Let us now enlarge upon this matter. We have plenty of time; the occasion invites; for behold2! the homeward-bound Neversink bowls along over a jubilant sea.
Shortly after breakfast the drum beats to quarters; and among five hundred men, scattered3 over all three decks, and engaged in all manner of ways, that sudden rolling march is magical as the monitory sound to which every good Mussulman at sunset drops to the ground whatsoever4 his hands might have found to do, and, throughout all Turkey, the people in concert kneel toward their holy Mecca.
The sailors run to and fro-some up the deck-ladders, some down—to gain their respective stations in the shortest possible time. In three minutes all is composed. One by one, the various officers stationed over the separate divisions of the ship then approach the First Lieutenant5 on the quarter-deck, and report their respective men at their quarters. It is curious to watch their countenances6 at this time. A profound silence prevails; and, emerging through the hatchway, from one of the lower decks, a slender young officer appears, hugging his sword to his thigh7, and advances through the long lanes of sailors at their guns, his serious eye all the time fixed8 upon the First Lieutenant's—his polar star. Sometimes he essays a stately and graduated step, an erect9 and martial10 bearing, and seems full of the vast national importance of what he is about to communicate.
But when at last he gains his destination, you are amazed to perceive that all he has to say is imparted by a Freemason touch of his cap, and a bow. He then turns and makes off to his division, perhaps passing several brother Lieutenants11, all bound on the same errand he himself has just achieved. For about five minutes these officers are coming and going, bringing in thrilling intelligence from all quarters of the frigate; most stoically received, however, by the First Lieutenant. With his legs apart, so as to give a broad foundation for the superstructure of his dignity, this gentleman stands stiff as a pike-staff on the quarter-deck. One hand holds his sabre—an appurtenance altogether unnecessary at the time; and which he accordingly tucks, point backward, under his arm, like an umbrella on a sun-shiny day. The other hand is continually bobbing up and down to the leather front of his cap, in response to the reports and salute12 of his subordinates, to whom he never deigns13 to vouchsafe14 a syllable15, merely going through the motions of accepting their news, without bestowing16 thanks for their pains.
This continual touching17 of caps between officers on board a man-of-war is the reason why you invariably notice that the glazed18 fronts of their caps look jaded19, lack-lustre, and worn; sometimes slightly oleaginous—though, in other respects, the cap may appear glossy20 and fresh. But as for the First Lieutenant, he ought to have extra pay allowed to him, on account of his extraordinary outlays21 in cap fronts; for he it is to whom, all day long, reports of various kinds are incessantly22 being made by the junior Lieutenants; and no report is made by them, however trivial, but caps are touched on the occasion. It is obvious that these individual salutes23 must be greatly multiplied and aggregated24 upon the senior Lieutenant, who must return them all. Indeed, when a subordinate officer is first promoted to that rank, he generally complains of the same exhaustion25 about the shoulder and elbow that La Fayette mourned over, when, in visiting America, he did little else but shake the sturdy hands of patriotic26 farmers from sunrise to sunset.
The various officers of divisions having presented their respects, and made good their return to their stations, the First Lieutenant turns round, and, marching aft, endeavours to catch the eye of the Captain, in order to touch his own cap to that personage, and thereby27, without adding a word of explanation, communicate the fact of all hands being at their gun's. He is a sort of retort, or receiver-general, to concentrate the whole sum of the information imparted to him, and discharge it upon his superior at one touch of his cap front.
But sometimes the Captain feels out of sorts, or in ill-humour, or is pleased to be somewhat capricious, or has a fancy to show a touch of his omnipotent28 supremacy29; or, peradventure, it has so happened that the First Lieutenant has, in some way, piqued30 or offended him, and he is not unwilling31 to show a slight specimen32 of his dominion33 over him, even before the eyes of all hands; at all events, only by some one of these suppositions can the singular circumstance be accounted for, that frequently Captain Claret would pertinaciously34 promenade35 up and down the poop, purposely averting36 his eye from the First Lieutenant, who would stand below in the most awkward suspense37, waiting the first wink38 from his superior's eye.
"Now I have him!" he must have said to himself, as the Captain would turn toward him in his walk; "now's my time!" and up would go his hand to his cap; but, alas39! the Captain was off again; and the men at the guns would cast sly winks40 at each other as the embarrassed Lieutenant would bite his lips with suppressed vexation.
Upon some occasions this scene would be repeated several times, till at last Captain Claret, thinking, that in the eyes of all hands, his dignity must by this time be pretty well bolstered41, would stalk towards his subordinate, looking him full in the eyes; whereupon up goes his hand to the cap front, and the Captain, nodding his acceptance of the report, descends42 from his perch43 to the quarter-deck.
By this time the stately Commodore slowly emerges from his cabin, and soon stands leaning alone against the brass44 rails of the after-hatchway. In passing him, the Captain makes a profound salutation, which his superior returns, in token that the Captain is at perfect liberty to proceed with the ceremonies of the hour.
Marching on, Captain Claret at last halts near the main-mast, at the head of a group of the ward-room officers, and by the side of the Chaplain. At a sign from his finger, the brass band strikes up the Portuguese45 hymn46. This over, from Commodore to hammock-boy, all hands uncover, and the Chaplain reads a prayer. Upon its conclusion, the drum beats the retreat, and the ship's company disappear from the guns. At sea or in harbour, this ceremony is repeated every morning and evening.
