第 13 节
作者:敏儿不觉      更新:2021-02-19 21:45      字数:9322
  Dungeness; with much more pleasure than progress; for the weather
  was almost a perfect calm; and the moon; which was almost at the
  full; scarce suffered a single cloud to veil her from our sight。
  Tuesday; Wednesday; July 9; 10。These two days we had much the
  same fine weather; and made much the same way; but in the evening
  of the latter day a pretty fresh gale sprung up at N。N。W。; which
  brought us by the morning in sight of the Isle of Wight。
  Thursday; July 11。This gale continued till towards noon; when
  the east end of the island bore but little ahead of us。  The
  captain swaggered and declared he would keep the sea; but the
  wind got the better of him; so that about three he gave up the
  victory; and making a sudden tack stood in for the shore; passed
  by Spithead and Portsmouth; and came to an anchor at a place
  called Ryde on the island。
  A most tragical incident fell out this day at sea。  While the
  ship was under sail; but making as will appear no great way; a
  kitten; one of four of the feline inhabitants of the cabin; fell
  from the window into the water:  an alarm was immediately given
  to the captain; who was then upon deck; and received it with the
  utmost concern and many bitter oaths。  He immediately gave orders
  to the steersman in favor of the poor thing; as he called it; the
  sails were instantly slackened; and all hands; as the phrase is;
  employed to recover the poor animal。  I was; I own; extremely
  surprised at all this; less indeed at the captain's extreme
  tenderness than at his conceiving any possibility of success; for
  if puss had had nine thousand instead of nine lives; I concluded
  they had been all lost。  The boatswain; however; had more
  sanguine hopes; for; having stripped himself of his jacket;
  breeches; and shirt; he leaped boldly into the water; and to my
  great astonishment in a few minutes returned to the ship; bearing
  the motionless animal in his mouth。  Nor was this; I observed; a
  matter of such great difficulty as it appeared to my ignorance;
  and possibly may seem to that of my fresh…water reader。  The
  kitten was now exposed to air and sun on the deck; where its
  life; of which it retained no symptoms; was despaired of by all。
  The captain's humanity; if I may so call it; did not so totally
  destroy his philosophy as to make him yield himself up to
  affliction on this melancholy occasion。  Having felt his loss
  like a man; he resolved to show he could bear it like one; and;
  having declared he had rather have lost a cask of rum or brandy;
  betook himself to threshing at backgammon with the Portuguese
  friar; in which innocent amusement they had passed about
  two…thirds of their time。
  But as I have; perhaps; a little too wantonly endeavored to raise
  the tender passions of my readers in this narrative; I should
  think myself unpardonable if I concluded it without giving them
  the satisfaction of hearing that the kitten at last recovered; to
  the great joy of the good captain; but to the great
  disappointment of some of the sailors; who asserted that the
  drowning a cat was the very surest way of raising a favorable
  wind; a supposition of which; though we have heard several
  plausible accounts; we will not presume to assign the true
  original reason。
  Friday; July 12。This day our ladies went ashore at Ryde; and
  drank their afternoon tea at an ale…house there with great
  satisfaction:  here they were regaled with fresh cream; to which
  they had been strangers since they left the Downs。
  Saturday; July 13。The wind seeming likely to continue in the
  same corner where it had been almost constantly for two months
  together; I was persuaded by my wife to go ashore and stay at
  Ryde till we sailed。  I approved the motion much; for though I am
  a great lover of the sea; I now fancied there was more pleasure
  in breathing the fresh air of the land; but how to get thither
  was the question; for; being really that dead luggage which I
  considered all passengers to be in the beginning of this
  narrative; and incapable of any bodily motion without external
  impulse; it was in vain to leave the ship; or to determine to do
  it; without the assistance of others。  In one instance; perhaps;
  the living; luggage is more difficult to be moved or removed than
  an equal or much superior weight of dead matter; which; if of the
  brittle kind; may indeed be liable to be broken through
  negligence; but this; by proper care; may be almost certainly
