因?yàn)槟切┎饿L人,不論在當(dāng)時(shí)和現(xiàn)在,都不象南海漁船所經(jīng)常做的那樣,先在海上把油熬好;而是把那些生鯨脂砍成一小塊一小塊,朝大桶口擲下去后,就那樣把它裝回家來(lái);由于在那種冰天雪地的海洋中,獵季短促,經(jīng)常遭到突然而來(lái)的猛烈的風(fēng)暴的打擊,沒(méi)能采取任何其它辦法,結(jié)果是,一打開(kāi)船艙,把這些一塊塊的尸肉卸上格陵蘭碼頭時(shí),就發(fā)散出一種類(lèi)似于為了構(gòu)筑產(chǎn)科醫(yī)院的地基,把城里的古墳挖掉后所發(fā)出來(lái)的味道(據(jù)百周年紀(jì)念版注:匹茨堡的古墓地于1850—1851年間遷移至另一新址。原址造了一個(gè)中學(xué),并未建造產(chǎn)科醫(yī)院,作者在這里只是為了強(qiáng)調(diào)以死人的墓地為活人派用場(chǎng)而故意扯上的。)。
I partly surmise also, that this wicked charge against whalers may be likewise imputed to the existence on the coast of Greenland, in former times, of a Dutch village called Schmerenburgh or Smeerenberg, which latter name is the one used by the learned Fogo Von Slack, in his great work on Smells, a text-book on that subject. As its name imports (smeer, fat; berg, to put up), this village was founded in order to afford a place for the blubber of the Dutch whale fleet to be tried out, without being taken home to Holland for that purpose. It was a collection of furnaces, fat-kettles, and oil sheds; and when the works were in full operation certainly gave forth no very pleasant savor.
我還不免要這樣推測(cè),這種對(duì)捕鯨船的惡意攻擊,還可以同樣地歸之于昔時(shí)的格陵蘭海岸上,有一個(gè)叫做斯麥楞堡或者斯邁楞堡的荷蘭村莊的緣故,斯邁楞堡這名稱(chēng)也就是曾經(jīng)被那個(gè)博學(xué)的福戈、馮、斯拉克(據(jù)百周年紀(jì)念版注:這里又是作者對(duì)斯哥斯比開(kāi)的玩笑,斯拉克即斯哥斯比。)用在他那論嗅覺(jué)的巨著上(論嗅覺(jué)的一本教科書(shū))的一個(gè)名稱(chēng)。就那名稱(chēng)的含義上說(shuō)來(lái)(斯邁就是油脂;堡就是腌藏),因?yàn)檫@個(gè)村莊,乃是為了使荷蘭捕鯨隊(duì)有個(gè)煉油處所而設(shè)置的,讓他們可以不必把鯨脂拿回荷蘭去煉制。在這個(gè)莊子上,有許多大灶。油鍋和油庫(kù),當(dāng)這種工作全面進(jìn)行時(shí),當(dāng)然就發(fā)出一種不很好聞的味道了。