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the uncommercial traveller-第18部分

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deplorable state?  Was the ship well found in stores?'



'I am not here to asseverate that I know the fact; of my own

knowledge;' answered Pangloss; 'but I have grounds for asserting

that the stores were the best of all possible stores。'



A medical officer laid before us; a handful of rotten biscuit; and

a handful of split peas。  The biscuit was a honeycombed heap of

maggots; and the excrement of maggots。  The peas were even harder

than this filth。  A similar handful had been experimentally boiled

six hours; and had shown no signs of softening。  These were the

stores on which the soldiers had been fed。



'The beef … ' I began; when Pangloss cut me short。



'Was the best of all possible beef;' said he。



But; behold; there was laid before us certain evidence given at the

Coroner's Inquest; holden on some of the men (who had obstinately

died of their treatment); and from that evidence it appeared that

the beef was the worst of possible beef!



'Then I lay my hand upon my heart; and take my stand;' said

Pangloss; 'by the pork; which was the best of all possible pork。'



'But look at this food before our eyes; if one may so misuse the

word;' said I。  'Would any Inspector who did his duty; pass such

abomination?'



'It ought not to have been passed;' Pangloss admitted。



'Then the authorities out there … ' I began; when Pangloss cut me

short again。



'There would certainly seem to have been something wrong

somewhere;' said he; 'but I am prepared to prove that the

authorities out there; are the best of all possible authorities。'



I never heard of any impeached public authority in my life; who was

not the best public authority in existence。



'We are told of these unfortunate men being laid low by scurvy;'

said I。  'Since lime…juice has been regularly stored and served out

in our navy; surely that disease; which used to devastate it; has

almost disappeared?  Was there lime…juice aboard this transport?'



My official friend was beginning 'the best of all possible … ' when

an inconvenient medical forefinger pointed out another passage in

the evidence; from which it appeared that the lime…juice had been

bad too。  Not to mention that the vinegar had been bad too; the

vegetables bad too; the cooking accommodation insufficient (if

there had been anything worth mentioning to cook); the water supply

exceedingly inadequate; and the beer sour。



'Then the men;' said Pangloss; a little irritated; 'Were the worst

of all possible men。'



'In what respect?' I asked。



'Oh!  Habitual drunkards;' said Pangloss。



But; again the same incorrigible medical forefinger pointed out

another passage in the evidence; showing that the dead men had been

examined after death; and that they; at least; could not possibly

have been habitual drunkards; because the organs within them which

must have shown traces of that habit; were perfectly sound。



'And besides;' said the three doctors present; 'one and all;

habitual drunkards brought as low as these men have been; could not

recover under care and food; as the great majority of these men are

recovering。  They would not have strength of constitution to do

it。'



'Reckless and improvident dogs; then;' said Pangloss。  'Always are

… nine times out of ten。'



I turned to the master of the workhouse; and asked him whether the

men had any money?



'Money?' said he。  'I have in my iron safe; nearly four hundred

pounds of theirs; the agents have nearly a hundred pounds more and

many of them have left money in Indian banks besides。'



'Hah!' said I to myself; as we went up…stairs; 'this is not the

best of all possible stories; I doubt!'



We went into a large ward; containing some twenty or five…and…

twenty beds。  We went into several such wards; one after another。

I find it very difficult to indicate what a shocking sight I saw in

them; without frightening the reader from the perusal of these

lines; and defeating my object of making it known。



O the sunken eyes that turned to me as I walked between the rows of

beds; or … worse still … that glazedly looked at the white ceiling;

and saw nothing and cared for nothing!  Here; lay the skeleton of a

man; so lightly covered with a thin unwholesome skin; that not a

bone in the anatomy was clothed; and I could clasp the arm above

the elbow; in my finger and thumb。  Here; lay a man with the black

scurvy eating his legs away; his gums gone; and his teeth all gaunt

and bare。  This bed was empty; because gangrene had set in; and the

patient had died but yesterday。  That bed was a hopeless one;

because its occupant was sinking fast; and could only be roused to

turn the poor pinched mask of face upon the pillow; with a feeble

moan。  The awful thinness of the fallen cheeks; the awful

brightness of the deep set eyes; the lips of lead; the hands of

ivory; the recumbent human images lying in the shadow of death with

a kind of solemn twilight on them; like the sixty who had died

aboard the ship and were lying at the bottom of the sea; O

Pangloss; GOD forgive you!



