p. 43-4: about the Portuguese sailors in the forecastle:
“I asked Enos, the most intelligent of them, if he had ever read a book called the Bible.
“No,” said he, “I don’t sabe how to read.”
“Did you ever hear of it?”
“I don’t know.”
”Do the people on the Western Islands pay any regard to Sunday?”
“Oh yes. When Sunday come, dey go to chapel. In de morning dey pray, in the evening dey dance and play cards; dey have fandango. Old padrèe say dat bad; we say, here ten cent. Den padrè laugh and say no more ‘bout it.”
p. 151, at Porto Praya: during our subsequent cruise I procured a book entitled “Naval Battles,” in which there was an animated description of it [a battle at Porto Praya]; and of course it rendered the description extremely vivid to have visited the spot, and become familiar with the scene of the engagement.
p. 158-61, long riff by two drunks based on Julius Caesar.
p. 202-03: We often speculated upon the cause of the old man’s [Captain] single blessedness at his time of life. It was generally admitted that he was ‘granny’ enough without a wife, but his stinginess was evidently the true cause. I found in a copy of Bowditch’s Navigation, which I borrowed from him, a kiss-verse carefully preserved between the leaves, which explained his sentiments upon matrimony, to the great amusement of us all:
Single I am, and so resolved to be,
For Hymen’s bands shall never fetter me.
p. 216, enroute Cape of Good Hope to Madagascar: The weather was generally rough, and I had few opportunities of writing or reading. I commenced the study of navigation, however, soon after we entered the Indian Ocean. Mr. P—, the second mate, who had all along been a very kind friend to me, lent me a copy of Bowditch’s Navigator, and allowed me to use his instruments. Aided by a little instruction from him, I soon mastered the elementary branches of navigation, a science with which every sea-farer ought to make himself acquainted, whether before the mast or aft. My watches below were divided between this study and patching my clothes, which had suffered considerable wear and tear in the late gales.
p. 478, Browne’s description of a good Captain: There was one trait in Captain
P—‘s character for which I warmly esteemed him: his devotion to his wife and children. Not content with descanting upon their merits, he spent an hour every forenoon reading a package of letters written by his wife to entertain him during the voyage; and every night he regularly wrote her an account of the proceedings of the day, signed and directed as if for the mail. This arrangement, dictated by affection, brought the devoted couple in mutual communion. While thus separated, the wife had all the letters of all the preceding voyage to read, and the husband all those interesting little details of domestic life which had transpired during his previous absence, to make up for the deprivation of being separated from those he loved.
p. 511-33: Appendix is Browne’s summary of the history of whaling with reference to his extensive reading at LC of books he read after this voyage.