100 WHALING AND FISHING. 



Sail was immediately made upon the ship, and 

 then, while the masthead-men with the captain, 

 kept up the musical cry of "there blows!" varied 

 occasionally by such ejaculations as " there's 

 white water ! " " there he lob-tails ! " " there he 

 breaches ! " we hurriedly prepared the boats for the 

 day's work before us. Line tubs were placed, and 

 lines bent on, iron sheaths taken off, and a last whet- 

 ting given to the irons^ boats' gripes cast adrift, 

 and oars loosened and laid in their proper places, 

 water kegs filled, boat sails unlashed, and all the 

 various minutiffi duly attended to which experience 

 has proven necessary for such occasions. All was 

 life and bustle, and the stagnant pools of our blood 

 were once more enlivened by a little real excite- 

 ment. 



"There goes flukes!" from the masthead, 

 proclaimed the close of the first scene of the day's 

 drama, and immediately thereafter, 



"Breakfast all of you," from the cook, caused 

 each man to rush hurriedly to the galley for his 

 quota of hot slop coffee it is called by courtesy, 

 but no one who had ever drunk Mocha, Java, or 

 Rio, would own it to be such. 



Hastily washing down a couple of biscuits with 

 this preparation, we were ready for the word to 

 " man the boats," and were at the side as soon as 

 the captain showed his head above the gangway. 



"Stand by to lower away, you ship-keepers," 

 wa? the word now, and we prepared to follow the 



