 temperature of the year.
    When serenely advancing on one of these journeys, if any strange suspicious
sights are seen, my lord whale keeps a wary eye on his interesting family.
Should any unwarrantably pert young leviathan coming that way, presume to draw
confidentially close to one of the ladies, with what prodigious fury the Bashaw
assails him, and chases him away! High times, indeed, if unprincipled young
rakes like him are to be permitted to invade the sanctity of domestic bliss;
though do what the Bashaw will, he cannot keep the most notorious Lothario out
of his bed; for, alas! all fish bed in common. As ashore, the ladies often cause
the most terrible duels among their rival admirers; just so with the whales, who
sometimes come to deadly battle, and all for love. They fence with their long
lower jaws, sometimes locking them together, and so striving for the supremacy
like elks that warringly interweave their antlers. Not a few are captured having
the deep scars of these encounters, - furrowed heads, broken teeth, scolloped
fins; and in some instances, wrenched and dislocated mouths.
    But supposing the invader of domestic bliss to betake himself away at the
first rush of the harem's lord, then is it very diverting to watch that lord.
Gently he insinuates his vast bulk among them again and revels there a while,
still in tantalising vicinity to young Lothario, like pious Solomon devoutly
worshipping among his thousand concubines. Granting other whales to be in sight,
the fishermen will seldom give chase to one of these Grand Turks; for these
Grand Turks are too lavish of their strength, and hence their unctuousness is
small. As for the sons and the daughters they beget, why, those sons and
daughters must take care of themselves; at least, with only the maternal help.
For like certain other omnivorous roving lovers that might be named, my Lord
Whale has no taste for the nursery, however much for the bower; and so, being a
great traveller, he leaves his anonymous babies all over the world; every baby
an exotic. In good time, nevertheless, as the ardour of youth declines; as years
and dumps increase; as reflection lends her solemn pauses; in short, as a
general lassitude overtakes the sated Turk; then a love of ease and virtue
supplants the love for maidens; our Ottoman enters upon the impotent, repentant,
admonitory stage of life, forswears, disbands the harem, and grown to an
exemplary, sulky old soul, goes about all alone among the meridians and
parallels saying his prayers, and warning each young leviathan
