[10] Commence the period with ‘Young men’.
[11] +Gefühlsfrische+, f.
_Section 231._
AN ORATION ON THE POWER OF HABIT.
III.
If you say: “Should I find the practice by experience to be injurious, I
will give it up,” surely that is not common sense[1]. You might as well
say: “I will put my hand into the nest of the rattlesnake, and when I
find out that he has stuck his fangs into me[2], I will draw it out and
get cured.”
I remember riding from[3] Buffalo to the Niagara Falls, and said to
a gentleman: “What river is that, Sir?” “That,” he said, “is Niagara
River[4].” “Well, it is a beautiful stream,” said I, “bright, and fair,
and glossy; how far off are the rapids[5]?” “Only a mile or two,” was
the reply. “Is it possible that (S. 66, N. 15) only a mile or two from
us we shall find the water in the turbulence which it must show _when_
near the falls?” “You will find it so, Sir.” And so I did find it; and
that first sight of the Niagara I shall never forget. Now, launch your
boat on that Niagara river; it is bright, smooth, beautiful, and glossy.
There is a ripple at the bow[6], and the silvery wake[7] you leave behind
adds to your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide; oars, sails, and helm
are in proper trim, and you set out[8] on your pleasure excursion[9].
Suddenly some one cries out from the bank: “Young men, ahoy[10]!” “What
is it[11]!”—“The rapids are below you[12]!”—“Ha, ha! we have heard of the
rapids, but we are not so foolish as to get there[13]. If we go [= If
it goes] too fast, then up with the helm[14], then set the mast in the
socket[15], hoist the sail, and speed to land[16]. Then on[17], boys;
don’t be alarmed—there’s no danger!”
[1] = reasonable.
[2] stuck — me = bitten me.
[3] riding from = that I during a journey from; change ‘and said to’ into
‘asked’.
[4] Use the def. art.
[5] +die Stromschnellen.+
[6] +Das Wasser kräuselt sich am Bug des Bootes.+
[7] +Kielwasser+, n.
[8] ‘to set out on’, here +an´treten+, v. tr.
[9] +Vergnügungstour.+
[10] +Ohoi!+ of which pronounce every vowel separately and slowly in the
German way.
[11] +Was giebts.+
[12] are below you, +sind dort unten nicht weit von euch!+
[13] as — there, +so weit zu fahren+.
[14] +dann schnell das Steuerruder hinein.+
[15] +dann richten wir den Mast auf.+
[16] +und eilen ans Land!+
[17] +Daher nur immer vorwärts.+
_Section 232._
AN ORATION ON THE POWER OF HABIT.
IV.
“Young men, ahoy, _there_!”—“What is it?”—“The rapids are below
you!”—“Ha, ha! we will laugh and quaff; all things delight us. What
care we for the future? No man ever saw it. ‘Sufficient for the day is
the evil thereof[1].’ We will enjoy life while we may[2]; we will catch
pleasure as it flies. This is enjoyment; time enough[3] to steer out
of danger when we are driving swiftly with the current.”—“Young men,
ahoy!”—“What is it?”—“Beware! Beware! The rapids are below you!”—Now you
see water foaming[4] all around you.—See how fast you pass that point!—Up
with the helm!—Now turn[5]!—Pull hard[6]—quick!—quick!—pull for your
lives!—pull till[7] the blood starts from the nostrils, and the veins
stand like whipcord upon the brow! Set the mast in the socket! hoist the
sail! Ah, ah!—it is too late! Shrieking, cursing, howling, blaspheming,
over you go[8]!—Thousands go over the rapids of Intemperance[9] every
year, through the power of evil habit, crying out all the while[10]:
“When I find out that it is injuring me, I will give it up!” The power
of evil habit, I repeat, is fascinating[11], is deceptive; and man
may go on arguing and coming to conclusions while on the way down to
destruction[12].—J. B. GOUGH.
