that gableended you found yourself in a widelow straggling entry with oldfashioned wainscots reminding one ofthe bulwarks of some condemned old craft  one side hung a verylarge oilpainting so thoroughly besmoked and every way defacedthat in the unequal crosslights by which you viewed it it was onlyby diligent study and a series of systematic visits to it andcareful inquiry of the neighbors that you could any way arrive at anunderstanding of its purpose  unaccountable masses of shadesand shadows that at first you almost thought some ambitious youngartist in the time of the hags had endeavored todelineate chaos bewitched  by dint of much and earnestcontemplation and oft repeated ponderings and especially bythrowing open the little window towards the back of the entry you atlast come to the conclusion that such an idea however wild mightnot be altogether unwarrantedwhat most puzzled and confounded you was a long limberportentous black mass of something hovering in the centre of thepicture over three blue dim perpendicular lines floating in anameless yeast  boggy soggy squitchy picture truly enough todrive a nervous man distracted  was there a sort of indefinitehalfattained unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze youto it till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find outwhat that marvellous painting meant  and anon a bright butalas deceptive idea would dart you throughthe in amidnight galethe unnatural combat of the four primalelementsa blasted heatha winterscenethe breakingup of the icebound stream of  atlast all these fancies yielded to that one portentous something inthe pictures midst  once found out and all the rest wereplain  stop does it not bear a faint resemblance to a giganticfish even the great leviathan himselffact the artists design seemed this a final theory of my ownpartly based upon the aggregated opinions of many aged persons withwhom conversed upon the subject  picture represents ain a great hurricane the halffoundered ship welteringthere with its three dismantled masts alone visible and anexasperated whale purposing to spring clean over the craft is inthe enormous act of impaling himself upon the three mastheadsopposite wall of this entry was hung all over with a heathenisharray of monstrous clubs and spears  were thickly set withglittering teeth resembling ivory saws others were tufted with knotsof human hair and one was sickleshaped with a vast handle sweepinground like the segment made in the newmown grass by a longarmedmower  shuddered as you gazed and wondered what monstrouscannibal and savage could ever have gone a deathharvesting with sucha hacking horrifying implement  with these were rusty oldwhaling lances and harpoons all broken and deformed  werestoried weapons  this once long lance now wildly elbowedfifty years ago did kill fifteen whales between asunrise and a sunset  that harpoonso like a corkscrew nowwasflung in seas and run away with by a whale years afterwardsslain off the of  original iron entered nigh thetail and like a restless needle sojourning in the body of a mantravelled full forty feet and at last was found imbedded in thehumpthis dusky entry and on through yon lowarched waycutthrough what in old times must have been a great central chimney withfireplaces all roundyou enter the public room  still duskierplace is this with such low ponderous beams above and such oldwrinkled planks beneath that you would almost fancy you trod someold crafts cockpits especially of such a howling night when thiscorneranchored old ark rocked so furiously  one side stood along low shelflike table covered with cracked glass cases filledwith dusty rarities gathered from this wide worlds remotest nooksfrom the further angle of the room stands a darklookingdenthe bara rude attempt at a right whales head  that how itmay there stands the vast arched bone of the whales jaw so wide acoach might almost drive beneath it  are shabby shelvesranged round with old decanters bottles flasks and in those jawsof swift destruction like another cursed by which name indeedthey called him bustles a little withered old man who for theirmoney dearly sells the sailors deliriums and deathare the tumblers into which he pours his poison  cylinders withoutwithin the villanous green goggling glassesdeceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom  rudely pecked into the glass surround these footpadsgoblets  to mark and your charge is but a penny to penny more and so on to the full glassthe measurewhich you may gulp down for a shillingentering the place found a number of young seamen gatheredabout a table examining by a dim light divers specimens of sought the landlord and telling him desired to beaccommodated with a room received for answer that his house wasfullnot a bed unoccupied  avast he added tapping hisforehead you haint no objections to sharing a harpooneers blankethave ye  spose you are goin awhalin so youd better get usedto that sort of thingtold him that never liked to sleep two in a bed that if shouldever do so it would depend upon who the harpooneer might be andthat if he the landlord really had no other place for me and theharpooneer was not decidedly objectionable why rather than wanderfurther about a strange town on so bitter a night would put upwith the half of any decent mans blanketthought so  right take a seat  want supperbe ready directlysat down on an old wooden settle carved all over like a bench onthe  one end a ruminating tar was still further adorningit with his jackknife stooping over and diligently working away atthe space between his legs  was trying his hand at a ship underfull sail but he