Mrs. Heartfree Relates Her Adventures.
Mrs. Heartfree proceeded thus: “The vengeance1 which the French captain exacted on that villain2 (our hero) persuaded me that I was fallen into the hands of a man of honour and justice; nor indeed was it possible for any person to be treated with more respect and civility than I now was; but if this could not mitigate3 my sorrows when I reflected on the condition in which I had been betrayed to leave all that was dear to me, much less could it produce such an effect when I discovered, as I soon did, that I owed it chiefly to a passion which threatened me with great uneasiness, as it quickly appeared to be very violent, and as I was absolutely in the power of the person who possessed4 it, or was rather possessed by it. I must however do him the justice to say my fears carried my suspicions farther than I afterwards found I had any reason to carry them: he did indeed very soon acquaint me with his passion, and used all those gentle methods which frequently succeed with our sex to prevail with me to gratify it; but never once threatened, nor had the least recourse to force. He did not even once insinuate5 to me that I was totally in his power, which I myself sufficiently6 saw, and whence I drew the most dreadful apprehensions7, well knowing that, as there are some dispositions8 so brutal9 that cruelty adds a zest10 and savour to their pleasures, so there are others whose gentler inclinations11 are better gratified when they win us by softer methods to comply with their desires; yet that even these may be often compelled by an unruly passion to have recourse at last to the means of violence, when they despair of success from persuasion12; but I was happily the captive of a better man. My conqueror13 was one of those over whom vice14 hath a limited jurisdiction15; and, though he was too easily prevailed on to sin, he was proof against any temptation to villany.
“We had been two days almost totally becalmed, when, a brisk gale16 rising as we were in sight in Dunkirk, we saw a vessel17 making full sail towards us. The captain of the privateer was so strong that he apprehended18 no danger but from a man-of-war, which the sailors discerned this not to be. He therefore struck his colours, and furled his sails as much as possible, in order to lie by and expect her, hoping she might be a prize.” (Here Heartfree smiling, his wife stopped and inquired the cause. He told her it was from her using the sea-terms so aptly: she laughed, and answered he would wonder less at this when he heard the long time she had been on board; and then proceeded.) “This vessel now came alongside of us, and hailed us, having perceived that on which we were aboard to be of her own country; they begged us not to put into Dunkirk, but to accompany them in their pursuit of a large English merchantman, whom we should easily overtake, and both together as easily conquer. Our captain immediately consented to this proposition, and ordered all his sail to be crowded. This was most unwelcome news to me; however, he comforted me all he could by assuring me I had nothing to fear, that he would be so far from offering the least rudeness to me himself, that he would, at the hazard of his life, protect me from it. This assurance gave me all the consolation19 which my present circumstances and the dreadful apprehensions I had on your dear account would admit.” (At which words the tenderest glances passed on both sides between the husband and wife.)
“We sailed near twelve hours, when we came in sight of the ship we were in pursuit of, and which we should probably have soon come up with had not a very thick mist ravished her from our eyes. This mist continued several hours, and when it cleared up we discovered our companion at a great distance from us; but what gave us (I mean the captain and his crew) the greatest uneasiness was the sight of a very large ship within a mile of us, which presently saluted20 us with a gun, and now appeared to be a third-rate English man-of-war. Our captain declared the impossibility of either fighting or escaping, and accordingly struck without waiting for the broadside which was preparing for us, and which perhaps would have prevented me from the happiness I now enjoy.” This occasioned Heartfree to change colour; his wife therefore passed hastily to circumstances of a more smiling complexion21.
“I greatly rejoiced at this event, as I thought it would not only restore me to the safe possession of my jewels, but to what I value beyond all the treasure in the universe. My expectation, however, of both these was somewhat crost for the present: as to the former, I was told they should be carefully preserved; but that I must prove my right to them before I could expect their restoration, which, if I mistake not, the captain did not very eagerly desire I should be able to accomplish: and as to the latter, I was acquainted that I should be put on board the first ship which they met on her way to England, but that they were proceeding22 to the West Indies.
