New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-11-22
NEW PUBLICATIONS.


which is said to prevail among the old salts OF
Nantucket and New-Bedferd, OF ferocious
monster Of a whale, who is proof against all the
arts of harpoonery, and who occasionally amuses
himself with swallowing down a boats crew
without winking. The present volume Is
Whalad," or the Epic OF that vertable OLD
leyiathan, who " esteemeth iron as straw ana
laughs at the spear, the dart, and the haoergeoh'
M one being able to &" fill his skin with barbed
iron. or his head with fsh-hoOks' Mr.. Melville
vives us not only the romance of his history, but
q great mass Of instruction on the character ana
habits Of his whole race, with complete details
of the willy stratagems Of their pursuers.
The interest of the work pivots on a certain
CAPTAIN Ahab, whose enmlty to Moby- DICK, the
name of the whale-demon, has been aggravated
10 monomania In one rencounter with this ter
ror of the seas he suffers signal defeat loses
leg in the contest gets fire IN has BRAIN; re-
turns home man with one idea feels that ne
has mission that he is predestined to defy his
enemy 10 mortal strife; devotes himself to the
fsl6llment of his destiny; with the persist
ence and cunning of insanity gets possession oil
another vessel ships weird, supernatural
crew of which Ishmael, the narrator OF the
story, is prominent member and after Z" Wild
Auntsmans chase through unknown seas, is
the only one who remains totell the destruction
of the ship and the doomed Captain Ahab by the
victorious, indomitablc Moby-Dick.
The narrative is constructed IN Herman Mel
ville's best manner. 1t combines the various
features which form the chief attractions of his
style, and is commercially free from the faults
which we have before had occasion to specify in
this powerful writer. The intensity of the plot is
happily relieved by minute descriptions of the
most homely processes OF the whale fishery.
We have occasional touches of the subtle mys.
ticism, which is carried to such al inconvenlent
excess in Mard but It is here mixed up with so
many tangible and odOrous realities, that we
always safely alight from the excursion through
nid.air upon the solid deck OF the whaler. We
are recalled to this world by the fumes of " oil
and blubber," and are made to think more OF the
contents of barrels than of allegories. The
work is also full of episodes, descriptive of
strange and original phases OF character. One
of them is given IN the commencement Of the
volume, showing how "mlsery makes a man
acquainted with strange bed.fehows" We must
pass over thu in which the writer relates his
first introduction to Queequeg, South Sea
cannbal, who was his chum at a sailor board.
ing house in New. Bedford and aftcrward his
bosom friend and most devoted confederate.
We will make room for the characteristic chap
ter, which describes the riponing of their ac-
quaintance into the honeymoon of friendship;
found Queequeg there quite alone, he having LETT the
chapel before the benedicuon some time. lie was
sittng bench before the fire. with his feet on the
stove hearth. and IN one hand was holding close up
70 his face that little negro idol OF his peerng hard
into his face, and with n jack knife gently whiting
away at its nose, meanwhile humming 10 himsel, IN
his heathenish way.
But being now interrupted, he put ap the image
and pretty soon, gong To the table took up large
book there, and placing on his lap began counting
the pages with deliberate regularity al every dfe,h
page--as iancied-Sioppmg "a moment, looking va
cantly around hun, and giving utlerance 10 long
drawn gurgling whistle of astonshment. He would
then begin again at the next fifty seeming to com
mence at number one each time rs though he could
not count more than fifty and II was only by such a
large number of Mites being found together that his
astonishment at the multitude OF pages was excited.
With much interest sat watching him. Savage
though he was, and hideouSly married about the face
AT least to my tastehis counIenance yet had some
thing IN which was by no means disasreeabie. You
cannot hide the soul. Through all his unearthly tat
tooings thought saw the traces of simple honest
heart and IN his large, deep ewes, fiery. black and
bold, there seemed tokens of spirit thai would dare
thousand devils. And besides all this, there was
CERTAIN lofty bearing about the pagan which even his
uncouthneSs could not altogether mann. He looked
like man who had never cringed and never had
had creditor. Whether II was, too, that his head
being shaved has forehead was drawn out IN ire er
and brighter rclief and looked more expansive than
n otherwise would this viii not venture to decide
but certain 1t was, his head was phrenologcsily an
excellent one. IL may seem ridiculous but IL re-
minded me OF General WaShing;on's head, As seen
IN the popular ous,s OF him. II had the same long
regularly Graded, retreatmg slope from above The
eiows, Which were likewise veryprojectns, like two
long promoltores thickly wooded on top Quee-
Queg was George Washington cseaibalistlcally de-
veloped
While was thus closely scanning him. halnrs
tending meanwhile 20 he looking out at the storm
nom the easement, he never needed nv preSence
never troubled himself with 81 much as a Single
glance out appeared wholly occupied with count
tng the pages OF the marvellous book. Considering
how soclaby We had been sleeping together the
might previous and especially considering the afec.
tonate arm | had found thrown over me unon
waking IN the morning, thought tAls indifference
OF his very strange. But sayaees are strange be-
ings at times YOU do not know exactly how to
take them Al FIRST they are oyerawing their calm
sei-couectecReSS OF simplicity seems a Socratc
wisdom. l had noticed also that QueeQues never
eonsored az all or bu, very little, with the other
seamen IN the nm. tie made no advances what
ever appeared 10 have no desire 10 enlarge the
Gle Of his acquaintance All this struck me as
mighty singular vet, upon second thoughts there
vas something almost sublime IN 1t. Here was n
man some twenty thousand miles from home, BY the
way Of Cape Horn, that is--which was the only way
he could get there-thrcwn among people as strange
" him as though be were IN the planet Jupiter
and YET he seemed entirely at his ease. preserving
the utmost serenity content with his own com.
Panicnsaip always equal to himself. Surely this
was a touch OF me philosophy though no doubt he
nae never heard there Was such thing as that But
perhaps, to be true philosophers we mcrlals should
not be conscious OF so iivirg or so striving So soon
rs l hear that such or such man gives himself out
Tor Philosopher conclude that, like the a, spep,c
oio woman, he must have broken his diges,er"
, As sal shefe IN that now lonely room the FIRE
ouihng low, IN that mid stage when after its first
intensity has warmed the an, 1t then only glows TO
DC looked al the evening shades and phantoms
estneiMs round the easements, and peering IN upon
US sient, soh,ary TWAIN the storm booming withou,
IN soienn swens began to be sensible OF strange
feelings. fell melting in me No more INV splin.
tered heart and maddsned hand were turned agaips.