didnt make much headway thoughtlast some four or five of us were summoned to our meal in anadjoining room  was cold as fire at allthe landlordsaid he couldnt afford it  but two dismal tallow candleseach in a winding sheet  were fain to button up our monkeyjackets and hold to our lips cups of scalding tea with our halffrozen fingers  the fare was of the most substantial kindnotonly meat and potatoes but dumplings good heavens dumplings forsupper  young fellow in a green box coat addressed himself tothese dumplings in a most direful mannerboy said the landlord youll have the nightmare to a deadsartaintywhispered that aint the harpooneer is itno said he looking a sort of diabolically funny theharpooneer is a dark complexioned chap  never eats dumplings hedonthe eats nothing but steaks and he likes em raredevil he does says  is that harpooneer  heherebe here afore long was the answercould not help it but began to feel suspicious of this darkcomplexioned harpooneer  any rate made up my mind that if itso turned out that we should sleep together he must undress and getinto bed before didover the company went back to the barroom when knowing notwhat else to do with myself resolved to spend the rest of theevening as a looker ona rioting noise was heard without  up thelandlord cried the crew  seed her reported inthe offing this morning a three years voyage and a full shipboys now well have the latest news from the tramping of sea boots was heard in the entry the door was flungopen and in rolled a wild set of mariners enough  intheir shaggy watch coats and with their heads muffled in woollencomforters all bedarned and ragged and their beards stiff withicicles they seemed an eruption of bears from  hadjust landed from their boat and this was the first house theyentered  wonder then that they made a straight wake for thewhales mouththe barwhen the wrinkled little old thereofficiating soon poured them out brimmers all round  complainedof a bad cold in his head upon which mixed him a pitchlikepotion of gin and molasses which he swore was a sovereign cure forall colds and catarrhs whatsoever never mind of how long standingor whether caught off the coast of or on the weather sideof an iceislandliquor soon mounted into their heads as it generally does evenwith the arrantest topers newly landed from sea and they begancapering about most obstreperouslyobserved however that one of them held somewhat aloof and thoughhe seemed desirous not to spoil the hilarity of his shipmates by hisown sober face yet upon the whole he refrained from making as muchnoise as the rest  man interested me at once and since theseagods had ordained that he should soon become my shipmate thoughbut a sleepingpartner one so far as this narrative is concernedwill here venture upon a little description of him  stood fullsix feet in height with noble shoulders and a chest like acofferdam  have seldom seen such brawn in a man  face wasdeeply brown and burnt making his white teeth dazzling by thecontrast while in the deep shadows of his eyes floated somereminiscences that did not seem to give him much joy  voice atonce announced that he was a and from his fine stature he must be one of those tall mountaineers from thein  the revelry of his companionshad mounted to its height this man slipped away unobserved and no more of him till he became my comrade on the sea  a fewminutes however he was missed by his shipmates and being itseems for some reason a huge favourite with them they raised a cryof  wheres and darted out ofthe house in pursuit of himwas now about nine oclock and the room seeming almostsupernaturally quiet after these orgies began to congratulatemyself upon a little plan that had occurred to me just previous tothe entrance of the seamenman prefers to sleep two in a bed  fact you would a good dealrather not sleep with your own brother  dont know how it is butpeople like to be private when they are sleeping  when it comesto sleeping with an unknown stranger in a strange inn in a strangetown and that stranger a harpooneer then your objectionsindefinitely multiply  was there any earthly reason why as asailor should sleep two in a bed more than anybody else for sailorsno more sleep two in a bed at sea than bachelor do ashore  sure they all sleep together in one apartment but you have yourown hammock and cover yourself with your own blanket and sleep inyour own skinmore pondered over this harpooneer the more abominated thethought of sleeping with him  was fair to presume that being aharpooneer his linen or woollen as the case might be would not beof the tidiest certainly none of the finest  began to twitch allover  it was getting late and my decent harpooneer oughtto be home and going bedwards  now he should tumble in uponme at midnighthow could tell from what vile hole he had beencoming changed my mind about that harpooneershantsleep with him  try the bench hereas you please sorry cant spare ye a tablecloth for amattress and its a plaguy rough board herefeeling of the knotsand notches  wait a bit got a carpentersplane there in the barwait say and make ye snug enoughsaying he procured the plane and with his old silk handkerchieffirst dusting the bench vigorously set to planing away at my bedthe while grinning like an ape  shavings flew right and lefttill at last the planeiron came bump against an indestructible knotlandlord was near spraining his wrist and told him forheavens sake to quitthe bed was soft enough to suit me and didnot know how all the planing in the world could make eider down of apine plank  gathering up the shavings with another grin andthrowing them into the great stove in the middle