SKINNING THE SEAL. 283 



and tasted, became the property of Dennis, who took 

 it home and duly boiled it down for the grease, 

 of which, as he described it to me afterwards, " there 

 was a big lump of it." 



Immediately after the interesting operations were 

 over, I repaired to the inn, and with the help of 

 hot water and scouring soap cleaned myself, and 

 managed to get pretty sweet again, and with a clean 

 shirt, and a change of everything that had come in 

 contact with our oily friend, I was as good as new 

 again. But Dennis, to whom soap and water was 

 as unknown as a clean shirt, or clean anything else, 

 had to remain in his oily state till the oil wore off 

 him through time. And thus, in about three days 

 after the skinning of the big sale, from the heat of 

 the weather and the unwashed state of his miserable 

 carcase and clothes, the poor devil began to be a 

 little rancid, and as Trinculo says in Shakespeare's 

 Tempest, when he stoops down and smells at Caliban, 

 there was not only a considerable smell " not of 

 the newest Poor-John " about him, but also " an 

 ancient and a fish-like smell," which called forth 

 Terry Divver's observations, "Did yer anner iver 

 smill the like of Dinnis ? Dinnis, ye sowl, be 

 out of that now ; sure you'll niver be going in the 



