CHAPTER 91

  The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud

  "In vain it was to rake for Ambergriese in the paunch of this

Leviathan, insufferable fetor denying not inquiry."

  SIR T. BROWNE, V. E.

  It was a week or two after the last whaling scene recounted, and

when we were slowly sailing over a sleepy, vapory, mid-day sea, that

the many noses on the Pequod's deck proved more vigilant discoverers

than the three pairs of eyes aloft. A peculiar and not very pleasant

smell was smelt in the sea.

  "I will bet something now," said Stubb, "that somewhere hereabouts

are some of those drugged whales we tickled the other day. I thought

they would keel up before long."

  Presently, the vapors in advance slid aside; and there in the

distance lay a ship, whose furled sails betokened that some sort of

whale must be alongside. As we glided nearer, the stranger showed

French colors from his peak; and by the eddying cloud of vulture

sea-fowl that circled, and hovered, and swooped around him, it was

plain that the whale alongside must be what the fishermen call a

blasted whale, that is, a whale that has died unmolested on the sea,

and so floated an unappropriated corpse. It may well be conceived,

what an unsavory odor such a mass must exhale; worse than an

Assyrian city in the plague, when the living are incompetent to bury

the departed. So intolerable indeed is it regarded by some, that no

cupidity could persuade them to moor alongside of it. Yet are there

those who will still do it; notwithstanding the fact that the oil

obtained from such subjects is of a very inferior quality, and by no

means of the nature of attar-of-rose.

  Coming still nearer with the expiring breeze, we saw that the

Frenchman had a second whale alongside; and this second whale seemed

even more of a nosegay than the first. In truth, it turned out to be

one of those problematical whales that seem to dry up and die with a

sort of prodigious dyspepsia, or indigestion; leaving their defunct

bodies almost entirely bankrupt of anything like oil. Nevertheless, in

the proper place we shall see that no knowing fisherman will ever turn

up his nose at such a whale as this, however much he may shun

blasted whales in general.

  The Pequod had now swept so nigh to the stranger, that Stubb vowed

he recognized his cutting spade-pole entangled in the lines that

were knotted round the tail of one of these whales.

  "There's a pretty fellow, now," he banteringly laughed, standing

in the ship's bows, "there's a jackal for ye! I well knew that these

Crappoes of Frenchmen are but poor devils in the fishery; sometimes

lowering their boats for breakers, mistaking them for Sperm Whale

spouts; yes, and sometimes sailing from their port with their hold

full of boxes of tallow candles, and cases of snuffers, foreseeing

that all the oil they will get won't be enough to dip the Captain's

wick into; aye, we all know these things; but look ye, here's a Crappo

that is content with our leavings, the drugged whale there, I mean;

aye, and is content too with scraping the dry bones of that other

precious fish he has there. Poor devil! I say, pass round a hat,

some one, and let's make him a present of a little oil for dear

charity's sake. For what oil he'll get from that drugged whale

there, wouldn't be fit to burn in a jail; no, not in a condemned cell.

And as for the other whale, why, I'll agree to get more oil by

chopping up and trying out these three masts of ours, than he'll get

from that bundle of bones; though, now that I think of it, it may

contain something worth a good deal more than oil; yes, ambergris. I

wonder now if our old man has thought of that. It's worth trying. Yes,

I'm for it;" and so saying he started for the quarter-deck.

  By this time the faint air had become a complete calm; so that

whether or no, the Pequod was now fairly entrapped in the smell,

with no hope of escaping except by its breezing up again. Issuing from

the cabin, Stubb now called his boat's crew, and pulled off for the

stranger. Drawing across her bow, he perceived that in accordance with

the fanciful French taste, the upper part of her stem-piece was carved

in the likeness of a huge drooping stalk, was painted green, and for

thorns had copper spikes projecting from it here and there; the

whole terminating in a symmetrical folded bulb of a bright red

color. Upon her head boards, in large gilt letters, he read "Bouton de

Rose,"- Rose-button, or Rose-bud; and this was the romantic name of

this aromatic ship.

  Though Stubb did not understand the Bouton part of the

inscription, yet the word rose, and the bulbous figure-head put

together, sufficiently explained the whole to him.

  "A wooden rose-bud, eh?" he cried with his hand to his nose, "that

will do very well; but how like all creation it smells!"