of the room he wentabout his business and left me in a brown studynow took the measure of the bench and found that it was a foot tooshort but that could be mended with a chair  it was a foot toonarrow and the other bench in the room was about four inches higherthan the planed oneso there was no yoking them  then placed thefirst bench lengthwise along the only clear space against the wallleaving a little interval between for my back to settle down insoon found that there came such a draught of cold air over mefrom under the sill of the window that this plan would never do atall especially as another current from the rickety door met the onefrom the window and both together formed a series of smallwhirlwinds in the immediate vicinity of the spot where had thoughtto spend the nightdevil fetch that harpooneer thought but stop couldnt a march on himbolt his door inside and jump into his bednot to be wakened by the most violent knockings  seemed no badidea but upon second thoughts dismissed it  who could tellbut what the next morning so soon as popped out of the room theharpooneer might be standing in the entry all ready to knock medownlooking round me again and seeing no possible chance ofspending a sufferable night unless in some other persons bed to think that after all might be cherishing unwarrantableprejudices against this unknown harpooneer  waitawhile he must be dropping in before long  have a good look athim then and perhaps we may become jolly good bedfellows afteralltheres no tellingthough the other boarders kept coming in by ones twos andthrees and going to bed yet no sign of my harpooneersaid what sort of a chap is hedoes he always keepsuch late hours  was now hard upon twelve oclocklandlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle and seemed to bemightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension  heanswered generally hes an early birdairley to bed and airley toriseyes hes the bird what catches the worm  tonight hewent out a peddling you see and dont see what on airth keeps himso late unless may be he cant sell his headsell his headsort of a bamboozingly story is this youare telling me getting into a towering rage  you pretend tosay landlord that this harpooneer is actually engaged this blessednight or rather morning in peddling his head aroundthis townprecisely it said the landlord and told him he couldntsell it here the markets overstockedwhat shouted heads to be sure aint there too many heads in the worldtell you what it is landlord said quite calmly youd betterstop spinning that yarn to menot greenbe not taking out a stick and whittling a toothpick but guess youll be done if that ere harpooneer hears you aslanderin his headbreak it for him said now flying into a passion again atthis unaccountable farrago of the landlordsbroke aready said hesaid do you meanand thats the very reason he cant sell it guesssaid going up to him as cool as in asnowstormlandlord stop whittling  and must understand oneanother and that too without delay  come to your house and want abed you tell me you can only give me half a one that the other halfbelongs to a certain harpooneer  about this harpooneer whom not yet seen you persist in telling me the most mystifying andexasperating stories tending to beget in me an uncomfortable feelingtowards the man whom you design for my bedfellowa sort ofconnexion landlord which is an intimate and confidential one in thehighest degree  now demand of you to speak out and tell me who andwhat this harpooneer is and whether shall be in all respects safeto spend the night with him  in the first place you will be sogood as to unsay that story about selling his head which if true to be good evidence that this harpooneer is stark mad and idea of sleeping with a madman and you sir meanlandlord sir by trying to induce me to do so knowingly wouldthereby render yourself liable to a criminal prosecutionsaid the landlord fetching a long breath thats a purtylong sarmon for a chap that rips a little now and then  be easybe easy this here harpooneer have been tellin you of has justarrived from the south seas where he bought up a lot of balmed heads great curios you know and hes sold all on em butone and that one hes trying to sell tonight cause tomorrowsand it would not do to be sellin human heads about thestreets when folks is goin to churches  wanted to last stopped him just as he was goin out of the door with fourheads strung on a string for all the airth like a string of inionsaccount cleared up the otherwise unaccountable mystery andshowed that the landlord after all had had no idea of foolingmebut at the same time what could think of a harpooneer whostayed out of a night clean into the holy engagedin such a cannibal business as selling the heads of dead idolatorsupon it landlord that harpooneer is a dangerous manpays reglar was the rejoinder  come its gettingdreadful late you had better be turning flukesits a nice bedand me slept in that ere bed the night we were spliced  of room for two to kick about in that bed its an almightybig bed that  afore we give it up used to put our andlittle in the foot of it  got a dreaming and sprawlingabout one night and somehow got pitched on the floor and camenear breaking his arm  that said it wouldnt do  here give ye a glim in a jiffy and so saying he lighteda candle and held it towards me offering to lead the way  irresolute when looking at a clock in the corner he exclaimedvum its wont see that harpooneer tonight hes cometo anchor somewherecome along then come ye comeconsidered the matter a moment and then up stairs we went and ushered into a small room cold as a clam and furnished