The Lady of the Barge (short story)

This article is about the short story by W. W. Jacobs. For the short story collection of the same name, see The Lady of the Barge.

"The Lady of the Barge"
Short story by W. W. Jacobs
Text available at Wikisource
Country	England
Language	English
Genre(s)	Humour, Romance, short story
Publication
Published in	Harper's Monthly
Media type	Magazine
Publication date	August 1900

"The Lady of the Barge" is a comedic short story by W. W. Jacobs. It was originally published in the August 1900 issue of Harper's Magazine. ^[1] It was later collected in Jacobs' short story collection of the same name. It follows Ted, a mate to Captain John Gibbs inviting a woman aboard John's barge.

Plot

John Gibbs, the captain of the Arabella, is winding down from an argument relating to religion when Ted, his mate and brother-in-law, hops aboard. Ted wants to take Lucy Harris on a ride aboard the barge. Although John is skeptical about the passenger, since he doesn't normally carry them, he reluctantly lets her on. As the trip unfolds, Lucy takes a liking to John, to Ted's dismay.

When John goes to finally dock in Coalsham, seeing his wife Louisa before him, he attempts to hide Lucy in the forecastle. This fails, and Louisa gets in an argument with Lucy, mistaking her presence as that her husband cheated on her. This leads to Lucy throwing her purse into the water. Ted jumps into retrieve it. John, thinking he's drowning, jumps in to save him. When they are pulled ashore by the two ladies, their foolishness is recognized by the two women as they walk away and get breakfast.

Illustrations

Illustrations were painted by Maurice Greiffenhagen for the collection of the same name. These illustrations and subsequent ones only appear in the first edition and magazine release.

• 
  HE DENIED IT AGAIN, HOTLY.
• 
  "YOU VILLAIN!" SHE SAID, IN A CHOKING VOICE.

References

1. "The lady of the barge, by W.W. (William Wymark) Jacobs". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2025.