Gladstone, George, Mrs.
"Waiting for Sailing Orders: Fisher-Life at the Land's End" by Mrs. George Gladstone is a Christian juvenile story written in the late 19th century. Set among Cornish fishers at Newlyn, it follows the devout Trevan family—father John, mother Philippa, their twin daughters Dorothy and Judith, and venerable Captain Nance—as work, weather, and faith shape their days while they yearn for the return of a long-lost prodigal son, Willy. The narrative blends local seafaring life with moral reflection and Scripture, using “sailing orders” as a tender metaphor for death and readiness to meet God. The opening of the tale introduces bustling mackerel fishing in Mount’s Bay, the respected skipper John Trevan and his crew, and the homelife anchored by Philippa and her Bible-loving father, Captain Nance. We learn the family’s “great sorrow”: Willy, once wayward, ran off years earlier after stealing from his mother, leaving them to pray and hope. Amid twin birthday celebrations, the old sailor recounts sons lost at sea, and the family visit Land’s End, sing Wesley’s hymn, and hear lighthouse lore and giant legends. Further excursions to St. Michael’s Mount bring stories of St. Michael’s chair, “Jack the Giant-killer,” and Judith’s retelling of David and Goliath, sharpening the book’s moral and scriptural tone. Dorothy strives to master her temper and studies, the girls comfort their mother on Willy’s birthday with prayer on Paul Hill, and village life unfolds through Midsummer Eve bonfires a…
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