To the Ends of the Earth (2005) Movie Script

'God save our gracious king'

'Long live our noble king'

'God save our king'

'Send him victorious'

'Happy and glorious'

'Long to reign over us'

'God save the king'

'Thy choicest gifts in store'

'On him be pleased to pour'

'Long may he reign'

'May he defend our laws'

'And ever give us cause'

'To sing with heart and voice'

'God save the king.'

'Here's a health unto his Majesty'

'With a fa la la la la la la'

'Confusion to his enemies'

'With a fa la la la la la la'

'And he that will not drink his health'

'we wish him neither wit nor wealth'

'Nor yet a rope to hang himself'

'With a fa la la la la la la la la

With a fa la la la la laaaaaaa'

Well done! Well done!

Bravo!

'The sheep's in the meadow

the kye are in the corn'

'Thou ower lang in thy bed,

o, bonny at morn'

'Canny at night, oh bonny at morn'

'Thou ower lang in thy bed, bonny at morn'

'The birdie's in the nest,

the trout are in the burn'

- She sings well, does she not?

- Oh, yes...

A singing master would have

wished more tremolo.

And, of course, more practiced

presentation, but...

What sir, you...

I apologize, Miss Chumley.

I've been hit over the head and

I'm not entirely myself.

You must recover slowly from such injuries

and not be exposed to the profound

of human emotions.

I am recovered, Miss Chumley.

I must ask you to forgive me, again.

'The lad will not work

and the lass will not learn'

I've yet to ask you:

why do you travel to India?

Lady Somerset is persuaded that

India is the natural paradise.

I believe she may be disappointed.

What about you, Miss Chumley?

What are your reasons?

Young persons are like ships, Mr Talbot.

They do not decide their fate,

nor their destination.

May I take your hand for the

next dance, Miss Chumley?

Oh, perhaps a refreshment first, Mr Talbot.

At once.

No, no, no. Right foot. Sir.

It seems unnecessarily harsh, when room

maybe found upon our ship, to subject

your prot?g?e to such suffering

at the hands of the sea...

Come, come, Mr Talbot. We know who

is suffering and who will continue to.

I will not allow circumstances to fault me.

A proper sentiment on a young man.

Why. This is the stuff of poetry.

And here am I, a devotee of the Muses

forced to be the one all poets deride.

No, ma'am.

If you are yourself, and not suffering from

your injuries, you would see it as I do.

Marion is in my care.

She must remain on the Alcyone.

Mountain won't come to Mahomet...

You dance very well, Mr Deverel.

It's the rum - keeps me in a straight line

Without the rum, sir, can you still dance?

Still in a straight line, only...

Mr Deverel! My chair, I think.

Mr Deverel!

You are placed under open arrest

and forbidden to drink, sir.

- Return to your quarters.

- By Christ, Anderson!

Quiet, you fool! Say nothing.

Come, Miss Chumley. Let us take the air.

One of the Deverels, is he not?

How very unfortunate... mmhm.

How happy they are! How gay!

If only I...

You would not understand, sir.

We should return. It is the cotillion.

And I do not wish to disappoint

your Mr Willis.

Mr Willis?!

- Impertinent scamp! I'll have his ears for this!

- Come, sir.

A moment, Miss Chumley.

Marion...

We must not part.

I offer you...

Can I offer you?

Yes...

I offer you the ruin of my career

and the devotion of a lifetime.

I beg you will say no more, sir.

I cannot leave you with as little mark

of favour as might be accorded

any gentleman in either ship.

Please, sir, say no more.

Marion, dear.

Stay one minute.

I cannot.

Than tell me you do not regard me

as little as these other gentlemen.

I do not, sir.

Good night, Mr Talbot.

Good night, Captain.

Anderson! Anderson!

Turn in, Mr Deverel, you are drunk!

I resign my commission.

As a private gentleman

I issue a formal challenge to a duel.

Mr Deverel, I urge you to turn in.

You are a coward, sir!

Accept my challenge or you are a coward!

Inform the blacksmith the prisoner

is to be restrained in irons.

Coward!

I did not receive it, Mr Talbot.

Pray be witness to that.

Kindly take charge of it.

I do not wish to interfere

in a service matter.

Pick it up!

- Mr Talbot!

- Sir Henry!

Sir Henry, I must talk to you.

Mr Talbot, come aboard, dear boy.

It's about little Marion, is it not?

Hmm.

Charming girl. But if you wish

to correspond, dear boy

you must seek permission from Lady Somerset.

- It is more than that, sir.

- Good God, the little minx!

She's all sweetness, but sir, I beg you

I wish to take passage at Alcyone.

Your face, Talbot. It's bleeding.

Bring forward the ship's surgeon.

Quickly, Mr Saunders.

It's just my head. 'Tis but a trifle.

I am Mahomet.

Good God! You've been drinking,

that's what it is.

No sir! I wish to take passage on Alcyone.

You must allow me!!

- But your career my boy...

- It means nothing!

- But your godfather. Your mother...

- I beg you, sir!

Sir Henry, you must take me

to India with you, you must!

- You must!

- Hurry man, he needs medical assistance.

I do not! I am Mahomet!!

Sir Henry!

I am Mahomet!

Marion! Marion!!

I tell you who I am. I am Mahomet!

I am Mahomet!

Marion!!

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Oh, Lord, hear us.

Oh Christ, hear us.

God the Father, God the Son, and God

the Holy Ghost have mercy upon us.

'We're all laid idle,

we're keeping the bairn'

'The lad widnae work

and the lass widnae lairn'

Dobbie...

- Dobbie...

'Canny at e'en, oh bonnie at morn'...

'...Thou's o'er lang in thy bed

oh bonnie at morn.'

Wheeler!

Marion...

Marion!!

Marion!

You were nearly gone there, Mr Talbot!

You have the advantage of me, sir.

Francis, you careless bugger!

If I see you slip out of the strop

I'll have you at the grating!

Forgive me, Mr Talbot, sir.

I am Lt Ben?t.

with one 'n' and an acute accent

on the second 'e'.

French?!

Distantly, sir.

Then you're from Alcyone?

Where else, in this waste of water?

You should return to your cabin, sir.

This is no place for passengers.

Make a run for it!

Now, sir!

If to be restored to a complete

understanding of one's situation

is to be healed,

then let us all prefer sickness.

You should keep down what you can, sir.

All that I wish for is that this motion

would hurry up and finish me.

Lt Ben?t has said to be takin' measures

to make our passage more tolerable.

He's a valuable addition to our crew.

Then why would Sir Henry want rid of him?

- I believe it was an exchange, sir.

- Exchange for what?

Lt Deverel.

By this time, Dashing Jack would

be the other side of the Cape.

With my beloved Marion!

It cannot be within the confidence of

mere captains to decide such things!

