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    hooked dat damsmackinob de li! Stubb ' x...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Herman Melville. The Whale; Or, Moby Dic...

    distance ( seaming to copae also from distant times as well , as , di . sfanjt ptaces ) w ' rtt ffoe uproar of \ yatqrs ; arid , doubtless , shapes of fear or shapes of beauty not less awful are at times seen upon tlie waves by the diseased eye of the sailor . Finally , the interruption habitually of all ordinary avenues to information about the fate of their dearest relatives ; the consequent agitation which must often possess those who are reeriteririg upon home waters ; and the sudden hurst , upon stepping ashore , of heartshaking news in long-accumulated arrears—these are circumstances which dispose the mind to look out for relief towards signs and omens as qne way of breaking the shock by dim anticipations . "

    This passage is a fit prelude to the thrilling pages of Melville ' s Whale . The book is not a romance , nor a treatise on Cetology . It is something of both : a strange , wild work with the tangled overgrowth and luxuriant vegetation of American forests , not the trim orderliness of an English park . Criticism may pick many holes m this work ; but no criticism will thwart * its fascination . As we mean you to read it and relish it , we shall give no hint of the story : an extract or so by way of whet to the appetite is all you must expect . Here is a picture of

    AHAB WITH THE IVORY LEG . " So powerfully did the whole grim aspect of Ahab affect me , and the livid brand which streaked it , that for the first few moments I hardly noted that not a little of this overbearing grimness was owing to the barbaric white leg upon which he partly stood . It had previously come to me that this ivory leg had at se ^ a been fashioned from the polished bone of the sperm whale ' s jaw . Ay , he was dismasted off Japan / said the old Gay-Head Indian once ; ' but , like his dismasted craft , he shipped another mast without coining home for it ; . He has a quiver of

    em . " I was struck with the singular posture he maintained . Upon each side of the Pequod ' s quarterdeck , and pretty close to the mizen shrouds , there was an augur-hole , bored about half an inch or so into the plank . His bone leg steadied in that hole ; one aim elevated , and holding by a shroud ; Captain Ahab stood erect , looking straight out beyond the ship ' s ever-pitching pvow . There was tin iniinity of firmest fortitude , a determinate , unsurremlerable

    wilfulness , in the lix < xl and fearless , forward dedication of that glance . Not a word he spoke ; nor did his ofli-.: ers say aught to him ; though by all their minutest gestures and expressions they plainly showed the uneasy , it not punfuJ , consciousness of being under a troubled masier-eye . And not only that , Imt moody stricken Alnib stood before them , wiih Jin apparently eternal anguish in his face ; in nil the j iVuneless , regal , overbearing dignity of some , mighty

    woe . " J'lre long , from his first visit into the air , lie ¦ withdrew into his cabin . But alter that morning he was every day visible to the crew ; either . standing in Ins pivot-hole , or seated upon an ivory stool he had ; or heavily walking the deck . As the sky grew less gloomy—indeed , began to grow a little genial--he became still less and less a recluse ; as if , when the uhip had sailed from home , nothing but the dead wintry bleakness of the sea had then kept him so secluded . And , by and by , it came to pass that he

    was almost continually in the air ; but , an yet , for all that he \ saiel , or perceptibly did , on the , at last , nuiiny deck , he seemed as unnecessary there as another mast . But the lYquod was only making a passage now ; not regularly cruising , nearly all whaling preparatives needing supervision the mates were fully competent to ; ho that there was little ; or nothing , out of himself , to employ or excite Ahab now , and thus chane away , fir that one interval , the clouds that layer upon layer were piled upon his brow , as over all clouds choose the loftiest peaks to pile themselves upon .

