"You are not looking so well, Cyril," Dr. Hodges said to him abruptly
one day.
"I am doing nothing but reading Shakespeare, doctor."
"Then you are doing wrong, lad. You will never build yourself up
unless you take exercise."
"The streets are so melancholy, doctor, and whenever I go out I
return sick at heart and in low spirits."
"That I can understand, lad. But we must think of something," and he
sat for a minute or two in silence. Then he said suddenly, "Do you
understand the management of a boat?"
"Yes, doctor; it was my greatest pleasure at Dunkirk to be out with
the fishermen."
"That will do, then. Go down at once to the riverside. There are
hundreds of boats lying idle there, for there are no passengers and
no trade, and half of their owners are dead. You are sure to see some
men there; having nothing else to do, some will be hanging about. Say
you want to hire a boat for a couple of months or to buy one. You
will probably get one for a few shillings. Get one with a sail as
well as oars. Go out the first thing after breakfast, and go up or
down the river as the tide or wind may suit. Take some bread and meat
with you, and don't return till supper-time. Then you can spend your
evenings with Shakespeare. Maybe I myself will come down and take a
sail with you sometimes. That will bring the colour back into your
cheeks, and make a new man of you. Would that I had thought of it
before!"
Cyril was delighted with the idea, and, going down to Blackfriars,
bought a wherry with a sail for a pound.
Pages:
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383