The saying is, once the ship's out

of sight of land, a captain can to

anything he likes to you but get

you in the family way.

This is too much!

The exchange was a benefit to both captains, sir.

Lt Ben?t would still be on the Alcyone now,

had he not been so sweet on the captain's lady.

- Lady Somerset?

- Sir Henry caught them.

Him on his knees and she not

trying to get away very hard.

So, Captain Anderson having an

unhappy officer to dispose of and

Sir Henry having an officer to get

rid of, the exchange was made.

Carry on!

- Good afternoon, Mr Ben?t.

- Mr Talbot.

- Are we making good progress, sir?

- Four and a half knots.

Surely soon we shall find

those westerlies

and be blown all the way to Sydney Cove.

- Indeed, sir.

- Mr Ben?t, a moment.

It had occurred to me that, during your

passage aboard Alcyone, perhaps...

you had the opportunity of forming some

opinion on the character of Miss Chumley.

She has none.

- I beg your pardon?

- She can have none, Mr Talbot.

She's a schoolgirl.

- Miss Chumley...

- I have no opinion of schoolgirls.

It's useless to look to them for

sympathy or understanding or anything.

They are blown by every wind, sir.

Miss Chumley is no longer

a schoolgirl, sir!

She's pretty, I grant you.

Amiable.

- With a trace of wit.

- Trace?!

- Malleable...

- Mr Ben?t!

She's a sporty girl, though.

I give you that!

Why, as man to man, had little Marion

detained her uncle with some plea

about the conduct of the ship,

then -I don't mind telling you-

I should've been a

devil of a sight nearer

being caught

'in flagrante delicto' than I was.

She knew about you and Lady Som...

She understood?

A criminal connection!

She was accustomed to keep 'cave' for us.

You'll excuse me, Mr Talbot.

I have duties to carry out.

Marion...

The voyage continues.

A man cannot weep forever.

The ship is making what way she can

over a beam sea and with much wind

But our foremast is still shot

and we can spread no sail.

We've been too long in the Doldrums

and our hull is incrusted with weed.

Miss Granham!

You should take to your cabin

in these conditions.

I am perfectly able to reach the

passenger saloon, Mr Talbot.

Then perhaps Mr Prettiman should escort you.

He took a fall yesterday, a severe one

and has been unable to leave his bunk.

Good God!

I had hoped to ask for a little warm water.

Wheeler!

- Wheeler!

- Sir?

- We want some hot water at once.

- There isn't any, sir.

Nonsense. You brought some

to me just this morning.

Miss Granham is not on my

side of the lobby, sir.

Well neither am I since I've changed over.

- Yes, sir. But, sir, I ...

- Hot water, Wheeler, and quick about it!

And if necessary, light the damn fire

again. And tell whomsoever it should

concern that it was under my instruction.

Please allow me

to escort you to your hutch...

'cabin', I mean to say,

for you're not a rabbit.

Wheeler will bring your hot water,

I promise you.

I will see to that.

Under my instruction.

Now!

Haul away on the messenger, Mr Toner!

- Come on, you idlers!

- Tell me, what are the crew doing?

They're rigging a dragrope.

Weed on the hull, Mr Talbot.

I was informed that such an operation can

only be performed in a harbour or tidal creek.

You will notice that neither are

at our disposal, Mr Talbot.

But how can you insure that the

dragrope will stick to the hull?

A careful officer will exercise his wits

in finding a way round such difficulties.

The dragrope may be held

from several directions;

not merely side to side,

but fore and aft.

Mr Ben?t has proposed a plan

which we think will work.

Mr Benton, your men are idling!

You have benefited from the exchange of officers.

Mr Ben?t is a real seaman, sir.

He's all ropes and blocks and canvas.

There's no steam about Mr Ben?t...

Certainly very energetic man...

As far as your opinion of his seamanship

is concerned, I must take it on trust.

He will go far in my opinion.

A veritable marine Adonis...

You have a fancy way with words, sir.

I trust he will find a way into your journal.

Pull away at the dragrope!

Roundly now!

The devil take the sea

and the Navy together!

They do their best, Oldmeadow.

Well, it's not enough, that's what I say.

Aaaa, Mr Brocklebank, sir.

I've been told you've been forced

to keep to your bunk

It is supposed that a little movement

may improve me.

Talbot!

Oh... I'm in a sad way.

But so, I am informed, is our ship.

Mr Ben?t is endeavouring

to rid the hull of weed.

Yes, but will it ease the motion?

I am not sure. But it will

increase our speed

- I hear Mr Prettiman took a heavy fall.

- Yes, his leg has been smashed to pieces.

I fear, gentlemen, that we shall all

be tossed about in this broad ocean

until it finishes us all...

Nonsense, Brocklebank. We shall reach

the Antipodes in no time at all.

I have it on good authority

from Lt Summers.

Devil take it, men!

Would I be this... happy if...

we was going to sink?

I have given much thought

to the situation, sir.

I had ample time to consider the future.

It was a question, you see, I've been

able to formulate - the great question.

We know how ships are lost:

they run on the rocks

or they are sunk in action.

You would have seen in a dozen pictures

the battle smoke conveniently placed

And in the foreground -

smashed stump of a mast

with three small figures clinging to it.

'HMS Whatnot' ablaze. It's all been seen.

All recorded

- I'm not sure, sir, quite what it is that-

- Ah, the question. It is this:

How does the ship sink

when it is not recorded?

Huh? Every year ships will disappear.

They pass over a horizon and

they enter a mystery, gentlemen.

The water may be fair;

the water -stealthy.

It creeps on them. Over them.

They pump until they are exhausted.

And the water wins!

No one paints a picture of them

disappearing into the sea...

swallowed up by...

- Damn it, Brocklebank, we will not sink!

You cannot think away of

painting the event if...

No, you mistake me, sir.

It is not a question of paint.

But a question of conduct.

By Jove, Talbot, he's put his finger on it!

Mr Oldmeadow understands.

How does a man drown

when he sees it coming? Huh?

It is a question of dignity, Mr Talbot.

I must have my dignity.

How must I drown?

Oblige me, someone, by calling

the servant Wheeler.

- Wheeler!

I beg your pardon, sir. You called for me?

We are interested, you see, Wheeler.

You're about the only man alive

who had what must have been a

deuced unpleasant experience.

You'd oblige us by describing...

Brocklebank! Don't! Stop!

No - Wheeler...

I don't believe the man's recovered -

if he ever will.

No, no Wheeler.

Mr Brocklebank spoke in jest.

It would be like asking some

poor devil what had happened

after he'd been turned off.

No matter, my man.

I am a minority.

That will be all, sir?

Yes, Wheeler.

That will be all.

I am at a loss to understand you, sir.

We had what might well be

a unique opportunity to understand life.

And what is even more important:

understand death!

Unlike you, Mr Brocklebank,

I intend to wait on the event.

