Moby Dick by Herman Melville Chapter 32 Page 36

He has no fins on his back (most other porpoises have), he has a lovely tail, and sentimental Indian eyes of a hazel hue. But his mealy-mouth spoils all. Though his entire back down to his side fins is of a deep sable, yet a boundary line, distinct as the mark in a ship’s hull, called the “bright waist,” that line streaks him from stem to stern, with two separate colours, black above and white below. The white comprises part of his head, and the whole of his mouth, which makes him look as if he had just escaped from a felonious visit to a meal-bag.

A most mean and mealy aspect! His oil is much like that of the common porpoise.

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Beyond the DUODECIMO, this system does not proceed, inasmuch