Question

why was jerome against the idea of hiring a boat from three men in a boat

Answer 1

The author was against the idea of hiring a boat because once on his way back from Oxford, he went for an outing along with his friend and hired a double sculling skiff. When they reached the place and asked for it, they were given a piece of junk instead. When they asked the boy who they had ordered with, the boy said that this was the same boat that had been ordered for and it was called the "Pride of the Thames". This also led to a conflict between the author and a geologist. The author seeing that it was old and worn out, said that it was a Roman relic, but the geologist disagreed and said that this was the pre glacial fossil of a whale. However, the boy said that in 49 years, no one had complained about the boat and that it was considered one of the finest boats.