[1] +Es ist genug, daß ein jeglicher Tag seine eigene Plage habe!+
[2] +so lange wir es noch können.+
[3] +es bleibt uns noch Zeit genug.+
[4] +schäumendes Wasser.+
[5] ‘to turn’, here +um´kehren+.
[6] Pull, +Rudert+; ‘hard’, here +aus Leibeskräften.+
[7] Supply the pron. +euch+ here; starts = streams; from the nostrils,
+aus der Nase+.
[8] +stürzt ihr in den Abgrund hinunter!+
[9] +Trunksucht+, f., seems to be the right expression here, although the
dictionaries translate the word by +Unmäßigkeit+, f., and +Völlerei+, f.
[10] +und rufen immer.+
[11] here +bestrickend+; is = and.
[12] and — destruction = and often we are still occupied with arguing a
matter (+eine Sache gründlich zu erörtern+) in order to come (+gelangen+)
to a definite conclusion, when we are (+sich befinden+) already on the
way to destruction (+Verderben+, n.).
_Section 233._
A CURIOUS STORY[1].
I.
We heard a curious story at Tristan[2] about two Germans who had settled
nearly two years before on Inaccessible Island[3]. Once a year, about
the month _of_ December, the Tristan men go[4] to the two outlying
islands to pick up the few seals which are still to be found there. On
two of these occasions they had seen the Germans, and within a few months
smoke had risen from the island, which they attributed[5] to their having
fired (S. 161, N. 21) some of the brushwood; but as they had seen or
heard nothing of them since, they thought the probability was that they
had perished. Captain Nares[6] wished to visit the other islands, and to
ascertain the fate of the two men was an additional object in doing so[7].
Next morning we were close under Inaccessible Island, the second in size
of the little group of three. The ship was surrounded by multitudes of
penguins[8], and as few of us had any previous personal acquaintance with
this eccentric form of life[9], we followed their movements with great
interest. The penguin as a rule swims under water, rising now and then
and resting on the surface, like one of the ordinary water-birds, but
more frequently with its body entirely covered, and only lifting its head
from time to time to breathe.
The structure of Inaccessible Island is very much the same as Tristan,
only the pre-eminent feature[10] of the latter, the snowy cone, is
wanting. A wall of volcanic rocks, about the same height as the cliff
at Tristan, and which one is inclined to believe to have been at one
time continuous with it, entirely surrounds Inaccessible Island, falling
for the most part sheer[11] into the sea, and it seems that it slopes
sufficiently to allow a tolerably easy ascent to the plateau on the top
at one point only.
[1] This story is taken from Mr. W. J. J. Spry’s most interesting account
of ‘The Cruise of the Challenger’. The Tristan d’Acunha group of islands
(+die Erfrischungsinseln+), so named from the Portuguese navigator
who discovered it early in the 16th century, lies in mid-ocean, about
1300 miles south of St. Helena and 1500 miles west of the Cape of Good
Hope, nearly on a line between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn;
it is thus probably the most isolated and remote of all the abodes of
men. The group consists of the larger Island of Tristan and two smaller
islands—Inaccessible Island, about 18 miles south-west from Tristan, and
Nightingale Island, twenty miles south of the main island. Tristan only
is permanently inhabited, the other two are visited from time to time by
sealers. In the year 1829 Tristan was inhabited by 27 families; in 1836
it possessed a population of 42; in 1852 the population had risen to 85,
and in 1867 this number was only exceeded by one.
[2] +Auf der Insel Tristan+, which place at the head of the period;
about, +über+, with Acc.
[3] The author finds that the best German maps use the English name of
‘Inaccessible Island’ unaltered. This is also the case with ‘Nightingale
Island’.
[4] +fahren+; =‘to go’, when used in the sense of ‘travelling, riding
(in a carriage), driving, sailing, etc.’, is mostly rendered by +reisen+
(generally used for greater distances) or by +fahren+. When used in the
sense of ‘riding on horseback,’ it is rendered by +reiten+.=
[5] = which they attributed to the circumstance.