Ah, Wheeler.

I... feel it is my duty to apologize

on Mr Brocklebank's behalf.

The man's clearly not been well and I...

Good Heavens, man.

You're as white as a...

Ghost, sir?

I can't drown, sir. I can't drown!!

For goodness sakes man,

pull yourself together!

You'll just have to put up with

what happens like the rest of us!

Steady the course, Mr Smiles!

Nicholas! Boatswain!

That was part of the keel.

It was flotsam. Nothing more.

How could it be flotsam, Mr Talbot?

It has sank!

Ladies and gentleman!

You are in no immediate danger!

The ship has lost her false keel

and that is all.

Would you all please return

to the lower deck.

Charles! What's happening?

We were dragging a whole coral reef

halfway around the world.

I saw a wood.

One through bolt has been torn.

Mr Gibbs is plugging the hole.

- Then we are not drowning?

- No, Mr Talbot. We are not.

Not today.

Let me through!!

Wheeler!

Poor boy.

He has more sensibility than he knows.

You must lie still for a while, sir.

You must lie still, sir!

Thank you, Mrs Brocklebank.

Believe me,

I think I'm now able to rise.

Better, Mr Talbot?

- I'm fully recovered, thank you.

- He's not, Mr Summers.

Believe me, ma'am,

I regret the necessity,

but I require

a moment alone with Mr Talbot.

Your fianc? has also been

asking for you, ma'am.

Fianc??

Have you not heard, Mr Talbot?

Why, it is the only good news

to grace our ship in weeks.

Mr Prettiman has proposed marriage

and Miss Granham has accepted.

- It's a love story.

- Is this true, Miss Granham?

It is customary to offer your

congratulations at such news, sir...

Of course. I mean - congratulations.

I shall pass on your kind words

to Mr Prettiman.

Now, excuse me, sir.

I have been in a faint. But now

I'm ready to return, Mr Summers.

- Return, sir?

- Why, to my own...

The sooner you answer my questions,

Mr Talbot, the sooner Colley's...

-that is, your cabin-

is able to be tidied.

Tidied?

That is... landsman's talk.

- You should've said 'made all shipshape'

- You were the only witness, Mr Talbot.

Who did it?

Good God man!

You know already he did it himself!

- You saw it happen?

- Yes.

And I wish to talk no more on the subject.

Only one more question, Mr Talbot.

Have you any knowledge why

the wretched man did it?

To the best of my knowledge,

he was afraid of drowning.

Men, like cables, each have

their breaking strain.

I cannot help but feel

there is death on my hands.

Like the ghost of Colley,

the spirit of Wheeler is still aboard.

Perhaps it was a young man in the grip

of a fever who dreamed of a meal

on board a neighbouring ship.

And all that followed...

A young person will always remember the time

when two ships were side by side

in the middle of the sea

And hopes that one day they may put

down their anchors in the same harbour.

EPISODE 3

Fire down below

Five more!

Come on, men! Give it another go!

We have escaped the Doldrums once more.

Since Mr Ben?t's success in removing our weed,

we now travel at a much improved

five and a half knots.

But we are fragile. We are held together

by ropes and cables

in a -it seems- broken ship.

They will not be satisfied, sir,

until they have drowned

every last one of us.

I do not think it is time for

such exaggerations, sir.

I trust you are more the thing, Mr Talbot.

I'm feeling perfectly recovered,

thank you.

I took the liberty

of inspecting your old cabin.

What a ghastly mess

your servant left behind!

A coward of a man, if ever I met one.

I do not wish to discuss the matter, gentlemen.

Now you are here, sir,

you'd better be co-opted at once.

The motion before the committee is this...

Committee?

How are we a committee?

Mr Bowles was elected

chairman of this meeting, sir.

Do you wish it adjourned

or will you leave it?

Allow me, Mr Brocklebank.

Mr Talbot may be forgiven for supposing

this is no more than a social gathering.

We have constituted ourselves

an ad-hoc committee.

And have come to certain conclusions:

our motion is intolerable.

But we believe there may be a remedy.

- Which is...

- We suppose

that relief may be found by

an alteration of course

away from the wind and towards

a South American port

where the ship might be repaired

and our health restored.

If such an alteration were necessary,

surely our officers would have made it.

They may think of the ship

but we may go whistle for consideration.

We are taking in water faster

than they can pump it out.

The decision to change course is

not mine or yours, but the captain's.

All we plan at the moment

is to make our wishes known.

I wish you the best of luck.

In fact, Mr Talbot,

I must break it to you that,

'in absentia', you have been elected to

...how shall I say?

...bell the cat.

Devil take it!

There was no one more able, Mr Talbot.

You may take poor little Phoebe with you,

and pull up her smock and show

Captain Anderson her rash.

Pike, for the love of God!

No one else is so likely to have

influence with the captain.

- Your godfather being who he is...

- Let me think!

If we go to him then we go with great care.

The position of a passenger on a

matter of war is...

The power of the captain may well be absolute.

- But we are no longer at war, sir.

- And we are not about to start a mutiny.

If you are to approach the captain,

it must be your last resort.

I will try to persuade the first lieutenant

that he should carry your wishes forward

And if the captain refuses

to listen to Mr Summers?

Yes. I shall go myself.

I will not jeopardize the lives of all

passengers on this ship, sir.

That is enough!

- What might you want down here, sir?

- I was hoping to find Lt Summers.

Don't mind Mr Davies, sir.

He won't trouble you, now.

Not feeling quite the thing,

are you Mr Talbot?

Not so much the lord these days...

I may not be a peer, Mr Askew.

But I'm commissioned to serve His Majesty

in ways you've probably never heard of

and would never understand. You will

oblige me by paying my position the respect

due to it from a warrant officer of

the Navy, however senior.

- 'ardly lovable, is it?

- Lovable?

To carry on this... walking about.

The hoity-toity.

I liked the way

you took those blows on the head

and come up again all set to be a hero.

'He'll be a man one day', I said to myself.

'If someone don't kill him first.'

Only... you don't know nothing, do you?

Make a private conversation of this, sir,

and I shall know how to answer you.

Davies is no trouble.

He's not gonna bother us.

Martin! Give us a song!

He's a real bottom of the barrel, isn't he?

He might have made a lieutenant

if he'd been lucky.

Or had a shove up the bum from an admiral.

It's living and dying in ships, you see.

Something we all have to get accustomed to.

I have more experience than you

with this ship!

It is not madness!

If you were to take time

to look at what we are planning on doing

then you'd not think that it's madness-

- Mr Ben?t!

It is more madness to simply drift

around idly in the seas going nowhere!

Mr Talbot... This way, sir!

I must say, gentlemen.

I find your choice of meeting place

somewhat clandestine.

What are you doing here, Mr Talbot?

