No, the nearest approach that ever I had to being shipmates with a cargo13 of live stock was on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, when, after bringing a 24-ton schooner14 from a little village up the Bay of Fundy to Antigua in the West Indies, I found myself, as you may say, stranded15 in St. John, the principal port in that island. The dry rot which seems to have unfortunately overtaken our West Indian possessions was even then very marked in Antigua, for there was no vessel2 there larger than a 100-ton schooner, and only two or three of them, all Yankees with one exception, a Barbadian craft with the queerest name imaginable, the Migumoo-weesoo. The shipping16 officer, seeing that I was a certificated mate, very kindly17 interested himself in me, going so far as to say that if I would take his advice and assistance I would immediately leave St. John in the Migum, as he called her, for that the skipper, being a friend of his, would gladly give me a passage to Barbadoes. I hope good advice was never wasted on me. At any rate this wasn’t, for I immediately went down to the beach, jumped into a boat, and ordered the darky in charge to put me on board the Migum. When we got alongside I was mightily18 interested to see quite a little mob of horses calmly floating alongside with their heads just sticking out of the water. The first thing that suggested itself to me was that if those horses got on board with their full complement19 of legs it would be little less than a miracle, the harbour being notoriously infested20 with sharks. But presently I reflected that there was really no danger, the darkies who were busy with preparations for the embarkation21 of the poor beasts kicking up such a deafening22 row that no shark would have dared venture within a cable’s length of the spot. Everybody engaged in the business seemed to be excited beyond measure, shouting, screeching23 with laughter, and yelling orders at the top of their voices, so that I could not see how anything was going to be done at all. The skipper was confined to his cabin with an attack of dysentery, and lay fretting24 himself into a fever at the riot going on overhead for want of his supervision25. As soon as I introduced myself he begged me to go and take charge, but, although I humoured him to the extent of seeming to comply with his request, I knew enough of the insubordinate ’Badian darkies to make me very careful how I interfered26 with them. But going forward, I found to my delight that they had made a start at last, and that two of the trembling horses were already on deck. Four or five darkies[142] were in the water alongside, diving beneath the horses with slings27 which were very carefully placed round their bodies, then hooked to a tackle, by means of which they were hoisted28 on board, so subdued29 by fear that they suffered themselves to be pushed and hauled about the decks with the quiet submissiveness of sheep. There were twenty of them altogether, and when they had all been landed on deck there was not very much room left for working the schooner. However, as our passage lay through the heart of the trade winds, and nothing was less probable than bad weather, nobody minded that, not even when the remaining deck space was lumbered30 up with some very queer-looking forage31.
As soon as the horses were on board we weighed, and stood out of harbour with a gentle, leading wind that, freshening as we got farther off the land, coaxed32 the smart craft along at a fairly good rate. This lasted until midnight, when, to the darkies’ dismay, the wind suddenly failed us, leaving us lazily rocking to the gently-gliding swell33 upon the wine-dark bosom34 of the glassy sea. Overhead, the sky, being moonless, was hardly distinguishable from the sea, and as every brilliant star was faithfully duplicated beneath, it needed no great stretch of imagination to fancy that we were suspended in the centre of a vast globe utterly35 cut off from the rest of the world. But the poor skipper, enfeebled by his sad ailment36 and anxious about his freight, had no transcendental fancies. Vainly I tried to comfort him with the assurance that we should certainly find a breeze at daybreak, and it would as certainly be fair for us. He refused consolation37, insisting that we were in for a long spell of calm, and against his long experience of those waters I felt I could not argue. So I ceased my efforts and went on deck to enjoy the solemn beauty of the night once more, and listen to the quaint38 gabble of the three darkies forming the watch on deck.
Sure enough the skipper was right. Calms and baffling airs, persisting for three days, kept us almost motionless until every morsel39 of horse provender40 was eaten, and—what was still more serious—very little water was left. All of us wore long faces now, and the first return of steady wind was hailed by us with extravagant41 delight. Continuing on our original course was out of the question under the circumstances, so we headed directly for the nearest port, which happened to be Prince Rupert, in the beautiful island of Dominica. A few hours’ sail brought us into the picturesque42 harbour, with its ruined fortresses43, once grimly guarding the entrance, now overgrown with dense44 tropical vegetation, huge trees growing out of yawning gaps in the masonry45, and cable-like vines enwreathing the crumbling46 walls. Within the harbour there was a profound silence; the lake-like expanse was unburdened by a single vessel, and although the roofs of a few scattered47 houses could be seen embosomed among the verdure, there was no other sign of human occupation. We lowered the little boat hanging astern and hastened ashore48. Hurrying toward the houses, we found ourselves in a wide street which from lack of traffic was all overgrown with weeds. Here we found a few listless negroes, none of whom could speak a word of English, a barbarous French patois49 being their only medium of communication. But by signs we made them comprehend our needs—fodder for the horses, and water. After some little palaver50 we found that for a few shillings we might go into the nearest thicket51 of neglected sugar-cane52 and cut down as many of the feathery blades that crowned the canes53 as we wanted, but none of those sleepy-looking darkies volunteered their assistance—they seemed to be utterly independent of work. Our energy amazed them, and I don’t think I ever saw such utter contempt as was expressed by our lively crew—true ’Badians born—towards those lotus-eating Dominicans. We had a heavy morning’s work before us, but by dint54 of vigorous pushing we managed to collect a couple of boatloads of cane-tops, carry them on board, and return for two casks of water which we had left one of our number ashore to fill. Some deliberate fishermen were hauling a seine as we were about to depart, and we lingered awhile until they had finished their unusual industry, being rewarded by about a bushel of “bill-fish,” a sort of garfish, but with the beak55 an extension of the lower jaw56 instead of the upper. I offered to buy a few of the fish, but the fishermen seemed mightily careless whether they sold any or not. After much expenditure57 of energy in sign language, I managed to purchase three dozen (about the size of herrings) for the equivalent of twopence, and, very well satisfied, pushed off for the schooner, leaving the fishermen standing58 on the beach contemplating59 their newly-acquired wealth, as if quite unable to decide what to do with it.
It was worth all the labour we had expended60 to see the delight with which those patient horses munched61 the juicy green tops of the cane, and drank, plunging62 their muzzles63 deep into the buckets, of the clear water we had brought. And I felt quite pleased when, upon our arrival in Barbadoes two days after, I watched the twenty of them walk sedately64 up a broad gangway of planks65 on to the wharf66, and indulge in a playful prance67 and shake when they found their hoofs68 firmly planted upon the unrocking earth once more.
I hope I shall not be suspected of drawing a longue beau when I say that I was once in a big ship whose skipper was an ardent69 agriculturist. On my first visit to the poop I saw with much surprise a couple of cucumber frames lashed70 in secure positions, one on either side of the rail at the break of the poop. When I fancied myself unobserved, I lifted the top of one, and looked within, seeing that they contained a full allowance of rich black mould. And presently, peeping down the saloon skylight, I saw that carefully arranged along its sides, on brackets, were many large pots of flowering plants, all in first-rate condition and bloom. It was quite a novel experience for me, but withal a most pleasant one, for although it did appear somewhat strange and incongruous to find plant-life flourishing upon the sea, it gave more of a familiar domestic atmosphere to ’board-ship life than anything I have ever known; much the same feeling that strikes one when looking upon the round sterns of the Dutch galliots, with their square windows embellished71 by snowy beribboned muslin curtains. When we got to sea, and well clear of the land, so that the skipper’s undivided attention could be given to his beloved hobby, there were great developments of it. For not content with growing lettuces72, radishes, endive, and such “garden-sass,” as the Yankees term it, in his cucumber frames, he enlarged his borders and tried experiments in raising all sorts of queer seeds of tropical fruits and vegetables. His garden took up so much room on the poop that the officers fretted74 a good deal at the circumscribed75 area of their domain76, besides being considerably77 annoyed at having to cover up the frames, boxes, &c., when bad weather caused salt spray to break over them. But this was ungrateful of them, because there never was a skipper who interfered less with his officers, or a more peaceable, good-natured man. Nor was the frequent mess of salad that graced the table in the saloon to be despised. In that humid atmosphere and equable temperature everything grew apace; so that for a couple of months at a time green crisp leaves were scarcely absent from the table for a day. Mustard and cress were, of course, his main crop, but lettuce73, radishes, and spring onions did remarkably78 well. That was on the utilitarian79 side. On the experimental side he raised date-palms, coco-palms, banana-palms, mango trees, and orange trees, dwarfing80 them after a fashion he had learned in China, so that in the saloon he had quite a conservatory81. But there were many others of which none of us knew the names. And all around in the skylight,[147] beneath the brackets whereon the pots of geranium, fuchsia, &c., stood, hung orchids82 collected by the skipper on previous voyages, and most carefully tended, so that some lovely spikes83 of bloom were always to be seen. That saloon was a perfect bower84 of beauty, and although the ship herself was somewhat dwarfed85 by comparison with the magnificent clippers we forgathered with in Calcutta, few vessels had so many visitors. Her fame spread far, and nearly every day the delighted skipper would be busy showing a string of wondering shorefolk over his pleasaunce.
We went thence to Hong-Kong, and there, as if in emulation86 of the “old man’s” hobby for flowers, all hands went in for birds, mostly canaries, which can be obtained in China more cheaply, I believe, than in any part of the world. Sampans, loaded with cages so that nothing can be seen of the hull87, and making the whole harbour melodious88 with the singing of their pretty freight, are always in evidence. For the equivalent of 3s., if the purchaser be smart of eye, he can always buy a fine cock canary in full song, although the wily Chinee never fails to attempt the substitution of a hen, no matter what price is paid. There arose a perfect mania89 on board of us for canaries, and when we departed for New Zealand there were at least 400 of the songsters on board. Truly for us the time of singing of birds had come. All day long that chorus went on, almost deafeningly, until we got used to it, for of course if one bird piped up after a short spell of quiet all hands joined in at the full pitch of their wonderful little lungs; so that, what with birds and flowers and good feeling, life on board the Lady Clare was as nearly idyllic90 as any seafaring I have ever heard of.
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1
vessels
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| 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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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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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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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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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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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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slings
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| 抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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ailment
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| n.疾病，小病 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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provender
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| n.刍草；秣料 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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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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fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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patois
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| n.方言；混合语 | |
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palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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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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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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munched
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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sedately
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| adv.镇静地，安详地 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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prance
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| v.（马）腾跃，(人)神气活现地走 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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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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embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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lettuces
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| n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶 | |
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lettuce
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| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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80
dwarfing
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| n.矮化病 | |
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81
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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82
orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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83
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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84
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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85
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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86
emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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87
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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88
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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89
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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90
idyllic
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| adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的 | |
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