Hanks Explanation

”You are aware, undoubtedly, that I have never taken much pains to bask in the sunshine of eyes made bright by belladonna, sipped sweets from the lips colored with carmine, or gazed admiringly on pale cheeks marbleized with lily white. So you will scarcely believe me when I say that then I was really and truly glad to see a woman! But I was, for a fact; and there also came vividly back to my mind some lines of poetry in the old “English Reader,” which we cubs used to mumble over when climbing the hill of Parnassus typified by the “old school house” on the public square, and for which I also remember well, our now respected citizen, M. B. Fobes, once got fearfully mauled for reading in a more than usually nasal and atrocious manner! They were— ”For man is a lonely, lofty pine, That frowns o’er many a wave-beat shore, But women is the graceful, tender vine, Whose curling tendrils round it climb, And deck its rough bark sweetly o’er!” “I confess I never before, or since, realized the true meaning and importance of the above quotation except when I stepped ashore at Fayal, after a ten months incarceration with a captain and a crew whose acts and words were more remindful of animals than men.
“The Webster family were the only Americans we saw there. After his execution, they left Boston and lived at the Azores. I have been told that Mrs. Webster was Portuguese. A son-in-law was the American consul there at this time. We had some fun here. We were asked by the boys how much oil we had? “what longitude did you take your lst whale? “Come up to the house, mother wants to see you,” etc. We went because we did not want to hurt their feelings! You must remember that the first end of travel is instruction, and that the traveler is fully justified in pursuing this end so long as he neither injures himself or others. We had wine, brandy, gin, green figs, grapes, limes, and various other tropical fruits, to which we did ample justice after ten months rations of salt junk and hard tack. We had kept the “murphy” pretty well for that time. I am safe in saying none of the crew broke it during that period. We spliced that main brace-drank-pretty well here, and demonstrated that there are veterans in excess if not in success. We stole whale teeth and went without hard tack so as to sell it for grog.
“Here let me say that I am one of those peculiarly constituted individuals who never could escape the penalty of a violated law without suffering severely for it. I never saw any wine or brandy there or anywhere else that would not put my head into chancery next morning. They manufactured the pure article from genuine grapes. Its effects were genuine headache and a stern resolve not to drink as much the next time we went into port-A high purpose and stern resolve which I have no recollection of keeping at all! So much for John Barley corn, who had a first lien on me when I went into business with him. The difficulty was to dissolve with mutual consent, and we did business together whenever there was everything to lose and nothing to gain. This is using a good many words to say that I got full every opportunity, or rather preferred being up to revival point all the time! Oh how I suffered from this spree when we got outside! I gained repentance and experience from it, but never profited a great deal from the trial. I remembered the pleasures of the spree and soon forgot the pangs of getting sober. My constitution neither bent nor broke, though I thought sometimes bent nor broke. Though I thought sometimes it would kill me; I kept fighting the tiger every time I was well upon my pins.”

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