The passengers have

formed a committee and they...

rather we...

wish to make our opinion known that

for the sake of women and children

the ship's course should be

redirected to South America.

- Impossible!

- Mr Ben?t!

I am still first lieutenant of this ship.

It is not a question of whether we will

or will not stand towards South America.

We cannot proceed in that direction.

Nor can we touch anywhere

near the Cape of Good Hope.

We have got ourselves too far south.

Ships go further south than this...

The ship's problem goes back to when she

was built.

They say of these ships that they

were built by the mile.

And sawn off as required.

Building defects are way too

common in warships.

They say the copper to lie

in someone's pocket.

- Can men do such things?

- We feel she moves too much.

We cannot use the foremast

and, as a consequence,

we cannot use the mizzenmast either.

All is lost, then?

By obedience to the forces of nature

we may just... outwit them.

It will be a long voyage, Mr Talbot.

And we may sink?

I can trust you?

Then yes. We may sink.

Now...

are you willing to -

I will not say 'to lie' - but to...

play down the seriousness of our situation

as far as the passengers are concerned?

Devil take it, man!

What am I to say to them?

If I say to them we will not reach the

coast of South America or Africa

they will rightfully fear the worst!

- It is a difficulty...

What the First Lieutenant means,

Mr Talbot,

is that you should darken counsel a little

and rely only on assuring them

that all will be well

and that we do the best

in the circumstances.

Come, Mr Talbot.

We may not sink today

and we may not sink tomorrow.

God willing, we may never sink at all.

Where's the committee?

The movement is too much for them.

I'm small and light.

I do not get flung about so much.

You have spoken with Mr Summers?

The ship is in no danger.

The wind, as you know, Mr Pike,

has a habit of changing.

I'm sure, before long, we will find ourselves

riding as easy as in a post chase.

Do you mind if I call you Ed?

Or Eddie?

You may address me as Edmund in this em..

situation in which we find ourselves.

You know, Edmund,

I prefer sitting here talking with you,

than being with my own family.

This is quite, quite dreadful,

I know, but...

after a while I simply cannot stand it!

No matter how anxious I am.

How much I love them...

Anxious? What on earth for?

Mrs Pike seems to think

I can do something.

Which, to tell you the truth,

is why I'm here.

- Ah...

- I cannot!

That hurts more than anything.

You should find her faith in

you flattering, Mr ... Dick.

You said our children were

too young for the French,

but they are not too young for our Lord.

If they should slip through my hands...

in... in this devilish place...

...this desert...

Come, Dick, pull yourself together!

I'm sorry.

I couldn't leave them to sink.

Not here!

Stop blobbering, man!

Anyone would think you was a girl!

Curse it!

I mean... I...

Mr Talbot.

Mr Prettiman has requested

to speak with you.

- Me, ma'am? What...

- He says it is a private matter.

- Is the time convenient?

- Of course, ma'am.

Whatever you wish.

Aloysius?

It is Mr Talbot, come to see you.

- Letitia?

- It is I, Edmund Talbot, sir.

Miss Granham has stepped outside.

She seems to think you wish to talk

to me, though what have I done to

deserve such an unexpected honour?

Sit down, boy. Sit down.

You're aware than Miss Granham and I...

Argh!

I am aware, as is everybody,

that the lady has

consented to make you the happiest of men.

Don't smother the thing with nonsense.

She agreed to marry me!

- That is what I said

- Now, I mean,

before we reach the promise land,

if by some small miracle we ever do.

We have no clergyman.

Captain Anderson will perform the ceremony.

Can I fetch you a drink?

I am dying, Mr Talbot.

Oh, come now, Mr Prettiman,

a mere fracture isn't...

Will you abstain from this foolish habit

of contradiction? If I say

'I am dying', I mean I am dying

and I'm going to die!

Mr Talbot...

I wish you to be a witness at the ceremony.

- I?

- You and Oldmeadow.

But we have no official standing on this

ship. I will be happy to give the bride away.

- Mr East will give her away.

- Mr East the printer?

Will you listen?! Or do you wish to

prolong this interview indefinitely?

The officers of this ship will be

distributed around the world.

But you and Oldmeadow will remain

at Sydney Cove

Modest as it may be, Miss Granham

will inherit my fortune.

But without unimpeachable witnesses

and at a distance of 18,000 miles from

our courts - corrupt as they are...

That is outrageous, sir!

British justice...

If I say they are corrupt, then they are corrupt!

Oh, in respect of money you may rely

on them, but in all else

they are corrupt by privilege,

land tenure, by a

viciously inadequate system of representation.

I do not care to ask for favours,

but I find that I must.

Do you believe in justice, sir?

I am an Englishman.

I believe in fair play.

May I not move you to a more

comfortable position, sir?

- This mass of bedclothes round your waist.

- It is not a mass of clothes, it is

a gross swelling of the upper abdomen

and the upper part of the lower limbs.

Good God.

Good God!

Must every second sentence begin

with an imprecation?

You cannot move me, sir.

To move me is a torture.

Come closer, Mr Talbot.

I have searched my conscience.

I believe, what I'm about to do is right.

- I have a paper for you.

- Oh?

It is a paper signed by me.

People will contest my will.

They might well bring the case

that the marriage

was not - could not be consummated.

I do not follow what I'm supposed

to do, Mr Prettiman.

I've written a plain declaration

that I have had...

carnal knowledge of the lady.

During the voyage, before the marriage.

- Good...

- You're about to say something?

Nothing...

You will find in my possessions

a green leather case.

Take charge of the letter, if you please.

I... agree to guard this letter and

produce it under the circumstances

which you envisage.

Good.

- Oh, Talbot!

- Sir?

Miss Granham is unaware of

the existence of this paper

and I wish her to remain so

as long as possible.

That is a lady's cabin...

Excuse me my lad!

Miss Granham!

Mr Summers was kind enough

to provide me with dry clothing.

Your business with Mr Prettiman

is concluded?

Indeed it is.

My apologies if I startled you, ma'am.

You must be glad for time of leisure

what with your many activities, Mr Ben?t.

Work enables me

to forget my sorrow, Mr Talbot.

I do not envy you, given 24

idle hours a day, in which to fill

the pangs of separation from Miss Chumley.

We are companions in sorrow, sir.

I have no solace but my art.

- Art, Mr Ben?t?

- My muse - my poetry.

The parting from Lady Somerset

struck verses from me as quickly

as the sparks from the flint.

'The salutation which she cast

From ship to ship had been our last!'

'Her eye had dropped a winking tear...'

Yes, I'm sure the verses

will be very pretty, Mr Ben?t,

once properly written down and corrected.

Do you find some fault?

I could detect a little 'enjambment',

but that is by the by.

She was with Miss Chumley.

Did Miss Chumley not speak?

She came to the rail as Alcyone moved away

and looked woebegone...

I daresay she was feeling seasick.

