A SHIP ATTACKED BY A SWORD-FISH.

I have always been puzzled to imagine how the ‘nine-and-twenty knights¹ of fame,’ described in the ‘Lay of the Last Minstrel,’ managed to ‘drink the red wine through the helmet barr’d.’ But in nature we meet with animals which seem almost as inconveniently³ armed as those chosen knights, who
. . . quitted not their armour⁴ bright,
Neither by day nor yet by night.

Amongst such animals the sword-fish must be recognised as one of the most uncomfortably-armed creatures in existence. The shark has to turn on his back before he can eat, and the attitude scarcely seems suggestive of a comfortable meal. But the sword-fish can hardly even by that arrangement get his awkwardly projecting snout out of the way. Yet doubtless this feature, which seems so inconvenient², is of great value to Xiphias. In some way as yet unknown it enables him to get his living. Whether he first kills some one of his neighbours with this instrument, and then eats him at his leisure, or whether he plunges⁶ it deep into257 the larger sort of fish, and attaching himself to them in this way, sucks nutriment from them while they are yet alive, is not known to naturalists⁷. Certainly, he is fond of attacking whales, but this may result not so much from gastronomic⁸ tastes as from a natural antipathy—envy, perhaps, at their superior bulk. Unfortunately for himself, Xiphias, though cold-blooded, seems a somewhat warm-tempered animal; and, when he is angered, he makes a bull-like rush upon his foe⁹, without always examining with due care whether he is likely to take anything by his motion. And when he happens to select for attack a stalwart ship, and to plunge⁵ his horny beak¹⁰ through thirteen or fourteen inches of planking, with perhaps a stout¹¹ copper¹² sheathing¹³ outside it, he is apt to find some little difficulty in retreating. The affair usually ends by his leaving his sword embedded¹⁴ in the side of the ship. In fact, no instance has ever been recorded of a sword-fish recovering his weapon (if I may use the expression) after making a lunge of this sort. Last Wednesday the Court of Common Pleas—rather a strange place, by-the-bye, for inquiring into the natural history of fishes—was engaged for several hours in trying to determine under what circumstances a sword-fish might be able to escape scot-free after thrusting his snout into the side of a ship, The gallant¹⁵ ship ‘Dreadnought,’ thoroughly¹⁶ repaired, and classed A 1 at Lloyd’s, had been insured for 3,000l. against all the risks of the seas. She sailed on March 10, 1864, from Colombo, for London. Three days later, the crew,258 while fishing, hooked a sword-fish. Xiphias, however, broke the line, and a few moments after leaped half out of the water, with the object, it would seem, of taking a look at his persecutor¹⁷, the ‘Dreadnought.’ Probably he satisfied himself that the enemy was some abnormally large cetacean, which it was his natural duty to attack forthwith. Be this as it may, the attack was made, and at four o’clock the next morning the captain was awakened¹⁸ with the unwelcome intelligence that the ship had sprung a leak. She was taken back to Colombo, and thence to Cochin, where she was hove down. Near the keel was found a round hole, an inch in diameter, running completely through the copper sheathing and planking.

As attacks by sword-fish are included among sea risks, the insurance company was willing to pay the damages claimed by the owners of the ship, if only it could be proved that the hole had really been made by a sword-fish. No instance had ever been recorded in which a sword-fish had been able to withdraw his sword after attacking a ship. A defence was founded on the possibility that the hole had been made in some other way. Professor Owen and Mr. Frank Buckland gave their evidence; but neither of them could state quite positively¹⁹ whether a sword-fish which had passed its beak through three inches of stout planking could withdraw without the loss of its sword. Mr. Buckland said that fish have no power of ‘backing,’ and expressed his belief that he could hold a sword-fish by the beak; but then he admitted that the fish had considerable259 lateral²⁰ power, and might so ‘wriggle its sword out of a hole.’ And so the insurance company will have to pay nearly six hundred pounds because an ill-tempered fish objected to be hooked, and took its revenge by running full tilt²¹ against copper sheathing and oak planking.

(From the Daily News, December 11, 1868.)

1 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

2 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

3 inconveniently   

ad.不方便地

参考例句：

• Hardware encrypting resists decryption intensely, but it use inconveniently for user. 硬件加密方法有较强的抗解密性，但用户使用不方便。
• Even implementing the interest-deferral scheme for homeowners has proved inconveniently tricky. 甚至是对房主实行的推迟利息的方案，结果证明也是极不方便的。

4 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 plunges   

n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• Even before he plunges into his program, he has his audience in his pocket. 他的节目甚至还没有出场，就已控制住了观众。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Monseigneur, he precipitated himself over the hill-side, head first, as a person plunges into the river.' “大人，他头冲下跳下山坡去了，像往河里跳一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

8 gastronomic   

adj.美食（烹饪）法的，烹任学的

参考例句：

• The gastronomic restaurant is a feature of the hotel. 美食餐厅是这家饭店的一个特色。 来自互联网
• The restaurant offers a special gastronomic menu. 这家餐馆备有一份特别的美食菜单。 来自互联网

9 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

10 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

12 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

13 sheathing   

n.覆盖物，罩子v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的现在分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• The effect of nitrogen can be overcome by sheathing the flame in argon. 氮的影响则可以通过用氩气包覆火焰而予以克服。 来自辞典例句
• Sheathing layer: PVC extruded polyethylene or in the form of weaving. 护套层：用聚乙烯或聚氯乙烯挤塑在编织层上而成的。 来自互联网

14 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

15 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

16 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

17 persecutor   

n. 迫害者

参考例句：

• My persecutor impervious to the laughter, continued to strike me. 打我的那个人没有受到笑声的影响，继续打着我。
• I am the persecutor of my self in the wild hunt. 我将自己置身于这狂野的追猎。

18 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

20 lateral   

adj.侧面的，旁边的

参考例句：

• An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
• Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。

21 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.