Not P but Moby-Dick (66)

[Mike Jing]

Thanks for the explanation, Ian, I think I understand now. He was holding
the lance with both hands before him at waist level.



On Mon, Feb 5, 2024 at 9:22 AM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Stubb is taking his aim. He holds the lance at his waist level so that, as
> he looks along the lance the tip is in line with his stance. He would stand
> with his (presumably, unless he is left handed which I do not recollect
> being specified) left shoulder to the fore of the boat, using his right
> hand to power the throw while the left keeps the lance steady in his aim.
> From his perspective the lance is level over the length of the whale as he
> aims so that his throw will hit the whale's heart at the completion of the
> arc he thus calculates.
>
> On Mon, Feb 5, 2024 at 1:03 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> From Chapter 84:
>>
>> Handling the long lance lightly, glancing twice or thrice along its length
>> to see if it be exactly straight, Stubb whistlingly gathers up the coil of
>> the warp in one hand, so as to secure its free end in his grasp, leaving
>> the rest unobstructed. Then holding the lance full before his waistband’s
>> middle, he levels it at the whale; when, covering him with it, he steadily
>> depresses the butt-end in his hand, thereby elevating the point till the
>> weapon stands fairly balanced upon his palm, fifteen feet in the air. He
>> minds you somewhat of a juggler, balancing a long staff on his chin.
>>
>> What does "holding the lance full before his waistband’s middle" mean
>> exactly?
>>
>> And what is "covering him with it"?
>> --
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>>
>