Others excelled in tattooing4 or pricking6, as it is called in a man-of-war. Of these prickers, two had long been celebrated7, in their way, as consummate8 masters of the art. Each had a small box full of tools and colouring matter; and they charged so high for their services, that at the end of the cruise they were supposed to have cleared upward of four hundred dollars. They would prick5 you to order a palm-tree, or an anchor, a crucifix, a lady, a lion, an eagle, or anything else you might want.
The Roman Catholic sailors on board had at least the crucifix pricked9 on their arms, and for this reason: If they chanced to die in a Catholic land, they would be sure of a decent burial in consecrated10 ground, as the priest would be sure to observe the symbol of Mother Church on their persons. They would not fare as Protestant sailors dying in Callao, who are shoved under the sands of St. Lorenzo, a solitary11, volcanic12 island in the harbour, overrun with rep-tiles, their heretical bodies not being permitted to repose13 in the more genial14 loam15 of Lima.
And many sailors not Catholics were anxious to have the crucifix painted on them, owing to a curious superstition16 of theirs. They affirm—some of them—that if you have that mark tattooed17 upon all four limbs, you might fall overboard among seven hundred and seventy-five thousand white sharks, all dinnerless, and not one of them would so much as dare to smell at your little finger.
We had one fore18-top-man on board, who, during the entire cruise, was having an endless cable pricked round and round his waist, so that, when his frock was off, he looked like a capstan with a hawser19 coiled round about it. This fore-top-man paid eighteen pence per link for the cable, besides being on the smart the whole cruise, suffering the effects of his repeated puncturings; so he paid very dear for his cable.
One other mode of passing time while in port was cleaning and polishing your bright-work; for it must be known that, in men-of-war, every sailor has some brass20 or steel of one kind or other to keep in high order—like housemaids, whose business it is to keep well-polished the knobs on the front door railing and the parlour-grates.
Excepting the ring-bolts, eye-bolts, and belaying-pins scattered21 about the decks, this bright-work, as it is called, is principally about the guns, embracing the "monkey-tails" of the carronades, the screws, prickers, little irons, and other things.
The portion that fell to my own share I kept in superior order, quite equal in polish to Rogers's best cutlery. I received the most extravagant22 encomiums from the officers; one of whom offered to match me against any brazier or brass-polisher in her British Majesty's Navy. Indeed, I devoted23 myself to the work body and soul, and thought no pains too painful, and no labour too laborious24, to achieve the highest attainable25 polish possible for us poor lost sons of Adam to reach.
Upon one occasion, even, when woollen rags were scarce, and no burned-brick was to be had from the ship's Yeoman, I sacrificed the corners of my woollen shirt, and used some dentrifice I had, as substitutes for the rags and burned-brick. The dentrifice operated delightfully27, and made the threading of my carronade screw shine and grin again, like a set of false teeth in an eager heiress-hunter's mouth.
Still another mode of passing time, was arraying yourself in your best "togs" and promenading28 up and down the gun-deck, admiring the shore scenery from the port-holes, which, in an amphitheatrical bay like Rio—belted about by the most varied29 and charming scenery of hill, dale, moss30, meadow, court, castle, tower, grove31, vine, vineyard, aqueduct, palace, square, island, fort—is very much like lounging round a circular cosmorama, and ever and anon lazily peeping through the glasses here and there. Oh! there is something worth living for, even in our man-of-war world; and one glimpse of a bower32 of grapes, though a cable's length off, is almost satisfaction for dining off a shank-bone salted down.
This promenading was chiefly patronised by the marines, and particularly by Colbrook, a remarkably33 handsome and very gentlemanly corporal among them. He was a complete lady's man; with fine black eyes, bright red cheeks, glossy34 jet whiskers, and a refined organisation35 of the whole man. He used to array himself in his regimentals, and saunter about like an officer of the Coldstream Guards, strolling down to his club in St. James's. Every time he passed me, he would heave a sentimental36 sigh, and hum to himself "The girl I left behind me." This fine corporal afterward37 became a representative in the Legislature of the State of New Jersey38; for I saw his name returned about a year after my return home.
