Among the many who were exceedingly diverted with the scene between the Down Easter and the Lieutenant2, none laughed more heartily3 than John, Peter, Mark, and Antone—four sailors of the starboard-watch. The same evening these four found themselves prisoners in the "brig," with a sentry4 standing5 over them. They were charged with violating a well-known law of the ship—having been engaged in one of those tangled6, general fights sometimes occurring among sailors. They had nothing to anticipate but a flogging, at the captain's pleasure.
Toward evening of the next day, they were startled by the dread7 summons of the boatswain and his mates at the principal hatchway—a summons that ever sends a shudder8 through every manly9 heart in a frigate10:
"All hands witness punishment, ahoy!"
The hoarseness11 of the cry, its unrelenting prolongation, its being caught up at different points, and sent through the lowermost depths of the ship; all this produces a most dismal12 effect upon every heart not calloused13 by long habituation to it.
However much you may desire to absent yourself from the scene that ensues, yet behold14 it you must; or, at least, stand near it you must; for the regulations enjoin15 the attendance of the entire ship's company, from the corpulent Captain himself to the smallest boy who strikes the bell.
"All hands witness punishment, ahoy!"
To the sensitive seaman16 that summons sounds like a doom17. He knows that the same law which impels18 it—the same law by which the culprits of the day must suffer; that by that very law he also is liable at any time to be judged and condemned19. And the inevitableness of his own presence at the scene; the strong arm that drags him in view of the scourge20, and holds him there till all is over; forcing upon his loathing21 eye and soul the sufferings and groans22 of men who have familiarly consorted23 with him, eaten with him, battled out watches with him—men of his own type and badge—all this conveys a terrible hint of the omnipotent24 authority under which he lives. Indeed, to such a man the naval25 summons to witness punishment carries a thrill, somewhat akin26 to what we may impute27 to the quick and the dead, when they shall hear the Last Trump28, that is to bid them all arise in their ranks, and behold the final penalties inflicted29 upon the sinners of our race.
But it must not be imagined that to all men-of-war's-men this summons conveys such poignant30 emotions; but it is hard to decide whether one should be glad or sad that this is not the case; whether it is grateful to know that so much pain is avoided, or whether it is far sadder to think that, either from constitutional hard-heartedness or the multiplied searings of habit, hundreds of men-of-war's-men have been made proof against the sense of degradation31, pity, and shame.
As if in sympathy with the scene to be enacted32, the sun, which the day previous had merrily flashed upon the tin pan of the disconsolate33 Down Easter, was now setting over the dreary34 waters, veiling itself in vapours. The wind blew hoarsely35 in the cordage; the seas broke heavily against the bows; and the frigate, staggering under whole top-sails, strained as in agony on her way.
"All hands witness punishment, ahoy!"
At the summons the crew crowded round the main-mast; multitudes eager to obtain a good place on the booms, to overlook the scene; many laughing and chatting, others canvassing36 the case of the culprits; some maintaining sad, anxious countenances37, or carrying a suppressed indignation in their eyes; a few purposely keeping behind to avoid looking on; in short, among five hundred men, there was every possible shade of character.
All the officers—midshipmen included—stood together in a group on the starboard side of the main-mast; the First Lieutenant in advance, and the surgeon, whose special duty it is to be present at such times, standing close by his side.
Presently the Captain came forward from his cabin, and stood in the centre of this solemn group, with a small paper in his hand. That paper was the daily report of offences, regularly laid upon his table every morning or evening, like the day's journal placed by a bachelor's napkin at breakfast.
"Master-at-arms, bring up the prisoners," he said.
A few moments elapsed, during which the Captain, now clothed in his most dreadful attributes, fixed38 his eyes severely39 upon the crew, when suddenly a lane formed through the crowd of seamen40, and the prisoners advanced—the master-at-arms, rattan41 in hand, on one side, and an armed marine42 on the other—and took up their stations at the mast.
"You John, you Peter, you Mark, you Antone," said the Captain, "were yesterday found fighting on the gun-deck. Have you anything to say?"
Mark and Antone, two steady, middle-aged43 men, whom I had often admired for their sobriety, replied that they did not strike the first blow; that they had submitted to much before they had yielded to their passions; but as they acknowledged that they had at last defended themselves, their excuse was overruled.
John—a brutal44 bully45, who, it seems, was the real author of the disturbance—was about entering into a long extenuation46, when he was cut short by being made to confess, irrespective of circumstances, that he had been in the fray47.
Peter, a handsome lad about nineteen years old, belonging to the mizzen-top, looked pale and tremulous. He was a great favourite in his part of the ship, and especially in his own mess, principally composed of lads of his own age. That morning two of his young mess-mates had gone to his bag, taken out his best clothes, and, obtaining the permission of the marine sentry at the "brig," had handed them to him, to be put on against being summoned to the mast. This was done to propitiate48 the Captain, as most captains love to see a tidy sailor. But it would not do. To all his supplications the Captain turned a deaf ear. Peter declared that he had been struck twice before he had returned a blow. "No matter," said the Captain, "you struck at last, instead of reporting the case to an officer. I allow no man to fight on board here but myself. I do the fighting."
"Now, men," he added, "you all admit the charge; you know the penalty. Strip! Quarter-masters, are the gratings rigged?"
