Boat Club or, The Bunkers of Rippleton

Oliver Optic

Description

THE BOAT CLUB was written and published more than forty years ago, and was the first juvenile book the author had ever presented to the public. Young people who read it at the age of eighteen have now reached threescore, and those who read it at ten have passed their half-century of life. The electrotype plates from which it has been printed for more than a generation of human life have suffered so much from severe wear that new ones have become necessary, and they must be replaced. This condition affords the author the opportunity to revise the work, in fact, to make a new book of it; and the old boat must be reconstructed and launched again. The author has something to say on what suggests itself as a memorial occasion when something historical may be said. First, it is proper that old things should be respected and honored, and therefore is presented the - ORIGINAL PREFACE OF THE BOAT CLUB. The author of the following story pleads guilty of being more than half a boy himself; and in writing a book to meet the wants and the tastes of Young America, he has had no difficulty in stepping back over the weary waste of years that separates youth from maturity, and entering fully into the spirit of the scenes he describes

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819903581
• Langue: English

Extrait

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
"THE BOAT CLUB" was written and published more thanforty years ago, and was the first juvenile book the author hadever presented to the public. Young people who read it at the ageof eighteen have now reached threescore, and those who read it atten have passed their half-century of life. The electrotype platesfrom which it has been printed for more than a generation of humanlife have suffered so much from severe wear that new ones havebecome necessary, and they must be replaced. This condition affordsthe author the opportunity to revise the work, in fact, to make anew book of it; and the old boat must be reconstructed and launchedagain. The author has something to say on what suggests itself as amemorial occasion when something historical may be said. First, itis proper that old things should be respected and honored, andtherefore is presented the – ORIGINAL PREFACE OF "THE BOAT CLUB."The author of the following story pleads guilty of being more thanhalf a boy himself; and in writing a book to meet the wants and thetastes of "Young America," he has had no difficulty in steppingback over the weary waste of years that separates youth frommaturity, and entering fully into the spirit of the scenes hedescribes. He has endeavored to combine healthy moral lessons witha sufficient amount of exciting interest to render the storyattractive to the young; and he hopes he has not mingled theseelements of a good juvenile book in disproportionatequantities.
Thus was laid the foundation of the writer'slife-work for young people, after an initiation of over twentyyears as a teacher in the schools of Boston, in all grades fromusher to principal. Even then he had not the remotest idea ofbecoming an author; he never definitely prepared himself for such aprofession; and, as he has often stated it, he "blundered into thebusiness of writing books for the young," though he had hadconsiderable experience in story-writing for magazines andnewspapers.
This beginning has been followed by ninety-sixvolumes in sets of six volumes or more, and two others, the wholeof the ninety-eight books being for young people. To these may beadded the number of bound yearly volumes of magazines for juvenilesof which the writer has been the editor for thirty-two years,making one hundred and thirty volumes of this kind, besides half adozen or more for adults, to say nothing of nine hundred stories,long and short, for periodicals. This is the literary record of theauthor in the seventy-fifth year of his age; and being still infair physical condition, it is possible that more may be added tothe number.
This is an introduction to the republication of "TheBoat Club," and this book suggested what has been written so far.It occurs to me that some venerable person who read the book inchildhood may have a desire to know how it happened to be written,and possibly some others may wish to know something of the motiveswhich have animated the writer for the long term in which he hasbeen engaged in producing books for juvenile readers. In a speechmade by the author in 1875, at the dedication of a branch of theBoston Public Library in Dorchester, which had become a part of thecity, the desire of the venerable personage and the wishes of theother inquirers were fully answered; and perhaps they cannot bebetter satisfied than in reading a portion of this address, givenafter the writer had been introduced by the Mayor of Boston: –Though not to the manner born, Mr. Mayor, I have resided inDorchester during the greater portion of my life; and this churchhas been my "religious home" for more than twenty-five years. Iconfess that it seems very strange to me to be introduced to anaudience gathered within these walls by the Mayor of Boston. Inpresenting me to this large audience, you have called me by a nameby which, perhaps, I am better known than by my real name. I amwilling to acknowledge that I have written a great many stories foryoung people. And here I wish to say – what may perhaps surprisesome of this audience – that I fully approve of and indorse allthat Mr. Greenough, the President of the Board of Trustees of theLibrary, has said in his very able and instructive address, inregard to a proper supervision of the reading of the girls andboys. It was only the other day that one of the ablest and mostsuccessful masters of the public schools in this part of the citytold me that he did not regard the establishment of publiclibraries in our towns and cities as wholly a benefit and ablessing to the communities, for the reason that some of themsupply the young with books of doubtful tendency. I am glad,therefore, to know that the management of our public libraries andthe selection of the books are in the hands of those who are fullyawake to the responsibilities of their important positions. Mr.Mayor, the mention by you of the name under which I have been inthe habit of writing suggests that I may say now what I had on mymind, but did not intend to utter on this occasion. In one of thewall pews which were on my left before this church was remodelled,as a teacher in the Sunday-school connected with this parish, I hada class of boys. It was more than twenty-five years ago, and someof those boys have passed away from earth; but the others are now,as men of middle age, engaged in the active duties of life. I wellremember how I looked into their faces, Sunday after Sunday, andhow I endeavored to give them the good word that would help themalong safely in their career of existence. I gave them the best Ihad to give, for I was interested in them. My interest made medesire to do more for them; and I thought I might write a storythat would influence and benefit them. I had it in my mind to printa small pamphlet of sixty pages, and dedicate it to the boys of mySunday-school class, putting all their names upon the page. Theplot and plan of the story were clear in my mind; and the moral ofit, which was not to be paraded in set terms, was even more clearlydefined than the plot and plan. Circumstances prevented thecarrying out of this purpose, and the story was not written at thattime. Several years afterwards, my publishers, after the issue of atolerably successful book of mine for grown-up people, – for I hadwritten a great many stories, though none for young people, – askedme to write a juvenile book. I assured them I could not do it; Ihad never attempted anything of the kind. The publishers insisted,and finally I promised to see what I could do. I had but littlefaith in my ability in this direction; but the plot and plan of thestory I had arranged for my Sunday-school class came back to me,and I went to work upon it. The result of my efforts was "The BoatClub." When I began to write stories for the young I had a distinctpurpose in my mind. How well I remember the books I read, unknownto my parents, when I was a boy! They were "The Three Spaniards,""Alonzo and Melissa," "The Mysteries of Udolpho," "RinaldoRinaldini," "Freemantle the Privateersman," and similar works, notoften found at the present time on the shelves of the booksellers,though I am sorry to say that their places have been filled withbooks hardly less pernicious. The hero of these stories was apirate, a highwayman, a smuggler, or a bandit. He was painted inglowing colors; and in admiring his boldness, my sympathies werewith this outcast and outlaw. These books were bad, very bad;because they brought the reader into sympathy with evil and wickedmen. It seemed to me that stories just as interesting, just asexciting if you please, could be written, without any of the eviltendencies of these harmful books. I have tried to do this in thestories I have written for young people. I have never written astory which could excite the love, admiration, and sympathy of thereader for an evil-minded person, a bad character. This has been mystandard; and however others may regard it, I still deem it a safeone. I am willing to admit that I have sometimes been rather more"sensational" than I now wish I had been; but I have never made ahero whose moral character, or whose lack of high aims andpurposes, could mislead the reader. But, Mr. Mayor, I hope you willpardon the egotism of these remarks; for I did not prepare myselfto say what I have said, and I was rather surprised into it by yourmention of my book name.
With the same apology to my readers of the presentday for reproducing this speech, and for saying so much aboutmyself, I wish to allow a young gentleman to state the influenceupon himself of these books. He is the son of a distinguishedliterary man whose works live after him, and who was for severalyears United States Consul at Glasgow and Edinburgh. I insert herethe young man's letter, which I received in Florence, Italy, in1870. BOSTON, Sept. 9, 1870. MR. ADAMS: Dear Sir , – Iheard some one remark the other day, that, however high a man mightstand in the estimation of his fellow-men, there would be timeswhen it would be pleasant for him to know that he had been of someespecial benefit to one or more individuals. The remark reminded meof you, and of the immense advantage which your writings had beento me; and I thought that possibly it might give you pleasure toknow that to you – together with a good mother's judiciousmanagement – I owe all my taste for reading. Until I was about tenyears of age, I perfectly detested the idea of taking a book intomy hands. At about this time my mother procured "Poor and Proud,"which she commenced reading to me; and finding me a good dealinterested, she contrived to stop reading at one of the mostinteresting points in the story, when, giving me the book, she saidthat perhaps I would like to read on and see what came next. And Iread on and on, becoming more and more interested in the story,until I had finished the book. Seeing me interested in your works,others were procured for me; and in reading those I often met withsomething which would rouse in me a desire to read histor