By those stationed on the quarter-deck the Chaplain is distinctly heard; but the quarter-deck gun division embraces but a tenth part of the ship's company, many of whom are below, on the main-deck, where not one syllable of the prayer can be heard. This seemed a great misfortune; for I well knew myself how blessed and soothing47 it was to mingle48 twice every day in these peaceful devotions, and, with the Commodore, and Captain, and smallest boy, unite in acknowledging Almighty49 God. There was also a touch of the temporary equality of the Church about it, exceedingly grateful to a man-of-war's-man like me.
My carronade-gun happened to be directly opposite the brass railing against which the Commodore invariably leaned at prayers. Brought so close together, twice every day, for more than a year, we could not but become intimately acquainted with each other's faces. To this fortunate circumstance it is to be ascribed, that some time after reaching home, we were able to recognise each other when we chanced to meet in Washington, at a ball given by the Russian Minister, the Baron50 de Bodisco. And though, while on board the frigate, the Commodore never in any manner personally addressed me—nor did I him—yet, at the Minister's social entertainment, we there became exceedingly chatty; nor did I fail to observe, among that crowd of foreign dignitaries and magnates from all parts of America, that my worthy51 friend did not appear so exalted52 as when leaning, in solitary53 state, against the brass railing of the Neversink's quarter-deck. Like many other gentlemen, he appeared to the best advantage, and was treated with the most deference54 in the bosom55 of his home, the frigate.
Our morning and evening quarters were agreeably diversified56 for some weeks by a little circumstance, which to some of us at least, always seemed very pleasing.
At Callao, half of the Commodore's cabin had been hospitably57 yielded to the family of a certain aristocratic-looking magnate, who was going ambassador from Peru to the Court of the Brazils, at Rio. This dignified58 diplomatist sported a long, twirling mustache, that almost enveloped59 his mouth. The sailors said he looked like a rat with his teeth through a bunch of oakum, or a St. Jago monkey peeping through a prickly-pear bush.
He was accompanied by a very beautiful wife, and a still more beautiful little daughter, about six years old. Between this dark-eyed little gipsy and our chaplain there soon sprung up a cordial love and good feeling, so much so, that they were seldom apart. And whenever the drum beat to quarters, and the sailors were hurrying to their stations, this little signorita would outrun them all to gain her own quarters at the capstan, where she would stand by the chaplain's side, grasping his hand, and looking up archly in his face.
It was a sweet relief from the domineering sternness of our martial discipline—a sternness not relaxed even at our devotions before the altar of the common God of commodore and cabin-boy—to see that lovely little girl standing60 among the thirty-two pounders, and now and then casting a wondering, commiserating61 glance at the array of grim seamen62 around her.
点击收听单词发音
1 frigate | |
n.护航舰,大型驱逐舰 | |
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2 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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3 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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4 whatsoever | |
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么 | |
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5 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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6 countenances | |
n.面容( countenance的名词复数 );表情;镇静;道义支持 | |
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7 thigh | |
n.大腿;股骨 | |
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8 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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9 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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10 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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11 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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12 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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13 deigns | |
v.屈尊,俯就( deign的第三人称单数 ) | |
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14 vouchsafe | |
v.惠予,准许 | |
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15 syllable | |
n.音节;vt.分音节 | |
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16 bestowing | |
砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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17 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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18 glazed | |
adj.光滑的,像玻璃的;上过釉的;呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式);上釉于,上光;(目光)变得呆滞无神 | |
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19 jaded | |
adj.精疲力竭的;厌倦的;(因过饱或过多而)腻烦的;迟钝的 | |
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20 glossy | |
adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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21 outlays | |
v.支出,费用( outlay的第三人称单数 ) | |
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22 incessantly | |
ad.不停地 | |
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23 salutes | |
n.致敬,欢迎,敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎,致敬( salute的第三人称单数 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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24 aggregated | |
a.聚合的,合计的 | |
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25 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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26 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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27 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
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28 omnipotent | |
adj.全能的,万能的 | |
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29 supremacy | |
n.至上;至高权力 | |
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30 piqued | |
v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 );激起(好奇心) | |
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31 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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32 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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33 dominion | |
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图 | |
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34 pertinaciously | |
adv.坚持地;固执地;坚决地;执拗地 | |
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35 promenade | |
n./v.散步 | |
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36 averting | |
防止,避免( avert的现在分词 ); 转移 | |
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37 suspense | |
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑 | |
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38 wink | |
n.眨眼,使眼色,瞬间;v.眨眼,使眼色,闪烁 | |
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39 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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40 winks | |
v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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41 bolstered | |
v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 );支撑;给予必要的支持;援助 | |
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42 descends | |
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜 | |
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43 perch | |
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于 | |
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44 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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45 Portuguese | |
n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语 | |
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46 hymn | |
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌 | |
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47 soothing | |
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的 | |
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48 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
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49 almighty | |
adj.全能的,万能的;很大的,很强的 | |
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50 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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51 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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52 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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53 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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54 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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55 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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56 diversified | |
adj.多样化的,多种经营的v.使多样化,多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 );进入新的商业领域 | |
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57 hospitably | |
亲切地,招待周到地,善于款待地 | |
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58 dignified | |
a.可敬的,高贵的 | |
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59 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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61 commiserating | |
v.怜悯,同情( commiserate的现在分词 ) | |
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62 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
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