Stubb Sings a Nautical Toast Verse
Stubb breaks into song, singing a nautical toast verse that celebrates drinking with light hearts that night, and loving as gaily and fleetingly as bubbles that form on the rim of a drinking vessel and pop as soon as they touch the lips.
Stubb Responds to Mr. Starbuck’s Call
When Stubb hears Mr. Starbuck call for him, he responds immediately, acknowledging Starbuck as his superior and noting that Starbuck is dealing with his own troubles if Stubb’s observations are correct. He tells Starbuck he is just finishing his current task mending the brace and is on his way.
第四十章 Midnight, Forecastle.
At the midnight watch, the Pequod’s forecastle transforms into a chaotic ballroom where sailors of various nationalities—Nantucket, Dutch, French, Icelandic, Maltese, Sicilian, Azorean, Chinese, Portuguese, and others—celebrate with songs, dancing, and revelry despite the brewing storm. Pip the cabin boy is reluctantly summoned to play his tambourine while some sailors lounge and others argue about dancing, with the Iceland sailor complaining that the deck is too springy for his tastes and the Maltese sailor demanding female partners before he will join in. The festive mood sours when a squall strikes the ship, darkening the sky and whipping the sea into fury; the sailors scramble to reef sails while Pip, trembling under the windlass, recalls the white whale and Ahab’s oath to hunt it, praying to God to preserve him from the white men aboard.
Foresail Rises to Reveal Singing Forecastle Watch
The foresail rises to reveal the watch standing, lounging, leaning, and lying in various attitudes while all sing together in chorus. The title “Harpooneers and Sailors” introduces the diverse crew gathered on the forecastle deck during the midnight watch.
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