Cast Away in the Cold / An Old Man's Story of a Young Man's Adventures, as Related by Captain John Hardy, Mariner
E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by TICKNOR AND FIELDS, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
A bright sun shone on the little village of Rockdale; a bright glare was on the little bay close by, as on a silver mirror. Three bright children were descending by a winding path towards the little village; a bright old man was coming up from the little village by the same path, meeting them.
The three children were named William Earnest, Fred Frazer, and Alice. Alice was William Earnest’s sister, while Fred Frazer was his cousin. William Earnest was the eldest, and he was something more than eleven and something less than twelve years old. His cousin Fred Frazer was nearly a year younger, while his sister Alice was a little more than two years younger still. Fred Frazer was on a holiday visit to his relatives, it being vacation time from school; and the three children were ready for any kind of adventure, and for every sort of fun.
The children saw the old man before the old man saw the children; for the children were looking down the hill, while the old man, coming up the hill, was looking at his footsteps.
As soon as the children saw the old man, the eldest recognized him as a friend; and no sooner had his eyes lighted on him than, much excited, he shouted loudly, “Hurrah, there comes the ancient mariner!”
His cousin, much surprised, asked quickly, “Who’s the ancient mariner?” And his sister, more surprised, asked timidly, “What’s the ancient mariner?”
Then the eldest, much elated, asked derisively, “Why, don’t you know?” And then he said, instructively: “He’s been about here for ever so long a time; but he went away last year, and I haven’t seen him for a great while. He’s the most wonderful man you ever saw,—tells such splendid stories,—all about shipwrecks, pirates, savages, Chinamen, bear-hunts, bull-fights, and everything else that you can think of. I call him the ‘Ancient Mariner,’ but that isn’t his right name. He’s Captain Hardy; but he looks like an ancient mariner, as he is, and I got the name out of a book. Some of the fellows call him ‘Old Father Neptune.’”
I. I. Hayes
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CAST AWAY IN THE COLD.
CHAPTER I.
Relates how an Ancient Mariner met three Little People and promised them a Little Story.
CHAPTER II.
Captain John Hardy, Otherwise Ancient Mariner, Otherwise Old Man
CHAPTER III.
Which Shows the Old Man To Be a Man of His Word
CHAPTER IV.
The Old Man, having related to the Little People how the Young Man went to Sea, now proceeds to tell what the Young Man did there.
CHAPTER V.
In which the Ancient Mariner, continuing his Story, borrows an Illustration from the “Ancient Mariner” of Song, and then proceeds to tell how they went into the Cold, and were cast away there.
CHAPTER VI.
The Old Man meets the Little People under Peculiar Circumstances, and relates to them how the Young Man, being cast away in the Cold, rescued a Shipmate, and also other Matters, which, if put into this Title, would spoil the Story altogether.
CHAPTER VII.
In which the Reader will discover, as the Little People did, how a Life was saved, and a Life was Begun.
CHAPTER VIII.
In which the Mariner’s Rest and the Ancient Mariner himself receive particular Attention.
CHAPTER IX.
Contains a Recovery, a Discovery, and a Disappointment.
CHAPTER X.
Shows how Some Things may be done as well as Others, with God’s Help and with much Perseverance.
CHAPTER XI.
In which the little People are convinced of the Goodness of Providence, as the Reader ought to be,—seeing that to be cast away is not to be forsaken.
CHAPTER XII.
Relates how a Desert Island became a Rock of Good Hope, and other Hopeful Matters which to be understood must be read of.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Ancient Mariner takes the Little People on a Little Voyage; and the Little People become convinced that an Arctic Winter, an Aurora Borealis, and an Ancient Mariner, are very Wonderful Things.
CHAPTER XIV.
Proves the Ingenuity of Seals, and Shows That the Great Polar Bear Is No Respecter of Persons
CHAPTER XV.
Shows, Among Other Curious Matters, That Two Boys Are Better Than One, and That Pluck Is a Good Thing, Especially When Polar Bears Are Around.
CHAPTER XVI.
Covers a Long Period of Time, and shows, among other Things, how a Race may be lost at Both Ends.
CHAPTER XVII.
A very Peculiar Person appears and disappears, and the Castaways are filled alternately with Hope and Fear
CHAPTER XVIII.
A Number of Peculiar People appear, and the Castaways disappear from the Rock of Good Hope.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Peculiar People proving to be Savages, the Castaways seize the First Opportunity to leave them, not relishing their Company.
CHAPTER XX.
Brings the Holidays of the Little People and the Story of the Old Man to an End.