Meaning: Rest and quiet time.
Depiction: Ishmael sleeps in his hammock in the forecastle. Three lances lean against the wall near him, a fourth is beside him on the floor.
Text: Chapter 35- The Mast- Head
The tranced ship indolently rolls; the drowsy trade winds blow; everything resolves you into languor. For the most part, in this tropic whaling life, a sublime uneventfulness invests you; you hear no news; read no gazettes; extras with startling accounts of commonplaces never delude you into unnecessary excitements; you hear of no domestic afflictions; bankrupt securities; fall of stocks; are never troubled with the thought of what you shall have for dinner—for all your meals for three years and more are snugly stowed in casks, and your bill of fare is immutable.
Comments: This chapter is about Ishmael standing at the mast-head for hours at a time. But this text really captures the general monotony of long whaling journeys, and the restful aspect of this card.
Below, I'm linking The Pacific (also based on Chapter 35), from Dave Malloy's Moby-Dick: A Reckoning. A peaceful, yet depressing song, apparently a duet between Ishmael and Queequeg.
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