34 THE EMBRYO WHALEMAN. 



as if a sperm whale was in reality spoutiug under 

 the head of the boat. The day being fine all hands 

 were delighted with the sport, particularly so our 

 New Bedford boys ; and after coming aboard and 

 hoisting our boats to a merry song, no doubt more 

 than one aspirant to the heading of a boat, went to 

 his pillow to dream of future successes, and turn up 

 whales in imagination by scores. Their ambition is 

 pardonable, too, as, in the section of country in which 

 they reside, a successful whaling skipper is looked 

 upon as a much more important personage in the 

 community than is a member of Congress; and I do 

 not doubt that if the choice of the appellations Honor- 

 able and Captain were tendered to tlie youths of New 

 Bedford and its vicinity, nine-tenths of them would 

 prefer the latter ; nor does he, in thus devoting him- 

 self to whaling as a profession, embrace an easy 

 mode of gaining a livelihood. He must be no mere 

 carpet knight, but must stand prepared to give and 

 receive hard knocks ; and combat, not only with the 

 winds and waves (the task of ordinary sailors), but 

 wdth the monarch of the seas — the great sperm 

 whale ; nor must he betraj^ no matter how perilous 

 his position may hap to be during an encounter with 

 leviathan, the slightest evidence of fear, as such a 

 symptom would make him a butt for rude personal 

 jokes, which would drive him, by their poiutedness 

 and sarcasm, out of the service ; but he must view 

 every position into which he is thrown, and every 

 peril to which he may be subjected, with as much 

 indifference as if it were of no importance to him, 

 and he will acquire a reputation for fearlessness 

 and coolness, which invariably, no matter what his 



