Carry On, Mr. Bowditch: Chapter 7: The Almanac Summary & Analysis

By the time winter arrives, Nat knows his way around the chandlery as well as its owners. One day, Dr. Bentley drops by to visit. He confirms that Ben was indeed an uncommonly bright young man before he got stuck in the chandlery. Nat doesn’t give much thought to Ben, however; he’s usually too busy working during the day and writing notes at night. He learns how the ropemakers twist line; how the sailmakers reinforce their cloth; and how the caulkers make a ship airtight. Then, when he’s 13, Nat starts a fresh notebook when Sam Smith starts to teach him the rudiments of navigation.

One day in the spring, Mr. Ropes sends Nat on an errand to research the start of surveying in his copy of Chambers’s Cyclopaedia. This book, Nat soon discovers, contains information on every topic under the sun, and he soon delves deep into surveying and its associated topics, like trigonometry and astronomy. When Mr. Ropes strides into the library and demands to know what’s keeping the boy, Nat protests that, although he’s trying very hard, he hasn’t yet figured out if surveying starts as math or science. Mr. Ropes sinks into a chair, laughing uproariously. He tells Nat that he just wanted to know where and when the art began—likely in Ancient Egypt, according to the book—to settle a bet. He generously invites Nat to read and take notes from the Cyclopaedia whenever he wants to—as long as it’s outside of working hours.

That night, while Nat stays in the chandlery late to finish the work he neglected while reading the Cyclopaedia, Lizza stops by to visit. They chat for a few moments before she confesses how much she misses her brother, then runs from the building in tears. Reminding himself that “boys don’t blubber,” Nat swallows his own tears and gets back to work. When he’s done, he starts a new notebook, dedicated to surveying. A few days later, when Sam Smith sees Nat’s new notebook, he offers to help teach Nat surveying. It’s just like navigation, but a whole lot easier because the land doesn’t move under your feet like a ship’s deck does.

Over the next several years of his indenture, Nat starts a new notebook whenever he discovers a new topic he wants to study. When he’s 16, he realizes that he can make his own almanac, and begins predicting moonrises, sunrises, and solar eclipses for the period of 1789–1823. He’s explaining the almanac to Ben Meeker when a customer named Mr. Morris interrupts to ask for a compass. Amazed by Nat’s almanac, Mr. Morris writes down his address and offers Nat a job tutoring his children if he can get out of his indenture early.