certainly not the only author from this period to write about an unpleasant
protagonist, his decision was nevertheless bold in upending contemporary readers expectations.
Of course, most of his meanness is reserved for Harris. Even in cases where he mocks Harris, however, Jerome uses
the opportunity to make larger satirical points. For instance, his lengthy flashback about the party satirizes the
pretensions of the middle class. After Harris concludes his song, the fashionable and highly cultured party
engaged in a variety of high-class activities, including discussing philosophy and speaking German (72). He then
connects this latter activity to a later party, where it was revealed that the pretension to speaking German was only
an illusion. In fact, when everyone laughed mistakenly at the tragic song, they showed that their behavior was
dictated solely by custom, and not by any perception of what was actually happening. Through his wry descriptions
of these parties, Jerome suggests that people do these activities not out of a love of learning, but rather to bolster
their image and seem more upper-class than they really are. Yet again, one can get a glimpse of why proper critics
derided this novel as "vulgar," since it mocks the very pretensions that a Victorian novel was supposed to uphold.

The interlude where Harris attempts to sing also draws extensively on Jeromes background in the theatre. In his
early twenties, Jerome acted in a low-budget, traveling theatre troupe. (In fact, his memoir about the experience
was his first book to achieve popular success.) The passage which is written like a script and even includes stage
directions was undoubtedly inspired by Jeromes own love of drama. The awkwardness between Harris, the
audience, and the pianist also suggests a firsthand knowledge of bad performance. Because Jeromes troupe was
very amateurish, it is entirely possible that Harriss failed performance has an autobiographical basis.

Finally, it is worth noting that the novel continues to straddle its multiple genres. There are several geographic
descriptions in these chapters that conform to the travel genre, there are plenty of comic interludes, and there are
more serious discussions, especially that of the landowners who charge for boats that rest on the river. And yet
Jerome seems to rely on comedy to provide the transitions - notice the irony of his discussion with Harris about
wanting to hurt the landowners. When Harris confesses similar sentiments, J. immediately chides him for his ill will,
even though he had only just before confessed such violent thoughts to us. We are not meant to doubt the truth of
his feelings, but rather to enjoy and laugh at the discussion even while processing it.

Chapter 9

Since George has been away from the boat all day, Harris and J. assign him to untangle the tow-line while they make tea.

To the reader, J. explains how easily tow-lines become tangled. On long journeys like this, it is common for travelers to take a break
from rowing while someone tows the boat from shore. However, J. observes that the towers, on the shore, tend to become
distracted by their conversation and stop paying attention to the boat. Whoever is left on the boat is usually uncomfortable or
responsible for whatever crisis emerges, but is ignored by the towers.

Over tea, George tells a story about seeing a couple distracted as they towed their boat from land. Sneakily, he tied his boat to their
tow-line, thus tricking the couple into dragging the wrong boat for several miles. J. recounts a similar story, about a group of men
whose boat ran aground because they were distracted. However, he argues that girls are the worst towers of all because they are
so flighty and distractible.

After tea, George tows the boat from the shore. According to J., the last few hours of towing are always the most difficult. He
remembers going boating with a female cousin. When towing the boat at the end of the day, they got lost, only to be saved by a
group of working-class locals.

Chapter 10

Although the friends intended to spend their first night on Magna Charta Island, they are too tired to travel all the way there, and
decide to stop earlier. Because they did not bring a tent, they have to pitch the canvas cover over the boat before they can sleep.
This task proves more difficult than it seems, and it takes them several attempts to successfully set it up.

They cook dinner, which is very satisfying because they have had such a long and exhausting day. They then prepare to sleep
together in the boat's cramped quarters. J. tells his friends a story about two men who accidentally shared a bed in an inn; during
the night, they stumbled into the same bed, and each thought his bed had been invaded by an intruder.
J. sleeps badly, and has a dream that doctors are trying to cut him open after he swallowed a sovereign. He begins a serious
digression, discussing the beauty and melancholy of night. He concludes the chapter with a story about a knight who gets lost in the
woods but manages to find joy in his suffering.

Chapter 11

George and J. wake up at six the next morning, and cannot get back to sleep. George tells J. a story about how he once forgot to
wind his watch before going to bed, which left him confused when he woke at three in the morning. He only realized the mistake
when he arrived at work, and aroused the suspicion of several constables as he walked around London so late at night.

J. and George finally wake Harris. They had previously agreed to go for a morning swim, but are now reluctant to jump in the cold
water. J. falls in and tries to trick his friends into joining him, but they refuse. J. also accidentally drops a shirt into the river, which
George finds hilarious until he realizes it is actually his shirt.

Harris volunteers to make scrambled eggs, promising that they will be delicious. Of course, Harris has no idea how to make
scrambled eggs, but George and J. enjoy watching him make a fool of himself in the process. Naturally, the eggs are inedible.

That morning, the men arrive at Magna Charta Island, near Runnymede. As the name suggests, Magna Charta Island is where King
John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. J. speculates at length about what it would have been like to be a peasant living in
Runnymede at the time of the event.