sureenough with a prodigious bed almost big enough indeed for any fourharpooneers to sleep abreastsaid the landlord placing the candle on a crazy old seachest that did double duty as a washstand and centre table theremake yourself comfortable now and good night to ye  turnedround from eyeing the bed but he had disappearedback the counterpane stooped over the bed  none ofthe most elegant it yet stood the scrutiny tolerably well  thenglanced round the room and besides the bedstead and centre tablecould see no other furniture belonging to the place but a rudeshelf the four walls and a papered fireboard representing a manstriking a whale  things not properly belonging to the roomthere was a hammock lashed up and thrown upon the floor in onecorner also a large seamans bag containing the harpooneerswardrobe no doubt in lieu of a land trunk  there was aparcel of outlandish bone fish hooks on the shelf over thefireplace and a tall harpoon standing at the head of the bedwhat is this on the chest  took it up and held it close tothe light and felt it and smelt it and tried every way possible toarrive at some satisfactory conclusion concerning it  can compareit to nothing but a large door mat ornamented at the edges withlittle tinkling tags something like the stained porcupine quillsround an moccasin  was a hole or slit in the middle ofthis mat as you see the same in ponchos  couldit be possible that any sober harpooneer would get into a door matand parade the streets of any town in that sort of guiseput it on to try it and it weighed me down like a hamper beinguncommonly shaggy and thick and thought a little damp as thoughthis mysterious harpooneer had been wearing it of a rainy day  up in it to a bit of glass stuck against the wall and neversaw such a sight in my life  tore myself out of it in such a hurrythat gave myself a kink in the necksat down on the side of the bed and commenced thinking about thisheadpeddling harpooneer and his door mat  thinking some timeon the bedside got up and took off my monkey jacket and thenstood in the middle of the room thinking  then took off my coatand thought a little more in my shirt sleeves  beginning to feelvery cold now half undressed as was and remembering what thelandlord said about the harpooneers not coming home at all thatnight it being so very late made no more ado but jumped out ofmy pantaloons and boots and then blowing out the light tumbled intobed and commended myself to the care of heaventhat mattress was stuffed with corncobs or broken crockerythere is no telling but rolled about a good deal and could notsleep for a long time  last slid off into a light doze and hadpretty nearly made a good offing towards the land of when a heavy footfall in the passage and saw a glimmer of lightcome into the room from under the doorsave me thinks that must be the harpooneer the infernalheadpeddler  lay perfectly still and resolved not to say aword till spoken to  a light in one hand and that identicalhead in the other the stranger entered the room andwithout looking towards the bed placed his candle a good way offfrom me on the floor in one corner and then began working away atthe knotted cords of the large bag before spoke of as being in theroom  was all eagerness to see his face but he kept it avertedfor some time while employed in unlacing the bags mouth  however he turned roundwhen good heavens what asight  a face  was of a dark purplish yellow colour hereand there stuck over with large blackish looking squares  itsjust as thought hes a terrible bedfellow hes been in a fightgot dreadfully cut and here he is just from the surgeon  atthat moment he chanced to turn his face so towards the light that saw they could not be stickingplasters at all those blacksquares on his cheeks  were stains of some sort or other  knew not what to make of this but soon an inkling of thetruth occurred to me  remembered a story of a white manawhaleman toowho falling among the cannibals had been tattooed bythem  concluded that this harpooneer in the course of his distantvoyages must have met with a similar adventure  what is itthought after all  only his outside a man can be honest inany sort of skin  then what to make of his unearthlycomplexion that part of it mean lying round about andcompletely independent of the squares of tattooing  be sure itmight be nothing but a good coat of tropical tanning but neverheard of a hot suns tanning a white man into a purplish yellow onehad never been in the and perhaps the sunthere produced these extraordinary effects upon the skin  whileall these ideas were passing through me like lightning thisharpooneer never noticed me at all  after some difficultyhaving opened his bag he commenced fumbling in it and presentlypulled out a sort of tomahawk and a sealskin wallet with the hairon  these on the old chest in the middle of the room hethen took the heada ghastly thing enoughand crammedit down into the bag  now took off his hata new beaverhatwhen came nigh singing out with fresh surprise  was nohair on his headnone to speak of at leastnothing but a smallscalpknot twisted up on his forehead  bald purplish head nowlooked for all the world like a mildewed skull  not the strangerstood between me and the door would have bolted out of it quickerthan ever bolted a dinneras it was thought something of slipping out of the windowbut it was the second floor back  am no coward but what to makeof this headpeddling purple rascal altogether passed mycomprehension  is the parent of fear and being completelynonplussed and confounded about the stranger confess was now asmuch afraid of him as if it was the devil himself who had