Hewentondownthereandaccostedthisantiquity,andmadearemarkortwo。Icouldnotcatchup。TheyweresocasualIcouldnotrecognizewhichoneitwasthattouchedthatbottom,forinaninstantthatoldmanwasliterallyineruptionandwasfillingthewholeplacewithprofanityofthemostexquisitekind。Youneverheardsuchaccomplishedprofanity。Ineverhearditalsodeliveredwithsucheloquence。
IneverenjoyedprofanityasIenjoyeditthen—morethanifIhadbeenutteringitmyself。Thereisnothinglikelisteningtoanartist—
allhispassionspassingawayinlava,smoke,thunder,lightning,andearthquake。
Thenthisfriendsaidtome:\"Now,Iwilltellyouaboutthat。Aboutsixtyyearsagothatmanwasayoungfellowoftwenty—three,andhadjustcomehomefromathreeyears\'whalingvoyage。Hecameintothatvillageofhis,happyandproudbecausenow,insteadofbeingchiefmate,hewasgoingtobemasterofawhaleship,andhewasproudandhappyaboutit。
\"Thenhefoundthattherehadbeenakindofacoldfrostcomeuponthattownandthewholeregionroundabout;forwhilehehadbeenawaytheFatherMathewtemperanceexcitementhadcomeuponthewholeregion。Therefore,everybodyhadtakenthepledge;therewasn\'tanybodyformilesandmilesaroundthathadnottakenthepledge。