On the fifth day, a great surprise awaited him. His uncle, at breakfast, had told him briefly2 that he did not wish him to go out before dinner, as someone might want to see him; and Charlie, supposing that a messenger might be coming down from the India House, waited indoors; and an hour later he was astonished, when the door of the room opened and his mother and sisters entered.
With a shout of gladness and surprise, Charlie rushed into their arms.
"My dear mother, my dear girls, this is an unexpected pleasure, indeed! Why, what has brought you here?"
"Didn't you know we were coming, Charlie? Didn't Uncle tell you?" they exclaimed.
"Not a word," Charlie said. "I never dreamt of such a thing. What, has he called you up here to stay till I go?"
"Oh, my dear, he has been so kind," his mother said; "and so funny! He wrote me such a scolding letter, just as if I had been a very naughty little girl. He said he wasn't going to allow me to bring disgrace upon him, by living in wretched lodgings3 at Yarmouth, nor by his grandnieces being sent out as governesses. So he ordered me at once--ordered me Charlie, as if I had no will of my own--to give up the lodgings, and to take our places in the coach, yesterday morning. He said we were not to shame him by appearing here in rags, and he sent me a hundred pounds, every penny of which, he said, was to be laid out in clothes. As to the future, he said it would be his duty to see that I brought no further disgrace upon the family."
"Yes, and he's been just as kind to me, Mother. As I told you when I wrote, he had ordered an enormous outfit4, which will, I am sure, cost hundreds of pounds. He makes me go to the playhouses, and all sorts of amusements; and all the time he has been so kind he scolds, and grumbles5, and predicts that I shall be hanged."
"I'm sure you won't," Kate, his youngest sister, said indignantly. "How can he say such a thing?"
"He doesn't mean it," Charlie laughed. "It's only his way. He will go on just the same way with you, I have no doubt; but you mustn't mind, you know, and mustn't laugh, but must look quite grave and serious.
"Ah! Here he is.
"Oh, Uncle, this is kind of you!"
"Hold your tongue, sir," said his uncle, "and try and learn not to speak to your elders, unless you are addressed.
"Niece Mary," he said, kissing her upon the forehead, "I am glad to see you again. You are not so much changed as I expected.
"And these are my grandnieces, Elizabeth and Kate, though why Kate I don't know. It is a fanciful name, and new to the family, and I am surprised that you didn't call her Susanna, after your grandmother."
Kate made a little face at the thought of being called Susanna. However, a warning glance from Charlie closed her lips, just as she was about to express her decided6 preference for her own name. Mr. Tufton kissed them both, muttering to himself:
"I suppose I ought to kiss them. Girls always expect to be kissed at every opportunity.
"What are you laughing at, grandniece?"
"I don't think girls expect to be kissed, except by people they like," Kate said; "but we do like kissing you, Uncle," throwing her arms round his neck, and kissing him heartily7; "because you have been so kind to Charlie, and have brought us up to see him again."
"You have disarranged my white tie, Niece," Mr. Tufton said, extricating8 himself from Kate's embrace.
"Niece Mary, I fear that you have not taught your daughters to restrain their emotions, and there is nothing so dreadful as emotional women."
"Perhaps I have not taken so much pains with their education, in that way, as in some others," Mrs. Marryat said, smiling. "But of course, Uncle, if you object to be kissed, the girls will abstain10 from doing so."
"No," Mr. Tufton said, thoughtfully. "It is the duty of nieces to kiss their uncles, in moderation--in moderation, mind--and it is the duty of the uncles to receive those salutations, and I do not know that the duty is altogether an unpleasant one. I am, myself, unaccustomed to be kissed, but it is an operation to which I may accustom11 myself, in time."
"I never heard it called an operation, Uncle," Lizzie said demurely12; "but I now understand the meaning of the phrase of a man's undergoing a painful operation. I used to think it meant cutting off a leg, or something of that sort, but I see it's much worse."