thus brokeninto my room at the dead of night  fact was so afraid of himthat was not game enough just then to address him and demand asatisfactory answer concerning what seemed inexplicable in himhe continued the business of undressing and at lastshowed his chest and arms  live these covered parts of himwere checkered with the same squares as his face his back too wasall over the same dark squares he seemed to have been in a and just escaped from it with a stickingplaster shirtmore his very legs were marked as if a parcel of dark greenfrogs were running up the trunks of young palms  was now quiteplain that he must be some abominable savage or other shipped aboardof a whaleman in the and so landed in this  quaked to think of it  peddler of heads tooperhapsthe heads of his own brothers  might take a fancy tomineheavens look at that tomahawkthere was no time for shuddering for now the savage went aboutsomething that completely fascinated my attention and convinced methat he must indeed be a heathen  to his heavy grego orwrapall or dreadnaught which he had previously hung on a chair hefumbled in the pockets and produced at length a curious littledeformed image with a hunch on its back and exactly the colour of athree days old baby  the embalmed head at firstalmost thought that this black manikin was a real baby preservedin some similar manner  seeing that it was not at all limberand that it glistened a good deal like polished ebony concludedthat it must be nothing but a wooden idol which indeed it proved tobe  now the savage goes up to the empty fireplace and removingthe papered fireboard sets up this little hunchbacked image likea tenpin between the andirons  chimney jambs and all the bricksinside were very sooty so that thought this fireplace made a veryappropriate little shrine or chapel for his idolnow screwed my eyes hard towards the half hidden image feeling butill at ease meantimeto see what was next to follow  he takesabout a double handful of shavings out of his grego pocket andplaces them carefully before the idol then laying a bit of shipbiscuit on top and applying the flame from the lamp he kindled theshavings into a sacrificial blaze  after many hastysnatches into the fire and still hastier withdrawals of his fingerswhereby he seemed to be scorching them badly he at last succeededin drawing out the biscuit then blowing off the heat and ashes alittle he made a polite offer of it to the little negro  thelittle devil did not seem to fancy such dry sort of fare at all henever moved his lips  these strange antics were accompanied bystill stranger guttural noises from the devotee who seemed to bepraying in a singsong or else singing some pagan psalmody or otherduring which his face twitched about in the most unnatural mannerlast extinguishing the fire he took the idol up veryunceremoniously and bagged it again in his grego pocket ascarelessly as if he were a sportsman bagging a dead woodcockthese queer proceedings increased my uncomfortableness andseeing him now exhibiting strong symptoms of concluding his businessoperations and jumping into bed with me thought it was high timenow or never before the light was put out to break the spell inwhich had so long been boundthe interval spent in deliberating what to say was a fatalone  up his tomahawk from the table he examined the head ofit for an instant and then holding it to the light with his mouthat the handle he puffed out great clouds of tobacco smoke  nextmoment the light was extinguished and this wild cannibal tomahawkbetween his teeth sprang into bed with me  sang out could nothelp it now and giving a sudden grunt of astonishment he beganfeeling meout something knew not what rolled away from himagainst the wall and then conjured him whoever or whatever he mightbe to keep quiet and let me get up and light the lamp again  guttural responses satisfied me at once that he but illcomprehended my meaningdebel youhe at last saidyou no speake damme  so saying the lighted tomahawk began flourishing aboutme in the darkfor sake shouted    save metellee me whoee be or damme kille again growledthe cannibal while his horrid flourishings of the tomahawk scatteredthe hot tobacco ashes about me till thought my linen would get onfire  thank heaven at that moment the landlord came into theroom light in hand and leaping from the bed ran up to himbe afraid now said he grinning again herewouldnt harm a hair of your headyour grinning shouted and why didnt you tell me thatthat infernal harpooneer was a cannibalthought ye knowd itdidnt tell ye he was a peddlin headsaround townbut turn flukes again and go to sleep  lookhereyou sabbee me sabbeeyou this man sleepe youyou sabbeesabbee plentygrunted puffing away at his pipe andsitting up in bedgettee in he added motioning to me with his tomahawk andthrowing the clothes to one side  really did this in not only acivil but a really kind and charitable way  stood looking at him amoment  all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean comelylooking cannibal  all this fuss have been making aboutthought to myselfthe mans a human being just as am he hasjust as much reason to fear me as have to be afraid of himsleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken said tell him to stash his tomahawk there or pipeor whatever you call it tell him to stop smoking in short and turn in with him  dont fancy having a man smoking in bedwith me  dangerous  aint insuredbeing told to he at once complied and again politelymotioned me to get into bedrolling over to one side as much as tosaywont touch a leg of yenight landlord said you may goturned in and never slept better in my life