Among innumerable "yarns1 and twisters" reeled off in our main-top during our pleasant run to the North, none could match those of Jack2 Chase, our captain.
Never was there better company than ever-glorious Jack. The things which most men only read of, or dream about, he had seen and experienced. He had been a dashing smuggler3 in his day, and could tell of a long nine-pounder rammed4 home with wads of French silks; of cartridges5 stuffed with the finest gunpowder6 tea; of cannister-shot full of West India sweetmeats; of sailor frocks and trowsers, quilted inside with costly7 laces; and table legs, hollow as musket8 barrels, compactly stowed with rare drugs and spices. He could tell of a wicked widow, too—a beautiful receiver of smuggled9 goods upon the English coast—who smiled so sweetly upon the smugglers when they sold her silks and laces, cheap as tape and ginghams. She called them gallant10 fellows, hearts of game; and bade them bring her more.
He could tell of desperate fights with his British majesty's cutters, in midnight coves11 upon a stormy coast; of the capture of a reckless band, and their being drafted on board a man-of-war; of their swearing that their chief was slain12; of a writ13 of habeas corpus sent on board for one of them for a debt—a reserved and handsome man—and his going ashore14, strongly suspected of being the slaughtered15 captain, and this a successful scheme for his escape.
But more than all, Jack could tell of the battle of Navarino, for he had been a captain of one of the main-deck guns on board Admiral Codrington's flag-ship, the Asia. Were mine the style of stout16 old Chapman's Homer, even then I would scarce venture to give noble Jack's own version of this fight, wherein, on the 20th of October, A. D. 1827, thirty-two sail of Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Russians, attacked and vanquished17 in the Levant an Ottoman fleet of three ships-of-the line, twenty-five frigates18, and a swarm19 of fire ships and hornet craft.
"We bayed to be at them," said Jack; "and when we did open fire, we were like dolphin among the flying-fish. 'Every man take his bird' was the cry, when we trained our guns. And those guns all smoked like rows of Dutch pipe-bowls, my hearties20! My gun's crew carried small flags in their bosoms21, to nail to the mast in case the ship's colours were shot away. Stripped to the waistbands, we fought like skinned tigers, and bowled down the Turkish frigates like nine-pins. Among their shrouds—swarming thick with small-arm men, like flights of pigeons lighted on pine-trees—our marines sent their leaden pease and goose-berries, like a shower of hail-stones in Labrador. It was a stormy time, my hearties! The blasted Turks pitched into the old Asia's hull22 a whole quarry23 of marble shot, each ball one hundred and fifty pounds. They knocked three port-holes into one. But we gave them better than they sent. 'Up and at them, my bull-dog!' said I, patting my gun on the breech; 'tear open hatchways in their Moslem24 sides! White-Jacket, my lad, you ought to have been there. The bay was covered with masts and yards, as I have seen a raft of snags in the Arkansas River. Showers of burned rice and olives from the exploding foe25 fell upon us like manna in the wilderness26. 'Allah! Allah! Mohammed! Mohammed!' split the air; some cried it out from the Turkish port-holes; others shrieked27 it forth28 from the drowning waters, their top-knots floating on their shaven skulls29, like black snakes on half-tide rocks. By those top-knots they believed that their Prophet would drag them up to Paradise, but they sank fifty fathoms30, my hearties, to the bottom of the bay. 'Ain't the bloody31 'Hometons going to strike yet?' cried my first loader, a Guernsey man, thrusting his neck out of the port-hole, and looking at the Turkish line-of-battle-ship near by. That instant his head blew by me like a bursting Paixhan shot, and the flag of Neb Knowles himself was hauled down for ever. We dragged his hull to one side, and avenged32 him with the cooper's anvil33, which, endways, we rammed home; a mess-mate shoved in the dead man's bloody Scotch34 cap for the wad, and sent it flying into the line-of-battle ship. By the god of war! boys, we hardly left enough of that craft to boil a pot of water with. It was a hard day's work—a sad day's work, my hearties. That night, when all was over, I slept sound enough, with a box of cannister shot for my pillow! But you ought to have seen the boat-load of Turkish flags one of our captains carried home; he swore to dress his father's orchard35 in colours with them, just as our spars are dressed for a gala day."
"Though you tormented36 the Turks at Navarino, noble Jack, yet you came off yourself with only the loss of a splinter, it seems," said a top-man, glancing at our cap-tain's maimed hand.
"Yes; but I and one of the Lieutenants37 had a narrower escape than that. A shot struck the side of my port-hole, and sent the splinters right and left. One took off my hat rim38 clean to my brow; another razed39 the Lieutenant's left boot, by slicing off the heel; a third shot killed my powder-monkey without touching40 him."
"How, Jack?"
"It whizzed the poor babe dead. He was seated on a cheese of wads at the time, and after the dust of the pow-dered bulwarks41 had blown away, I noticed he yet sat still, his eyes wide open. 'My little hero!' cried I, and I clapped him on the back; but he fell on his face at my feet. I touched his heart, and found he was dead. There was not a little finger mark on him."
Silence now fell upon the listeners for a time, broken at last by the Second Captain of the Top.
"Why, my hearties, I did not do quite as much as my gun. But I flatter myself it was that gun that brought clown the Turkish Admiral's main-mast; and the stump43 left wasn't long enough to make a wooden leg for Lord Nelson."
"How? but I thought, by the way you pull a lock-string on board here, and look along the sight, that you can steer44 a shot about right—hey, Jack?"
"It was the Admiral of the fleet—God Almighty—who directed the shot that dismasted the Turkish Admiral," said Jack; "I only pointed45 the gun."
"But how did you feel, Jack, when the musket-ball carried away one of your hooks there?"
