Houseboat

a combination of a boat and a house. Taking a hint from the boat dwellings of eastern Asia, or possibly from the canal boat, the English originated the pleasure houseboat during the nineteenth century. It is a broad, commodious, comfortable affair, consisting of one or more rooms on a flat boat of shallow draft. It is quite popular on the Thames for families or small pleasure parties. Even wealthy people indulge in houseboat parties. Some of the boats are quite elaborate and expensive. They range in value from $100 to $25,000. The houseboat has been introduced into America. Long Island Sound and the Hudson, the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and other American rivers have their fleets of houseboats, which are brought into requisition during the summer months. At St. Louis and other cities enterprising proprietors have built theaters and other places of entertainment on boats. When the audience has come aboard, the boat pushes off for a cool spot, up or down the river, and returns after the entertainment is over. John Kendrick Bangs, a humorous writer, has utilized the idea in a fanciful description of A Houseboat on the Styx. The shades of Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson, and other worthies are the supposed guests.