    * ' Nevertheless , ere long , the warm , warbling perfiunsive-m-H * of the pleasant , holiday weather we came to , Bceined gradually to eharm him from his mood . ¥ or , as when the red-cheeked , dancing fjirls , April and Ma ) -, trip home to the wintry , misanthropic woods ; even the ; barest ,, ruggedest , most lhuiidii- < loveii old oak will at least send forth some few green sprouts , to welcome nueh glud-heai ted visitants ; ho Ahab did , in the end , 11 little respond to the playful allurings of that girlish air . More than once ciici he put . forth ' ( he mint blossom e > f a look , which , in any other man , ivould have flOem Uoweiicd out In a Hinile . "

    There ; in a chapter <> ' » the " Whiteness e > f the Whale" Which 8 h oil 1 ( 1 he read at midni g ht , alone , With nothing heard but the Hounds of the wind inoaning without , ami the emberri falling into the grate within . From it we quote Una on — , pui | ywr /» ttnu > , s . s a iiuti ) of thiiuok . 1 * 'Vr ! $ ^ hW : *| no jh-st albatross t ever Haw . It '''' 4 ^^^ t ' mlin « M < 10 tt ( Ml gale ; , in waters hard upon th < ' , i J & friwi $ wWffif \ fn my forenoon wate : h below , I /^ - * $ i ^^ . W 4 ta V » Nroouderl deck ; nnel there , dinned i / i ^^^ fW ^ W ^ WJ ^^ t l Kaw II rt ; t ? ' feathery lhin £ \ y ' ¦ » i « Al iMi ^^^ uacivai

    of unspotted whiteness , and with a hooked , Koman bfll subliihS . ' At '' intervals , it arched forth , its vast wings , asj if to embrace some holy ark . Wondrous fltitterings and throbbings shook it . Though bodily unharmed , it uttered cries , as some king s ghost in supernatural distress . Through its inexpressible , st rhnge eyes , methdught I peeped to secrets not below ' the heavens ; As Abraham before the angels , I bowed mystlf ; the white thing was so white , its wings so wide ; and in those for ' ever exiled waters , I had lost the miserable warping memories 0 $ traditions and of , towns . Xiong I-gazed at that , prodigy of ; plumage . I cannot tell—can only hint—the things that darted , x _ « k to . * ^ m _ _ ^ m ¦ V . a . ^^ m ^ ^ - ¦

    through ine then . Bat at last I awoke ; and turning , asked a ;' sailor -what bird was this . A' goney , he replied . CrorieV 11 never had heard that name before : is it conc ' eiVable that this glorious' thing fs utterly unknown to men ashore ! Never ! But , some time after , I learned that goney was some seaman ' s name for albatross . So that by no possibility could Coleridge ' s Vvild rhyme have had aught to do with those mystical impressions which were mine , when I saw tfcat bird upon the deck . For neither had I then read the rhyme , nor knew the bird , to be an albatross . Yet , in say ing this , I do but indirectly burnish a little brighter the noble merit of the poem and the poet :- ; - ¦¦• • ¦ •¦¦¦ ¦ •• ¦¦ . ¦ - •••

    v I assert , then , that in the wondrous bodily whiteness of the bird chiefly lurks the secret of the spell ; a truth the more evinced in this , that by a solecism of terms , ' there are birds called grey albatrosses ; and these I have frequently seen , but never with such emotions'as when I beheld the Antarctic fowL " Here you have a glimpse

    into—THE MERCILESS SEA . " But , though to landsmen in general , the native inhabitants of the seas have ever been regarded with emotions unspeakably unsocial and repelling ; though we know the sea to be an everlasting terra incognita , so that Columbus sailed over numberless unknown worlds to discover his own superficial western one ; though , by vast odds , the most terrific of all mortal disasters have immemorially and indiscriminately

    befallen tens and hundreds of thousands of those who have gone up > n the water ; though but a moment's consideration wiH teach , that however baby man may brag of his science and skill , and however much in a flattering future , that science and skill may augment ; —yet for ever and for ever , to the crack of doom , the sea will insult and murder him . and pulverize the stateliest , stiffest frigate he can make ; nevertheless , by the continual repetition of these very impressions , man has lost th . it sen ^ e of the full awful ness of the

    se 1 which aboriginally belongs to it . ' The first boit we read of , floated on an ocean , that with Portuguese vengeance had whelmed a whole woild without leaving so much as a widow . That s une oee . in rolls now ; that same ocean destroyed the wrecked ships of last year . Yea , foolish mortal- ; , Noah ' s flood is not yet subsided ; two-thirds of the fair world it yet covers . " Wherein el if fur the sea and the land , that a miracle upon one is not a miracle upon the other ? Preternatural terrors rested upon the Hebrews , when uiuhr the feet of Korah and his company the live ground openeel ami swallowed them up for ever ;

