Prev | Current Page 282 | Next

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891

"Moby Dick: or, the White Whale"


I'm used to ice-floors. I'm sorry to throw cold water on the subject;
but excuse me.
MALTESE SAILOR
Me too; where's your girls? Who but a fool would take his left hand
by his right, and say to himself, how d'ye do? Partners! I must
have partners!
SICILIAN SAILOR
Aye; girls and a green!--then I'll hop with ye; yea, turn grasshopper!
LONG-ISLAND SAILOR
Well, well, ye sulkies, there's plenty more of us.
Hoe corn when you may, say I. All legs go to harvest soon.
Ah! here comes the music; now for it!
AZORE SAILOR (Ascending, and pitching the tambourine up the scuttle.)
Here you are, Pip; and there's the windlass-bits;
up you mount! Now, boys!
(The half of them dance to the tambourine; some go below;
some sleep or lie among the coils of rigging. Oaths a-plenty.)
AZORE SAILOR (Dancing)
Go it, Pip! Bang it, bell-boy! Rig it, dig it, stig it, quig it,
bell-boy! Make fire-flies; break the jinglers!
PIP
Jinglers, you say?--there goes another, dropped off; I pound it so.
CHINA SAILOR
Rattle thy teeth, then, and pound away; make a pagoda of thyself.

FRENCH SAILOR
Merry-mad! Hold up thy hoop, Pip, till I jump through it!
Split jibs! tear yourselves! Tashtego ( Quietly smoking.


Pages:
270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294