“I had not been long on board the man-of-war before I discovered just reason rather to lament23 than rejoice at the exchange of my captivity24; for such I concluded my present situation to be. I had now another lover in the captain of this Englishman, and much rougher and less gallant25 than the Frenchman had been. He used me with scarce common civility, as indeed he shewed very little to any other person, treating his officers little better than a man of no great good-breeding would exert to his meanest servant, and that too on some very irritating provocation26. As for me, he addressed me with the insolence27 of a basha to a Circassian slave; he talked to me with the loose licence in which the most profligate28 libertines29 converse30 with harlots, and which women abandoned only in a moderate degree detest31 and abhor32. He often kissed me with very rude familiarity, and one day attempted further brutality33; when a gentleman on board, and who was in my situation, that is, had been taken by a privateer and was retaken, rescued me from his hands, for which the captain confined him, though he was not under his command, two days in irons: when he was released (for I was not suffered to visit him in his confinement) I went to him and thanked him with the utmost acknowledgment for what he had done and suffered on my account. The gentleman behaved to me in the handsomest manner on this occasion; told me he was ashamed of the high sense I seemed to entertain of so small an obligation of an action to which his duty as a Christian34 and his honour as a man obliged him. From this time I lived in great familiarity with this man, whom I regarded as my protector, which he professed35 himself ready to be on all occasions, expressing the utmost abhorrence36 of the captain’s brutality, especially that shewn towards me, and the tenderness of a parent for the preservation37 of my virtue38, for which I was not myself more solicitous39 than he appeared. He was, indeed, the only man I had hitherto met since my unhappy departure who did not endeavour by all his looks, words, and actions, to assure me he had a liking40 to my unfortunate person; the rest seeming desirous of sacrificing the little beauty they complimented to their desires, without the least consideration of the ruin which I earnestly represented to them they were attempting to bring on me and on my future repose41.
“I now passed several days pretty free from the captain’s molestation42, till one fatal night.” Here, perceiving Heartfree grew pale, she comforted him by an assurance that Heaven had preserved her chastity, and again had restored her unsullied to his arms. She continued thus: “Perhaps I give it a wrong epithet43 in the word fatal; but a wretched night I am sure I may call it, for no woman who came off victorious44 was, I believe, ever in greater danger. One night I say, having drank his spirits high with punch, in company with the purser, who was the only man in the ship he admitted to his table, the captain sent for me into his cabin; whither, though unwilling45, I was obliged to go. We were no sooner alone together than he seized me by the hand, and, after affronting46 my ears with discourse47 which I am unable to repeat, he swore a great oath that his passion was to be dallied48 with no longer; that I must not expect to treat him in the manner to which a set of blockhead land-men submitted. ‘None of your coquette airs, therefore, with me, madam,’ said he, ‘for I am resolved to have you this night. No struggling nor squalling, for both will be impertinent. The first man who offers to come in here, I will have his skin flea’d off at the gangway.’ He then attempted to pull me violently towards his bed. I threw myself on my knees, and with tears and entreaties49 besought50 his compassion51; but this was, I found, to no purpose: I then had recourse to threats, and endeavoured to frighten him with the consequence; but neither had this, though it seemed to stagger him more than the other method, sufficient force to deliver me. At last a stratagem52 came into my head, of which my perceiving him reel gave me the first hint. I entreated53 a moment’s reprieve54 only, when, collecting all the spirits I could muster55, I put on a constrained56 air of gayety, and told him, with an affected57 laugh, he was the roughest lover I had ever met with, and that I believed I was the first woman he had ever paid his addresses to. Addresses, said he; d — n your dresses! I want to undress you. I then begged him to let us drink some punch together; for that I loved a can as well as himself, and never would grant the favour to any man till I had drank a hearty58 glass with him. O! said he, if that be all you shall have punch enough to drown yourself in. At which words he rung the bell, and ordered in a gallon of that liquor. I was in the meantime obliged to suffer his nauseous kisses, and some rudenesses which I had great difficulty to restrain within moderate bounds. When the punch came in he took up the bowl and drank my health ostentatiously, in such a quantity that it considerably59 advanced my scheme. I followed him with bumpers60 as fast as possible, and was myself obliged to drink so much that at another time it would have staggered my own reason, but at present it did not affect me. At length, perceiving him very far gone, I watched an opportunity, and ran out of the cabin, resolving to seek protection of the sea if I could find no other; but Heaven was now graciously pleased to relieve me; for in his attempt to pursue me he reeled backwards61, and, falling down the cabbin stairs, he dislocated his shoulder and so bruised62 himself that I was not only preserved that night from any danger of my intended ravisher, but the accident threw him into a fever which endangered his life, and whether he ever recovered or no I am not certain; for during his delirious63 fits the eldest64 lieutenant65 commanded the ship. This was a virtuous66 and a brave fellow, who had been twenty-five years in that post without being able to obtain a ship, and had seen several boys, the bastards67 of noblemen, put over his head. One day while the ship remained under his command an English vessel bound to Cork68 passed by; myself and my friend, who had formerly69 lain two days in irons on my account, went on board this ship with the leave of the good lieutenant, who made us such presents as he was able of provisions, and, congratulating me on my delivery from a danger to which none of the ship’s crew had been strangers, he kindly70 wished us both a safe voyage.”
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1
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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insinuate
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| vt.含沙射影地说，暗示 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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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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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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profligate
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| adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者 | |
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libertines
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| n.放荡不羁的人，淫荡的人( libertine的名词复数 ) | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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42
molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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43
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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affronting
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| v.勇敢地面对( affront的现在分词 )；相遇 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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dallied
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| v.随随便便地对待( dally的过去式和过去分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reprieve
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| n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解 | |
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muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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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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bumpers
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| （汽车上的）保险杠，缓冲器( bumper的名词复数 ) | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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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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