At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable,' was his mildly cadaverous reply. - Herman Melville

I felt a melting in me. No more my splintered heart and maddened hand were turned against the wolfish world.

Why did the poor poet of Tennessee, upon suddenly receiving two handfuls of silver, deliberate whether to buy him a coat, which he sadly needed, or invest his money in a pedestrian trip to Rockaway Beach? Why is almost every robust healthy boy with a robust healthy soul in him, at some time or other crazy to go to sea? Why upon your first voyage as a passenger, did you yourself feel such a mystical vibration, when first told that you and your ship were now out of sight of land? Why did the old Persians hold the sea holy?

I'll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy.