One of these auctions came off in Rio, shortly after the sad accident of Baldy.
It was a dreamy, quiet afternoon, and the crew were listlessly lying 'around, when suddenly the Boatswain's whistle was heard, followed by the announcement, "D'ye hear there, fore5 and aft? Purser's auction3 on the spar-deck!"
At the sound, the sailors sprang to their feet and mustered6 round the main-mast. Presently up came the Purser's steward7, marshalling before him three or four of his subordinates, carrying several clothes' bags, which were deposited at the base of the mast.
Our Purser's steward was a rather gentlemanly man in his way. Like many young Americans of his class, he had at various times assumed the most opposite functions for a livelihood8, turning from one to the other with all the facility of a light-hearted, clever adventurer. He had been a clerk in a steamer on the Mississippi River; an auctioneer in Ohio; a stock actor at the Olympic Theatre in New York; and now he was Purser's steward in the Navy. In the course of this deversified career his natural wit and waggery had been highly spiced, and every way improved; and he had acquired the last and most difficult art of the joker, the art of lengthening9 his own face while widening those of his hearers, preserving the utmost solemnity while setting them all in a roar. He was quite a favourite with the sailors, which, in a good degree, was owing to his humour; but likewise to his off-hand, irresistible10, romantic, theatrical11 manner of addressing them.
With a dignified12 air, he now mounted the pedestal of the main-top-sail sheet-bitts, imposing13 silence by a theatrical wave of his hand; meantime, his subordinates were rummaging14 the bags, and assorting their contents before him.
"Now, my noble hearties," he began, "we will open this auction by offering to your impartial15 competition a very superior pair of old boots;" and so saying, he dangled16 aloft one clumsy cowhide cylinder17, almost as large as a fire bucket, as a specimen18 of the complete pair.
"Where's t'other boot?" cried a suspicious-eyed waister. "I remember them 'ere boots. They were old Bob's the quarter-gunner's; there was two on 'em, too. I want to see t'other boot."
"My sweet and pleasant fellow," said the auctioneer, with his blandest20 accents, "the other boot is not just at hand, but I give you my word of honour that it in all respects cor-responds to the one you here see—it does, I assure you. And I solemnly guarantee, my noble sea-faring fencibles," he added, turning round upon all, "that the other boot is the exact counterpart of this. Now, then, say the word, my fine fellows. What shall I have? Ten dollars, did you say?" politely bowing toward some indefinite person in the background.
"No; ten cents," responded a voice.
"Ten cents! ten cents! gallant21 sailors, for this noble pair of boots," exclaimed the auctioneer, with affected22 horror; "I must close the auction, my tars of Columbia; this will never do. But let's have another bid; now, come," he added, coaxingly23 and soothingly24. "What is it? One dollar, one dollar then—one dollar; going at one dollar; going, going—going. Just see how it vibrates"—swinging the boot to and fro—"this superior pair of sea-boots vibrating at one dollar; wouldn't pay for the nails in their heels; going, going—gone!" And down went the boots.
"Ah, what a sacrifice! what a sacrifice!" he sighed, tearfully eyeing the solitary25 fire-bucket, and then glancing round the company for sympathy.
"A sacrifice, indeed!" exclaimed Jack26 Chase, who stood by; "Purser's Steward, you are Mark Antony over the body of Julius Cesar."
"So I am, so I am," said the auctioneer, without moving a muscle. "And look!" he exclaimed, suddenly seizing the boot, and exhibiting it on high, "look, my noble tars, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now. You all do know this boot. I remember the first time ever old Bob put it on. 'Twas on a winter evening, off Cape27 Horn, between the starboard carronades—that day his precious grog was stopped. Look! in this place a mouse has nibbled28 through; see what a rent some envious29 rat has made, through this another filed, and, as he plucked his cursed rasp away, mark how the bootleg gaped30. This was the unkindest cut of all. But whose are the boots?" suddenly assuming a business-like air; "yours? yours? yours?"