Analysis

Poetry occupied an important place in Victorian culture, and it was popular among readers of all classes. Jerome often borrows
techniques from poetry for his prose. Personification is one technique he uses that is typically associated with poetry. Early in
Chapter 9, Jerome personifies tow-lines at great length. There may be, he writes, tow-lines that are a credit to their profession
conscientious, respectable tow-linestow-lines that do not imagine they are crochet-work, and try to knit themselves up into
antimacassars the instant they are left to themselves (80). The effect here is light and humorous; by using personification, Jerome
engages the reader and manages to be entertaining even though he is writing at great length about a relatively simple point.

Jerome also continues to juxtapose highbrow with the low in these chapters. In addition to using different types of humor designed
to appeal to readers of different levels of education, Jerome also has his characters interact with people from all walks of life. A
prime example of this comes at the end of Chapter 9, when J. and his cousin are rescued by a group of provincial Arrys and
Arriets, whom J. praises effusively for their kindness and earnestness (88). Arry and Arriets was a common, slightly derogatory
slang term for the working-class during the Victorian period; it references the tendency of lower-class English people to drop H-
sounds when speaking. Ironically, Punch Magazine would later mock Jerome for his tendency to pander to lower-class readers by
referring to him as Arry K. Arry (My Life 75).

In Chapter 10, Jerome returns to the theme of wanting and often not being able to get the things that one does not have. He
addresses this first in his comic description of the men's attempt to make dinner. As J. observes, hot water seems to take longer to
boil when one most wants a cup of tea. The men comically try to work around this by talking loudly about how much they do not
want tea, and J. believes the strategy actually works.

Jerome also explores this theme obliquely through the story of the knight in the woods. This story (and the digression about night
that precedes it) is told in the serious, Romantic style that Jerome occasionally uses in the novels digressive passages. In it, the
knight finds a deeper, more meaningful happiness being lost in the woods than his comrades do after weeks of feasting in the
palace. Although the passages tone is dramatically different from the novel's more humorous sections, both address the
phenomenon of wanting one does not have be it physical comfort or emotional fulfillment.

The knight story also emphasizes the novel's common theme of the illusions men make for themselves. Where the knights in the
castle are distracted by the luxury they believe defines them, the lonely night truly finds himself by stripping himself of such illusions.
In this way, the story does hearken to the Romantic belief that nature could bring transcendence.

Callbacks to earlier jokes is a common technique used in comedic writing, and Jerome begins to use that technique heavily in these
chapters, which are around the novel's midpoint. An example of a callback can be found early in Chapter 11, when J. explains that
the idea, overnight, had been that we should get up early in the morning . . . and revel in a long delicious swim. Somehow, now the
morning had come, the notion seemed less tempting. The water looked damp and chilly: the wind felt cold (102). This was
foreshadowed in Chapter 3 when J. noted that he is always more excited about swimming when he is not immediately faced with the
prospect of diving into cold water. And again, this moment touches on the theme of illusions - it is nice to make plans for ourselves,
but another thing to actually carry through with those plans.

Chapter 11 concludes with a sentimental historical interlude. As the men approach Magna Charta Island, Jerome imagines what it
would have been like to be a peasant when King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. To a certain extent, this passage
tips Jeromes political hand. It is notable that despite his middle-class background (and his patronizing attitude toward Arrys and
Arriets in the previous chapters), he identifies with the peasants rather than the bourgeoisie or the nobles. His positive description of
the Magna Carta as the great cornerstone in Englands temple of liberty also hints at Jeromes populist sentiments.

Chapter 12

Next, the men pass Picnic Point, where Henry VIII is said to have courted Anne Boleyn. J. remarks that such spots are located all
over England, and the common people must have had a great deal of trouble trying to give Henry and Anne their privacy. He then
digresses to discuss how awkward it is to walk in on young couples who are spooning.

The boat then passes the spot where Earl Godwin choked after being accused of murdering Edward the Confessors brother.

They row past Datchet, and reminisce about the first boat trip they took together. They had attempted to find an inn in Datchet, but
all of the towns lodging-houses were full. After asking everywhere, the men came across a young boy who offered to let them sleep
at his familys house. They did, and were grateful for the room despite the uncomfortable conditions.

When lunchtime arrives, the men are very disappointed to discover that they had forgotten to pack mustard. George saves the day
by revealing that he brought along pineapple, but the men have great trouble trying to open the can. After taking turns trying to break
it open, they give it up.

They pass quickly through Maidenhead, a tourist town too snobby to be pleasant (119). They spot three old men fishing,
and Harriss poor steering disturbs the water near the men, who then curse at them.

That night, the friends stay at an inn in Marlow.

Analysis

Jeromes use of concise, accessible historical accounts is another reason why Three Men in a Boat was so popular. In the
Victorian period, history texts tended to use formal language, presenting information in a stiff, politically correct manner. Jeromes
lighthearted, gossipy account of Henry VIIIs courtship of Anne Boleyn and his jokes about Queen Elizabeths drinking habits
would have been unusual at this time. The account of the monks who lived under the motto 'Do as you please' provides a nice
symbol through which to understand his educational approach - he both acknowledges the reverence of history while remaining
willing to treat the figures like actual humans, with failures and desires. By taking a comedic tone as he describes local history,
Jerome adds an educational layer to Three Men in a Boat without undermining its entertainment value.

