评论
打印
He called it the Sleet's crow's-nest, in honor of himself; he being the original inventor and patentee, and free from all ridiculous false delicacy, and holding that if we call our own children after our own names (we fathers being the original inventors and patentees),
他为了纪念自己的发明,管它叫斯立特守望处;因为他是原始的发明者和专利者,因此,他毫不荒谬可笑地宣称,如果我们可以把我们自己的儿女都姓我们自己的名姓(我们做父亲的本来就是原始前发明者和专利者),
so likewise should we denominate after ourselves any other apparatus we may beget.
那么同样地,我们也可以拿我们的名姓来命名我们所发明的其它任何东西。
In shape, the Sleet's crow's-nest is something like a large tierce or pipe; it is open above, however, where it is furnished with a movable sidescreen to keep to windward of your head in a hard gale.
在形式上,斯立特守望处倒有点象大酒桶或者大管子;不过,它是朝上开的,那里还装有一只活动的侧屏,使得在猛烈的飓风里,脑袋仍然可以顶着风。
Being fixed on the summit of the mast, you ascend into it through a little trap-hatch in the bottom.
因为守望处是装在桅顶上,你得从底里的一个小小的活动升降口爬进去。
On the after side, or side next the stern of the ship, is a comfortable seat, with a locker underneath for umbrellas, comforters, and coats.
在后边,也就是在靠近船尾的一边,有个舒服的座位,座位下面还有个可以置放雨伞。棉被和衣服的小橱。
In front is a leather rack, in which to keep your speaking trumpet, pipe, telescope, and other nautical conveniences.
座位前面有只皮架子,可以把你的话筒,烟斗,望远镜,以及水手的其它一些小玩意都放在那上头。
When Captain Sleet in person stood his mast-head in this crow's-nest of his, he tells us that he always had a rifle with him (also fixed in the rack), together with a powder flask and shot,
当斯立特船长本人坐在他那守望处的桅顶上的时候,据他说,他始终随身带有一支来福枪(也是固定放在皮架子上的),还有一只火药筒和子弹,
for the purpose of popping off the stray narwhales, or vagrant sea unicorns infesting those waters; for you cannot successfully shoot at them from the deck owing to the resistance of the water, but to shoot down upon them is a very different thing.
以备碰到一些离了群的独角鲸,或者是在那一带海里出没无定的独角兽时,可以一下子把它们打死;因为这些东西在甲板上打,由于水面的阻力,往往无法打得准,而居高临下的发射,却完全是另一回事。
Now, it was plainly a labor of love for Captain Sleet to describe, as he does, all the little detailed conveniences of his crow's-nest;
这里,象斯立特船长这样把他那个守望处的细枝末节都描摹出来,显然是他认为这是他喜爱的工作;
but though he so enlarges upon many of these, and though he treats us to a very scientific account of his experiments in this crow's-nest, with a small compass he kept there for the purpose of counteracting the errors resulting from what is called the local attraction of all binnacle magnets;
不过,虽然他把这许多东西都描述无遗,虽然他还把他在守望处里所作的非常科学的实验情形都详告我们,说他在守望处还装有一只小小的罗盘,以便解决一切由于罗盘的磁石所谓局部引力而引起的误差;
an error ascribable to the horizontal vicinity of the iron in the ship's planks, and in the Glacier's case, perhaps, to there having been so many broken-down blacksmiths among her crew;
而这种误差,却应该说是由于船板附近装有铁器的缘故,但就格拉西尔号的情形看来,也许是在船上的水手中有太多累坏了的铁匠的缘故;
I say, that though the Captain is very discreet and scientific here, yet, for all his learned binnacle deviations, azimuth compass observations, and approximate errors, he knows very well, Captain Sleet,
所以我认为,虽然这位船长在这方面考虑十分周详和富有科学头脑,然而,
that he was not so much immersed in those profound magnetic meditations, as to fail being attracted occasionally towards that well replenished little case-bottle, so nicely tucked in on one side of his crow's nest, within easy reach of his hand.
尽管他对于那些罗盘的偏差,船用罗盘的观测法和近似的误差都很有研究,但对于磁性,却又好象不很贯注全神加以深思熟虑似的,以致时不常地没有注意到那只很巧致地装在守望处的一边,伸手就拿得到的装足了东西的小套瓶。
