“’Also bear with all of us, sir sailor;
for we all join in Don Sebastian’s suit,’
cried the company, with exceeding interest.
“‘Is there a copy of the Holy Evangelists
in the Golden Inn, gentlemen?’
“‘Nay,’ said Don Sebastian; ’but
I know a worthy priest near by, who will quickly procure
one for me. I go for it; but are you well advised?
this may grow too serious.’
“‘Will you be so good as to bring the
priest also, Don?’
“‘Though there are no Auto-da-Fe’s
in Lima now,’ said one of the company to another;
’I fear our sailor friend runs risks of the archiepiscopacy.
Let us withdraw more out of the moonlight. I
see no need of this.’
“’Excuse me for running after you, Don
Sebastian; but may I also beg that you will be particular
in procuring the largest sized Evangelists you can.’
‘This is the priest, he brings you the Evangelists,’
said Don Sebastian, gravely, returning with a tall
and solemn figure.
“’Let me remove my hat. Now, venerable
priest, further into the light, and hold the Holy
Book before me that I may touch it.
“’So help me Heaven, and on my honor the
story I have told ye, gentlemen, is in substance and
its great items, true. I know it to be true;
it happened on this ball; I trod the ship; I knew
the crew; I have seen and talked with Steelkilt since
the death of Radney.”
Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales
I shall ere long paint to you as well as one can without
canvas, something like the true form of the whale
as he actually appears to the eye of the whaleman
when in his own absolute body the whale is moored
alongside the whaleship so that he can be fairly stepped
upon there. It may be worth while, therefore,
previously to advert to those curious imaginary portraits
of him which even down to the present day confidently
challenge the faith of the landsman. It is time
to set the world right in this matter, by proving such
pictures of the whale all wrong.
It may be that the primal source of all those pictorial
delusions will be found among the oldest Hindoo, Egyptian,
and Grecian sculptures. For ever since those
inventive but unscrupulous times when on the marble
panellings of temples, the pedestals of statues, and
on shields, medallions, cups, and coins, the dolphin
was drawn in scales of chain-armor like Saladin’s,
and a helmeted head like St. George’s; ever
since then has something of the same sort of license
prevailed, not only in most popular pictures of the
whale, but in many scientific presentations of him.
