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Nathan Read
Captain Gibaut is the irritable man with whom Dr. Bentley conducts a survey of the town of Salem. Gibaut meets Nat Bowditch during this work and subsequently asks Nat to join his crew on the Henry as ship’s clerk. When he has a falling-out with Mr. Elias Derby, he gives up his command.
Captain Gibaut Quotes in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Carry On, Mr. Bowditch quotes below are all either spoken by Captain Gibaut or refer to Captain Gibaut. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: “Sail by Ash Breeze!”
Quotes
Ben yawned, stretched, and led the way through the shop to where huge coils of rope were stashed. He leaned against a barrel. “Nat Bowditch, eh? I’ve heard of you. Master Watson’s brightest student you were.” He shook his head dolefully. “And now you’re becalmed. Just like I was at your age. Wouldn’t think to look at me I was bright as a dollar once, would you? But I was. Wanted to make something of myself. But I didn’t have a chance. Taken out of school, I was. Just like you. When I look at you, I can see myself as I was thirty—forty years agon. Becalmed I was. Just like you.”
Behind Nat a deep voice rumbled, “Avast there, Ben Meeker! Stow that gab about being becalmed! […] Only a weakling gives up when he’s becalmed. A strong man sails by ash breeze!”
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Chapter 11: What Next?
Quotes
“I wonder,” Nat said, “why they call it a venture?”
Gibaut was still chuckling. “Because it is a venture—a risk. Any cargo is a risk. When we get to Bourbon, we may find people begging for our cargo and we may sell everything for three times what we paid for it. Or maybe when we get there, they won’t want anything we have. Maybe we’ll find there have been eight or ten ships there just ahead of us. Then we’ll lose our shirts. We never know.”
“I wouldn’t want to lose my whole hundred and thirty-five dollars. I wonder if there’s anything I could be sure I’d sell?”
“You can’t be sure of anything,” Gibaut said. “But ask Monsieur Bonnefoy about it. He ought to know. He comes from Bourbon. Fact is, he’s going home on the Henry.”
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Captain Gibaut Quotes in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Carry On, Mr. Bowditch quotes below are all either spoken by Captain Gibaut or refer to Captain Gibaut. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: “Sail by Ash Breeze!”
Quotes
Ben yawned, stretched, and led the way through the shop to where huge coils of rope were stashed. He leaned against a barrel. “Nat Bowditch, eh? I’ve heard of you. Master Watson’s brightest student you were.” He shook his head dolefully. “And now you’re becalmed. Just like I was at your age. Wouldn’t think to look at me I was bright as a dollar once, would you? But I was. Wanted to make something of myself. But I didn’t have a chance. Taken out of school, I was. Just like you. When I look at you, I can see myself as I was thirty—forty years agon. Becalmed I was. Just like you.”
Behind Nat a deep voice rumbled, “Avast there, Ben Meeker! Stow that gab about being becalmed! […] Only a weakling gives up when he’s becalmed. A strong man sails by ash breeze!”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11: What Next?
Quotes
“I wonder,” Nat said, “why they call it a venture?”
Gibaut was still chuckling. “Because it is a venture—a risk. Any cargo is a risk. When we get to Bourbon, we may find people begging for our cargo and we may sell everything for three times what we paid for it. Or maybe when we get there, they won’t want anything we have. Maybe we’ll find there have been eight or ten ships there just ahead of us. Then we’ll lose our shirts. We never know.”
“I wouldn’t want to lose my whole hundred and thirty-five dollars. I wonder if there’s anything I could be sure I’d sell?”
“You can’t be sure of anything,” Gibaut said. “But ask Monsieur Bonnefoy about it. He ought to know. He comes from Bourbon. Fact is, he’s going home on the Henry.”
