“And all about old stocks and stubs of trees,
Whereon nor fruit nor leaf was ever seen,
Did hang upon ragged1 knotty2 knees,
On which had many wretches3 hanged been.”
Some relics4 of the hut of Oberlus partially5 remain to this day at the head of the clinkered valley. Nor does the stranger, wandering among other of the Enchanted6 Isles8, fail to stumble upon still other solitary9 abodes10, long abandoned to the tortoise and the lizard11. Probably few parts of earth have, in modern times, sheltered so many solitaries12. The reason is, that these isles are situated13 in a distant sea, and the vessels14 which occasionally visit them are mostly all whalers, or ships bound on dreary15 and protracted16 voyages, exempting17 them in a good degree from both the oversight18 and the memory of human law. Such is the character of some commanders and some seamen19, that under these untoward20 circumstances, it is quite impossible but that scenes of unpleasantness and discord21 should occur between them. A sullen22 hatred23 of the tyrannic ship will seize the sailor, and he gladly exchanges it for isles, which, though blighted24 as by a continual sirocco and burning breeze, still offer him, in their labyrinthine25 interior, a retreat beyond the possibility of capture. To flee the ship in any Peruvian or Chilian port, even the smallest and most rustical, is not unattended with great risk of apprehension26, not to speak of jaguars27. A reward of five pesos sends fifty dastardly Spaniards into the wood, who, with long knives, scour28 them day and night in eager hopes of securing their prey29. Neither is it, in general, much easier to escape pursuit at the isles of Polynesia. Those of them which have felt a civilizing30 influence present the same difficulty to the runaway31 with the Peruvian ports, the advanced natives being quite as mercenary and keen of knife and scent32 as the retrograde Spaniards; while, owing to the bad odor in which all Europeans lie, in the minds of aboriginal33 savages34 who have chanced to hear aught of them, to desert the ship among primitive35 Polynesians, is, in most cases, a hope not unforlorn. Hence the Enchanted Isles become the voluntary tarrying places of all sorts of refugees; some of whom too sadly experience the fact, that flight from tyranny does not of itself insure a safe asylum36, far less a happy home.
Moreover, it has not seldom happened that hermits38 have been made upon the isles by the accidents incident to tortoise-hunting. The interior of most of them is tangled39 and difficult of passage beyond description; the air is sultry and stifling40; an intolerable thirst is provoked, for which no running stream offers its kind relief. In a few hours, under an equatorial sun, reduced by these causes to entire exhaustion41, woe42 betide the straggler at the Enchanted Isles! Their extent is such-as to forbid an adequate search, unless weeks are devoted43 to it. The impatient ship waits a day or two; when, the missing man remaining undiscovered, up goes a stake on the beach, with a letter of regret, and a keg of crackers44 and another of water tied to it, and away sails the craft.
Nor have there been wanting instances where the inhumanity of some captains has led them to wreak45 a secure revenge upon seamen who have given their caprice or pride some singular offense46. Thrust ashore47 upon the scorching48 marl, such mariners49 are abandoned to perish outright50, unless by solitary labors51 they succeed in discovering some precious dribblets of moisture oozing52 from a rock or stagnant53 in a mountain pool.
I was well acquainted with a man, who, lost upon the Isle7 of Narborough, was brought to such extremes by thirst, that at last he only saved his life by taking that of another being. A large hair-seal came upon the beach. He rushed upon it, stabbed it in the neck, and then throwing himself upon the panting body quaffed55 at the living wound; the palpitations of the creature’s dying heart injected life into the drinker.
Another seaman56, thrust ashore in a boat upon an isle at which no ship ever touched, owing to its peculiar57 sterility58 and the shoals about it, and from which all other parts of the group were hidden—this man, feeling that it was sure death to remain there, and that nothing worse than death menaced him in quitting it, killed seals, and inflating59 their skins, made a float, upon which he transported himself to Charles’s Island, and joined the republic there.
But men, not endowed with courage equal to such desperate attempts, find their only resource in forthwith seeking some watering-place, however precarious60 or scanty61; building a hut; catching62 tortoises and birds; and in all respects preparing for a hermit37 life, till tide or time, or a passing ship arrives to float them off.
At the foot of precipices63 on many of the isles, small rude basins in the rocks are found, partly filled with rotted rubbish or vegetable decay, or overgrown with thickets64, and sometimes a little moist; which, upon examination, reveal plain tokens of artificial instruments employed in hollowing them out, by some poor castaway or still more miserable65 runaway. These basins are made in places where it was supposed some scanty drops of dew might exude66 into them from the upper crevices67.
The relics of hermitages and stone basins are not the only signs of vanishing humanity to be found upon the isles. And, curious to say, that spot which of all others in settled communities is most animated68, at the Enchanted Isles presents the most dreary of aspects. And though it may seem very strange to talk of post-offices in this barren region, yet post-offices are occasionally to be found there. They consist of a stake and a bottle. The letters being not only sealed, but corked69. They are generally deposited by captains of Nantucketers for the benefit of passing fishermen, and contain statements as to what luck they had in whaling or tortoise-hunting. Frequently, however, long months and months, whole years glide70 by and no applicant71 appears. The stake rots and falls, presenting no very exhilarating object.
If now it be added that grave-stones, or rather grave-boards, are also discovered upon some of the isles, the picture will be complete.
Upon the beach of James’s Isle, for many years, was to be seen a rude finger-post, pointing inland. And, perhaps, taking it for some signal of possible hospitality in this otherwise desolate72 spot—some good hermit living there with his maple73 dish—the stranger would follow on in the path thus indicated, till at last he would come out in a noiseless nook, and find his only welcome, a dead man—his sole greeting the inscription74 over a grave. Here, in 1813, fell, in a daybreak duel75, a lieutenant76 of the U.S. frigate77 Essex, aged78 twenty-one: attaining79 his majority in death.
It is but fit that, like those old monastic institutions of Europe, whose inmates80 go not out of their own walls to be inurned, but are entombed there where they die, the Encantadas, too, should bury their own dead, even as the great general monastery81 of earth does hers.
It is known that burial in the ocean is a pure necessity of sea-faring life, and that it is only done when land is far astern, and not clearly visible from the bow. Hence, to vessels cruising in the vicinity of the Enchanted Isles, they afford a convenient Potter’s Field. The interment over, some good-natured forecastle poet and artist seizes his paint-brush, and inscribes82 a doggerel83 epitaph. When, after a long lapse84 of time, other good-natured seamen chance to come upon the spot, they usually make a table of the mound85, and quaff54 a friendly can to the poor soul’s repose86.
As a specimen87 of these epitaphs, take the following, found in a bleak88 gorge89 of Chatham Isle:—
“Oh, Brother Jack90, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
Just so game, and just so gay,
But now, alack, they’ve stopped my pay.
No more I peep out of my blinkers,
Here I be-tucked in with clinkers!”
The End
1 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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2 knotty | |
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的 | |
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3 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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4 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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5 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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6 enchanted | |
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
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8 isles | |
岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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9 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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10 abodes | |
住所( abode的名词复数 ); 公寓; (在某地的)暂住; 逗留 | |
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11 lizard | |
n.蜥蜴,壁虎 | |
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12 solitaries | |
n.独居者,隐士( solitary的名词复数 ) | |
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13 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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14 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 | |
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15 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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16 protracted | |
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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17 exempting | |
使免除[豁免]( exempt的现在分词 ) | |
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18 oversight | |
n.勘漏,失察,疏忽 | |
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19 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
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20 untoward | |
adj.不利的,不幸的,困难重重的 | |
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21 discord | |
n.不和,意见不合,争论,(音乐)不和谐 | |
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22 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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23 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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24 blighted | |
adj.枯萎的,摧毁的 | |
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25 labyrinthine | |
adj.如迷宫的;复杂的 | |
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26 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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27 jaguars | |
n.(中、南美洲的)美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 ) | |
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28 scour | |
v.搜索;擦,洗,腹泻,冲刷 | |
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29 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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30 civilizing | |
v.使文明,使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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31 runaway | |
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的 | |
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32 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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33 aboriginal | |
adj.(指动植物)土生的,原产地的,土著的 | |
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34 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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35 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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36 asylum | |
n.避难所,庇护所,避难 | |
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37 hermit | |
n.隐士,修道者;隐居 | |
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38 hermits | |
(尤指早期基督教的)隐居修道士,隐士,遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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39 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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40 stifling | |
a.令人窒息的 | |
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41 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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42 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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43 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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44 crackers | |
adj.精神错乱的,癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 );薄脆饼干;(认为)十分愉快的事;迷人的姑娘 | |
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45 wreak | |
v.发泄;报复 | |
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46 offense | |
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪 | |
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47 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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48 scorching | |
adj. 灼热的 | |
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49 mariners | |
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式) | |
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50 outright | |
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的 | |
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51 labors | |
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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52 oozing | |
v.(浓液等)慢慢地冒出,渗出( ooze的现在分词 );使(液体)缓缓流出;(浓液)渗出,慢慢流出 | |
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53 stagnant | |
adj.不流动的,停滞的,不景气的 | |
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54 quaff | |
v.一饮而尽;痛饮 | |
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55 quaffed | |
v.痛饮( quaff的过去式和过去分词 );畅饮;大口大口将…喝干;一饮而尽 | |
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56 seaman | |
n.海员,水手,水兵 | |
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57 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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58 sterility | |
n.不生育,不结果,贫瘠,消毒,无菌 | |
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59 inflating | |
v.使充气(于轮胎、气球等)( inflate的现在分词 );(使)膨胀;(使)通货膨胀;物价上涨 | |
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60 precarious | |
adj.不安定的,靠不住的;根据不足的 | |
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61 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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62 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
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63 precipices | |
n.悬崖,峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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64 thickets | |
n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 );丛状物 | |
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65 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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66 exude | |
v.(使)流出,(使)渗出 | |
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67 crevices | |
n.(尤指岩石的)裂缝,缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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68 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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69 corked | |
adj.带木塞气味的,塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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70 glide | |
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝 | |
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71 applicant | |
n.申请人,求职者,请求者 | |
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72 desolate | |
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
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73 maple | |
n.槭树,枫树,槭木 | |
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74 inscription | |
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
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75 duel | |
n./v.决斗;(双方的)斗争 | |
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76 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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77 frigate | |
n.护航舰,大型驱逐舰 | |
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78 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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79 attaining | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的现在分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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80 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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81 monastery | |
n.修道院,僧院,寺院 | |
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82 inscribes | |
v.写,刻( inscribe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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83 doggerel | |
n.拙劣的诗,打油诗 | |
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84 lapse | |
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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85 mound | |
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
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86 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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87 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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88 bleak | |
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的 | |
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89 gorge | |
n.咽喉,胃,暴食,山峡;v.塞饱,狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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90 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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