"I am afraid, Grandniece, that you intend to be sarcastic14. This is a hateful habit in a man, worse in a woman. Cure yourself of it as speedily as possible, or Heaven help the unhappy man who may some day be your husband.
"And now," he said, "ring the bell. The housekeeper15 will show you to your rooms. My nephew will tell you what are the hours for meals. Of course, you will want to be gadding16 about with him. You will understand that there is no occasion to be in to meals; but if you are not present when they are upon the table, you will have to wait for the next. I cannot have my house turned upside down, by meals being brought up at all sorts of hours.
"You must not expect me, Niece, to be at your beck and call during the day, as I have my business to attend to; but of an evening I shall, of course, feel it my duty to accompany you to the playhouse. It will not do for you to be going about with only the protection of a hare-brained boy."
The remainder of Charlie's stay in London passed most pleasantly. They visited all the sights of town, Mr. Tufton performing what he called his duty with an air of protest, but showing a general thoughtfulness and desire to please his visitors, which was very apparent even when he grunted17 and grumbled18 the most.
On the evening before he started, he called Charlie down into his counting house.
"Tomorrow you are going to sail," he said, "and to start in life on your own account, and I trust that you will, as far as possible, be steady, and do your duty to your employers. You will understand that, although the pay of a writer is not high, there are opportunities for advancement19. The Company have the monopoly of the trade of India, and in addition to their great factories at Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, they have many other trading stations. Those who, by their good conduct, attract the attention of their superiors, rise to positions of trust and emolument20. There are many who think that the Company will, in time, enlarge its operations; and as they do so, superior opportunities will offer themselves; and since the subject of India has been prominently brought before my notice, I have examined the question, and am determined21 to invest somewhat largely in the stock of the Company, a step which will naturally give me some influence with the board. That influence I shall, always supposing that your conduct warrants it, exercise on your behalf.
"As we are now at war with France, and it is possible that the vessel22 in which you are proceeding23 may be attacked by the way, I have thought it proper that you should be armed. You will, therefore, find in your cabin a brace9 of pistols, a rifle, and a double-barrel shotgun: which last, I am informed, is a useful weapon at close quarters. Should your avocations24 in India permit your doing so, you will find them useful in the pursuit of game. I hope that you will not be extravagant25; but as a matter of business I find that it is useful to be able to give entertainments, to persons who may be in a position to benefit or advance you. I have, therefore, arranged that you will draw from the factor at Madras the sum of two hundred pounds, annually26, in addition to your pay. It is clearly my duty to see that my nephew has every fair opportunity for making his way.
"Now, go upstairs at once to your mother. I have letters to write, and am too busy for talking."
So saying, with a peremptory27 wave of his hand he dismissed his nephew.
"Well, Mother," Charlie said, after telling her of his uncle's generosity28, "thank goodness you will be all right now, anyhow. No doubt Uncle intends to do something for you and the girls, though he has said nothing at present, beyond the fact that you are not to be in wretched lodgings, and they are not to go out as governesses. But even if he should change his mind, and I don't think he ever does that, I shall be able to help you.
"Oh, he is kind, isn't he?"
The parting was far less sad than that which had taken place at Yarmouth. Charlie was now assured that his mother and sisters would be comfortable, and well cared for in his absence; while his mother, happy in the lightening of her anxiety as to the future of her daughters, and as to the prospects29 of her son, was able to bear with better heart the thought of their long separation.
Mrs. Marryat and the girls accompanied him on board ship. Mr. Tufton declined to join the party, under the plea that, in the first place, he was busy; and in the second, that he feared there would be an emotional display. He sent, however, his head clerk with them, to escort the ladies on their return from the docks.
The Lizzie Anderson was a fine ship, of the largest size, and she was almost as clean and trim as a man of war. She carried twelve cannon30, two of them thirty-two pounders, which were in those days considered large pieces of ordnance31. All the ships of the Company, and, indeed, all ocean-going merchantmen of the day, were armed, as the sea swarmed32 with privateers, and the black flag of the pirates was still occasionally to be seen.
