calamity-bean
The part of Fitzjames’s journal where he’s “cataloguing” his shipmates aboard the Erebus is all extremely good, but hands down my favorite part of any description has got to be this bit in Stanley’s:
Is rather inclined to be good-looking, but fat, with jet black hair, very white hands, which are always abominably clean, and the shirt sleeves tucked up; giving one unpleasant ideas that he would not mind cutting one’s leg off immediately—‘if not sooner.’
horatios
you should see what Goodsir had to say about him in the letters he wrote to his family, it is scathing:
“[Stanley] is a would-be great man who as I first supposed would not make any effort at work after a time. He is at present however altho he knows nothing whatever about his subject and is ignorant enough of all other subjects showing it more than any other person I ever met with in consequence of his speaking so much”?
“All the duty he does is to see one or at most 3 cases in the morning and prescribe. He acts too, which is the most important part of his duty apparently, as caterer for the mess. I am thankful however he does not intermeddle much, altho he attempts sometimes to be lofty.”
holy shit goodsir, DRAG HIM