In one bed; lay a man whose life had been saved (as it was hoped)

by deep incisions in the feet and legs。  While I was speaking to

him; a nurse came up to change the poultices which this operation

had rendered necessary; and I had an instinctive feeling that it

was not well to turn away; merely to spare myself。  He was sorely

wasted and keenly susceptible; but the efforts he made to subdue

any expression of impatience or suffering; were quite heroic。  It

was easy to see; in the shrinking of the figure; and the drawing of

the bed…clothes over the head; how acute the endurance was; and it

made me shrink too; as if I were in pain; but; when the new

bandages were on; and the poor feet were composed again; he made an

apology for himself (though he had not uttered a word); and said

plaintively; 'I am so tender and weak; you see; sir!'  Neither from

him nor from any one sufferer of the whole ghastly number; did I

hear a complaint。  Of thankfulness for present solicitude and care;

I heard much; of complaint; not a word。



I think I could have recognised in the dismalest skeleton there;

the ghost of a soldier。  Something of the old air was still latent

in the palest shadow of life I talked to。  One emaciated creature;

in the strictest literality worn to the bone; lay stretched on his

back; looking so like death that I asked one of the doctors if he

were not dying; or dead?  A few kind words from the doctor; in his

ear; and he opened his eyes; and smiled … looked; in a moment; as

if he would have made a salute; if he could。  'We shall pull him

through; please God;' said the Doctor。  'Plase God; surr; and

thankye;' said the patient。  'You are much better to…day; are you

not?' said the Doctor。  'Plase God; surr; 'tis the slape I want;

surr; 'tis my breathin' makes the nights so long。'  'He is a

careful fellow this; you must know;' said the Doctor; cheerfully;

'it was raining hard when they put him in the open cart to bring

him here; and he had the presence of mind to ask to have a

sovereign taken out of his pocket that he had there; and a cab

engaged。  Probably it saved his life。'  The patient rattled out the

skeleton of a laugh; and said; proud of the story; ''Deed; surr; an

open cairt was a comical means o' bringin' a dyin' man here; and a

clever way to kill him。'  You might have sworn to him for a soldier

when he said it。



One thing had perplexed me very much in going from bed to bed。  A

very significant and cruel thing。  I could find no young man but

one。  He had attracted my notice; by having got up and dressed

himself in his soldier's jacket and trousers; with the intention of

sitting by the fire; but he had found himself too weak; and had

crept back to his bed and laid himself down on the outside of it。

I could have pronounced him; alone; to be a young man aged by

famine and sickness。  As we were standing by the Irish soldier's

bed; I mentioned my perplexity to the Doctor。  He took a board with

an inscription on it from the head of the Irishman's bed; and asked

me what age I supposed that man to be?  I had observed him with

attention while talking to him; and answered; confidently; 'Fifty。'

The Doctor; with a pitying glance at the patient; who had dropped

into a stupor again; put the board back; and said; 'Twenty…four。'



All the arrangements of the wards were excellent。  They could not

have been more humane; sympathising; gentle; attentive; or

wholesome。  The owners of the ship; too; had done all they could;

liberally。  There were bright fires in every room; and the

convalescent men were sitting round them; reading various papers

and periodicals。  I took the liberty of inviting my official friend

Pangloss to look at those convalescent men; and to tell me whether

their faces and bearing were or were not; generally; the faces and

bearing of steady respectable soldiers?  The master of the

workhouse; overhearing me; said he had had a pretty large

experience of troops; and that better conducted men than these; he

had never had to do with。  They were always (he added) as we saw

them。  And of us visitors (I add) they knew nothing whatever;

except that we were there。



It was audacious in me; but I took another liberty with Pangloss。

Prefacing it with the observation that; of course; I knew

beforehand that there was not the faintest desire; anywhere; to

hush up any part of this dreadful business; and that the Inquest

was the fairest of all possible Inquests; I besought four things of

Pangloss。  Firstly; to observe that the Inquest WAS NOT HELD IN

THAT PLACE; but at some distance off。  Secondly; to look round upon

those helpless spectres in their beds。  Thirdly; to remember that

the witnesses produced from among them before that Inquest; could

not have been selected because they were the men who had the most

to tell it; but be
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