I will write you that which no man has written before. I will tell you the truth as I found it. I will tell you of the aspirations1 of rough but brave men in distant lands and on the ships of distant tropic seas. I will tell you the truth of many thrills that buoyed2 me up with hope in my wanderings, and also of the chills that crushed in the last forlorn stand on the field of adversity. Aye, you shall hear of those things that men dream of in silence. I will pour them out of my soul for the calm eyes of stern reality.
My pages of romance have long since been shrivelled up in tropic seas, under blinding suns, on the plains and in the primeval bush lands, but still I am the living book of all that has been in the dear old dead romance of passionate3 boyhood. The glorious poems, the dreams of what should be, the flinchless fight for right, have all faded away and left in the secret pages of life the withered4 flowers of old friendship, tied up with magic threads of women’s kisses, the memories of dead, brave comrades, some under the seas and others under the bush flowers of Australian steeps or beneath the tropic jungle of the South Sea Islands. There they 2sleep with the memories of savage5 native men singing by their tiny huts which have long ago vanished before the tramp of the white men. All these things are in this book, with the poetry of life which is mine, mingled6 with the memories of haunting dreams of that world of Romance which so many of us sail away to but never, never find.
I cannot promise that in the chapters to follow I can tell all that befell me in the exact order in which the events happened, for it must be that after the flight of years I should stumble a bit in the days and months of a life that was lived in the midst of wild adventure and incessant7 travel from land to land; but it will be enough to assure you that the characters that I tell you of really lived and for all I know many are still living. When I tell you that an old cockatoo dropped down from the tropic sky on to a blue gum twig8 overhead and surveyed me with a sideways melancholy9 eye as I sat alone by my camp fire, be quite sure that that cockatoo lived and breathed, took stock of me and flew away into the sunset, and has doubtlessly dropped into the scrub, a small bunch of dead feather and bone, years ago.
At school I read more from the pages of romance than from school-books. At fourteen years of age the opportunity arrived, and secretly, with the help of an older friend, I succeeded in securing a berth10 on a full-rigged sailing ship, and, within four hours of my trembling carcass creeping up the gangway and down on to the great decks, I was before the masts going down Channel bound for Australia.
3My recollections of the first few days are dim. The skies bobbed about, I swayed on deck, the brave old heroes of ages past flew out of my brain into the stormy moonlight and shrieked11 in the sails overhead, as my head swelled13 to the size of the dome14 of St Paul’s and I vomited15. I longed to be home again. Alas16! deep-sea sailing ships do not turn round and speed with haste for their native port in response to the feeble schoolboy’s tearful voice. I was done for! Hopes, glories, vast ambitions, all vanished! My thin legs trembled along on the decks till I staggered through a little cabin door and fell into my bunk17. By some great oversight18 in the sea discipline I was allowed to sleep for five hours; I cannot remember to a certainty now, but I think I was drowned and died about a thousand times in that first off-watch sleep.
I soon recovered, and discovered that sea captains do not stand on the poop cracking jokes and shying oranges and coco-nuts up at the crew, as they laughingly toil20 among the sails. I also found that the Bo’sun wore very stout21 boots, and I have never met a man in my life who could kick so true and aim with such precision. Five years after, whilst I was in ’Frisco, I called on a phrenologist and speculated one dollar, and discovered that the contusion and everlasting22 bump formed at the back of my head by a Bo’sun’s belaying-pin was an inherited taint19 derived23 from the over-burdened brains of my passionate ancestors!
Well, I recovered my equilibrium24, secured good 4sea-legs, went aloft, crawled along the yards, and helped to reef the sails. Often in the wild nights the sailors cursed and swore as I clung with might and main, my hands and teeth clinging to the rolling rigging up in the foremast top-gallants. My comrades shouted orders to me, their voices blown away on the thundering night gales26, but I only heard the instinctive27 cry of self-preservation within me as the moon and the great beast-like clouds swayed like mighty28 pendulums29 across the night skies, swept from skyline to skyline, while the masts shivered to the roll and thunder of the broadside swell12 as the ship flew along at eighteen knots before the gale25. Often I would gaze down deckwards, watching the praying figurehead’s lifted hands heaving skywards when the tropic moonlight made wonderfully brilliant the hills of bubbling foam30 over the bows as she dived and plunged31 along. I loved that figurehead, for often as I gazed from aloft on moon-bright nights it seemed to wear a strong resemblance to my dear mother, and with my legs curled round the yards aloft in the lonely sea-nights I would often look down and fancy in my dreams that her shadow ever moved along over the waters below the swaying jib-boom with extended hands, praying for me, as no one ever prayed for me before or since!
I slept amidships with the cook and three other apprentices32. I was a favourite with them all, being of a cheerful temperament33 and a good fiddle34 player. Often in the off watches I would play old familiar 5strains while they joined in the rollicking chorus, awaking the silence of the lonely calm tropic nights in moving waters that belted the whole world, when the sails swayed silently along beneath strange stars, filled out at intervals35 like drums, then flopped36, as the lazy tropic breeze once more sighed and fell asleep.
The old Scotch37 Captain heard me playing one night; he was a religious man and taught me some beautiful sea-hymns38, and in due course I played in the cabin aft during Sunday service, when all the crew mustered39, and John the cook, who swore and cursed most fearfully all day long in his galley40, opened his big-bearded mouth and sung most expressively41 those old pious42 hymns, knocking even the Skipper out in melodious43 reverential pathos44!
The dear old Skipper had brought his daughter with him. She was a pretty Scotch girl—a crew of thirty-six men, and one pretty girl and me! Well, I combed my hair, cleaned my teeth, gazed in my little bit of cracked mirror-glass fifty times an hour, for alas! the family failing asserted itself; I had fallen in love! I have never been what you would call really lucky in love, like some happy men; trouble always arose after the first embarrassment45 had worn off and I felt truly happy, and blessed the universe. And it was so in this my first love affair. One dark night as she stood in shelter by the bulwarks46 near the saloon door I was admiring her eyes and swearing eternal love, calling all the bright stars to be witnesses to my unchangeable fidelity47, and just as I 6kissed her sweet white ear and, in my madness of love, breathed secretly through her beautiful dishevelled, scented48 hair, as it waved in the moonlight over her lovely curved shoulders, I received a tremendous clump49 from the old Skipper! That night I also received stern orders from the Chief Mate never to be seen near the saloon again after dark!
I crept into my bunk heartsick and wretched. The affair got about the ship. I was chaffed a good deal by the whole crew. Real old sea-salts they were. I can see them now as I dream, walking across the decks by moonlight, muffled50 up to the teeth in oilskins, some with big crooked51 noses, all with weary sea-beaten faces. Up aloft they go. Again I see their big figures move up the ratlings as they reach the moonlit sails, and climbing, vanish in the sky. All around is sky and water and stars, fenced in by eternal skylines, as the ship travels silently onward52, a tiny grey-winged world under blue days, starry53 and stormy skies, towards a skyline that for ever fades, following sunset after sunset across boundless54 seas. They were a motley crew those sailors. Some read books, some believed in spirits, and some in beer, and one would tell us over and over again of his experiences in distant lands and his brave deeds and his wonderful self-sacrifices and many other virtues55, not one of which he really possessed56.
There was one old sailor who on arriving home on his last voyage found that his wife was dead. He 7would sit on a little empty salt-beef tub and tell me about his courting days and his “old girl who was one of the best,” the tears rolling down his coarse-looking face all the time. He was an extraordinary mixture; in one breath he would almost curse his wife’s memory, and in the next ask me if I thought there was really another world. He could not read or write, and seeing me play the violin and read music as well as books made me almost omnipotent57 to his sad old eyes. I remember well enough how my heart was touched by his manner and questions as I put on a wise air and convinced him of the soul’s immortality58. I even went so far as to tell him that my dead relations had returned to my family as shadows from the other world, and the poor old fellow perched on his tub listened eagerly, believing all I said, and then went off and found his comrades, who sat playing cards by the fo’c’sle door, and laughed the loudest, till they all snored in the fo’c’sle bunks59, half stupefied by the smoke and smell of ship’s plug tobacco. I have often seen them by the dingy60 fo’c’sle oil-lamp fast asleep, seared unshaved faces, all their worldly passions asleep, looking like big children, so innocent, as they snored away, and some of them who had fallen asleep whilst they were chewing tobacco dribbled61 black juice from the corners of their mouths, their big chests upheaving at each slumbering62 breath. Outside, just overhead, the night winds wailed63 and whistled weirdly64 in the rigging as the jib-boom swayed along, and at regular intervals came the thunder of the 8diving bows as the ship dipped and heaved and plunged along over the primeval waters.
Five months passed away on that ship. Storms blew from all directions and sometimes dead ahead and then we never slept. Hauling the mainsail up and tacking65 is more nuisance than flying before a thousand gales. To stand by the top-gallant halyards as comes the wind; to clew the main sky-sails up, singing chanteys, as you cling to the yards with a thundering gale smashing the highways of the water world into a myriad66 travelling hills as the wild poetry of the sea singing to the ears of the sailor, and I was never so happy as when the green chargers ramped67 across the world.
I shall never forget my delight as we were towed down Brisbane River, with the everlasting hills all around. I will not weary you with any more details beyond telling you that when we lay alongside the next night I hired a wharf68 loafer and got my sea-chest secretly ashore69 and bolted!
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1
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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buoyed
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| v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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vomited
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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pendulums
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| n.摆，钟摆( pendulum的名词复数 )；摇摆不定的事态（或局面） | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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38
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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40
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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41
expressively
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| ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地 | |
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42
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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43
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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48
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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49
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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dribbled
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| v.流口水( dribble的过去式和过去分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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ramped
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| 土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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