"Tars of Columbia," said the auctioneer, imperatively32, "these boots must be sold; and if I can't sell them one way, I must sell them another. How much a pound, now, for this superior pair of old boots? going by the pound now, remember, my gallant sailors! what shall I have? one cent, do I hear? going now at one cent a pound—going—going—going—gone!"
"Whose are they? Yours, Captain of the Waist? Well, my sweet and pleasant friend, I will have them weighed out to you when the auction is over."
In like manner all the contents of the bags were disposed of, embracing old frocks, trowsers, and jackets, the various sums for which they went being charged to the bidders33 on the books of the Purser.
Having been present at this auction, though not a purchaser, and seeing with what facility the most dismantled34 old garments went off, through the magical cleverness of the accomplished35 auctioneer, the thought occurred to me, that if ever I calmly and positively36 decided37 to dispose of my famous white jacket, this would be the very way to do it. I turned the matter over in my mind a long time.
The weather in Rio was genial38 and warm, and that I would ever again need such a thing as a heavy quilted jacket—and such a jacket as the white one, too—seemed almost impossible. Yet I remembered the American coast, and that it would probably be Autumn when we should arrive there. Yes, I thought of all that, to be sure; nevertheless, the ungovernable whim39 seized me to sacrifice my jacket and recklessly abide40 the consequences. Besides, was it not a horrible jacket? To how many annoyances41 had it subjected me? How many scrapes had it dragged me into? Nay42, had it not once jeopardised my very existence? And I had a dreadful presentiment43 that, if I persisted in retaining it, it would do so again. Enough! I will sell it, I muttered; and so muttering, I thrust my hands further down in my waistband, and walked the main-top in the stern concentration of an inflexible44 purpose. Next day, hearing that another auction was shortly to take place, I repaired to the office of the Purser's steward, with whom I was upon rather friendly terms. After vaguely45 and delicately hinting at the object of my visit, I came roundly to the point, and asked him whether he could slip my jacket into one of the bags of clothes next to be sold, and so dispose of it by public auction. He kindly46 acquiesced47 and the thing was done.
In due time all hands were again summoned round the main-mast; the Purser's steward mounted his post, and the ceremony began. Meantime, I lingered out of sight, but still within hearing, on the gun-deck below, gazing up, un-perceived, at the scene.
As it is now so long ago, I will here frankly48 make confession49 that I had privately50 retained the services of a friend—Williams, the Yankee pedagogue51 and peddler—whose business it would be to linger near the scene of the auction, and, if the bids on the jacket loitered, to start it roundly himself; and if the bidding then became brisk, he was continually to strike in with the most pertinacious52 and infatuated bids, and so exasperate53 competition into the maddest and most extravagant54 overtures55.
A variety of other articles having been put up, the white jacket was slowly produced, and, held high aloft between the auctioneer's thumb and fore-finger, was submitted to the inspection56 of the discriminating57 public.
Here it behooves58 me once again to describe my jacket; for, as a portrait taken at one period of life will not answer for a later stage; much more this jacket of mine, undergoing so many changes, needs to be painted again and again, in order truly to present its actual appearance at any given period.
A premature59 old age had now settled upon it; all over it bore melancholy60 sears of the masoned-up pockets that had once trenched it in various directions. Some parts of it were slightly mildewed61 from dampness; on one side several of the buttons were gone, and others were broken or cracked; while, alas62! my many mad endeavours to rub it black on the decks had now imparted to the whole garment an exceedingly untidy appearance. Such as it was, with all its faults, the auctioneer displayed it.
"You, venerable sheet-anchor-men! and you, gallant fore-top-men! and you, my fine waisters! what do you say now for this superior old jacket? Buttons and sleeves, lining63 and skirts, it must this day be sold without reservation. How much for it, my gallant tars of Columbia? say the word, and how much?"
"My eyes!" exclaimed a fore-top-man, "don't that 'ere bunch of old swabs belong to Jack Chase's pet? Aren't that the white jacket?"