  Now in order to hold direct communication with the people on deck,

he had to pull round the bows to the starboard side, and thus come

close to the blasted whale; and so talk over it.

  Arrived then at this spot, with one hand still to his nose, he

bawled- "Bouton-de-Rose, ahoy! are there any of you Bouton-de-Roses

that speak English?"

  "Yes," rejoined a Guernsey-man from the bulwarks, who turned out

to be the chief-mate.

  "Well, then, my Bouton-de-Rose-bud, have you seen the White Whale?"

  "What whale?"

  "The White Whale- a Sperm Whale- Moby Dick, have ye seen him?

  "Never heard of such a whale. Cachalot Blanche! White Whale- no."

  "Very good, then; good bye now, and I'll call again in a minute."

  Then rapidly pulling back towards the Pequod, and seeing Ahab

leaning over the quarter-deck rail awaiting his report, he moulded his

two hands into a trumpet and shouted- "No, Sir! No!" Upon which Ahab

retired, and Stubb returned to the Frenchman.

  He now perceived that the Guernsey-man, who had just got into the

chains, and was using a cutting-spade, had slung his nose in a sort of

bag.

  "What's the matter with your nose, there?" said Stubb. "Broke it?"

  "I wish it was broken, or that I didn't have any nose at all!"

answered the Guernsey-man, who did not seem to relish the job he was

at very much. "But what are you holding yours for?"

  "Oh, nothing! It's a wax nose; I have to hold it on. Fine day, ain't

it? Air rather gardenny, I should say; throw us a bunch of posies,

will ye, Bouton-de-Rose?"

  "What in the devil's name do you want here?" roared the Guernseyman,

flying into a sudden passion.

  "Oh! keep cool- cool? yes, that's the word! why don't you pack those

whales in ice while you're working at 'em? But joking aside, though;

do you know, Rose-bud, that it's all nonsense trying to get any oil

out of such whales? As for that dried up one, there, he hasn't a

gill in his whole carcase."

  "I know that well enough; but, d'ye see, the Captain here won't

believe it; this is his first voyage; he was a Cologne manufacturer

before. But come aboard, and mayhap he'll believe you, if he won't me;

and so I'll get out of this dirty scrape."

  "Anything to oblige ye, my sweet and pleasant fellow," rejoined

Stubb, and with that he soon mounted to the deck. There a queer

scene presented itself. The sailors, in tasselled caps of red worsted,

were getting the heavy tackles in readiness for the whales. But they

worked rather slow and talked very fast, and seemed in anything but

a good humor. All their noses upwardly projected from their faces like

so many jibbooms. Now and then pairs of them would drop their work,

and run up to the mast-head to get some fresh air. Some thinking

they would catch the plague, dipped oakum in coal-tar, and at

intervals held it to their nostrils. Others having broken the stems of

their pipes almost short off at the bowl, were vigorously puffing

tobacco-smoke, so that it constantly filled their olfactories.

  Stubb was struck by a shower of outcries and anathemas proceeding

from the Captain's round-house abaft; and looking in that direction

saw a fiery face thrust from behind the door, which was held ajar from

within. This was the tormented surgeon, who, after in vain

remonstrating against the proceedings of the day, had betaken

himself to the Captain's round-house (cabinet he called it) to avoid

the pest; but still, could not help yelling out his entreaties and

indignations at times.

  Marking all this, Stubb argued well for his scheme, and turning to

the Guernsey-man had a little chat with him, during which the stranger

mate expressed his detestation of his Captain as a conceited

ignoramus, who had brought them all into so unsavory and

unprofitable a pickle. Sounding him carefully, Stubb further perceived

that the Guernsey-man had not the slightest suspicion concerning the

ambergris. He therefore held his peace on that head, but otherwise was

quite frank and confidential with him, so that the two quickly

concocted a little plan for both circumventing and satirizing the

Captain, without his at all dreaming of distrusting their sincerity.

According to this little plan of theirs, the Guernsey-man, under cover

of an interpreter's office, was to tell the Captain what he pleased,

but as coming from Stubb; and as for Stubb, he was to utter any

nonsense that should come uppermost in him during the interview.

