英語聽書《白鯨記》第850期

The voyage was a skilful and lucky one; and returning to her berth with her hold full of the precious sperm, the Amelia's example was soon followed by other ships, English and American, and thus the vast Sperm Whale grounds of the Pacific were thrown open. But not content with this good deed, the indefatigable house again bestirred itself: Samuel and all his Sons—how many, their mother only knows—and under their immediate auspices, and partly, I think, at their expense, the British government was induced to send the sloop-of-war Rattler on a whaling voyage of discovery into the South Sea. Commanded by a naval Post-Captain, the Rattler made a rattling voyage of it, and did some service; how much does not appear. But this is not all. In 1819, the same house fitted out a discovery whale ship of their own, to go on a tasting cruise to the remote waters of Japan. That ship— well called the "Syren"—made a noble experimental cruise; and it was thus that the great Japanese Whaling Ground first became generally known. The Syren in this famous voyage was commanded by a Captain Coffin, a Nantucketer.

這是一次靈巧而幸運(yùn)的航行；載著滿艙名貴的鯨腦回到了停泊地，阿美利亞立刻便成為其它英美船只所追循的模范，于是，太平洋上的巨大的抹香鯨漁場給開辟下來了?？墒?，這個(gè)精力不倦的公司并不滿足于這些優(yōu)異成績，又大事活躍起來：撒母耳公司和各分支公司——究竟有多少，那只有他們的總公司才知道——在他們的直接監(jiān)督下，而且我想大半還有他們的投資，弄得英國政府也興致勃勃地派出了炮艦"漂亮號(hào)"，到南海去開辟捕鯨航線了。這艘"漂亮號(hào)"，由一個(gè)海軍的小艦長率領(lǐng)，倒是做了一次漂亮的航行，也做了一些事情；成績?nèi)绾螀s不得而知。但是，事情還有著呢。一八一九年，這個(gè)公司又親自裝備了一艘開辟捕鯨航線的船，直駛到遙遠(yuǎn)的日本海，去作一次試探性的巡游。那艘船——名字真好聽，叫做"海妖"——完成了一次了不起的試驗(yàn)性的巡游；也正由于這樣，日本的大捕鯨漁場初次顯了名。在這次著名的航行中，"海妖"的船長就是一個(gè)叫做科芬的南塔開特人。

All honor to the Enderbies, therefore, whose house, I think, exists to the present day; though doubtless the original Samuel must long ago have slipped his cable for the great South Sea of the other world.

光榮歸于恩德比家族，因此，我想這個(gè)公司，迄今還是存在的；不過，毫無疑問，原來的那個(gè)撒母耳，一定是早就啟碇到另一個(gè)世界的南海里去了。

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