b The short story “Karain: A Memory,” published in November 1897.
c “An Outpost of Progress,” first published in Cosmopolis (June-July 1897).
d Politically conservative member of the Church of England.
e Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
f Bowlegged; having curved legs that are wide apart at the knees.
g Fast sailing vessel.
h Position or accommodations.
i A dock on the Thames.
j Revolving cylinder used for raising and lowering the anchor.
k Having a heavy substance (in this case, sand) placed in the bottom of the hull to ensure stability.
l The parts of a ship’s sides above the level of the deck.
m Candles made by dipping string in melted tallow.
n River in northern England.
o Sailors engaged for a single short voyage.
p Abbreviation for poop deck, an elevated deck at the stern.
q Boatman who works for hire.
r Drizzly.
s Plank that extends crosswise in an open boat and serves as a seat.
t Rope attached to a boat’s bow, used for securing or towing it.
u Southern tip of Cornwall, site of numerous shipwrecks.
v Vertical posts along the sides of a vessel’s upper deck to which the guardrail is affixed.
w Curved part of a vessel’s stern.
x What remains after the best of something has been used up.
y Seaport in Cornwall.
z Meals.
aa Facial redness attributed to the drinking of rum (grog).
ab Tarred rope fibers used for caulking seams.
ac Western tip of the island of Java.
ad Hatch of a compartment in a vessel’s bow.
ae Coal broken into small pieces so it will burn quickly.
af Forward part of a ship, below the deck, housing sailors’ quarters.
ag Yard (horizontal pole that supports a sail) on the mainmast.
ah Small cranes used to raise or lower a ship’s boats.
ai Behind, or toward the stern.
aj Adjust the horizontal poles that support the sails.
ak Part of a ship’s hold used for storage.
al Connecting platform.
am Seamen from the Far East.
an Respectively, Anyer and Jakarta, cities in Java.
ao Length of a person’s outstretched arms, standardized to 6 feet.
ap Disreputable people.
aq Filled to the brim.
ar Small anchor used for maneuvering a ship.
as Beams supporting the anchor chain.
at Mast above the topmast.
au Upholstered seat for two or more people.
av In Greek mythology, the personification of darkness; sometimes an alternate name for Hades.
aw Rail at a vessel’s stern.
ax Temporary rigging for a sail.
ay Greek goddess of vengeance.
az Town on the south shore of the Thames, 26 miles east of London.
ba In the second paragraph of “Youth.”
bb Familiar term for dominoes, which were often made of ivory.
bc Mast to the rear of the mainmast.
bd County in southeast England bordering on the North Sea and the north shore of the Thames.
be Ports on the Thames.
bf Merchants.
bg Ships illegally engaging in trade.
bh Ship with three banks of oars, usually rowed by slaves or convicts.
bi Renowned wine from Campania (in southern Italy) praised by many classical Roman poets.
bj Primary Roman naval base in northern Italy.
bk Marlow’s first reference to Kurtz.
bl The Congo.
bm Street in London renowned as a center of business and journalism.
bn Brussels, Belgium.
bo This remark appears to be made in jest.
bp Long, loose outer garment.
bq Splendid.
br Proto-psychiatrist.
bs “ [Stay] calm, calm. Good-bye” (French).
bt Boma.
bu Loops.
bv Explosive charge.
bw Trundle bed; a low bed on casters.
bx Port on the English Channel, in County Kent.
by Mercenaries from the island of Zanzibar, near the coast of Tanzania.
bz 224 pounds; a stone is a British unit of weight equivalent to 14 pounds.
ca Leopoldville, now Kinshasa.
cb Sailor.
cc Hardwood spears, usually iron-tipped.
cd Bunglers.
ce Evil spirit to whom the legendary Faust sells his soul; used here to mean a fiendish person.
cf Table napkin.
cg Large prehistoric reptile.
ch Name of a mythical country of fabulous riches believed by sixteenth-century explorers to be located in South America.
ci Abbreviation for confabulation; discussion.
cj The manager’s uncle and his gang.
ck Sound made by the blades of the paddle wheel (at the ship’s rear) making contact with the water.
cl Members of the crew who cut wood as fuel for the steamship.
cm Crewman responsible for stoking and monitoring the fire in the ship’s boiler.
cn Stanley Falls, now Kisangani; the furthest navigable point upriver on the Congo.
co For the steamship’s boiler.
cp Elliptical or abbreviated language, as in a telegram.
cq Devices for applying or increasing power, such as ropes and pulleys.
cr Secret code.
cs Gradually released.
ct Breech-loading rifles.
cu Sharply turned the ship.
cv Pole used to gauge the water’s depth.
cw Large, flat-bottomed boat used for hauling bulk materials.
cx Another type of breech-loading rifle.
cy Numerous shots fired simultaneously or in rapid succession.
cz Devil.
da Guns.
db Both “shade” and “wraith” mean ghost, or apparition.
dc Possibly human sacrifices, although the phrase is sufficiently ambiguous to suggest other meanings.
dd Incompetent person.
de Red-haired.
df In some forms of comedy and pantomime, a buffoon who typically dresses in multicolored clothing.
dg A cotton or linen fabric.
dh Region and city in western Russia, southeast of Moscow.
di Multicolored dress of a professional fool or jester.
dj The binoculars Marlow has alluded to earlier in the paragraph.
dk Food appropriate to be eaten by an ill person.
dl Short rifle that can be fired several times without having to be reloaded after each shot.
dm From Marlow’s aunt’s friends, who have represented him as an idealistic missionary.
dn Ivory that has been buried in the ground, as Marlow has earlier observed.
do Long, loose overcoat, originally made in Ulster, Ireland.
dp Soil.
dq Ancient.
dr Steal.
ds Stone coffin.
dt Family.
du Rustling.
dv Pebbles.
dw Two-wheeled carriage.
dx Resisting being controlled by the reins attached to the bit in his mouth.
dy Person who grazes cattle; more broadly, a rancher.
dz Grove.
ea Steps for passing over a fence or wall.
eb Protective barrier.
ec Corpses of the other people who had been on the ship.
ed Bend in a coast that forms a bay.
ee Part of the River Elbe that flows into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, Germany, northwest of Hamburg.
ef Of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic order founded at Mount Carmel in the twelfth century.
eg Ship masts and yards.
eh Wood siding; horizontal boards ser
ving as weatherproofing.
ei Furnaces used for reducing limestone or shells to lime.
ej Baby carriage.
ek Long mountain range in central and eastern Europe.
el Slavic.
em Stout poles on a ship, such as those used to support rigging.
en In or toward the middle of a ship.
eo Wicker sleds.
ep Flat-bottomed fishing boat.
eq Farmyard or enclosure where piles of hay, corn, etc., are stored.
er Monastic or monkish.
es Bed of straw.
et Member of the Church of England.
eu Small pieces of cloth worn on the chest and back by some Roman Catholics.
ev A hussar is a cavalry soldier, and a dolman the jacket he typically wears.
ew Attempted.
ex Surface at the back or side of a fireplace.
ey Carriage.
ez Former name of the Chao Phraya River, which flows through Bangkok into the Gulf of Siam (now Gulf of Thailand).
fa Paknam is a Siamese port; a pagoda is a tall East Asian tower that serves as a temple or memorial.
fb Cabin.
fc Unfamiliarity (that is, with the ship and its crew).
fd Range of perception.
fe Compass stand.
ff posts used for fastening cable at the foremast.
fg Skylight for a lower deck or cabin.
fh Private cabin.
fi Rope rungs used by seamen to climb the rigging of the mizzenmast.
fj Devices that keep objects stable in a rocking ship.
fk Noose.
fl Island off the southwest coast of Borneo.
fm Exhausted.
fn Eccentric.
fo Braces are ropes used to control the horizontal motion of a yard; after here means aft, or toward the stern.
fp Having a striking or impressive appearance.
fq Scolding, denouncing.
fr Tacking is sailing in a zigzag course in order to move opposite to the direction the wind is blowing.
fs Moderately, fairly.
ft Toward the lee, the side of the ship sheltered from the wind.
fu Cambodian.
fv Connects; provides passage to.
fw Turning windward while tacking.
fx British one-pound gold coins.
fy Bottle holder.
fz Head.
ga In Greek mythology, a boat transporting dead souls to the underworld.
gb Began to move backward.
gc Forward end.
Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction Page 32