Moby Dick

Description

I stuffed a shirt or two into my old rug pack, tucked it under my arm, and began for Cape Horn and the Pacific. Stopping the great city of old Manhatto, I properly showed up in New Bedford. It was a Saturday night in December. Much was I frustrated after discovering that the little parcel for Nantucket had just cruised, and that no chance to get of arriving at that spot would offer, till the next Monday.

As most youthful possibility for the agonies and punishments of whaling stop at this equivalent New Bedford, thus to set out on their journey, it should be connected that I, for one, had no clue about so doing. For my brain was made up to cruise in no other than a Nantucket make, in light of the fact that there was a fine, uproarious something about everything associated with that acclaimed old island, which incredibly satisfied me. Other than however New Bedford has of late been slowly hoarding the matter of whaling, and however in this issue helpless old Nantucket is currently much behind her, yet Nantucket was her incredible unique—the Tire of this Carthage;— where the principal dead American whale was abandoned. What other place however from Nantucket did those native whalemen, the Red-Men, first sally out in quite a while to offer pursue to the Leviathan? Furthermore, where yet from Nantucket, as well, did that first gutsy little sloop set forth, halfway weighed down with imported cobblestones—so goes the story—to toss at the whales, so as to find when they were near enough to hazard a spear from the bowsprit?

Presently having a night, a day, and still one more evening following before me in New Bedford, ere I could leave for my foreordained port, it turned into a matter of concernment where I was to eat and rest then. It was a questionable looking, nay, an exceptionally dull and terrible night, bitingly cold and depressed. I knew nobody in the spot. With restless grapnels I had sounded my pocket, and just raised a couple of bits of silver,— So, any place you go, Ishmael, said I to myself, as I remained in a bleak road bearing my pack, and contrasting the unhappiness towards the north and the haziness towards the south—any place in your astuteness you may close to stop for the evening, my dear Ishmael, make certain to ask the cost, and don’t be excessively specific.