[6] Captain Nares was the commander of ‘The Challenger’ at that time.
[7] and — so = and as he was anxious (+begierig+) to ascertain
(+erforschen+) the fate of the two men, the voyage [there, +dahin+] was
at once determined upon.
[8] +der Pinguin+, pl. e.
[9] with — life, +mit dieser eigentümlichen Vogelart+.
[10] = the characteristic peculiarity.
[11] = straight.
_Section 234._
A CURIOUS STORY.
II.
There is a shallow bay in which the ship anchored in fifteen fathoms on
the east side of the island; and there, as in Tristan, a narrow belt of
low ground, extending for about a mile along the shore, is interposed
between the cliff and the sea. A pretty waterfall tossed itself down,
about the middle of the bay, over the cliff from the plateau above.
A little way down it was nearly lost in spray, like the Staubbach of
Schaffhausen, and collected itself again into a rivulet[1], where it
regained the rock at the lower level. A hut built of stones and clay,
and roofed with spars and thatch, lay in a little hollow[2] near the
waterfall, and the two Germans, in excellent health and spirits, but
enraptured at the sight of the ship and longing for a passage anywhere
out of the island, were[3] down on the beach, waiting for the first
boat. Their story is a curious one[4], and as Captain Nares agreed[5]
to take them to the Cape, we had ample time to get an account of their
adventures, and to supplement from their experience such crude notions of
the nature of the place as we could gather during our short stay[6].
Frederick and Gustav Stoltenhoff are sons of a dyer in Aix-la-Chapelle
(+Aachen+). Frederick, the elder, was employed in a merchant’s office
in Aix-la-Chapelle at the time of the Franco-German war (1870). He was
called on to serve in the German army, where he attained the rank of a
lieutenant, and took part in the siege of Metz and Thionville. At the
end of the campaign he was discharged, and returned home to find his old
situation filled up.
[1] +gestaltete sich jedoch wieder zu einem kleinen Bache.+
[2] +Vertiefung+, f.
[3] = stood. Consult S. 5, N. 2.
[4] = very (+höchst+) curious.
[5] = granted them their request.
[6] Let the student endeavour to construe this passage by means of the
attributive construction, which will prove excellent practice.
_Section 235._
A CURIOUS STORY.
III.
In the meantime, his younger brother, Gustav, who was a sailor and had
already made several trips, had joined[1] on the 1st of August, 1870,
at Greenock, as an ordinary seaman, the English ship “Beacon Light,”
bound for Rangoon. On the way out[2], the cargo, which consisted of
coal, caught fire[3] when they were from[4] six to seven hundred miles
north-west of Tristan d’Acunha, and for (S. 166, N. 10) three days all
hands[5] were doing their utmost to extinguish the fire. On the third
day, the hatches, which had been battened down, to exclude the air, blew
up[6], the main hatch carrying overboard[7] the second mate who had
been standing on it at the time of the explosion. The boats had been
provisioned beforehand, ready to leave the ship. Two of the crew were
drowned through one of the boats being swamped[8], and the survivors,
to the number of sixteen, were stowed in the long-boat. Up to this time
the ship had been nearing Tristan with a fair wind at the rate of[9] six
knots an hour[10], so that they had now only about three hundred miles to
go. They abandoned the ship on Friday; on Saturday afternoon they sighted
Tristan, and on the following day a boat came off to their assistance and
towed them ashore.
The shipwrecked crew remained for eighteen days at Tristan d’Acunha,
during which time they were treated with all kindness and hospitality.
They were relieved by the ill-fated “Northfleet,” bound for Aden with
coal, and Gustav Stoltenhoff found his way back to Aix-la-Chapelle.
[1] to join a ship, +sich einem Schiffe verheuern+.
[2] = On the voyage thither (+dorthin+).
[3] to catch fire, +in Brand geraten+.
