Читать книгу The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism (Vol. 1-4). The History of Sea Voyages, Discovery, Piracy and Maritime Warfare онлайн

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“He was as good a specimen of the British mariner as one could wish to look upon—hardy, bold, and wiry. His crime had been smuggling spirits on board.

“ ‘Needn’t examine me, doctor,’ said he; ‘I aint afeared of their four dozen; they can’t hurt me, sir—leastways my back, you know—my breast, though; hum—m!’ and he shook his head, rather sadly I thought, as he bent down his eyes.

“ ‘What,’ said I, ‘have you anything the matter with your chest?’

“ ‘Nay, doctor, nay; it’s my feelings they’ll hurt. I’ve a little girl at home that loves me, and, bless you, sir, I won’t look her in the face again nohow.’

“I felt his pulse. No lack of strength there, no nervousness; the artery had the firm beat of health, the tendons felt like rods of iron beneath the finger, and his biceps stood out hard and round as the mainstay of an old seventy-four. … All hands had already assembled—the men and boys on one side, and the officers, in cocked hats and swords, on the other. A grating had been lashed against the bulwark, and another placed on deck beside it. The culprit’s shoulders and back were bared, and a strong belt fastened around the lower part of the loins for protection; he was then firmly tied by the hands to the upper, and by the feet to the lower grating; a little basin of cold water was placed at his feet, and all was now prepared. The sentence was read, and orders given to proceed with the punishment. The cat is a terrible instrument of torture; I would not use it on a bull unless in self-defence; the shaft is about a foot and a half long, and covered with green or red baize, according to taste; the thongs are nine, about twenty-eight inches in length, of the thickness of a goose-quill, and with two knots tied on each. Men describe the first blow as like a shower of molten lead.