But, after all, there was not much room, while in port, for promenading, at least on the gun-deck, for the whole larboard side is kept clear for the benefit of the officers, who appreciate the advantages of having a clear stroll fore and aft; and they well know that the sailors had much better be crowded together on the other side than that the set of their own coat-tails should be impaired39 by brushing against their tarry trowsers.
One other way of killing40 time while in port is playing checkers; that is, when it is permitted; for it is not every navy captain who will allow such a scandalous proceeding41, But, as for Captain Claret, though he did like his glass of Madeira uncommonly42 well, and was an undoubted descendant from the hero of the Battle of the Brandywine, and though he sometimes showed a suspiciously flushed face when superintending in person the flogging of a sailor for getting intoxicated43 against his particular orders, yet I will say for Captain Claret that, upon the whole, he was rather indulgent to his crew, so long as they were perfectly44 docile45. He allowed them to play checkers as much as they pleased. More than once I have known him, when going forward to the forecastle, pick his way carefully among scores of canvas checker-cloths spread upon the deck, so as not to tread upon the men—the checker-men and man-of-war's-men included; but, in a certain sense, they were both one; for, as the sailors used their checker-men, so, at quarters, their officers used these man-of-war's men.
But Captain Claret's leniency46 in permitting checkers on board his ship might have arisen from the following little circumstance, confidentially47 communicated to me. Soon after the ship had sailed from home, checkers were prohibited; whereupon the sailors were exasperated48 against the Captain, and one night, when he was walking round the forecastle, bim! came an iron belaying-pin past his ears; and while he was dodging49 that, bim! came another, from the other side; so that, it being a very dark night, and nobody to be seen, and it being impossible to find out the trespassers, he thought it best to get back into his cabin as soon as possible. Some time after—just as if the belaying-pins had nothing to do with it—it was indirectly50 rumoured51 that the checker-boards might be brought out again, which—as a philosophical52 shipmate observed—showed that Captain Claret was a man of a ready understanding, and could understand a hint as well as any other man, even when conveyed by several pounds of iron.
Some of the sailors were very precise about their checker-cloths, and even went so far that they would not let you play with them unless you first washed your hands, especially if so be you had just come from tarring down the rigging.
Another way of beguiling53 the tedious hours, is to get a cosy54 seat somewhere, and fall into as snug55 a little reverie as you can. Or if a seat is not to be had—which is frequently the case—then get a tolerably comfortable stand-up against the bulwarks56, and begin to think about home and bread and butter—always inseparably connected to a wanderer—which will very soon bring delicious tears into your eyes; for every one knows what a luxury is grief, when you can get a private closet to enjoy it in, and no Paul Prys intrude57. Several of my shore friends, indeed, when suddenly overwhelmed by some disaster, always make a point of flying to the first oyster-cellar, and shutting themselves up in a box with nothing but a plate of stewed58 oysters59, some crackers60, the castor, and a decanter of old port.
Still another way of killing time in harbour, is to lean over the bulwarks, and speculate upon where, under the sun, you are going to be that day next year, which is a subject full of interest to every living soul; so much so, that there is a particular day of a particular month of the year, which, from my earliest recollections, I have always kept the run of, so that I can even now tell just where I was on that identical day of every year past since I was twelve years old. And, when I am all alone, to run over this almanac in my mind is almost as entertaining as to read your own diary, and far more interesting than to peruse61 a table of logarithms on a rainy afternoon. I always keep the anniversary of that day with lamb and peas, and a pint62 of sherry, for it comes in Spring. But when it came round in the Neversink, I could get neither lamb, peas, nor sherry.
But perhaps the best way to drive the hours before you four-in-hand, is to select a soft plank63 on the gun-deck, and go to sleep. A fine specific, which seldom fails, unless, to be sure, you have been sleeping all the twenty-four hours beforehand.
