the line, we had been on the look-out for whales,
and all the boats and gear were in readiness to be lowered, and to go in
chase at a moment's notice. Everybody on board a whaler must be
wide-awake, and prepared for all emergencies, or the ship may chance to
return home with an empty hold. In no position in which a seaman can be
placed is it so necessary to belong to the _try_ fraternity. If whales
are not to be found on one fishing-ground, the ship must move to
another; and if not seen there, she must sail on till she chases them
round the globe. So if, when a whale is seen, the harpooner misses his
aim, and the fish dives and swims a mile or more off, he must watch and
watch till she rises, and _try_ again. This try principle should be
followed in all the concerns of life. Whatever ought to be done, _try_
and do it; never suppose a work cannot be done till it has been tried--
perseverance in duty is absolutely necessary. Its neglect must bring
ruin.

We had a look-out at each mast-head, and one of the mates, or the
boatswain, and sometimes the captain, was stationed at the
fore-topgallant yard-arm. Sharp eyes were, therefore, constantly
watching every part of the ocean, as our ship floated over it to the
very verge of the horizon in search of the well-known spout of the
whales. Great improvements have taken place since the time I speak of
in the apparatus employed in the whale-fishery. I am told that guns are
now used with which to send the harpoon into the whale's body, while in
my time it was driven by sheer strength and dexterity of arm, as the
harpooner stood up at his full height in the bow of the tossing
whale-boat, close to the huge monster, one blow of whose tail is
sufficient to dash her into atoms.

We were, it must be understood, in search of the sperm whale, which is a
very different animal from what is called the black or Greenland whale,
whose chief habitation is towards the North Polar regions, though found
in other parts of the ocean. There are several sorts of whales, but I
will not attempt to give a learned dissertation on them. I should not,
indeed, have thought much about the matter, had not Newman called my
attention to it. I should have hunted them, and killed them, and boiled
down their blubber, with the notion that we had the produce of so many
_fish_ on board. Now naturalists, as he told me, assert that whales
should not be called _fish_. They swim and live in the water, and s