Tho' my Inclination had been to go out aboard an East Indiaman (the Revᵈ continues), as that route East travers'd notoriously a lively and youthful World of shipboard Dalliance, Gale-force Assemblies, and Duels ashore, with the French Fleet a constant,— for some, Romantic,— danger, "Like Pirates, yet more polite," as the Ladies often assur'd me,— alas, those who controll'd my Fate, getting wind of my preference at the last moment, swiftly arrang'd to have me transferr'd into a small British Frigate sailing alone, upon a long voyage, in a time of War,— the Seahorse, twenty-four guns, Captain Smith.
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Line 57 Vulgarized:
Though I would have liked to travel to the east aboard an East India company ship, being that that route was way more exciting with the most robust and energetic shipmates, sailing through countries most likely to lead to romantic encounters and chivalrous duels, and always the exciting prospect of a ship-to-ship encounter with the French ("Like pirates but they ask consent," swooned all the ladies), the powers that be learned of my desires and punitively chose the opposite: a lonesome British frigate set upon a long and boring voyage, likely to be sunk at sea, with a boring name—the Seahorse—and a boring captain with one wooden leg named Smith.
Subtext:
People in positions of authority are never content with maintaining order. They feed off of punitive punishments, especially to those unwilling to submit to their authority. The worst thing a person can do to a person who believes themselves the authority in the room is undermine that authority. Just look at the way police in America feel they have free rein to murder anybody who doesn't respect their authority (or possibly just anybody of a race whom the police have determined, as a whole, doesn't respect police authority). They aren't about policing or preventing crime. They're out their punishing the people they believe should be punished. They think the badge gives them the authority to be judge, jury, and executioner. They all think they're Judge Dredd and the Punisher and The Batman. They really think their job is to punish people who don't respect their authority. And yet there are still people in America who are arguing over the slogan "Defund the police." As if a slogan is murdering people in the street with no oversight.
In this passage, we see how Reverend Cherrycoke doesn't have any right to his desires once he's deemed a criminal and a madman. Worse, They purposefully choose to do the opposite of what he wants. It's cruelty for cruelty's sake. It's making a statement: we can abuse you as much as we want and if you try to go against us or reveal our sins, we will abuse you even more. They think the threat of abuse is real power. Maybe some day, somebody somewhere will realize the actual power of kindness and compassion.
On a lighter note, I really think the subtext of the name of the ship and the name of the captain is that Cherrycoke is supposed to be sent on a boring ship. Part of his punishment is to deny him adventure. You know, like how your parents complain whenever they discover prisoners have access to cable television and reading material. "What?! It's like they're living in luxury! And we're paying for it!"
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