The girls were delighted with all they saw, as, indeed, was Charlie; for accustomed, as they were, only to the coasting vessels33 which frequented the port of Yarmouth, this floating castle appeared to them a vessel of stupendous size and power.
This was Charlie's first visit, also, to the ship, for his uncle had told him that all directions had been given, that the trunks with the things necessary for the voyage would be found in his cabin, at the time of starting, and the rest of the luggage in the hold. Everything was in order, and Charlie found that his cabin companion was a doctor in the service, returning to Madras. He was a pleasant man, of some five or six and thirty, and assured Mrs. Marryat that he would soon make her son at home on board ship, and would, moreover, put him up to the ways of things upon his arrival in India. There were many visitors on board, saying goodbye to their friends, and all sat down to lunch, served in the saloon.
When this was over, the bell rang for visitors to go ashore34. There was a short scene of parting, in which Charlie was not ashamed to use his handkerchief as freely as did his mother and sisters. Five minutes later, the great vessel passed through the dock gates. Charlie stood at the stern, waving his handkerchief as long as he could catch a glimpse of the figures of his family; and then as, with her sails spread and the tide gaining strength every minute beneath her, the vessel made her way down the river, he turned round to examine his fellow passengers.
These were some twenty in number, and for the most part men. Almost all were, in some capacity or other, civil or military, in the service of the Company; for at that time their monopoly was a rigid35 one, and none outside its boundary were allowed to trade in India. The Company was, indeed, solely36 a great mercantile house of business. They had their own ships, their own establishments, and bought and sold goods like other traders. They owned a small extent of country, round their three great trading towns; and kept up a little army, composed of two or three white regiments37; and as many composed of natives, trained and disciplined like Europeans, and known as Sepoys. Hence the clergyman, the doctor, a member of the council of Madras, four or five military officers, twice as many civilians38, and three young writers, besides Charlie, were all in the employment of the Company.
"Well, youngster," a cheery voice said beside him, "take your last look at the smoke of London, for it will be a good many years before you see it again, my lad. You've blue skies and clear ones where you're going, except when it rains, and when it does there is no mistake about it."
The speaker was the captain of the Lizzie Anderson, a fine sailor-like man of some fifty years, of which near forty had been spent in the service of the Company.
"I'm not a Londoner," Charlie said, smiling, "and have no regret for leaving its smoke. Do you think we shall make a quick voyage?"
"I hope so," the captain said, "but it all depends upon the wind. A finer ship never floated than the Lizzie Anderson; but the Company don't build their vessels for speed, and it's no use trying to run, when you meet a Frenchman. Those fellows understand how to build ships, and if they could fight them as well as they build them, we should not long be mistress of the sea."
Most of the people on board appeared to know each other, and Charlie felt rather lonely, till the doctor came up and began to chat with him. He told him who most of his fellow passengers were:
"That gentleman there, walking on the other side of the deck, as if not only the ship but the river and banks on both sides belonged to him, is one of the council. That is his wife over there, with a companion holding her shawl for her. That pretty little woman, next to her, is the wife of Captain Tibbets, the tall man leaning against the bulwarks39. Those two sisters are going out to keep house for their uncle, one of the leading men in Madras; and, I suppose, to get husbands, which they will most likely do before they have been there many weeks. They look very nice girls.
"But you soon get acquainted with them all. It is surprising how soon people get friendly on board ship, though, as a rule, they quarrel like cats and dogs before they get to the end of it."
"What do they quarrel about?" Charlie asked, surprised.
"Oh, about anything or nothing," the doctor said. "They all get heartily sick of each other, and of the voyage, and they quarrel because they have nothing else to do. You will see, we shall be as happy a party as possible till we get about as far as the Cape40. After that, the rows will begin, and by the time we get to India, half the people won't speak to each other.
"Have you been down the river before? That's Gravesend. I see the captain is getting ready to anchor. So, I suppose the tide has nearly run out. If this wind holds, we shall be fairly out at sea when you get up tomorrow.
"You snore, I hope?"
"No, sir, I don't think so," Charlie said.
"I hoped you did," the doctor said, "because I'm told I do, sometimes. However, as I usually smoke a cigar on deck, the last thing, I hope you will be fairly asleep before I am. If at any time I get very bad, and keep you awake, you must shake me."
Charlie said it took a good deal to keep him awake, and that he should probably get accustomed to it, ere long.
"It's better to do that," he said with a laugh, "than to keep on waking you, for the next four or five months."
A week later, the Lizzie Anderson was running down the Spanish coast, with all sail set. She was out of sight of land, and so far had seen nothing likely to cause uneasiness. They had met many vessels, homeward bound from the Mediterranean41, and one or two big ships which the captain pronounced to be Indiamen. That morning, however, a vessel was seen coming out from the land. She seemed, to Charlie's eyes, quite a small vessel, and he was surprised to see how often the captain and officers turned their glasses towards her.
"I fancy our friend over there is a French privateer," the doctor remarked to him; "and I should not be surprised if we found ourselves exchanging shots with her, before many hours are over."
"But she's a little bit of a thing," Charlie said. "Surely she would never venture to attack a ship like ours."
"It's the size of the guns, not the size of the ship, that counts, my boy. She has the advantage of being able to sail three feet to our two; and probably, small as she is, she carries half as many men again as we do. However, we carry heavy metal, and can give a good account of ourselves. Those thirty-twos will astonish our friend, if she comes within range."
The stranger was a large schooner42, and the tautness43 of the spars and rigging showed that she was in beautiful order. She crossed the line upon which the merchantman was sailing, some two miles in her rear; and then, bearing up, followed in her wake.
Charlie stood near the captain, who, instead of watching her, was sweeping44 the horizon with his glass. Presently he paused, and gazed intently at a distant object.
"I thought so," he said to the first officer. "I fancied that fellow wasn't alone. He would hardly have ventured to try his strength with us, if he had been. Send a man up to the tops, and let him see what he can make her out to be. I can only see her topmasts, but I can make out no yards."
Presently the lookout45 came down, and reported that the distant vessel appeared to be a large fore-and-aft schooner, bearing down upon them.
"She will not be up for two hours, yet," the captain said. "It will be getting dark, then. It is not likely they will engage at night, but they will keep close, and show their teeth at daybreak."
It soon became known that the belief of the captain was that the vessel in their wake, and that which could be seen approaching on the beam, were French privateers; and soon all were preparing, in their own way, for what might happen. The sailors cleared the decks, and loosed the guns. The gentlemen went below, and shortly returned bringing up rifles and fowling46 pieces. Small arms and cutlasses were brought up, and piled round the masts.
"Why don't you put on more sail, sir?" Mr. Ashmead, the member of the council, said to the captain. "My wife, sir, objects to the sound of firearms, and I must really beg that you will increase your speed. As it is, we are losing rather than gaining upon that vessel behind. The duty of the ships of the Company is to try not to fight."
"If they can help it," the captain added quietly. "Not to fight, if they can help it, Mr. Ashmead. But unfortunately, the choice upon the present occasion lies with the gentlemen yonder, and not with us. It is not of the slightest use adding to the sail we carry, for at our very best speed, those schooners47 could sail round and round us. As night comes on I intend to shorten sail, and put the ship into fighting trim. In the morning I shall again increase it, but I shall not make any attempt to escape a combat which it depends entirely48 on those privateers to bring on, or not, as they choose. I am sorry that Mrs. Ashmead should be exposed to the unpleasantness of listening to the explosion of firearms, and that my other lady passengers should be exposed to the danger which cannot but arise, more or less, from a naval49 conflict.
"However, I hope, sir, that there need be no great anxiety as to the result. The Company has given us a heavy armament, and you may be sure that we shall all do our best."
Seeing the gentlemen go below for their guns, Charlie asked one of the other young writers, a lad of about his own age, named Peters, with whom he had become very friendly, to go below with him. He had not yet examined the arms that his uncle had given him, for he had not thought of them since he saw the gun cases under his berth50, on his first arrival on board ship. He found the doctor already in his cabin, putting together a heavy double-barrelled gun.
