In view of the part that the
Commander of the Indomitable plays
in a scene scenes shortly to follow, it
may be well to fill out a little that
passing running sketch of him outlined in
a the previous chapter.
In certain respects Quite Aside from his good
qualities as a sea-officer Captain
Vere was an exceptional man character sea-officer .
Unlike no few of England's renowned
sailors, long and arduous service
with and great signal devotion to it, had not
resulted in absorbing and salting
the entire man. He had a marked
leaning
loved books, never going to sea
without a newly replenished library,
compact but of the best. The isolated
leisure, in some cases so wearisome ,
falling at intervals to commanders
even during a war-cruise, never was
tedious to Captain Vere. With nothing
of that literary taste which less heeds
the matter thing conveyed than the style vehicle , his bias
was toward those books to which
every seriously superior serious mind of superior order mind at once serious and
broad and occupying a any active post of
an authority in the world, naturally
takes to; inclines: books treating of a real
actual men and events no matter of what
era—history, biography and toward everything intellectual. He
unconventional writers that, like Montaigne, frankly who who, free from cant & convention, honestly
and in the spirit of common sense
penetratingly philosophize upon those greatest of all realities.
mysteries, facts.
In this line of reading
he found that which he had vainly
sought in the miscellanious converse
In this line of reading he found confirmation
of his own more reserved thoughts—confirmation
which he had vainly sought in social
converse, so that as touching every most fundamental
topics, there was had got to be established in him
some positive convictions, which he
forefelt would unalterably abide in him essentially unmodified
proof to all sophistries so long as his intelligent part remained
unimpaired. Cons In view of the
troubled period in which he lived his lot was cast, this
was well for him. His Those settled convictions
were as a dyke against those
of his own more reserved thoughts—confirmation
which he had vainly sought in social
converse, so that as touching every most fundamental
topics, there was had got to be established in him
some positive convictions, which he
forefelt would unalterably abide in him essentially unmodified
proof to all sophistries so long as his intelligent part remained
unimpaired. Cons In view of the
troubled period in which he lived his lot was cast, this
was well for him. His Those settled convictions
were as a dyke against those
It was
The said
convictions were
as
a dyke
serving
to resist those
invading angry impetuous waters of new-fangled novel opinion
social and political and otherwise, which carried
away as in a deluge torrent no few minds
in those days, minds by nature not
inferior to his own. While other members
of that aristocracy to which by birth he belonged
were incensed at the innovaters
mainly because the their theories advocated
were inimical to the ir interests as a privileged class classes ,
Captain Vere disinterestedly intellectually disinterestedly opposed
invading angry impetuous waters of new-fangled novel opinion
social and political and otherwise, which carried
away as in a deluge torrent no few minds
in those days, minds by nature not
inferior to his own. While other members
of that aristocracy to which by birth he belonged
were incensed at the innovaters
mainly because the their theories advocated
were inimical to the ir interests as a privileged class classes ,
Captain Vere disinterestedly intellectually disinterestedly opposed
them
not alone
because they seem to him
to be
not in in susceptible of being embodied embodiment in permanent lasting
institutions, but even where pr at war with the
true welfa peace of the world and the true welfare of
mankind. Not that he was a No bigot for
monarchical forms, but he regarded the
not in in susceptible of being embodied embodiment in permanent lasting
institutions, but even where pr at war with the
true welfa peace of the world and the true welfare of
mankind. Not that he was a No bigot for
monarchical forms, but he regarded the
far less earnest, With minds less stored than his &
some officers of his rank, with whom
at times he would necessarily consort,
found him lacking in the companionable convivial social
quality, a dry and bookish gentleman , as they
deemed. Upon his any chance withdrawal
from their company one would be
Hampdens of our Revolu
1776
Ve
something
like this: "Vere is a noble fellow,
Starry Vere . Spite the gazzette gazzettes , Sir
Horatio meaning him who beca Lord Nels is at bottom scarse a better
seaman or fighter. But between you
and me now do'nt you think there
is a queer streak of the martinet pedantic
running thro' in him? Yes, like the King's yarn
in a coil of navy-rope . ?
In fact Some apparent ground there was for This sort of confidential
criticism ; was doubtless provoked
by the circumstance fact that since not only did
the Captain's discourse never fall
into the familiar or jocosely familiar,
but he was apt in illustrating of any
point touching the stirring personages apt to say to another,
like this: "Vere is a noble fellow,
Starry Vere . Spite the gazzette gazzettes , Sir
Horatio meaning him who beca Lord Nels is at bottom scarse a better
seaman or fighter. But between you
and me now do'nt you think there
is a queer streak of the martinet pedantic
running thro' in him? Yes, like the King's yarn
in a coil of navy-rope . ?
In fact Some apparent ground there was for This sort of confidential
criticism ; was doubtless provoked
by the circumstance fact that since not only did
the Captain's discourse never fall
into the familiar or jocosely familiar,
but he was apt in illustrating of any
point touching the stirring personages apt to say to another,
be as apt to
cite some
historic character or incident of antiquity with the same
easy as that he would cite from the moderns. He seemed and events of the time he would
historic character or incident of antiquity with the same
easy as that he would cite from the moderns. He seemed and events of the time he would
to his bluff company such remote allusions
however pertinent they might really be
were altogether too alien to men whose reading was mainly confined to the journals. and remote. But
considerateness in such matters is not
easy to minds natures constituted like Captain
Vere's. Their honesty prescribes to
them directness, sometimes a far-reaching directness like
that of a migratory fowl in its that
in its flight takes no note never heeds when
it crosses a frontier.
It may help to show how
he himself regarded his "little
weakness" as some of his friends unmindful of the circumstance that