Whenever employed in killing time in harbour, I have lifted myself up on my elbow and looked around me, and seen so many of my shipmates all employed at the same common business; all under lock and key; all hopeless prisoners like myself; all under martial64 law; all dieting on salt beef and biscuit; all in one uniform; all yawning, gaping65, and stretching in concert, it was then that I used to feel a certain love and affection for them, grounded, doubtless, on a fellow-feeling.
And though, in a previous part of this narrative66, I have mentioned that I used to hold myself somewhat aloof67 from the mass of seamen68 on board the Neversink; and though this was true, and my real acquaintances were comparatively few, and my intimates still fewer, yet, to tell the truth, it is quite impossible to live so long with five hundred of your fellow-beings, even if not of the best families in the land, and with morals that would not be spoiled by further cultivation69; it is quite impossible, I say, to live with five hundred of your fellow-beings, be they who they may, without feeling a common sympathy with them at the time, and ever after cherishing some sort of interest in their welfare.
The truth of this was curiously70 corroborated71 by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of "Shakings." He belonged to the fore-hold, whence, of a dark night, he would sometimes emerge to chat with the sailors on deck. I never liked the man's looks; I protest it was a mere72 accident that gave me the honour of his acquaintance, and generally I did my best to avoid him, when he would come skulking73, like a jail-bird, out of his den26 into the liberal, open air of the sky. Nevertheless, the anecdote74 this holder75 told me is well worth preserving, more especially the extraordinary frankness evinced in his narrating76 such a thing to a comparative stranger.
The substance of his story was as follows: Shakings, it seems, had once been a convict in the New York State's Prison at Sing Sing, where he had been for years confined for a crime, which he gave me his solemn word of honour he was wholly innocent of. He told me that, after his term had expired, and he went out into the world again, he never could stumble upon any of his old Sing Sing associates without dropping into a public house and talking over old times. And when fortune would go hard with him, and he felt out of sorts, and incensed77 at matters and things in general, he told me that, at such time, he almost wished he was back again in Sing Sing, where he was relieved from all anxieties about what he should eat and drink, and was supported, like the President of the United States and Prince Albert, at the public charge. He used to have such a snug little cell, he said, all to himself, and never felt afraid of house-breakers, for the walls were uncommonly thick, and his door was securely bolted for him, and a watchman was all the time walking up and down in the passage, while he himself was fast asleep and dreaming. To this, in substance, the holder added, that he narrated78 this anecdote because he thought it applicable to a man-of-war, which he scandalously asserted to be a sort of State Prison afloat.
Concerning the curious disposition79 to fraternise and be sociable80, which this Shakings mentioned as characteristic of the convicts liberated81 from his old homestead at Sing Sing, it may well be asked, whether it may not prove to be some feeling, somehow akin1 to the reminiscent impulses which influenced them, that shall hereafter fraternally reunite all us mortals, when we shall have exchanged this State's Prison man-of-war world of ours for another and a better.
From the foregoing account of the great difficulty we had in killing time while in port, it must not be inferred that on board of the Neversink in Rio there was literally82 no work to be done, at long intervals83 the launch would come alongside with water-casks, to be emptied into iron tanks in the hold. In this way nearly fifty thousand gallons, as chronicled in the books of the master's mate, were decanted84 into the ship's bowels—a ninety day's allowance. With this huge Lake Ontario in us, the mighty85 Neversink might be said to resemble the united continent of the Eastern Hemisphere—floating in a vast ocean herself, and having a Mediterranean86 floating in her.
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1
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tattooing
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| n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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promenading
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| v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 ) | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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leniency
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| n.宽大（不严厉） | |
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confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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51
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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53
beguiling
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| adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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54
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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56
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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58
stewed
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| adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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peruse
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| v.细读，精读 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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69
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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narrating
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| v.故事( narrate的现在分词 ) | |
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incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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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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84
decanted
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| v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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