Monthly Archives: April 2016

Rime of the Ancient Mariner, pt 4

Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge […] Four ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. I fear thee and thy glittering … Continue reading

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Condemned to watch impotently

“But some smiles were caused even then by the plight of one man, who had a habit of accumulating bits of food against the day of starvation that he seemed always to think was at hand, and who was condemned … Continue reading

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Things not dreamed of in the killers’ philosophy

“All around we could hear the killers blowing, their short, sharp hisses sounding like sudden escapes of steam. The killers were a source of anxiety, for a boat could easily have been capsized by one of them coming up to … Continue reading

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13 April 1916

“I am mildly superstitious of numbers, for this day had well nigh made an end to us all. During the morning the three boats were running under sail with a fair SE wind which developed into a half gale by … Continue reading

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Man can sustain life with very scanty means

“Other articles of our scanty equipment had to go that night. We were carrying only the things that had seemed essential, but we stripped now to the barest limits of safety. “Many things regarded by us as essentials at that … Continue reading

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Destination changed

“Beautiful sunshiny morning. The pack radiant with the pink flush of sunrise, and resembling the ruins of empyrean marble cities. With fair NW wind, the James Caird, Dudley Docker and Stancombe Wills made SW course, our object being King George … Continue reading

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An unexpected horror

“An unexpected horror was added to our already sufficient discomforts by the presence of a large school of killer whales which surrounded us on every side like fat bulls of Basan. Their blood-curdling blast, now coming from the distant darkness, … Continue reading

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Morte d’Arthur

Morte d’Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson So all day long the noise of battle roll’d Among the mountains by the winter sea; Until King Arthur’s table, man by man, Had fallen in Lyonnesse about their Lord, King Arthur: then, because … Continue reading

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An Icy Cerberus

“At the head of an ice tongue that nearly closed the gap through which we might enter the open space was a wave-worn berg shaped like some curious antediluvian monster, an icy Cerberus guarding the way. It had head and … Continue reading

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Awe-inspiring sight

“Never shall I forget the sight that met my eyes in the early dawn light. Ice had surrounded the berg… and the whole mass, made up of all sizes and shapes, and little bergs like our own, was rising and … Continue reading

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