"Well, youngster," he said, "so we're likely to have a brush. I see you have a couple of gun cases under your berth. You are a good deal better provided than most lads who go out as writers.
"Ah! That's a beautiful piece of yours," he said, as Charlie unlocked one of the cases and took out a rifle, "a small bore and a heavy barrel, and beautifully finished. With a greased patch and a heavy charge, that ought to carry a bullet far and true. Have you had any practice?"
"Not with this gun, sir. I used, sometimes, to practise shooting at gulls51 with a musket52, on board the cutter my father commanded; and I got to be a fair shot with it."
"Then you ought to be able to do good work, with such a piece as that. What is in the other case?
"Ah! That's a beauty, too," he said, as he examined the double-barrelled gun. "Made extra strong and heavy, I see, so as to carry bullets. You'll find your shoulder ache, at first; but you'll get accustomed to it, in time. I'm always in favour of heavy barrels. They shoot stronger and straighter than your light guns, are not so liable to get bent53 or bruised54, if a stupid servant drops one across a stone; and, after all, two or three pounds difference in weight does not make any material difference, when you're accustomed to it. Although, I grant, a heavy gun does not come quite so quickly up to the shoulder, for a snap shot."
"Now, Peters," Charlie said, "you take the double barrel. I will use the rifle. Mine will come into play first, but, as my uncle said when he gave it me, yours will do most execution at close quarters."
At dusk the schooners, having exchanged some signals by flags, took up their positions, one on each quarter of the ship, at a distance of some two miles.
"Do not you think," Charlie asked his friend the doctor, "that they are likely to try and board us tonight?"
"No," the doctor said. "These privateers generally depend upon their long guns. They know that we shall be on the watch all night, and that, in a hand-to-hand fight, they would lose a considerable number of men; while by keeping at a distance, and maintaining a fire with their long guns, they rely upon crippling their opponents; and then, ranging up under their stern, pouring in a fire at close quarters until they surrender.
"Another thing is that they prefer daylight, as they can then see whether any other vessel is approaching. Were one of our cruisers to hear a cannonade in the night, she would come down and take them unaware55. No, I think you will see that at daylight, if the coast is clear, they will begin."
Such was evidently the captain's opinion also, as he ordered sail to be still further shortened, and all, save the watch on deck, to turn in at once. The lights were all extinguished, not that the captain had any idea of evading56 his pursuers, but that he wished to avoid offering them a mark for their fire, should they approach in the darkness.
点击收听单词发音
1 marvelled | |
v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 lodgings | |
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 outfit | |
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 grumbles | |
抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 extricating | |
v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 brace | |
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 abstain | |
v.自制,戒绝,弃权,避免 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 accustom | |
vt.使适应,使习惯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 demurely | |
adv.装成端庄地,认真地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 sarcastic | |
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 housekeeper | |
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 gadding | |
n.叮搔症adj.蔓生的v.闲逛( gad的现在分词 );游荡;找乐子;用铁棒刺 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 grunted | |
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 grumbled | |
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 emolument | |
n.报酬,薪水 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 avocations | |
n.业余爱好,嗜好( avocation的名词复数 );职业 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 annually | |
adv.一年一次,每年 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 peremptory | |
adj.紧急的,专横的,断然的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 ordnance | |
n.大炮,军械 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 swarmed | |
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 regiments | |
(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 bulwarks | |
n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 );保障;支柱;舷墙 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 Mediterranean | |
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 schooner | |
n.纵帆船 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 tautness | |
拉紧,紧固度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 lookout | |
n.注意,前途,瞭望台 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 fowling | |
捕鸟,打鸟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 schooners | |
n.(有两个以上桅杆的)纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 berth | |
n.卧铺,停泊地,锚位;v.使停泊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 gulls | |
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 musket | |
n.滑膛枪 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 unaware | |
a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 evading | |
逃避( evade的现在分词 ); 避开; 回避; 想不出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |