We were kindly2 received by the Strombolite fishermen, who treated us as shipwrecked travelers. They gave us clothes and food. After a delay of forty-eight hours, on the 30th of September a little vessel3 took us to Messina, where a few days of delightful4 and complete repose5 restored us to ourselves.
On Friday, the 4th of October, we embarked6 in the Volturne, one of the postal7 packets of the Imperial Messageries of France; and three days later we landed at Marseilles, having no other care on our minds but that of our precious but erratic8 compass. This inexplicable9 circumstance tormented10 me terribly. On the 9th of October, in the evening, we reached Hamburg.
What was the astonishment11 of Martha, what the joy of Gretchen! I will not attempt to define it.
"Now then, Harry12, that you really are a hero," she said, "there is no reason why you should ever leave me again."
I looked at her. She was weeping tears of joy.
I leave it to be imagined if the return of Professor Hardwigg made or did not make a sensation in Hamburg. Thanks to the indiscretion of Martha, the news of his departure for the interior of the earth had been spread over the whole world.
No one would believe it—and when they saw him come back in safety they believed it all the less.
Then my uncle became a great man and I the nephew of a great man, which, at all events, is something. Hamburg gave a festival in our honor. A public meeting of the Johanneum Institution was held, at which the Professor related the whole story of his adventures, omitting only the facts in connection with the compass.
That same day he deposited in the archives of the town the document he had found written by Saknussemm, and he expressed his great regret that circumstances, stronger than his will, did not allow him to follow the Icelandic traveler's track into the very centre of the earth. He was modest in his glory, but his reputation only increased.
So much honor necessarily created for him many envious14 enemies. Of course they existed, and as his theories, supported by certain facts, contradicted the system of science upon the question of central heat, he maintained his own views both with pen and speech against the learned of every country. Although I still believe in the theory of central heat, I confess that certain circumstances, hitherto very ill defined, may modify the laws of such natural phenomena15.
At the moment when these questions were being discussed with interest, my uncle received a rude shock—one that he felt very much. Hans, despite everything he could say to the contrary, quitted Hamburg; the man to whom we owed so much would not allow us to pay our deep debt of gratitude16. He was taken with nostalgia17; a love for his Icelandic home.
"Farval," said he, one day, and with this one short word of adieu, he started for Reykjavik, which he soon reached in safety.
We were deeply attached to our brave eider-duck hunter. His absence will never cause him to be forgotten by those whose lives he saved, and I hope, at some not distant day, to see him again.
To conclude, I may say that our journey into the interior of the earth created an enormous sensation throughout the civilized18 world. It was translated and printed in many languages. All the leading journals published extracts from it, which were commentated, discussed, attacked, and supported with equal animation19 by those who believed in its episodes, and by those who were utterly20 incredulous.
Wonderful! My uncle enjoyed during his lifetime all the glory he deserved; and he was even offered a large sum of money, by Mr. Barnum, to exhibit himself in the United States; while I am credibly21 informed by a traveler that he is to be seen in waxwork22 at Madame Tussaud's!
But one care preyed23 upon his mind, a care which rendered him very unhappy. One fact remained inexplicable—that of the compass. For a learned man to be baffled by such an inexplicable phenomenon was very aggravating24. But Heaven was merciful, and in the end my uncle was happy.
One day, while he put some minerals belonging to his collection in order, I fell upon the famous compass and examined it keenly.
For six months it had lain unnoticed and untouched.
I looked at it with curiosity, which soon became surprise. I gave a loud cry. The Professor, who was at hand, soon joined me.
"What is the matter?" he cried.
"The compass!"
"What then?"
"Why its needle points to the south and not to the north."
"My dear boy, you must be dreaming."
"I am not dreaming. See—the poles are changed."
"Changed!"
My uncle put on his spectacles, examined the instrument, and leaped with joy, shaking the whole house.
A clear light fell upon our minds.
"Here it is!" he cried, as soon as he had recovered the use of his speech, "after we had once passed Cape25 Saknussemm, the needle of this compass pointed26 to the southward instead of the northward28."
"Evidently."
"Our error is now easily explained. But to what phenomenon do we owe this alteration29 in the needle?"
"Nothing more simple."
"Explain yourself, my boy. I am on thorns."
"During the storm, upon the Central Sea, the ball of fire which made a magnet of the iron in our raft, turned our compass topsy-turvy."
"Ah!" cried the Professor, with a loud and ringing laugh, "it was a trick of that inexplicable electricity."
From that hour my uncle was the happiest of learned men, and I the happiest of ordinary mortals. For my pretty Virland girl, abdicating30 her position as ward27, took her place in the house in the Konigstrasse in the double quality of niece and wife.
We need scarcely mention that her uncle was the illustrious Professor Hardwigg, corresponding member of all the scientific, geographical31, mineralogical, and geological societies of the five parts of the globe.
End of the Voyage Extraordinaire
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1
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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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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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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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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7
postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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8
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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9
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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10
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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12
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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13
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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15
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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nostalgia
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| n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧 | |
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18
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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19
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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20
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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credibly
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| ad.可信地；可靠地 | |
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waxwork
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| n.蜡像 | |
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preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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28
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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29
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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30
abdicating
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| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的现在分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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