THE WHITE WHALE 489 
ever bless tliee ; and if it come to that, — God for ever save thee, let what 
will befall.” 
( Ahab goes ; Pip steps one step forward.) 
Here he this instant stood; I stand in his air, — but I’m alone. 
How were even poor Pip here I could endure it, but he’s missing. 
Pip! Pip! Ding, dong, ding! Who’s seen Pip? He must be up 
here ; let’s try the door. What ? neither lock nor bolt nor bar ; and 
yet there’s no opening it. It must be the spell; he told me to stay 
here. Aye, and told me this screwed chair was mine. Here, then, 
I’ll seat me against the transom, in the ship’s full middle all her keel 
and her three masts before me. Here, our old sailors say, in their 
black seventy-fours great admirals sometimes sit at table, and lord it 
over rows of captains and lieutenants. Ha! what’s this? epaulets! 
epaulets! the epaulets all come crowding! Pass round the decanters; 
glad to see ye; fill up, monsieurs! What an old feeling, now, when 
a black boy’s host to white men with gold lace upon their coats ! — 
Monsieurs, have you seen one Pip ? — a little negro lad, five feet high, 
hang-dog look, and cowardly! Jumped from a whale boat once; — seen 
him? Ho! Well then, fill up again, captains, and let’s drink shame 
upon all cowards ! I name no names. Shame upon them ! Put one 
foot upon the table. Shame upon all cowards — Hist! above there, I 
hear ivory — Oh, master ! master ! I am indeed down-hearted when you 
walk over me. But here I’ll stay though this stem strikes rocks ; and 
they bulge through, and oysters come to join me.” 
CHAPTER CXXIX 
THE HAT 
And now that at the proper time and place, after so long and wide a 
preliminary cruise, Ahab, — all other whaling waters swept — seemed 
to have chased his foe into an ocean-fold,, to slay him the more securely 
there ; now, that he found himself hard by the very latitude and longi- 
tude where his tormenting wound had been inflicted ; now that a vessel 
had been spoken which on the very day preceding had actually encoun- 
