Around the world in 80 days jules verne

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Chapter I
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
AND PASSEPARTOUT
ACCEPT EACH OTHER, THE
ONE AS MASTER, THE
OTHER AS MAN
Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row,
Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in
1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of the
Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid
Attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about
Whom little was known, except that he was a polished
Man of the world. People said that he resembled Byron –
At least that his head was Byronic; but he was a bearded,
Tranquil Byron, who might live on a thousand years
Without growing old.
Certainly an Englishman, it was more doubtful whether
Phileas Fogg was a Londoner. He was never seen on
‘Change, nor at the Bank, nor in the counting-rooms of
The ‘City”; no ships ever came into London docks of Around the World in 80 Days
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Which he was the owner; he had no public employment;
He had never been entered at any of the Inns of Court,
Either at the Temple, or Lincoln’s Inn, or Gray’s Inn; nor
Had his voice ever resounded in the Court of Chancery, or
In the Exchequer, or the Queen’s Bench, or the
Ecclesiastical Courts. He certainly was not a manufacturer;
Nor was he a merchant or a gentleman farmer. His name
Was strange to the scientific and learned societies, and he
Never was known to take part in the sage deliberations of
The Royal Institution or the London Institution, the
Artisan’s Association, or the Institution of Arts and
Sciences. He belonged, in fact, to none of the numerous
Societies which swarm in the English capital, from the
Harmonic to that of the Entomologists, founded mainly
For the purpose of abolishing pernicious insects.
Phileas

Fogg was a member of the Reform, and that
Was all.
The way in which he got admission to this exclusive
Club was simple enough.
He was recommended by the Barings, with whom he
Had an open credit. His cheques were regularly paid at
Sight from his account current, which was always flush.
Was Phileas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But those who
Knew him best could not imagine how he had made his
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Fortune, and Mr. Fogg was the last person to whom to
Apply for the information. He was not lavish, nor, on the
Contrary, avaricious; for, whenever he knew that money
Was needed for a noble, useful, or benevolent purpose, he
Supplied it quietly and sometimes anonymously. He was,
In short, the least communicative of men. He talked very
Little, and seemed all the more mysterious for his taciturn
Manner. His daily habits were quite open to observation;
But whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that he
Had always done before, that the wits of the curious were
Fairly puzzled.
Had he travelled? It was likely, for no one seemed to
Know the world more familiarly; there was no spot so
Secluded that he did not appear to have an intimate
Acquaintance with it. He often corrected, with a few clear
Words, the thousand conjectures advanced by members of
The club as to lost and unheard-of travellers, pointing out
The true probabilities, and seeming as if gifted with a sort
Of second sight, so often did events justify his predictions.


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Around the world in 80 days jules verne