“Yet if he had been asked… if he were happy… He would have admitted readily enough that he was uncomfortable, that he was cold, and badly fed, and venomous; that his clothes were in rags, and his feet and knees and elbows raw and bleeding through much walking and crawling; that he was in ever-present peril of life, and that he really did not expect to survive the adventure he was about to thrust himself into voluntarily, but all this had nothing to do with happiness: that was something he never stopped to think about.” WarNovelMilitaryThrillerUsmcWitches Bottle Author:C.S. Forester
“The cork was in the bottle. He and the Atropos were trapped.” MetaphorPoeticTrappedImageryNauticalBottleHornblowerForester Book:Hornblower and the Atropos Source: Hornblower and the Atropos
“He found himself pacing, stoopshouldered, up and down the tiny limits of his cabin, and checked himself furiously. The iron-nerved captain of his dreams would not allow himself to work himself into this sort of fever, even though his professional reputation was to be at stake in four hours' time. He must show the ship that he, too, could face uncertainty with indifference.” LeadershipConfidenceDisciplineConscientiousness Book:Beat to Quarters Source: Beat to Quarters
“The shortage of tobacco, of water and of wood was nothing nearly as important, however, as the imminent shortage of grog. He had not dared to cut that daily issue, and there was only rum for ten more days in the ship. Not the finest crew in the world could be relied on if deprived of their ration of rum.” DisciplineAlcoholNavyMutiny Book:Beat to Quarters Source: Beat to Quarters
“Bush put both arms round Hornblower’s shoulders and walked with dragging feet. It did not matter that his feet dragged and his legs would not function while he had this support; Hornblower was the best man in the world and Bush could announce it by singing ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ while lurching along the alleyway.” BushHoratio HornblowerHornblowerWilliam Bush Book:Lieutenant Hornblower Source: Lieutenant Hornblower
“Hornblower worked as hard to conceal his human weaknesses as some men worked to conceal ignoble birth.” Horatio HornblowerHornblowerC S ForesterLieutenant Hornblower Book:Lieutenant Hornblower Source: Lieutenant Hornblower
“But he was mesmerised by the necessity of completing his task. The mizzen stay parted under his axe; he saw another rope draw up taut, and cut that as well — the pattern of the seams of the deck planking at that point caught his notice — felt another severed and flick past him, and then knew that the Lydia was free from the wreckage. Almost at his feet lay young Clay, sprawled upon the deck, but Clay had no head. He noted that as an interesting phenomenon, like the pattern of the deck seams.” FlowShockShell Shock Book:Beat to Quarters Source: Beat to Quarters