The Life of a Sailor, Volume 1Key and Biddle, 1833 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abydos afterwards aloft amusement anchor answer appeared Arethusa arms arrived bashaw began berth boat boatswain brig called captain captain's gig carronade cocked-hat command commenced consequently court-martial crew day-dawn dead deck declared devil discipline duty endeavoured enemy eyes face fear feeling fell fire fleet followed fortune French frigate gale gave ghost guns hammock hands harbour head heard Hellespont honour horse hour instantly knew lady land lieutenant looked Lord Byron lordship Malta Maltese marines master-at-arms means Menelaus midshipman morning musket navy never night o'clock oars officers party passed pistol placed poor prisoner prize punishment quarter quarter-deck replied retreat round sail sailor Salsette scene seen seized ship ship's company shore shot side Sierra Leone sight silence Sir Peter Parker soldiers soon squall took Toulon Turkish Turks turned vessel walked watch whilst white squall wind word youngster
Popular passages
Page 11 - The pain which is felt when we are first transplanted from our native soil, when the living branch is cut from the parent tree, is one of the most poignant which we have to endure through life. There are after-griefs which wound more deeply, which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which bruise the spirit, and sometimes break the heart ; but never...
Page 117 - The sky is changed ! — and such a change ! Oh night, And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light Of a dark eye in woman ! Far along, From peak to peak, the rattling crags among Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud, But every mountain now hath found a tongue, And Jura answers, through her misty shroud, Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud!
Page 73 - And he saw the lean dogs beneath the wall Hold o'er the dead their carnival, Gorging and growling o'er carcass and limb; They were too busy to bark at him!
Page 107 - Delightful task! to rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot...
Page 12 - ... cans in hand, were everywhere conspicuous; the shrill whistle squeaked, and the voice of the boatswain and his mates rattled like thunder in my ears; the deck was dirty, slippery, and wet; the smells abominable; the whole sight disgusting; and when I remarked the slovenly dress of the midshipmen, dressed in shabby round jackets, glazed hats, no gloves, and some without shoes, I forgot all the glory of Nelson, all the pride of the navy, the terror of France, or the bulwark of Albion; and for nearly...
Page 46 - Look on its broken arch, its ruin'd wall, Its chambers desolate, and portals foul : Yes, this was once Ambition's airy hall, The dome of Thought, the palace of the Soul...
Page 182 - It has a strange quick jar upon the ear, That cocking of a pistol, when you know A moment more will bring the sight to bear Upon your person, twelve yards off, or so ; A gentlemanly distance, not too near, If you have got a former friend for foe ; But after being fired at once or twice, The ear becomes more Irish, and less nice.
Page 195 - THERE is a tear for all that die, A mourner o'er the humblest grave ; But nations swell the funeral cry, And Triumph weeps above the brave. For them is Sorrow's purest sigh O'er Ocean's heaving bosom sent : In vain their bones unburied lie, All earth becomes their monument ! A tomb is theirs on every page, An epitaph on every tongue : The present hours, the future age, For them bewail, to them belong. For...
Page 11 - There are after griefs which wound more deeply, which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which bruise the spirit and sometimes break the heart ; but never do we feel so keenly the want of love, the necessity of being loved, and the sense o^utter desertion, as when we first leave the haven of home, and are, as it were, pushed off upon the stream of life.