Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter V. Edgar Poe’s Romance
But,beyondthepolarcircle,abovetheaustralicebergs,itisquiteanotherthing,and,iftheauthor’sworkbenotoneofpureimagination,Iam—well,ofanyothernationalitythanmyown.Letusgeton.
Theirfirstadventurehadnotcooledthetwoyouths,andeightmonthsaftertheaffairoftheAriel—June,1827—thebrigGrampuswasfittedoutbythehouseofLloydandVredenburgforwhalinginthesouthernseas.Thisbrigwasanold,ill-repairedcraft,andMr.Barnard,thefatherofAugustus,wasitsskipper.Hisson,whowastoaccompanyhimonthevoyage,stronglyurgedArthurtogowithhim,andthelatterwouldhaveaskednothingbetter,butheknewthathisfamily,andespeciallyhismother,wouldneverconsenttolethimgo.
Thisobstacle,however,couldnotstopayouthnotmuchgiventosubmittothewishesofhisparents.Hisheadwasfulloftheentreatiesandpersuasionofhiscompanion,andhedeterminedtoembarksecretlyontheGrampus,forMr.Barnardwouldnothaveauthorizedhimtodefytheprohibitionofhisfamily.HeannouncedthathehadbeeninvitedtopassafewdayswithafriendatNewBedford,tookleaveofhisparentsandlefthishome.Forty-eighthoursbeforethebrigwastosail,heslippedonboardunperceived,andgotintoahiding-placewhichhadbeenpreparedforhimunknownaliketoMr.Barnardandthecrew.
ThecabinoccupiedbyAugustuscommunicatedbyatrap-doorwiththeholdoftheGrampus,whichwascrowdedwithbarrels,bales,andtheinnumerablecomponentsofacargo.
