rather pleasant than otherwise.  There were a few traces of funk about some of the others still; but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the man.  He was one of Goliath’s boat’s crew, and the big darkey was quite proud of him.  His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly, as one who is conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not only for himself, but for all hands.  “Lower away boats!” came pealing down from the skipper’s lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle of the patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous splash.  The ship-keepers had trimmed the yards to the wind and hauled up the courses, so that simply putting the helm down deadened our way, and allowed the boats to run clear without danger of fouling one another.  To shove off and hoist sail was the work of a few moments, and with a fine working breeze away we went.  As before, our boat, being the chief’s, had the post of honour; but there was now only one whale, and I rather wondered why we had all left the ship.  According to expectations, down he went when we were within a couple of miles of him, but quietly and with great dignity, elevating his tail perpendicularly in the air, and sinking slowly from our view.  Again I found Mr. Count talkative.

“Thet whale ’ll stay down fifty minutes, I guess,” said he, “fer he’s every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar’l; and don’t yew fergit it.”  “Do the big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?” I asked, seeing him thus chatty.  “Wall, it’s jest ez it happens, boy—­just ez it happens.  I’ve seen a fifty-bar’l bull make the purtiest fight I ever hearn tell ov—­a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, ’n killed two men.  Then, again, I’ve seen a hundred ’n fifty bar’l whale lay ’n take his grooel ’thout hardly wunkin ’n eyelid—­never moved ten fathom from fust iron till fin eout.  So yew may say, boy, that they’re like peepul—­got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an’ thars no countin’ on ’em for sartin nary time.”  I was in great hopes of getting some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and silence reigned.  Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so stern and fierce.  The scene was very striking.  Overhead, a bright blue sky just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea with innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of the sun; but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that slowly rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some world-supporting monster.  Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of God’s creatures—­one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were he but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities.  Against him we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help