"Feel! only a finger the lighter46. I have seven more left, besides thumbs; and they did good service, too, in the torn rigging the day after the fight; for you must know, my hearties, that the hardest work comes after the guns are run in. Three days I helped work, with one hand, in the rigging, in the same trowsers that I wore in the action; the blood had dried and stiffened47; they looked like glazed48 red morocco."
Now, this Jack Chase had a heart in him like a mastodon's. I have seen him weep when a man has been flogged at the gangway; yet, in relating the story of the Battle of Navarino, he plainly showed that he held the God of the blessed Bible to have been the British Commodore in the Levant, on the bloody 20th of October, A. D. 1827. And thus it would seem that war almost makes blasphemers of the best of men, and brings them all down to the Feejee standard of humanity. Some man-of-war's-men have confessed to me, that as a battle has raged more and more, their hearts have hardened in infernal harmony; and, like their own guns, they have fought without a thought.
Soldier or sailor, the fighting man is but a fiend; and the staff and body-guard of the Devil musters49 many a baton50. But war at times is inevitable51. Must the national honour be trampled52 under foot by an insolent53 foe?
Say on, say on; but know you this, and lay it to heart, war-voting Bench of Bishops54, that He on whom we believe himself has enjoined55 us to turn the left cheek if the right be smitten56. Never mind what follows. That passage you can not expunge57 from the Bible; that passage is as binding58 upon us as any other; that passage embodies59 the soul and substance of the Christian60 faith; without it, Christianity were like any other faith. And that passage will yet, by the blessing61 of God, turn the world. But in some things we must turn Quakers first.
But though unlike most scenes of carnage, which have proved useless murders of men, Admiral Codrington's victory undoubtedly62 achieved the emancipation63 of Greece, and terminated the Turkish atrocities64 in that tomahawked state, yet who shall lift his hand and swear that a Divine Providence65 led the van of the combined fleets of England, France, and Russia at the battle of Navarino? For if this be so, then it led the van against the Church's own elect—the persecuted66 Waldenses in Switzerland—and kindled67 the Smithfield fires in bloody Mary's time.
But all events are mixed in a fusion69 indistinguishable. What we call Fate is even, heartless, and impartial70; not a fiend to kindle68 bigot flames, nor a philanthropist to espouse71 the cause of Greece. We may fret72, fume73, and fight; but the thing called Fate everlastingly74 sustains an armed neutrality.
Yet though all this be so, nevertheless, in our own hearts, we mould the whole world's hereafters; and in our own hearts we fashion our own gods. Each mortal casts his vote for whom he will to rule the worlds; I have a voice that helps to shape eternity75; and my volitions stir the orbits of the furthest suns. In two senses, we are precisely76 what we worship. Ourselves are Fate.
点击收听单词发音
1 yarns | |
n.纱( yarn的名词复数 );纱线;奇闻漫谈;旅行轶事 | |
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2 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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3 smuggler | |
n.走私者 | |
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4 rammed | |
v.夯实(土等)( ram的过去式和过去分词 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输 | |
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5 cartridges | |
子弹( cartridge的名词复数 ); (打印机的)墨盒; 录音带盒; (唱机的)唱头 | |
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6 gunpowder | |
n.火药 | |
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7 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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8 musket | |
n.滑膛枪 | |
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9 smuggled | |
水货 | |
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10 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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11 coves | |
n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 );家伙 | |
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12 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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13 writ | |
n.命令状,书面命令 | |
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14 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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15 slaughtered | |
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 vanquished | |
v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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18 frigates | |
n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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19 swarm | |
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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20 hearties | |
亲切的( hearty的名词复数 ); 热诚的; 健壮的; 精神饱满的 | |
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21 bosoms | |
胸部( bosom的名词复数 ); 胸怀; 女衣胸部(或胸襟); 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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22 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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23 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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24 Moslem | |
n.回教徒,穆罕默德信徒;adj.回教徒的,回教的 | |
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25 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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26 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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27 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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29 skulls | |
颅骨( skull的名词复数 ); 脑袋; 脑子; 脑瓜 | |
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30 fathoms | |
英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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31 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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32 avenged | |
v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 );为…报复 | |
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33 anvil | |
n.铁钻 | |
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34 scotch | |
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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35 orchard | |
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场 | |
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36 tormented | |
饱受折磨的 | |
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37 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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38 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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39 razed | |
v.彻底摧毁,将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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41 bulwarks | |
n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 );保障;支柱;舷墙 | |
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42 brag | |
v./n.吹牛,自夸;adj.第一流的 | |
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43 stump | |
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走 | |
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44 steer | |
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶 | |
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45 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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46 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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47 stiffened | |
加强的 | |
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48 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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49 musters | |
v.集合,召集,集结(尤指部队)( muster的第三人称单数 );(自他人处)搜集某事物;聚集;激发 | |
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50 baton | |
n.乐队用指挥杖 | |
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51 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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52 trampled | |
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 | |
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53 insolent | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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54 bishops | |
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象 | |
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55 enjoined | |
v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56 smitten | |
猛打,重击,打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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57 expunge | |
v.除去,删掉 | |
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58 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
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59 embodies | |
v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 );象征;包括;包含 | |
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60 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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61 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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62 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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63 emancipation | |
n.(从束缚、支配下)解放 | |
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64 atrocities | |
n.邪恶,暴行( atrocity的名词复数 );滔天大罪 | |
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65 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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66 persecuted | |
(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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67 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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68 kindle | |
v.点燃,着火 | |
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69 fusion | |
n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接 | |
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70 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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71 espouse | |
v.支持,赞成,嫁娶 | |
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72 fret | |
v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损 | |
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73 fume | |
n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟,气,汽 | |
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74 everlastingly | |
永久地,持久地 | |
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75 eternity | |
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷 | |
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76 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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