Thursday, June 5, 2008

My new favorite book

Choice Quotes from Captain Blood

• After him, in the uniform of a colonel of the Barbados Militia, rolled a tall, corpulent man who towered head and shoulders above the Governor, with malevolence plainly written on his enormous yellowish countenance. His little beady eyes, closely flanking a fleshly, pendulous nose...
• The Colonel checked, his great face empurpling.
• “A man must sometimes laugh at himself or go mad. Few realize it. That is why there are so many fools in the world.”
• Sitting close thereafter they talked in whispers for an hour or more, and all the while those dulled wits of Pitt’s were sharpening themselves anew upon this precious whetstone of hope.
• The love that is never to be realized will often remain a man’s guiding ideal.
• Because he disliked the man, Captain Blood would not commit himself at once. But because he liked the proposal he consented to consider it.
• Launching himself upon the yielding sand, into which he sank to the level of the calves of his fine boots of Spanish leather, Captain Blood came sliding erect to the beach.
• “Viola!” said he, pregnantly, to the firmament.
• Levasseur gnawed his lip, and changed colour.
• “Dealt fairly?” roared the infurinated Captain. “You...” In all his foul vocabulary he could find no epithet to describe his lieutenant.
• When, with both lungs transfixed, he lay prone on the white sand, coughing out his rascally life...
• Further intrigued were they by the sight of the gigantic Woverstone speeding naked along his deck with a great flaming torch held high.
• Under his breath Lord Julian damned the fellow’s bravery.
• Peter Blood stiffened, and his vivid blue eyes stabbed the bloated face of his enemy.
• He had empurpled in his angry vehemence, and the veins of his forehead stood out like whipcord.
• Not only was there no need for either of them to go, but the Deputy-Governor’s duties actually demanded that he should remain ashore, whilst Lord Julian, as we know, was a useless man aboard a ship.
• There was a great historian lost in Wolverstone.
• M. de Rivarol condescended to be mollified.
• M. de Rivarol, intrigued by his mirth, scowled upon him disapprovingly.
• Resentment smouldered amongst them for a while, to flame out violently at the end of that week in Cartagena.
• One of these fine days, he felt, that for the sake of humanity he must slit the comb of this supercilious, arrogant cockerel.
• A blow to the face could scarcely have taken the Frenchman more aback.
• “I know nothing of filibuster customs.”
• “His bolitics are fery sound, I dink.”
• But from that horrible mask two vivid eyes looked out preternaturally bright, and from those eyes two tears had ploughed each a furrow through the filth of his cheeks.
• “Apple-blossoms!” His lordship’s voice shot up like a rocket, and cracked on the word. “What the devil...? Apple-blossoms!” He looked at van der Kuylen. The Admiral raised his brows and pursed his heavy lips. His eyes twinkled humourously in his great face. “So!” he said. “Fery boedical!”
• Would his his excellency receive Miss Bishop? His excellency changed colour.

2 comments:

Emma said...

When, with both lungs transfixed, he lay prone on the white sand, coughing out his rascally life...

hahaha! I like that one... :D

Daisy said...

Hahaha... "empurpled" is truly an awesome word. ;)