    yet not a modern sun ever sets , but in precisely the same manner the live sea swallows up ships and crews . " Hut not only is the sea such a foe to man who is an alien to it , , but it is also a ilend to its own offspring ; worse than the Persian host who murdered his own guests ; sparing not the ; creatures which itself hath spawned . Like a savage tigress , that , tossing in the jungle , e > verlaya her own cubs , so the sea dashes even the mightiest whales against the rocks , ami leaves therm there ; side bysiele with the split wrecks of ships . No mercy , no power but its own eontre > ls it . Panting and snorting like a mad battle steeel that has lost its rider , the masterleHS ocean overruns the globe .

    " Conside-r the subtleness of the flea ; he > w itw most elreaeleel creatures glide under water , unnppnrcnt for the ; most part , and treacherously hidden bene » nth the lovHicst tints ol azure . Consider nl « e > the elevilish brilliance ! ami be-auty of many e > f its mo . « t remorseless tribeR , as the dainty e ; mbellisheel idiape of many upe - e-. ie * s of sharks . ( Jonsieler , enice ; more ' , the univetaal cannibalism of the sea ; all whewe : creatures pre'y upon each e > ther , e-arrying oil eternal war since ; the world began . ?

    Consieler till this ; anel then turn to this gre : en , gentle , and most docile ; earth ; consider them both , the seui and the land ; and do you not finel a strange ; analogy . to Homelliiug in yourHedf ? I' \> r us this appalling ocean surrounds the : Ve > rdnnt land , ho in the soul of man then ; lien e ) ne inHUlai Tahiti , full of pence and joy , but eneon » punNe : d by all the horrors e > f the half-lumwn life , ( ioel keep thce ! Push not off freun that isle ; — them ciumt . never re > turn ! " Ia ' . I us first , tell yon that the sharks arc in fierce Nhoals tearing away at the flesh e ) f a < le : ad whale fastened to the ship , and yem will then lintcn with pleasure to

    —Till ; KIOIJUIIH HKHMON TO HIIAItKH . " ' Fellow-eiit . UTH : l ' ne > ordencd here to nay dat you iii ( i . < t Htop dhf . dam rmiHe elan ; . You he-. ir ? Stop

    dat dam . smackin' ob de lip ! ]^[ assa Stubb saTT " * yoli cartfin-your darn Vellfes tip fofohxttodfitf- w by Gor I you must stop dat dam racket '! " ,, " ' iCook , ' here interposed Stiibb , accompanvi nf > the word with a sudden slap on the shoulder Cook ! why you rnustn ' . t ; swear that way when you ' re preaching . That's no way to convert sinners cook , ! ' : * ' ^ Who datJ Pen preach to him yours el f ul lenly turning to go . '"' ' ' '" ¦ " r ¦•* ' •' 2 ^ 6 ' cook ; go on , go on . ' " Well , den , Belubed feirow-critters : '" ' Right !* ¦ exclaimed Stubb , ar / provingly < Coay ' em to it ; try that , * and Fleece continued . - ^ L " ^ __ — - - ^^ _^ d ^ ^ b _ ¦_ ^ i ~ . *~ w * ^ ^ L ^ . ^ m _ ¦ * _ ft ^ fc WP ^^_ ^^^^^^^^ fc

    "' . Dough you is all sharks , and by natur werv woracumsy - ' yettlzay . to you , fellow-critters , dat dat woracipusne 88—' top dat dam slappin' ob de tail ' How you tink to hear , 'spose you keep Up such a rWm slappin and bitin dare ? ' "' Cook , ' cried i ^ tubb , collaring him , < i won « have that swearing . Talk to ' eni gentVerhanl y . ' 'Once more the sermon proceeded . " ' Your woracidusnes 8 , fellow-critters , I don ' t blame ye so much for "; dat is natur , and can ' be helped ; but to gobern dat wicked natur , dat is de pint . You is sharks , 6 artin ; but if you gobern de shark in you , why den you be angel ; for all angel