[4] = about, +ungefähr+.
[5] ‘all hands’, here = all sailors, +die ganze Mannschaft+, +alle
Matrosen+, +alle Schiffsleute+.
[6] +in die Luft sprengen+; the hatches, +die Luken+; the main hatch,
+die große Luke+.
[7] = and the main hatch carried overboard (+über Bord schleudern+).
[8] = through the sinking of one of the boats.
[9] ‘=at the rate of=’, referring to the rapidity of motion, is rendered
by ‘+=mit einer Schnelligkeit von=+’, but when referring to price, is
generally rendered by ‘+=zum Preise von=+’.
[10] =an hour=, +=in der Stunde=+, +=per Stunde=+, or +=die Stunde=+.
He receives 20 marks a week, +er erhält 20 Mark die Woche+ (or
+wöchentlich+).
_Section 236._
A CURIOUS STORY.
IV.
During his stay at Tristan he heard that a large number of seals were to
be had among the islands[1], and he seems to have been greatly pleased
with the Tristaners and to have formed a project of returning there.
When he got home, his brother had just got back from the war and was
unemployed; he infected him with his notion[2], and the two agreed[3] to
join in a venture to Tristan to see what they could (App. § 33) make[4]
by seal-hunting and barter.
They accordingly sailed for[5] St. Helena in August 1871, and on the 6th
of November left St. Helena for Tristan in an American whaler bound on
a cruise[6] in the South Atlantic. The captain of the whaler, who had
been often at Tristan d’Acunha, had some doubt of the reception which the
young men would get[7] if they went as permanent settlers[8] there, and
he spoke so strongly of the advantages of Inaccessible Island, on account
of the greater productiveness of the soil, and of its being the centre[9]
of the seal-fishing, that they changed their plans and were landed on
the west side of Inaccessible Island on the 27th of November 1871,—early
in summer. A quarter of an hour after, the whaler departed, leaving them
the only inhabitants of one of the most remote spots on the face of the
earth. They do not seem, however, to have been in the least depressed by
their isolation.
The same day the younger brother clambered up to the plateau with the
help of the tussock grass[10], in search of goats or pigs, and remained
there all night, and on the following day the two set to work to build
themselves a hut for shelter. They had reached the end of their voyage by
no means unprovided, and the inventory of their belongings[11] is curious.
[1] +in der Gegend der Inseln.+
[2] = he persuaded (+gewinnen+, str. v. tr.) his brother for his plan.
[3] +überein´kommen+; to join — to Tristan = to undertake the adventurous
voyage to Tristan.
[4] = earn.
[5] = to.
[6] The vessel is bound on a cruise in the Atlantic, +das Schiff ist dazu
bestimmt, im atlantischen Ozean umherzukreuzen+.
[7] had — get = doubted (+zweifelte daran+) that the young men would be
kindly (+freundlich+) received (+aufnehmen+). Use the active voice with
‘+man+’.
[8] He went there as a permanent settler, +er ließ sich dort dauernd
nieder+.
[9] = and of its central (+zentral+) position for seal-fishing.
[10] +das Tussockgras.+
[11] here +Habseligkeiten+, Nom. Pl.
_Section 237._
A CURIOUS STORY.
V.
They had an old whale-boat[1] which they had bought at St. Helena, with
mast, sails, and oars, three spars for a roof, a door, and a glazed
window; a wheel-barrow, two spades and a shovel, two pickaxes, a saw,
a hammer, two chisels, two or three gimlets, and some nails; a kettle,
a frying-pan, two sauce-pans, knives and forks, and some crockery; two
blankets each, and empty covers[2] which they afterwards filled with
sea-birds’ down. They had a lamp, a bottle of oil, and six dozen boxes of
Bryant and May’s matches.
