The old women described as picking dirty fragments of cotton in the empty lot, belong to the same class of beings who at all hours of the day are to be seen within the dock walls, raking over and over the heaps of rubbish carried ashore1 from the holds of the shipping2.
As it is against the law to throw the least thing overboard, even a rope yarn3; and as this law is very different from similar laws in New York, inasmuch as it is rigidly4 enforced by the dock-masters; and, moreover, as after discharging a ship's cargo5, a great deal of dirt and worthless dunnage remains6 in the hold, the amount of rubbish accumulated in the appointed receptacles for depositing it within the walls is extremely large, and is constantly receiving new accessions from every vessel8 that unlades at the quays9.
Standing10 over these noisome11 heaps, you will see scores of tattered12 wretches13, armed with old rakes and picking-irons, turning over the dirt, and making as much of a rope-yarn as if it were a skein of silk. Their findings, nevertheless, are but small; for as it is one of the immemorial perquisites14 of the second mate of a merchant ship to collect, and sell on his own account, all the condemned15 "old junk" of the vessel to which he belongs, he generally takes good heed16 that in the buckets of rubbish carried ashore, there shall be as few rope-yarns as possible.
In the same way, the cook preserves all the odds17 and ends of pork-rinds and beef-fat, which he sells at considerable profit; upon a six months' voyage frequently realizing thirty or forty dollars from the sale, and in large ships, even more than that. It may easily be imagined, then, how desperately18 driven to it must these rubbish-pickers be, to ransack19 heaps of refuse which have been previously20 gleaned21.
Nor must I omit to make mention of the singular beggary practiced in the streets frequented by sailors; and particularly to record the remarkable22 army of paupers23 that beset24 the docks at particular hours of the day.
At twelve o'clock the crews of hundreds and hundreds of ships issue in crowds from the dock gates to go to their dinner in the town. This hour is seized upon by multitudes of beggars to plant themselves against the outside of the walls, while others stand upon the curbstone to excite the charity of the seamen25. The first time that I passed through this long lane of pauperism26, it seemed hard to believe that such an array of misery27 could be furnished by any town in the world.
Every variety of want and suffering here met the eye, and every vice28 showed here its victims. Nor were the marvelous and almost incredible shifts and stratagems29 of the professional beggars, wanting to finish this picture of all that is dishonorable to civilization and humanity.
Old women, rather mummies, drying up with slow starving and age; young girls, incurably30 sick, who ought to have been in the hospital; sturdy men, with the gallows31 in their eyes, and a whining32 lie in their mouths; young boys, hollow-eyed and decrepit33; and puny34 mothers, holding up puny babes in the glare of the sun, formed the main features of the scene.
But these were diversified35 by instances of peculiar36 suffering, vice, or art in attracting charity, which, to me at least, who had never seen such things before, seemed to the last degree uncommon37 and monstrous38.
I remember one cripple, a young man rather decently clad, who sat huddled39 up against the wall, holding a painted board on his knees. It was a picture intending to represent the man himself caught in the machinery40 of some factory, and whirled about among spindles and cogs, with his limbs mangled41 and bloody42. This person said nothing, but sat silently exhibiting his board. Next him, leaning upright against the wall, was a tall, pallid43 man, with a white bandage round his brow, and his face cadaverous as a corpse44. He, too, said nothing; but with one finger silently pointed7 down to the square of flagging at his feet, which was nicely swept, and stained blue, and bore this inscription45 in chalk:—
"I have had no food for three days;
My wife and children are dying."
Further on lay a man with one sleeve of his ragged46 coat removed, showing an unsightly sore; and above it a label with some writing.
In some places, for the distance of many rods, the whole line of flagging immediately at the base of the wall, would be completely covered with inscriptions47, the beggars standing over them in silence.
But as you passed along these horrible records, in an hour's time destined48 to be obliterated49 by the feet of thousands and thousands of wayfarers51, you were not left unassailed by the clamorous52 petitions of the more urgent applicants53 for charity. They beset you on every hand; catching54 you by the coat; hanging on, and following you along; and, for Heaven's sake, and for God's sake, and for Christ's sake, beseeching55 of you but one ha'penny. If you so much as glanced your eye on one of them, even for an instant, it was perceived like lightning, and the person never left your side until you turned into another street, or satisfied his demands. Thus, at least, it was with the sailors; though I observed that the beggars treated the town's people differently.