    is not'ing more dan de shark well goberned . Now look here , bred ' ren , just try wonst to be cibil , a helping yourselbs from dat whale . Don ' t be tearin ' de blubber out your neighbour's mout , I say . Is riot one shark dood right as toder to dat whale ? And , "by Gor , none on you has de right to dat whale ; dat whale belong to some orie else . I know some o' you has berry brig mout , brigger dan oders ; but den de brig mouts sometimes has de small bellies ; so dat de brigness of de mout is not to swallar wid , but to bite off de blubber for de small fry ob sharks , dat can ' t get into de scrouge to help demselves . ' •" Well done , old J ? leece ! ' cried Stubb , " that ' s

    the right sort ; go on . ' 'No use goin' on ; de dam willains will keep a scrougin' and slappin' each oder , Massa Stubb ; dey don ' t hear one word ; no use a preachin' to such dam g ' uttons as you call ' eni , till dare bellies is full ; and dare bellies is bottomless ; and when dey do get ' em full , dey won ' t hear you den ; for den dey sink in de sea , go fast to sleep oii de coral , and can ' t hear not'ing at all , no more , for eber and eber . ' " ' Upon rny soul , 1 am about of the same opinion ; so give them a blessing , Fleece , and I'll away to my supper . ' •* Upon this Fleece , holding both hands over the fishy mob , raised his shrill voice and criedddamndest

    "•' Cussed fellow critters ! Kick up p row as ever you can ; fill your dam' bellies till dey bust—and den die . Although this is not a set treatise on Whales , it contains a large amount of information on the subject , and the materials for a treatise evidently were collected . We have no room for a tithe of the curious things he tells us ; but we must give a passage f rom his chapter on the " Monstrous Pictures of Whales . " l | e expresses the most emphatic disapprobation of almost all the portraits that have been published of his favourite fish . JNay , even these given by such eminent naturalists as Laceptkle and F . Cuvier , are pronounced monstrous absurdities . He adds , however : —

    " Hut these manifold , mistakes in depicting the whale are not eo very surprising after all . Consider . Me > st of the scientific drawings have been takm Iroin tho stranded lish ; and these are about a « correct as a el rawing of a wrecked ship , with broken bacj . would correctly represent the noble annual itscii 1 all its unelashed pride of hull and spars . AIl < . ir elephants have Htood for their full-lengtha , the ¦ livnj Leviathan has never yet fairly flouted himself lor ins 1 jC V llll . IHUl HUB Ml . 'VL'I VUl IHHIV i » v » i "_ - ~ ,. 1 full triuj 6 sty nnu

    portrait . - ' The living whak-, in his significance , is only te > be seen nt sea in untatnoi able waters ; and afloat the vast bulk ot him ih < of Higlit , like a launched hhe-of-battlo ship ; ii"ji « of tbat ' element it is a thing eternally "" I ' . ™ , l ( l mortal man to hemf . him bodily into the air , '' , preserve all his mighty swells and . undulations- jv j not t < f « peak of the highly presumable differen . ^^ contour betwe'en a young mielcing wluilo and . , grown IMi . tbniah f . eviathan ; yet , even 111 «« j «< one : of those ; young Htie-king whaleH hooted «<>' » ,, deck , such is then the outlandish , eel-hkC , nm ^ varying shape Of him , that hifi pm-ise exprebH

    de ; vil himsedf could not catch . . «• Hut it may be fancied , that from the naked »<« - _ te > n e > f the strandeel whale , ftccurato hints inav ^ . ^ . ^ rived ' touching his true form . Not at all . - ,, „„ , one of the more r . urinuH things about t ( n « » - < MU . rnl that hiH skeleton gives very little idea ol 1 » h h ^ h Hhape . Though Jeremy Uentham h « ke et « ' » . Hf inpr . served in the library ol one ol J »» h « . x corriictly ce » nv . ; yH tho idea of a bur '> " ^ ^ ra , ih . f , ' tiiritui < JW . ' g .-iitleman , with .. il Jeremy h < > t hM J kin ( , perHonAl rlmrHetwiHiiCM ; yet nothutg ( ^ J i < MI i « rc « l JjnuWbc inferred fro . n nn ^ I . evilithftri h » ¦ , ,, oll < w . h , fact , as the great Hu . iter wyjj J ' thlJ Hkeleton of tho whah ) bearn tho Mam » relation

    Hooked Dat Damsmackinob De Li! Stubb ' X...

    ' r

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 8, 1851, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08111851/page/16/