  prevented; whereas the fractures to which the living lumps are
  exposed are sometimes by no caution avoidable; and often by no
  art to be amended。
  I was deliberating on the means of conveyance; not so much out of
  the ship to the boat as out of a little tottering boat to the
  land; a matter which; as I had already experienced in the Thames;
  was not extremely easy; when to be performed by any other limbs
  than your own。  Whilst I weighed all that could suggest itself on
  this head; without strictly examining the merit of the several
  schemes which were advanced by the captain and sailors; and;
  indeed; giving no very deep attention even to my wife; who; as
  well as her friend and my daughter; were exerting their tender
  concern for my ease and safety; Fortune; for I am convinced she
  had a hand in it; sent me a present of a buck; a present welcome
  enough of itself; but more welcome on account of the vessel in
  which it came; being a large hoy; which in some places would pass
  for a ship; and many people would go some miles to see the sight。
  I was pretty easily conveyed on board this hoy; but to get from
  hence to the shore was not so easy a task; for; however strange
  it may appear; the water itself did not extend so far; an
  instance which seems to explain those lines of Ovid;
  Omnia pontus erant; deerant quoque littora ponto;
  in a less tautological sense than hath generally been imputed to them。
  In fact; between the sea and the shore there was; at low water;
  an impassable gulf; if I may so call it; of deep mud; which could
  neither be traversed by walking nor swimming; so that for near
  one half of the twenty…four hours Ryde was inaccessible by friend
  or foe。  But as the magistrates of this place seemed more to
  desire the company of the former than to fear that of the latter;
  they had begun to make a small causeway to the low…water mark; so
  that foot passengers might land whenever they pleased; but as
  this work was of a public kind; and would have cost a large sum
  of money; at least ten pounds; and the magistrates; that is to
  say; the churchwardens; the overseers; constable; and tithingman;
  and the principal inhabitants; had every one of them some
  separate scheme of private interest to advance at the expense of
  the public; they fell out among themselves; and; after having
  thrown away one half of the requisite sum; resolved at least to
  save the other half; and rather be contented to sit down losers
  themselves than to enjoy any benefit which might bring in a
  greater profit to another。  Thus that unanimity which is so
  necessary in all public affairs became wanting; and every man;
  from the fear of being a bubble to another; was; in reality; a
  bubble to himself。
  However; as there is scarce any difficulty to which the strength
  of men; assisted with the cunning of art; is not equal; I was at
  last hoisted into a small boat; and being rowed pretty near the
  shore; was taken up by two sailors; who waded with me through the
  mud; and placed me in a chair on the land; whence they afterwards
  conveyed me a quarter of a mile farther; and brought me to a
  house which seemed to bid the fairest for hospitality of any in
  Ryde。
  We brought with us our provisions from the ship; so that we
  wanted nothing but a fire to dress our dinner; and a room in
  which we might eat it。  In neither of these had we any reason to
  apprehend a disappointment; our dinner consisting only of beans
  and bacon; and the worst apartment in his majesty's dominions;
  either at home or abroad; being fully sufficient to answer our
  present ideas of delicacy。
  Unluckily; however; we were disappointed in both; for when we
  arrived about four at our inn; exulting in the hopes of
  immediately seeing our beans smoking on the table; we had the
  mortification of seeing them on the table indeed; but without
  that circumstance which would have made the sight agreeable;
  being in the same state in which we had dispatched them from our
  ship。  In excuse for this delay; though we had exceeded; almost
  purposely; the time appointed; and our provision had arrived
  three hours before; the mistress of the house acquainted us that
  it was not for want of time to dress them that they were not
  ready; but for fear of their being cold or over…done before we
  should come; which she assured us was much worse than waiting a
  few minutes for our dinner; an observation so very just; that it
  is impossible to find any objection in it; but; indeed; it was
  not altogether