THREE MEN IN A BOAT

Vocabulary

fits of giddiness-feeling that everything is moving around and that

you are going to fall

impelled (to the conclusion)- forced to (conclude)

virulent (form)- extremely dangerous or harmful and quick to have an

effect

indolently (study the symptoms) lethargically, without any interest, slowly,

premonitory (symptoms) – warning of future misfortune

sift (the word comes from the word sieve which is a utensil with a fine

mesh. It is used to strain solids from liquids or coarser particle from

finer particles. Mother uses a sieve in the kitchen to sift flour)

Here it refers to examining something very carefully to isolate that

which is most important.

plodded – worked or did something slowly and steadily

malignant – dangerous to health

malignant or benign tumour/ cancer

zymosis – an infection caused by fungus

pondered – thought

I reflected I had every other known malady in the Pharmacology...... Pharmacology – the scientific study of drugs and their case in

medicine

I had walked into the reading-room a happy, healthy man, I crawled

out a decrepit wreck

decrepit –very old and not in good health

a general disinclination to work of all kind – disinclination – lack of

enthusiasm

skulking little devil - skulking- hiding or moving around secretly

remedies are more efficacious than the dispensary stuff – efficacious- producing the result that was wanted

swagger about the deck- swagger- walk about in a proud and

confident way

wan sweet smile- wan- pale (complexion that gives the impression

that one is ill)

young man’s envious query- envious- wanting to be in the same

situation as someone else

Summary

The author along with his friends George and William Samuel Harris,

was discussing their imagined ailments. While George and Harris both

claimed to have spells of giddiness, the author believed that his live

was out of order. He then shared a humorous anecdote describing

his visit to the British Museum, where he read a medical text and

came to the conclusion that he had symptoms of all known diseases,

except housemaid’s knee. His doctor advised him to eat and drink

well, walk every morning and sleep early every night. The author then

described how similar symptoms had been termed as laziness when

he was a child, and instead of medicines were treated most

successfully by beatings. The three friends discussed their respective

disease until supper. Further discussion on the matter made them

decide that their conditions were caused by overwork. They agreed

that they needed rest and a change of scene.

When Harris suggests a sea trip the author objected. He cited several

stories of people who went on board a ship and were seasick for

almost a week. By the time they managed to overcome their

seasickness, it was time to return to land. He also examined the

strange manner in which people who were seasick seemed to

completely forget this fact when they reached dry land. In the end,

George suggested going up the river in a boat. The author and Harris

were in favour of this plan, but Montmorency, the author’s dog did

not seem to like the plan much.

Questions

a. Jerome’s habit of reading about different diseases made him suffer.

Do you agree? What

were the diseases that Jerome suspected himself to be suffering

from?

Jerome had this habit of reading about diseases. When he read the

patent liver-pill circular wherein the detailed symptoms of a liver

disorder were described, he was convinced that he had them all.

Every patent medicine advertisement he read forced him to believe

that he was suffering from the particular disease described therein.

On one occasion he suspected that he had a touch of hay fever

and went to the British Museum to read up the treatment for the

same. After he had read about hay fever he went on to read about

other diseases. By the end of his reading session, he concluded that

he had distemper , typhoid fever, and St Vitus’ Dance, Cholera. The

only malady he concluded he had not got was housemaid’s knee.

He felt rather hurt that he had been excluded from the list of people

who had Housemaid’s knee. When he reflected on the fact that he

had every malady known in Pharmacology he was less grieved

about not having Housemaid’s Knee. He was hypochondriacal to

say the least.

b. ‘Life is brief and you might pass away before I had finished”. Who

said it and Why?

Jerome said these words to his doctor when the doctor asked him to

describe what was wrong with him. Jerome is convinced that he has

every malady in Pharmacology. He exaggerates this claim by saying

that the description would take so long that the doctor would pass

away before he had finished talking about his maladies.

On his usual visits to the doctor’s office Jerome would feel slighted by

the Doctor’s very casual attitude towards his patient. This time, Jerome visited him hoping to give the doctor some practice of

diagnostic skills. Jerome thought that he with all his various diseases

was the best person to give his doctor some practice compared to

the seventeen hundred commonplace patients with only one or two

diseases each.

c. What did he use to get in his childhood as a treatment for his

disease?

In his childhood he would get a scolding from his parents and elders

for the few symptoms he dared to describe. He was admonished and

asked to do something for a living. He did not get pills for his sickness

instead he was given clumps on his head and asked to get to work.

They put down any complaints related to disease as a general

disinclination to work. Jerome now endorses these old-fashioned

remedies to be more efficacious than medicines given at the

dispensary.

d. Why did the chemist not give the narrator any medicine when he

gave him the doctor’s prescription? What does this mean?

The chemist did not give the narrator any medicines because the

prescription did not contain the names of any medicines. All it had

written was the name of the food and drink that the doctor had felt

the narrator should have and the exercise that he should have. It also

contained the time at which he should sleep. This meant that the

doctor did not think anything was wrong with the narrator.

e. Why was Montmorency not too keen to go on the boat?

Montmorency , the dog, was not keen to go on the boat ride

because he was not looking forward to being confined to a boat for

hours together without any exercise, neither could he go chasing rats

and he was apprehensive that the men might not be able to handle

the boat carefully and so there were chances of their falling

overboard into the river.