I doubt you have the sensibility to

understand the completeness of separation.

I believe I have as much sensibility

as the next man, sir!

The instant I saw Miss Chumley,

I was struck by...

no, no - destroyed by lightning.

It was, if you are familiar with the phrase,

'coup de foudre'.

- Say that again.

- 'Coup de foudre'.

Yes, the phrase is familiar.

Before we parted she did declare

that she held me in higher regard

than any gentleman on either ship.

Later still, I received a 'billet doux'.

- A 'billet doux'! For God's sake!

- Was that not encouragement?

Well how can I tell unless

I know what is in it?

The words are chiselled in my heart, sir.

'A young person will always remember the

time when two ships were side by side'

'in the middle of the sea and hopes that

one day they may put down their anchors'

'in the same harbour.'

I find no encouragement for you there, sir.

I do not believe it.

A determination that the affair

should end as painlessly as possible.

- No!

- Be a man, Mr Talbot.

Do I whine or repent?

Because I have no hope whatever of

seeing the Beloved Object again.

All that consoles me is my genius.

She felt as I do!

- Go away.

- Sir, wake up, sir. You are required.

- What for?

- The wedding, sir. It's today.

Wedding?

Oh, be careful!

It's alright, now.

We are witnesses.

Oblige us by letting us through.

'Man that is born of woman hath but a

short time to live and is full of misery'

God, man!

'Dearly beloved.'

'We are gathered together here,

in the sight of God'

'in the face of this congregation

to join together this man and this woman'

'in holy matrimony.'

'which is an honourable estate, instituted

by God in the time of man's innocence'

'Signifying onto us the mystical union

that is betwixt Christ and his Church:'

'which holy estate Christ adorned

and beautified with his presence'

'and first miracle that he wrought

in Cana of Galilee,'

'Therefore, if any man can show just cause

why they may not lawfully be joined together'

'let him now speak, or else hereafter

for ever hold his peace.'

I have the ring!

Now Mr Prettiman.

If you could repeat after me:

'With this ring, I thee wed.'

'What God has joined together,

let no man put asunder.'

Mr Ben?t. What brings you down here?

- I came to assist Mr Prettiman.

- Ah, there's no need.

I'm on my way to help the fellow right now.

You may return to your duties.

All the same, I think I should call

on the gentleman.

I believe he may benefit from

having his position changed.

- That was my idea.

- Really, sir?

We're all capable of ideas

and not all of them will endanger

the safety of this ship, you fool!

- I'm not a fool!

- I'm saying that you are.

What is worse, you are a French fool!

Ah, the English. When one first

meets them, one dislikes them.

But when one gets to know them,

the dislike turns to genuine loathing.

Gentlemen, please!

- Mr Prettiman, I am here to help you.

- As am I, sir.

- Sir, I believe...

- My idea is to change...

Anything to relieve this agony.

Move me if you will!

- This way.

- No, this way!

Oh gently. Gently with him!

You've killed him.

I kill people without knowing it.

Colley, Wheeler...

Now Mr Prettiman.

During the voyage

I've received a few shocks and

found out a few things about myself

I did not much like.

But this new event was like falling

into the darkness of a measureless pit.

Is something wrong, Mr Talbot, sir?

No, Phillips.

- Why, should there be?

- You were calling out, sir.

You could have saved us.

Have you a spare moment?

I have volunteered

to stand the middle of the watch

which by now you must know is...

- Midnight until four.

An officer of the watch has a doggie.

Would you care to stand

that watch with me as a midship?

You're serious?

I know that you're a passenger, sir,

but it occurred to me that...

Should you leave me in charge of the ship?

During the day I recommend

you get at least four hours of sleep

to make up for what you will loose

during the night.

In fact, I believe I shall make that an order.

Aye aye, sir.

- 'Night, Mr Summers.

- Thank you, Mr Cumbershum.

Mr Speaker,

to those of us who have actually stood

the middle in one of His Majesty's

ships of the line.

It is good to have you here, Mr Talbot.

Please, Mr Summers

As your... 'doggie'

-as I believe you called it-

I'm Edmund.

Then I am Charles.

You might read by this light,

don't you think?

- Where are we?

- You mean our position?

I wish I could tell you.

We know our latitude,

if that is any comfort.

It's all Columbus ever knew.

An Italian who left Spain looking

for India and found America?

Charles, when am I to learn

celestial navigation?

That will have to wait, I'm afraid, Edmund.

- What is Mr Gibbs doing?

- The foremast has broken its shoe.

- You knew that, surely.

- When we were taken aback.

It is why we have spread no sail on it.

- And the mizzenmast?

- Balance, Edmund.

- We cannot rig one without the other.

- Forgive me. I'm still learning.

Mr Gibbs is securing the mast the best he can.

If we do not make progress soon, we

may all starve out here, that is a fact.

And there's nothing we can do?

Mr Ben?t believes he can reduce

the movement so we can rig a sail.

By scientific means he wishes

to secure the foremast

using the forcing contraction

of red-hot iron.

Shrinking metal on wood?!

The model he showed Captain Anderson

and myself worked, I will allow him that.

On a larger scale...

he could indeed pull the foremast

back into position.

You do not sound convinced, Charles.

We are at sea.

Any mistake and the mast may slip

and go through the bottom of the ship.

Then he is insane to even suggest

such an idea.

The captain is yet to make his decision.

How may the captain even consider such...

Mr Ben?t is a most persuasive young man.

He will go far.

If he lives...

Back, Mr Talbot!

Carry on, Mr Ben?t.

More water. Roundly now!

Keep watching this side.

- More water, she's on fire!

- Mind your station, Mr Gibbs!

Still, I say! Still !!

- Sir, I fear that...

- Quiet!

She's moving, sir.

Congratulations, Mr Ben?t.

- I believe you were the originator, here

-Thank you, sir.

- You too, Mr Coombes.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr Summers. Come with me.

Good God.

Do you understand what you see, Mr Talbot?

- The wood must be on fire within.

- For a little while, no more.

Do you mean to burn us all before any

of our other dangers finish us?!

Be easy, Mr Talbot.

The channels are much larger

than the bolts. Air cannot enter.

When the air is depleted of its oxygen

it will start to cool and there will be

no more than a layer of charcoal

inside the channels.

But you see the degree of force

we have at our disposal?

It is terrifying.

The mast was moved upright

in a matter of seconds.

We may now rig it with sail.

And our speed will increase?

- What was that?

- Something taking up.

It does not matter.

'Thy face is veiled, thou mighty form

The dry, the chill, the moist, the warm'

It is nothing personal against Mr Ben?t.

The plan itself is flawed.

You've done nothing but obstruct

the man since he came aboard, sir.

Obstruct, sir?

You could learn a lot from Mr Ben?t,

Mr Summers.

He is a fine officer and has a bright

future - whereas you, sir...

