One of these two quarter-deck lords went among the sailors by a name of their own devising—Selvagee. Of course, it was intended to be characteristic; and even so it was.
In frigates5, and all large ships of war, when getting under weigh, a large rope, called a messenger used to carry the strain of the cable to the capstan; so that the anchor may be weighed, without the muddy, ponderous7 cable, itself going round the capstan. As the cable enters the hawse-hole, therefore, something must be constantly used, to keep this travelling chain attached to this travelling messenger; something that may be rapidly wound round both, so as to bind9 them together. The article used is called a selvagee. And what could be better adapted to the purpose? It is a slender, tapering10, unstranded piece of rope prepared with much solicitude12; peculiarly flexible; and wreathes and serpentines13 round the cable and messenger like an elegantly-modeled garter-snake round the twisted stalks of a vine. Indeed, Selvagee is the exact type and symbol of a tall, genteel, limber, spiralising exquisite14. So much for the derivation of the name which the sailors applied15 to the Lieutenant2.
From what sea-alcove, from what mermaid's milliner's shop, hast thou emerged, Selvagee! with that dainty waist and languid cheek? What heartless step-dame drove thee forth16, to waste thy fragrance17 on the salt sea-air?
Was it you, Selvagee! that, outward-bound, off Cape18 Horn, looked at Hermit19 Island through an opera-glass? Was it you, who thought of proposing to the Captain that, when the sails were furled in a gale20, a few drops of lavender should be dropped in their "bunts," so that when the canvas was set again, your nostrils21 might not be offended by its musty smell? I do not say it was you, Selvagee; I but deferentially22 inquire.
In plain prose, Selvagee was one of those officers whom the sight of a trim-fitting naval23 coat had captivated in the days of his youth. He fancied, that if a sea-officer dressed well, and conversed24 genteelly, he would abundantly uphold the honour of his flag, and immortalise the tailor that made him. On that rock many young gentlemen split. For upon a frigate6's quarter-deck, it is not enough to sport a coat fashioned by a Stultz; it is not enough to be well braced26 with straps27 and suspenders; it is not enough to have sweet reminiscences of Lauras and Matildas. It is a right down life of hard wear and tear, and the man who is not, in a good degree, fitted to become a common sailor will never make an officer. Take that to heart, all ye naval aspirants28. Thrust your arms up to the elbow in pitch and see how you like it, ere you solicit11 a warrant. Prepare for white squalls, living gales29 and typhoons; read accounts of shipwrecks30 and horrible disasters; peruse31 the Narratives32 of Byron and Bligh; familiarise yourselves with the story of the English frigate Alceste and the French frigate Medusa. Though you may go ashore33, now and then, at Cadiz and Palermo; for every day so spent among oranges and ladies, you will have whole months of rains and gales.
And even thus did Selvagee prove it. But with all the intrepid34 effeminacy of your true dandy, he still continued his Cologne-water baths, and sported his lace-bordered handkerchiefs in the very teeth of a tempest. Alas35, Selvagee! there was no getting the lavender out of you.
But Selvagee was no fool. Theoretically he understood his profession; but the mere36 theory of seamanship forms but the thousandth part of what makes a seaman37. You cannot save a ship by working out a problem in the cabin; the deck is the field of action.
Well aware of his deficiency in some things, Selvagee never took the trumpet38—which is the badge of the deck officer for the time—without a tremulous movement of the lip, and an earnest inquiring eye to the windward. He encouraged those old Tritons, the Quarter-masters, to discourse39 with him concerning the likelihood of a squall; and often followed their advice as to taking in, or making sail. The smallest favours in that way were thankfully received. Sometimes, when all the North looked unusually lowering, by many conversational41 blandishments, he would endeavour to prolong his predecessor's stay on deck, after that officer's watch had expired. But in fine, steady weather, when the Captain would emerge from his cabin, Selvagee might be seen, pacing the poop with long, bold, indefatigable42 strides, and casting his eye up aloft with the most ostentatious fidelity43.
But vain these pretences44; he could not deceive. Selvagee! you know very well, that if it comes on to blow pretty hard, the First Lieutenant will be sure to interfere45 with his paternal46 authority. Every man and every boy in the frigate knows, Selvagee, that you are no Neptune47.
How unenviable his situation! His brother officers do not insult him, to be sure; but sometimes their looks are as daggers48. The sailors do not laugh at him outright49; but of dark nights they jeer50, when they hearken to that mantuamaker's voice ordering a strong pull at the main brace25, or hands by the halyards! Sometimes, by way of being terrific, and making the men jump, Selvagee raps out an oath; but the soft bomb stuffed with confectioner's kisses seems to burst like a crushed rose-bud diffusing51 its odours. Selvagee! Selvagee! take a main-top-man's advice; and this cruise over, never more tempt52 the sea.
With this gentleman of cravats53 and curling irons, how strongly contrasts the man who was born in a gale! For in some time of tempest—off Cape Horn or Hatteras—Mad Jack54 must have entered the world—such things have been—not with a silver spoon, but with a speaking-trumpet in his mouth; wrapped up in a caul, as in a main-sail—for a charmed life against shipwrecks he bears—and crying, Luff! luff, you may!—steady!—port! World ho!—here I am!
Mad Jack is in his saddle on the sea. That is his home; he would not care much, if another Flood came and overflowed55 the dry land; for what would it do but float his good ship higher and higher and carry his proud nation's flag round the globe, over the very capitals of all hostile states! Then would masts surmount56 spires57; and all mankind, like the Chinese boatmen in Canton River, live in flotillas and fleets, and find their food in the sea.
Mad Jack was expressly created and labelled for a tar58. Five feet nine is his mark, in his socks; and not weighing over eleven stone before dinner. Like so many ship's shrouds59, his muscles and tendons are all set true, trim, and taut60; he is braced up fore8 and aft, like a ship on the wind. His broad chest is a bulkhead, that dams off the gale; and his nose is an aquiline61, that divides it in two, like a keel. His loud, lusty lungs are two belfries, full of all manner of chimes; but you only hear his deepest bray62, in the height of some tempest—like the great bell of St. Paul's, which only sounds when the King or the Devil is dead.
Look at him there, where he stands on the poop—one foot on the rail, and one hand on a shroud—his head thrown back, and his trumpet like an elephant's trunk thrown up in the air. Is he going to shoot dead with sounds, those fellows on the main-topsail-yard?
Mad Jack was a bit of a tyrant—they say all good officers are—but the sailors loved him all round; and would much rather stand fifty watches with him, than one with a rose-water sailor.
But Mad Jack, alas! has one fearful failing. He drinks. And so do we all. But Mad Jack, He only drinks brandy. The vice40 was inveterate63; surely, like Ferdinand, Count Fathom64, he must have been suckled at a puncheon. Very often, this bad habit got him into very serious scrapes. Twice was he put off duty by the Commodore; and once he came near being broken for his frolics. So far as his efficiency as a sea-officer was concerned, on shore at least, Jack might bouse away as much as he pleased; but afloat it will not do at all.
Now, if he only followed the wise example set by those ships of the desert, the camels; and while in port, drank for the thirst past, the thirst present, and the thirst to come—so that he might cross the ocean sober; Mad Jack would get along pretty well. Still better, if he would but eschew65 brandy altogether; and only drink of the limpid66 white-wine of the rills and the brooks67.
点击收听单词发音
1 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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2 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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3 lieutenants | |
n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 );副职官员;空军;仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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4 derived | |
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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5 frigates | |
n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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6 frigate | |
n.护航舰,大型驱逐舰 | |
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7 ponderous | |
adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的 | |
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8 fore | |
adv.在前面;adj.先前的;在前部的;n.前部 | |
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9 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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10 tapering | |
adj.尖端细的 | |
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11 solicit | |
vi.勾引;乞求;vt.请求,乞求;招揽(生意) | |
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12 solicitude | |
n.焦虑 | |
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13 serpentines | |
n.像蛇般蜷曲的,蜿蜒的( serpentine的名词复数 )v.像蛇般蜷曲的,蜿蜒的( serpentine的第三人称单数 ) | |
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14 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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15 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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16 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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17 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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18 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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19 hermit | |
n.隐士,修道者;隐居 | |
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20 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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21 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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22 deferentially | |
adv.表示敬意地,谦恭地 | |
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23 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
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24 conversed | |
v.交谈,谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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25 brace | |
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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26 braced | |
adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来 | |
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27 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 | |
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28 aspirants | |
n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的,有抱负的,追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 );有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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29 gales | |
龙猫 | |
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30 shipwrecks | |
海难,船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 ); 沉船 | |
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31 peruse | |
v.细读,精读 | |
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32 narratives | |
记叙文( narrative的名词复数 ); 故事; 叙述; 叙述部分 | |
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33 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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34 intrepid | |
adj.无畏的,刚毅的 | |
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35 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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36 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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37 seaman | |
n.海员,水手,水兵 | |
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38 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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39 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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40 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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41 conversational | |
adj.对话的,会话的 | |
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42 indefatigable | |
adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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43 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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44 pretences | |
n.假装( pretence的名词复数 );作假;自命;自称 | |
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45 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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46 paternal | |
adj.父亲的,像父亲的,父系的,父方的 | |
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47 Neptune | |
n.海王星 | |
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48 daggers | |
匕首,短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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49 outright | |
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的 | |
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50 jeer | |
vi.嘲弄,揶揄;vt.奚落;n.嘲笑,讥评 | |
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51 diffusing | |
(使光)模糊,漫射,漫散( diffuse的现在分词 ); (使)扩散; (使)弥漫; (使)传播 | |
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52 tempt | |
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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53 cravats | |
n.(系在衬衫衣领里面的)男式围巾( cravat的名词复数 ) | |
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54 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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55 overflowed | |
溢出的 | |
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56 surmount | |
vt.克服;置于…顶上 | |
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57 spires | |
n.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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58 tar | |
n.柏油,焦油;vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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59 shrouds | |
n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 );寿衣;遮蔽物;覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 );保密 | |
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60 taut | |
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 | |
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61 aquiline | |
adj.钩状的,鹰的 | |
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62 bray | |
n.驴叫声, 喇叭声;v.驴叫 | |
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63 inveterate | |
adj.积习已深的,根深蒂固的 | |
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64 fathom | |
v.领悟,彻底了解 | |
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65 eschew | |
v.避开,戒绝 | |
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66 limpid | |
adj.清澈的,透明的 | |
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67 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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