"The white jacket!" cried fifty voices in response; "the white jacket!" The cry ran fore and aft the ship like a slogan, completely overwhelming the solitary voice of my private friend Williams, while all hands gazed at it with straining eyes, wondering how it came among the bags of deceased mariners64.
"Ay, noble tars," said the auctioneer, "you may well stare at it; you will not find another jacket like this on either side of Cape Horn, I assure you. Why, just look at it! How much, now? Give me a bid—but don't be rash; be prudent65, be prudent, men; remember your Purser's accounts, and don't be betrayed into extravagant bids."
"Purser's Steward!" cried Grummet, one of the quarter-gunners, slowly shifting his quid from one cheek to the other, like a ballast-stone, "I won't bid on that 'ere bunch of old swabs, unless you put up ten pounds of soap with it."
"Don't mind that old fellow," said the auctioneer. "How much for the jacket, my noble tars?"
"Jacket;" cried a dandy bone polisher of the gun-room. "The sail-maker was the tailor, then. How many fathoms66 of canvas in it, Purser's Steward?"
"How much for this jacket?" reiterated67 the auctioneer, emphatically.
"Jacket, do you call it!" cried a captain of the hold.
"Why not call it a white-washed man-of-war schooner68? Look at the port-holes, to let in the air of cold nights."
"A reg'lar herring-net," chimed in Grummet.
"Gives me the fever nagur to look at it," echoed a mizzen-top-man.
"Silence!" cried the auctioneer. "Start it now—start it, boys; anything you please, my fine fellows! it must be sold. Come, what ought I to have on it, now?"
"Why, Purser's Steward," cried a waister, "you ought to have new sleeves, a new lining, and a new body on it, afore you try to shove it off on a greenhorn."
"What are you, 'busin' that 'ere garment for?" cried an old sheet-anchor-man. "Don't you see it's a 'uniform mustering69 jacket'—three buttons on one side, and none on t'other?"
"Silence!" again cried the auctioneer. "How much, my sea-fencibles, for this superior old jacket?"
"Well," said Grummet, "I'll take it for cleaning-rags at one cent."
"Oh, come, give us a bid! say something, Colombians."
"Well, then," said Grummet, all at once bursting into genuine indignation, "if you want us to say something, then heave that bunch of old swabs overboard, say I, and show us something worth looking at."
"No one will give me a bid, then? Very good; here, shove it aside. Let's have something else there."
While this scene was going forward, and my white jacket was thus being abused, how my heart swelled70 within me! Thrice was I on the point of rushing out of my hiding-place, and bearing it off from derision; but I lingered, still flattering myself that all would be well, and the jacket find a purchaser at last. But no, alas! there was no getting rid of it, except by rolling a forty-two-pound shot in it, and committing it to the deep. But though, in my desperation, I had once contemplated71 something of that sort, yet I had now become unaccountably averse72 to it, from certain involuntary superstitious73 considerations. If I sink my jacket, thought I, it will be sure to spread itself into a bed at the bottom of the sea, upon which I shall sooner or later recline, a dead man. So, unable to conjure74 it into the possession of another, and withheld75 from burying it out of sight for ever, my jacket stuck to me like the fatal shirt on Nessus.
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1
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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auctions
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| n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 ) | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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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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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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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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blandest
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| adj.（食物）淡而无味的( bland的最高级 )；平和的；温和的；无动于衷的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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coaxingly
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| adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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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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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imperatively
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| adv.命令式地 | |
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bidders
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| n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 ) | |
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dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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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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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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annoyances
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| n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 )；烦恼；打扰；使人烦恼的事 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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pedagogue
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| n.教师 | |
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pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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53
exasperate
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| v.激怒，使（疾病）加剧，使恶化 | |
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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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overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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discriminating
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| a.有辨别能力的 | |
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58
behooves
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| n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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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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mildewed
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| adj.发了霉的，陈腐的，长了霉花的v.（使）发霉，（使）长霉( mildew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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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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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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72
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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