And when those defendants were remonstrated with, their captain snapped his fingers in the plaintiffs' teeth, and assured them that by way of doxology to the deed he had done, he would now retain their line, harpoons, and boat, which had remained attached to the whale at the time of the seizure. Wherefore the plaintiffs now sued for the recovery of the value of their whale, line, harpoons, and boat.

而当原告对被告提出指责时，被告的船长竟伸起指头直戳到原告的嘴巴，而且还强词夺理地对原告们说，他所做的都是合情合理的，他现在应该保有他们的绳索、标枪和小艇（这些东西都是在大鲸被夺去时原封不动地附在鲸身上的）。因此，原告们现在要控告对方赔偿他们的鲸、绳索、标枪和小艇的损失。

Mr. Erskine was counsel for the defendants; Lord Ellenborough was the judge. In the course of the defence, the witty Erskine went on to illustrate his position, by alluding to a recent crim. con. case, wherein a gentleman, after in vain trying to bridle his wife's viciousness, had at last abandoned her upon the seas of life; but in the course of years, repenting of that step, he instituted an action to recover possession of her. Erskine was on the other side; and he then supported it by saying, that though the gentleman had originally harpooned the lady, and had once had her fast, and only by reason of the great stress of her plunging viciousness, had at last abandoned her; yet abandon her he did, so that she became a loose-fish; and therefore when a subsequent gentleman re-harpooned her, the lady then became that subsequent gentleman's property, along with whatever harpoon might have been found sticking in her.

厄斯金（托马斯·厄斯金（1750—1825）——英国律师。先生当时是被告的辩护律师：法官是埃伦巴勒（爱德华·洛·埃伦巴勒（1750—1818）——英国律师。）勋爵。在辩护过程中，机智的厄斯金竟引证了从前一件通奸案来解释他的见解，他说，当时有一位仁兄，在徒劳地制止他妻子的不端行为后，终于把她抛弃了，听她漂流去。但是，过了几年，他又懊悔不该采取那种做法，想重新把她占为己有。厄斯金当时是女方的辩护人，于是起来为女方辩护说，尽管这位仁兄原来也使用标枪把她戳中了，并且一度把她拴住了，只不过因为她耽迷于不端行为，令人左右为难，才终于不得不将她抛弃；然而，既然他确是把她抛弃了，所以她就成为一条无主鲸了；因此，等到有第二个仁兄再用标枪把她戳中了的时候，那么，这位太太当然就该归这第二个仁兄所有喽，连同她身上还可以找得到的、前人所已戳在她身上的标枪，都应一起算作第二位仁兄的财产了。

Now in the present case Erskine contended that the examples of the whale and the lady were reciprocally illustrative of each other.

所以，在现在这个案件中，厄斯金极力主张，这条鲸和那个太太的两个例子，都是足以彼此互作说明的。

查看有声读物更多精彩内容