CHAPTER LXXXII. WHAT REMAINS OF A MAN-OF-WAR'S-MAN AFTER HIS BURIAL AT SEA.

 Upon examining Shenly's bag, a will was found, scratched in pencil, upon a blank leaf in the middle of his Bible; or, to use the phrase of one of the seamen¹, in the midships, atween the Bible and Testament², where the Pothecary (Apocrypha) uses to be.

 

The will was comprised in one solitary³ sentence, exclusive of the dates and signatures: "In case I die on the voyage, the Purser will please pay over my wages to my wife, who lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire."

 

Besides the testator's, there were two signatures of witnesses.

 

This last will and testament being shown to the Purser, who, it seems, had been a notary⁴, or surrogate, or some sort of cosy⁵ chamber⁶ practitioner⁷ in his time, he declared that it must be "proved." So the witnesses were called, and after recognising their hands to the paper; for the purpose of additionally testing their honesty, they were interrogated⁸ concerning the day on which they had signed—whether it was Banyan⁹ Day, or Duff Day, or Swampseed Day; for among the sailors on board a man-of-war, the land terms, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, are almost unknown. In place of these they substitute nautical¹⁰ names, some of which are significant of the daily bill of fare at dinner for the week.

 

The two witnesses were somewhat puzzled by the attorney-like questions of the Purser, till a third party came along, one of the ship's barbers, and declared, of his own knowledge, that Shenly executed the instrument on a Shaving Day; for the deceased seaman¹¹ had informed him of the circumstance, when he came to have his beard reaped on the morning of the event.

 

In the Purser's opinion, this settled the question; and it is to be hoped that the widow duly received her husband's death-earned wages.

 

Shenly was dead and gone; and what was Shenly's epitaph?

 

—"D. D."—

 

opposite his name in the Purser's books, in "Black's best Writing Fluid"—funereal¹² name and funereal hue—meaning "Discharged, Dead."

1 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

3 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

4 notary   

n.公证人，公证员

参考例句：

• She is the town clerk and a certified public accountant and notary public.她身兼城镇文书、执业会计师和公证人数职。
• That notary is authorised to perform the certain legal functions.公证人被授权执行某些法律职能。

5 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

8 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 banyan   

n.菩提树，榕树

参考例句：

• This huge banyan tree has a history of more than 400 years.这棵大榕树已经有四百多年的历史了。
• A large banyan tree may look like a forest.大型的榕树看起来象一片树林。

10 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

11 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

12 funereal   

adj.悲哀的；送葬的

参考例句：

• He addressed the group in funereal tones.他语气沉痛地对大家讲话。
• The mood of the music was almost funereal.音乐的调子几乎像哀乐。