Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I (of 2)

his readiness to unite in an undertaking which apparently savored of a moral dereliction. But all things considered, I deemed my own resolu

ying him a visit, when, like some old albatross in the air, he happened to be pe

king our dwarfish "dudeens," any sea-gull passing by might have taken us for Messrs. Blanchard and Jeffries, socially puffing their after-dinner Bagdads, bound to Calais, via Heaven, from Dover. Honest Jarl, I acquainted with all: my conversation with the captain, the hint implied

t that I almost fancied there was something in Jarl

and in every case the runaways had never afterwards been heard of. He entreated me to renounce my determination, not be

ompany me, and I fancied no one else for a comrade, I would go stark alone rather than not at all. Upo

ill wrestle hard to convince one loved of error; but faili

ing his eye over the boundless expanse below, he

d miles an

ve days' passage, but calms and currents may make it a month, perhaps

ings, he at last gave them over. He assured m

; and thoughtfully considered how the

for us to follow in our route to the westward. So, with all possible dispatch, I matured my plans, and communi

o means out of the question. The chart, to be sure, I did not so much lay to heart; but a quadrant was more than desirable. Still, it was by no means indispensable. For this reason. When we started, our latitude would be exactly known; and whether, on our voyage

for no known land lay between us and the place we desired to reach. So what could be plainer tha

ferent look-out would preclude all danger on that score. At all events, the thing seemed feasible enough, notwithstanding old Jarl's supers

rtling, and that, too, from their very simplicity. So cherish no alarms