Hospital Sketches - Chapter 2

A Forward Movement, ,As travellers like to give their own impressions of a journey, though every inch of the way may have been described a half a dozen times before, I add some of the notes made by the way, hoping that they will amuse the reader, and convince the skeptical ¹ that such a being as Nurse Periwinkle does exist, that she really did go to Washington, and that these Sketches ² are not romance., ,New York Train - Seven P.M. - Spinning along to take the boat at New London. Very comfortable; much gingerbread, and Mrs. C.'s fine pear, which deserves honorable mention, because my first loneliness was comforted by it, and pleasant recollections of both kindly ³ sender and bearer. Look much at Dr. H.'s paper of directions - put my tickets in every conceivable place, that they may be get-at-able, and finish by losing them entirely ⁴. Suffer agonies till a compassionate ⁵ neighbor pokes ⁶ them out of a crack with his pen-knife. Put them in the inmost corner of my purse, that in the deepest recesses ⁷ of my pocket, pile a collection of miscellaneous（混杂的） articles atop, and pin up the whole. Just get composed, feeling that I've done my best to keep them safely, when the Conductor appears, and I'm forced to rout ⁸ them all out again, exposing my precautions, and getting into a flutter at keeping the man waiting. Finally, fasten them on the seat before me, and keep one eye steadily ⁹ upon the yellow torments ¹⁰, till I forget all about them, in chat with the gentleman who shares my seat. Having heard complaints of the absurd way in which American women become images of petrified ¹¹ propriety ¹², if addressed by strangers, when traveling alone, the inborn ¹³ perversity ¹⁴ of my nature causes me to assume an entirely opposite style of deportment; and, finding my companion hails from Little Athens, is acquainted with several of my three hundred and sixty-five cousins, and in every way a respectable and respectful member of society, I put my bashfulness in my pocket, and plunge ¹⁵ into a long conversation on the war, the weather, music, Carlyle, skating, genius, hoops¹⁷（箍，街头篮球）, and the immortality ¹⁸ of the soul., , ,Eleven P.M. - In the boat "City of Boston," escorted thither ⁴⁰ by my car acquaintance, and deposited in the cabin. Trying to look as if the greater portion of my life had been passed on board boats, but painfully conscious that I don't know the first thing; so sit bolt upright, and stare about me till I hear one lady say to another - "We must secure our berths ⁴² at once;" whereupon I dart ⁴³ at one, and, while leisurely ⁴⁴ taking off my cloak, wait to discover what the second move may be. Several ladies draw the curtains that hang in a semi-circle before each nest - instantly I whisk mine smartly together, and then peep out to see what next. Gradually, on hooks above the blue and yellow drapery, appear the coats and bonnets ⁴⁶ of my neighbors, while their boots and shoes, in every imaginable attitude, assert themselves below, as if their owners had committed suicide in a body. A violent creaking, scrambling ⁴⁷, and fussing, causes the fact that people are going regularly to bed to dawn upon my mind. Of course they are; and so am I - but pause at the seventh pin, remembering that, as I was born to be drowned, an eligible ⁴⁸ opportunity now presents itself; and, having twice escaped a watery ⁴⁹ grave, the third immersion ⁵⁰ will certainly extinguish my vital spark. The boat is new, but if it ever intends to blow up, spring a leak, catch afire, or be run into, it will do the deed to-night, because I'm here to fulfill ⁵¹ my destiny. With tragic ⁵² calmness I resign myself, replace my pins, lash ⁵³ my purse and papers together, with my handkerchief, examine the saving circumference ⁵⁴ of my hoop ¹⁶, and look about me for any means of deliverance when the moist moment shall arrive; for I've no intention of folding my hands and bubbling to death without an energetic splashing first. Barrels, hen-coops, portable settees, and life-preservers do not adorn ⁵⁵ the cabin, as they should; and, roving wildly to and fro, my eye sees no ray of hope till it falls upon a plump（丰满的） old lady, devoutly ⁵⁶ reading in the cabin Bible, and a voluminous night-cap. I remember that, at the swimming school, fat girls always floated best, and in an instant my plan is laid. At the first alarm I firmly attach myself to the plump lady, and cling to her through fire and water; for I feel that my old enemy, the cramp ⁵⁷, will seize me by the foot, if I attempt to swim; and, though I can hardly expect to reach Jersey ⁵⁸ City with myself and my baggage in as good condition as I hoped, I might manage to get picked up by holding to my fat friend; if not it will be a comfort to feel that I've made an effort and shall die in good society. Poor dear woman! how little she dreamed, as she read and rocked, with her cap in a high state of starch⁵⁹（淀粉）, and her feet comfortably cooking at the register, what fell designs were hovering ⁶⁰ about her, and how intently a small but determined ⁶¹ eye watched her, till it suddenly closed., ,Sleep got the better of fear to such an extent that my boots appeared to gape ⁶², and my bonnet ⁴⁵ nodded on its peg ⁶³, before I gave in. Having piled my cloak, bag, rubbers, books and umbrella on the lower shelf, I drowsily swarmed ⁶⁴ onto the upper one, tumbling down a few times, and excoriating ⁶⁵ the knobby portions of my frame in the act. A very brief nap on the upper roost was enough to set me gasping ⁶⁶ as if a dozen feather beds and the whole boat were laid over me. Out I turned; and after a series of convulsions, which caused my neighbor to ask if I wanted the stewardess ⁶⁷, I managed to get my luggage up and myself down. But even in the lower berth ⁴¹, my rest was not unbroken, for various articles kept dropping off the little shelf at the bottom of the bed, and every time I flew up, thinking my hour had come, I bumped my head severely ⁶⁸ against the little shelf at the top, evidently put there for that express purpose. At last, after listening to the swash of the waves outside, wondering if the machinery ⁶⁹ usually creaked in that way, and watching a knot-hole in the side of my berth, sure that death would creep in there as soon as I took my eye from it, I dropped asleep, and dreamed of muffins., ,Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。,The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描 。