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第2节

masterman ready-第2节

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〃I thump my head very hard;〃 said Juno; smiling。

〃Yes; and it's lucky that you have a good thick woolly coat over it;〃 replied Captain Osborn; laughing。

〃It is 12 o'clock by the sun; sir;〃 said Mackintosh; the first mate; to the captain。

〃Then bring me up the latitude; Mr。 Mackintosh; while I work out the longitude from the sights which I took this morning。 In five minutes; Mr。 Seagrave; I shall be ready to prick off over our place on the chart。〃

〃Here are the dogs come up on deck;〃 said William; 〃I dare say they are as glad of the fine weather as we are。 Come here; Romulus! Here; Remus! … Remus!〃

〃Well; sir;〃 said Ready; who was standing by them with his quadrant in his hand; 〃I should like to ask you a question。 Those dogs of yours have two very odd names which I never heard before。 Who were Romulus and Remus?〃

〃Romulus and Remus;〃 replied Mr。 Seagrave; 〃were the names of two shepherds; brothers; who in ancient days founded the city of Rome; which eventually became the largest and most celebrated empire in the world。 They were the first kings of Rome; and reigned together。 History says that Remus affronted Romulus by leaping over a wall he had raised; and Romulus; in his anger; took away his life; but the history of early days is not to be depended upon。〃

〃No; nor the brothers either; it appears;〃 replied Ready; 〃however; it is the old story … two of a trade can never agree。 One sometimes hears of Rome now … is that the same place?〃

〃Yes;〃 replied William; 〃it is the remains of the old city。〃

〃Well; one lives and learns;〃 said Ready。 〃I have learnt something to…day; which everyone will to the last day of his life; if he will only ask questions。 I'm an old man; and perhaps don't know much; except in the seafaring way; but I should have known much less if I did not ask for information; and was not ashamed to acknowledge my ignorance; that's the way to learn; Master William。〃

〃Very good advice; Ready; … and; William; I hope you will profit by it;〃 said Mr。 Seagrave; 〃never be ashamed to ask the meaning of what you do not understand。〃

〃I always do; papa。 Do I not ask you questions; Ready?〃

〃Yes; you do; and very clever questions for a boy of your age; and I only wish that I could answer them better than I can sometimes。〃

〃I should like to go down now; my dear;〃 said Mrs。 Seagrave; 〃perhaps Ready will see the baby down safe。〃

〃That I will; ma'am;〃 said Ready; putting his quadrant on the capstan: 〃now; Juno; give me the child; and go down first; … backwards; you stupid girl! how often do I tell you that? Some day or another you will come down with a run。〃

〃And break my head;〃 said Juno。

〃Yes; or break your arm; and then who is to hold the child?〃

As soon as they were all down in the cabin; the captain and Mr。 Seagrave marked the position of the vessel on the chart; and found that they were one hundred and thirty miles from the Cape of Good Hope。

〃If the wind holds; we shall be in to…morrow;〃 said Mr。 Seagrave to his wife。 〃Juno; perhaps you may see your father and mother。〃

Poor Juno shook her head; and a tear or two stole down her dark cheek。 With a mournful face she told them; that her father and mother belonged to a Dutch boor; who had gone with them many miles into the interior: she had been parted from them when quite a little child; and had been left at Cape Town。



Chapter III

The next morning the Pacific arrived at the Cape and anchored in Table Bay。

〃Why do they call this Table Bay; Ready?〃 said William。

〃I suppose it's because they call that great mountain the Table Mountain; Master William; you see how flat the mountain is on the top。〃

〃Yes; it is quite as flat as a table。〃

〃Yes; and sometimes you will see the white clouds rolling down over the top of it in a very curious manner; and that the sailors call spreading the tablecloth: it is a sign of bad weather。〃

〃Then I hope they will not spread the tablecloth while we are here; Ready;〃 said William; 〃for I shall certainly have no appetite。 We have had bad weather enough already; and mamma suffers so much from it。 What a pretty place it is!〃

〃We shall remain here two days; sir;〃 said Captain Osborn to Mr。 Seagrave; 〃if you and Mrs。 Seagrave would like to go on shore。〃