For internal use[3] they had two hundred pounds _of_ flour, two hundred
pounds _of_ rice, one hundred pounds _of_ biscuits, twenty pounds _of_
coffee, ten pounds _of_ tea, thirty pounds _of_ sugar, three pounds _of_
table-salt, a little pepper, eight pounds _of_ tobacco, five bottles
_of_ gin, six bottles _of_ Cape wine[4], six bottles _of_ vinegar, and
some Epsom salts. A barrel _of_ coarse salt was provided for curing
seal-skins, and forty empty casks were intended for oil. Their arms
and ammunition consisted of a short English rifle, an old German
fowling-piece, two and a half pounds _of_ powder, two hundred bullets,
and four sheath-knives[5]. The captain of the whaler gave them some seed
potatoes, and they had a collection of the ordinary garden seeds.
When they had been four days on the island, they had a visit from a party
of men from Tristan, who had come on their annual sealing excursion.
They were ten days on Inaccessible, and were very friendly in their
intercourse with the new comers.
[1] the whale-boat, +das beim Wallfischfang gebräuchliche Boot+. We have
not a compound noun to render the English term. Say ‘They had an old
boat, which had been used (+benutzt+) for whale-fishing and which they
had bought in (S. 46, N. 6) the Island _of_ St. Helena.
[2] here +Überzug+, m., pl. +Überzüge+.
[3] +Für ihre körperlichen Bedürfnisse.+
[4] +Kapwein+, m.
[5] +Jagdmesser+, m.
_Section 238._
A CURIOUS STORY.
VI.
They told them that the north side of the island was better suited for
a settlement, and transported all their goods (S. 236, N. 11) thither
in one of their boats. Being familiar with the place, they showed them
generally their way about and the different passes by which the plateau
might be reached, and they taught them how to build[1] to withstand the
violent winds, and how to thatch with tussock-grass. Immediately after
they left, the brothers set about building a house and clearing some
ground[2] for potatoes and other vegetables. They killed nineteen seals,
and prepared the skins, but they were unable to make any[3] quantity of
oil. Towards the end of the sealing season their boat got damaged in the
surf, and they were obliged to cut it in two[4], patch up the best half
of it, and use it as best they could[5] in smooth weather, close to shore.
They went from time to time to the upper plateau and shot goats and pigs.
When they first arrived, they counted a flock of twenty-three goats;
three of these were killed during the summer of 1871-1872 by the Tristan
people (S. 157, N. 4), and six by themselves; the remaining fourteen
remained over the winter of 1872. The flesh of the goats they found
extremely delicate. Pigs were much more numerous, but their flesh was not
so palatable, from their feeding[6] principally on sea-birds; that of the
boars was especially rank. They found the pigs very valuable, however, in
yielding an abundant supply of lard[7], which they used for frying their
potatoes.
[1] = how they must (Imp. Subj.) build.
[2] to clear the ground (= land), +eine Strecke Landes urbar machen+.
[3] here +erzielen+; any = a large.
[4] to cut in two, +entzwei´schneiden+, sep. comp. irr. v.
[5] = as well as possible.
[6] from their feeding = as they lived; on, +von+.
[7] in — lard = on account of their lard (+Schmalz+, n.).
_Section 239._
A CURIOUS STORY.
VII.
In the month of April 1872, a singular misfortune befell them. While
burning some of the brushwood below to make a clearing, the tussock-grass
in the gully[1], by which they had been in the habit[2] of ascending the
cliff, caught fire, and as it had been only by its assistance that they
had been able to scramble up to the plateau, their only hunting-ground
was now inaccessible from the strip of beach on which their hut and
garden stood, which was closed in on either side by a headland jutting
into the sea. While their half-boat remained seaworthy, they were able
to paddle round in fine weather to the west side of the island, where
there was an access to the top; but the “sea-cart,” as they called it,
was washed off the beach and broken up in June, and after that the only
way they had of reaching the plateau was by swimming round the headland—a
risky feat, even in the finest weather, in these wild regions.