Captain, sir. The plates are red-hot.

There will still be fire within which

might endanger the safety of the ship.

I'm aware of your opinion, sir.

Be aware of mine.

And cease this constant sniping!

Charles.

What has happened?

- Are you hurt?

- He was lucky, wasn't he?

Ben?t?

Flat calm for the work...

...now the wind again.

An extra two knots, Anderson said.

And for that he has stuck red hot irons

into wood - and left them there.

Ben?t is a kind of meteor.

A passing flash.

Meteors always fall.

He will nigh on double our speed.

The man's a fool.

He's below decks as we speak

composing an ode to Nature.

Is he so?

Well, tell him Nature never gives

something for nothing.

Every knot he adds will

double the intake of water.

I am not to obstruct him!

He, a brilliant young officer

and I...

dull.

- Superannuated.

- Who said that?!

Anderson?

I swear to you he should be brought down.

I will raise the entire government

of the Colony against him!

Hold your tongue, Edmund.

- It is mutiny.

- It is justice.

- I did not desire justice.

- You are worth a hundred Ben?ts.

Two hundred Andersons.

If only this wind would have come

a couple of hours ago...

I find myself wishing...

No.

No, the mast is repaired.

Our speed will increase and I'm glad of it.

We must all be glad.

Why are we such creatures that

a few sentences of an angry man

should matter more than

the prospect of death?

The first ship returning from Sydney Cove

will carry not only my journals

in which you are mentioned

with much admiration

but also contain a letter to

my Godfather declaring that

you deserve to be made 'post' on the spot.

Can you do so?

Exactly as I've said.

I am...

desperately sorry, ma'am.

Can I see him?

For God's sakes, ma'am, is he...

- He is breathing.

- Oh, thank God!

Thank God!

But the emigrants?

Mr East has taken the news through the ship.

What news, ma'am?

Mr Prettiman is dying!

- I don't know what to say, ma'am.

- You never have, Mr Talbot.

This voyage will be famous in history

not for you but for him.

You thought it was a comedy

but it is a tragedy.

a tragedy for the world we are

approaching and hope to reach.

- Ma'am...

- I saw you come aboard

with your privileges about

you like cloud of

of pinchbeck glory!

Now you have trodden with your clumsy feet

into a place which you do not understand

and where you are not welcome!

He will regard you indifferently.

Not as a man, but as an agent of his death.

He will be above forgiving you

But I am not above it, sir.

And I will never, never forgive you.

Family, Mr Eddie.

I hate families.

I think... Mr Pike,

if you are not feeling yourself.

You should not say things you

shall come later to regret.

- Bates, a beer!

- I hate her. Sod her!

- Please, Mr Pike...

- Sod her! Pardon my French.

- Please refrain.

- I don't hate them.

I don't hate them - they hate me.

- Because she said - she...

- Pike... Pike, will you shut up?!

Shut up, you despicable little orange toad!!

You arse on the boil of man!

[Mr Talbot is being quite unintelligible]

Mr Pike, you are a disgusting little man!

That's exactly what she said.

Oh, yes, well you see,

that's what I said, Mr Bowles.

Quite right, Oldmeadow.

There you are, sir.

- Is this fellow dead?

- Dead drunk.

- Two more beers, Bates.

- Yes, sir.

Good God. Your hands!

I suppose you expect the ship to be

run to your convenience, Mr Talbot.

- Oh, was that intended as an insult?

- Pumping did that.

And no matter how hard we worked,

the water kept on rising on us.

- Soon they will need us too.

- Well why not?

He took my men without so

much as a 'by your leave'!

- Mr Summers?

- Yes. Lt fucking Summers.

I said 'Why don't you take the

passengers? Bowles, Pike, Talbot,

Brocklebank' - even that sodding

old wreck will last a minute or two!

We're told that danger brings men together.

I see little evidence of it here, gentlemen.

We are civilians, you and I.

Why should we get involved?

I am no longer a civilian, sir.

Lord Talbot has been promoted

to midshipman.

Every middle watch I attend

with Mr Summers.

So, in answer to your question, no, sir.

I do not expect the ship to

be run to my convenience.

God have mercy!

Soldiers turned into sailors and now

passengers in charge of the ship.

Frankly, I ask myself whether

I should give up hope.

Crawl away and huddle into my bunk.

Perhaps you should ask

Mr Brocklebank to join us.

Gentlemen. Let's drink

a final toast to Mr Prettiman.

The silly old fool spends half the day

in the wind and the rain with the

sea water washing around his knees.

Waiting for his morning fart to develop.

So that's what he does out there.

Well the girls will not allow him back

into his cabin until he's fired off a

blank charge like a saluting gun!

Did somebody mention my name?

- You are soaked through, sir.

- I could not stand up there any longer!

Is it still not safe to go back to your cabin?

The fact is, I need the company of men.

- Bates, more beer!

- Good heaven.

Surely anyone privileged enough to have

the companionship of Mrs Brocklebank...

- Not to mention the lovely daughter...

- Oh, Celia endeavours to cheer me.

But the truth is she already

regards me with a widow's eye.

Surely not! I see Mrs Brocklebank around

the ship and she is never less than merry.

They look merrily on you,

Mr Talbot, but not on me.

I do not like widows, sir.

I've taken care to avoid them in the

only truly logical way.

But in the privacy of our cabin, Celia has

just that air of sad triumph

That almost holy smile with which a widow

contemplates a job well done.

An account paid in full.

An account, I must confide,

that she is not entitled to!

Do you... you mean to tell me

that Mrs... Celia and you are not...

I hate families!

Haa, my good man!

Have you put the brandy in it?

Just a lick, sir.

There she blows!

- Bates, more beer!

- More beer!

A! Mr Ben?t, you Frog!

- I wish to have some plain answers.

- You are drunk, sir.

That is by the by.

I wish to understand more clearly

your relationship with a certain lady.

You mean Miss Chumley, I suppose.

I'm more concerned with

a lady of maturer years.

- So you have found me out.

- Mm...

She is... O, she is....

Since thou didst doff thy woman's weeds

And loose the glories of thy hair

The eye that weeps, the heart that bleeds...

So you did have

a criminal connection with her!

And Miss Chumley was witness to it.

- What connection?

- Lady Somerset.

The heart grows with understanding...

Did you have her

and did Miss Chumley see it?

I might resent your words, Mr Talbot,

on her behalf and my own.

Your mind evidently cannot rise

above the farmyard level.

- Don't talk to me about farmyards!

- You're passionately moved, sir.

And hardly responsible for what you say.

I knelt before the lady.

She offered me her right hand.

I turned it over,

dropped a kiss in the dewy palm

and closed the slender fingers over it.

- That was all?

- That was all.

Then why did she take off her clothes?

Since thou did doff thy woman's weeds

The crudeness of your mind has deceived you.

Had you let me finish...

The eye that weeps, the heart that bleeds

Has found a refuge in your care, Letitia,

Though thy hand be given to another.

Miss Granh... you were writing

poetry to Mrs Prettiman?!

Can you think of a worthier aim?

She is all that the ages

have looked forward to.

You wish to kiss her hand...

Well, I mean, no doubt she will oblige.

Let us tap on her door...

Well, I you asked nicely, she might

let you kiss her inside and outside

for a full watch by a sandglass.

- You are nauseous, sir.

I believe I am, sir.

But at least I do not drool around

the oceans, dropping kisses into

the palms of women old

enough to be my mother.

You would best stick

to schoolgirls, Mr Talbot.

I resent the plural, sir!

For me there is only one school... lady.

You're loveless, Mr Talbot.

It is your main defect.

I? Loveless??

I am saying 'ha ha', sir!

Do you hear? Sir?

We will continue this conversation

when you are sober, sir.

I bid you good day.

Mr Phillips, d'you hear?

We are in love with our mothers.

Come.

Ma'am. This is unexpected.

I...uh...

I bring news of Mr Prettiman.

- Is he...

- ... improved.

It seems your well meant but clumsy

actions stretched his torn leg.

The swelling has subsided.

- Then he is not going to die.

- He's not out of danger.

But the pain is becoming bearable.

- Perhaps he will not walk again.

- One request, ma'am.

May I visit the patient?

I should be less than human if I did not

wish to congratulate him on his recovery,

Commiserate him on his disability and...

offer my profound apologies

for the agony I caused him.

Pindar? Good God.

Had to move, didn't ya, had to speak.

Had to wake me up.

The word was involuntary.

- You said Pindar.

- There, by your hand.

A quotation when I drifted off.

Somewhere in the sixth Olympian.

'Grey hairs flourish even among young men'

- That is not in the sixth Olympian, sir.

It is at the end of the fourth.

Here, at the end.

- So you know.

- We're all having rough time of it, sir.

I daresay I could find a few

grey hairs of my own.

No, not that, boy. Greek.

You've kept it up. Why?

Just liked it, I suppose.

No boy of your age who has kept up

his Greek can be entirely witless.

Silly perhaps, but...

with some inkling of a wider view.

- I'm not precisely a boy, sir.

- Yeah. You're not precisely a man either.

I know fear, I know friendship.

And above all I know love.

I came in to say, sir, that

I congratulate you on your recovery

and apologise for my part in it.

Yes, I see what you mean.

It is rather amusing. Or I would have

thought so, having not said it myself.

Having your thigh bone rammed up into

your body is no joke, I can tell you.

The swelling appears to be reduced.

- You think I shall ride again?

- Can't say, sir.

Sit a while, hm?

Been meaning to ask you for some time.

What is the purpose of your voyage?

A few months ago I would have said

it was to fit me with a

position of responsibility for my country

Now...

Now my ambitions are somewhat different.

Well you started the voyage with

the objectivity of ignorance and you are

finishing it with the subjectivity of

knowledge, pain and hope of indulgence.

And you sir are travelling with the

vowed intention of creating trouble

of troubling this antipodean society.

Which was created wholly

for its own betterment.

A noble gesture which offers freedom and

rehabilitation even to the criminal element

of our own society at home.

- Do you know our own society?

- I have lived in it!

Ah! School, university. Country house.

- You ever visited the city slum?

- Good God, no!

Then you could know nothing, sir!

You're clearly seized of universal truths,

Mr Prettiman.

Some of us do not find them

so easy to come by.

It is the matter of a certain document

which I... entrusted to you.

- Shall I bring it to you?

- Don't bring it to the cabin.

Drop it in the ocean. Mrs Prettiman

must never know of its contents.

- If that is your wish, sir.

- You must know, Talbot.

The lady is like the land

we are approaching.

Sir?

Unpolluted.

- I rejoice to hear it, sir.

- Why should you rejoice?

Had it not for the misfortune of this

dislocated hip she would not be now...

...unpolluted!

- All I meant to say is...

- I understand, sir.

You need not explain anymore.

I shall carry out your wishes.

I left Mr Prettiman's cabin with

the most mixed feelings.

Happiness being, strangely enough,

the uppermost.

It was a feeling which I was, from that

day forward, to associate with him and her.

We do not pray to God. He'll give us all

we need. And we are eternally grateful.

We have no need of priests.

We are all priests.

No matter what nonsense

Mr Prettiman talks.

I listen and cannot help but to come

away with a sense of well being.

Enlightenment.

South America was

an entirely different country

from the one that Candide discovered.

And how could it be otherwise?

Having been devastated by the

Roman Catholic Church?

Feeling that the universe is great.

Glorious.

... I can see the promise land...

They're quite unlike any people

I have ever met.

... the country itself

will be for other men...

We talk of the Crown.

The principle of hereditary honours.

The dangers of democracy,

Christianity, the family, war.

You read well, Edmund.

- Thank you, sir.

- So does Mrs Prettiman.

But of course, she does not read Greek.

It's too much for a woman's brain.

Indeed there were times when it seemed

to me that I threw off my upbringing.

That a man might let armour

drop around him

and stand naked, defenceless, but free.

Imagine our caravan moving by cool night

across the deserts of this new land.

Towards El Dorado.

It would be the adventure of adventures.

You could come too, you know.

There's nothing to stop you.

I have been at the foremast again, Edmund.

The plates are still hot.

There is fire down below,

I'm convinced of it.

For Heaven's sake, man.

Cheer up, Charles!

We're making seven knots to the east,

we have sails on all three masts

and your frapping kept us together.

- All is well.

- You're late for the watch.

- I was reading for Mr Prettiman.

- I say this as a friend, Edmund.

- Be careful.

- Careful of what?

I believe your association with

Mr Prettiman to be dangerous.

Dangerous to you and your future position.

Mr Prettiman

has asked me to join him and Mrs Prettiman

in establishing his new world.

Mr Speaker,

to those of us who have so blatantly

thrown away the privilege

we were born into!

I discuss philosophical matters

with another gentleman, that is all!

These are hardly conversations we

could share.

I see.

Cheer up, man. We have the dawn.

Ha!

That from the man who wished to become

the perfect master of the sea affair.

- What do you mean?

- Dawn at this hour?

Well look it is there...

No, it is gone.

It is covered by the clouds.

- What did you see?

- I told you. It was the dawn light.

Show me where.

There it is!

No ghost.

Heaven help us all.

Why? What is the matter?

It is ice.

How far was it, Mr Summers?

Impossible to say, sir.

Mr Talbot saw it first.

Mr Talbot?

- What was the extent of the ice, sir?

- I could see no end to it.

Was there no call from the forrard lookout?

- No sir.

- Have the man put in irons.

Aye aye, sir.