〃I will go down and ask Mrs。 Seagrave;〃 said her husband; who went down the ladder; followed by William。

Upon the question being put to Mrs。 Seagrave; she replied that she was quite satisfied with the ship having no motion; and did not feel herself equal to going on shore; it was therefore decided that she should remain on board with the two younger children; and that; on the following day; Mr。 Seagrave should take William and Tommy to see Cape Town; and return on board before night。

The next morning; Captain Osborn lowered down one of the large boats; and Mr。 Seagrave; accompanied by Captain Osborn; went on shore with William and Tommy。 Tommy had promised his mamma to be very good; but that he always did; and almost always forgot his promise directly he was out of sight。 As soon as they landed; they went up to a gentleman's house; with whom Captain Osborn was acquainted。 They stayed for a few minutes to drink a glass of lemonade; for it was very warm; and then it was proposed that they should go to the Company's Gardens and see the wild beasts which were confined there; at which William was much delighted; and Tommy clapped his hands with joy。

〃What are the Company's Gardens; papa?〃 inquired William。

〃They were made by the Dutch East India Company; at the time that the Cape of Good Hope was in their possession。 They are; properly speaking; Botanical Gardens; but; at the same time; the wild animals are kept there。 Formerly there were a great many; but they have not been paid attention to lately; for we have plenty of these animals in England now。〃

〃What shall we see?〃 said Tommy。

〃You will see lions; Tommy; a great many in a large den together;〃 said Captain Osborn。

〃Oh! I want to see a lion。〃

〃You must not go too near them; recollect。〃

〃No; I won't;〃 said Tommy。

As soon as they entered the gates; Tommy escaped from Captain Osborn; and ran away in his hurry to see the lions; but Captain Osborn caught him again; and held him fast by the hand。

〃Here is a pair of very strange birds;〃 said the gentleman who accompanied them; 〃they are called Secretaries; on account of the feathers which hang behind their heads; as the feather of a pen does when a clerk puts it behind his ear: but they are very useful; for they are snake…killers; indeed; they would; if they could; live altogether upon snakes; which they are very great enemies to; never letting one escape。 They strike them with their feet; and with such force as to kill them immediately。〃

〃Are there many snakes in this country?〃 inquired William。

〃Yes; and very venomous snakes;〃 replied Mr。 Seagrave; 〃so that these birds are very useful in destroying them。 You observe; William; that the Almighty; in his wisdom; has so arranged it that no animal (especially of a noxious kind) shall be multiplied to excess; but kept under by being preyed upon by some other; indeed; wherever in any country an animal exists in any quantity; there is generally found another animal which destroys it。 The Secretary inhabits this country where snakes exist in numbers; that it may destroy them: in England the bird would be of little value。〃

〃But some animals are too large or too fierce to be destroyed by others; papa; for instance; the elephant and the lion。〃

〃Very true; but these larger animals do not breed so fast; and therefore their numbers do not increase so rapidly。 For instance; a pair of elephants will not have more than one young one in the space of two years or more; while the rabbits; which are preyed upon and the food of so many other beasts as well as birds; would increase enormously; if they were not destroyed。 Examine through the whole of creation; and you will find that there is an unerring hand; which invariably preserves the balance exact; and that there are no more mouths than for which food is provided; although accidental circumstances may for a time occasion a slight alteration。〃

They continued their walk until they came to the den of the lions。 It was a large place; in closed with a strong and high wall of stone; with only one window to it for the visitors to look at them; as it was open above。 This window was wide; and with strong iron bars running from the top to the bottom; but the width between the bars was such that a lion could put his paw out with ease; and they were therefore cautioned not to go too near。 It was a fine sight to see eight or ten of these noble…looking animals lying down in various attitudes; quite indifferent apparently to the people outsidebasking in the sun; and slowly moving their tufted tails to and fro。 William examined them at a respectful distance from the bars; and so did Tommy; who had his mouth open with astonishment; in which there was at first not a little fear mixed; but he soon got bolder。 The gentleman who had accompanied them; and who had been long at the Cape; was relating to Mr。 Seagrave and Captain Osborn some very curious anecdotes about the lion。 William and they were so interested; that they did not p

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