A strange, apostolic whim having seized him, he had left Neskyeuna
for Nantucket, where, with that cunning peculiar to craziness,
he assumed a steady, common sense exterior, and offered himself
as a green-hand candidate for the Jeroboam's whaling voyage.
They engaged him; but straightway upon the ship's getting
out of sight of land, his insanity broke out in a freshet.
He announced himself as the archangel Gabriel, and commanded
the captain to jump overboard. He published his manifesto,
whereby he set himself forth as the deliverer of the isles
of the sea and vicar-general of all Oceanica. The unflinching
earnestness with which he declared these things;--the dark,
daring play of his sleepless, excited imagination, and all
the preternatural terrors of real delirium, united to invest
this Gabriel in the minds of the majority of the ignorant crew,
with an atmosphere of sacredness. Moreover, they were afraid of him.
As such a man, however, was not of much practical use in the ship,
especially as he refused to work except when he pleased,
the incredulous captain would fain have been rid of him;
but apprised that that individual's intention was to land him
in the first convenient port, the archangel forthwith opened
all his seals and vials--devoting the ship and all hands to
unconditional perdition, in case this intention was carried out.
Pages:
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517