CHAPTER X.

FROM AN OLD SCRAP-BOOK.

In The New York Tribune of September —, 188–, appeared an article of interest to the readers of this narration¹. And here is a portion of it:

“... All facts as to the loss of the steamer Old Province, the absorbing subject of public attention since last week, seem gathered now from the various sources available. Captain Widgins, Mr. A. Y. Arrowsmith, the mate, and several others of the crew and of the boatload last to leave the ill-fated vessel² and make Knoxport Cove³, have been repeatedly interviewed without developing any facts not already made known. The steamer lies in a considerable depth of water. The question of raising her is under consideration. Cargo⁴ and baggage are almost a total loss.

“It is now certain that the mysterious explosion in the hold, which caused the leak and disabled the vessel with its terrific shock, was[144] the work of the infernal machine shipped from this city to Halifax by the two men, O’Reilly and Hand, who have so far eluded⁵ all detection. That they intended mischief⁶ to the steamer or those aboard is not likely. Their big ‘oblong box,’ of which so much has been said in the papers, was probably expected to make a quick journey and be duly received at Halifax by the so-called ‘Mr. Patrick Heffernan,’ to whom it was addressed. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Patrick Heffernan is still a myth. It is supposed that a very prominent member of the Non-Resident Land League is identical with him, and was to call for the box. The machine, by some accident, did its dastardly work too soon. The cowardly constructors of it are thus responsible for a direful calamity⁸, the loss of many lives and of thousands of dollars’ worth of valuable property; another example of what dynamiters are willing to ‘risk for the Irish cause.’

“The divers⁹ agree with those who tried to stop the ragged¹⁰ hole blown in the hull¹¹ that the force of the explosion was awful. A wreck¹² of packing-cases, bulkheads, and freight of all descriptions, blown to atoms, was hurled¹³ about the[145] ship. The water must soon have poured in like a torrent¹⁴, as was described by those who fought it. Whether the ship could have been beached successfully in the fog, had the explosion not disabled her, is doubtful.

“Had the Old Province carried her usual load of passengers, panic might have made the death-list far longer. All agree that there was remarkable¹⁵ composure shown every-where. The highest praise is given to Captain Widgins and to his assistants for their coolness and devotion to the safety of those committed to their charge. The presence of mind of the unfortunate young Mr. Eversham (who was afterward¹⁶ lost in the boat that was swamped) is also warmly praised. His body was to be buried in Brooklyn to-day. The other bodies washed ashore¹⁷ at Knoxport Cove and Sweetapple Reef have been in some instances identified, and are being forwarded elsewhere; others will be buried in Knoxport.

“Many corpses¹⁸ have been found in sad witness to the swamping of the boat lost in making for Knoxport. It was the first sent out from the steamer. The facts of its fate have been all learned from the lips of James Hoyt, the[146] seaman¹⁹, picked up at no later than two o’clock the next morning by the yacht Alicia while he was tossing in a state of almost perfect exhaustion²⁰ in the sea (still running very rough). Hoyt says that the boat, under the command of Mr. Eversham, was proceeding²¹, though with some difficulty, straight to Knoxport, when the leaping up of Mrs. Cassidy, to save her child, upset it. He remembers, too, that, in spite of the care taken before the Old Province was left, few of the emigrants²² with him had their life-preservers on. Mr. Eversham had been greatly alarmed when Hoyt pointed²³ out that fact. Eversham was about to order all who could to don them. Just then the capsize came. Mr. Eversham had an old set himself, and Hoyt remembers his complaining of its straps²⁴ being rotten. Hoyt says that the sea was so violent that, even with his life-preserver, it was a miracle he kept his head above water half an hour. An oar⁷ he grasped was of great service. He was almost gone when picked up. Some of the bodies found, however, wore life-preservers. In some cases the bruising²⁵ from the rocks along the shore was disfiguring, and it is likely that many of those from the two[147] capsized boats had what little life was left in them literally²⁶ pounded out of them in the surf along Sweetapple and Knoxport Ledges²⁷.

“One boat which contained few passengers except for Nova Scotia did not come in by itself, but was picked up by the schooner²⁸ Mary Linda Brown, bound north. It narrowly escaped being run down by the Mary Linda Brown instead of being rescued. The schooner’s crew heard none of the distress²⁹ signals from the Old Province. Among those brought by the schooner were Gen. John Bry, K.C.B., Sir Hastings Halbert, and Rev³⁰. Francis Holman, of Halifax; Mr. and Mrs. George Freeborn, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Earle, and Mr. John A. Belmont. A son of the latter gentleman, on one of the boats, was drowned.

“A singularly sad history attaches to the loss of a young lad named Saxton, the son of Mr. Gerald B. Saxton, of this city. He was traveling with his tutor to Nova Scotia, and, according to one story, went from the ship in the same boat with Hoyt. His body was not recovered, nor his tutor’s. Young Saxton’s father, who has been with a camping-party in Nova Scotia, was immediately sent for. He[148] came on to Knoxport. The shock to him was terrible, and he was so completely prostrated³¹ that his reason has seemed endangered. He was prevailed upon to speedily quit Knoxport. He is now making an indefinite journey westward³² in company of his friend Mr. Jay Marcy (of the well-known Ossokosee Hotel). Mr. Marcy hopes to break up the alarming stupor³³ of grief into which Mr. Saxton is plunged³⁴. But, indeed, the calamity abounds³⁵ in such distressing³⁶ particulars. It might have been far worse. It is to be hoped that another originating like it, and of as melancholy³⁷ an extent, may not soon be added to the list of our sea disasters.”

1 narration   

n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体

参考例句：

• The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
• Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

5 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

7 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

8 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

9 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

10 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

11 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

12 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

13 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

18 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

19 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

20 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

21 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

22 emigrants   

n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At last the emigrants got to their new home. 移民们终于到达了他们的新家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Truly, a decree for selling the property of emigrants.' “有那么回事，是出售外逃人员财产的法令。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

23 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

24 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

25 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

26 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

27 ledges   

n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台

参考例句：

• seabirds nesting on rocky ledges 海鸟在岩架上筑巢
• A rusty ironrod projected mournfully from one of the window ledges. 一个窗架上突出一根生锈的铁棒，真是满目凄凉。 来自辞典例句

28 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

29 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

30 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

31 prostrated   

v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力

参考例句：

• He was prostrated by the loss of his wife. 他因丧妻而忧郁。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They prostrated themselves before the emperor. 他们拜倒在皇帝的面前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

33 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

34 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

35 abounds   

v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The place abounds with fruit, especially pears and peaches. 此地盛产水果，尤以梨桃著称。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This country abounds with fruit. 这个国家盛产水果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

36 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

37 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。