Three Men in a Boat / Three Men on the Bummel
Three Men in a Boat / Three Men on the Bummel
Three Men in a Boat / Three Men on the Bummel
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
— 244 —<br />
Harris’s new wheel. Even Mrs. Harris, however, did not blame<br />
George <strong>on</strong> this occasi<strong>on</strong>; she felt <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>tuitively <strong>the</strong> idea could not<br />
have been entirely his.<br />
It is not that <strong>the</strong> Harris children have <strong>the</strong> fa<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>test noti<strong>on</strong><br />
of avoid<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g blame at <strong>the</strong> expense of a friend and comrade.<br />
One and all <strong>the</strong>y are h<strong>on</strong>esty itself <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> accept<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g resp<strong>on</strong>sibility<br />
for <strong>the</strong>ir own misdeeds. It simply is, that is how <strong>the</strong> th<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g<br />
presents itself to <strong>the</strong>ir understand<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g. When you expla<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> to<br />
<strong>the</strong>m that you had no orig<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>al <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>tenti<strong>on</strong> of gett<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g up at five<br />
o’clock <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>the</strong> morn<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g to play cricket <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> croquet lawn, or<br />
to mimic <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> early Church by shoot<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g with a<br />
cross-bow at dolls tied to a tree; that as a matter of fact, left to<br />
your own <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>itiative, you would have slept peacefully till roused<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> Christian fashi<strong>on</strong> with a cup of tea at eight, <strong>the</strong>y are firstly<br />
ast<strong>on</strong>ished, sec<strong>on</strong>dly apologetic, and thirdly s<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>cerely c<strong>on</strong>trite.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> present <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>stance, waiv<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <strong>the</strong> purely academic questi<strong>on</strong><br />
whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> awaken<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g of George at a little before five was due<br />
to natural <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>st<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ct <strong>on</strong> his part, or to <strong>the</strong> accidental pass<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g of<br />
a home-made boomerang through his bedroom w<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>dow, <strong>the</strong><br />
dear children frankly admitted that <strong>the</strong> blame for his upris<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g<br />
was <strong>the</strong>ir own. As <strong>the</strong> eldest boy said:<br />
“We ought to have remembered that Uncle George had a<br />
l<strong>on</strong>g day, before him, and we ought to have dissuaded him<br />
from gett<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g up. I blame myself entirely.”<br />
But an occasi<strong>on</strong>al change of habit does nobody any harm;<br />
and besides, as Harris and I agreed, it was good tra<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g><str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g for<br />
George. In <strong>the</strong> Black Forest we should be up at five every<br />
morn<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g; that we had determ<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ed <strong>on</strong>. Indeed, George himself<br />
had suggested half-past four, but Harris and I had argued that<br />
five would be early enough as an average; that would enable<br />
us to be <strong>on</strong> our mach<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>es by six, and to break <strong>the</strong> back of our<br />
journey before <strong>the</strong> heat of <strong>the</strong> day set <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>. Occasi<strong>on</strong>ally we<br />
might start a little earlier, but not as a habit.<br />
I myself was up that morn<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g at five. This was earlier than<br />
I had <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>tended. I had said to myself <strong>on</strong> go<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g to sleep, “Six<br />
o’clock, sharp!”