In winter it was found to be impossible to reach the terrace, and as
their supply of food was low, they experienced considerable privations
during their first winter. Their daily allowance of food was reduced to a
quantity just sufficient to maintain life, and in August they were little
better than skeletons[3].
Help was, however, near. Early in August a multitude of penguins
landed[4] hard by their hut,—stupid[5] animals, which will scarcely get
out of one’s way, and are easily knocked down with a stick[6], and with
fleshy breasts, wholesome enough, though with a rather fishy taste;
and in the end of August the females began to lay large blue eggs,
sufficiently delicate in flavour.
[1] +Vertiefung+, f.
[2] I was in the habit of ascending the mountain every day, +ich pflegte
täglich den Berg zu ersteigen+.
[3] = +und im August waren sie fast zu Skeletten geworden.+
[4] = settled, +sich niederlassen+.
[5] Begin a new period here and say: ‘These are stupid animals’, etc.
[6] and — stick, +sich leicht mit einem Stock niederschlagen lassen+;
and with — taste = and have a fleshy breast, which (supply +zwar+ here)
yields (+bieten+) a wholesome food, but (+jedoch+) possesses a rather
(+etwas+) fishy taste.—The whole period is difficult to translate into
good German; the author considers it therefore necessary to assist the
student.
_Section 240._
A CURIOUS STORY.
VIII.
A French barque hove-to off the beach[1] in the middle of September,
and in her they shipped their seal-skins, and bartered penguins’ eggs
with her for biscuits and tobacco. Had the bark arrived a week earlier,
the brothers would have left the island; but the eggs had set them up
again[2], and they determined to remain a little longer. In October, a
schooner, which proved[3] to be “The Themis,” a whaler from the cape of
Good Hope, was seen standing towards the island. A gale _of wind_ blew[4]
her off for a couple of days, but she returned and landed some men from
Tristan, who had crossed[5] to see what the hermits were about[6]. Their
guests remained a day and a half, and then returned to Tristan.
Early in November, that is, early in the second summer, the brothers
thus swam round the eastern headland:—Frederick with their blankets, the
rifle, and a spare suit of clothes[7]—Gustav with powder, matches, and
the kettle in an oil-cask. They mounted by the help of the tussock-grass
to the top of the cliff, went over to the west side of the plateau, and
there built a small hut, where they remained a month, living on goats’
flesh and fresh pork.
On the 10th of December they returned home, mended their thatch, dug[8]
the early potatoes, and put the garden in order.
On the 19th of December the Tristan men made their second sealing
expedition. They remained nine days on the island, and killed forty
seals, one sea-elephant, and eight of the remaining[9] twelve goats.
They left some flour in exchange for an oil-cask, and this was the
last communication between the brothers and the outer world until the
“Challenger” called eight months later.
[1] +legte sich ... unweit der Insel vor Anker.+
[2] = had strengthened them again.
[3] +sich erweisen als.+
[4] = drove.
[5] = who had come over.
[6] = doing.
[7] a spare suit of clothes, +ein Reserveanzug+, m.
[8] here +auf´nehmen+; early potatoes, +frühzeitige Kartoffeln+.
[9] +noch übrig.+
_Section 241._
A CURIOUS STORY.
IX.
In January Frederick swam round the point[1] again, and mounted the
cliff. He shot four pigs, ran[2] the fat into buckets, and threw the hams
down to his brother on the beach below. He saw the four last goats, but
spared[3] them to increase their number. In February a boat came to the
west side from Tristan, and its crew killed the four goats, and departed
without communicating with the Stoltenhoffs[4].
The relations between the Tristan people and the brothers does not appear
to have been so cordial latterly as it was at first, and the Stoltenhoffs
believe that[5] the intention of their neighbours in killing the goats,
and in delaying from time to time to bring them some live stock, which
they had promised them, was to force them to leave the island. It may
have been so, for the Tristan men had been in the habit of making a
yearly sealing expedition to Inaccessible Island, and no doubt the
presence of the energetic strangers lessened their chance of success.