Bring her round on broad reach to the

larboard. Set every sail there is.

But the foremast, sir.

- It is not secure enough.

- Mr Summers!

Sir. I wish to represent that the mast

will take no more strain. If that goes...

Are you able to propose a better course of action?

You're not still trying to discredit

Mr Ben?t's achievement, are you?

No, sir.

Then follow my orders!

Set every sail.

And instruct the passengers down

to the orlop deck.

Set all sail!

Bring her round on broad

reach to larboard.

- Talbot, what's happening?

- 'Tis nothing, Pike.

Precaution, nothing more.

Wilmot!

Wilmot, I'm dying!

We're all dying!

I've heard mention of ice.

Either we shall weather it,

or we shall have nothing left.

We shall have dignity left.

That is Roman, ma'am.

I prefer to think of it as British, Mr...

Edmund.

- What of Mr Prettiman?

- He's still asleep, I think.

He must be told.

- You are awake, sir.

- Let us not waste time.

Edmund, you will of course help Lettie.

I shall, sir.

It is impossible that I should survive

in the state I find myself, but

when the end is upon us you must

get on deck, the two of you

Wrapped in as much clothing as you can

and make your way to the boats.

No.

Aloysius. Edmund may do so - must

do so. He's young and we are in no way

his responsibility. I shall stay with you.

Now, now, Mrs Prettiman,

I shall become testy.

You will not, sir.

Edmund will go, not I.

But, I would like him to hear this.

For I believe he is in much need

of an example.

In the short span of our married life

I have never disobeyed you.

And would not have done in the future,

had there been one.

Not because I am your wife.

Because of who and what you are.

But we have no future, I think.

And I will stay with you,

here in this cabin.

Goodbye, Edmund.

Mr Jones... Mr Jones, I require

a firkin for my journals.

Mr Jones, I need you to procure me

a watertight vessel for my... Mr Jones?

Mr Jones!

Are you leaving us, sir?

Steer north, nothing to the east.

Brace up!

Haul out the spanker!

Hard to lee. Steer north.

Nothing to the east, sir.

We are in a place for no man.

For sea gods, perhaps.

That great and ultimate power which

surely must support the visible universe.

Somewhere in the darkness I have found

myself articulating spontaneous prayers

which -I knew as they burst

from my lips- are useless.

Keep her a good full. Nothing off.

Hold her steady!

What's that man doing?!

- Lower away James, lower away!!

- Aye aye, sir!

Lower away! Lower away!

- Course full and by, Mr Smiles!

- Full and by!

Alright.

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Charles?

See for yourself, sir.

We have escaped the ice.

But what was that hideous noise?

The purser was not so fortunate, sir.

His boat was crushed on the boom.

Three cheers for the captain!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

- We shall live a little longer?

- It seems so.

Do not cry, Mrs Prettiman,

it's unworthy of you.

Come sir, Mrs Prettiman has hardly been...

Quiet!

I just...

I need a few moments to collect myself.

Shall I go after her?

She will not faint.

Might cry, but she will not faint.

- I think, sir, that...

- Well don't!

I will not have you interfering

in her education.

Education?!

Do you suppose that if we ever contrived

to lead a caravan to found the Ideal City

that she can afford feminine weakness?

Allow me to tell you, Mr Prettiman.

I have met no woman...

No...

Yes! I have met no grown woman that has

so impressed me with her lack of those

same female weaknesses as you are

trying so hard to eradicate.

You know nothing, boy!

I revere Mrs Prettiman, sir, and I

do not mind admitting it. I...

value her highly.

- O, what has that to do with anything?

I am an educationist, sir.

And I will not have any judgement

in that matter questioned.

A man who has worked on his character

as long as I have may perhaps be credited

with some knowledge of that of others!

And pray sir, what work have you done

on your own character to so improve it?

- Is it not obvious?!

- No, sir. Frankly, it is not!

This is unendurable to be

lectured by a stubborn boy!!

Leave us, Edmund.

Please.

Damned hip!

- A hundred and ten fathom, sir.

- Bear away, Mr Cumbershum!

Two points lard.

This, then -if not the end of our voyage-

is the beginning of the end.

- Land ho!

- One point at larboard, sir!

I will not subscribe to the furious

rubbish of 'my country, right or wrong'.

Nevertheless, when I searched my heart,

among all the prejudice of

my nature and upbringing

among all the new ideas, the acceptance

and necessary change.

The people -

writers, politicians, philosophers,

even wide-eyed social philosophers...

The deepest note of my heartstrings

sounds now as it will to my dying day

'England forever!'

Hello there!

- Welcome!

- You're very welcome!

You need to be very careful

with his left hand - that's...

Carefully.

Wait, wait, wait...

Wait, wait, damn you all!

Wait, damn you!

The Governor sends his regards, sir.

Landfall, Mrs Prettiman. Landfall.

I hope you'll be happy in

our little family, Mr Talbot.

I'm certain I will, sir.

I believe your godfather spoke to you

about Mr Prettiman.

Asked you to keep a close eye on him.

The man is now a cripple and married.

I am convinced that he represents

no danger to the state.

The ship, sir. What will happen to her?

It hardly concerns you, Mr Talbot.

But she will not go to sea again.

Most likely

she will serve as our guard ship.

And the officers?

Captain Anderson has returned to England.

I was not thinking of the captain, sir.

You interest me, Mr Talbot.

Proceed.

I was hoping to find sir that you would

be able to use your vast experience

of things naval to promote a man who is

not only my friend, but a fine seaman.

I have already offered the command

of the ship to Lt Ben?t.

I see.

As I expected, he declined it.

He did however press

the claims of Lt Summers -

as Captain Anderson had already done so.

Then Charles Summers will be a captain?

He will, indeed.

I'll leave you to get settled in, sir.

Is anybody still aboard?

Mr Summers was seeing the off loading, sir.

Out of the way!

Charles!

Edmund!

- What set her alight?

- Ben?t's repairs to the foremast.

I told you there was fire down below.

Run!

Jump you silly bugger!

...your beloved godfather has become

weaker over the months and his gout...

Mr Talbot.

I...

came to visit the patient.

and read to him, if he wishes.

We are no longer at sea, sir.

It would do your position no good

to be seen with Mr Prettiman.

My godfather is dead.

I no longer know what my position is.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Have you seen anything of...

Mrs Brocklebank? Pike, Oldmeadow?

- They seem to have vanished.

- They all had lives to get on with, sir.

The voyage has been a considerable

part of your life, sir, but...

do not refine upon it's nature.

It was not an Odyssey.

It is no type,emblem, metaphor of

the human condition. It is, or

-rather was- what it was.

And what was that, ma'am?

A series of events.

So must end this account of Edmund

Talbot's journey to the ends of the earth.

But something is missing, is it not?

To the Ends of the Earth (2005) - full transcript