The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jeremy, by Hugh Walpole

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Jeremy

Author: Hugh Walpole

Posting Date: February 5, 2009 [EBook #3474]
Release Date: October, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JEREMY ***

Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

JEREMY

By Hugh Walpole

TO
BRUCE
FROM
HIS LOVING UNCLE

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE BIRTHDAY

II THE FAMILY DOG

III CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME

IV MISS JONES

V THE SEA-CAPTAIN

VI FAMILY PRIDE

VII RELIGION

VIII TO COW FARM

IX THE AWAKENING OF CHARLOTTE

X MARY

XI THE MERRY-GO-ROUND

XII HAMLET WAITS

"It is due to him to say that he was
an obedient boy and a boy whose word
could be depended on..."

Jackanapes

CHAPTER I. THE BIRTHDAY

I

About thirty years ago there was at the top of the right-hand side of
Orange Street, in Polchester, a large stone house. I say "was"; the
shell of it is still there, and the people who now live in it are quite
unaware, I suppose, that anything has happened to the inside of it,
except that they are certainly assured that their furniture is vastly
superior to the furniture of their predecessors. They have a gramophone,
a pianola, and a lift to bring the plates from the kitchen into the
dining-room, and a small motor garage at the back where the old pump
used to be, and a very modern rock garden where once was the pond with
the fountain that never worked. Let them cherish their satisfaction.
No one grudges it to them. The Coles were, by modern standards,
old-fashioned people, and the Stone House was an old-fashioned house.

Young Jeremy Cole was born there in the year 1884, very early in the
morning of December 8th. He was still there very early in the morning of
December 8th, 1892. He was sitting up in bed. The cuckoo clock had just
struck five, and he was aware that he was, at this very moment, for the
first time in his life, eight years old