I can not say that the seamen did much to relieve the destitution56 which three times every day was presented to their view. Perhaps habit had made them callous57; but the truth might have been that very few of them had much money to give. Yet the beggars must have had some inducement to infest58 the dock walls as they did.
As an example of the caprice of sailors, and their sympathy with suffering among members of their own calling, I must mention the case of an old man, who every day, and all day long, through sunshine and rain, occupied a particular corner, where crowds of tars59 were always passing. He was an uncommonly60 large, plethoric61 man, with a wooden leg, and dressed in the nautical62 garb63; his face was red and round; he was continually merry; and with his wooden stump64 thrust forth65, so as almost to trip up the careless wayfarer50, he sat upon a great pile of monkey jackets, with a little depression in them between his knees, to receive the coppers67 thrown him. And plenty of pennies were tost into his poor-box by the sailors, who always exchanged a pleasant word with the old man, and passed on, generally regardless of the neighboring beggars.
The first morning I went ashore with my shipmates, some of them greeted him as an old acquaintance; for that corner he had occupied for many long years. He was an old man-of-war's man, who had lost his leg at the battle of Trafalgar; and singular to tell, he now exhibited his wooden one as a genuine specimen68 of the oak timbers of Nelson's ship, the Victory.
Among the paupers were several who wore old sailor hats and jackets, and claimed to be destitute69 tars; and on the strength of these pretensions70 demanded help from their brethren; but Jack66 would see through their disguise in a moment, and turn away, with no benediction71.
As I daily passed through this lane of beggars, who thronged72 the docks as the Hebrew cripples did the Pool of Bethesda, and as I thought of my utter inability in any way to help them, I could not but offer up a prayer, that some angel might descend73, and turn the waters of the docks into an elixir74, that would heal all their woes75, and make them, man and woman, healthy and whole as their ancestors, Adam and Eve, in the garden.
Adam and Eve! If indeed ye are yet alive and in heaven, may it be no part of your immortality76 to look down upon the world ye have left. For as all these sufferers and cripples are as much your family as young Abel, so, to you, the sight of the world's woes would be a parental77 torment78 indeed.
点击收听单词发音
1 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 shipping | |
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 yarn | |
n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 rigidly | |
adv.刻板地,僵化地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 quays | |
码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 noisome | |
adj.有害的,可厌的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 tattered | |
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 perquisites | |
n.(工资以外的)财务补贴( perquisite的名词复数 );额外收入;(随职位而得到的)好处;利益 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 odds | |
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 ransack | |
v.彻底搜索,洗劫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 gleaned | |
v.一点点地收集(资料、事实)( glean的过去式和过去分词 );(收割后)拾穗 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 paupers | |
n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 );贫民;贫穷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 pauperism | |
n.有被救济的资格,贫困 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 stratagems | |
n.诡计,计谋( stratagem的名词复数 );花招 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 incurably | |
ad.治不好地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 gallows | |
n.绞刑架,绞台 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 whining | |
n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 decrepit | |
adj.衰老的,破旧的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 puny | |
adj.微不足道的,弱小的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 huddled | |
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 machinery | |
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 mangled | |
vt.乱砍(mangle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 pallid | |
adj.苍白的,呆板的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 inscription | |
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 inscriptions | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 obliterated | |
v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 wayfarer | |
n.旅人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 wayfarers | |
n.旅人,(尤指)徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 clamorous | |
adj.吵闹的,喧哗的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 applicants | |
申请人,求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 beseeching | |
adj.恳求似的v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 destitution | |
n.穷困,缺乏,贫穷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 callous | |
adj.无情的,冷淡的,硬结的,起老茧的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 infest | |
v.大批出没于;侵扰;寄生于 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 tars | |
焦油,沥青,柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 uncommonly | |
adv. 稀罕(极,非常) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 plethoric | |
adj.过多的,多血症的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 nautical | |
adj.海上的,航海的,船员的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 stump | |
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 coppers | |
铜( copper的名词复数 ); 铜币 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 destitute | |
adj.缺乏的;穷困的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 pretensions | |
自称( pretension的名词复数 ); 自命不凡; 要求; 权力 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 benediction | |
n.祝福;恩赐 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 thronged | |
v.成群,挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 elixir | |
n.长生不老药,万能药 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 woes | |
困境( woe的名词复数 ); 悲伤; 我好苦哇; 某人就要倒霉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 immortality | |
n.不死,不朽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 parental | |
adj.父母的;父的;母的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |