This over, Mrs. Hardy and the children went to Liverpool, where they were to embark5; while Mr. Hardy remained behind for a day or two, to see to the sale of the furniture of the house. The day after he joined the family they embarked6 on board the Barbadoes, for Rio and Buenos Ayres. Greatly were the girls amused at the tiny little cabin allotted7 to them and their mother,—a similar little den8 being taken possession of by Mr. Hardy and the boys. The smartness of the vessel9, and the style of her fittings, alike impressed and delighted them. It has not been mentioned that Sarah, their housemaid, accompanied the party. She had been left early an orphan10, and had been taken as a nursemaid by Mrs. Hardy. As- 20 - time went on, and the little girls no longer required a nurse, she had remained as housemaid, and having no friends, now willingly accompanied them. Mr. Hardy had, to her great amusement, insisted upon her signing a paper, agreeing, upon her master’s paying her passage, to remain with him for a year; at the end of which time she was to be at liberty to marry or to leave them, should she choose.
Knowing the scarcity11 of young Englishwomen in the country that they were going to, and the number of Englishmen doing well in the towns or as farmers, Mr. Hardy had considered this precaution to be absolutely necessary; as otherwise Sarah might have married and left them within a month of her arrival. At the end of a year her so doing would not matter so much, as by that time the party would be comfortably settled in their new home; whereas during the necessary hardship at first, it would be a great comfort having a faithful and reliable servant.
The last looks which the party cast toward England, as the Welsh coast sank in the distance, were less melancholy12 than those of most emigrants13. The young people were all full of hope and excitement; while even Mrs. Hardy felt but little disposed to give way to sorrow, as it had been arranged that in three or four years, if all went well, she should bring her daughters over to England to finish their education.- 21 -
Very lovely was that first evening, and as they sat in a group together upon deck, the little girls remarked that they did not think that the sea was anything like as terrible as they had expected, and that they did not feel the least sea-sick. Their father smiled: ‘Wait a little, my dears; there is an old proverb, “Don’t halloo until you are out of the wood.”’
The next day was still perfectly14 calm; and when, towards evening, the children were told that they were now fairly getting into the Bay of Biscay, they could scarcely believe the intelligence.
‘Why, one would think, Maud,’ her father said, ‘that you were disappointed at its being calm, and that you really wanted a storm.’
‘Oh, papa, I do think it would be great fun; it would be so curious not to be able to walk about, and to see everything rolling and tumbling. Don’t you think so, boys?’
‘Yes, I think so, Maud; great fun,’ Charley said.
‘Well, young people,’ the captain, who had been standing15 by watching the sun, now fast nearing the horizon, and who had overheard their remarks, said, ‘if it is any satisfaction to you, I can tell you that you are very likely to have your wish gratified. But I question if you will like it as much as you expect.’
‘Ah, you expect wind, Captain Trevor?’ Mr. Hardy- 22 - said. ‘I have been thinking myself that the almost oppressive stillness of to-day, and the look of the sunset, and these black clouds banking16 up in the south-west, meant a change. What does the glass say?’
‘It is falling very rapidly,’ the captain answered. ‘We are in for a sou’-wester, and a stiff one too, or I am mistaken.’
Now that it appeared likely that their wishes were about to be gratified, the young Hardys did not seem so pleased as they had expected, although Charley still declared manfully that he was quite in earnest, and that he did wish to see a real storm at sea.
As the sun set, the party still leaned against the bulwarks18 watching it, and the great bank of clouds, which seemed every moment to be rising higher and higher. There was still nearly a dead calm around them, and the heavy beat of the paddles, as they lashed19 the water into foam20, and the dull thud of the engine, were the only sounds that broke the stillness. Now and then, however, a short puff21 of wind ruffled22 the water, and then died away again.
‘Look at that great cloud, papa,’ Hubert said; ‘it almost looks as if it were alive.’
‘Yes, Hubert, it is very grand; and there is no doubt about there being wind there.’
The great cloud bank appeared to be in constant- 23 - motion. Its shape was incessantly23 shifting and changing; now a great mass would roll upwards24, now sink down again; now the whole body would seem to roll over and over upon itself; then small portions would break off from the mass, and sail off by themselves, getting thinner and thinner, and disappearing at last in the shape of fine streamers. Momentarily the whole of the heaving, swelling26 mass rose higher and higher. It was very grand, but it was a terrible grandeur27; and the others were quite inclined to agree with Ethel, who shrank close to her father, and put her hand in his, saying, ‘I don’t like that cloud, papa; it frightens me.’
At this moment Mrs. Hardy, who had been down below arranging her cabin, came up to the group. ‘What a dark cloud, Frank; and how it moves! Are we going to have a storm, do you think?’
‘Well, Clara, I think that we are in for a gale28; and if you will take my advice, you will go down at once while it is calm, and see that the trunks, and everything that can roll about, are securely fastened up. I will come down and help you. Boys, you had better go down and see that everything is snug29 in our cabin.’
In a quarter of an hour the necessary arrangements were completed, but even in that short time they could feel that a change was taking place. There was now a steady but decided30 rolling motion, and the young ones- 24 - laughed as they found it difficult to walk steadily31 along the cabin.
Upon reaching the deck they saw that the smooth surface of the sea was broken up by a long swell25, that the wind now came in short but sharp puffs32, that the bank of clouds covered nearly half the sky, and that the detached scud33 was now flying overhead. The previous stillness was gone; and between the sudden gusts34, the roar of the wind in the upper region could be heard. The sun had set now, and a pall35 of deep blackness seemed to hang from the cloud down to the sea; but at the line where cloud and water touched, a gleam of dim white light appeared.
In preparation for the coming storm, the sailors had put on thick waterproof36 coats. Many of the passengers had gone below, and those who remained had followed the sailors’ example, and had wrapped themselves up in mackintoshes.
Every moment the gusts increased in frequency and power, and the regular line of swell became broken up into confused white-headed waves. The white gleam under the dark cloud grew wider and broader, and at last, with a roar like that of a thousand wild beasts, the gale broke upon them. Just before this, Mr. Hardy had taken Mrs. Hardy and the girls below, promising37 the latter that they should come up later for a peep out, if- 25 - they still wished it. Charley and Hubert were leaning against the bulwark17 when the gale struck them.
For a moment they were blinded and half choked by the force and fury of the spray and wind, and crouched38 down behind their shelter to recover themselves. Then, with a hearty39 laugh at their drenched40 appearance, they made their way to the mainmast, and then, holding on by the belaying pins, they were able to look fairly out on the gale. It was dark—so dark that they could scarcely see as far as the foremast. Around, the sea was white with foam; the wind blew so fiercely that they could scarcely hear each other’s voices, even when they shouted, and the steamer laboured heavily against the fast rising sea. Here Mr. Hardy joined them, and for some little time clung there, watching the increasing fury of the gale; then, drenched and almost confused by the strife41 of winds and water that they had been watching, they made their way, with great difficulty, down into the cabin.
Here the feeling of sea-sickness, which the excitement of the scene had kept off, increased rapidly; and they were glad to slip off their upper clothes, and to throw themselves upon their berths42 before the paroxysm of sickness came on.
When questioned afterwards as to the events of the next thirty-six hours, the young Hardys were all obliged- 26 - to confess that that time was a sort of blank in their memory,—a sort of horrible nightmare, when one moment they seemed to be on their heads, and the next upon their feet, but never lying down in a comfortable position, when sometimes the top of the cabin seemed under their feet, sometimes the floor over their head. Then, for a change, everything would go round and round; the noise, too, the groaning43 and the thumping45 and the cracking, the thud of the waves and the thump44 of the paddles, and the general quivering, and shaking, and creaking, and bewilderment;—altogether it was a most unpleasant nightmare. They had all dim visions of Mr. Hardy coming in several times to see after them, and to give them a cup of tea, and to say something cheering to them; and all four had a distinct idea that they had many times wished themselves dead.
Upon the second morning after the storm began, it showed some signs of abating46, and Mr. Hardy said to his sons, ‘Now, boys, make an effort and come upon deck; it’s no use lying there; the fresh air will do you good.’ Two dismal47 groans48 were the only response to this appeal.
‘Yes, I know that you both feel very bad, and that it is difficult to turn out; still it is worth making the effort, and you will be very glad of it afterwards. Come, jump up, else I shall empty the water-jug over you. There, you- 27 - need not take much trouble with your dressing49,’ he went on, as the boys, seeing that he was in earnest, turned out of their berths with a grievous moan. ‘Just hold on by something, and get your heads over the basin; I will empty the jugs50 on them. There, now you will feel better; slip on your clothes and come up.’
It was hard work for Charley and Hubert to obey orders, for the ship rolled so tremendously that they could only proceed with their dressing by fits and starts, and were more than once interrupted by attacks of their weary sea-sickness. However, their father stayed with them, helping51 and joking with them until they were ready to go up. Then, taking them by the arm, he assisted them up the stairs to the deck.
Miserable52 as the boys felt, they could not suppress an exclamation53 of admiration54 at the magnificent scene before them. The sea was tossed up in great masses of water, which, as they neared the ship, threatened to overwhelm them, but which, as she rose on their summits, passed harmlessly under her, hurling55, however, tons of water upon her deck. The wind was still blowing fiercely, but a rift56 in the clouds above, through which the sun threw down a bright ray of light upon the tossing water, showed that the gale was breaking.
The excitement of the scene, the difficulty of keeping their feet, and the influence of the rushing wind, soon- 28 - had the effect which their father predicted. The boys’ looks brightened, their courage returned; and although they still had an occasional relapse of sickness, they felt quite different beings, and would not have returned to the blank misery57 of their cabins upon any consideration. They were soon able to eat a piece of dry toast, which Mr. Hardy brought them up with a cup of tea at breakfast-time, and to enjoy a basin of soup at twelve o’clock, after which they pronounced themselves as cured.
By the afternoon the force of the wind had greatly abated58, and although a heavy sea still ran, the motion of the vessel was perceptibly easier. The sun, too, shone out brightly and cheeringly, and Mr. Hardy was able to bring the little girls, who had not suffered so severely59 as their brothers, upon deck. Two more days of fine weather quite recruited all the party; and great was their enjoyment60 as the Barbadoes entered the Tagus, and, steaming between its picturesque61 banks and past Cintra, dropped her anchor off Lisbon.
As our object, however, is to relate the adventures of our young settlers upon the Pampas of La Plate, we must not delay to describe the pleasure they enjoyed in this their first experience in foreign lands, nor to give an account of their subsequent voyage across the Atlantic, or their admiration at the superb harbour of- 29 - Rio. A few days’ further steaming and they arrived at the harbour of Buenos Ayres, where the two great rivers, the Uruguay and the Parana, unite to form the wide sheet of water called the River La Plate. It was night when the Barbadoes dropped her anchor, and it was not until the morning that they obtained their first view of their future home.
Very early were they astir, and as soon as it was broad daylight, all four of the young ones were up on deck. Their first exclamation was one of disappointment. The shores were perfectly flat, and, seen from the distance at which they were anchored, little except the spires62 of the churches and the roofs of a few of the more lofty houses could be seen. After the magnificent harbour of Rio, this flat, uninteresting coast was most disappointing.
‘What a distance we are anchored from the shore!’ Hubert said, when they had recovered a little from their first feeling. ‘It must be three or four miles off.’
‘Not so much as that, Hubert,’ Maud, who was just a little fond of contradicting, said; ‘not more than two miles, I should think.’
Hubert stuck to his opinion; and as the captain came on deck they referred the matter to him.
‘The distance of objects across water is very deceiving,’- 30 - he said. ‘It is from eight to nine miles to those buildings you see.’
Maud looked rather crestfallen63, and Charley asked, ‘Why do we anchor such a long way off, captain?’
‘Because the shore is so flat that there is no water for us to get in any closer. In a couple of hours you will see boats coming out to fetch you in; and unless it happens to be high tide, even these cannot get to the beach, and you will have to land in carts.’
‘In carts, Captain Trevor?’ they all repeated; ‘that will be a strange way of landing.’
‘Yes, it is,’ the captain answered. ‘I think that we can safely say that the Argentine Republic is the only country in the world where the only way to land at its chief city is in a cart.’
The captain’s boat was by this time lowered, and he at once started for shore with his papers. Soon after ten o’clock he returned, followed by a number of boats. He brought also a letter to Mr. Hardy from an old friend who had been settled for some years near Buenos Ayres, and whose advice had decided him to fix upon that country as the scene of his labours. It contained a warm welcome, and a hearty congratulation upon their safe arrival. This letter had been written two or three days previously64, and had been left at the office of the steamship65 company. It said, however, that- 31 - the writer would hear of the arrival of the steamer, and would have everything in readiness to take them out to his place upon their landing.
Mr. Hardy had been in frequent communication with his friend from the time that he had determined66 to emigrate, and Mr. Thompson’s letters had contained the warmest assurance of a welcome, and an invitation to make his house their home until they had one of their own to go into; and now this kind letter, coming off so instantly after their arrival, cheered them all much, and made them feel less strange and to some extent at home in the new country at once.
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1
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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4
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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emigrants
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| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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scud
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| n.疾行；v.疾行 | |
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gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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berths
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| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
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43
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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44
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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46
abating
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| 减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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47
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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48
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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49
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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jugs
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| （有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 ) | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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64
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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65
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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66
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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