The gratings are square frames of barred wood-work, sometimes placed over the hatchways. One of these squares was now laid on the deck, close to the ship's bulwarks49, and while the remaining preparations were being made, the master-at-arms assisted the prisoners in removing their jackets and shirts. This done, their shirts were loosely thrown over their shoulders.
At a sign from the Captain, John, with a shameless leer, advanced, and stood passively upon the grating, while the bare-headed old quarter-master, with grey hair streaming in the wind, bound his feet to the cross-bars, and, stretching out his arms over his head, secured them to the hammock-nettings above. He then retreated a little space, standing silent.
Meanwhile, the boatswain stood solemnly on the other side, with a green bag in his hand, from which, taking four instruments of punishment, he gave one to each of his mates; for a fresh "cat" applied50 by a fresh hand, is the ceremonious privilege accorded to every man-of-war culprit.
At another sign from the Captain, the master-at-arms, stepping up, removed the shirt from the prisoner. At this juncture51 a wave broke against the ship's side, and clashed the spray over his exposed back. But though the air was piercing cold, and the water drenched52 him, John stood still, without a shudder.
The Captain's finger was now lifted, and the first boatswain's-mate advanced, combing out the nine tails of his cat with his hand, and then, sweeping53 them round his neck, brought them with the whole force of his body upon the mark. Again, and again, and again; and at every blow, higher and higher rose the long, purple bars on the prisoner's back. But he only bowed over his head, and stood still. Meantime, some of the crew whispered among themselves in applause of their ship-mate's nerve; but the greater part were breathlessly silent as the keen scourge hissed54 through the wintry air, and fell with a cutting, wiry sound upon the mark. One dozen lashes55 being applied, the man was taken down, and went among the crew with a smile, saying, "D——n me! it's nothing when you're used to it! Who wants to fight?"
The next was Antone, the Portuguese56. At every blow he surged from side to side, pouring out a torrent57 of involuntary blasphemies58. Never before had he been heard to curse. When cut down, he went among the men, swearing to have the life of the Captain. Of course, this was unheard by the officers.
Mark, the third prisoner, only cringed and coughed under his punishment. He had some pulmonary complaint. He was off duty for several days after the flogging; but this was partly to be imputed59 to his extreme mental misery60. It was his first scourging61, and he felt the insult more than the injury. He became silent and sullen62 for the rest of the cruise.
The fourth and last was Peter, the mizzen-top lad. He had often boasted that he had never been degraded at the gangway. The day before his cheek had worn its usual red but now no ghost was whiter. As he was being secured to the gratings, and the shudderings and creepings of his dazzlingly white back were revealed, he turned round his head imploringly63; but his weeping entreaties64 and vows65 of contrition66 were of no avail. "I would not forgive God Almighty67!" cried the Captain. The fourth boatswain's-mate advanced, and at the first blow, the boy, shouting "My God! Oh! my God!" writhed68 and leaped so as to displace the gratings, and scatter69 the nine tails of the scourge all over his person. At the next blow he howled, leaped, and raged in unendurable torture.
"What are you stopping for, boatswain's-mate?" cried the Captain. "Lay on!" and the whole dozen was applied.
"I don't care what happens to me now!" wept Peter, going among the crew, with blood-shot eyes, as he put on his shirt. "I have been flogged once, and they may do it again, if they will. Let them look for me now!"
Let us have the charity to believe them—as we do—when some Captains in the Navy say, that the thing of all others most repulsive71 to them, in the routine of what they consider their duty, is the administration of corporal punishment upon the crew; for, surely, not to feel scarified to the quick at these scenes would argue a man but a beast.
You see a human being, stripped like a slave; scourged72 worse than a hound. And for what? For things not essentially73 criminal, but only made so by arbitrary laws.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
sob
|
|
| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
heartily
|
|
| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
sentry
|
|
| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
manly
|
|
| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
frigate
|
|
| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hoarseness
|
|
| n.嘶哑， 刺耳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
calloused
|
|
| adj.粗糙的，粗硬的，起老茧的v.（使）硬结，（使）起茧( callous的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）冷酷无情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
enjoin
|
|
| v.命令；吩咐；禁止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
seaman
|
|
| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
impels
|
|
| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
scourge
|
|
| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
loathing
|
|
| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
groans
|
|
| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
consorted
|
|
| v.结伴( consort的过去式和过去分词 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
omnipotent
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
naval
|
|
| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
akin
|
|
| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
impute
|
|
| v.归咎于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
trump
|
|
| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
inflicted
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
poignant
|
|
| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
degradation
|
|
| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
enacted
|
|
| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
disconsolate
|
|
| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
dreary
|
|
| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
hoarsely
|
|
| adv.嘶哑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
canvassing
|
|
| v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
countenances
|
|
| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
seamen
|
|
| n.海员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
rattan
|
|
| n.藤条，藤杖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
marine
|
|
| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
middle-aged
|
|
| adj.中年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
extenuation
|
|
| n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
fray
|
|
| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
propitiate
|
|
| v.慰解，劝解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
bulwarks
|
|
| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
drenched
|
|
| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
lashes
|
|
| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
Portuguese
|
|
| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
blasphemies
|
|
| n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
imputed
|
|
| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
scourging
|
|
| 鞭打( scourge的现在分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
imploringly
|
|
| adv. 恳求地, 哀求地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
entreaties
|
|
| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
vows
|
|
| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
contrition
|
|
| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
writhed
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
scatter
|
|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
dispersed
|
|
| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
repulsive
|
|
| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
scourged
|
|
| 鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |