I perceived with grief and consternation9 the miscarriage10 of all my apparatus11; yet I was not absolutely dejected: a great mind is never known but in adversity. With permission of the Dutch governor the chariot was properly laid up in a great storehouse, erected12 at the water's edge, and the bulls received every refreshment13 possible after so terrible a voyage. Well, you may be sure they deserved it, and therefore every attendance was engaged for them, until I should return.
As it was not possible to do anything more I took my passage in a homeward-bound Indiaman, to return to London, and lay the matter before the Privy Council.
We met with nothing particular until we arrived upon the coast of Guinea, where, to our utter astonishment15, we perceived a great hill, seemingly of glass, advancing against us in the open sea; the rays of the sun were reflected upon it with such splendour, that it was extremely difficult to gaze at the phenomenon. I immediately knew it to be an island of ice, and though in so very warm a latitude17, determined18 to make all possible sail from such horrible danger. We did so, but all in vain, for about eleven o'clock at night, blowing a very hard gale19, and exceedingly dark, we struck upon the island. Nothing could equal the distraction20, the shrieks21, and despair of the whole crew, until I, knowing there was not a moment to be lost, cheered up their spirits, and bade them not despond, but do as I should request them. In a few minutes the vessel5 was half full of water, and the enormous castle of ice that seemed to hem14 us in on every side, in some places falling in hideous22 fragments upon the deck, killed one half of the crew; upon which, getting upon the summit of the mast, I contrived23 to make it fast to a great promontory24 of the ice, and calling to the remainder of the crew to follow me, we all escaped from the wreck, and got upon the summit of the island.
The rising sun soon gave us a dreadful prospect25 of our situation, and the loss, or rather iceification, of the vessel; for being closed in on every side with castles of ice during the night, she was absolutely frozen over and buried in such a manner that we could behold26 her under our feet, even in the central solidity of the island. Having debated what was best to be done, we immediately cut down through the ice, and got up some of the cables of the vessel, and the boats, which, making fast to the island, we towed it with all our might, determined to bring home island and all, or perish in the attempt. On the summit of the island we placed what oakum and dregs of every kind of matter we could get from the vessel, which, in the space of a very few hours, on account of the liquefying of the ice, and the warmth of the sun, were transformed into a very fine manure27; and as I had some seeds of exotic vegetables in my pocket, we shortly had a sufficiency of fruits and roots growing upon the island to supply the whole crew, especially the bread-fruit tree, a few plants of which had been in the vessel; and another tree, which bore plum-puddings so very hot, and with such exquisite28 proportion of sugar, fruit, &c., that we all acknowledged it was not possible to taste anything of the kind more delicious in England: in short, though the scurvy29 had made such dreadful progress among the crew before our striking upon the ice, the supply of vegetables, and especially the bread-fruit and pudding-fruit, put an almost immediate16 stop to the distemper.
We had not proceeded thus many weeks, advancing with incredible fatigue30 by continual towing, when we fell in with a fleet of Negro-men, as they call them. These wretches31, I must inform you, my dear friends, had found means to make prizes of those vessels from some Europeans upon the coast of Guinea, and tasting the sweets of luxury, had formed colonies in several new discovered islands near the South Pole, where they had a variety of plantations of such matters as would only grow in the coldest climates. As the black inhabitants of Guinea were unsuited to the climate and excessive cold of the country, they formed the diabolical32 project of getting Christian33 slaves to work for them. For this purpose they sent vessels every year to the coast of Scotland, the northern parts of Ireland, and Wales, and were even sometimes seen off the coast of Cornwall. And having purchased, or entrapped34 by fraud or violence, a great number of men, women, and children, they proceeded with their cargoes35 of human flesh to the other end of the world, and sold them to their planters, where they were flogged into obedience36, and made to work like horses all the rest of their lives.
My blood ran cold at the idea, while every one on the island also expressed his horror that such an iniquitous37 traffic should be suffered to exist. But, except by open violence, it was found impossible to destroy the trade, on account of a barbarous prejudice, entertained of late by the negroes, that the white people have no souls! However, we were determined to attack them, and steering38 down our island upon them, soon overwhelmed them: we saved as many of the white people as possible, but pushed all the blacks into the water again. The poor creatures we saved from slavery were so overjoyed, that they wept aloud through gratitude39, and we experienced every delightful40 sensation to think what happiness we should shower upon their parents, their brothers and sisters and children, by bringing them home safe, redeemed41 from slavery, to the bosom42 of their native country.
Having happily arrived in England, I immediately laid a statement of my voyage, &c., before the Privy Council, and entreated43 an immediate assistance to travel into Africa, and, if possible, refit my former machine, and take it along with the rest. Everything was instantly granted to my satisfaction, and I received orders to get myself ready for departure as soon as possible.
