Greedily sucking in this intelligence, Gabriel solemnly warned
the captain against attacking the White Whale, in case the monster
should be seen; in his gibbering insanity, pronouncing the White Whale
to be no less a being than the Shaker God incarnated; the Shakers
receiving the Bible. But when, some year or two afterwards,
Moby Dick was fairly sighted from the mast-heads, Macey,
the chief mate, burned with ardor to encounter him; and the captain
himself being not unwilling to let him have the opportunity,
despite all the archangel's denunciations and forewarnings,
Macey succeeded in persuading five men to man his boat.
With them he pushed off; and, after much weary pulling,
and many perilous, unsuccessful onsets, he at last succeeded
in getting one iron fast. Meantime, Gabriel, ascending to the
main-royal mast-head, was tossing one arm in frantic gestures,
and hurling forth prophecies of speedy doom to the sacrilegious
assailants of his divinity. Now, while Macey, the mate,
was standing up in his boat's bow, and with all the reckless energy
of his tribe was venting his wild exclamations upon the whale,
and essaying to get a fair chance for his poised lance, lo! a broad
white shadow rose from the sea; by its quick, fanning motion,
temporarily taking the breath out of the bodies of the oarsmen.
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