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- 3245
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- 2026-01-30T20:48:18.535Z
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- 3196
- text
- broadside from Florida to Maine. Ay, ay, very glorious indeed! yet in
that proud crowing of cannon, how shall the shade of peace-loving Penn
be astounded, to see the mightiest murderer of them all, the great
Pennsylvania, a very namesake of his. Truly, the Pennsylvania’s guns
should be the wooden ones, called by men-of- war’s-men, Quakers.
But all this is an episode, made up of digressions. Time to tack ship,
and return.
Now, in its proper place, I omitted to mention, that shortly after
descending from the rigging, and while Samoa was rehearsing his
adventures, dame Annatoo had stolen below into the forecastle, intent
upon her chattels. And finding them all in mighty disarray, she
returned to the deck prodigiously, excited, and glancing angrily toward
Jarl and me, showered a whole torrent of objurgations into both ears of
Samoa.
This contempt of my presence surprised me at first; but perhaps women
are less apt to be impressed by a pretentious demeanor, than men.
Now, to use a fighting phrase, there is nothing like boarding an enemy
in the smoke. And therefore, upon this first token of Annatoo’s
termagant qualities, I gave her to understand—craving her pardon—that
neither the vessel nor aught therein was hers; but that every thing
belonged to the owners in Lahina. I added, that at all hazards, a stop
must be put to her pilferings. Rude language for feminine ears; but how
to be avoided? Here was an infatuated woman, who, according to Samoa’s
account, had been repeatedly detected in the act of essaying to draw
out the screw-bolts which held together the planks. Tell me; was she
not worse than the Load-Stone Rock, sailing by which a stout ship fell
to pieces?
During this scene, Samoa said little. Perhaps he was secretly pleased
that his matrimonial authority was reinforced by myself and my Viking,
whose views of the proper position of wives at sea, so fully
corresponded with his own; however difficult to practice, those purely
theoretical ideas of his had hitherto proved.
Once more turning to Annatoo, now looking any thing but amiable, I
observed, that all her clamors would be useless; and that if it came to
the worst, the Parki had a hull that would hold her.
In the end she went off in a fit of the sulks; sitting down on the
windlass and glaring; her arms akimbo, and swaying from side to side;
while ever and anon she gave utterance to a dismal chant. It sounded
like an invocation to the Cholos to rise and dispatch us.
- title
- Chunk 3