{"product_id":"2940013580145","title":"The Boy Tar","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMY BOY AUDIENCE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy name is Philip Forster, and I am now an old man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI reside in a quiet little village, that stands upon the sea-shore, at\u003cbr\u003ethe bottom of a very large bay--one of the largest in our island.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI have styled it a quiet village, and so it really is, though it boasts\u003cbr\u003eof being a seaport.  There is a little pier or jetty of chiselled\u003cbr\u003egranite, alongside which you may usually observe a pair of sloops, about\u003cbr\u003ethe same number of schooners, and now and then a brig.  Big ships cannot\u003cbr\u003ecome in.  But you may always note a large number of boats, either hauled\u003cbr\u003eup on the beach, or scudding about the bay, and from this, you may\u003cbr\u003econclude that the village derives its support rather from fishing than\u003cbr\u003ecommerce.  Such in reality is the fact.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is my native village--the place in which I was born, and where it is\u003cbr\u003emy intention to die.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotwithstanding this, my fellow-villagers know very little about me.\u003cbr\u003eThey only know me as \"Captain Forster,\" or more specifically as \"The\u003cbr\u003eCaptain,\" this _soubriquet_ being extended to me as the only person in\u003cbr\u003ethe place entitled to it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStrictly speaking, I am not entitled to it.  I have never been a captain\u003cbr\u003eof soldiers, nor have I held that rank in the navy.  I have only been\u003cbr\u003ethe master of a merchant vessel,--in other words, a \"skipper.\"  But the\u003cbr\u003evillagers are courteous, and by their politeness I am styled \"Captain.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey know that I live in a pretty cottage about half a mile from the\u003cbr\u003evillage, up shore; they know that I live alone--for my old housekeeper\u003cbr\u003ecan scarce be accounted as company; they see me each day pass through\u003cbr\u003ethe place with my telescope under my arm; they note that I walk out on\u003cbr\u003ethe pier, and sweep the offing with my glass, and then, perhaps, return\u003cbr\u003ehome again, or wander for an hour or two along the shore.  Beyond these\u003cbr\u003efacts, my fellow-villagers know but little of myself, my habits, or my\u003cbr\u003ehistory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey have a belief among them that I have been a great traveller.  They\u003cbr\u003eknow that I have many books, and that I read much; and they have got it\u003cbr\u003einto their heads that I am a wonderful scholar.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47181166215408,"sku":"2940013580145","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013580145_p0.jpg?v=1763582994","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013580145","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}