  By this time their destined victim appeared from his cabin. He was a

small and dark, but rather delicate looking man for a sea-captain,

with large whiskers and moustache, however; and wore a red cotton

velvet vest with watch-seals at his side. To this gentleman, Stubb was

now politely introduced by the Guernsey-man, who at once

ostentatiously put on the aspect of interpreting between them.

  "What shall I say to him first?" said he.

  "Why," said Stubb, eyeing the velvet vest and the watch and seals,

"you may as well begin by telling him that he looks a sort of

babyish to me, though I don't pretend to be a judge."

  "He says, Monsieur," said the Guernsey-man, in French, turning to

his captain, "that only yesterday his ship spoke a vessel, whose

captain and chief-mate, with six sailors, had all died of a fever

caught from a blasted whale they had brought alongside."

  Upon this the captain started, and eagerly desired to know more.

  "What now?" said the Guernsey-man to Stubb.

  "Why, since he takes it so easy, tell him that now I have eyed him

carefully, I'm certain that he's no more fit to command a whale-ship

than a St. Jago monkey. In fact, tell him from me he's a baboon."

  "He vows and declares, Monsieur, that the other whale, the dried

one, is far more deadly than the blasted one; in fine, Monsieur, he

conjures us, as we value our lives, to cut loose from these fish."

  Instantly the captain ran forward, and in a loud voice commanded his

crew to desist from hoisting the cutting-tackles, and at once cast

loose the cables and chains confining the whales to the ship.

  "What now?" said the Guernsey-man, when the Captain had returned

to them.

  "Why, let me see; yes, you may as well tell him now that- that- in

fact, tell him I've diddled him, and (aside to himself) perhaps

somebody else."

  "He says, Monsieur, that he's very happy to have been of any service

to us."

  Hearing this, the captain vowed that they were the grateful

parties (meaning himself and mate), and concluded by inviting Stubb

down into his cabin to drink a bottle of Bordeaux.

  "He wants you to take a glass of wine with him," said the

interpreter.

  "Thank him heartily; but tell him it's against my principles to

drink with the man I've diddled. In fact, tell him I must go."

  "He says, Monsieur, that his principles won't admit of his drinking;

but that if Monsieur wants to live another day to drink, then Monsieur

had best drop all four boats, and pull the ship away from these

whales, for it's so calm they won't drift."

  By this time Stubb was over the side, and getting into his boat,

hailed the Guernsey-man to this effect,- that having a long tow-line

in his boat, he would do what he could to help them, by pulling out

the lighter whale of the two from the ship's side. While the

Frenchman's boats, then, were engaged in towing the ship one way,

Stubb benevolently towed away at his whale the other way,

ostentatiously slacking out a most unusually long tow-line.

  Presently a breeze sprang up; Stubb feigned to cast off from the

whale; hoisting his boats, the Frenchman soon increased his

distance, while the Pequod slid in between him and Stubb's whale.

Whereupon Stubb quickly pulled to the floating body, and hailing the

Pequod to give notice of his intentions, at once proceeded to reap the

fruit of his unrighteous cunning. Seizing his sharp boat-spade, he

commenced an excavation in the body, a little behind the side fin. You

would almost have thought he was digging a cellar there in the sea;

and when at length his spade struck against the gaunt ribs, it was

like turning up old Roman tiles and pottery buried in fat English

loam. His boat's crew were all in high excitement, eagerly helping

their chief, and looking anxious as gold-hunters.

  And all the time numberless fowls were diving, and ducking, and

screaming, and yelling, and fighting around them. Stubb was

beginning to look disappointed, especially as the horrible nosegay

increased, when suddenly from out the very heart of this plague, there

stole a faint stream of perfume, which flowed through the tide of

bad smells without being absorbed by it, as one river will flow into

and then along with another, without at all blending with it for a

time.

  "I have it, I have it," cried Stubb, with delight, striking

something in the subterranean regions, "a purse! a purse!"

  Dropping his spade, he thrust both hands in, and drew out handfuls

of something that looked like ripe Windsor soap, or rich mottled old

cheese; very unctuous and savory withal. You might easily dent it with

your thumb; it is of a hue between yellow and ash color. And this,

good friends, is ambergris, worth a gold guinea an ounce to any

druggist. Some six handfulls were obtained; but more was unavoidably

lost in the sea, and still more, perhaps, might have been secured were

it not for impatient Ahab's loud command to Stubb to desist, and

come on board, else the ship would bid them good-bye.