As in Chapter 11, Jeromes populist outlook is on full display here. He brushes off Maidenhead a favored destination of the upper
classes as snobby, covering it in less than a paragraph. Meanwhile, he spends more time on historical sites and middle-class
villages like Datchet. This reflects Jeromes experience (he was relatively poor when he wrote the book), but may also be an attempt
to cater to working- and middle-class readers by detailing destinations that they could afford to visit.

Although Jerome is often critical of human foibles, he also shows a meticulous eye for psychology. Much of his humor is based on
the contradictions and complexities of the human mind. These universal behaviors are his primary focus in Chapter 13, which
consists of a short series of vignettes as the men continue down the river. When the travelers seek out drinking water, Jerome sends
up their germ-phobia and notes that what the eye does not see, the stomach does not get upset over (129). Another example of
Jeromes unique brand of popular psychology comes when Harris insists on blaming his friends after he falls into the gulch. People,
Jerome suggests, often find comfort in blaming others for their misfortunes, even when said misfortunes are truly an accident. All in
all, these stories and others conform to Jerome's interest in the illusions that humans use when understanding themselves and
others.

The discussion of George's banjo playing provides Jerome another opportunity for satire. As Jerome writes, You would think that
Society, for its own sake, would do all it could to assist a man to acquire the art of playing a musical instrument. But it doesnt!
(138). Observations like these are written to be clever and entertaining, but they also imply a more serious critique of people who
care more about their individual needs than about the common good. As mentioned earlier, Jerome reveals a somewhat cynical,
judgmental attitude even in his lighthearted observations.

Finally, it is worth noting the way Jerome uses Montmorency. Interestingly, Jerome did not actually have or bring a dog on this
journey, meaning that Montmorency is a purely literary invention. Throughout Three Men in a Boat, Jerome uses Montmorency to
enhance the satirical points he makes about human nature. Often, Montmorency acts as a foil to his human masters. Consider, for
example, his quiet competence in catching a water-rat for supper, which contrasts with the mens mishap-filled attempts to cook.
Jerome personifies Montmorency extensively. In addition to ascribing human traits and emotions to the dog, Jerome also has his
characters interact with Montmorency as if he were human. This has the dual effect of further personifying Montmorency, while also
putting his human masters into silly, comedic situations.

Summary (Masterpieces of British Fiction)

J., Harris, and George were feeling seedy. They sat around idly in J.s room discussing their ailments. J., especially, was prone to ailments. Once
he had gone through a medical book and discovered that he had all the symptoms of typhoid, cholera, and zymosis; in fact, he had all the ills
described except housemaids knee.

He visited a doctor, intent on giving him practice in diagnosis. After the examination, the doctor gave him a prescription for a pound of beefsteak
and a pint of bitter beer every six hours. The prescription must have been efficacious; J. was still alive.

The three friends decided they needed a complete change and rest. Various possibilities were suggested, including a sea voyage. J. knew from
experience that nearly everyone became sick on sea voyages. He had a friend who paid two pounds and a half in advance for his board during a
weeks trip. By the end of the week, he had eaten so little that the steward had at least two pounds clear. A sea voyage was out. As a compromise,
they decided on a boat trip up the Thames to Oxford. Montmorency was opposed to the idea but was outvoted.

They were to start from Kingston. George, who had to work until two on Saturdays, would join them at Chertsey. They discussed sleeping and
eating arrangements. Although Harris was doubtful, they agreed to sleep in the boat and cook their own meals. Harris had no poetry in his soul;
life in the raw had no appeal for him, for he was the type who always knew the best pub in every town in England.

In making their grocery list, J. remembered the time he was in Liverpool. A friend asked him if he would take two cheeses back with him on the
train to London. J. willingly agreed. The train was crowded, and he found a seat in a full compartment. One by one, the others left, overpowered
by the odor, and J. had the compartment to himself all the way to London. After he delivered the cheeses to his friends wife, she promptly moved
into aHOTEL until her husband could get home. He had to bury them on a deserted beach. That experience showed how careful one should be
in selecting provisions.

Although Harris and J. were to get an early start, they overslept. It was well after nine before they got all of their rugs and hampers together. Then
they could not get a cab. They stood on the sidewalk, attracting a curious crowd of hangers-on who made unkind remarks about their many
bundles. At Waterloo, no one could tell them the platform from which their train would leave. Even the district superintendent was vague. They
solved the problem by bribing the engineer of a waiting train to take them to Kingston. The engineer agreed because he had no idea where his
train was supposed to go anyway. At last, the Exeter mail train took them to Kingston.

Harris had an experience once in finding his way. He bought a map of Hampton Court maze. It looked simple on the map to visit the place and
get out again. A number of innocent bystanders trusted him and his map to their sorrow. The worst of it was that the keeper on duty was new and
had little idea how to get out. They all waited hours for the old keeper to come back on duty.

...