But I beat the thing down; and again marking the sleeper,
jocularly hinted to Queequeg that perhaps we had best sit up
with the body; telling him to establish himself accordingly.
He put his hand upon the sleeper's rear, as though feeling if it
was soft enough; and then, without more ado, sat quietly down there.
"Gracious! Queequeg, don't sit there," said I.
"Oh; perry dood seat," said Queequeg, "my country way;
won't hurt him face."
"Face!" said I, "call that his face? very benevolent countenance then;
but how hard he breathes, he's heaving himself; get off,
Queequeg, you are heavy, it's grinding the face of the poor.
Get off, Queequeg! Look, he'll twitch you off soon.
I wonder he don't wake."
Queequeg removed himself to just beyond the head of the sleeper,
and lighted his tomahawk pipe. I sat at the feet.
We kept the pipe passing over the sleeper, from one to the other.
Meanwhile, upon questioning him in his broken fashion, Queequeg gave
me to understand that, in his land, owing to the absence of settees
and sofas of all sorts, the king, chiefs, and great people generally,
were in the custom of fattening some of the lower orders for ottomans;
and to furnish a house comfortably in that respect, you had only
to buy up eight or ten lazy fellows, and lay them round in the piers
and alcoves.
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