As the Emperor of China had sent a most curious animal as a present to Europe, which was kept in the Tower, and it being of an enormous stature44, and capable of performing the voyage with éclat, she was ordered to attend me. She was called Sphinx, and was one of the most tremendous though magnificent figures I ever beheld45. She was harnessed with superb trappings to a large flat-bottomed boat, in which was placed an edifice46 of wood, exactly resembling Westminster Hall. Two balloons were placed over it, tackled by a number of ropes to the boat, to keep up a proper equilibrium47, and prevent it from overturning, or filling, from the prodigious48 weight of the fabric49.
The interior of the edifice was decorated with seats, in the form of an amphitheatre, and crammed50 as full as it could hold with ladies and lords, as a council and retinue51 for your humble52 servant. Nearly in the centre was a seat elegantly decorated for myself, and on either side of me were placed the famous Gog and Magog in all their pomp.
The Lord Viscount Gosamer being our postillion, we floated gallantly53 down the river, the noble Sphinx gambolling54 like the huge leviathan, and towing after her the boat and balloons.
Thus we advanced, sailing gently, into the open sea; being calm weather, we could scarcely feel the motion of the vehicle, and passed our time in grand debate upon the glorious intention of our voyage, and the discoveries that would result.
"I am of opinion," said my noble friend, Hilaro Frosticos, "that Africa was originally inhabited for the greater part, or, I may say, subjugated55 by lions which, next to man, seem to be the most dreaded56 of all mortal tyrants57. The country in general—at least, what we have been hitherto able to discover, seems rather inimical to human life; the intolerable dryness of the place, the burning sands that overwhelm whole armies and cities in general ruin, and the hideous life many roving hordes58 are compelled to lead, incline me to think, that if ever we form any great settlements therein, it will become the grave of our countrymen. Yet it is nearer to us than the East Indies, and I cannot but imagine, that in many places every production of China, and of the East and West Indies, would flourish, if properly attended to. And as the country is so prodigiously59 extensive and unknown, what a source of discovery must not it contain! In fact, we know less about the interior of Africa than we do of the moon; for in this latter we measure the very prominences60, and observe the varieties and inequalities of the surface through our glasses—
"But we see nothing in the interior of Africa, but what some compilers of maps or geographers63 are fanciful enough to imagine. What a happy event, therefore, should we not expect from a voyage of discovery and colonisation undertaken in so magnificent a style as the present! what a pride—what an acquisition to philosophy!"
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1 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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2 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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3 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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4 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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5 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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6 retaliation | |
n.报复,反击 | |
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7 plantations | |
n.种植园,大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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8 privy | |
adj.私用的;隐密的 | |
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9 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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10 miscarriage | |
n.失败,未达到预期的结果;流产 | |
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11 apparatus | |
n.装置,器械;器具,设备 | |
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12 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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13 refreshment | |
n.恢复,精神爽快,提神之事物;(复数)refreshments:点心,茶点 | |
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14 hem | |
n.贴边,镶边;vt.缝贴边;(in)包围,限制 | |
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15 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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16 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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17 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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18 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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19 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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20 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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21 shrieks | |
n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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22 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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23 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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24 promontory | |
n.海角;岬 | |
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25 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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26 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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27 manure | |
n.粪,肥,肥粒;vt.施肥 | |
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28 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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29 scurvy | |
adj.下流的,卑鄙的,无礼的;n.坏血病 | |
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30 fatigue | |
n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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31 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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32 diabolical | |
adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的 | |
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33 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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34 entrapped | |
v.使陷入圈套,使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35 cargoes | |
n.(船或飞机装载的)货物( cargo的名词复数 );大量,重负 | |
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36 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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37 iniquitous | |
adj.不公正的;邪恶的;高得出奇的 | |
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38 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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39 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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40 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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41 redeemed | |
adj. 可赎回的,可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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42 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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43 entreated | |
恳求,乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 stature | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
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45 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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46 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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47 equilibrium | |
n.平衡,均衡,相称,均势,平静 | |
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48 prodigious | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
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49 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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50 crammed | |
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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51 retinue | |
n.侍从;随员 | |
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52 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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53 gallantly | |
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地 | |
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54 gambolling | |
v.蹦跳,跳跃,嬉戏( gambol的现在分词 ) | |
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55 subjugated | |
v.征服,降伏( subjugate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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57 tyrants | |
专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 ); 暴君似的人; (古希腊的)僭主; 严酷的事物 | |
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58 hordes | |
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落 | |
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59 prodigiously | |
adv.异常地,惊人地,巨大地 | |
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60 prominences | |
n.织物中凸起的部分;声望( prominence的名词复数 );突出;重要;要事 | |
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61 spotted | |
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的 | |
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62 orb | |
n.太阳;星球;v.弄圆;成球形 | |
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63 geographers | |
地理学家( geographer的名词复数 ) | |
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